of little else ——­ clothes. 38.  O fairest flower, no sooner blown ——­ blasted. 39.  There is no other hat here ——­ mine. 40. ——­ you have come, I will go with you. 41. ——­ Virgil was the better artist, Homer was the greater genius. 42.  He has not decided ——­ he will let me go to college. 43.  Sheep are white ——­ black. 44.  The King has no arbitrary power; your Lordships have not ——­ the
    Commons; ——­ the whole Legislature.
45.  No tie of gratitude ——­ of honor could bind him. 46.  She had no sooner arrived ——­ she prepared to go boating. 47.  Scarcely had she left the house ——­ she returned. 48.  He was punished, ——­ he was guilty. 49.  He was punished, ——­ he was not guilty. 50.  We cannot go ——­ we finish our task. 51. ——­ the rain came down in torrents, we started for the lake. 52.  She could ——­ dance ——­ sing, ——­ she played the piano. 53.  I do not know ——­ I shall walk ——­ ride. 54.  Hardly had he left the room ——­ the prisoner attempted to escape. 55.  The chances are ten to one ——­ he will forget it. 56.  Stand up so ——­ you can be seen.

OMITTED CONJUNCTIONS.—­Careless writers sometimes omit conjunctions that are necessary either to the grammar or to the sense.  A common form of this fault is illustrated in “This is as good if not better than that”—­a sentence in which “as” is omitted after “as good.”  The best way to correct the sentence is to recast it, thus:  “This is as good as that, if not better.”

EXERCISE LXXXVIII.

Correct the faults in these sentences:—­

1.  Ralph is as young or younger than Harry. 2.  Cedar is more durable but not so hard as oak. 3.  I never heard any one speak more fluently or so wittily as he. 4.  She is fairer but not so amiable as her sister. 5.  Though not so old, he is wiser than his brother.

REDUNDANT CONJUNCTIONS.—­[148] Careless writers sometimes insert conjunctions that are useless or worse than useless.  A common form of this fault is the use in certain cases of “and” or “but” before the words “who,” “which,” “when,” or “where,” which are themselves connectives:  as, “The challenge was accepted by Orlando, a young man little known up to that time, but to whom Rosalind had taken a great liking.”  If the relative clause introduced by “who,” “which,” “when,” or “where” is to be joined to a preceding relative clause, the conjunction is proper:  as, “The challenge was accepted by Orlando, a young man who was little known at that time, but to whom Rosalind had taken a great liking.”

[148] See “Foundations,” pp. 208-211.

EXERCISE LXXXIX.

Which conjunctions in these sentences are redundant?—­