How to Write Clearly Part 3

*N.B. In all styles, especially in letter-writing, a final emphasis must not be so frequent as to become obtrusive and monotonous.*

*15 b. An interrogation sometimes gives emphasis.* "No one can doubt that the prisoner, had he been really guilty, would have shown some signs of remorse," is not so emphatic as "Who can doubt, Is it possible to doubt, &c.?"

Contrast "No one ever names Wentworth without thinking of &c." with "But Wentworth,--who ever names him without thinking of those harsh dark features, enn.o.bled by their expression into more than the majesty of an antique Jupiter?"

*16. The subject, if unusually emphatic, should often be removed from the beginning of the sentence.* The beginning of the sentence is an emphatic position, though mostly not so emphatic as the end. Therefore the princ.i.p.al subject of a sentence, being emphatic, and being wanted early in the sentence to tell us what the sentence is about, comes as a rule, at or near the beginning: "_Thomas_ built this house."

Hence, since the beginning is the _usual_ place for the subject, if we want to emphasize "Thomas" _unusually_, we must remove "Thomas" from the beginning: "This house was built by _Thomas_," or "It was _Thomas_ that built this house."

Thus, the emphasis on "conqueror" is not quite so strong in "_A mere conqueror_ ought not to obtain from us the reverence that is due to the great benefactors of mankind," as in "We ought not to bestow the reverence that is due to the great benefactors of mankind, _upon a mere conqueror_." Considerable, but less emphasis and greater smoothness (19) will be obtained by writing the sentence thus: "We ought not to bestow upon a mere conqueror &c."

Where the same subject stands first in several consecutive sentences, it rises in emphasis, and need not be removed from the beginning, even though unusual emphasis be required:

"The captain was the life and soul of the expedition. _He_ first pointed out the possibility of advancing; _he_ warned them of the approaching scarcity of provisions; _he_ showed how they might replenish their exhausted stock &c."

*17. The object is sometimes placed before the verb for emphasis.*

This is most common in ant.i.thesis. "_Jesus_ I know, and _Paul_ I know; but who are ye?" "_Some_ he imprisoned, _others_ he put to death."

Even where there is no ant.i.thesis the inversion is not uncommon:

"Military _courage_, the boast of the sottish German, of the frivolous and prating Frenchman, of the romantic and arrogant Spaniard, he neither possesses nor values."

This inversion sometimes creates ambiguity in poetry, _e.g._ "The son the father slew," and must be sparingly used in prose.

Sometimes the position of a word may be considered appropriate by some, and inappropriate by others, according to different interpretations of the sentence. Take as an example, "Early in the morning the n.o.bles and gentlemen who attended on the king a.s.sembled in the great hall of the castle; and here they began to talk of what a dreadful storm it had been the night before. But Macbeth could scarcely understand what they said, for he was thinking of something worse." The last sentence has been amended by Professor Bain into "_What they said_, Macbeth could scarcely understand." But there appears to be an ant.i.thesis between the guiltless n.o.bles who can think about the weather, and the guilty Macbeth who cannot. Hence, "what they said" ought not, and "Macbeth" ought, to be emphasized: and therefore "Macbeth" ought to be retained at the beginning of the sentence.

The same author alters, "The praise of judgment Virgil has justly contested with him, but his invention remains yet unrivalled," into "Virgil has justly contested with him the praise of judgment, but no one has yet rivalled his invention"--an alteration which does not seem to emphasize sufficiently the ant.i.thesis between what had been 'contested,' on the one hand, and what remained as yet 'unrivalled' on the other.

More judiciously Professor Bain alters, "He that tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he undertakes; for he must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain one," into "for, to maintain one, he must invent twenty more," putting the emphatic words in their emphatic place, at the end.

*18. Where several words are emphatic, make it clear which is the most emphatic.* Thus, in "The state was made, under the pretence of serving it, in reality the prize of their contention to each of these opposite parties," it is unpleasantly doubtful whether the writer means (1) _state_ or (2) _parties_ to be emphatic.

If (1), "As for the _state_, these two parties, under the pretence of serving it, converted it into a prize for their contention." If (2), write, "Though served in profession, the state was in reality converted into a prize for their contention by these two _parties_."

In (1) _parties_ is subordinated, in (2) _state_.

Sometimes the addition of some intensifying word serves to emphasize.

Thus, instead of "To effect this they used all devices," we can write "To effect this they used _every conceivable device_." So, if we want to emphasize fidelity in "The business will task your skill and fidelity," we can write "Not only your skill _but also_ your fidelity." This, however, sometimes leads to exaggerations. See (2).

Sometimes ant.i.thesis gives emphasis, as in "You _do_ not know this, but you _shall_ know it." Where ant.i.thesis cannot be used, the emphasis must be expressed by turning the sentence, as "I _will make you_ know it," or by some addition, as "You shall _hereafter_ know it."

*19. Words should be as near as possible to the words with which they are grammatically connected.* See Paragraphs 20 to 29. For exceptions see 30.

*20. Adverbs should be placed next to the words they are intended to affect.* When unemphatic, adverbs come between the subject and the verb, or, if the tense is compound, between the parts of the compound tense: "He _quickly_ left the room;" "He has _quickly_ left the room;"

but, when emphatic, after the verb: "He left, or has left, the room _quickly_."[10] When such a sentence as the latter is followed by a present participle, there arises ambiguity. "I told him to go slowly, but he left the room _quickly_, dropping the purse on the floor." Does _quickly_ here modify _left_ or _dropping_? The remedy[11] is, to give the adverb its unemphatic place, "He _quickly_ left the room, dropping &c.," or else to avoid the participle, thus: "He _quickly_ dropped the purse and left the room," or "He dropped the purse and _quickly_ left the room."

*21. "Only" requires careful use. The strict[12] rule is, that "only"

should be placed before the word affected by it.*

The following is ambiguous:

"The heavens are not open to the faithful _only_ at intervals."

The best rule is to avoid placing "only" between two emphatic words, and to avoid using "only" where "alone" can be used instead.

In strictness perhaps the three following sentences:

(1) He _only_ beat three,

(2) He beat _only_ three,

(3) He beat three _only_, ought to be explained, severally, thus:

(1) He did no more than beat, did not kill, three.

(2) He beat no more than three.

(3) He beat three, and that was all he did. (Here _only_ modifies the whole of the sentence and depreciates the action.)

But the best authors sometimes transpose the word. "He _only_ lived"

ought to mean "he did not die or make any great sacrifice;" but "He _only_ lived but till he was a man" (_Macbeth_, v. 8. 40) means "He lived _only_ till he was a man." Compare also, "Who _only_ hath immortality."

_Only_ at the beginning of a statement = _but_. "I don't like to importune you, _only_ I know you'll forgive me." Before an imperative it diminishes the favour asked: "_Only_ listen to me." This use of _only_ is mostly confined to letters.

Very often, _only_ at the beginning of a sentence is used for _alone_: "_Only_ ten came," "_Only_ Caesar approved." _Alone_ is less ambiguous.

The ambiguity of _only_ is ill.u.s.trated by such a sentence as, "Don't hesitate to bring a few friends of yours to shoot on my estate at any time. _Only_ five (fifteen) came yesterday," which might mean, "I don't mind a _few_; _only_ don't bring so many as _fifteen_;" or else "Don't hesitate to bring a few _more_; no more than _five_ came yesterday." In conversation, ambiguity is prevented by emphasis; but in a letter, _only_ thus used might cause unfortunate mistakes. Write "Yesterday _only_ five came," if you mean "no more than five."

*22. When "not only" precedes "but also," see that each is followed by the same part of speech.*

"He _not only_ gave me advice _but also_ help" is wrong. Write "He gave me, _not only_ advice, _but also_ help." On the other hand, "He _not only_ gave me a grammar, _but also_ lent me a dictionary," is right. Take an instance. "He spoke _not only_ forcibly _but also_ tastefully (adverbs), and this too, _not only_ before a small audience, _but also_ in (prepositions) a large public meeting, and his speeches were _not only_ successful, _but also_ (adjective) worthy of success."

*23. "At least," "always," and other adverbial adjuncts, sometimes produce ambiguity.*

"I think you will find my Latin exercise, _at all events_, as good as my cousin's." Does this mean (1) "my Latin exercise, though not perhaps my other exercises;" or (2), "Though not very good, yet, at all events, as good as my cousin's"? Write for (1), "My Latin exercise, at all events, you will find &c." and for (2), "I think you will find my Latin exercise as good as my cousin's, at all events."

The remedy is to avoid placing "at all events" between two emphatic words.

As an example of the misplacing of an adverbial adjunct, take "From abroad he received most favourable reports, but in the City he heard that a panic had broken out on the Exchange, and that the funds were fast falling." This ought to mean that the "hearing," and not (as is intended) that the "breaking out of the panic," took place in the City.

In practice, an adverb is often used to qualify a remote word, where the latter is _more emphatic than any nearer word_. This is very common when the Adverbial Adjunct is placed in an emphatic position at the beginning of the sentence: "_On this very spot_ our guide declared that Claverhouse had fallen."