Читать книгу The Century Handbook of Writing - Garland Greever - Страница 25

15. Do not put the principal statement of a sentence in a subordinate clause or phrase. This violation of unity is sometimes called "upside-down subordination".

 Faulty: I was going down the street, when I heard an explosion. [If hearing the explosion is the main thought, it should be placed in the main clause.]

 Right: When I was going down the street, I heard an explosion.

 Faulty: Longstreet received orders to attack the Federal right wing, which he did immediately.

 Right: As soon as Longstreet received orders, he attacked the Federal right wing.

 Faulty: I suspected that it would rain, although I did not take an umbrella.

 Right: Although I suspected that it would rain, I did not take an umbrella.

Exercise:

1 An old man used to work for us, who died yesterday.

2 He became angry, saying he positively refused to go.

3 He is a bright boy, although I should not want to trust him with my pocketbook.

4 He had an ambition which was to become the best lawyer in the state by the time he was forty years old.

5 The cable breaks and the elevator starts to drop, when the safety device always operates at once to prevent an accident.