CHAPTER II
THE CLASSIFICATION OF PROPOSITIONS
How Propositions differ in Nature.—In studying the human body we cannot help seeing that all the prominent members are not equally important. Some could exist independently of others, while some are joined directly to a more important part, and, if separated from it, would have no use or life. So, in studying a sentence, we notice that all the propositions are not equal in rank. Some are complete sentences in themselves; others would not make sense if they were obliged to stand alone. Hence there arise two classes of propositions,—principal and subordinate, or independent and dependent.
In every sentence there is at least one primary thought which it is the author’s main purpose to communicate, and this will always be found in the principal proposition. There may be modifying circumstances of time, place, manner, condition, etc., which he wishes to embody in his sentence, but he brings these in by means of words and phrases, which are elements of the principal proposition, or else, if the language affords no adequate words and phrases, by means of subordinate propositions.
In the following sentence from Carlyle,—“How true is that old fable of the Sphinx, who sat by the wayside propounding her riddle to the passengers,” there are plainly two propositions. It is also plain that the thought which the author wished most to convey is this,—The old fable of the Sphinx is true. In fact, it was the prime importance of this thought that led him to put it in the principal proposition. He chose to add the thought expressed in the second proposition, but he showed its minor importance by constructing the proposition so that it serves as a mere modifier of the word Sphinx. From a grammatical point of view the first proposition is complete,—it could stand alone and make sense; hence it is called independent. On the other hand, the second proposition, if separated from the first, would lose its meaning; it is therefore said to be dependent.
Consider these sentences:
1. The Mohawk hardly feels the scalping-knife while he shouts his death song.—Macaulay.
2. No success is worthy of the name unless it is won by honest industry and a brave breasting of the waves of fortune.—Huxley.
3. That country is the fairest which is inhabited by the noblest minds.—Emerson.
If we separate each of these sentences into its two propositions and apply the test,—which proposition is by itself grammatically complete? we shall see that the first proposition in each sentence is independent and the second dependent. But it may be said that in each case the dependent proposition is necessary for the truth of the sentence, that its thought must have been in the author’s mind not as an addition to the main thought but as something indispensable. This is perfectly true; logically the truth of the independent proposition does depend on the thought in the dependent proposition, but grammatically the dependence is the other way. Notice that in each of these sentences the second proposition denotes a modifying circumstance of the main thought, and therefore takes rank in the sentence merely as an idea,—telling in the first sentence when the Mohawk hardly feels the scalping knife, in the second under what condition success is unworthy, in the third which country is the fairest. Now, had the author so chosen, these modifications might all have been expressed by phrases, though possibly not so clearly.
Tests for Independent and Dependent Propositions.—From the foregoing we may deduce the following tests for propositions.
1. For the independent proposition.—(a) It contains the main thought that the author wished to convey. (b) It is so expressed that it is grammatically complete when standing alone.
2. For the dependent proposition.—(a) It expresses a modifying thought of some word or words in the independent proposition. (b) It may be changed to a simpler element, a word or phrase, provided there is a word or phrase in the language to express the same meaning. (c) It is not so expressed that it would make sense standing alone.
Function of the Dependent Proposition.—From what has already been said it may be inferred that the dependent proposition is employed (1) for variety, in the place of a word or phrase, (2) for the adequate expression of what we have no word or phrase capable of saying. But this is not all. Every dependent proposition can be changed into an independent proposition, and so might have been brought into the sentence in that form. For example,—
The Mohawk shouts his death song, and he hardly feels the scalping knife.
That country is inhabited by the noblest minds and it is the fairest.
Success should be won by honest industry and a brave breasting of the waves of fortune, and no other success is worthy of the name.
By comparing these recasted sentences with the originals we perceive why the authors employed the dependent proposition; by means of it they have shown what the recasted sentences do not show—(1) what is the main thought and what is subordinate; (2) the special relation existing between the principal and the subordinate thought. This second point is very important. If we had to tell a story in sentences of one proposition each, how difficult it would be to give the reader an idea of the various relations between these propositions. Besides, how tedious is a succession of single propositions. Compare, for instance, the following six sentences with the one smooth, compact, clear sentence into which they may be combined.
The jay hoards up nuts for winter use.
This is a general belief among country people.
This belief has probably some foundation in fact.
Where can the jay safely place his stores?
One is at a loss to know this.
His stores are apt to be pilfered by the mice and squirrels.
The general belief among country people that the jay hoards up nuts for winter use has probably some foundation in fact, though one is at a loss to know where he could place his stores so that they would not be pilfered by the mice and squirrels.—Burroughs.
The Combination of Independent Propositions.—This comes about when we wish to put related thoughts into one sentence in such a way as to show that they are equally important, and that, although they are related, neither is to be considered as denoting some modifying circumstance of any idea in the other. For example,—
1. There must be work done by the arms or none of us could live.—Ruskin.
2. Misfortune could not subdue him and prosperity could not spoil him.—Dickens.
3. You may talk of the tyranny of Nero and Tiberius; but the real tyranny is the tyranny of your next door neighbor.—Bagehot.
Notice that the connectives in these sentences, while indicating a relation between the propositions as wholes, belong to one proposition no more than to the other, hence are not a grammatical part of either; also that neither proposition is a modifier of any idea in the other.
It has been well said that often when we combine two independent propositions into one sentence, we are really conveying three thoughts,—the thought in each proposition and the thought suggested by the relation between the two propositions. In sentence 3 just quoted, we have not only the two propositions expressed, but two more implied; viz., the tyranny of Nero and Tiberius is not the real tyranny; and, the real tyranny is not talked about.
We are now ready to take the second step in studying the structure of a given sentence, that is, to determine whether its component propositions are independent or dependent.
Exercise 2
Select each proposition in the following sentences. State whether it is independent or dependent, and give the grounds for your decision.
1. Children play the part in the household which the king’s jester, who very often had a mighty long head under his cap and bells, used to play for a monarch.—Holmes.
2. Already I breathed gales of the everlasting mountains, that to my feelings blew from the garden of Paradise.—De Quincey.
3. The waterfall is comparatively narrow at the top of the precipice; but it widens as it descends, and curves a little as it widens, so that it shapes itself, before it reaches the first bowl of granite, into the charming figure of the comet that glowed on our sky some years ago.—King.
4. He, who, in an enlightened and literary society, aspires to be a great poet, must first become a little child.—Macaulay.
5. One has only to sit down in the woods or fields, or by the shore of the river or lake, and nearly everything of interest will come round to him,—the birds, the animals, the insects,—and presently, after his eye has got accustomed to the place and to the light and shade, he will probably see some plant or flower that he had sought in vain for, and that is a pleasant surprise to him.—Burroughs.
6. If their lantern had been in its place, they would scarce have failed to descry me, unless indeed I had seen the gleam before I turned the corner.—Blackmore.
7. The whole town knew and kindly regarded Miss Betsey Barker’s Alderney; therefore great was the sympathy and regret when, in an unguarded moment, the poor cow tumbled into a lime-pit.—Mrs. Gaskell.
8.
That was the grandest funeral
That ever passed on earth,
But no one heard the tramping,
Or saw the train go forth.
9. There were rows of houses which he had never seen before, and those which had been his familiar haunts had disappeared.—Irving.
10. In the morning I arose with the lark, and at night I slept where sunset overtook me.—Longfellow.
11. Kala Nag, which means Black Snake, had served the Indian Government in every way that an elephant could serve it for forty-seven years.—Kipling.
12. Your dull unhurried worker gets over a great deal of ground because he never goes backward or breaks down.—Wm. James.