A Dictionary of Cont..

city 94
city fathers. To refer to members of the ‘Municipal
Council or the Board of Aldermen as the
city fathers is to strive a little too hard to be
elegant. No such filial relation is now f’elt, if it
ever was.
civil. See polite.
clad. See clothe.
claque. See clique.
clarinet is the preferred spelling, though c!urionet
is also correct.
class as a designation of students in a school or
college ranked together or graduating the same
year (The Class of 1899) is standard in American
usage but not used in England.
Class meaning excellence or merit (That girl’s
got class!) is slang. See also category.
classic and classical are synonymous, but use has
accustomed us to one rather than the other in
certain contexts. In medicine, for example, it is
always classic (a clussic cuse of typhoid, one
which conforms in every way to the standard)
when referring to a disease. Certain great works
are classics in their field, but if their authors
were ancient Greeks or Romans, they are
classicul authors. Sports writers label any game
between two schools or teams that have played
before a classic and in this sense the word is
sadly overworked.
In general, classical refers to Greek and Latin
writers and to the art and culture of ancient
Greece and Rome. Classic means of the first or
highest class or rank, adhering to established
standards.
clauses. Any group of words that contains a true
verb and its subject (or an imperative) is called
a clause, such as I came in tell them I came.
If a clause is part of a larger sentence, its
relation to the rest of the sentence may be shown
in a number of ways. It may be shown by position,
as in the example just given where Z came
is standing in the position of the object of the
verb tell. Or it may be shown by a conjunction.
A coordinating conjunction, such as and or but,
shows that the two clauses which it joins have
the same function in the sentence, as in tell them
I came and no one answered. A clause used
independently, that is, not as the subject or object
of another verb or as a qualifier, is called a
principal clause. Such a clause may be joined by
a coordinating conjunction, or by mere position
in a series, with other independent clauses, as in
I came, I saw, I conquered. One can then say
that the sentence has more than one principal
clause. Any other complete statement inside a
sentence is a subordinate clause. A subordinating
conjunction shows that the clause which it introduces
is functioning as a subordinate element in
another statement. The subordinate clause may
have the function of an adjective, an adverb, or
a noun. Subordinate clauses may also show their
function by position, or may be introduced by
a relative pronoun, an adverb, a participle, or
a noun with the force of an adverb. See conjunctions.
ADJECTIVE AND ADVERB CLAUSES
An adjective clause normally follows the word
it qualifies. When placed before the word it has
a slightly humorous effect and must be hyphenated
in order to be understood, as in with an Idon’t-expect-to-be-believed
look. As a rule, an
adjective clause is introduced by a relative pronoun
and qualifies the antecedent of the pronoun.
When the relative pronoun is the subject
of the clause verb it must be expressed, as who
in the little man who wasn’t there; when it is the
object of the clause verb or of a preposition it
can usually be omitted, as in the mun Z love.
That is, in a qualifying clause the object of the
verb or of a preposition does not always have
to be expressed. The object usually cannot be
omitted when the clause qualifies a proper noun
or a common noun that identifies a single individual,
as in my father, whom you met here yesterday,
is coming again tomorrow.
An adjective clause that is essential to the
meaning of the word it qualifies is said to be
“defining” or “restrictive,” such as who was here
yesterday in the man who wus here yesterday is
coming again tomorrow. A clause of this kind
must not be separated from the word it qualifies
by a comma or any other punctuation. An adjective
clause that is not defining is said to be
“descriptive,” such as the clause in my fnther,
who was here yesterday, is coming again tomorrow.
A descriptive clause gives some additional
information that is not essential to the
sense of what is being said. It is usually set off
by commas. See also that; which.
Any adverbial idea, such as time, place,
manner, degree, may be expressed by a clause
and the clause may stand in any position appropriate
for an adverb. Adverbial clauses may also
show the cause, purpose, or result of the action
of the principal clause. These are introduced by
conjunctions such as because, since, so. (See the
individual conjunctions.) There are also adverbial
clauses of “condition,” “concession,” and
“supposition,” which are introduced by such
words as if, unless, although. In clauses of this
kind the verb may have a subjunctive form. See
subjunctive mode.
An adjective or an adverbial clause will
always qualify the nearest preceding word or
group of words that the sense allows. In they
think the men are angry because they are
frightened, the because clause is attached to the
men are angry, regardless of what was intended.
If the clause is meant to apply to they think, this
can be made clear by a comma between angry
and because, which warns the reader that these
two words are to be kept apart. Or the clause
may be placed first in the sentence. In speech
these things are taken care of by pitch and stress.
But a writer must examine his sentences carefully
to make sure that his clauses qualify the
words he intended them to.
NOUN CLAUSES
A clause may also function as a noun. It may
be the subject of a verb, as in who made it is a
mystery; or it may be the complement of a verb,
as in I would like to know who made it. When
the noun clause is an indirect question it may
be introduced by an interrogative pronoun or
adverb, or by the conjunction whether, as in I