3. The great horned owl stood so erect and motionless that he
seemed a portion of the pine trunk itself.
4. Since the maples were cut down, the elms have flourished.
5. Androclus had not lain long quiet in the cavern, before he
heard a dreadful noise, which seemed to be the roar of some
wild beast, and terrified him very much.
6. Harry laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks.
7. Unless you have sat on a stone fence and beaten russet
apples soft on its hard top, you have missed one of the
greatest delicacies that the orchard gives.
8. I liked the doctor very much, for he would let me drive
around with him, and hold his horse while he made his
professional calls.
9. Fast the ivy stealeth on, though he wears no wings.
10. Even after the invitations were sent out, it seemed to
Dolly that the party day would never come.
11. The shawl doll was my favorite because it was more nearly
the size of a real baby.
12. The two young Cratchits crammed spoons into their mouths
lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be
helped.
13. A man would laugh if you told him that he had never really
seen a burdock.
Select all the verbs in the sentences above. Classify them as transitive
or intransitive. Tell their voice, mode, and tense.
=279.= Some words may be used as conjunctions, as prepositions, or as
adverbs.
=After.=
Conj.—I came _after_ you called me the second time.
Adv.—We look before and _after_, and pine for what is not.
Prep.—Let us walk to the lake _after_ school.
=Before.=
Conj.—The roosters woke me _before_ the sun rose.
Adv.—They had never seen mountains _before_.
Prep.—In winter we get up _before_ daylight.
=But.=
Conj.—I am weak, _but_ Thou art mighty.
Prep.—He relishes no fruit _but_ apples.
Adv.—We can _but_ die.
=Else.=
Conj.—You must tell the truth, _else_ you will not be trusted.
Adv.—How _else_ can we get to Berlin?
Adv.—Where _else_ shall I look for your glasses?
NOTE.—What part of speech is _else_ in the sentences, “What
_else_ can I do for you?” “Who _else_ was there?”
=For.=
Conj.—Work _for_ the night is coming.
Prep.—The faithful slave died _for_ his young master.
=Hence.=
Conj.—Smoke is coming out of the chimney, _hence_ the house
must be occupied.
Adv.—Let me go _hence_ and be no more seen.
=Only.=
Conj.—I should be glad to go, _only_ I have nothing to wear.
Adv.—I made the cake; mother _only_ baked it.
NOTE.—What part of speech is _only_ in the sentence, “Grace
is an _only_ child”?
=Since.=
Conj.—I have been happy _since_ you became my friend.
Prep.—Prices have never gone down _since_ the war.
Adv.—One day the dog disappeared, and he has never been heard
of _since_.
=So.=
Conj.—The baby monopolized her time, _so_ she withdrew from the
club.
Adv.—Don’t speak _so_ loud, Caroline.
=Till= or =Until.=
Conj.—Tarry thou _till_ I come.
Prep.—We work hard _until_ noon.
=Yet.=
Conj.—She speaks much, _yet_ she says very little.
Adv.—Has the case been settled _yet_?
Explain the use of each italicized word in the sentences above.
=280.= When we parse a preposition, we tell (1) what phrase it
introduces, and (2) what words it shows a relation between; thus, “In
the sentence, ‘I bring you tidings of great joy,’ the preposition _of_
introduces the adjective phrase _of great joy_, and shows a relation
between its object _great joy_ and the noun _tidings_.”
=Exercise.=—Parse all the conjunctions, adverbs, and prepositions in the
following sentences:—
1. Roger Conant came over from England before 1630.
2. We had a cold spell in April, so the peach crop is small.
3. Our flag was still there.
4. The barn was strongly built, so it was made over into a good
house.
5. Ours is a government of the people, for the people, and by
the people.
6. Look before you leap.
7. Years have passed since anybody remembered my birthday.
8. The poet saw the daffodils beside the lake.
9. After the boy arrived in Richmond, he slept under a sidewalk.
10. Did anybody besides Rufus go with you to Janesville?
11. Mr. Micawber would pay his debts if something would only
turn up.
12. Jill came tumbling after.
13. The turkey was steamed first, else it would not have been
so tender.
14. The fern has grown fast since Easter.
15. I can’t paint well if you look over my shoulder.
16. There is nothing to breathe but air.
17. Wait till the clouds roll by.
18. Disappointments will surely come, yet they need not crush
us.
19. I will go before the king.
20. Did you make your will before you went round the world?
LXX. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF TIME, PLACE, AND MANNER
=281.= Adverbial clauses are used in many different relations. Frequently
they denote the =time= when an action is performed; as, “When the pie was
opened, the birds began to sing.” Here the clause tells when the birds
began to sing, and hence modifies the predicate. It is joined to _began
to sing_ by the conjunctive adverb _when_.
A subordinate connective does not have to come _between_ the elements
that it joins. This enables us to put a dependent clause at the beginning
of a sentence. What is the advantage of such an arrangement?
An adverbial clause of time answers such questions as _when?_ _how
often?_ _how long?_ It is joined to what it modifies by the conjunctive
adverbs _when_, _while_, _whenever_, or by the subordinating conjunctions
_before_, _after_, _till_, _until_, _since_, _as_.
Sometimes, if the connective is _when_, and the clause comes first, we
begin the principal proposition with the simple adverb _then_, which we
call a correlative of _when_. Illustrate this.
=282.= The adverbial clause may be used to tell the =place= where some
action is performed; as, “The maid is standing with reluctant feet
where the brook and river meet.” Here the clause tells where the maid
is standing, and is joined to _is standing_ by the conjunctive adverb
_where_.
An adverbial clause of place answers such questions as _in what place?_
_to what place?_ _from what place?_ It is introduced by the conjunctive
adverbs _where_, _whence_, _whither_, _wherever_. Sometimes _there_ is
used in the principal proposition as a correlative of _where_ in the
clause. Which of these correlatives is the connective?
=283.= Frequently the =manner= of an action, the way in which it was
performed, is told by an adverbial clause; as, “Not as the conqueror
comes, they the true-hearted came.” What is the clause here? What does
it tell? What does it modify? What is the connective? What is the use of
_not_?
A clause of manner answers the question _in what way?_ It is joined to
what it modifies by the subordinate conjunction _as_, _as if_, or _as
though_. The simple adverb _so_ may be used as a correlative of _as_.
=284.= The word _like_ is never a subordinate conjunction, hence it
cannot properly be used for _as_ or _as if_. We should say, “Walk _as_
(not _like_) I do;” “She walks _as if_ she were tired (not _like_ she was
tired).” _Like_ may be used as a preposition to introduce a phrase; as,
“Elizabeth walks _like him_.”
=Exercise 1.=—Fill the blank in each of these sentences with the proper
word, and explain your choice:—
1. Mary sings —— a bird.
2. It looks —— it would rain.
3. The man speaks —— he knew his subject.
4. March came in —— a lion.
5. You knit just —— my grandmother does.
6. The children ate —— they were hungry.
7. Can you dance —— the gypsies do?
8. Plant the seeds exactly —— I told you to.
=Summary.=—An adverbial clause of =time= tells when a condition exists,
or when an action was performed.
An adverbial clause of =place= tells where a condition exists, or where
an action was performed.
An adverbial clause of =manner= tells in what way something was done.
The connectives _when_, _where_, and _as_ are sometimes accompanied by
the correlatives _then_, _there_, and _so_ respectively.
=Exercise 2.=—Select all the adverbial clauses in the following
sentences. Tell what each clause denotes, what it modifies, and what its
connective is. Study the punctuation of these sentences, and make a rule
for the punctuation of adverbial clauses:—
1. Your bicycle is a stationary bit of iron and india rubber,
until you put your feet upon the pedals and use your mind to
guide the wheel.
2. The old man sits as if he were carved in stone.
3. Where the snowflakes fall thickest, there nothing can freeze.
4. When mother awoke and saw the burglar, she quietly ordered
him to leave; and only after she had pursued his obedient
figure to the door did it occur to her that the proper thing to
do was to scream.
5. Where the peak leaned to the valley, the trunk of a giant
pine jutted forth slantingly from a roothold a little below the
summit.
6. As we came up the harbor I had noticed that the houses were
huddled together on an immense hill.
7.
I have come to meet judges so wise and so grand
That I shake in my shoes while they’re shaking my hand.
8.
She struck where the white and fleecy waves
Looked soft as carded wool.
9. Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I
will lodge.
10. When the blackbird approached that side of the cage, the
goldfinch dashed away as though he feared his strange neighbor
might come through.
11.
I love to hear thine earnest voice wherever thou art hid,
Thou testy little dogmatist, thou pretty Katydid!
12. At every little station a man popped out as if he were
worked by machinery, and waved a red flag, and appeared as
though he would like to have us stop.
13. The little bandy-legged dogs had been trotting steadily for
many an hour, until their tongues hung out for want of breath.
14. Years had passed since that particular panther had strayed
from his high fastnesses, where game was plentiful and none
dared poach on his preserves.
15. I stood up and “hollered” with all my might, as everybody
does with oxen, as if they were born deaf, and whacked them
with the long lash over the head, just as the big folks did
when they drove.
LXXI. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF CAUSE, PURPOSE, AND RESULT
=285.= One action or condition may cause some other action or condition,
and when we tell this, we often make such a sentence as the following,
“Most caged birds are not happy, because few of them are well cared for.”
Here the dependent proposition, _because few of them are well cared for_
is an adverbial clause of =cause=, for it tells the cause of the fact in
the principal clause, or why most caged birds are not happy.
The adverbial clause of cause answers the question _why?_ or _how do you
know?_ and is usually joined to the predicate that it modifies by the
subordinate conjunction _for_, _because_, or _since_.
=286.= Sometimes an action is performed in order that some other action
or condition may come to pass. We say then that the action is performed
for a =purpose=, and we express this purpose by means of an adverbial
clause; as, “Leonardo da Vinci would walk the whole length of Milan that
he might alter a single tint in his picture of the Last Supper.” Here
the clause _that he might alter a single tint in his picture of the Last
Supper_ tells the purpose that the artist had in walking the whole length
of Milan. What does this clause modify? What is it introduced by?
A clause of purpose answers the question _what for?_ It is usually joined
to the predicate that it modifies by the subordinate conjunction _that_,
_so that_, or _in order that_.
=287.= A clause of purpose tells an intention without saying that this
intention ever really comes to pass. But there is another clause which
tells what really happens as an outcome of the action or condition in the
principal clause. This is called a clause of =result=; for instance, “So
porous is the limestone of the roads that in five minutes after a brisk
shower one has no need of overshoes.” Here the principal clause tells us
that the roads are porous, and the clause tells us what is the result, or
outcome, of their being porous. What is the clause in this sentence? What
does it modify? What is it introduced by?
A clause of result answers the question _what of it?_, and is generally
introduced by the subordinate conjunction _that_.
=Summary.=—A clause of =cause= tells what produces a certain act or
condition.
A clause of =purpose= tells the intended consequence of some action.
A clause of =result= tells the real consequence of some action or
condition.
=Exercise.=—Select the adverbial clauses, classify them, giving your
reason in each case, tell what they modify, and what they are joined by.
Account for the punctuation.
1. I have explained thus carefully about my Bird Room because I
do not approve of keeping wild birds in cages.
2. When Chipee had eaten all she could, she would quietly sit
down in the seed dish so that Chip couldn’t get any.
3. Of course this bird could not be set free, for he did not
know how to take care of himself.
4. One little nugget of purest gold the surveyor carefully
preserved, that it might one day become a wedding ring for the
gray-eyed girl in Maine.
5. Had his nerves grown so sensitive that the staring of a
chipmunk or a rabbit had power to break his sleep?
6. So strong was Polly’s liking for green peas that the sight
of raw peas made her wild till some were given to her.
7. Master Fox said to the Crow, “Sing but one song to me, that
I may greet you as the Queen of Birds.”
8. It is very convenient to be a reasonable creature, since it
enables you to find or make a reason for everything you have a
mind to do.
9. Rebecca left the screen door ajar, so that flies came in.
10. Rolf was called the Goer because he had such long legs that
when he mounted one of the little Norwegian horses, his feet
touched the ground.
11. Dikes are built that the spread and flow of the water may
be regulated, and the land protected from destructive floods.
12. The sun burned down so fiercely that the people were
fainting in its rays; it seemed as if they must die of heat,
and yet they were obliged to go on with their work, for they
were very poor.
13. Then the people ran as only hill folk can run, for they
knew that in a landslip you must climb for the highest ground
across the valley.
14.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget!
15. I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am there ye
may be also.
LXXII. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF CONDITION AND CONCESSION
=288.= Very often an action cannot take place except under a certain
condition, and this condition is often expressed in a dependent clause;
as in the sentence, “A man can buy a vote only if some other man is
willing to sell a vote.” Here the one condition under which a man can buy
a vote is told in the adverbial clause, _if some other man is willing to
sell a vote_. This is called a clause of =condition=. It is generally
introduced by _if_, _unless_ (which means _if not_), _provided_, or
_providing_. In the illustration what does the clause modify? What is the
use of _only_?
=289.= Sometimes an action takes place in spite of something else, and we
tell this in such a sentence as the following, “Though He slay me, yet
will I trust Him.” Here the fact that I trust Him is true in spite of the
fact that He may slay me. Such a clause as _though He slay me_ is called
a clause of =concession=, for it concedes, or grants, something that
seems to be in direct opposition to what is in the principal clause. What
does it modify? What can you say of the word _yet_?
A clause of concession is generally joined by the subordinate conjunction
_though_, or by some such word as _notwithstanding_, or _even if_, which
means _though_.
Sometimes _though_ has a correlative, the word _yet_, _still_, or
_nevertheless_ used at the beginning of the principal clause.
=Summary.=—A clause of =condition= answers the question _provided what?_
It tells the circumstance under which the principal statement is true.
A clause of =concession= answers the question _in spite of what?_ It
tells the circumstance in spite of which the principal statement is true.
=Exercise.=—Select all adverbial clauses. Tell what each clause denotes,
what it modifies, what it is joined by. Account for the punctuation.
1. If your everyday language is not fit for a letter or for
print, it is not fit for talk.
2. In Bermuda, if you are in want of some choice cologne, do
not fail to ask for it at the nearest shoe shop.
3. Though delicate in his tastes, an elephant likes quantity as
well as quality, and at his meals makes nothing of bales of hay
and gallons of water.
4. Though the weeping willow and the mountain ash could not
endure the cold northeast storms, yet the sturdy elms grew
apace and soon spread their branches far.
5. Half the pleasure in going out to murder another man with a
gun would be wanting, if one did not wear feathers, and gold
lace, and stripes on his pantaloons.
6. There is something queer about thoughts; you cannot have a
good time with them if you have done anything naughty.
7.
Though watery deserts hold apart the worlds of East and West,
Still beats the selfsame human heart in each proud Nation’s breast.
8. If our forefathers had not chosen to emigrate to America, we
should now be English people ourselves.
9. Rebecca was so slender and so stiffly starched that she slid
from space to space on the leather cushions, though she braced
herself against the middle seat with her feet, and extended her
cotton-gloved hands on each side.
10.
If the men were so wicked, I’ll ask my papa
How he dared to propose to my darling mamma.
Was he like the rest of them? Goodness! Who knows?
And what should I say if a wretch should propose?
11. Though he looked like a bird, he behaved like a monkey.
12.
Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small,
Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.
13. If the scythes cut well and swing merrily, it is due to the
boy who turned the grindstone.
14. If a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if
he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he
read little, he had need have much cunning to seem to know
that he doth not.
15.
Men must work and women must weep.
Though storms be sudden and waters deep.
And the harbor bar be moaning.
Account for the mode of the verb in each dependent clause in the
preceding sentences.
LXXIII. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF COMPARISON
=290.= Often we are not satisfied to say, “Cousin John is good.” We wish
to tell _how_ good he is, and a common way of doing this is by means of a
comparison. We say, “Cousin John is as good as gold.” Here the group of
words _as gold_ is a clause with the word _is_ omitted. It is called a
clause of =comparison=. It denotes an =equality= between John’s goodness
and that of gold. Since this clause answers the question _how good?_ it
must modify the adjective _good_.
What is the introductory word of the clause of comparison?
=291.= Sometimes we compare two things and yet denote an =inequality=
between them; as in the sentence, “The river is bluer than the sky.” Here
the clause of comparison is introduced by the subordinating conjunction
_than_. It modifies the word _bluer_. We know this because it is the word
_bluer_ that needs the clause, and without the word _bluer_ the clause
would not be in the sentence at all.
Notice that a clause of equality modifies an adjective in the positive
degree, while a clause of inequality modifies an adjective in the
comparative degree.
=292.= A clause of comparison may modify an adverb as well as an
adjective, as in these sentences:—
The old man moved as slowly as a cloud.
More swiftly than eagles, his coursers they flew.
NOTE.—The adverb _rather_ is seldom used without being modified
by a clause of comparison; as, “Henry Clay said that he would
rather be right than be president.” When we supply the words
understood, the clause reads, _than he would be president_.
Complete the clauses in the following sentences:—
Some people would rather have money than brains.
I should rather earn a college education than go without it.
A wise American would rather go to Yellowstone Park than to
Switzerland.
=Summary.=—A clause of =comparison= tells the degree of some quality or
quantity by pointing out a likeness or a difference.
A clause of comparison pointing out a =likeness= is introduced by _as_,
and modifies an adjective or an adverb in the positive degree.
A clause of comparison pointing out a =difference= is introduced by
_than_, and modifies an adjective or an adverb in the comparative degree.
A clause of comparison is seldom completely expressed.
=Exercise.=—Select all the clauses of comparison. Tell what they denote,
what they modify, and what they are introduced by.
1. Sitting up on the driver’s high seat is almost as good as
climbing the meeting-house steeple.
2.
The muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
3. The loons could dive quicker than the eagle could swoop and
strike.
4. Gertrude was prouder than ever when the president of the
college said, “Your mother is handsomer than you will ever be,
young lady.”
5.
The hearts that were thumping like ships on the rocks
Beat as quiet and steady as meeting-house clocks.
6. Truth is stranger than fiction.
7. I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to
make me sad.
8.
Blue were her eyes as the fairy flax,
Her cheeks like the dawn of day,
Her bosom white as the hawthorn buds,
That ope in the month of May.
9. One syllable of woman’s speech can dissolve more love than a
man’s heart can hold.
10.
I am nearer my home to-day
Than I ever have been before.
11. Whiter than snow were his locks, and his cheeks were as
brown as the oak leaves.
12.
A steed as black as the steeds of night
Was seen to pass as with eagle flight.
13. Weeds are sure to grow quicker in my garden than anywhere
else.
14.
Dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser rolling rapidly.
15. I should rather see the friezes of the Parthenon molder to
dust under the blue veil of the Grecian atmosphere than have
them preserved in the grand halls of the British Museum.
16. The huge body of the elephant needs less sleep than
anything else that lives.
=293.= Since the predicate is usually omitted in clauses of comparison,
it follows that these clauses often consist of only two words; as, “I
am as old as Mary.” “I am older than Mary.” One of these words is the
connective, and the other is often the subject of the clause. When the
subject is a pronoun, we must be careful to use the nominative form. We
should say, “Are you older than _I_? than _he_? than _she_?”
=Exercise 1.=—Fill the blank in each of these sentences. Then supply the
words omitted, and thus show that you have chosen the right pronouns:—
1. Our parents are wiser than (_we_ or _us_).
2. You are not always so careful as (_she_ or _her_).
3. Who knows the day better than (_me_ or _I_)?
4. What! You are stronger than (_who_ or _whom_)?
5. The Preston girls were just as friendly as (_me_ or _I_).
6. No man could be more faithful than (_him_ or _he_).
7. Who stands higher in this city than (_they_ or _them_).
8. Are you older or younger than (_her_ or _she_)?
9. Well, perhaps I am not so polite as (_he_ or _him_).
10. Our geese are whiter than (_them_ or _they_).
=Exercise 2.=—Justify the case of the italicized pronoun in each of these
sentences:—
1. Jessie likes Julia as well as _me_.
2. I found her brother more easily than _her_.
3. I expect an angel sooner than _them_.
LXXIV. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES
=294.= We are ready now to analyze sentences containing adverbial
clauses. In analyzing such sentences we should state as soon as we come
to an adverbial clause, (1) what it denotes and (2) what part of speech
its introductory word is. We should not analyze any dependent clause in
detail, however, until we have completed our analysis of the principal
clause.
MODEL.—_The lion fixed his great hind claws in the softer skin of the
crocodile’s throat, and ripped it open as one would rip a glove._
This is a complex, declarative sentence.
The subject is _the lion_. The predicate is _fixed his great hind claws
in the softer skin of the crocodile’s throat, and ripped it open as one
would rip a glove_.