Her, by the by, in _after_ years I vainly endeavored to
trace.--DE QUINCEY.
The upper and the _under_ side of the medal of Jove.--EMERSON.
Have you ever considered what a deep _under_ meaning there lies
in our custom of strewing flowers?--RUSKIN.
Perhaps he rose out of some _nether_ region.--HAWTHORNE.
_Over_ is rarely used separately as an adjective.
CAUTION FOR ANALYZING OR PARSING.
[Sidenote: _Think what each adjective belongs to._]
168. Some care must be taken to decide what word is modified by an
adjective. In a series of adjectives in the same sentence, all may
belong to the same noun, or each may modify a different word or group
of words.
For example, in this sentence, "The young pastor's voice was
tremulously sweet, rich, deep, and broken," it is clear that all four
adjectives after _was_ modify the noun _voice_. But in this sentence,
"She showed her usual prudence and her usual incomparable decision,"
_decision_ is modified by the adjective _incomparable_; _usual_
modifies _incomparable decision_, not _decision_ alone; and the
pronoun _her_ limits _usual incomparable decision_.
Adjectives modifying the same noun are said to be of the _same rank_;
those modifying different words or word groups are said to be
adjectives of _different rank_. This distinction is valuable in a
study of punctuation.
Exercise.
In the following quotations, tell what each adjective modifies:--
1. Whenever that look appeared in her wild, bright, deeply black
eyes, it invested them with a strange remoteness and
intangibility.--HAWTHORNE.
2. It may still be argued, that in the present divided state of
Christendom a college which is positively Christian must be
controlled by some religious denomination.--NOAH PORTER.
3. Every quaking leaf and fluttering shadow sent the blood
backward to her heart.--MRS. STOWE.
4. This, our new government, is the first in the history of the
world based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral
truth.--A.H. STEPHENS
5. May we not, therefore, look with confidence to the ultimate
universal acknowledgment of the truths upon which our system
rests?--_Id._
6. A few improper jests and a volley of good, round, solid,
satisfactory, and heaven-defying oaths.--HAWTHORNE.
7. It is well known that the announcement at any private rural
entertainment t
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