It must be noted here that modifiers vary in their closeness to the word modified; and therefore in analyzing sentences modifiers should be given, not in the order of their position, but in the order of their closeness. In the sentence,—“One night, shortly after the coldest weather set in, he lost his oar as he was returning to the island,” the verb lost is modified by three elements denoting time, (1) as he was returning to the island, (2) one night, (3) shortly after the coldest weather set in.
Note.—In the sentence just quoted, the connective after is preceded by the adverb shortly, which is put into the sentence to tell how long after the coldest weather set in, hence it is a modifier of the whole clause. Other adverbial clauses than those of time may be modified in this way; for example, The Puritans espoused the cause of civil liberty mainly because it was the cause of religion.
It is interesting and instructive to note that other ideas may be associated with that of time in a temporal clause. A clause introduced by until sometimes denotes result as well as time.—“Skirts grew more and more bulbous until it did not need more than three or four women to make a good-sized assembly.”—Warner.
A clause introduced by since may denote time and cause.—“Since I have begun to examine these expressive little brutes, I have made many profound observations.”—H. James.
A clause introduced by when may denote time and condition.—“When the eyes say one thing and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.”—Emerson.
Exercise 9
Select temporal clauses in the following sentences, telling what each clause modifies and what it denotes, also its connective.
1. Hero worship endures forever while man endures.—Carlyle.
2. Almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life.—Jane Austen.
3. When the need of such an institution as Feudalism no longer existed, then it was broken up.—Lord.