6. If at school you have learned to waste time, you may stay at home. Insert only. 7. The farmers sell their produce to the merchants. Insert generally. 8. The word couple can be properly applied to objects in connection. Insert only. 9. I was sorry to see so many present, for I knew the lecturer had disappointed them. Insert only. 10. I am sure you will like this book as well as the last one that you read. Insert at least. II. You have learned part of the lesson assigned you. Insert only. 12. An insect looks as though its body were cut into three parts. Insert almost. 13. The praise was bestowed upon the workmanship, but upon the material. Insert not. 14. Drunkenness was found to be the cause of the insanity in fewer than eight out of the eleven cases. Insert not. 15. The rendition of "The Creation" was most excellent. Insert by the Philharmonic Society. 16. The grocers and the confectioners conspired together to adulterate the articles in which they dealt. Insert in a thousand ways. 17. There were many buildings left which he had begun, and which no one expects to see completed. Insert in an unfinished state. 18. Nothing was ever undertaken by this man. Insert that was not perfectly honorable. 19. A learned man when he is not on his guard would make the same mistake. Insert even. 20. I heard that you had gone to Europe. Insert two months ago. VII. THE ORDER OF EMPHASIS. — SUBJECT EMPHATIC. The usual order of words in a sentence gives the meaning most clearly. Force and elegance are often gained by an unusual order. The first requisite of a good sentence is clearness. This must not be sacrificed for the sake of force or elegance. But, being sure that your sentences are clear, make them as forcible and elegant as you can. Any unusual position makes an element emphatic. The emphatic position for the subject is, therefore, the end of the sentence. 1. From the summit of Vesuvius, darkly visible in the distance, there shot a pale meteoric light. 2. A pale meteoric light shot from the summit of Vesuvius, darkly visible in the distance. In which of these sentences is our attention called more strongly to the "pale meteoric light"? Exercises. I. Explain the order of elements in the following sentences, change them to their natural order, and note the loss in force and elegance: 1. On her cheek blushes the richness of an autumn - LONGFELLOW. sky. 2. Now came still evening on. MILTON. 3. Away went Gilpin. 4. In that mansion used to be Free-hearted hospitality. — Longfellow. 5. Somewhat back from the village street 6. Forth into the empty forest LONGFELLOW. Rushed the maddened Hiawatha ; In his heart was deadly sorrow, In his face a stony firmness. LONGFELLOW. II. Write the following sentences so as to make the subjects more emphatic : 1. The live thunder leaps from peak to peak. 2. The mouth speaketh out of the abundance of the heart. 3. More than 150,000 Indians, wholly or partly civilized, live within the limits of the United States. 4. A picturesque old building called the "Old Stone Mill" is found in the city of Newport, R. I. 5. The sons of New England are found in every State of the broad Republic. 6. Our only adequate measures of time are derived from the observations of the heavenly bodies. 7. A spacious and varied landscape stretched far beyond the precincts of the manse. 8. The luxuries of Pompeii would have sunk into insignificance, placed in contrast with the mighty pomp of Rome. 9. The Arab's deadliest foe, having once broken bread with him, may repose without fear of harm beneath his tent. VIII. THE PREDICATE ADJECTIVE EMPHATIC. What is the natural position of the predicate adjective? How can it be made emphatic ? Exercises. I. Explain the position of the predicate adjective in each of the sentences below; change the sentences into their usual order, and note the loss in force : 1. Sweet are the uses of adversity. SHAKESPEARE. 2. How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood! 3. Good and upright is the Lord. BIBLE. 4. Few and short were the prayers we said. 5. Rich were the sable robes she wore. 6. Stalworth and stately in form was the man of seventy winters; Hearty and hale was he, an oak that is covered with snowflakes, White as the snow were his locks, and his cheeks as brown as the oak-leaves. Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen summers. Black were her eyes as the berry that grows on the thorn by the way-side. LONGFELLOW. II. Write the following sentences so as to emphasize the predicate adjective:— 1. All the fine offers of hospitality are vain and forgotten if there is no holiday in the eye. 2. Castles in the air are always more magnificent than the homes in which we dwell. 3. The merciful are blessed, for they shall obtain mercy. 4. Thy dwelling is narrow now, - the place of thine abode dark. 5. The houses were so near to the water that from a little distance they seemed a black fringe to the land. IX. THE OBJECT EMPHATIC. The object, like other elements, may be made emphatic by being placed at the beginning of the sentence; as: Our blessings let us never forget, however small they may be. As the subject is a more important element than the object, emphasis may be given to the object by making it the subject and changing the verb to the passive voice. 1. James struck John. 2. John was struck by James. In the first of these sentences, attention is called to James; and in the second, to John. Exercises. I. Write the following sentences so as to make the object emphatic :— 1. Great undertakings demand mature deliberation, patient perseverance, and frequent revision. 2. The army did not possess a braver soldier than Captain Nolan. 3. Wherever we turn our eyes, we find something to revive our curiosity and engage our attention. 4. As far as I know, they never say a word about you. 5. The study of mathematics trains the mind to industry. II. Unite the following elements in such a way as to emphasize the object of each sentence: 2. No man hath greater love that a man lay down his life than this for his friends. |