Images de page
PDF
ePub

3. He invited those who he knew would come. (Subject of

would come.)

4. He was not the man who she supposed he was. (Predicate nominative after was; § 158.)

He was not the man whom she supposed him to be. (§ 219.)

91. Omission. Often in the objective case, and sometimes in the nominative, a relative pronoun is omitted:

1. Those are the children (whom) we saw in the mill. 2. The letter (that) you wrote made her happy.

3. The man (whom) he lived with was poor.

4. She is not the singer (that) she once was. (Nominative.) 5. He isn't the man (that) I thought he was. (Nominative.) 6. It called for the best (that) there was in him.

7. In this 'tis God [who] directs, in that 'tis man. -POPE. (But this is not to be imitated in ordinary use. Do not say, for example, 'It was the worst thing could happen'.) (Exercise XI, § 556.)

92. Essential and nonessential clause. When an adjective clause (§ 82) is needed to define the meaning of the noun or pronoun which it modifies, it is called an essential clause; when it is merely equivalent to and he, and she, or the like, in continuing the thought, it is called a nonessential clause, and is separated from the principal clause by a comma or commas (§§ 50, 270, 472):

1

1. He visited his sister who lives in Memphis. (The clause who lives in Memphis is needed to tell which sister is meant, and is therefore an essential clause.)

2. He visited his sister Lucy, who lives in Memphis. (Nonessential.)

3. His sister Jane, who lives in Memphis, is now in New York. (Nonessential.)

4. He had one son, whose name was David. (Nonessential.)

93. Usage. In present usage the relative pronoun that is employed in essential clauses (§ 92); who, which, and as, in

essential or nonessential clauses; when the relative refers to a person, that is often preferred to who if the antecedent is it (§ 89), or if the antecedent is modified by a word of exclusive meaning, such as all, best, every, no, only:

1. It was the only thing that I could do. (Essential.)
2. We respect a man who keeps his word. (Essential.)
3. They make such machinery as he needs. (Essential.)

4. She found a new novel, which she proceeded to read. (Nonessential.)

5. That is the woman whose arm was broken. (Essential.) 6. He had but one daughter, whose name was Sarah. (Nonessential.)

7. He had but one daughter whose age was beyond twenty. (Essential; what would the sentence mean if the clause were punctuated as nonessential?)

8. She is the happiest girl that lives. (Essential.)
9. There was nobody that knew him. (Essential.)

10. Everybody that knows him likes him. (Essential.)

94. Antecedent a group of words. When which and as are used in nonessential clauses (§ 92), their antecedent may be a group of words; but if the sentence contains a noun or pronoun which might be mistaken for the antecedent, the antecedent should be repeated in some form (as in the fifth example):

1. The black prince desired me to come to him, which I did. - DEFOE.

2. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm. LINCOLN.

3. I am a wise fellow, and, what is more, an officer.

4. He was a Frenchman, as we could tell by his accent.

5. He always talked about money, a habit which I detested.

95. Position. A relative pronoun should be so placed that its antecedent will be recognized unmistakably and immediately; otherwise the antecedent should be repeated (§ 94):

[ocr errors]

1. I, who am your best friend, ask you to wait.

2. We read in our Saxon chronicles of tyrants, who, when at the height of greatness, were smitten with remorse, who abhorred the pleasures and dignities which they had purchased by guilt, who abdicated their crowns, and who sought to atone for their offences by cruel penances and incessant prayers. MACAULAY.

3. The great ones of the earth, however, those on whom the prince had relied, those to whom he had given his heart, dukes, princes, and electors, in this fatal change of his fortunes fell away like water. MOTLEY.

4. Faulty: There were several large pictures on the walls of his cosy room, which he was proud of. (Say 'On the walls of his cosy room there were several large pictures, which he was proud of'. If which refers to room, say 'On the walls of his cosy room, of which he was proud, there were ', etc.)

96. In coördination and subordination. When two or more clauses in a sentence are coördinate, the pronoun introducing the first clause should be repeated with each of the others (§ 375); but when the clauses are not coördinate, different pronouns should be used, or the sentence should be recast (§ 376):

1. He is a man who stands for justice, and who (not ' that ') will continue to stand for it.

2. The one that you need, and that you can now secure, is, etc. 3. He belonged to a set of men whom it is easier to describe collectively than separately, whose minds were formed by one system of discipline, who belonged to one rank in society, to one university, to one party, to one sect, to one administration, and who resembled each other so much in talents, in opinions, in habits, in fortunes, that one character, we had almost said one life, may, to a considerable extent, serve for them all. - MACAULAY.

4. The thing that pleased them most was the care which (not that', because the clauses are not in the same construction) she took of their children. Or, The thing that (or which) pleased them most was her care of the children.

GOLDSMITH.

5. Those who think must govern those that toil. 6. Faulty: It was a room in which there were two windows, at one of which sat a young girl. (Say 'It was a room with two windows', etc.)

7. Faulty: He enjoyed a lucrative practice, which enabled him to maintain and educate a family with all the advantages which (omit, or say that) money can give in this country. — TROLLOPE.

97. And who, and which, etc. Relative clauses connected by and, but, or or should be either essential clauses or nonessential clauses (§§ 92, 96); that is, an essential clause and a nonessential clause should not be used together; do not use and, but, or or to connect words, phrases, or clauses which are not parallel (§ 375):

1. Faulty: The gentleman who spoke today, who is her guardian, is a Frenchman. (Essential and nonessential; such sentences are clumsy, and should be avoided. Say' The gentleman who spoke today is her guardian. He is a Frenchman '.)

2. Faulty: The speech that was made today, which was the first of the series, was well received. (Essential and nonessential. Say The speech that was made today was well received. It was the first of the series'.)

3. Faulty: He spoke eloquently, and which carried the audience by storm. (Omit which.)

4. Faulty: I was reading an old sign, and which I had never seen. (Omit and.)

5. Faulty: I met a man from Baltimore, but who was a Northerner. (Omit but.)

6. Faulty: He said what he had to say, but which was of no importance. (Omit but or change which to it.)

7. Faulty: He was educated in Saint Louis, and where he was born. (Omit and.)

8. Faulty: A poor man, but who has brains, will succeed. (Omit but and the commas; or change but who to if he.)

9. Faulty: She spoke with a gentle voice, but which was easily heard. (Change which to she.) (Exercise XII, § 557.)

THE COMPOUND RELATIVE PRONOUN

98. Compound relative pronoun. A compound relative pronoun is formed by uniting -ever or -soever to the relative pronouns who (whose, whom), which, and what:

1. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

2. Whoever entered found a welcome.

NOTE. Here the antecedent of whatsoever is the demonstrative that. The antecedent of whoever, being unemphatic, is omitted; and whoever, which is properly the subject of entered (in the subordinate clause), acts also as the subject of found (in the principal clause).

99. Antecedent; case. The antecedent of a compound relative pronoun (§ 98) denotes an indefinite person or thing. The antecedent may usually be omitted (but see the eighth example; for the case, see § 90):

1. He greeted whoever entered. (Subject of entered.)

2. He greeted whomever he met. (Object of met.) 3. Give it to whomever you please (to give it).

4. Food and shelter were given to whoever asked for them. 5. She received a warm welcome from whomever she visited. 6. Nature has a kindly face for whoever seeks her company. 7. Whomever he entertained he took to the country.

8. But, Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your

servant.

[ocr errors]

100. Compound relative adjectives. Whichever, whichsoever, whatever, and whatsoever often modify nouns (§ 56); they are then compound relative adjectives (§ 116):

1. I will read you whichever story you wish.

2. They employed whatever men they could find.

THE INDEFINITE PRONOUN

101. Indefinite pronoun. An indefinite pronoun points out a person or thing less definitely than a demonstrative pronoun does :

« PrécédentContinuer »