THE ADVERBIAL CLAUSE OF CONCESSION
=Function.=--In the compound sentence,--“The whale is not a fish, but
we speak of the ‘whale fishery,’” we have joined two thoughts which
are opposed to each other, but we have made them of equal importance.
Now, if we wish to make one of them more prominent, and at the same
time indicate that it is true in spite of the other, we construct our
sentence as follows,--“The whale is not a fish _though_ we speak of the
‘whale fishery.’”
Here the main thought is _the whale is not a fish_, and by the form
in which we have expressed the other thought, we have shown not
only that there is an opposition between the two thoughts,--which
was likewise shown in the compound sentence,--but also that it is
strange that the two thoughts are true at the same time when they
seem mutually contradictory. This second sentence is complex, and the
dependent proposition is an adverbial clause of concession. It does
not necessarily indicate that two thoughts are opposed to each other;
sometimes they only stand in contrast; as, “While (= _though_) his
fame rests on his Meditations, as that of David rests upon his Psalms,
he yet rendered great military service to The Empire.”--_Lord._
We may define a concessive clause as one that concedes or grants
something in contrast or opposition to what is expressed in the
principal proposition. It modifies a verb or a verb with modifiers. It
varies but little in function, the slight variations being indicated by
the choice of the introductory word.
* * * * *
=Introductory Word.=--1. _Though_ or _although_. This is the
conjunction oftenest used; indeed, all the other words or phrases used
are more or less equivalent to it in meaning. _Albeit_ was formerly
much used, and we occasionally find it in poetry now, but it is very
seldom used in spoken English or in ordinary prose composition.
2. _Whether_.--This word with its correlative _or_ is used when we wish
to say that a thing is true in spite of two other facts or conditions
which are contrary to each other; as, “The balconies are always
charming, _whether they hang high over the streets or look out upon the
canals_.”--_Howells._
3. The indefinite pronouns _whoever_, _whatever_, _whichever_; the
adjectives _whatever_ and _whichever_; and the adverb _however_. These
words signify that the clause is to be taken in its widest possible
application; as, “_Upon whatever career you may enter_, intellectual
quickness, industry, and the power of bearing fatigue are three great
advantages.”--_Huxley._ Here the clause means,--though you may enter
_upon any career whatsoever_.
4. _No matter._--This phrase together with the adverb _how_ is a
frequent substitute for the connective _however_. It emphasizes the
scope of the clause and thus makes the opposition between the principal
proposition and the clause seem greater; thus, “The guns can be fired
in any direction, _no matter how the ship is lying_.”
5. _While._--In some sentences this is nearly equivalent to _though_;
in others it carries with it an idea of time as well as concession;
thus, “Both Charles himself and his creature Laud, _while they
abjured the innocent badges of popery_, retained all its worst
vices.”--_Macaulay._
6. _If_.--When the adversative relation between the two propositions
is perfectly clear without being indicated by the connective, _if_ or
_even if_ may be employed in the place of _though_. A concessive clause
so introduced must not be confounded with the clause of condition. In
the latter _if_ can be changed to _provided_; in the former _if_ is
equivalent to _though_; for example, “_If the scenery failed to charm_,
the names of places did not fail to astonish us.”--_Bolles._
7. _Notwithstanding_ or _notwithstanding that_.--The former of
these is more frequently met with as a preposition introducing a
concessive phrase and meaning about the same as _in spite of_; thus,
“_Notwithstanding the increasing illness of his sister_, he was able
to enjoy some cheerful society.”--_Ainger._ But sentences like the
following are not uncommon,--“_Notwithstanding the wind was favorable
to each alike_, both vessels had deviated from the direct line and were
steering toward a common center.”--_Cooper._
8. A common form of the concessive clause is one in which an adjective,
a verb, an adverb, or a noun comes first, followed sometimes by
_though_, oftener by _as_. This order of words arises from our desire
to make prominent or emphatic some particular attribute; as, “_Strange
as it may appear_, even the baron’s jokes seemed only to render him
the more melancholy.”--_Irving._ Here the attribute _strange_ is
emphasized. That such a clause is only an ordinary clause of concession
transposed for a special purpose, with as substituted for _though_,
becomes evident by comparing it with the clause in the following,--
“Thy brow,
_Glorious in beauty though it be_, is scarred
With tokens of old wars.”--_Bryant._
Transposing this clause to the natural order, we have, “though it be
glorious in beauty.”
In sentences containing a concessive clause the principal proposition
is sometimes introduced by _yet_, a correlative of the connective in
the clause. _Yet_ is often used when the clause comes first and is
long. It is useful in calling attention to the fact that the concession
has all been stated, gathering it up, as it were, into one word before
the principal statement is made.
Exercise 17
Dispose of all concessive clauses in the following sentences.
1. The Icelanders say that “Iceland is the best land the sun shines
on,” though the sun scarcely shines enough to melt the ice in
summer.--_Munger._
2. No man, whatever his sensibility may be, is ever affected by
Hamlet or Lear, as a little girl is affected by the story of poor
Red-Ridinghood.--_Macaulay._
3. If they were unacquainted with the works of philosophers and
poets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God. If their names
were not found in the registers of heralds, they were recorded in
the Book of Life. If their steps were not accompanied by a splendid
train of menials, legions of ministering angels had charge over
them.--_Macaulay._
4. And, again, while the Greeks rightly despised mechanical arts
as much as the Egyptians, they did not make the fatal mistake of
despising agricultural and pastoral life.--_Ruskin._
5. Well-advanced as Hepzibah was, she could not remember when Uncle
Venner had not gone up and down the street, stooping a little and
drawing his feet heavily over the gravel or pavement.--_Hawthorne._
6. On whichever side of the border chance had thrown Joanna, the same
love to France would have been nurtured.--_De Quincey._
7. Energetic men, whether they work or whether they play, put their
strength into the work and their strength into the play.--_Ruskin._
8. Darwin misses no step that the slow but tireless gods of physical
change have taken, no matter how they cross or retrace their
course.--_Burroughs._
9. Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet ’tis Truth alone is strong;
And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng
Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong.
--_Lowell._
10. Thought is thought, howe’er it speak or spell itself.--_Carlyle._
11. She would not marry a coward or a braggart even if he were the
owner of ten thousand acres.--_Lord._
12. Father Salvierderra always said that it was a duty to look happy,
no matter how much we might be suffering.--_H. H._