A peculiar expression denoting degree, which it seems best to give here although it follows neither than nor as is found in the sentence, He was all but killed. It seems best not to separate all but, but to consider the expression as one adverbial modifier of the passive verb was killed. In the sentence, He was all but dead, we may say if we choose that all is used as the base-word of the adjective complement of was, and is modified by the prepositional phrase but dead. However, the sentence does not appeal to us in this way; we do not naturally make the separation between all on one side and but dead on the other. Still less do we make such a separation when the word following but is a verb; as in, “We all but won.” Instead of this we keep the words all but together as if they were one word, having almost the same meaning as the adverb nearly.
Ellipses in Principal Propositions.—1. The entire subject and part of the predicate may be omitted; as, “A prick (= I gave her a prick) and she passed the most inviting stable door.”—Stevenson. Here the abbreviated expression accords well with the thought.
2. If part of a compound sentence is the same as what has already been expressed, it is frequently omitted; as, “The former seems to have been a loyal and homely soul; the latter (seems to have been) restless, imperious, penetrating, unamiable.”—Morley.
3. In replies to questions, that part is often omitted which can be supplied from the question; as, “‘What do you hope?’ ‘That long before this moon has grown old, you will be quite strong again.’”—Miss Mulock. The reply is here a noun clause, object of hope, which with its subject I is to be supplied.
4. In sentences beginning with the words no wonder, the verb is and the anticipative subject it are to be supplied. The real subject is a noun clause following no wonder; as, “No wonder the princess loved him.”—Stockton.
5. The verb and the anticipative subject it are often omitted at the beginning of sentences introduced by no matter; as, “No matter just at this moment, what he said.”—Holmes. Here the real subject of the predicate is no matter is the noun clause what he said.
6. Some interrogative or exclamative sentences begin with the words what if. The word what is all that is left of a principal proposition, and if introduces a conditional clause. It may seem best sometimes to dispose of this if-clause as a noun clause used as the real subject of the principal proposition. The principal proposition may be expanded to read,—“What does it matter,” “what matter is it,” “what difference does it make,” etc.; as, “What (would the result be) if one of the Himalayas could be cloven from its topmost tile of ice to its torrid base?”—King.
7. A construction similar to the last is one in which the negative adverb not takes the place of a whole proposition; as, “Not that I could see the boat drift, for I could not, the stars being all gone by this time.”—S. L. Clemens. We may expand this sentence to read,—“I do not mean that I could see,” or “I would not say that I could see.”
8. Exclamative sentences expressing a wish often begin with the verb would, which is to be taken as equivalent to wish with the subject I omitted. Would is followed by a noun clause used as its object; as, “Would to Heaven that we had a sieve, that we could so much as fancy any kind of sieve that would do this work.”
9. The imperative let is sometimes omitted at the beginning of a sentence, especially before the verb suffice; as, “Suffice it here to say that the people in all times enjoyed a freedom far above that possessed by any other city of Europe.”—Besant.