Business English Part 70

5. The arrangement of your flat is much more convenient than our house.

6. The number of shelves in your sideboard is just the same as our china closet.

7. I think the articles you ordered will arrive as soon or sooner than you expect.

8. She is as tall or taller than you.

9. When your message arrived, I had already or at least had decided to begin cutting the goods.

10. It may not be better but it is fully as good as the other article.

11. I think you cook fully as well if not better than your sister.

12. His poems hold a place in our hearts second only to the Bible.

13. Your idea is as good if not better than mine.

14. We decided to make the change both for the sake of health and economy.

15. You will find the armchair fully as comfortable, if not more so, than the rocker.

16. The river is where we had the most fun.

17. I know you better than Mary.

18. She went to the park but I didn't care to.

19. We didn't object to the scheme as much as you.

20. A conservatory is where there are all kinds of flowers.

=Exercise 206--Shift in Construction=

Sometimes the meaning of the sentence is obscure because there has been a shift in construction. Do not change subject, person, tense, or any grammatical form without a good reason. Remember that _and_ is a coordinate conjunction. If there is an adjective before _and_, there must be an adjective after it. If a clause precedes, a clause must follow. In other words, _and_ joins two members of exactly the same structure. _And_ may not join one word and a phrase, nor may it join a prepositional and a participial phrase. Both members must be alike. In the following extract, parallel constructions are used correctly. Be able to tell what kinds of elements are used and how they are parallel.

To eat your cake and keep it too; to wear a gown with the air of originality and distinction, and keep a full purse; to have your house display taste and refinement, and be praised as an economical housewife; to dress your children daintily, and save money for their education--use ABC transfer patterns. By their aid you can make an inexpensive waist look like a French blouse, have table linen of unrivaled elegance, and dress your babies in the most approved style.

These patterns cost,--some ten, some fifteen cents.

They cover the entire field of dress,--waists, tunics, panels, infants' clothes, underwear, men's apparel, and neckwear; and of household articles,--towels, table-linen, and pillow tops.

Recast the following sentences, correcting the shift of construction in each:

1. In the large department stores every clerk is to report on her way to lunch and coming back.

2. When one hears a cry of "Fire," your first thought is to run.

3. He seemed fond of his work and to have skill in doing it quickly.

4. I decided on taking the trip and to keep my expenses within fifty dollars if possible.

5. X Y Z Cleaner is good for softening water and other household uses.

6. Because of the rise in the price of meats and owing to the fact that grocers charge more for b.u.t.ter and eggs, people find it hard to live.

7. The office is well-heated and with plenty of light.

8. The crowds began to watch the fire and cheering loudly.

9. I heard the opera last year and have gone again this year.

10. It was wonderful to see how fast they worked and their accuracy.

11. I can't decide whether to take up stenography or if bookkeeping is better.

12. He taught us the principles of letter writing, and somewhat of advertising was taken up.

13. Hoping that the work progressed, and unless a landslide occurred, the Americans expected to remove 5,000,000 cubic yards each year.

14. The study of the earth has always been stimulated by two fundamental pa.s.sions of humanity--a desire for wealth and because of their curiosity.

15. He insists on our taking the trip and to go without further delay.

16. In reviewing, it is well to go over each part of the course carefully, and you should make a note of every point which you do not understand, and let each ask those questions which he himself cannot answer.

17. Mr. Fitzmorris is a man of great technical skill and who has handled the situation capably.

18. It will cost her hundreds of dollars to make the trip East and spending the requisite length of time choosing her purchases at the different wholesale houses.

19. He had a.s.sumed control of the office, planned the advertising, and the finances were also directed by him.

20. We have decided to go on the excursion to the Capitol and at the same time visiting Uncle John.

=Exercise 207=

What prevents clearness in the following?

1. The Federal Government began an investigation into fire conditions in Europe in 1907, through our consuls.

2. It cost $2.39 a year for fire in the United States between 1901 and 1910, for every man, woman, and child, and Germany does not even pay nineteen cents.

3. The number of our fires is increasing, which is worse.

4. In ten years our population has increased 73 per cent and 134 per cent is the increase in fires.

5. Having considered the details, the conclusion is easily drawn that fire is a disgrace.

6. He only gets to the office at ten o'clock.