II. On the whole, it was fortunate that we kept out of the business. 12. He was, moreover, a kind neighbor. 13. In a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody's business but his own. 14. The children at the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he approached. 15. Up to this point, we have been entirely successful. 142. The Punctuation of Adverbial Conjunctions.Adverbs and adverb phrases used to connect are set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. EXERCISE 143. From the list appended to the exercise select appropriate adverbs or adverbial phrases for the blank spaces, and insert the proper punctuation. 8. 9. that he will go. a great misfortune. he will have to go to work. if you are really sorry, nothing will be done about it. we gathered up our things and hurried home. 10. He has done a great deal of work outside of school I have nothing more to say. II. 12. relied on. accordingly nevertheless however he is a person whose word can be absolutely 144. Parenthetical Phrases and Clauses.-Prepositional phrases, infinitive phrases, and clauses are often inserted in sentences without grammatical relationship. They simply affect the meaning of the sentence as a whole, often in the same way that adverbial conjunctions do. Prepositional Phrase: Between ourselves, the information is unreliable. Infinitive: To tell the truth, he fears the outcome. EXERCISE 145. Point out the parenthetical clauses and phrases in the following sentences, and explain the effect each has upon the meaning of the sentence: 1. This, to tell the truth, is the real cause of the discontent. 2. His actions were, to say the least, unusual. 3. This is, as everyone believes, the climax of the affair. 4. Have you heard, by the way, of the project for a new town hall? 5. You should not, as I have often told you, leave your things scattered around. 6. This, as you well know, is the sum and substance of the whole matter. 7. The whole purpose, in my opinion, of the study of grammar or of rhetoric is improvement in the use of language. 8. You will be glad, if I am not mistaken, that you did not go into the business. 9. His work, so we all thought, was the very best on exhibition. 10. It was a mistake, as he now sees, that he did not accept the offer at once. II. His people, so he told us, were of Scotch descent. 12. The old home, to our regret, had burned to the ground. 13. Your new business, I understand, is a great success. 14. As the wise man says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 146. Punctuation of Parenthetical Expressions.All parenthetical expressions are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. EXERCISE 147. Point out the prepositional phrases, the infinitives, and clauses used parenthetically in the following sentences and insert proper punctuation: 1. To speak truth he was a sorry looking specimen. 2. A small wool hat rested on the top of his nose for so his scanty strip of forehead might be called. 3. It is I trust reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. 4. With firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive to finish the work we are in. 5. Now a seamstress for example might slip away from her work and no one be the wiser. 6. The clever ones no doubt are more interesting to the teacher. 7. There was a popular writer of romances, who it was said used to go round to the fashionable watering places to pick up characters. 8. There is another popular writer who it seems makes voluminous indices on men and things, and draws on them for his material. 9. For some writers might for all that appears in their works lie in bed all day and write by night under the excitement of green tea. 10. Those ten persons as you see could make among them upward of forty-eight thousand pins a day. II. It is true generally speaking that "Murder will out." 12. He has not done in point of fact a single thing which would entitle him to special notice. 148. The Nominative Absolute. Often a noun or pronoun and a participle are thrown loosely into a sentence, without any grammatical dependence on other words in the sentence. Such expressions are said to be in the case absolute, or nominative absolute. The nominative absolute must not be confused with the participial adjective phrase, which modifies a noun or pronoun, though it may be separated from it in the sentence. EXAMPLES Absolute: Peace having been restored, every one was happy. Participle: Peace, having been broken for thirty years, was now welcomed by all. EXERCISE 149. Tell which participial expressions in the following sentences are nominative absolutes and which are participial adjectives: 1. The wind having gone down, we went for a row on the lake. 2. The speaker, throwing aside his notes, held the audience spellbound for an hour by his simple earnestness. 3. The day being rainy, we stayed at home. 4. The dog, leaping over a fence, followed an obscure trail up the mountainside. 5. However, living near the water, I was much in and about it, learned early to swim well, and to manage boats. 6. Having waited in vain for an hour, we were compelled to give up the journey. 7. Our horse being very lame, we got out and walked the rest of the way. 8. The teacher being ill, school was dismissed for the day. 9. The storm having passed, we continued our journey. 10. The child, having been deserted by its parents, was tenderly cared for by the good sisters. II. Spring being now here, we began in earnest on the business of farming. 12. The sails, flapping idly in the wind, were quite empty. 150. The Punctuation of Absolute Expressions.Like all other independent elements, the nominative absolute is cut off from the rest of the sentence by commas. 151. The Use of the Nominative Absolute.-The case absolute is a form borrowed from Latin, and is not always clear in English. It can always be transformed into a simple participial phrase or into some form of dependent clause. The dependent clause ordinarily expresses more clearly the thought relationship, and is therefore usually more desirable. EXAMPLES Absolute: Peace having been declared, all business enterprises revived. Clause: As soon as peace was declared, all business enterprises revived. |