PREPOSITIONS AND DANGLING EXPRESSIONS 29

REPETITION OF A PREPOSITION

77. Clearness often requires the repetition of a preposition.

Not clear [because of the failure to repeat a preposition]: "One million dollars shall be set aside from my estate, to be held in trust by my executors, and paid to my nephew, Benjamin L. Bardell, when he shall come of age, but only on condition of his refraining from indulgence in liquor and tobacco until he shall come of age, and marrying before that time; if any of these conditions are not fulfilled, the said million dollars shall be given to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions."-Extract from the will of Samuel Bardell.

He

The nephew, when he came of age, claimed the money. had never used liquor or tobacco, but had married at nineteen. Was he entitled to the money? If the will meant "of marrying," he was entitled to the money; but if the will meant "from marrying," he was entitled to nothing. Samuel Bardell should have repeated the preposition that he intended. The missing preposition was worth a million dollars.

Exercise 14, in Appendix 12, treats of the repetition of prepositions.

DANGLING EXPRESSIONS

78. Certain kinds of expressions have a strong tendency to refer to the subject of the clause to which they are attached. Do not use them unless you intend them to refer to the subject; for they will lean towards the subject in spite of your intentions, and will consequently interfere with clearness. An expression that refers to the subject contrary to the author's intentions is said to "dangle."

79. One such kind of expression is a participle, when it

does not directly modify the noun after it, especially when it is set off by a comma at the beginning or the end of the sentence.

Dangling participle: Looking through the program, a certain advertisement caught my attention. [This sentence seems to assert that the advertisement was looking through the program.]

A dangling expression may be corrected either by changing the subject to correspond to the expression or by changing the expression to correspond to the subject.

Corrected: Looking through the program, I was attracted by a certain advertisement. [or] While I was looking through the program, a certain advertisement caught my attention.

80. Another kind of expression that leans strongly towards the subject is an infinitive in -ing (sometimes called a gerund) used as the object of a preposition.

Dangling infinitive: On climbing to the top of the hill, a magnificent view was spread out before me. [This sentence seems to assert that the view climbed to the top of the hill.]

A dangling expression may be corrected either by changing the subject to correspond to the expression or by changing the expression to correspond to the subject.

Corrected: On climbing to the top of the hill, I found a magnificent view spread out before me. [or] When I had climbed to the top of the hill, a magnificent view was spread out before me.

81. The third kind of expression that leans strongly towards the subject is a subordinate clause with an elliptical subject.

Dangling elliptical clause: Club-members are requested to keep the typewriter covered when not in use. [This sentence seems to assert that the typewriter should be kept covered when club-members are not in use.]

A dangling expression may be corrected either by changing the subject to correspond to the expression or by changing the expression to correspond to the subject.

Corrected: It is requested of club-members that the typewriter be kept covered when not in use. [or] Clubmembers are requested to keep the typewriter covered when it is not in use.

82. In the criticism of your themes, the symbol Cl will be used as a general symbol to indicate a lack of clearness that requires no more definite specification; the symbol M will specify that an expression is misplaced; the symbol A will specify that a necessary word or expression has been omitted, as in the case of a missing preposition needed for clearness; and the symbol Dang will specify an expression that dangles.

Exercise 15, in Appendix 12, treats of dangling expressions.

ness.

CHAPTER V

GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS

A FIFTH QUALITY OF GOOD ENGLISH

83. A fifth quality of good English is grammatical correctThis chapter reviews those points on which you are most likely to make grammatical errors.

INCOMPLETE SENTENCES

84. A grammatically incomplete sentence is one of the worst of all careless blunders. Be careful not to mistake a subordinate clause for a complete sentence.

Incomplete sentences: He told me the long story of his misfortunes. How he had been thrown out of work during the business panic of 1897. How he had tried in vain to obtain employment, and so on.

Corrected: He told me the long story of his misfortunes: how he had been thrown out of work during the business panic of 1897, how he had tried in vain to obtain employment, and so on.

85. An exclamation or a question may properly be verbless.

Right: What an extraordinary demand with which to begin the negotiations for the surrender of the fortress! Right: And, in the third place, what about the cost of the proposed measure?

86. In the criticism of your themes, the symbol Gr will in general be used to indicate a grammatical error; the symbol Sen will be used when the error takes the form of a grammatically incomplete sentence.

Exercise 16, in Appendix 12, treats of incomplete sentences.

NUMBER

87. Subject and verb must agree in number regardless of intervening words.

Wrong number: When the inspector with his four assistants arrive, he will find that the construction of the piers, arches and parapets have been completed.

Corrected: When the inspector with his four assistants arrives, he will find that the construction of the piers, arches and parapets has been completed.

88. Singular subjects, if compounded by and, take a plural verb; if compounded by or or nor, a singular verb.

Wrong number: The inspector and the engineer are here, but neither the contractor nor the foreman are ready to receive them.

Corrected: The inspector and the engineer are here, but neither the contractor nor the foreman is ready to receive them.

89. A collective noun (a singular noun naming a group) should be treated as singular if the group is thought of as a group; but it should be treated as plural if the members of the group are thought of separately.

Right: The jury was discharged.

Right: The jury were eating their dinner.

90. But the number of a collective noun should remain the same throughout a passage.

Improper change of number: The jury was not yet discharged; they were only eating their dinner.

Corrected: The jury were not yet discharged; they were only eating their dinner.

91. Anybody, any one, everybody, every one, nobody, no one, each, either and neither should be treated as singular.