or the Disinherited Knight find in the ranks opposed to them a champion who could be termed their unquestioned match. (6) Neither Napoleon nor the Duke of Wellington ever allowed anyone to shave them. (7) Each of the disputants think themselves in the right. (8) Every person should be careful of the feelings of those around them. 239. The use of the Plural in these sentences is a poor attempt to supply a deficiency in our language. Anybody, nobody, everybody, &c., are of the Singular Number, Common Gender, and Third Person; but the only Pronouns of the Common Gender and Third Person are Plural. 240. The use of Plural Pronouns in the cases indicated may be avoided in several ways. (1) Where the context shows that, though the Noun is of the Common Gender, all the persons spoken of are either male or female, a Masculine or Feminine Pronoun may be used. Thus : Every teacher did their best to promote the welfare of their pupils may be written or Every teacher did his best to promote the welfare of his pupils; Every teacher did her best to promote the welfare of her pupils. (2) The Noun may be made Plural. There will then be no need to make any change in the Pronoun. Thus, the sentence just corrected may be written All the teachers did their best for the welfare of their pupils. The same method may be used with the following sentence : A boy or girl should always raise their hats to their superiors. We thus have Boys or girls should always raise their hats to their superiors. The sentence is now grammatical; but it is still absurd, for girls do not raise their hats to their superiors. (3) Where the statement is general, a Masculine Pronoun may be used; thus: Every person whose misfortunes are caused by their own faults are apt to say that they are the victims of circumstances beyond their control may be changed into Every person whose misfortunes are caused by his own faults is apt to say that he is the victim of circumstances beyond his own control. In Acts of Parliament it is often expressly stated that words which denote males must be taken to include females, except where the sense forbids. Sometimes, however, a statement is not sufficiently wide for the Masculine Pronoun to be used in a general sense. The Pronoun could not be thus used in the sentence Not one of those present at the ball troubled themselves about the snow falling outside. - In such a sentence a Plural Noun may be used; thus:The people present at the ball did not trouble themselves about the snow falling outside. (4) The offending Pronoun may sometimes be avoided by changing the form of the sentence. When a child sees an old man or woman standing, they should offer them a chair is improved by the substitution of it for they, but the Plural them is left for 'man or woman.' We can remove them by changing the form of the sentence; thus: To any old man or woman whom a child may see standing, it should offer a chair. (5) In the last sentence dealt with we might for them have substi tuted him or her; thus: When a child sees an old man or woman standing, it should offer him or her a chair. This is a form of speech much employed by lawyers, but it is so harsh that we may cheerfully allow them a monopoly of it. One. 241. We have seen that the Pronoun he may be used in an indefinite or general sense. One (corresponding to the French on and the Old English and the German man) is used in the same way, but neither he nor its oblique Cases can be used for one or its oblique Cases. Say: It is pleasant when one has done one's [not his] work to seat one's self [not himself] in a comfortable chair, and to enjoy communion with the authors that have been a solace to one [not him] in times gone by. 242. This sentence shows what a disagreeable effect is produced when one and its oblique Cases are freely used. Correct Exercise 96. (a) The eight examples given under Par. 238. (b) The following sentences: Everybody was pleasing themselves. I will punish anyone who cannot hold their tongues. If anyone broke the dining-room window they could easily get through. We should try to visit everyone, however poor they may be. I think the man or woman who could let their love stand in the way of five and twenty thousand a year is the next thing to being mad. [Re-cast.] I seldom meet with anybody who is entertaining either from their folly or their affectation or their stupidity or their vanity. A person who is rough and selfish in their behaviour will be disliked. No mortal in their senses ever thinks of such stuff now. Everyone should be polite to those around them. Everyone of them looked on all his associates as wretches of depraved taste and narrow notions. Their conversation was therefore fretful and waspish, their behaviour brutal, their merriment bluntly sarcastic, and their seriousness gloomy and suspicious. Each of them was busy in arranging their particular concerns, and endeavouring by placing around them their books and other possessions to form themselves a home. When perspective was first discovered, everybody amused themselves with it. Everybody enjoyed themselves very much. Everybody was on deck amusing themselves as they could. Each prayed for the other rather than for themselves. No one should marry unless they have the means of supporting themselves and their children. Each of the sexes should content themselves with the advantage of their particular state. Can anyone be fully sure that they will not be deceived? No one should incur censure for being tender of their reputation. We shall be glad to forward a copy to anyone who will take the trouble to send it to some newspaper in their neighbourhood. Everybody feels that they ought to keep a diary at least once in their lives. [The order is bad.] We must refer each person to their own experience. Everybody was ordered to put his or her best clothes on. No one was without an exact match with whom they might precisely correspond. Everybody rises early and goes to the spring, where they partake of [say drink] the water with much energy and perseverance. Every girl should bring their books. No one will answer me as if I were their friend or companion. The prince or magistrate, the soldier or merchant, reconciled their fervent zeal and implicit faith with the exercise of their profession, the pursuit of their interest, and the indulgence of their passions. Everyone must judge of their own feelings. She fell to laughing like one out of their right mind. With this sauce one could eat his own father. In such a dream, one might forget his cares And dream himself in poet's mood away. When writing on these subjects, one ought to be more than usually particular in his endeavours to be himself correct. One can say to his friends the things that he wants to say. Demonstratives. 243. A Personal Pronoun is improperly used for the Demonstrative in sentences like the following:— We ought always to have a great regard for them [say those] who are wise and good. Anger is troublesome, not only to those who suffer it but to them wha behold it. These two paragraphs are extremely worthy of Mr. Addison, and exhibit a style which they who can successfully imitate may esteem themselves happy. [A very clumsy sentence.] Exercise 97. Substitute Demonstratives for the Personal Pronouns improperly used. They who had laid up nothing came upon the parish at once; they who had saved something spent that first. They who have talents want industry; they who have industry want talents. They who have nothing to fear need no concealment. They whose standard he joined hailed his defection with enthusiasm. They who read the book hastily will not understand it. I experienced little difficulty in distinguishing from among the pedestrians they who had business with St. Bartholomew. 244. The Demonstrative that (with its Plural those) is much used in the locution that of (or those of); as The leg of the table is stronger than that of the chair. 245. This form of expression seems borrowed from the French celui (with celle, ceux, celles) de, used as in the following sentences: L'intéret parle toutes sortes de langues et joue toutes sortes de personnages, même celui de désintéressé. Notre mérite nous attire l'estime des honnêtes gens et notre étoile celle du public. 246. That of and those of may be used to avoid repetition; as Pitt was suffering from indisposition; he did not rise till his own strength and that of his hearers were exhausted. 247. Some writers have too much fear of repetition; but, granting that repetition is to be avoided, it may often be avoided by methods more English than the use of that of. (1) Simple omission is sometimes enough; as There is no county in England more beautiful than [that of] Surrey. (2) More often a Possessive may be employed; as With that of ' The house of Mr. Brown is bigger than that of Mr. Smith. With Possessive Mr. Brown's house is bigger than Mr. Smith's. In French we could not use the Possessive. We should have to say La maison de M. Brown est plus grande que celle de M. Smith. (3) Where (as with the names of things) a Possessive cannot be employed, the form of the sentence may be changed; thus: With that of. Without. The rapidity of light is much greater than that of sound. Light travels much faster than sound. |