The Century Handbook of Writing Part 7

4. A telegraph line is leased by the a.s.sociated Press, and thus giving the newspapers quick service.

5. When the summer pa.s.sed, the fisherman returned home for the winter, and where he renewed his acquaintance with the villagers.

=The _and which_ construction=

=17. Use _and which_ (or _but which_), _and who_ (or _but who_) only between relative clauses similar in form. Between a main clause and a relative clause, _and_ or _but_ thwarts subordination.=

Wrong: This is an important problem, and which we shall not find easy to solve.

Right: This problem is an important problem, which we shall not find easy to solve.

Right: This problem is one _which_ is important, _and which_ we cannot easily solve.

Wrong: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest and which everybody should read.

Right: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest, and one which everybody should read.

Wrong: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, but who is now less popular than he was.

Right: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, who is now less popular than he was.

Note.--Rule 17 is sometimes briefly stated: "Do not use _and which_ unless you have already used _which_ in the sentence." This statement is generally true, but an exception must be made for sentences like the following: Right: "He told me what countries he had visited, and which ones he liked most."

Exercise:

1. Just outside is a small porch looking out over the street, and which can be used for sleeping purposes.

2. She is a woman of pleasing personality, and who can converse intelligently.

3. It is a difficult task, but which can be accomplished in time.

4. He is a good-looking man, but who is very sn.o.bbish.

5. The rule made by the conference of college professors in 1896, and which has been followed ever since, applies to the case we are considering.

=Unity Thwarted by Punctuation=

=The Comma Splice=

=18. Do not splice two independent statements by means of a comma. Write two sentences. Or, if the two statements together form a unit of thought, combine them (1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a semicolon, or (3) by reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a subordinate clause.=

Wrong: The town has two railroads, it was founded when oil was discovered.

Right: The town has two railroads. It was founded when oil was discovered.

Wrong: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was, this was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. [Here are three commas. The reader cannot quickly discover which one marks the great division of thought.]

Right: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was.

This was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise.

Wrong: The winters were long and cold, nothing could live without shelter.

Right: The winters were long and cold. Nothing could live without shelter.

Right: The winters were long and cold, and nothing could live without shelter [For the use of the comma, see 91a].

Right: The winters were long and cold; nothing could live without shelter [For the use of the semicolon see 92].

Right: The winters were so long and cold that nothing could live without shelter.

Exception.--Short coordinate clauses which are parallel in structure and leave a unified impression, may be joined by commas, even though the conjunctions be omitted.

Right: All was excitement. The ducks quacked, the pigs squealed, the dogs barked. [The general idea _excitement_ gives the three clauses a certain unity.]

Exercise:

1. The key is turned to the right, this unlocks the door.

2. The author keeps one guessing, there is no hint how the story will end.

3. The farmer is independent, he has no task-master.

4. There has been a change of government, in fact there has been a revolution.

5. Lamb had failed in poetry, in the drama, and in the novel, in the essay, at last, he succeeded.

=19.= EXERCISE IN UNITY OF THOUGHT

=A. The Comma Splice=

Rewrite the following material in sentences each of which is a unit of thought. Most of the statements should be summarily cut apart. If you decide that others taken together have unity of thought, combine them (1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a semicolon, or (3) by reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a subordinate clause.

1. The canoe is long and narrow, it is made of birch bark.

2. I decided to serve tea, of course cream and sugar would be needed.

3. Some men hunt rabbits for market purposes only, they are the sportsman's enemies.

4. This city furnished many boats for the siege of Calais, when these boats returned they brought the plague with them.

5. The bottom of the box is then put in, it is nailed to the sides.

6. It is not easy to become a good musician, one must practice continually.

7. The Northern and Southern states could not be separate nations, there was no natural boundary between them.