The Century Handbook of Writing Part 29

4. I feel ---- (giddy, giddily). Your rose looks ---- (sweet, sweetly). No perfume smells so ---- (dainty, daintily).

5. That salad tastes ---- (good, well). I feel ---- (bad, badly) today. Your voice sounds ---- (good, well) and ----(familiar, familiarly).

=A Word in a Double Capacity=

=57. Do not use a verb, conjunction, preposition, or noun in a double capacity when one of the uses is ungrammatical.=

Wrong [verb]: An opera house was built in one part of town, and two churches in another.

Right: An opera house was built in one part of town, and two churches were built in another.

Wrong [verb]: He always has and will do it.

Right: He always has done it, and always will do it.

Wrong [conjunction]: He was as old, if not older, than any other man in the community.

Right: He was as old as any other man in the community, if not older.

Wrong [preposition]: He was fond and diligent in work.

Right: He was fond of work and diligent in it.

Wrong [noun]: He is one of the most skilful, if not the most skilful, tennis players in the state.

Right: He is one of the most skilful tennis players in the state, if not the most skilful.

Exercise:

1. He is as old, if not older, than she is.

2. Two boats were in the water, and one on the sh.o.r.e.

3. From childhood he has, and to old age he will, have many hobbies.

4. A visit to a ten cent store is better, or at least as good, as a visit to a circus. You see as many or more queer things than in any show.

5. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, secrets in keeping our health, is to keep our teeth in good condition. A famous physician said that one of the next, if not the very next, marked advance in medical science will be through discoveries in the realm of dentistry.

Parts of Speech, Other Grammatical Terms, Conjugation

The Parts of Speech and Their Uses

=Noun.= A noun is a name. It may be =proper= (_Philip Watkins_), or =common=. Common nouns may be =concrete= (_man_, _windmill_), or =abstract= (_grat.i.tude_, _nearness_). =A= noun applied to a group is said to be =collective= (_family_, _race_). The uses of a noun =are=: to serve as the subject of a verb, to serve as the object of a verb or a preposition, to be in apposition with another noun (Jenkins, our _coach_), to indicate possession (_Joseph's_ coat of many colors); and less frequently, to serve as an adjective (the _brick_ sidewalk) or adverb (John went _home_), and to indicate direct address (_Jehovah_, help us!).

=p.r.o.noun.= A p.r.o.noun is a word which takes the place of a noun.

It may be =personal= (_I_, _thou_, _you_, _he_, _she_, _it_, _we_, _they_), =relative= (_who_, _which_, _what_, _that_, _as_, and compounds _whoever_, _whichsoever_, etc.), =interrogative= (_who_, _which_, _what_), =demonstrative= (_this_, _that_, _these_, _those_), or =indefinite= (_some_, _any_, _one_, _each_, _either_, _neither_, _none_, _few_, _all_, _both_, etc.).

Strictly speaking, the last two groups, demonstratives and indefinites, are adjectives used as p.r.o.nouns. Certain p.r.o.nouns are also used as adjectives, notably the =possessives= (_my_, _his_, _their_, etc.) and the relative or interrogative _which_ and _what_. The addition of _-self_ to a personal p.r.o.noun forms a =reflexive p.r.o.noun= or =intensive= (I blamed _myself_. You _yourself_ are at fault). A noun for which the p.r.o.noun stands is called the =antecedent=. The uses of p.r.o.nouns are in general the same as those of nouns. In addition, relatives serve as connectives (the man _who_ spoke), interrogatives ask questions (_what_ man?), and demonstratives point out (_that_ man).

=Verb.= A verb is a word or word-group which makes an a.s.sertion about the subject. It may express either action or mere existence. It may be =transitive= (_trans_ meaning "across"; hence action carried across, requiring a receiver of the act; Brutus _stabbed_ Caesar; Caesar is _stabbed_) or =intransitive= (not requiring a receiver of the act: Montgomery _fell_). Its meaning is dependent upon its voice, mode, and tense. Voice shows the relationship between the subject and the a.s.sertion made by the verb. The =active voice= shows the subject as actor (They _elected_ Washington); the =pa.s.sive voice=, as acted upon (Washington _was elected_). (A transitive verb may be active or pa.s.sive, but an intransitive verb has no voice.) Mode indicates the manner of predicating an action, whether as a.s.sertion, condition, command, etc. There are three modes in English. The =indicative mode= affirms or denies (He _went_. She _did not dance_.) The =subjunctive= expresses condition or wish (If he _were_ older, he would be wiser. Would that I _were_ there!).

The =imperative= expresses command or exhortation (_Remain_ there. _Go!_ _Let_ us pray). =Modal auxiliaries= with these three modes form =modal aspects= of the verb. There are as many different aspects as there are auxiliaries. Aspects are sometimes spoken of as separate modes or called collectively the "potential mode." Tense expresses the time of the action or existence. The tenses are the =present=, the =past=, the =future= (employing the auxiliaries _shall_ and _will_), the =perfect= (employing _have_), the =past perfect= (employing _had_), and the =future perfect= (employing _shall have_ and _will have_).

=Verbals= are certain forms of the verb used as other parts of speech (noun, adjective, adverb). For the verbal forms, infinitive, gerund, and participle, see the separate headings.

=Adjective.= An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or p.r.o.noun. An adjective may be =attributive= (_bright_ sun, _cool-headed_ adventurers) or =predicate= (The field is _broad_.

The meat tastes _bad_. I want this _ready_ by Christmas).

Adjectives a.s.sume three forms known as degrees of comparison.

The =positive degree= indicates the simple quality of the object without reference to any other. The =comparative degree= indicates that two objects are compared (Stanley is the _older_ brother). The =superlative degree= indicates that three or more objects are compared (Stanley is the _oldest_ child in the family) or that the speaker feels great interest or emotion (A _most excellent_ record). Ordinarily _er_ or _r_ is added to the positive to form the comparative, and _est_ or _st_ to the positive to form the superlative (brave, braver, bravest). But some adjectives (sometimes those of two, and always those of more than two, syllables) prefix _more_ (or _less_) to the positive to form the comparative, and _most_ (or _least_) to the positive to form the superlative (beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful). Some adjectives express qualities that do not permit comparison (_dead_, _four-sided_, _unique_).

=Adverb.= An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb (She played _well_; _unusually_ handsome; _very_ sternly); or, more rarely, a verbal noun (Walking _fast_ is good for the health), a preposition (The ship drifted _almost_ upon the breakers), or a conjunction (It came _just_ when we wished). Certain adverbs (_fatally_, _entirely_) do not logically admit of comparison. Those that do are compared like adjectives of more than two syllables (_slowly_, _more_ or _less slowly_, _most_ or _least slowly_).

=Preposition.= A preposition is a connective _placed before_ a substantive (called its object) in order to subordinate the substantive to some other word in a sentence (The boast _of_ heraldry, the pomp _of_ power. He ran _toward_ the enemy _without_ fear).

=Conjunction.= A conjunction is a word used to _join together_ words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. A =coordinate conjunction= connects elements of equal rank (See 36). =Correlative conjunctions= are conjunctions used in pairs (See 31). A =subordinate conjunction= is one that connects elements unequal in rank (See 36). When a conjunction, in addition to its function as a connective, indicates a relation of time, place, or cause, it is often called a =conjunctive adverb= or =relative adverb=.

=Interjection.= An interjection is a word _thrown into_ speech to express emotion. It has no grammatical connection with other words. (_Oh_, is that it? _Well_, I'll do it. _Hark!_)

=Other Grammatical Terms=

=Absolute expression.= An expression (usually composed of a substantive and a participle, perhaps with modifiers) which, though not formally and grammatically joined, is in thought related to the remainder of the sentence. (_The relief party having arrived_, we went home. _This disposed of_, the council proceeded to other matters. _Defeated_, he was not dismayed.)

=Antecedent.= A substantive to which a p.r.o.noun or participle refers. Literally, _antecedent_ means _that which goes before_; but sometimes the antecedent follows the dependent word. (The _man_ who hesitates is lost. Entering the store, _we_ saw a barrel of apples.) _Man_ is the antecedent of the p.r.o.noun _who_, and _we_ is the antecedent of the participle _entering_.

=Auxiliary.= _Be_, _have_, _do_, _shall_, _will_, _ought_, _may_, _can_, _must_, _might_, _could_, _would_, _should_, etc., when used with participles and infinitives of other verbs, are called auxiliary verbs.

=Case.= The relation of a substantive to other words in the sentence as shown by inflectional form or position. The subject of a verb, or the predicate of the verb _to be_, is in the nominative case. The object of a verb or preposition, or the "a.s.sumed subject" of an infinitive, is in the objective case. A noun or p.r.o.noun which denotes possession is in the possessive case.

=Clause.= A portion of a sentence which contains a subject and a verb, perhaps with modifiers. The following sentence contains one dependent (subordinate) and one independent (princ.i.p.al) clause: _When the storm ceased, the grove was a ruin_.

=Conjugation.= The inflectional changes in the verb to indicate person, number, tense, voice, mode, and modal aspect.

=Declension.= The changes in a noun, p.r.o.noun, or adjective to indicate person, number, or case.

=Ellipsis, elliptical expression.= An expression partially incomplete, so that words have to be understood to complete the meaning. An idea or relation corresponding to the omitted words is present, at least vaguely, in the mind of the speaker.

Elliptical sentences are usually justifiable except when the reader cannot instantly supply the understood words. Examples of proper ellipses: You are as tall as I [am tall]. Is your sister coming? I think [my sister is] not [coming]. I will go if you will [go]. [I give you] Thanks for your advice.

=Gerund.= A verbal in _-ing_ used as a noun. (I do not object to your _telling_. His _having deserted_ us makes little difference.) The gerund may be regarded as a special form of the infinitive.

=Infinitive.= A verbal ordinarily introduced by _to_ and used as a noun (_To err_ is human). In such sentences as "The road to follow is the river road," _follow_ may be regarded as the noun of a phrase (compare _the road to Mandalay_), or the entire phrase may be regarded as an adjective. Similarly, in "He hastened to comply," _comply_ may be regarded as a noun or _to comply_ as an adverb. After certain verbs (_bid_, _dare_, _help_, _make_, _need_, etc.) the _to_ is omitted from the infinitive group. (He bids me _go_. I need not _hesitate_.)

=Inflection.= Change in the form of a word to show a modification or shade of meaning. At a very early period in our language there was a separate form for practically every modification.

Although separate forms are now less numerous, _inflection_ is still a convenient term in grammar. Its scope is general: it includes the declension of nouns, the comparison of adjectives and adverbs, and the conjugation of verbs.

=Modify.= To be grammatically dependent upon and to limit or alter the quality of. In the expression "The very old man,"

_the_ and _old_ modify _man_, and _very_ modifies _old_.

=Participle.= A verbal used as an adjective, or as an adjective with adverbial qualities. In the sentence "Mary, being oldest, is also the best liked," _being oldest_ refers exclusively, or almost exclusively, to the subject and is therefore adjectival.