7 Oct. 1814

Logic or Language

Ch. Qualities

Rules

Terms

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4. Restrictives - such as alone and only.

By these words what is constantly understood is - that the purpose for which they are employed is the narrowing the import of some word or other to which they are respectively annexed; that which in many cases cannot be collected but from the context, nor from the context without some difficulty, is, to which, of all the words in the sentence, the restriction is meant to be applied.

1. Substantive in the nominative case, (i.e. name of the agent.) 2. Adjective agreeing with the do., (i.e. quality ascribed to the agent.) 3. Verb. 4. Substantive in the accusative case, name of the patient. 5. Adjective, agreeing with the do., (i.e. quality of the patient.) 6. Adverb, in the character of the name of a quality, of a quality annexed to one or other of the adjectives or to the verb; frequently to any one of these, with more or less propriety, may the restriction be considered as applicable.

In English, what thickens the confusion is, the indeterminate character of the restrictives, alone and only. Each of them is employed sometimes in the character of an adjective, sometimes in the character of an adverb; to exhibit the different cases in which each, in contradiction to the other, is most proper, would itself be a task of no inconsiderable length.

Required to exhibit so many forms, by means of which in the several cases, where the restriction is meant to be applied exclusively the objects respectively signified by several parts of speech, it may in such sort be applied to these several subjects, that no misapplication whatsoever, howsoever transient and momentary, can take place.

To solve this problem would be a task of no inconsiderable length and labour - but at the same time, of no inconsiderable use.

If of the words alone, and only, the one were always an adjective, the other always an adverb, the difficulty of the task would be much less than it is; but, unfortunately, as has been just observed, no such constant distinction has place.

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