ys in trouble, his parents wondered
whether he should remain in school or not.

3. People who go back to the scenes of their childhood
everything looks strangely small.

4. It was the custom that whenever a political party came into
office, for the incoming men to discharge all employees of the
opposite party.

5. Although the average man, if asked whether he could shoot a
rabbit, would answer in the affirmative, even though he had
never hunted rabbits, would find himself badly mistaken.

=Necessary Words Omitted=

=3. Do not omit a word or a phrase which is necessary to an immediate
understanding of a sentence.=

Ambiguous: I consulted the secretary and president. [Did the
speaker consult one man or two?]

Right: I consulted the secretary and the president. [Or] I
consulted the man who was president and secretary.

Ambiguous: Water passes through the cement as well as the
bricks.

Right: Water passes through the cement as well as through the
bricks.

Wrong: I have had experience in every phase of the automobile.

Right: I have had experience in every phase of automobile
driving and repairing.

Wrong: About him were men whom he could not tell whether they
were friends or foes.

Right: About him were men regarding whom he could not tell
whether they were friends or foes. [Or, better] About him were
men who might have been either friends or foes.

Exercise:

1. When still a small boy, my family moved to Centerville.

2. Constantly in conversation with some one broadens our ideas
and our vocabulary.

3. It was a trick which opposing teams were sure to be
baffled.

4. They departed for the battle front with the knowledge they
might never return.

5. At the banquet were all classes of people; I met a banker
and plumber.

=Comparisons=

=4. Comparisons must be completed logically.=

Wrong: His speed was equal to a racehorse.

Wrong: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer.

Wrong: The shells which are used in quail hunting are different
than in rabbit hunting.

Compare a thing with another thing, an abstraction with another
abstraction. Do not carelessly compare a thing with a part or quality of
another thing. Always ask yourself: What is compared with what?

Right: His speed was