object, or the preposition and its object, are placed widely apart. For example:

Novel ideas in the way of advertising commands a good price. An interesting series of services were arranged for the

occasion.

He alone loves me; he alone can I trust.

Who should he have with him but this very same man. Who is he talking with?

They saw the man whom they supposed was dead.

Each of the drive-wheels were six feet in diameter.

Of a similar nature is the fault shown in the following sentences:

Neither of the brothers were there.

The ship with its whole crew were lost.

Greek as well as Latin were required studies then.
No word or act of his require any such explanation.

Words or phrases beginning with or, nor, as well as, with, together with, and the like, cannot be regarded as forming part of the subject of the verb.

A frequent cause of faulty grammar is carelessness or confusion in the use of relatives and reference words in general. For example:

One of the earliest birds of spring in central Illinois is the blackbird; they arrive usually about the middle of March. 'Everybody for themselves," seems to be the rule here. One cannot always have what they want simply by asking for it.

It is good enough for these kind of people.

I am one of those people who cannot express all that I feel. He is one of the best speakers that has ever appeared on this platform.

In the last example, two distinct ideas are confounded. "He is the best speaker that has ever appeared on this platform," expresses one idea; "Of all the speakers who have ever appeared on this platform, he is one of the best," expresses quite another idea.

Another frequent cause of faulty grammar is carelessness in the use of participles Except in the case of the absolute construction—a comparatively rare construction in English - the participle must be attached to some noun or pronoun in the sentence, and this noun or pronoun should represent the subject of the action indicated by the participle. In the following sentences this condition is not observed, and hence the participles are left suspended, as it were, in the air:

While making excavations there not long ago, between fifteen and twenty marble images were uncovered.

Accustomed to regular living, our Bohemian mode of living disturbed him greatly.

Being a freshman, it was expected that I should join the other members of the class in retaliating on the sophomores. After reading the book through, one's first impression is confirmed.

The mistake of confusing shall and will is one that has often been pointed out, but the error does not seem to grow any the less common. Briefly stated, the rules with regard to the use of these words are as follows: In declarative sentences, to express simple futurity, shall is used in the first person and will in

the second and third persons. In questions, however, shall you is used instead of will you to indicate futurity. In all other cases, shall and will express purpose or determination on the part of the speaker, that is to say, will in the first person and shall in the second and third persons. Should and would follow, in general, the same rule. In clauses expressing a condition, however, should is used in all three persons. Should, also, is used in all three persons to express the sense of duty. Would, moreover, is occasionally used in a frequentative sense, that is, to indicate a habit. The following are examples of correct usage:

I shall go.
You will go.

He will go.
Shall you go?)

Simple futurity.

I will go with you and together we shall put it through. (Will here expresses intention and shall futurity.)

I will make my mark in life, and it shall be a clear and distinct one, too. (Both shall and will here express intention on the part of the speaker.)

If he should try it, he would be successful. expresses condition.)

Should here

He should be more careful. (Should here expresses duty.) He would take long walks in the country when the weather was fine. (Would here indicates frequency of action.)

Lack of consistency in the use of tenses is a source of trouble almost as common, especially in the compositions of beginners, as the confounding of shall and will. Take, for example, the following:

I intended to have spoken to him yesterday.

If he had remained here, it would have been difficult for him to have maintained his position.

He would probably have gone if he were ready.

I should have liked to have seen him.

Though not easily moved, he is often violent when he does become angry; but he soon repents, and then he would do anything to atone for any offense he gave.

One or two simple principles, if carefully kept in mind, will save the beginner from most mistakes of the kind seen in the examples given above. In the first place, with regard to infinitives, the present form indicates action coincident with the time expressed by the principal verb, or subsequent to it, whether that verb be present or past; the perfect form indicates action anterior to that of the principal verb. In the second place, with regard to dependent clauses, if the tense of the principal verb be past, that of the dependent verb must also be past; if, however, it be present or future, that of the dependent verb may be either present, past, or future, according as the time of the action is thought of as coincident with the time expressed by the principal verb, anterior to it, or subsequent to it.

Examples:

I expect (or shall expect) to see you there.

I had expected to see you there.

He seems to be able to do his work well.

He seems to have accomplished very little.

He was supposed to have gone the day before.

He said that, if all went well, he stood a good chance to

win; but his partner thinks that

he has no chance at all.
he never had even the

ghost of a chance.

he will have no chance at all.

General truths, however, from the fact that they are independent of time, should always be expressed in the present tense. For example:

He always maintained that honesty is the best policy.

42. Loose construction. - Loose construction in the sentence may take a variety of forms. Among the most common are the following:

(a.) The placing of some part of the sentence in a wrong position.

Examples:

He was only good when he was happy.

I lived under the dread of being discharged for five months. Haman is accused of threatening the Jews by Esther in the presence of the king, and is ordered to be hanged.

Almost every year the question as to whether the colleges should dispense with professional football coaches comes up.

The widely prevalent idea that a farmer can hardly become wealthy who devotes his time entirely to the pursuit of agriculture, is an erroneous one.

He was probably a boy about sixteen years of age.

A good rule for the beginner to remember here is that those parts of the sentence which are most closely related in thought should be most closely related in position.