Ending of a theme on The Uses of Iron:

Only some of the more important uses of this wonderful metal, iron, have been mentioned. There are hundreds of other uses to which it is constantly put—uses which no other metal could fill. Gold may once have been called the king of metals, but it has long since lost its claim to that title.

Ending of a story:

John heard her answer, and began to move slowly away from the gate.

"Good-bye," he said.

And then he was gone, forever.

Suggested subjects for the making of outlines and compositions.

1. How I Spent my Vacation. 2. Shall Final Examinations be Abolished? 3. The Subjects which Should be Taught in High Schools. 4. My Qualifications for a Position. 5. The Uses of Iron. 6. Paul Revere's Ride. 7. The City Park. 8. My Town as a Place of Residence. 9. The Value of Railroads. 10. Why I Believe in Local Option. 11. A Winter's Sleigh Ride. 12. Shall Foreign Immigration be Restricted? 13. My Youthful Business Ventures. 14. Why I Belong to the X Political Party. 15. Various Methods of Heating a House.

185. Below is given in full Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech. It is perfect in its English and its construction. Study it with especial reference to its coherence, unity, and emphasis. Some of the words of coherence have been italicized.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers, brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as the final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here; but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

186. Small Economies, from Mrs. Gaskell's Cranford.

I have often noticed that everyone has his own individual small economies—careful habits of saving fractions of pennies in some one peculiar direction—any disturbance of which annoys him more than spending shillings or pounds on some real extravagance.

An old gentleman of my acquaintance, who took the intelligence of the failure of a Joint-Stock Bank, in which some of his money was invested, with a stoical mildness, worried his family all through a long summer's day because one of them had torn (instead of cutting) out the written leaves of his now useless bank-book. Of course, the corresponding pages at the other end came out as well, and this little unnecessary waste of paper (his private economy) chafed him more than all the loss of his money. Envelopes fretted his soul terribly when they first came in. The only way in which he could reconcile himself to such waste of his cherished article was by patiently turning inside out all that were sent to him, and so making them serve again. Even now, though tamed by age, I see him casting wistful glances at his daughters when they send a whole inside of a half-sheet of note paper, with the three lines of acceptance to an invitation, written on only one of the sides.

I am not above owning that I have this human weakness myself. String is my foible. My pockets get full of little hanks of it, picked up and twisted together, ready for uses that never come. I am seriously annoyed if any one cuts the string of a parcel instead of patiently and faithfully undoing it fold by fold. How people can bring themselves to use india-rubber bands, which are a sort of deification of string, as lightly as they do, I cannot imagine. To me an india rubber band is a precious treasure. I have one which is not new—one that I picked up off the floor nearly six years ago. I have really tried to use it, but my heart failed me, and I could not commit the extravagance.

Small pieces of butter grieve others. They cannot attend to conversation because of the annoyance occasioned by the habit which some people have of invariably taking more butter than they want. Have you not seen the anxious look (almost mesmeric) which such persons fix on the article? They would feel it a relief if they might bury it out of their sight by popping it into their own mouths and swallowing it down; and they are really made happy if the person on whose plate it lies unused suddenly breaks off a piece of toast (which he does not want at all) and eats up his butter. They think that this is not waste.

Now Miss Matty Jenkins was chary of candles. We had many devices to use as few as possible. In the winter afternoons she would sit knitting for two or three hours—she could do this in the dark, or by firelight—and when I asked if I might not ring for candles to finish stitching my wristbands, she told me to "keep blind man's holiday." They were usually brought in with tea; but we only burnt one at a time. As we lived in constant preparation for a friend who might come in any evening (but who never did), it required some contrivance to keep our two candles of the same length, ready to be lighted, and to look as if we burnt two always. The candles took it in turns; and, whatever we might be talking or doing, Miss Matty's eyes were habitually fixed upon the candle, ready to jump up and extinguish it and to light the other before they had become too uneven in length to be restored to equality in the course of the evening.

One night, I remember this candle economy particularly annoyed me. I had been very much tired of my compulsory "blind man's holiday," especially as Miss Matty had fallen asleep, and I did not like to stir the fire and run the risk of awakening her; and so I could not even sit on the rug, and scorch myself with sewing by firelight, according to my usual custom....

187. A LIST OF BOOKS FOR READING. These books are of a varied character and are all interesting and of recognized excellence in their English. Most of them are books that, as a matter of general education, should be read by everyone.

Fiction: Treasure Island—Stevenson. Kidnapped—Stevenson. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—Stevenson. The Scarlet Letter—Hawthorne. Twice Told Tales—Hawthorne. The Luck of Roaring Camp—Bret Harte. Tales of Mystery and Imagination—Poe. Silas Marner—Eliot. Robinson Crusoe—Defoe. Ivanhoe—Scott. Henry Esmond—Thackeray. Pilgrim's Progress—Bunyan. The Spy—Cooper. The Man without a Country—Hale. Tales of a Traveller—Irving. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow—Irving. Rip Van Winkle—Irving. Lorna Doone—Blackmore. Uncle William—Lee. The Blue Flower—Van Dyke.

Non-fiction: Sesame and Lilies—Ruskin. Stones of Venice—Ruskin. The American Commonwealth—Bryce. A History of the English People—Green. Views Afoot—Taylor. The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table—Holmes. Conspiracy of Pontiac—Parkman. Autobiography—Franklin. Lincoln—Douglas Debates. Critical Periods of American History—Fiske. Certain Delightful English Towns—Howells. The Declaration of Independence. Bunker Hill Oration—Webster. On Conciliation with America—Burke. The Sketch Book—Irving.



CHAPTER XII

WORDS.—SPELLING.—PRONUNCIATION

188. To write and to speak good English, one must have a good working vocabulary. He must know words and be able to use them correctly; he must employ only words that are in good use; he must be able to choose words and phrases that accurately express his meaning; and he must be able to spell and pronounce correctly the words that he uses.

WORDS

189. GOOD USE. The first essential that a word should have, is that it be in good use. A word is in good use when it is used grammatically and in its true sense, and is also:

(1) Reputable; in use by good authors and writers in general. The use of a word by one or two good writers is not sufficient to make a word reputable; the use must be general.

(2) National; not foreign or local in its use.

(3) Present; used by the writers of one's own time.

190. OFFENSES AGAINST GOOD USE. The offenses against good use are usually said to be of three classes: Solecisms, Barbarisms, and Improprieties.

191. SOLECISMS are the violations of the principles of grammar. Solecisms have been treated under the earlier chapters on grammar.

192. BARBARISMS. The second offense against good use, a barbarism, is a word not in reputable, present or national use. The following rules may be given on this subject:

1. AVOID OBSOLETE WORDS. Obsolete words are words that, once in good use, have since passed out of general use. This rule might also be made to include obsolescent words: words that are at present time passing out of use. Examples of obsolete words:

methinks yesterwhiles twixt yclept afeard shoon

2. AVOID NEWLY COINED EXPRESSIONS OR NEW USES OF OLD EXPRESSIONS. There are a great many words current in the newspapers and in other hasty writing that have not the sanction of general good use at the present time, though many of these words may in time come into use. A safe rule is to avoid all words that are at all doubtful. Examples:

an invite an expose a try enthuse a combine fake

A common newspaper fault is the coining of a verb or adjective from a noun, or a noun from a verb. Examples:

locomote suicided derailment pluralized burglarized refereed

3. AVOID FOREIGN WORDS. A foreign word should not be used until it has become naturalized by being in general, reputable use. Since there are almost always English words just as expressive as the foreign words, the use of the foreign words usually indicates affectation on the part of the one using them. Examples:

billet-doux (love letter) conversazione (conversation) ad nauseam (to disgust) distingue (distinguished) ad infinitum (infinitely) entre nous (between us)

4. AVOID PROVINCIALISMS. Provincialisms are expressions current and well understood in one locality, but not current or differently understood in another locality. Examples:

guess (think) reckon (suppose) near (stingy) smart (clever) tuckered (tired out) lift (elevator) tote (carry) ruination (ruin)

5. AVOID VULGARISMS. Vulgarisms are words whose use shows vulgarity or ignorance. Such words as the following are always in bad taste:

chaw nigger your'n gal flustrated hadn't oughter haint dern his'n

6. AVOID SLANG. Slang is a form of vulgarism that is very prevalent in its use even by educated people. Slang words, it is true, sometimes come into good repute and usage, but the process is slow. The safest rule is to avoid slang expressions because of their general bad taste and because of their weakening effect on one's vocabulary of good words. Examples of slang:

grind swipe booze long green on a toot dough pinch peach dukes

7. AVOID CLIPPED OR ABBREVIATED WORDS. The use of such words is another form of vulgarism. Examples:

pard (partner) rep (reputation) doc (doctor) cal'late (calculate) musee (museum) a comp (complimentary ticket)

8. AVOID TECHNICAL OR PROFESSIONAL WORDS. Such words are usually clearly understood only by persons of one class or profession. Examples:

valence hagiology allonge kilowatt sclerosis estoppel

193. WHEN BARBARISMS MAY BE USED. In the foregoing rules barbarisms have been treated as at all times to be avoided. This is true of their use in general composition, and in a measure true of their use in composition of a special nature. But barbarisms may sometimes be used properly. Obsolete words would be permissible in poetry or in historical novels, technical words permissible in technical writing, and even vulgarisms and provincialisms permissible in dialect stories.

EXERCISE 76

Substitute for each of the barbarisms in the following list an expression that is in good use. When in doubt consult a good dictionary:

Chaw, quoth, fake, reckon, dern, forsooth, his'n, an invite, entre nous, tote, hadn't oughter, yclept, a combine, ain't, dole, a try, nouveau riche, puny, grub, twain, a boom, alter ego, a poke, cuss, eld, enthused, mesalliance, tollable, disremember, locomote, a right smart ways, chink, afeard, orate, nary a one, yore, pluralized, distingue, ruination, complected, mayhap, burglarized, mal de mer, tuckered, grind, near, suicided, callate, cracker-jack, erst, railroaded, chic, down town, deceased (verb), a rig, swipe, spake, on a toot, knocker, peradventure, guess, prof, classy, booze, per se, cute, biz, bug-house, swell, opry, rep, photo, cinch, corker, in cahoot, pants, fess up, exam, bike, incog, zoo, secondhanded, getable, outclassed, gents, mucker, galoot, dub, up against it, on tick, to rattle, in hock, busted on the bum, to watch out, get left.

EXERCISE 77

Make a list of such barbarisms as you yourself use, and devise for them as many good substitute expressions as you can. Practice using the good expressions that you have made.

EXERCISE 78

Correct the italicized barbarisms in the following sentences:

1. They can go everywheres. 2. He spends all his time grinding. 3. There ain't a sightlier town in the state. 4. He ate the whole hunk of cake. 5. He was treated very illy. 6. Smith's new house is very showy. 7. Not muchly will I go. 8. All were ready for breakfast before sun-up. 9. Do you like light-complected people? 10. I had never orated before. 11. Their clothes are always tasty in appearance. 12. He has money, but he is very near. 13. He left the room unbeknown to his mother. 14. If manners are any indication, she belongs to the nouveau riche. 15. I feel pretty tollable today. 16. I reckon all will be able to get seats. 17. Do you callate to get there before noon? 18. If I had as much long green as he has, I wouldn't be such a tight-wad. 19. He was the beau ideal of soldier. 20. John is a crazy cuss. 21. Let me say en passant we did not ask for the tickets. 22. Even at that time John had a bad rep. 23. That woman is the Countess of Verdun, nee Smith. 24. Methinks you are wrong. 25. The teacher spake sharply to her. 26. I didn't go for to do it. 27. It will be published inside of two months. 28. The duke and his wife were travelling incog. 29. I hadn't thought on that. 30. There is little difference twixt the two. 31. Come now, fess up. 32. It's a right smart ways to Williamsport. 33. You wot not what you say. 34. He bought a poke of apples for his lunch. 35. Brown runs a pretty classy store. 36. I finally got shut of him. 37. I could of jumped across. 38. That can't be done nohow. 39. You make such dumb mistakes. 40. I never saw such a bum show.

194. IMPROPRIETIES. The third offense against good use, an impropriety, is the use of a proper word in an improper sense. In many cases an offense against good use may be called a barbarism, an impropriety, or a solecism, since the fields covered by the three terms somewhat overlap one another. Many improprieties have their origin in the similarities in sound, spelling or meaning of words. The following exercises deal with a number of common improprieties resulting from the confusion of two similar words.

EXERCISE 79

Study the proper use of the words given under each of the following divisions. In each group of sentences fill the blanks with the proper words:

ACCEPT, EXCEPT. See Glossary at end of book, under except.

1. I cannot —— your gift. 2. Have you no books —— these? 3. Cicero was not —— from the list of those condemned. 4. He —— the invitation.

AFFECT, EFFECT. See Glossary under effect.

1. Will your plan —— a reform from the present condition? 2. The sad news will seriously —— his mother. 3. How was the bank —— by the indictment of its president? 4. The change of schedule was —— without a hitch.

AGGRAVATE, IRRITATE. See Glossary.

1. Her manner —— me. 2. The crime was —— by being committed in cold blood. 3. The children do everything they can to —— her. 4. His illness was —— by lack of proper food.

ALLUDE, MENTION. See Glossary.

1. He —— (to) certain events which he dared not name directly. 2. The attorney —— (to) no names. 3. That passage in his book delicately —— (to) his mother. 4. In his speech the labor leader boldly —— (to) his recent arrest.

ARGUE, AUGUR. To argue is to state reasons for one's belief. To augur means to foretell, to presage.

1. The reported quarrel —— ill for the army. 2. He will —— at length on any subject. 3. Her darkening looks —— a quarrel.

AVOCATION, VOCATION. A vocation is one's principal work or calling. An avocation is something aside from or subordinate to that principal calling.

1. The young physician enthusiastically pursues his ——. 2. Law is his ——, but politics is his ——. 3. The ministry should be one's ——, never his ——. 4. While preparing for his life work, school teaching was for a time his ——.

BESIDES, BESIDE. Besides means in addition to. Beside refers to place; as, He sits beside you.

1. —— you, who else was there? 2. Is there nothing —— this to do? 3. John walked —— me. 4. —— me was a tree.

CALCULATE, INTEND. To calculate means to compute, to adjust or to adapt. Intend means to have formed the plan to do something.

1. He —— to sell books this summer. 2. He —— that the work will take ten years. 3. He —— to finish it as soon as he can. 4. The oil is —— to flow at the rate of a gallon a minute.

CHARACTER, REPUTATION. See Glossary.

1. In this community his —— is excellent. 2. One's friends may endow him with a good ——, but not with a good ——. 3. Slander may ruin one's ——, but it will not destroy his ——. 4. See that your —— is right, and your —— will establish itself.

CLAIM, ASSERT. To claim means to make a demand for what is one's own. It should not be confused with assert.

1. I —— that I am innocent. 2. John —— the property as his. 3. They —— their right to the land. 4. The cashier —— the money in payment of a note. 5. Do you still —— that you were born in America?

COUNCIL, COUNSEL, CONSUL. A council is a group of persons called in to hold consultation. Counsel means an adviser, as a lawyer; or advice that is given. Consul is an officer of the government.

1. In the colonies each governor had his ——. 2. The advisers gave him —— when he desired it. 3. The United States has a —— in every important foreign port. 4. In criminal cases the accused must be provided with ——. 5. The president's cabinet constitutes for him a sort of ——. 6. In Rome two —— were elected to manage the affairs of the state.

EMIGRATION, IMMIGRATION. See Glossary.

1. Foreign —— into the United States is greatly restricted. 2. The —— of the citizens of the United States to Canada is becoming a matter of concern. 3. Our —— Bureau enforces the Chinese Exclusion Act. 4. The treatment of the royalists caused a great —— from France.

GOOD, WELL. Good is an adjective. Well is usually an adverb, though sometimes an adjective; as, Are you well to-day?

1. She talks very ——. 2. She prepares a —— paper, even if she does not write ——. 3. Do —— what you are doing. 4. Did you have a —— time? 5. Recite it as —— as you can.

HOUSE, HOME. House means only a building. Home means a place that is one's habitual place of residence.

1. He thought often of the flowers about the door of his old ——. 2. They have recently bought a —— which they intend to make their ——. 3. Mr. Heim lives here now, but his —— is in Lewisburg. 4. He has several miserable —— that he rents. 5. Such a place is not fit to be called a ——.

MOST, ALMOST. Almost is an adverb meaning nearly. Most never has this meaning.

1. I was —— injured when the machine broke. 2. It is —— time for him to come. 3. The —— discouraging thing was his indifference. 4. I —— missed the car. 5. —— of the books are torn.

LET, LEAVE. See Glossary, under leave.

1. Will his employer —— him go so early. 2. I shall —— at noon. 3. —— me help you with your coat. 4. —— me here for a while. 5. This book I —— with you. 6. Do not —— that danger disturb you.

LIKE, AS. Like should not be used as a conjunction in the sense of as. As a preposition it is correct. It is wrong to say, Do like I do; but right to say, Do as I do.

1. He looks —— James. 2. Read —— James does. 3. Does she look —— me? 4. She thinks of it —— I thought. 5. Lincoln could do a thing —— that. 6. Other men could not do —— Lincoln did.

LIKELY, LIABLE, PROBABLY. It is better to avoid using likely as an adverb; but it may be used as an adjective; as, He is likely to come. Probably refers to any sort of possibility. Liable refers to an unpleasant or unfavorable possibility; it should not be used as equivalent to likely.

1. He is —— to arrest for doing that. 2. The president's car will —— arrive at noon. 3. It is —— to rain to-day. 4. Is he —— to write to us? 5. Continued exposure makes one more —— to serious illness. 6. What will —— come of it?

LOAN, LEND. Loan should be used only as a noun, and lend only as a verb.

1. I wish to obtain a —— of fifty dollars. 2. Will you —— me your knife? 3. A —— of money loses both itself and friend. 4. A —— is something that one —— to another.

MAD, ANGRY. Mad means insane, uncontrollably excited through fear, etc. It should not be used for angry or vexed.

1. His manner of speaking makes me ——. 2. It makes one —— to see such behavior. 3. The noise almost drove me ——.

MUCH, MANY. Much refers to quantity; many to number.

1. Sometimes they have as —— as fifty in a class. 2. —— of the trouble comes from his weak eyes. 3. Do you use —— horses on the farm? 4. How —— marbles did the boy have?

NEAR, NEARLY. Near is an adjective; nearly an adverb.

1. Is the work —— finished? 2. The man was —— the end of the porch. 3. It was —— noon when Blucher came. 4. They are —— insane with worry. 5. Mary is not —— so old as John.

OBSERVATION, OBSERVANCE. Observation means to watch, to look at. Observance means to celebrate, to keep. Observation applies to a fact or an object; observance to a festival, a holiday, or a rule.

1. The —— of the astronomer proved the theory. 2. Sunday —— is of value to one's bodily as well as to one's spiritual health. 3. The —— of the sanitary regulations was insisted upon. 4. The scientist needs highly developed powers of ——.

RESPECTIVELY, RESPECTFULLY. Respectively means particularly, relating to each. Respectfully means characterized by high regard.

1. These three kinds of architecture were characterized —— as "severe," "graceful," and "ornate." 2. Sign your letter "Yours ——," not "yours ——." 3. Their shares were —— two hundred dollars and five hundred dollars, 4. The class —— informed the faculty of their desire.

SUSPECT, EXPECT. Suspect means to mistrust. Expect means to look forward to.

1. I —— that he will come. 2. He —— his brother of hiding his coat. 3. When do you —— to finish the work? 4. The man was never before —— of having done wrong.

TEACH, LEARN. See Glossary under learn.

1. You must —— him to be careful. 2. He must —— to be careful. 3. To —— a class to study is a difficult task. 4. Who —— your class to-day.

TRANSPIRE, HAPPEN. Transpire does not mean to happen. It means to become gradually known, to leak out.

1. She knows everything that —— in the village. 2. It —— that he had secretly sold the farm. 3. No more important event than this has —— in the last ten years. 4. It has now —— that some money was stolen.

QUITE, VERY. Quite is not in good use in the sense of very or to a great degree. It properly means entirely.

1. The book is —— easy to study. 2. Have you —— finished your work. 3. The train ran —— slowly for most of the distance. 4. That is —— easy to do. 5. We were —— unable to reach the city any sooner.

EXERCISE 80

The following list includes some groups of words that are often confused. Far the proper meaning of the words refer to a good dictionary. Write sentences using the words in their proper senses:

practical, skilled sensible, sensitive couple, two access, accession future, subsequent allusion, illusion, delusion folk, family conscience, consciousness evidence, testimony identity, identification party, person, firm limit, limitation plenty, many, enough of majority, plurality portion, part materialize, appear solicitation, solicitude invent, discover human, humane prescribe, proscribe bound, determined some, somewhat, something fix, mend mutual, common foot, pay noted, notorious creditable, credible wait for, wait on exceptionable, exceptional in, into

EXERCISE 81

Show how the use of each of the two italicized words in the following sentences would affect the meaning of the sentence:

1. We experienced a succession series of hindrances. 2. That statement assertion was made by an eye witness. 3. The student has remarkable ability capacity. 4. In my estimate estimation the cost will be higher than fifty dollars. 5. The import importance of his words is not fully understood. 6. The union unity of the clubs is remarkable. 7. The acts actions of the president were closely watched. 8. The man needed a new stimulus stimulant. 9. He was captivated captured by her unusual charms. 10. We are quick to impute impugn motives that we think to exist. 11. He was convinced convicted by John's argument. 12. The dog's suffering was alleviated relieved by the medicine. 13. He persuaded advised me to consult a lawyer. 14. His behavior was funny odd. 15. The plan seems practical practicable. 16. That is the latest last letter. 17. That certainly was not a human humane action. 18. He waited on waited for his mother. 19. The completeness completion of the work brought many congratulations.

EXERCISE 82

Supply a word which will remedy the italicized impropriety in each of the following sentences. When in doubt consult a dictionary:

1. The majority of the illustrations are good. 2. No one can accurately predicate what the weather will be. 3. Shall you except the invitation? 4. They claim that the assertion cannot be proved. 5. They finally located the criminal in Dravosburg. 6. I shall leave you go at noon. 7. The balance of the essay was uninteresting. 8. By questions they tried to eliminate the true story. 9. They impugn false motives to me. 10. He was greatly effected by the news. 11. Sabbath observation was then very strict. 12. They expect that she wrote the letter. 13. The invention of electricity has revolutionized all manufactures. 14. Who learned her to sing? 15. Edison discovered the phonograph. 16. One cannot comprehend the enormity of a billion of dollars. 17. Many complements were paid to her beauty. 18. His consciousness pricked him. 19. How could any one be guilty of such a cruel action. 20. The advancement of the army was very slow.

195. IDIOMS. There are in English, as in other languages, a number of expressions that cannot be justified by the rules of grammar or rhetoric; and yet these expressions are among the most forcible ones in the language, and are continually used by the best writers. These expressions that lie outside all rules we call idioms. Compare the following idiomatic expressions with the unidiomatic expressions that succeed them. The second expression in each group is in accord with the strict rules of composition; but the first, the idiomatic, is far more forceful.

Idiomatic: The book which I read about.

Unidiomatic: The book about which I read.

Idiomatic: More than one life was lost.

Unidiomatic: More lives than one life were lost.

Idiomatic: Speak loud. Speak louder.

Unidiomatic: Speak loudly. Speak more loudly.

Idiomatic: A ten-foot pole.

Unidiomatic: A ten-feet pole.

Idiomatic: He strove with might and main.

Unidiomatic: He strove with might. (Might and main are two words of the same meaning.)

Idiomatic: He lectured on every other day.

Unidiomatic: He lectured on one day out of every two.

Idioms are not to be avoided. On the contrary, because they contribute great ease and force to composition, their use is to be encouraged. But the distinction between idiomatic and unidiomatic expressions is a fine one, and rests solely on usage. Care must be taken not to go beyond the idiomatic. There is probably little danger that the ordinary writer or speaker will not use idioms enough.

The following expressions are examples of commonly used idioms:

He was standing at the door in his shirt sleeves.

I don't think it will rain (I think it will not rain).

She walked out of the room on her father's arm.

John was a poor shot.

Do you feel like a little candy?

See what my foolishness has brought me to.

What part of the city will they settle in?

What was the house built for?

John needs a match to light his pipe with.

That is all I ask for.

What are you driving at?

Hard put to it.

By all odds.

Must needs.

I must get up by noon.

Get rid of.

Get used to.

Never so good.

Whether or no.

I can't go either.

You forget yourself when you speak so harshly.

I can come only every other day.

If the bell rings answer the door.

I take it that you will be there too.

Come and see me.

Try and do it.

The thief took to his heels.

196. CHOICE OF WORDS. The words in which a thought is expressed may not offend against good use, and yet still be objectionable because they do not accurately and appropriately express the thought. One should choose not merely a word that will approximately express the thought, but the one word that best expresses it. The following suggestions are given to aid in the choice of words:

1. CHOOSE SIMPLE ENGLISH WORDS and avoid what is called "fine writing." Young writers and newspaper writers are greatly given to this offense of fine or bombastic writing. Examples:

FINE WRITING SIMPLE STYLE Was launched into eternity Was hanged Disastrous conflagration Great fire Called into requisition the services Sent for the doctor of the family physician Was accorded an ovation Was applauded Palatial mansion Comfortable house Acute auricular perceptions Sharp ears A disciple of Izaak Walton A fisherman

2. DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GENERAL AND SPECIFIC TERMS. In some cases general words may be used to advantage, but more often specific words should be used, since they call to the mind a definite image. Compare these sentences:

The high color of his face showed his embarrassment.

His crimson face showed his embarrassment.

He was a large man.

He was a fat man.

He was a man of large frame.

He was a tall, heavily proportioned man.

He was a man six feet four inches tall and heavy in proportion.

It was an impressive building.

It was a building of impressive size.

It was a building of impressive beauty.

His fault was robbery.

His crime was robbery.

3. AVOID OVER-STATEMENT OF FACTS. The use of words that are too strong is a fault especially characteristic of Americans. Examples:

Poor: The concert was simply exquisite.

Better: The concert was very good.

Poor: She was wild over the mistake.

Better: She was much annoyed by the mistake.

4. AVOID HACKNEYED PHRASES; expressions that have been worked to death. Examples:

His paternal acres.

The infuriated beast.

The gentle zephyrs of springtime.

Was gathered to his fathers.

The blushing bride was led to the hymeneal altar.

Applauded to the echo.

EXERCISE 83

For each of the following expressions devise the best simple English expression that you can:

1. Individual was precipitated. 2. Tendered him a banquet. 3. At the witching hour of midnight. 4. The devouring element was checked. 5. Piscatorial sport. 6. Pedal extremities. 7. Fraught with tremendous possibilities. 8. Amid the plaudits of the multitude. 9. Caudal extremity. 10. Passed to his long home. 11. Dissected the Thanksgiving bird. 12. Presided at the organ. 13. Finger of scorn pointed at him. 14. Wended his way. 15. The green eyed monster. 16. The whole aggregation of knowledge chasers. 17. Maternal ancestor. 18. Shuffled off this mortal coil. 19. Failed to materialize at the banquet. 20. Tonsorial artist. 21. Twirler of the sphere. 22. Pugilistic encounters. 23. Performed his matutinal ablutions. 24. Partook of a magnificent collation. 25. Solemnized the rites of matrimony.

EXERCISE 84

In the third paragraph of the selection from Cranford (see Sec.186) observe the use of the following words: HUMAN, WEAKNESS, HANKS, TWISTED, ANNOYED, and UNDOING. Study the specific nature of these words by grouping about each of them other words of somewhat similar meaning, and then comparing the force of the various words in each group.

This sort of exercise may be continued by choosing passages from any careful writer and studying the words that he has used.

EXERCISE 85

Substitute for each of the following expressions some expression that will be less general or less exaggerated:

1. She is nice looking. 2. We had a perfectly gorgeous time. 3. John is a professional man. 4. The play was simply exquisite. 5. To hear his voice makes me feel funny. 6. The opposing team was completely annihilated. 7. A noise caught our attention. 8. His manners are horrid. 9. We had a great time. 10. Such arrogance is unendurable. 11. That is a good book.

197. HOW TO IMPROVE ONE'S VOCABULARY. The few following suggestions may be found helpful in the acquiring of a good vocabulary:

1. CULTIVATE THE DICTIONARY HABIT. Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and spelling of each new word that you meet. Only when these three things are grasped about each word, does one really know the word. Some persons have found it an invaluable aid to carry with them a small note book or card on which they note down to be looked up at a convenient time words concerning which they are in doubt.

2. IN YOUR WRITING AND SPEAKING USE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THE NEW WORDS THAT YOU ACQUIRE.

3. CONSTRUCT GOOD ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS for all the slang, fine writing, and hackneyed phrases that you meet, and then use the good expressions instead of the bad ones.

4. STUDY SYNONYMS; words of similar form and meaning. Only by a knowledge of synonyms can you express fine shades of meaning. Crabbe's English Synonyms and Fernald's Synonyms and Antonyms are good books of reference for this purpose. In addition to these books, lists of synonyms will be found in many books that are designed for general reference.

5. TRY TO GET THE ONE WORD that will best express the idea.

6. READ GOOD BOOKS and good magazines, and read them carefully.

7. CULTIVATE THE SOCIETY of those who use good language.

EXERCISE 86

Look up the meaning of each of the words in the following groups of synonyms. Construct sentences in which each word is used correctly:

1. Love, like. 2. Wit, humor. 3. Discover, invent. 4. Observe, watch. 5. Pride, vanity, conceit. 6. Proof, evidence, testimony. 7. Balance, rest, remainder. 8. Word, term, expression. 9. Bring, fetch, carry. 10. Abandon, desert, forsake. 11. Propose, purpose, intend. 12. Healthful, healthy, wholesome. 13. Student, pupil, scholar. 14. Capacity, power, ability. 15. Blame, censure, criticism. 16. Accede, agree, yield, acquiesce. 17. Trickery, cunning, chicane, fraud. 18. Instruction, education, training, tuition. 19. Hardship, obstacle, hindrance, difficulty. 20. Maxim, precept, rule, law 21. Multitude, crowd, throng, swarm. 22. Delight, happiness, pleasure, joy. 23. Work, labor, toil, drudgery, task. 24. Silent, mute, dumb, speechless. 25. Kill, murder, assassinate, slay. 26. Hatred, enmity, dislike, ill-will. 27. Example, pattern, sample, model. 28. Obvious, plain, clear, apparent. 29. Noted, eminent, famous, prominent, notorious. 30. Old, aged, antique, ancient, antiquated, obsolete.

SPELLING

198. The following is a list of words that are frequently misspelled or confused. Where possible, an effort has been made to arrange them in groups in order that they may be more easily remembered. The word with an added ending has been used in most cases in place of the bare word itself as, occasional instead of occasion. A few rules have been included.

accede descend pressure accident fascinate misspelled accommodate mischievous possession accordance miscellaneous accuracy muscle recollection succeed susceptible dispelled occasional miscellaneous occur existence monosyllable experience intellectual across sentence parallel amount embellishment apart foregoing wholly arouse forehead woolly village already forty villain all right foreign till forfeit amateur formally perpetual grandeur formerly persuade perspiration appal fulfill apparatus willful police appetite policies approximate guardian opportunity guessing presence opposite precede disappoint imminent preceptor disappearance immediately accommodation fiend choose commission siege chosen grammar friend inflammation yielding boundary recommend elementary summary seize symmetrical receive final committee receipt finally usual ledger succeed usually legible proceed

ascend assassin recede ascent dissimilar secede discerning essential accede discipline messenger intercede discontent concede discreet necessary supersede descent necessity passport

199. Words ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, if monosyllables, or if the last syllable is accented, double the final consonant before the ending -ed and -ing, but not before -ence; as,

rob, robbed, robbing, robbers. confer, conferred, conferring, conference. transmit, transmitted, transmitting, transmission. impel, impelled, impelling, impulsion.

Similar to the above are.

defer, infer, prefer, refer, transfer, occur (occurrence), abhor (abhorrence), omit, remit, permit, commit, beset, impel, compel, repel, excel (excellence), mob, sob, rub, skid.

If these words are not accented on the last syllable, the consonant is not doubled; as,

benefit, benefited, benefiting, beneficial.

Similar are:

differ, summon, model.

200. Words ending in silent e drop the e before a suffix beginning with a vowel; as,

arrive, arriving, arrived, arrival. precede, preceded, preceding, precedence. receive, received, receiving.

Similar are:

move, write, blame, tame, come, receive, believe, relieve, grieve, deceive, conceive, perceive, seize, precede, concede, supersede, recede, argue, rue, construe, woe, pursue.

201. Words ending in -ge, -ce, or -se, retain the e before endings: as,

arrange, arrangement; arrange, arranging.

Similar are:

gauge, manage, balance, finance, peace, service, amuse, use.

202. Words in -dge do not retain the e before endings; as, acknowledge, acknowledgment, acknowledged, acknowledging.

Similar are:

nudge, judge.

203. Most words ending in y preceded by a consonant change y to i before all endings except-ing:

busy, business, busied, busying.

Similar are:

duty, mercy, penny, pity, vary, weary, study.

204. WORDS OF SIMILAR SOUND:

canvas (cloth) principle (rule) canvass (all meanings except cloth) principal (chief) capitol (a building) stationary (immovable) capital (all meanings except building) stationery (articles) counsel (advice or an adviser) miner (a workman) council (a body of persons) minor (under age) complement (a completing element) angel (a spiritual being) compliment (praise) angle (geometrical)

205. MISCELLANEOUS WORDS:

annual laundry schedule awkward leisure separate beneficial lenient Spaniard decimal license speak exhilarate mechanical specimen familiarize mediaeval speech fiber medicine spherical fibrous militia subtle genuine motor surely gluey negotiate technical height origin tenement hideous pacified their hundredths phalanx therefore hysterical physique thinnest icicle privilege until irremediable prodigies vengeance laboratory rarefy visible laid rinse wherein larynx saucer yielding

PRONUNCIATION

206. The following list is made up of words that are frequently mispronounced. An effort has been made to arrange them in groups according to the most frequent source of error in their pronunciation.

The only marks regularly used are the signs for the long and short sounds of the vowel.

a as in hate i as in high u as in use a as in hat i as in hit u as in run

e as in me o as in old oo as in boot e as in met o as in hop oo as in foot

When sounds are not otherwise indicated take the sound that comes most naturally to the tongue.

207. a AS IN HATE:

WORD CORRECT PRONUNCIATION alma mater alma mater apparatus apparatus apricot apricot attache attasha' audacious audashus ballet bal'la blase blaza' blatant blatant chasten chasen Cleopatra Cleopatra compatriot compatriot gratis gratis or grahtis harem harem or hahrem heinous hanous hiatus hiatus implacable implakable nape nap nee na neglige naglezha' patron patron protege protazha' resume razuma' tenacious tenashus tomato tomato or tomahto valet va'la or val'et vase vas, vahz, or vaz veracious verashus vivacious vivashus

208. a AS IN HAT:

alternative alternative Arab Ar'ab, not arab arid ar'id asphalt asfalt, not fawlt bade bad catch not ketch defalcate defal'kate, not fawl dilletante dilletan'te forbade forbad granary granary program pro'gram, not grum rapine rap'in rational rational sacrament sacrament

209. Ae AS IN ARM:

aunt aent behalf behaef calf kaef calm kaem half haef laugh laef psalm saem

210. e AS IN ME:

amenable amenable clique klek, not klick creek krek, not krick either eether (preferable) mediocre mediocre naive na'eve (a as in arm) neither neether (preferable) precedence prece'dence precedent prece'dent (when an adjective) predecessor predecessor predilection predilection premature premature quay ke resplendent resplen'dent sacrilegious sacrilegious, not -religious series serez sleek slek, not slick suite swet, not like boot

211. e AS IN MET:

again agen against agenst crematory krem'atory deaf def, not def heroine heroin, not like hero measure mezhure, not ma metric metrik precedent prec'edent (noun) prelate prel'at presentation prezentation sesame ses'ame steady stedy, not stiddy tenet ten'et weapon wepon, not wepon

212. i AS IN HIGH:

appendicitis appendicitis biennial biennial biography biography bronchitis bronkitis carbine carbine decisive decisive demise demise dynasty di'nasty finis finis grimy grimy hiatus hia'tus inquiry inqui'ry long-lived long-livd peritonitis peritonitis privacy privacy short-lived short-livd simultaneous simultaneous tiny tiny, not teny

213. i AS IN HIT:

bicycle bi'sicle breeches briches breeching briching feminine feminin genuine genuin hypocrisy hipok'risy italic ital'ik Italian italyan maritime maritim pretty pritty puerile pu'eril respite res'pit tribune trib'un

214. o AS IN OLD:

Adonis Adonis apropos apropo bowsprit bowsprit brooch broch not broosh compromise compromize jowl jol, not like owl molecular molecular ogle ogle trow tro vocable vocable zoology zoology, not zoo

215. o AS IN HOP:

choler koler dolorous dolorous florid florid molecule molecule obelisk obelisk probity probity solecism solesism solstice solstice stolid stolid

216. oo AS IN BOOT:

bouquet booka' canteloupe can'taloop coup d'etat koo data' coupon koo'pon ghoul gool hoof hoof roof roof root root route root routine rootine wound woond

217. u AS IN USE:

accurate ak'kurat culinary kulinary gubernatorial gubernatorial jugular jugular

218. u AS IN US:

constable kunstable courtesan kur'tezan hover huver iron iurn monetary munetary nothing nuthing wont wunt (different from won't)

219. MISCELLANEOUS WORDS.

adobe ado'ba algebra not bra alien alyen, not alien ameliorate amelyorate antarctic antarktik anti not anti archangel arkangel archbishop arch, not ark arch fiend arch, not ark architect arkitect awkward awkward, not ard Beethoven batoven Bingen Bing'en blackguard blag'gard Bowdoin bodn brougham broom business bizness caldron kawldron calk kawk Cayenne kien' courtier kortyer cuckoo kookoo dilemma dilem'ma directly not directly dishevelled dishev'ld Don Juan Don Juan or hooan drought drowt drouth drowth extempore extempore (four syllables) familiarity familyarity gaol jal genealogy -alogy, not -ology gemus genyus Gloucester gloster gooseberry gooz, not goos Hawaiian Hawi'yan (a as in arm) Helena hel'ena (except St. Hele'na) inconvenience inconvenyence Israel izrael, not issrael jeans janes joust just or joost larynx lar'inx' or la'rinx, not larnix literature literature, or choor Messrs. meshyerz or mesyerz Mineralogy -alogy, not -ology nature nature, or choor oleomargarine g is hard, as in get orchid orkid oust owst, not oost peculiar peculyar pecuniary pekun'yari perspiration not prespiratian prestige pres'tij or prestezh' pronunciation pronunzeashun or pronunsheashun saucy not sassy schedule skedyul semi not semi theater the'ater not thea'ter turgid turjid usage uzage usurp uzurp vermilion vermilyun wife's not wives Xerxes zerxes

220. WORDS WITH A SILENT LETTER:

almond ahmund chasten chasen chestnut chesnut glisten glissen kiln kill often ofen ostler osler poignant poin'ant psalter sawlter salmon samun schism sism soften sofen subtle sutle sword sord thyme time toward tord

221. WORKS CHIEFLY OF FOREIGN PRONUNCIATION:

WORD CORRECT PRONUNCIATION bivouac biv'wak charge d'affaires shar zha'daffar' connoisseur connissur dishabille dis'abil ennui onwe, not ongwe finale finah'le foyer fwaya' massage masahzh naive nah'ev papier mache papya mahsha piquant pe'kant prima facie prima fa'shie pro tempore pro tem'pore regime razhem'

222. WORDS OFTEN PRONOUNCED WITH A WRONG NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

aerial aereal, not areal athlete two sylables, not ath e lete attacked attakt, two syllables casualty kazh'ualte, not ality conduit condit or kundit, not dooit different three syllables, not diffrunt elm not ellum helm not hel um history three syllables, not histry honorable not honrable hygienic hy gi en' ic, four syllables interest not intrust interesting not intrusting ivory not ivry omelet not omlet realm not rellum separable not seprable ticklish two syllables, not tickelish valuable valuable, not valuble vaudeville vodvil Zeus zus, not zeus

223. WORDS ACCENTED ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE:

admirable ad'mirable alias a'lias applicable ap'plicable bicycle bi'sikle chastisement chas'tisement construe con'strue despicable des'picable desultory des'ultory disputant dis'putant exigency ex'ijency explicable ex'plicable exquisite ex'quisite extant ex'tant formidable for'midable Genoa jen'oa gondola gon'dola harass har'ass hospitable hos'pitable impious im'pious, not imp?ous industry in'dustry inventory in'ventory lamentable lam'entable mischievous mis'chievous obligatory ob'ligatory pariah pa'riah peremptory per'emptory preferable pref'erable Romola Rom'ola vehemence ve'hemence

224. WORDS ACCENTED ON THE SECOND SYLLABLE:

WORD CORRECT PRONUNCIATION abdomen abdo'men acclimate accli'mate acumen acu'men albumen albu'men artificer artif'iser bitumen bitu'men chicanery shika'nery illustrate illus'trate incognito inkog'nito incomparable incom'parable indisputable indis'putable inexorable inex'orable inexplicable inex'plicable inhospitable inhos'pitable inquiry inqui'ry irrevocable irrev'ocable misconstrue miscon'strue nitrogenous nitroj'enous opponent oppo'nent pianist pian'ist refutable refut'able syllabic syllab'ic telegraphy teleg'raphy vagary vaga'ry Yosemite yo swm' i te

225. WORDS ACCENTED ON THE LAST SYLLABLE:

address address' adept adept' adult adult' ally ally' commandant commandaent' (ae as in arm) contour contour' dessert dessert' dilate dilate' excise eksiz' finance finance' grimace grimace' importune importune' occult occult' pretence pretence' research research' robust robust' romance romance' tirade tirade'

226. WORDS WHOSE PRONUNCIATION DEPENDS ON MEANING:

accent Accent' the first syllable. Place the ac'cent upon the first syllable.

aged An a'ged man. Properly aged wine (one syllable).

blessed The bless'ed saints. Let them be blessed (one syllable).

contrast The strange con'trast. Contrast' the two.

converse Did you converse' with him? Is the con'verse true?

desert The sandy des'ert. They desert' their friends.

learned He learned (one syllable) to sing. A learn ed man.

precedent A prece'dent place. It establishes a prec'edent.

project A new proj'ect. To project' from.



GLOSSARY OF MISCELLANEOUS ERRORS

ADMIRE. Do not use admire in the sense of like.

Wrong: I should admire to be able to do that.

Right: I should like to be able to do that.

AGGRAVATE. Do not use aggravate in the sense of irritate or disturb. Aggravate means to make worse.

Wrong: His impudence aggravates me.

Right: His impudence irritates me.

AIN'T. Ain't and hain't are never proper as contractions of am not, is not, or are not.

ALLOW. Do not use allow in the sense of assert, say, or intend.

Wrong: He allowed that he had better start. I allow to be back before noon.

Right: He said that he had better start. I intend to be back before noon.

ALLUDE. Do not use allude in the sense of refer. To allude to a thing means to refer to it in an indirect way.

Wrong: He alluded by name to John Milton.

Right: He alluded to Milton by the term "Blind Poet."

ANY. Do not use any in the sense of at all or to any degree.

Wrong: Because of the injury he can not see any.

AS. Do not use as for the relative pronouns who and that.

Wrong: I am the man as digs your garden. Not as I remember.

Right: I am the man who digs your garden. Not that I remember.

AS. Do not use as in the sense of since or because.

Wrong: I cannot come as I am sick now.

Right: I cannot come; I am sick now.

Right: I cannot come because I am sick now.

AT. Do not use at for in with the names of large cities

Wrong: He lives at Philadelphia.

Right: He lives in Philadelphia.

ATTACKTED. Do not use this form for attacked.

AWFUL, AWFULLY. These are two very much overworked words. Substitute other and more accurate expressions.

Wrong: We have had an awfully good time. That is an awfully pretty dress.

Right: We have had an exceedingly nice time. That is a very pretty dress.

BADLY. Do not use badly in the sense of very much.

Wrong: She wanted badly to come.

Right: She wanted very much to come.

BESIDE, BESIDES. Beside means next to. Besides means in addition to.

Right: John lives beside his mother.

Right: Besides the daughters, there are three sons.

BETWEEN. Do not use between when referring to more than two objects.

Wrong: There is bad feeling between the members of the class.

Right: There is bad feeling among the members of the class.

BLOWED. Do not use blowed for blew or blown. There is no such word.

BEST. Do not use best when only two objects are referred to. Use better. Best should be used only when more than two are referred to.

Wrong: He is the best of the two brothers.

Right: He is the better of the two brothers.

Right: He is the best of the three brothers.

BOUND. Do not use bound for determined.

Wrong: He was bound to go skating.

Right: He was determined to go skating.

Right: He bound himself to pay three hundred dollars.

BUT. Do not use but after a negative in the sense of only. See Sec.46.

Wrong: There isn't but one apple left.

Right: There is but one apple left.

CALCULATE. Do not use calculate in the sense of think, expect, or intend.

CAN. Do not use can to denote permission. It denotes ability or possibility. May denotes permission. See Sec.69

Wrong: Can I speak to you for a minute?

Right: May I speak to you for a moment?

CHARACTER, REPUTATION. Do not confuse these two words. Character means one's moral condition. Reputation means the morality that others believe one to possess.

CLUM. There is no such form of the verb climb.

COMPLECTED. Do not use complected for complexioned. See Sec.40.

CONCLUDE. Do not use conclude in the sense of forming an intention.

Right: Finally, I decided to go home.

Right: I was forced to conclude that I had made an error.

CONSIDERABLE. Do not use considerable in the sense of very much.

Wrong: This lesson is considerable better than yesterday's.

CUTE. A much overworked word. Use some expression that is more accurate; as, pretty, amusing, etc.

DECEASE, DISEASE. Do not confuse decease and disease. The first means death, the second sickness. The deceased means a person who is dead.

Wrong: The diseased will be buried at four o'clock.

Wrong: The property of the diseased will be sold at auction.

DECEASE. Do not use decease as a verb in the sense of die.

Wrong: His father deceased last year.

DEMAND. Demand should not have a person as its object.

Wrong: He demanded John to pay.

Right: He demanded payment from John. He demanded that John pay.

DIFFERENT. Use the preposition from after different, not than.

DON'T. Do not use don't with a subject in the third person singular. See Sec.64.

DOWN. Do not use down as a verb in the sense of defeat or overthrow.

Wrong: Our football team has downed every other team in the state.

Right: Our football team has defeated every other team in the state.

DROWNDED. Drownded is not a proper form of the verb drown. Say drowned. (Pronounced drownd.)

EACH OTHER. Do not use each other to refer to more than two objects. See Sec.44.

Wrong: The members of the regiment helped each other.

Right: The members of the regiment helped one another.

EFFECT, AFFECT. Do not confuse effect and affect. Effect means a result, or to cause a thing to be done. Affect means to disturb or have an influence on.

Wrong: The news effected him seriously.

Right: The news affected him seriously.

Wrong: The affect of this news was to cause war.

Right: The effect of this news was to cause war.

EITHER. Do not use either with reference to more than two objects, nor follow it by a plural verb. See Sec.43.

Wrong: Either of the three will do. Either you or John have done it.

Right: Any one of the three will do. Either you or John has done it.

EMIGRATE, IMMIGRATE. Do not confuse emigrate and immigrate. To emigrate means to go out of a place, to immigrate means to come into a place.

Right: The Italians emigrate from their country.

Right: Of those who immigrate to America, a large number are Italians.

ENOUGH. Do not follow enough by a clause beginning with that or so that.

Wrong: I studied enough that I could recite the lesson.

Right: I studied enough to recite the lesson.

ENTHUSE. Do not use enthuse in the sense of to create enthusiasm.

Wrong: He tried to enthuse his audience.

Right: He tried to arouse enthusiasm in his audience.

ETC. Etc. stands for et cetera, and means and so forth. Do not spell it ect. Do not use it in composition that is intended to be elegant.

EVERYBODY. Everybody should not be followed by a plural verb or a plural pronoun. See Sec.21.

EXCEPT, ACCEPT. Do not confuse these two words. Accept means to acknowledge. Except means to exclude.

Right: I cannot accept such slovenly work.

Wrong: I except your apology.

EXCEPT. Do not use except for unless. See Sec.85.

Wrong: I can not sleep except it is quiet.

EXPECT. Do not use expect in the sense of suppose or think.

Wrong: I expect you have read that book.

Right: I suppose you have read that book.

FINE. Do not use fine in place of some more definite word. Fine is a much over-worked word.

Wrong: The book is fine for class-room work.

Right: The book is well adapted for class-room work.

FIRSTLY. Firstly should never be used. Say first. See Sec.40.

FIRST-RATE. Do not use first-rate as an adverb in the sense of very well.

Wrong: That does first-rate.

Right: That does very well.

Right: He is a first-rate fellow.

FORMER. Do not use former when more than two are referred to. Say first. See Sec.41.

FROM. Do not use from with whence, hence and thence.

Wrong: From whence have you come?

Right: Whence have you come? From where have you come?

FUNNY. Do not use funny for singular or strange. Funny is an overworked word.

Wrong: It is funny that he died.

Right: It is singular that he died.

GENT. Do not use the word at all. Say gentleman or man.

GENTLEMAN. Do not use gentleman to denote sex only. Say man. Gentleman is properly used, however, to denote a person of refinement.

Wrong: Only gentlemen are allowed to vote in Pennsylvania.

Right: Mr. Lincoln was a gentleman in the true sense of the word.

GOT. Do not use got with have or had to indicate merely possession or obligation. Got means acquired through effort.

Wrong: I have got the measles. You have got to do it.

Right: I have the measles. You must do it.

Right: After much study I have got my lesson.

GRAND. Do not use grand in place of some more definite and accurate expression. It is another over-worked word.

Wrong: We have had a grand time this afternoon.

Right: We have had a very pleasant time this afternoon.

GUESS. Do not use guess in the sense of think or suppose.

Wrong: I guess the trains are late to-day.

Right: I suppose the trains are late to-day.

Right: Can you guess the riddle?

HAD OUGHT. Do not use had with ought. See Sec.54.

HARDLY. Do not use hardly after a negative. See Sec.46.

Wrong: I can not hardly believe that.

Right: I can hardly believe that.

HAVE. Do not use have after had.

Wrong: If I had have been able to go.

Right: If I had been able to go.

HEIGHTH. Do not use heighth for height.

HUNG. Do not confuse hung and hanged. Hanged is the proper word to use in reference to executions.

Wrong: He was condemned to be hung.

Right: He was condemned to be hanged.

Right: The picture was hung in the parlor.

HUMBUG. Do not use humbug as a verb.

Wrong: He has humbugged the people for years.

ILLY. Do not use illy for the adverb ill. See Sec.40.

IN, INTO. Do not confuse in and into.

Wrong: He went in the house.

Right: He went into the house.

Right: He exercised in a gymnasium.

KIND. Do not precede kind by those or these.

Wrong: I do not like those kind of plays.

Right: I do not like that kind of play.

KIND OF A. Do not use a or an after kind of. See Sec.47.

Wrong: It is one kind of a mistake.

Right: It is one kind of mistake.

LADY. Do not use lady to designate sex only. It is properly used to indicate persons of refinement.

Wrong: Is Mrs. Johnson a colored lady?

Right: Is Mrs. Johnson a colored woman?

Right: Mrs. Johnson is a colored woman, and a lady.

LATTER. Do not use latter to refer to more than two objects. Use last. See Sec.41.

LAY. Do not confuse lay and lie. See Sec.57.

LEARN. Do not confuse learn and teach. Learn means to acquire knowledge. Teach means to impart knowledge.

Wrong: He can learn you as much as any one can.

Right: He can teach you as much as any one can.

LEAVE. Do not confuse leave and let. Leave means to let remain. Let means to give permission.

Wrong: Will your mother leave you go?

Right: Will your mother let you go?

Right: I shall leave my trunk in my room.

LIABLE. Do not use liable for likely.

Wrong: It is liable to rain to-day.

Right: It is likely to rain to-day.

Right: He is liable for all that he has agreed to pay.

LIGHTNING. Do not use lightning as a verb in place of lightens.

Wrong: During the storm, it lightnings frequently.

Right: During the storm, it lightens frequently.

LIKE. Do not use like for as. Like is a preposition. As is a conjunction.

Wrong: He doesn't talk like he did yesterday.

Right: He doesn't talk as he did yesterday.

Right: It looks like a mahogany chair.

LIT ON. Do not use lit on in the sense of met with or discovered.

Wrong: I at last lit on this plan.

LOT. Do not use lot in the sense of a great number or a great deal.

Wrong: A lot of people were there, She talks a lot.

MOST. Do not use most for almost.

Wrong: I have most completed the book.

Right: I have almost completed the book.

Right: He has done the most of the work.

MRS. Do not use Mrs. before titles; as, Mrs. President, Mrs. Professor, Mrs. Doctor.

MUCH. Do not use much for many. Much refers to quantity. Many refers to number.

Wrong: As much as five hundred people were present.

Right: As many as five hundred people were present.

MUTUAL. Do not confuse mutual and common. Mutual means interchanged.

Wrong: John and William had a mutual liking for Mary.

Right: John and William had a common liking for Mary.

Right: John and William had a mutual liking for each other.

NEAR. Do not use near for nearly.

Wrong: He ran near all the way to the station. I came nearly making the same mistake.

Right: He ran nearly all the way to the station. I came near making the same mistake.

NERVE. Do not use nerve in the sense of impudence.

NEWSY. Do not use newsy in the sense of full of news.

NEITHER. Do not use neither with reference to more than two objects, nor follow it by a plural verb.

Wrong: Neither of the three could come. Neither of the two are here.

Right: No one of the three could come. Neither of the two is here.

NO GOOD. Do not use no good in the sense of worthless or not good.

Wrong: The book is no good.

NO PLACE. Do not use no place after a negative. See Sec.46.

Wrong: I am not going no place.

Right: I am not going anywhere. I am going nowhere.

NOTORIOUS. Do not use notorious in the sense of famous or noted. Notorious means of evil reputation.

Wrong: Gladstone was a notorious statesman of England.

Right: Several notorious thieves were arrested.

NOWHERE NEAR. Do not use nowhere near for not nearly. See Sec.40.

Wrong: Nowhere near so many people came as were expected.

Right: Not nearly so many people came as were expected.

Right: James was nowhere near the scene of the fire.

OF. Do not use of for have in such expressions as could, have, might have, should have, etc.

Wrong: If I could of been there.

Right: If I could have been there.

ONLY. Guard against the improper use of only after a negative. See Sec.46.

Wrong: There are not only four books on that subject.

Right: There are only four books on that subject.

OUTSIDE OF. Do not use outside of for aside from.

Wrong: Outside of James, all had a good time.

Right: Aside from James, all had a good time.

OVER WITH. Do not use over with for over.

Wrong: I must write the letter and have it over with.

PANTS. Do not use the word pants for trousers.

PHOTO. Do not use photo for photograph.

PIECE. Do not use piece in the sense of way or distance.

Wrong: I shall walk a little piece with you.

Right: I shall walk a little way with you.

PLACE. Do not use place after any, every, no, etc., in the sense of anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, etc.

Wrong: I can not find it any place.

Right: I can not find it anywhere.

PLENTY. Do not use plenty as an adjective or an adverb.

Wrong: Money is plenty. He is plenty able to do it.

Right: Money is plentiful. He is quite able to do it.

POORLY. Do not use poorly for ill or bad.

Wrong: He feels very poorly.

PRINCIPLE, PRINCIPAL. Do not confuse principle and principal. Principle means a rule or truth. Principal means leader, chief, the most important.

PROPOSE. Do not use propose in the sense of intend.

Wrong: I propose to tell all I know.

Right: I intend to tell all I know.

PROVIDING. Do not use providing for if or on the condition.

Wrong: I will go providing you can get tickets for three.

Right: I will go on the condition that you get the tickets.

RAISE, RISE. Do not confuse raise with rise. See Sec.57.

RECOMMEND, RECOMMENDATION. Do not use recommend as a noun. Recommendation is the noun.

Wrong: Her employer gave her a good recommend.

Right: Her employer gave her a good recommendation.

RIGHT AWAY, RIGHT OFF. Do not use right away or right off in the sense of immediately.

Wrong: After the play we will come right off.

Right: After the play we will come at once.

SAME. Do not use same as a pronoun.

Wrong: I will write the letter and mail same at once.

Right: I will write the letter and mail it at once.

SAY. Do not use say in the sense of order or command.

Wrong: Your mother said for you to come home at once.

Right: Your mother said that you should come home at once.

SCARCELY. Do not use scarcely after a negative. See Sec.46.

Wrong: There was not scarcely a pound of meat for us all.

Right: There was scarcely a pound of meat for us all.

SELDOM EVER. Do not use seldom with ever. Say instead seldom or seldom, if ever.

Wrong: Fires seldom ever occur.

Right: Fires seldom occur. Fires seldom, if ever occur.

SHUT OF. Do not use shut of in the sense of rid of.

Wrong: We are shut of him at last.

SIGHT. Do not use sight in the sense of many or much.

Wrong: A great sight of people flocked to hear him.

Right: A great many people flocked to hear him.

SIT, SET. Do not confuse these two words. See Sec.57.

SO. Do not use so alone as a conjunction. Say so that.

Wrong: He spoke in the open air, so more could see and hear him.

Right: He spoke in the open air, so that more could see and hear him.

SOME. Do not use some as an adverb in the sense of somewhat or a little.

Wrong: He plays the violin some.

Right: He plays the violin a little.

SORT OF A. Do not use a after sort of. See Kind of a.

SORT. Do not precede sort by these or those. See Kind.

SUCH. Do not follow such by who, which, or that as relatives.

Wrong: All such persons who think so will soon see their mistake.

Right: All such persons as think so will soon see their mistake.

Right: He spoke with such force that we were compelled to listen. (That is not a relative here.)

TASTY. Do not use tasty in the sense of tasteful.

THAT. Do not use that as an adverb.

Wrong: I did not think the book was that small.

Right: I did not think that the book was so small.

THAT THERE, THIS HERE, THESE HERE, THOSE THERE. There and here, in all these expressions are worse than unnecessary.

THEM THERE. Do not use them there for those.

Wrong: Bring me them there books.

Right: Bring me those books.

THREE FIRST, TWO FIRST, ETC. Do not say three first, but first three. There can be only one first.

TOO. Do not use too alone before a verb or a participle.

Wrong: He is too excited to listen to you.

Right: He is too much excited to listen to you.

VERY. Do not use very alone before a verb or a participle.

Wrong: You are very mistaken.

Right: You are very much mistaken.

WAIT ON, WAIT FOR. Do not confuse these two expressions. Wait on means to serve. Wait for means to await.

Wrong: Do not wait on me if I do not come at noon.

Right: Do not wait for me if I do not come at noon.

WAKE, AWAKE. Do not confuse wake and awake. See Sec.57.



INDEX

References are to pages. Sections or subdivisions on the pages are sometimes indicated in parenthesis after the page numbers.

Since the EXERCISES follow throughout the subjects treated, exercises on any subject may be found by looking up that subject in this text index.

A, use of article. Abbreviated words, rule against. Abbreviations, punctuation of (Sec.102); use of, in letters. Accept, for except, Glossary. Active voice and passive voice, explained; forms of. Adjectives, defined; capitalization of proper; confused with adverbs; distinguished from adverbs; errors in comparison of; improper forms of; list of irregular; placing of; adjective pronouns; punctuation of two or more adjectives modifying same noun (Sec.106); singular and plural. Admire, for like, Glossary. Adverbs, defined; comparison of; conjunctive; confusion with adjectives; distinguished from adjectives; double negative; errors in comparison; list of irregularly compared; omission of; punctuation of (Sec.116), (Sec.121). AEsop's Fables, quotation from. Affect, for effect, Glossary. Aggravate, for irritate, Glossary. Agreement, of adjective and noun; of pronoun and antecedent; of verb and subject; of verb in clauses. Ain't, Glossary. Allow, for assert or intend, Glossary. Allude, for refer, Glossary. Also, without and. Among, for between, Glossary. An, use of article. And, use of. Antecedents, of pronouns, defined; agreement of pronouns and; clearness of; compound; indefinite; of relative pronouns. Any, for at all, Glossary. Apostrophe, general use of; with plural nouns; with possessive nouns; with possessive pronouns. Apposition, explained. Appositives, punctuation of (Sec.108). Argue, for augur. Arise. Articles, explained; use of. As, as conjunction or adverb; as a relative pronoun, Glossary; for like; for since, Glossary; punctuation of (Sec.122). At, for in, Glossary. Attackted, mispronunciation of attacked, Glossary. Attribute complement, explained; case of (note 2). Auxiliary verbs, explained; shall and will; should and would; may, can, might, and could. Avocation, for vocation. Awake, for wake, Glossary. Awful, for awfully, Glossary.

Bad, for badly, Glossary. Balanced sentence. Barbarisms, defined; rules for avoidance of; when proper. Beginning of the composition. Beside, for besides, Glossary. Best, for better, Glossary. Between, for among, Glossary. Bible, capitalization of (Sec.100). Blowed, for blew, Glossary. Body, of the letter. Books for reading, list of. Bound, for determined, Glossary. Brackets, use of. But, as a relative pronoun; with a negative; with a dependent clause; to introduce two succeeding statements. But that, for but what.

Calculate, for intend. Can, use of; model conjugation of. "Cant expressions," in letters. Capitalization, rules for. Cases, classified and defined; case forms of pronouns; case of word in apposition; case forms of relative pronouns; outline for use of case forms; rules for forming possessive. Character, for reputation, Glossary. Character of Napoleon Bonaparte, by Channing, quotation from. Choice of words, rules to aid in. Christmas, by Washington Irving, quotation from. Claim, for assert. Clauses, defined; adjective; adverbial; agreement, of verb in; principal or independent; subordinate or dependent; substantive; when and where clauses. Climax in sentences. Clipped words, rule against. Close of letter. Clum, for climbed, Glossary. "In care of," misuse of c o for. Coherence, of paragraph; how to gain in paragraph; illustrations of in paragraph; of sentence; of whole composition; words of. Colon. "Comma blunder". Comma. Common gender, defined, of nouns and pronouns. Comparative degree; misuse of, in reference to more than two things. Comparison, degrees of; irregular forms in; errors in; manner of comparing. Complected, for complexioned, Glossary. Complex sentence. Complimentary close, in letters. Compound nouns, explained; rules for forming plurals of. Compound pronouns, personal; relative. Compound sentence. Compound subject; agreement of verb with. Compound words, use of hyphen with (Sec.140). Concluded, for to form an opinion, Glossary. Conditional clauses, punctuation of (Sec.114). Confusion of adjectives and adverbs. Conjunctions, defined; misuses of; correlatives. Considerable, for considerably, Glossary. Consul, for council, or counsel. Contractions of not, use of, in formal composition. Co-ordinate clauses, punctuation of (Sec.Sec.112, 113), (Sec.Sec.118, 119, 120). Copulative verb. Correctly written letters. Correlatives, placing of. Could, use of; model conjugations of. Council, counsel and consul confused. Cranford, by Mrs. Gaskell, selection from. Cute, for pretty, clever, etc., Glossary.

Dash, use of. Decease, Glossary. Definition, by a when or where clause. Degrees in comparison, classified. Demand, Glossary. Dependent and conditional clauses, punctuation of (Sec.114), (Sec.Sec.119, 120). Dictionary, value of its use. Different, with than, Glossary. Directly, misused as a conjunction. Disease, Glossary. Division of words at ends of lines (Sec.139). Don't, Glossary. Double negatives. Down, misuse as a verb, Glossary. Drownded, mispronunciation of drowned, Glossary.

East, capitalization of (Sec.100). Each other, misuse with more than two objects, Glossary. Effect, for affect, Glossary. Either, misuse with more than two objects, Glossary. Either-or. Elements of the sentence: Principal elements, subject; predicate. Subordinate elements: attribute complement; adjective modifier; adverbial modifier; object complement. Emigration, for immigration, Glossary. Emphasis, in paragraphs; in sentence. Ending of whole composition. Enough, Glossary. Euthuse, Glossary. Enumerations, punctuation before, (Sec.Sec.122, 123). Esq., misuse after Mr.. Etc., misspelling of, Glossary. Euphony, in sentences. Everybody, followed by a plural form, Glossary. Everywheres, for everywhere. Examples, of beginning of whole composition; of correctly written letters; of ending of whole composition; of outline of whole composition. Exclamation point, use of. Except, for accept, Glossary. Explanatory relative clauses, punctuation of (Sec.111). Expletives. Expect, for suppose.

Fall, for fell. Father, capitalization of (Sec.99). Fell, for fall. Feminine gender, defined; of nouns and pronouns. Final words, in letters. "Fine-writing". Fine, Glossary. Firstly, Glossary. First-rate, Glossary. For, used to introduce two succeeding clauses. Foreign words. Former, Glossary. Form of letters. From, Glossary. Funny, for singular, Glossary.

Gender, defined and classified formation of feminine from masculine; gender of pronouns. General terms, use of. Gent, Glossary. Gentleman, Glossary. Geographical names, punctuation of (Sec.108). Gerunds, explanation of; confusion with participle; with noun or pronoun modifier; placing of gerund phrase. Gettysburg speech, by Lincoln. Good, for well. Good use of words; offenses against. Got, Glossary. Grand, Glossary. Grave forms of personal pronouns, use of. Guess, for think, Glossary.

Hackneyed expressions, general rule against; in letters. Had, ought, Glossary. Hain't, Glossary. Hanged, confused with hung, Glossary. Hardly, placing of; with a negative, Glossary. Have, misuse after had, Glossary. Heading, of letters. Heighth, for height, Glossary. Here, misuse with demonstratives, Glossary. Her'n. Him, misuse with gerund. Hisself. His'n. Home, confused with house; for at home, Glossary. Humbug, Glossary. Hung, confused with hanged, Glossary. Hyphen, use of.

I, capitalization of (Sec.100). Order of. In the letter. Idioms. i. e., punctuation of (Sec.122). Illy, Glossary. Immigration, confused with emigration, Glossary. Imperative mode. Improving one's vocabulary, rules for. Improprieties. Indentation, of paragraph; of paragraph, in letters. Infinitives, explanation of; forms of; cases used with; rules for sequence of infinitive tenses; split. Inflection, defined. In, confused with into, Glossary. Inside address of letters. Interjection. Interrogation point, use of. Interrogative pronouns. Intransitive verbs, see Transitive. Introductory words or phrases, punctuation of (Sec.107).

Kind, with plural modifiers, Glossary. Kind of a.

Lady, Glossary. Latter, confused with last, Glossary. Lay, confused with lie. Learn, for teach, Glossary. Leave, for let, Glossary. Lend, confused with loan. Length, of paragraphs; of sentences. Letter writing; body of letter; close; heading; illustrations of correctly written letters; inside address; miscellaneous directions; notes in third person; outside address; salutation. Liable, for likely. Lie, confused with lay. Lightning, Glossary. Like, misuse as a conjunction. Lit on, Glossary. Loan, confused with lend. Loose sentences. Lot for a great deal, Glossary.

Mad, for angry. Masculine gender, defined; of pronouns. May; model conjugation of. Messrs., use of. Might; model conjugations of. Mode, definition of; indicative; infinitive; imperative; obligative, footnote; participal; potential, of; subjunctive. Modifiers, placing of. Most for almost. Mother, capitalization of (Sec.99). Mrs., Glossary. Much, for many. Muchly. Mutual, confused with common, Glossary.

Name, form of verb. Namely, punctuation of (Sec.122). Near, confused with nearly. Neither, misuse with more than two objects, Glossary. Neither-nor. Nerve, Glossary. Neuter gender, defined; of nouns and pronouns. Newly coined expressions, rule against. Newsy, Glossary. Nominative case, defined; when used, note. No place, Glossary. No, punctuation of (Sec.102). No good, for worthless. North, capitalization of (Sec.100). Not muchly. Notes in the third person. Not only—but also. Notorious, confused with noted, Glossary. Nouns, common; proper; case of; gender of; number of. Nowhere near, for not nearly, Glossary. Number, defined; agreement of verb and subject in number; singular; plural; of relative pronouns; of pronouns; of pronouns with compounded antecedent; rules for forming plurals of nouns. Number, sign #, used for.

O and oh, capitalization of (Sec.100). Object complement, explained. Objective case, defined; when used. Obligative mode (footnote). Observance, confused with observation. Obsolete words. Of, Glossary. Omission, of adverb much; of important words; of prepositions; punctuation in case of (Sec.117); (Sec.138); of verbs. One another, use of. Only, placing of; with a negative, Glossary. Order of heading in letters. Other, use of in comparison. Ought. Outline, for composition; illustration of. Outside address, of letters. Outside of, Glossary. Over-statement of facts, rule against. Over with, Glossary.

Pants, Glossary. Paragraphing of letters. Paragraphs; coherence in; emphasis in; indentation of; in letters; length of; unity in. Parenthesis marks, use of; too frequent use of. Parts of speech, classified. Passive voice and active voice explained; forms of. Past participle, explanation and use of. Past tense, explanation and use of. Participles, explanation of; confusion with gerunds; dangling; at beginning of sentence; preceded by thus. Period, use of. Periodic sentence. Personal pronouns, defined; classified; compound personal pronouns; use of common and of grave forms of; unnecessary use of. Piece, Glossary. Photo, Glossary. Phrases, defined; prepositional; verb; punctuation of adverbial phrases (Sec.116), (Sec.121). Place, Glossary. Placing of adjectives and adverbs. Plenty, Glossary. Plural number, explained; rules for forming plurals of nouns. Point of view, in paragraph; in sentence; in whole composition. Poorly, for ill, Glossary. Positive degree. Position, in letters, of complimentary close; of heading; of inside address; of salutation; of outside address. Possessive case, defined; rules for forming possessives of nouns; when used. Potential mode, explanation and forms of. Predicate of the sentence; defined; compound, predicate, explained. Prepositional phrase. Prepositions, defined; omission of; proper use of; unnecessary use of; used as conjunctions. Principal, confused with principle, Glossary. Principal parts of verbs, explained; classified; list of; rules for use of. Principal verbs, explained. Professional words. Pronouns, defined; adjective; antecedent of, defined; agreement with antecedent; case forms of; compound personal; compound relative; gender of; interrogative; number of; outline of, use of case forms of; relative; rules determining gender of; with compound antecedents. Pronunciation, lists of frequently mispronounced words; words given wrong sounds; words given wrong accent; words of foreign pronunciation; words of similar spelling. Proper adjectives, capitalization of (Sec.95). Proper nouns, defined; capitalization of (Sec.95). Propose, for intend, Glossary. Providing, for if, Glossary. Provincialisms, definition and rule against use of. Punctuation, rules for; in letters, body; heading; inside address; outside address; salutation.

Qualities, essential: Of sentences, unity; emphasis; euphony. Of paragraphs, unity; coherence; emphasis. Of whole composition, unity; coherence. Quite, for very. Quotation marks, use of. Quotations, punctuation of (Sec.115), (Sec.123), (Sec.131), (Sec.Sec.132-137).

Raise, confused with rise, Glossary. Recommend, confused with recommendation, Glossary. Relative causes, cases in; explanatory or non-restrictive; introduction of successive; punctuation of (Sec.111); use of when or where clause. Relative pronouns, defined and explained; agreement of verb with; case and number of; compound; explanatory or non-restrictive; restrictive; use of, with different antecedents. Repetition of similar words or syllables. Reputation, confused with character, Glossary. Respectfully, confused with respectively. Rev.. Right away, Glossary. Right off, Glossary. Rise, confused with raise, Glossary.

Salutation, in letters. Some, misuse as a pronoun, Glossary. Say, for order or command, Glossary. Scarcely, placing of; with a negative, Glossary. Scriptures, capitalization, of (Sec.100). Seldom ever, Glossary. Semi-colon, use of. Sentence elements out of natural order, (Sec.109). Sentences: defined; declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory; essential qualities of; loose, periodic, balanced; simple, complex, compound; length of; slipshod construction of. Sequence of tenses, infinitive; in clauses. Series of words, punctuation of. Set, confused with sit, Glossary. S-form of verb. Shut of, for rid of, Glossary. Sight, for many, Glossary. Signature of writer, in letters. Simple sentence, defined. Simple words, use of. Similar expressions of similar thoughts. Singular form of verb, explanation and use of, after you and they. Singular number, explained. Sit, confused with set, Glossary. Shall and will, use of, in dependent clauses; in principal clauses; in questions; model conjugations of; past tenses of. Should and would, model conjugations of; use of. Slang. So, use of. Solecisms. Some, misuse as an adverb, Glossary. Somebody else's. Sort, with plurals, Glossary. Sort of a, Glossary. South, capitalization of, (Sec.100). Speech, paragraphing of. Specific terms, use of. Spelling, lists of words frequently misspelled; rules for; of words of similar sound. "Squinting construction." Street, omission of in letters. Subject of sentence or clause, defined; agreement of verb and subject; compound; relative pronoun as, of whole composition; statement of, in composition. Subject matter of letters. Subjunctive mode. Such, Glossary. Summarizing word, use of; punctuation of, (Sec.127). Superlative degree; misuse in comparing only two things. Suspect, for expect. Syllables, division of words into, (Sec.139). Synonyoms, value of.

THE END