Page:The king's English (IA kingsenglish00fowlrich).pdf/343

Rh

The author of the last has been perplexed by the and in one of his alternatives. He should have used on the one hand, &c.

This is ugly when not necessary. Types of phrase in which it is necessary are: Many a youth; What a lie! How dreadful a fate! So lame an excuse. But there is no difficulty in placing a before ordinary qualifications of the adjective like quite, more, much less. In the following, read quite a sufficient, a more valuable, a more glorious, a more serviceable, no different position, a greater or less degree.

The odd arrangement in the following will not do; we should have a either before so or before degree.

But what I do venture to protest against is the sacrificing of the