OBSERVATIONS.
OBS. 1.—Conjunctive adverbs often relate equally to two verbs in different clauses, on which account it is the more necessary to distinguish them from others; as, "And they feared when they heard that they were Romans,"—Acts, xvi, 38. Here when is a conjunctive adverb of time, and relates equally to feared and to heard. "The right of coming on the shore for their purposes in general, as and when they please."—Holroyd. Here as is a conjunctive adverb of manner, and when, of time; both relating equally to coming and to please.
OBS. 2.—The following words are the most frequently used as conjunctive adverbs: after, again, also, as, before, besides, consequently, else, ere, even, furthermore, hence, how, however, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, since, so, still, till, then, thence, therefore, too, until, when, where, wherefore, whither, and while, or whilst.
OBS. 3.—Adverbs of time, place, and manner, are generally connected with verbs or participles; those of degree are more frequently placed before adjectives or adverbs: the latter, however, sometimes denote the measure of actions or effects; as, "And I wept much"—Rev., v, 4. "And Isaac trembled very exceedingly"—Gen., xxvii, 33. "Writers who had felt less, would have said more"—Fuller.
"Victors and vanquished, in the various field,
Nor wholly overcome, nor wholly yield."—Dryden.
OBS. 4.—The adverbs here, there, and where, when compounded with prepositions, have the force of pronouns, or of pronominal adjectives: as, Hereby, for by this; thereby, for by that; whereby, for by which, or by what. The prepositions which may be subjoined in this manner, are only the short words, at, by, for, from, in, into, of, on, to, unto, under, upon, and with. Compounds of this kind, although they partake of the nature of pronouns with respect to the nouns going before, are still properly reckoned adverbs, because they relate as such to the verbs which follow them; as, "You take my life, when you do take the means whereby I live."—Shak. Here whereby is a conjunctive adverb, representing means, and relating to the verb live.[309] This mode of expression is now somewhat antiquated, though still frequently used by good authors, and especially by the poets.
OBS. 5—The adverbs, when, where, whither, whence, how, why, wherefore, wherein, whereof, whereby, and other like compounds of where, are sometimes used as interrogatives; but, as such, they still severally belong to the classes under which they are placed in the foregoing distribution, except that words of interrogation are not at the same time connectives. These adverbs, and the three pronouns, who, which, and what, are the only interrogative words in the language; but questions may be asked without any of them, and all have other uses than to ask questions.
OBS. 6.—The conjunctive adverbs, when, where, whither, whence, how, and why, are sometimes so employed as to partake of the nature of pronouns, being used as a sort of special relatives, which refer back to antecedent nouns of time, place, manner, or cause, according to their own respective meanings; yet being adverbs, because they relate as such, to the verbs which follow them: as, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men."—Rom., ii, 16. "In a time when thou mayest be found."—Psal., xxxii, 6. "I sought for some time what I at length found here, a place where all real wants might be easily supplied."—Dr. Johnson. "To that part of the mountain where the declivity began to grow craggy."—Id. "At Canterbury, whither some voice had run before."—Wotton. "Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged."—Isaiah, li, 1. "We may remark three different sources whence it arises."—Blair's Rhet., p. 163. "I'll tell you a way how you may live your time over again."—Collier's Antoninus, p. 108. "A crude account of the method how they perceive truth."—Harris's Hermes, p. 404. "The order how the Psalter is appointed to be read."—Common Prayer. "In the same reasoning we see the cause, why no substantive is susceptible of these comparative degrees."—Hermes, p. 201. "There seems no reason why it should not work prosperously."—Society in America, p. 68. "There are strong reasons why an extension of her territory would be injurious to her."—Ib. "An other reason why it deserved to be more studied."—Blair's Rhet., p. 123. "The end why God hath ordained faith, is, that his free grace might be glorified."—Goodwin.
OBS. 7.—The direct use of adverbs for pronouns, is often, if not generally, inelegant; and, except the expression may be thereby agreeably shortened, it ought to be considered ungrammatical. The following examples, and perhaps also some of the foregoing, are susceptible of improvement: "Youth is the time, when we are young."—Sanborn's Gram., p. 120. Say rather, "Youth is that part of life which succeeds to childhood." "The boy gave a satisfactory reason why he was tardy."—Ibid. Say rather, "The boy gave a satisfactory reason for his tardiness." "The several sources from whence these pleasures are derived."—Murray's Key, p. 258. Say rather—"sources from which" "In cases where it is only said, that a question has been asked."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 117. Say, "In those cases in which." "To the false rhetoric of the age when he lived."—Harris's Hermes, p. 415. Say rather—"of the age in which he lived."
OBS. 8.—When a conjunctive adverb is equivalent to both an antecedent and a relative, the construction seems to be less objectionable, and the brevity of the expression affords an additional reason for preferring it, especially in poetry: as, "But the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."—Matt., viii, 20. "There might they see whence Po and Ister came."—Hoole's Tasso. "Tell how he formed your shining frame."—Ogilvie. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth."—John, iii, 8. In this construction, the adverb is sometimes preceded by a preposition; the noun being, in fact, understood: as,
"Sinks, like a sea-weed, into whence she rose."—Byron.
"Here Machiavelli's earth return'd to whence it rose."—Id.
OBS. 9.—The conjunctive adverb so, very often expresses the sense of some word or phrase going before; as, "Wheresoever the speech is corrupted, so is the mind."—Seneca's Morals, p. 267. That is, the mind is also corrupted. "I consider grandeur and sublimity, as terms synonymous, or nearly so."—Blair's Rhet., p. 29. The following sentence is grossly wrong, because the import of this adverb was not well observed by the writer: "We have now come to far the most complicated part of speech; and one which is sometimes rendered still more so, than the nature of our language requires."—Nutting's Gram., p. 38. So, in some instances, repeats the import of a preceding noun, and consequently partakes the nature of a pronoun; as,
"We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow;
Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so."—Pope, on Crit.
OBS. 10.—"Since is often improperly used for ago: as, 'When were you in France?—Twenty years since.' It ought to be, 'Twenty years ago.' Since may be admitted to supply the place of ago that: it being equally correct to say, 'It is twenty years since I was in France;' and, 'It is twenty years ago, that I was in France.'"—Churchill's Gram., p. 337. The difference between since and ago is clearly this: the former, being either a preposition or a conjunctive adverb, cannot with strict propriety be used adjectively; the latter, being in reality an old participle, naturally comes after a noun, in the sense of an adjective; as, a year ago, a month ago, a week ago. "Go, ago, ygo, gon, agon, gone, agone, are all used indiscriminately by our old English writers as the past participle of the verb to go."—Tooke's Diversions, Vol. i, p. 376. "Three days agone, I fell sick."—1 Samuel, xxx, 13.