Plain English Part 86

Law, martyr, society, education, inventor, commander, freedom, Eugene V. Debs, Karl Marx, Kaiser Wilhelm, The Balkan, Lawrence, Colorado, Calumet.

ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION

+399.+ We have found that every word in a sentence bears some relation to every other word, except these words which we have been studying, which we use independently. These explanatory words which we have just been studying are not used independently, but do in a sense modify the noun with which they are placed in apposition. Sometimes we place a noun or a p.r.o.noun and its modifiers alongside the whole sentence and it does not really modify any part of the sentence, but modifies the whole sentence in a way, for it expresses an attendant thought or an accompanying circ.u.mstance. For example:

The workers being unorganized, the strike was easily defeated.

The strikers having won, work was resumed on their terms.

_The workers being unorganised_ and _the strikers having won_ are not clauses for they do not contain a verb. _Being unorganized_ and _having won_ are participles. Neither do they modify any word in the sentence.

They are not placed in apposition with any other word. While they do express a thought in connection with the sentence, in construction they seem to be cut loose from the rest of the sentence; that is, they are not closely connected with the sentence, hence they are called absolute constructions. _Ab_ means from, and _solute_, loose; so this means, literally, loose from the rest of the sentence.

We speak of these as absolute constructions, instead of independent, because the thought expressed is connected with the main thought of the sentence and is really a part of it. Notice that the noun used in the absolute construction is not the _subject_ of the sentence.

Take the sentence, _The workers being unorganized, the strike was_ _easily defeated_, the noun _strike_ is the subject of the sentence, and the noun _workers_ is used in the absolute construction with the participle, _being unorganized_.

These absolute constructions can ordinarily be rewritten into adverb clauses. For example, this sentence might read: _The strike was easily defeated because the workers were unorganized_. Do not make the mistake of rewriting your sentences and using the noun in the absolute construction as the subject of the sentence. For example:

The workers, being unorganized, were easily defeated.

This is not the meaning of this sentence. The meaning of the sentence is that the _strike_ was easily defeated _because_ the workers were unorganized. But the adverb clause, _because the workers were unorganized_, instead of being written as an adverb clause, has been written in the absolute construction, _the workers being unorganized_.

While it is nearly always possible to change these absolute constructions into adverb clauses the sentences are sometimes weakened by the change. These absolute constructions often enable us to make a statement in a stronger manner than we could make it with a clause or in any other way.

Exercise 7

In the following sentences, note the groups of words which are used in absolute construction. Rewrite these sentences and if possible change these words used in absolute construction into equivalent adverb phrases or clauses. Note how some of the sentences are weakened when you make this change.

1. _Nationalism having been taught to generation after generation_, the workers obeyed the call of the master cla.s.s to slaughter their fellow workers.

2. _The hour having arrived_, Ferrer was blindfolded and led forth to die.

3. _The ma.s.s being without education_, capitalism gains an easy victory.

4. _The cla.s.s struggle being a fact_, why should we hesitate to join our cla.s.s?

5. _These facts being true_, such a conclusion is inevitable.

6. _Darwin having stated the theory of evolution_, Marx applied its principles to social science.

7. _Chattel slavery having been destroyed_, wage-slavery became the corner stone of capitalism.

8. _The price having been paid_, we claim our own.

9. _The battle ended_, the army left the trenches.

Exercise 8

Mark the interjections in the following quotations. Note the independent constructions. Mark the words used as explanatory words in apposition.

In the mind's eye, I see a wonderful building, something like the Coliseum of ancient Rome. The galleries are black with people; tier upon tier rise like waves the mult.i.tude of spectators who have come to see a great contest. A great contest, indeed! A contest in which all the world and all the centuries are interested. It is the contest--the fight to death--between Truth and Error.

The door opens, and a slight, small, shy and insignificant looking thing steps into the arena. It is Truth. The vast audience bursts into hilarious and derisive laughter. What! Is this Truth? This shuddering thing in tattered clothes, and almost naked? And the house shakes again with mocking and hisses.

The door opens again, and Error enters--clad in cloth of gold, imposing in appearance, tall of stature, glittering with gems, sleek and huge and ponderous, causing the building to tremble with the thud of its steps. The audience is for a moment dazzled into silence, then it breaks into applause, long and deafening. "Welcome!" "Welcome!" is the greeting from the mult.i.tude. "Welcome!" shout ten thousand throats.

The two contestants face each other. Error, in full armor--backed by the sympathies of the audience, greeted by the clamorous cheering of the spectators; and Truth, scorned, scoffed at, and hated. "The issue is a foregone conclusion," murmurs the vast audience. "Error will trample Truth under its feet."

The battle begins. The two clinch, separate, and clinch again. Truth holds its own. The spectators are alarmed. Anxiety appears in their faces. Their voices grow faint. Is it possible? Look! See! There!

Error recedes! It fears the gaze of Truth! It shuns its beauteous eyes! Hear it shriek and scream as it feels Truth's squeeze upon its wrists. Error is trying to break away from Truth's grip. It is making for the door. It is gone!

The spectators are mute. Every tongue is smitten with the palsy. The people bite their lips until they bleed. They cannot explain what they have seen. "Oh! who would have believed it?" "Is it possible?"--they exclaim. But they cannot doubt what their eyes have seen--that puny and insignificant looking thing called Truth has put ancient and entrenched Error, backed by the throne, the altar, the army, the press, the people and the G.o.ds--to rout.

The pursuit of truth! Is it not worth living for? To seek the truth, to love the truth, to live the truth? Can any religion offer more?--_Mangasarian_.

SPELLING

LESSON 23

Many words contain letters for which there are no corresponding sounds in the spoken words. Thus, in the spoken word _though_ there are only two sounds, the _th_ and the _o_; _u_ and _g_ and _h_ are silent. There are a great many words in the English language which contain these silent letters. There has been a movement inaugurated for the purpose of simplifying the spelling of these words, omitting these silent letters.

Some writers have adopted this method of simplified spelling, and so in some magazines and books which you read you will find these silent letters dropped; for example, you will find _though_ spelled _tho_, _through_ spelled _thru_.

This method of simplified spelling has not been universally adopted and we have not followed it in these lessons because we feared that it would be confusing. Probably in most of your reading you will find the old method of spelling followed and all of these silent letters included. No doubt, as time goes on, we shall adopt this simplified method of spelling and drop all of these silent and useless letters.

In our spelling lesson for this week we have a number of words containing silent letters.

+MONDAY+

In a number of words you will find _ea_ p.r.o.nounced as short _e_. The board of simplified spelling has suggested that we drop the _a_, which is a silent letter, from these words. If we adopted their suggestion, words like _head_ would be spelled _hed_. Note the spelling of the following words in which _ea_ is p.r.o.nounced as short _e_ and the _a_ is silent.

Spread, stead, threat, meant, pleasant, stealth.

+TUESDAY+

We have a number of words ending in _ough_ in which the _gh_ is silent.

1. In some of these words the _ou_ is p.r.o.nounced like _ow_. We have already changed the spelling of a few of these words, for example, we no longer use _plough_, but write it _plow_.

2. In other words ending with _ough_ the _ugh_ is silent and the words end with a long _o_ sound, as in _though_. Many writers have dropped the silent letters ugh and spell this simply _tho_.

3. A few other words ending with _ough_ end with a _u_ sound and those who adopt the simplified spelling have dropped the _ough_ and used simply _u_, as in _through_; many writers spell it simply _thru_.

Observe the spelling of the following words and mark the silent letters:

Bough, through, thorough, furlough, borough, though.

+WEDNESDAY+

We have a number of words ending in _mn_ in which the _n_ is silent.