and 215. Note the distinction in meaning between Fire gives out warmth The fire gives out warmth. In the first sentence fire generally is spoken of, and in the second some particular fire. 216. In the proverb A burnt child dreads the fire the Definite Article is superfluous, as a burnt child dreads not a particular fire but any fire. 6 217. A nice distinction of sense is sometimes made by the use or the omission of the Article a. If I say He behaved with a little reverence my meaning is positive. If I say He behaved with little reverence my meaning is negative. And these two are by no means the same or to be used in the same cases. By the former, I rather praise a person; by the latter, I dispraise him. When I say There were few men with him I speak diminutively and mean to represent them as inconsiderable; whereas, when I say There were a few men with him I evidently intend to make the most of them.'-LINDLEY MURRAY. Exercise 90. Strike out the superfluous Articles, and insert the Articles wrongly omitted. And I persecuted this way unto the death [not a particular death]. Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel [the wheel was a particular instrument of torture] ? The Almighty hath given reason to a man to be a light unto him The king has given him the title of a duke. The fire, the earth, the air, and the water were called elements. The virtues like his are not easily acquired. He has been blamed for paying a little attention to his duties. a Such extreme disorder called for little severity in the punishment. He was so impudent and wicked that he found a few persons to speak for him. He has tried the old and new method of cure. the The chief priests and officers [not the chief officers] saw him. a He was placed over the civil and military affairs of the nation. We look upon these as a first-fruits. Comparisons. 218. When you make use of an Adjective in the way of comparison, take care that there be a congruity or fitness in the things or qualities compared. Do not say that a thing is deeper than it is broad or long, or that a man is taller than he is wise or rich. Hume says The principles of the Reformation were deeper in the prince's mind than to be easily eradicated. This is no comparison at all; it is nonsense.'-COBBETT, Grammar, § 217. 219. In the sentence The population of London is greater than any other city in the world we have an example of the fault condemned by Cobbett, population being compared not to population, but to a city. 220. When a thing is compared with everything else of the same class, it is necessary to use other (or an equivalent word) with the Comparative Degree, but not with the Superlative; as Gold is more precious than any other metal. Gold is more precious than all the other metals. Gold is the most precious of all metals. In the first and second sentences gold is placed by itself on one side, and for comparison with it all the other metals are placed together on the other side. If we said Gold is more precious than all metals we should imply either that gold is not a metal or that gold is more precious than gold, as gold must be included in all metals. In the third sentence we arrange all the metals with gold first as the most precious of them. The sentence Gold is the most precious of all the other metals is absurd, for it excludes gold from the metals to be compared. Exercise 91. Correct the following sentences : The vice of covetousness enters deepest into the soul of any other. He thought the Church of England the most perfect of all others. These letters make up a volume of more interest to me than any book. This caused the author more annoyance than any he met in his whole life. We take our pleasures as sadly as we do anything. They were of all other men the least to be offended. The unwearied exertions of this gentleman have done more towards elucidating the obscurities of our language than any other writer on the subject. PRONOUNS. 221. When a Pronoun is employed in a sentence containing two or more Nouns, care must be taken to make clear for which Noun the Pronoun stands. Want of care in this respect may lead to ambiguity or absurdity, as in the following example : It sprang up and pulled the jar towards itself and put its paw in and pulled it out and ran off to eat it. This sentence, from a story telling how a cat caught a mouse that had got into a jar, makes the cat eat its own paw. The obscurity arises from the Pronoun it having to stand for the two Nouns cat and mouse, while there are in the sentence two other Nouns, jar and paw, for which it may stand. Greater clearness is obtained by repeating the Nouns cat and mouse; thus : The cat sprang up, pulled the jar towards it, put in its paw, drew out the mouse, and ran off to eat it. کانا It. 222. The sentence just dealt with shows that the word it requires careful handling. 'The word it is the greatest troubler that I know of in language. It is so small and so convenient that few are careful enough in using it.... Never put an it upon paper without thinking well of what you are about. When I see many its in a page I always tremble for the writer.'-COBBETT, Grammar, §§ 194–6. 223. It is used (1) For a Neuter Noun. (2) For child, baby, animal, and the names of animals generally unless the sex is emphasised. (3) For an Infinitive or an Infinitive Phrase; as To take plenty of exercise is as necessary as it is pleasant. (4) For a clause or sentence; as He is surely innocent; everyone believes it. (5) As preparatory or grammatical Subject when the real or logical Subject comes after the Verb; as It will kill them to get wet. It is reported that the prince is dead. (6) Impersonally; as It is raining. 224. The too frequent use of it for Neuter Nouns may be avoided (1) By a repetition of the Noun; as He had defended the genuineness of a spurious book simply because Christchurch had put forth an edition of that book [not it]. It seemed not improbable that at such a moment an insurrection might be successful. An insurrection [not it] was planned. The sense shows that in the first sentence it could stand for book only, and in the second for insurrection only; yet in both cases Macaulay preferred to repeat the Nouns. N The following sentence would be improved by repetition of the Noun: I am ready to take off my hat to science in the right place, but at church I want what it [say science] cannot give me. Repetition is sometimes disagreeable and tends to enfeeble lan. guage, but it is always preferable to obscurity.'-COBBETT, Grammar, $ 273. The following extract shows how little a careful writer like Matthew Arnold feared repetition : In literature we have present and prepared to form us the best which has been thought and said in the world. Our business is to get at this best and to know it well. But even to understand the thing we are dealing with and to choose the best in it we need a guide, a clue. The literature most accessible to all of us, touching us most nearly, is our own literature, English literature. To get at the best in English literature and to know the best well nothing can be more helpful to us than a guide who will show us in clear view the growth of our literature, its series of productions and their relative value. If such a guide is good and trustworthy his instructions cannot be too widely brought into use, too diligently studied, too thoroughly fixed in the mind. 225. The too frequent use of it for Neuter Nouns may be avoided (2) By re-arranging the sentence. In the sentence Her hand was so severely injured that unless she has the forefinger amputated she will entirely lose the use of it the statement made is absurd. Her forefinger is to be amputated in order to save it! The writer's meaning would clearly appear if the sentence were re-arranged thus :— Her hand was so severely injured that she will entirely lose the use of it unless she has her forefinger amputated. (3) By simply omitting it. (4) By the use of a Relative. The sentence Knowledge comes from study; it therefore ought to be pursued has two possible meanings. One is made clear by the omission of it and the insertion of and Knowledge comes from study and therefore ought to be pursued. |