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28] THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE It may be asked, what if you need to express a rather large number of similar ideas—say, twenty? Must you write twenty consecutive sentences of the same pattern? On closer examination, you will probably find that the diffi culty is imaginary—that these twenty ideas can be classi fied in groups, and that you need apply the principle only within each group. Otherwise, it is best to avoid the diffi culty by putting statements in the form of a table. 20. Keep related words together. The position of the words in a sentence is the principal means of showing their relationship. Confusion and amoiguity result when words are badly placed. The writer must, therefore, bring together the words and groups of words that are related in thought and keep apart those that are not so related. He noticed a large stain in the rug that was right in the center. You can call your mother in London and tell her all about George s taking you out to dinner for just two dollars. New York's first com mercial human-sperm bank opened Friday with semen samples from eighteen men frozen in a stainless steel tank. He noticed a large stain right in the center of the nig. For just two dollars you can call your mother in London and tell her all about George's taking you out to dinner. New York's first com mercial human-sperm bank opened Friday when semen samples were taken from eighteen men. The samples were then frozen and stored in a stainless steel tank. In the lefthand version of the first example, the reader has no way of knowing whether the stain was in the center of the rug or the rug was in the center of the room. In the lefthand version of the second example, the reader may well
P R I N C I P L E S O F C O M P O S I T I O N [29 wonder which cost two dollars—the phone call or die din ner. In the lefthand version of the third example, the read er's heart goes out to those eighteen poor fellows frozen in a steel tank. The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause diat can be transferred to the beginning. Toni Morrison, in Beloved, writes about char acters who have escaped from slavery but are haunted by its heritage. A dog, if you fail to discipline him, becomes a household pest. In Beloved, Toni Morri son writes about characters who have escaped from slavery but are haunted by its heritage. Unless disciplined, a dog becomes a household pest. Interposing a phrase or a clause, as in the lefthand exam ples above, interrupts the flow of the main clause. This interruption, however, is not usually bothersome when die flow is checked only by a relative clause or by an expression in apposition. Sometimes, in periodic sentences, the inter ruption is a deliberate device for creating suspense. (See examples under Rule 22.) The relative pronoun should come, in most instances, immediately after its antecedent. There was a stir in the audience that suggested disapproval. He wrote three articles about his adventures in Spain, which were pub lished in Harpers Magazine. This is a portrait of Ben jamin Harrison, who be came President in 1889. He was the grandson of William Henry Harrison. A stir that suggested disapproval swept the audience. He published three arti cles in Harper's Magazine about his adventures in Spain. This is a portrait of Ben jamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison, who became President in 1889.
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