The Century Handbook of Writing

by Garland Greever; Easley S. Jones

[Correlatives]

Conjunctions that are used in pairs are called correlatives; for example, not only ... but also ..., both ... and ..., either ... or ..., neither ... nor ..., not ... or ..., whether ... or ....

31. Correlatives should usually be followed by elements parallel in form; if a predicate follows one, a predicate should follow the other; if a prepositional phrase follows one, a prepositional phrase should follow the other; and so on.

• Faulty: He was not only courteous to rich customers but also to poor ones. [Here the phrases intended to be balanced against each other are to rich customer's and to poor ones. As the sentence stands, it is the word courteous that is balanced against to poor ones.]
• Right: He was courteous not only to rich customers but also to poor ones.
• Faulty: She could neither make up her mind to go nor could she decide to stay.
• Right: She could neither make up her mind to go nor decide to stay. [Or] She could not make up her mind either to go or to stay.
• Faulty: I talked both with Brown and Miller. [Here one conjunction is followed by a preposition and the other by a noun.]
• Right: I talked with both Brown and Miller. [Or] I talked both with Brown and with Miller.

Exercise:

1. He was courteous to both friends and his enemies.
2. Such conduct is not only dangerous to society but becomes a national disgrace as well.
3. She had neither affectation of manners nor was she sharp-tongued.
4. After reading Thoreau's Walden I appreciate not only the style but also I am inclined to believe in his ideas.
5. The good that the delegates derive from the convention not only helps them, but they tell others what happened.

[CONSISTENCY]

[Shift in Subject or Voice]

32. Do not needlessly shift the subject, voice, or mode in the middle of a sentence. Keep one point of view, until there is a reason for changing.

• Faulty: In the stream which the road led over, fish were plentiful. [Here the first mental picture is of a stream. Then the thought is jerked away to the road above. Then it returns to the fish in the stream.]
• Right: In the stream which flowed under the roadway, fish were plentiful.
• Faulty: Mark Twain was born in the West, but the East was his home in later years. [The change of subject is uncalled for.]
• Right: Mark Twain was born in the West, but lived in the East in his later years. [Or] The West was the birthplace of Mark Twain, and the East was his home in his later years.
• Faulty: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of gasoline, and at the same time very little lubricating oil is used. [The shift from active to passive voice is awkward and confusing.]
• Right: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of gasoline, and at the same time use very little lubricating oil.
• Faulty: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when we wish to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of mathematics is indispensable.
• Right: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when certain formulas are to be calculated, a knowledge of mathematics is indispensable. [Or] When we face a problem in chemistry, or wish to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of mathematics is indispensable.
• Faulty: Next the ground should be harrowed. Then you sow the wheat. [The subject changes from ground to you. One verb explains what should be done, the other what somebody does.]
• Right: Next the ground
  • is
  • should be
  • is
  • should be
• harrowed. Then it
• sown to wheat. [Or] Next you should harrow the ground. Then you should sow the wheat.