14. I promised that I (should, would) be at the station early, lest we (should, would) miss the train.

15. You (shall, will) have much trouble with that cold, I'm afraid.

D. Lie, lay; sit, set; rise, raise

Fix in mind the following principal parts:

I lie I lay I have lain I lay I laid I have laid I sit I sat I have sat I set I set I have set I rise I rose I have risen I raise I raised I have raised

Lie, sit, rise are used intransitively; lay, set, raise are used transitively. Lay, set, raise are causatives; that is, to lay means to cause to lie, etc.

Insert a correct form of the verb lie or lay:

1. I —— here and watch the clouds. My dog is ——ing at my feet.

2. In the evening I —— aside all cares. I —— down on the couch and read. Yesterday I —— there an hour.

3. The children have —— in bed until seven o'clock. John has —— his coat on a chair. He —— there asleep now.

4. —— the shovel down. The garden is now —— out in rows. —— down and take a little rest.

5. Smoke —— along the horizon. Snow was ——ing here yesterday. He is ——ing plans for the future.

Insert a correct form of the verb sit or set:

6. Jerome —— the box on the floor. Then he —— on the box.

7. Four people are ——ing at the table. Who —— the lamp there?

8. I had —— there an hour. They had —— the pitcher outside the door.

9. I often —— up late. Last night I —— up late. I must ——the alarm clock.

10. —— the package down. —— down and rest. While we are ——ing there the gardener is ——ing out the plants.

Insert a correct form of the verb rise or raise:

11. —— up and speak! —— the window.

12. He quickly —— his head. The cork had gone under, but now it —— again to the surface.

13. During the night the bread —— to the top of the pan.

14. The invalid slowly —— himself in his bed.

15. The river has already —— and overflowed its banks.

E. Principal Parts of Verbs

In the following sentences supply the correct form of the verb.

1. He —— (past tense of come) to this country in 1887.

2. He has —— (past participle of eat) breakfast and —— (past participle of go) to the office.

3. Have you —— (past participle of ride) far? I have ——(past participle of drive) ten miles.

4. I am sure it was Henry who —— (past tense of do) it, for I —— (past tense of see) him running away as fast as he could go.

5. The wind has —— (past participle of tear) down the chimney and —— (past participle of blow) down the tree.

6. After he —— (past tense of lie) down, he remembered he had left his books —— (present participle of lie) in the orchard.

7. He —— (past tense of throw) the ball so hard that the window was —— (past participle of break) into a hundred pieces.

8. The man —— (past tense of give) warning before we had —— (past participle of go) too far.

9. After we had —— (past participle of ride) about ten miles we —— (past tense of come) upon a stretch of hard road.

10. Where —— (past tense of be) you? You ——n't (past tense of be) at home when I —— (past tense of ring) the bell.

11. The harness was —— (past participle of break or burst) beyond repair. Who —— (past tense of break) it?

12. I —— (past tense of take) four shots at the rabbit, but every shot —— (past tense of go) wild.

13. He has —— (past participle of swim) across the harbor, and has —— (past participle of break) the record.

14. I had —— (past participle of drink) buttermilk for several weeks. I —— (past tense of begin) to gain weight.

15. When we had —— (past participle of sit) there an hour and —— (past participle of eat) all we wanted, Jim —— (past tense of draw) out his purse and —— (past tense of give) the waiter a dollar.

F. General

Improve the grammar of the following sentences.

1. Those kind of lamps are ugly.

2. It don't interest me any more.

3. Nobody may enter the hall tonight without their admittance cards.

4. One does not need to strain their ears while at the movies.

5. Nearly all people eat too much, too fast, and too irregular.

6. Don't take this letter too serious.

7. He done the best he could with these kind of tools.

8. Every person with a cold was blowing their nose.

9. It would help considerable if you would speak to the manager about existing conditions.

10. If I were the mayor, I could not do as good as he does.

11. Talk polite to your customers.

12. It is important that a salesman has a good memory.

13. Each tube must be capable of withstanding a pressure of five hundred pounds per square inch before they are lowered into place.

14. She is as tall, if not taller, than he is.

15. He always has and always will say that.

16. He is one of the worst, if not the very worst, player on the team.

17. Final examinations require time and study that would not otherwise be done.

18. I feel badly. He talks rude. It smells fragrantly.



DICTION

Wordiness

60. Avoid wordiness. Strike out words not essential to the thought.

Roundabout impersonal construction: There are many interesting things which may be seen in New York. [12 words.]

Better: Many interesting things may be seen in New York. [9 words.]

Clause to be reduced to a phrase: The skeleton which stood in the office of Dr. Willard was terrifying to little Cecil. [15 words.]

Right: The skeleton in Dr. Willard's office was terrifying to little Cecil. [11 words.]

Clause and phrase each to be reduced to a word: Men who cared only for their individual interests were now in a state of discouragement. [15 words.]

Right: Selfish men were now discouraged. [5 words.]

Separate predication in excess: That day I was shocking wheat behind the binder. Shocking wheat behind the binder was my usual job in harvest. That day while I was working at this job, I found a nest full of partridge eggs. [37 words.]

Right: That day, while shocking wheat behind the binder, my usual job in harvest, I found a nest full of partridge eggs. [21 words.]

Ponderous scientific terms for simple ideas: Since, according to the physicists, the per cent of efficiency of a machine is equal to the amount of energy put in, divided by the amount of useful work performed, it naturally follows that in all human activities, unnecessary friction, since it lowers the amount of nervous energy, is going to lower the per cent of efficiency. While we may never reach an astonishing degree of efficiency by economizing nervous energy, nevertheless, if we consistently and perseveringly try to spare ourselves all unnecessary labor and exertion, we shall have an abundant supply of energy to direct into channels of usefulness. [100 words.]

Right: If we economize our strength, we can make our actions more efficient and useful. [14 words.]

Inflated writing: She was supreme in beauty among the daughters of Eve whom his ravished eyes had hitherto beheld. [17 words.]

Right: She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. [10 words.]

Note.—A special form of wordiness is tautology—the useless repetition of an idea in different words.

Gross tautology: He had an entire monopoly of the whole fruit trade. [This is like saying "black blackbird."]

Right: He had a monopoly of the fruit trade.

Tautological expressions:

this here where at return back ascend up repeat again biography of his life good benefits fellow playmates Hallowe'en evening important essentials indorse on the back connect up meet up with combined together perfectly all right utter absence of quite round absolutely annihilated still continue to absolutely new creation necessary requisite total effect of all this

Exercise:

1. The people who act the parts in a play want the people who witness the performance to applaud them.

2. There is an oily grass which is found on the prairie, and which is called mesquite grass, and it covers the prairie.

3. You wish to call the operator. You take the receiver from the hook. By taking the receiver from the hook you call the operator.

4. At last the employer of the men, and those who were employed by him, having compromised their difficulties, effected a settlement, and reached an amicable understanding agreeable to both parties.

5. The two merchants joined up their forces together in order to secure a monopoly of the entire trade of the village. There was one absolutely essential preliminary which they thought must necessarily precede everything else. It was that they should take all the old shop-worn articles and dispose of them by selling them as bargains at a reduced rate.

Triteness

61. Avoid trite or hackneyed expressions. Such expressions may be tags from everyday speech (the worse for wear, had the time of my life); or stale phrases from newspapers (taken into custody, the officiating clergyman); or humorous substitutions (ferocious canine, paternal ancestor); or forced synonyms (gridiron heroes, the Hoosier metropolis); or conventional fine writing (reigns supreme, wind kissed the tree-tops); or oft-repeated euphemisms (limb for leg, pass away for die); or overworked quotations from literature (monarch of all I survey, footprints on the sands of time).

List of trite expressions:

along these lines meets the eye feathered songsters a long-felt want the last sad rites launched into eternity last but not least doomed to disappointment at one fell swoop sadder but wiser did justice to a dinner a goodly number budding genius beggars description a dull thud silence broken only by wended their way abreast of the times trees stood like sentinels method in his madness sun-kissed meadows tired but happy hoping you are the same nipped in the bud the happy pair seething mass of humanity specimen of humanity with bated breath green with envy the proud possessor too full for utterance a pugilistic encounter conspicuous by its absence with whom they come in contact exception proves the rule favor with a selection as luck would have it more easily imagined than described where ignorance is bliss

Exercise:

1. Halleck returned from his trip considerably the worse for wear.

2. The baby whom she had promised to keep quiet proved to be a foeman worthy of her steel.

3. I first saw the light of day in New Orleans. It was in the Crescent City also that my dear mother passed away.

4. Americans come off second best in a vocalizing encounter with umlauted u, while Germans and Frenchmen wage sanguinary battles with our th.

5. The daily scramble for dear life to get aboard a trolley was like taking arms against a sea of troubles. Even standing room was conspicuous by its absence. Sheridan began to think along the line of getting to the office in some other way.

The Exact Word

62. Find the exact word. Do not be content with a loose meaning. Seek the verb, the noun, the adjective, the adverb, or the phrase which expresses your thought with precision. Such words as said, proposition, and nice are often used too loosely. Observe the possible gain in definiteness by substitution.

For said (verb): declared, related, insisted, exclaimed, added, repeated, replied, admitted, commented, corrected, protested, explained, besought, interrupted, inquired, stammered, sighed, murmured, or thundered.

For proposition (noun): transaction, undertaking, venture, recourse, suggestion, overture, proposal, proffer, convenience, difficulty, thesis, or doctrine.

For nice (adjective): discriminating, precise, fastidious, dainty, neat, pretty, pleasant, fragrant, delicious, well-behaved, good, or moral.

Inexact verb: He had not sufficiently regarded the difficulties of the task [Use considered].

Inexact noun: Promptness is an item which a manager should possess [Use quality].

Inexact adjective: He looked awfully funny when I told him he had made a mistake [Use surprised].

Inexact phrasing throughout: Health is first in every line of activity. A man who has it does not hold it with enough respect, and make efforts enough to keep it.

Right: Health is indispensable to success in any work. Even those who have it do not realize its value.

Exercise:

1. He was proud of the honorable record he had gained.

2. He resolved that some day he would be a banker, and I shall tell you how he tried to do so.

3. Isn't the sunset grand? Isn't it nice to be out of doors?

4. The mystery as to which ones of the piano keys to play was hard for him to acquire.

5. If the package comes by freight, you must negotiate the proposition of getting it home; but if it comes by express, the delivery is done free.

Concreteness

63. Concrete words are often more effective than vague, general, or abstract words.

Not specific: She held herself aloof from her brothers' games and amusements.

Concrete: She never played soldier or sailed paper boats with her brothers.

No appeal to the senses: I liked to watch the servant girl as she moved about the kitchen, preparing our morning repast.

Concrete: I liked to watch Norah as she fried our crisp breakfast bacon and browned our buckwheat cakes.

Flat, not readily visualized: The first inhabitants overcame the barriers to settlement about a century ago.

Concrete: Rough backwoodsmen broke through the underbrush and swamp-land a century ago.

Exercise:

1. The scientist discovered a bird in a tree.

2. Our hostess set before us many good things to eat.

3. The sailor was carving queer figures on a piece of soft wood.

4. The night watchman heard something that made him suspicious.

5. I stood at the door of the shop to watch the astonishing things the blacksmith was doing.

Sound

64. Avoid the frequent repetition of a sound, especially if it be harsh or unpleasant.

Bad: He is an exceedingly orderly secretary.

Better: As a secretary he is very systematic. [Or] The secretary is very systematic.

Bad: Immediately the squirrel hid himself behind the hickory tree.

Better: Immediately the squirrel dodged behind the hickory tree.

Unfortunate rime: Bert did not dare to go home with wet hair.

Better: Bert did not dare to go home with his hair wet. [Or] Bert was afraid to go home with wet hair.

Exercise:

1. That Christmas happened to be unusually happy.

2. I fear we must sit near the rear of the room.

3. The Jackies went clambering and scurrying up the rigging.

4. The ship slips anchor while the idlers sip tea on the deck.

5. The third treasure-seeker heard a thud. His pick had struck an obstruction.

Subtle Violations of Good Use: Faulty Idioms, Colloquialisms

65. Avoid subtle violations of good use, particularly (a) faulty idioms and (b) colloquialisms.

a. Make your expression conform to English idiom. A faulty idiom is an expression which, though correct in grammar and general meaning, combines words in a manner contrary to usage. Idioms are established by custom, and cannot be explained by logical rules. "I enjoy to read" is wrong, not because the words offend logic or grammar, but merely because people do not instinctively make that combination of words. "I like to read" and "I enjoy reading" are good idioms.

Faulty Idioms Correct Idioms

in the city Toledo in the city of Toledo in the year of 1920 in the year 1920 I hope you a good time I wish you a good time the Rev. Hopkins the Reverend Mr. Hopkins possessed with ability possessed of ability stay to home stay at home different than different from independent from independent of in search for in search of

Observe that many idioms are concerned with prepositions. Make sure that a verb or adjective is accompanied by the right preposition. Study the following list of correct idioms:

accused of (a theft) accused by (a person) accord with (a person) agree with (a person) agree to (a proposal) agreeable to angry at (things or persons) angry with (a person) careful about (an affair) careful of (one's money) comply with convenient to (a person) convenient for (a purpose) correspond to (things) correspond with (persons) dissent from enamored of entrust to free from listen to part from (a person) part with (a thing) pleased with resolve on sympathize with take exception to

b. Do not carry the standards of conversation into formal writing. Colloquial usage is more free than literary usage. The colloquial sentence That's the man I talked with becomes in writing That is the man with whom I talked. The colloquial sentence It was a cold day but there wasn't any wind blowing is a loose string of words. Written discourse requires greater tension and more care in subordinating minor ideas: The day, though cold, was still. Contractions are proper in conversation, and in personal or informal writing. In formal writing they are not appropriate. And do not let such expressions as He doesn't, We aren't, It's proved, used in talk by careful speakers, mislead you into expressions like He don't, We ain't, It's proven, which violate even colloquial good use.

Exercise:

1. He confessed of his inability to comply to the demand.

2. Is he from Irish descent? Is humor characteristic with the Irish?

3. She was not to home, but I was reluctant against leaving.

4. He dissented to the opinion of the committee's majority, for his ideas were utterly different than theirs.

5. He got a few jobs as a carpenter that summer, but they didn't pay him much, and so he went to loafing around, and he's been at it ever since.

Gross Violations of Good Use: Barbarisms, Improprieties, Slang

66. Avoid gross violations of good use, particularly (a) barbarisms, (b) improprieties, and (c) slang.

a. Barbarisms are distortions of words in good use, or coinages for which there is no need. Examples: to concertize, to burgle or burglarize, to jell, alright, a-plenty, most (for almost), performess, fake, pep, tasty, illy, complected, undoubtably, nowheres, soph, lab, gents.

b. Improprieties are words wrenched from one part of speech to another, or made to perform an unnatural service. Examples: to suspicion, to gesture, to suicide, a steal, a try, a go, an invite, the eats, humans, some or real or swell (as adverbs), like (as a conjunction).

c. Slang is speech consisting either of uncouth expressions of illiterate origin, or of legitimate expressions used in grotesque or irregular senses. Though sometimes (witness eighteenth century mob, and nineteenth century buncombe) it satisfies a real need and becomes established in the language, in most instances it is short-lived (witness the thieves' talk in Oliver Twist, or passages from any comic opera song popular five years ago). Vicious types of slang are:

Expressions of vulgar origin (from criminal classes, the prize ring, the vaudeville circuit, etc.): get pinched, down and out, took the count, bum hunch, nix on the comedy stuff, get across.

Language strained or distorted for novel effect: performed the feed act at a bang-up gastronomic emporium, bingled a tall drive that made the horsehide ramble out into center garden.

Blanket expressions used as substitutes for thinking: corking, stunning, ain't it fierce?, can you beat it?, going some, just so I get by with it.

The use of the last-named type is most to be regretted. It leads to a mental habit of phonographic repetition, with no resort to independent thinking. If a man really desires to use slang, let him invent new expressions every day, and make them fit the specific occasion.

Exercise:

1. I disremember what sort of an outfit he wore.

2. Helen's as light-complected a girl as you'll run across, I calculate.

3. His ad brought a first-rate gent to hold down the job.

4. Thompson hasn't stability, or it seems like it. He ain't got no gumption. He's too easy enthused.

5. The grub was to of cost us two bits, but we didn't have the dough. We gets outside the food, and when the cashier ain't lookin', we runs out the door and beats it.

Words Often Confused in Meaning

67. Do not confuse or interchange the meanings of the following words:

Accept and except. Accept means to receive; except as a verb means to exclude and as a preposition means with the exception of.

Affect and effect. Affect is not used as a noun; effect as a noun means result. As verbs, affect means to influence in part; effect means to accomplish totally. "His story affected me deeply." "The Russians effected a revolution." Affect also has a special meaning to feign. "She had an affected manner."

Allusion and illusion. Allusion means a reference; illusion means a deceptive appearance. "A Biblical allusion." "An optical illusion."

Already and all ready. Already means by this time or beforehand; all ready means wholly ready. "I have already invited him." "Dinner is all ready." "We are all ready for dinner."

Altogether and all together. Altogether means wholly, entirely; all together means collectively, in a group. "He is altogether honest." "The King sent the people all together into exile."

Can and may. Can means to be able; may means to have permission. Can for may has a certain colloquial standing, but is condemned by literary usage.

Emigrate and immigrate. Emigrate means to go out from a country; immigrate means to enter into a country. The same man may be an emigrant when he leaves Europe, and an immigrant when he enters America.

Healthy and healthful. Healthy means having health; healthful means giving health. "Milk is healthful." "The climate of Colorado is healthful." "The boy is healthy."

Hanged and hung. Hanged is the correct past tense of hang in the sense put to death, hanged on the gallows; hung is the correct past tense for the general meaning suspended.

Hygienic and sanitary. Both words mean pertaining to health. Hygienic is used when the condition is a matter of personal habits or rules; sanitary is used when the condition is a matter of surroundings (water supply, food supply, sewage disposal, etc.) or the relations of numbers of people.

Instants and instance. Instants means small portions of time; instance means an example.

Later and latter. Later means more late; latter means the second in a series of two. "The latter" is used in conjunction with the phrase "the former."

Lead and led. Led is the past tense of the verb to lead. Lead is the present tense.

Learn and teach. Learn means to get knowledge of; teach means to give knowledge of or to. "The instructor teaches (not learns) me physics." "He learns his lessons easily."

Leave and let. Leave means to abandon; let means to permit.

Less and fewer. Less refers to quantity; fewer refers to number. "He has fewer (not less) horses than he needs."

Liable, likely, and apt. Likely merely predicts; liable conveys the additional idea of harm or responsibility. Apt applies usually to persons, in the sense of having natural capability, and sometimes to things, in the sense of fitting, appropriate. "It is likely to be a pleasant day." "I fear it is liable to rain." "He is liable for damages." "He is an apt lad at his books." "That is an apt phrase."

Lie and lay. Lay, a transitive verb, means to cause to lie. "I lay the book on the table and it lies there." "Now I lay me down to sleep." A source of confusion between the two words is that the past tense of lie is lay:

I lie down to sleep. I lay the book on the table. I lay there yesterday. I laid it there yesterday. I have lain here for hours. I have laid it there many times.

Like and as or as if. Like is in good use as a preposition, and may be followed by a noun; as is in good use as a conjunction, and may be followed by a clause. "He is tall like his father." "He is tall, as his father is." "It looks as if (not like) it were going to rain."

Lose and loose. Lose means to cease having; loose as a verb means to set free, and as an adjective, free, not bound.

Majority and plurality. In a loose sense, majority means the greater part. More strictly, it means the number by which votes cast for one candidate exceed those of the opposition. A plurality is the excess of votes received by one candidate over his nearest competitor. In an election A receives 500 votes; B, 400 votes; and C, 300 votes. A has a plurality of 100, but no majority.

Practical and practicable. Practical means not theoretical; practicable means capable of being put into practice. "A practical man." "The arrangement is practicable."

Principal and principle. Principal as an adjective means chief or leading; principle as a noun means a general truth. Principal as a noun means a sum of money, or the chief official of a school.

Proof and evidence. In a law court, proof is evidence sufficient to establish a fact; evidence is whatever is brought forward in an attempt to establish a fact. "The evidence against the prisoner was extensive, but hardly proof of his guilt." In ordinary speech, proof is sometimes loosely used as a synonym for evidence.

Pseudo- and quasi-. As a prefix, pseudo- means false; quasi- means literally as if, hence seeming, so-called. "Phrenology is a pseudo-science." "A quasi-evolutionary doctrine."

Quiet and quite. Quiet is an adjective meaning calm, not noisy; quite is an adverb meaning entirely.

Respectfully and respectively. Respectfully means in a courteous manner; respectively means in a way proper to each. "Yours respectfully" (not respectively). "He handed the commissions to Gray and Hodgins respectively."

Rise and raise. Rise is an intransitive verb; raise is a transitive verb. "I rise to go home." "I raise vegetables." "I raise the stone from the ground."

Sit and set. Set, a transitive verb, means to cause to sit. "He sets it in the corner and it sits there." The past tense of sit is sat.

I sit down. I always set it in its place. He sat in this very chair. I set it in its place yesterday. He has sat there an hour. I have always set it just here.

Stationary and stationery. Stationary is an adjective meaning fixed; stationery is a noun meaning writing material.

Statue, stature, and statute. Statue means a carved or moulded figure; stature means height; statute means a law.

Exercise:

1. Insert affect or effect: Noise does not —— my studying. It has little —— on me. By the exercise of will power I was able to —— a change.

2. Insert healthy or healthful: New Mexico has a —— climate, Graham bread is ——. You will be —— if you take exercise.

3. Insert later or latter: I will see you ——. Here are two plans: the former is complex; the —— is simple. Sooner or —— you will learn the rule.

4. Insert less or fewer: They have —— money than we; we have —— pleasures than they. It seems to me there are —— accidents.

5. Insert principal or principle: The —— part of a clock is the pendulum, which swings regularly, according to a —— of science. My —— reason for trusting him is that he is a man of ——. He is the —— of the high school. The widow spends the interest on the money, but keeps the —— intact.

Glossary of Faulty Diction

68. Avoid faulty diction.

Ad (for advertisement). Avoid in formal writing and speaking.

Ain't. Never correct. Say I'm not, you [we, they] aren't, he [she, it] isn't.

All the farther, all the faster. Crude. Use as far as, as fast as, in such sentences as "This is all the farther I can go."

As. (a) Incorrect in the sense of that or whether. "I don't know whether (not as) I can tell you." "Not that (not as) I know." (b) As ... as are correlatives. Than must not replace the second as. Right: "As good as or better than his neighbors." "As good as his neighbors, or better [than they]." See 57.

Auto. An abbreviation not desirable in formal writing.

Awful. Means filling with awe or filled with awe. Do not use in the sense of uncivil, serious, or ludicrous, or (in the adverbial form) in the sense of very, extremely.

Balance. Incorrect when used in the sense of remainder.

Because. Not to be used for the fact that. "The fact that (not because) he is absent is no reason why we should not proceed." See 5.

Between. Used of two persons or things. Not to be confused with among, which is used of more than two.

Blame on. A crudity for put the blame on or blame. Faulty: "Don't blame it on me." Better: "Don't blame me."

Borned. A monstrosity for born. "I was born (not borned) in 1899."

Bursted. The past tense of burst is the same as the present.

Bust or busted. Vulgar for burst. Right: "The balloon burst." "The bank failed."

But what. That is often preferable. "I do not doubt that (not but what) he is honest."

Canine. An adjective. Not in good use as a noun.

Cannot help but. A confusion of can but and cannot help. "I can but believe you"; or "I cannot help believing you"; not "I cannot help but believe you." See 34.

Caused by. To be used only when it refers definitely to a noun. Wrong: "He was disappointed, caused by the lateness of the train." The noun disappointment should be used instead of the verb disappointed. Then caused will have a definite reference. Right: "His disappointment was caused by the lateness of the train." See 23.

Claim. Means to demand as a right. Incorrect for maintain or assert.

Considerable. An adjective, not an adverb. "He talked considerably (not considerable) about it."

Could of. An illiterate form arising from slovenly pronunciation. Use could have. Avoid also may of, must of, would of, etc.

Data. Plural. The singular (seldom used) is datum. Compare stratum, strata; erratum, errata.

Demean. Means to conduct oneself, not to lower or to degrade.

Different than. Different from is to be preferred. Than is a conjunction. The idea of separation implied in different calls for a preposition, rather than a word of comparison.

Disremember. Not in good use.

Done. A gross error when used as the past tense of do, or as an adverb meaning already. "I did it (not I done it)." "I've already (not done) got my lessons."

Don't. A contraction for do not; never to be used for does not. The contraction of does not is doesn't. See 51d.

Drownded. Vulgar for drowned.

Due to. To be used only when it refers definitely to a noun. Faulty: "He refused the offer, due to his father's opposition." Right: "His refusal of the offer was due to his father's opposition." The noun refusal should be used instead of the verb refused. Then due will have a definite reference. See 5.

Enthuse. Not in good use.

Etc. An abbreviation for the Latin et cetera, meaning and other [things]. Et means and. And etc. is therefore grossly incorrect. Do not write ect.

Expect. Means to look forward to. Hardly correct in the sense of suppose.

Fine. Use cautiously as an adjective, and not at all as an adverb. Seek the exact word. See 62.

Former. Means the first or first named of two. Not to be used when more than two have been named. The corresponding word is latter.

For to. Incorrect for to. "I want you (not for you) to listen carefully." "He made up his mind to (not for to) accept."

Gent. A vulgar abbreviation of gentleman.

Good. An adjective, not an adverb. Wrong: "He did good in mathematics." Right: "He did well in mathematics." "He did good work in mathematics."

Gotten. An old form now usually replaced by got except in such expressions as ill-gotten gains.

Guess. Expresses conjecture. Not to be used in formal composition for think, suppose, or expect.

Had of. Illiterate. "I wish I had known (not had of known) about it."

Had ought. A vulgarism. "He ought (not had ought) to have resigned." "We oughtn't (not hadn't ought) to make this error."

Hardly. Not to be used with a negative. See 34.

Home. Do not use when you mean simply house.

Human or humans. Not in good use as a noun. Say human being. Right: "The house was not fit for human beings (not humans) to live in."

If. Do not use for whether. "I can't say whether (not if) the laundry will be finished today."

In. Often misused for into. "He jumped into (not in) the pond."

It's. Means it is; not to be written for the possessive its.

Kind of. (a) Should not modify adjectives or verbs. "He was somewhat (not kind of) lean." "She partly suspected (not She kind of suspected) what was going on." (b) When using with a noun, do not follow by a. "That kind of man"; not "That kind of a man."

Like. To be followed by a substantive; never by a substantive and a verb. "He ran like a deer." "Do as (not like) I do." "She felt as if (not like) she was going to faint." Like is a preposition; as is a conjunction.

Literally. Do not use where you plainly do not mean it, as in the sentence, "I was literally tickled to death."

Loan. Lend is in better use as a verb.

Locate. Do not use for settle or establish oneself.

Lose out. Not used in formal writing. Say lose.

Lots of. A mercantile term which has a dubious colloquial standing. Not in good literary use for many or much.

Might of. A vulgarism for might have.

Most. Do not use for almost. "Almost (not most) all."

Myself. Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the simple personal pronoun would suffice. "I saw them myself." "Some friends and I (not myself) went walking."

Neither. Used with nor, and not with or. "Neither the man whom his associates had suspected nor (not or) the one whom the police had arrested was the criminal." "She could neither paint a good picture nor (not or) play the violin well."

Nice. Means delicate or precise. Nice is used in a loose colloquial way to indicate general approval, but should not be so used in formal writing. Right: "He displayed nice judgment." "We had a pleasant (not nice) time." See 62.

Nowhere near. Vulgar for not nearly.

Nowheres. Vulgar.

O and Oh. O is used with a noun in direct address; it is not separated from the noun by any marks of punctuation. Oh is used as an interjection; it is followed by a comma or an exclamation point. "Hear, O king, what thy servants would say." "Oh, dear!"

Of. Do not use for have in such combinations as should have, may have, ought to have.

Off of. On, upon, or some equivalent expression is usually preferable.

Ought to of. A vulgarism for ought to have.

Over with. Crude for over.

Pants. Trousers is the approved term in literary usage. Pants (from pantaloons) has found some degree of colloquial and commercial acceptance.

Party. Not to be used for person, except in legal phrases.

Phone. A contraction not employed in formal writing. Say telephone.

Plenty. A noun; not in good use as an adjective or an adverb. "He had plenty of (not plenty) resources." "He had resources in plenty (not resources plenty)."

Proposition. Means a thing proposed. Do not use loosely, as in the sentence: "A berth on a Pullman is a good proposition during a railway journey at night." See 62.

Proven. Prefer proved.

Providing. Prefer provided in such expressions as "I will vote for him provided (not providing) he is a candidate."

Quite a. Colloquial in such expressions as quite a while, quite a few, quite a number.

Raise. Rear or bring up is preferable in speaking of children. "She reared (not raised) seven children."

Rarely ever. Crude for rarely, hardly ever.

Real. Crude for very or really. "She was very (not real) intelligent." "He was really (not real) brave."

Remember of. Not to be used for remember.

Right smart and Right smart of. Extremely vulgar.

Same. No longer used as a pronoun except in legal documents. "He saw her drop the purse and restored it (not the same) to her."

Scarcely. Not to be used with a negative. See 34.

Seldom ever. Crude for seldom, hardly ever.

Shall. Do not confuse with will. See 53.

Sight. A sight or a sight of is very crude for many, much, a great deal of. "A great many (not a sight) of them."

So. Not incorrect, but loose, vague, and often unnecessary. (a) As an intensive, the frequent use of so has been christened "the feminine demonstrative." Hackneyed: "I was so surprised." Better: "I was much surprised." Or, "I was surprised." (b) As a connective, the frequent use of so is a mark of amateurishness. See 36 Note.

Some. Not to be used as an adverb. "She was somewhat (not some) better the next day." Wrong: "He studied some that night." Right: "He did some studying that night."

Somewheres. Very crude. Use somewhere.

Species. Has the same form in singular and plural. "He discovered a new species (not specie) of sunflower."

Such. (a) To be completed by that, rather than by so that, when a result clause follows. "There was such a crowd that (not so that) he did not find his friends." (b) To be completed by as, rather than by that, who, or which, when a relative clause follows. "I will accept such arrangements as (not that) may be made." "He called upon such soldiers as (not who) would volunteer for this service to step forward."

Superior than. Not in good use for superior to.

Sure. Avoid the crude adverbial use. "It surely (not sure) was pleasant." In answer to the question, "Will you go?" either sure or surely is correct, though surely is preferred. "[To be] sure." "[You may be] sure." "[I will] surely [go]."

Suspicion. A noun. Never to be used as a verb.

Take and. Often unnecessary, sometimes crude. Redundant: "He took the ax and sharpened it." Better: "He sharpened the ax." Crude: "He took and nailed up the box." Better: "He nailed up the box."

Tend. In the sense to look after, takes a direct object without an interposed to. Attend, however, is followed by to. "The milliner's assistant tends (not tends to) the shop." "I shall attend to your wants in a moment."

That there. Do not use for that. "I want that (not that there) box of berries."

Them. Not to be used as an adjective. "Those (not them) boys."

There were or There was. Avoid the unnecessary use. Crude: "There were seventeen senators voted for the bill." Better: "Seventeen senators voted for the bill."

These sort, These kind. Ungrammatical. See 51b.

This here. Do not use for this.

Those. Do not carelessly omit a relative clause after those. Faulty: "He is one of those talebearers." Better: "He is a talebearer." [Or] "He is one of those talebearers whom everybody dislikes."

Those kind, those sort. Ungrammatical. See 51b.

Till. Do not carelessly misuse for when: "I had scarcely strapped on my skates when (not till) Henry fell through an air hole."

Transpire. Means to give forth or to become known, not to occur. "The secret transpired." "The sale of the property occurred (not transpired) last Thursday."

Try. A verb, not a noun.

Unique. Means alone of its kind, not odd or unusual.

United States. Ordinarily preceded by the. "The United States raised a large army." (Not "United States raised a large army.")

Up. Do not needlessly insert after such verbs as end, rest, settle.

Used to could. Very crude. Say used to be able or once could.

Very. Accompanied by much when used with the past participle. "He was very much (not very) pleased with his reception."

Want to. Not to be used in the sense of should, had better. "You should (not You want to) keep in good physical condition."

Way. Not to be used for away. "Away (not way) down the street."

Ways. Not to be used for way in referring to distance. "A little way (not ways)."

When. (a) Not to be used for that in such a sentence as "It was in the afternoon that the races began." (b) A when clause is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6.

Where. (a) Not to be used for that in such a sentence as "I see in the paper that our team lost the game." (b) A where clause is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6.

Where at. Vulgar. "Where is he? (not Where is he at?)"

Which. Do not use for who or that in referring to persons. "The friends who (not which) had loved him in his boyhood were still faithful to him."

Who. Do not use unnecessarily for which or that in referring to animals. Do not use the possessive form whose for of which unless the sentence is so turned as practically to require the substitution.

Will. Do not confuse with shall. See 53.

Win out. Not used in formal writing or speaking.

Woods. Not ordinarily to be used as singular. "A wood (not A woods)."

Would have. Do not use for had in if clauses. "If you had (not would have) spoken boldly, he would have granted your request."

Would of. A vulgarism for would have.

You was. Use You were in both singular and plural.

Yourself. Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the personal pronoun would suffice. "You (not Yourself) and your family must come."

Exercise:

1. Be sure the gun works alright. I was already when you came.

2. He talked considerable, but I couldn't scarcely remember what all he said.

3. I never suspicioned that John could of been guilty of forging his father's note. It don't seem hardly possible.

4. The island was not inhabited by humans. It was different than any place I ever remember of. One sailor and myself climbed a sand hill, but we couldn't see any signs of life anywheres.

5. Hawkeye walked a ways into a woods. He was a right smart at ease, for he had Kildeer with him.

69. EXERCISE IN DICTION

A. Wordiness

Strike out all that is superfluous, and make the following sentences simple and exact.

1. Some students lack the ability of being able to spell.

2. He seems to enjoy the universal esteem of all men.

3. The mind rebels against the enforced discipline imposed upon it by others.

4. This is the house that was constructed and erected by a young fellow who went by the common name of Jack.

5. There are invariably people in the world who always want to get something for nothing. I saw some today crowding round a soap man who was giving away free samples gratis.

6. Strawberries which grow in the woods or anywhere like that have a flavor that is better than that of those which grow in gardens.

7. The people showed Jackson the greatest honor it is within their power to bestow by electing him president.

8. It was an old man of about sixty years, and he carried a cane to support himself with when he took a walk. He pulled out his watch to see what time it was every few minutes.

9. My favorite magazine is the one called Popular Mechanics. I like it because it appeals to me.

10. There is a bird, and that bird is the cuckoo, that seems to think it unnecessary to build its own nest, and so it occupies any nest that it happens to find.

11. It is a good plan to follow if one would like to be able to develop his memory to make it a rule to learn at least a few lines of poetry every night before going to bed.

12. In the annals of history there is no historical character more unselfish than the character of Robert E. Lee.

13. There are quite a few hotels in Estes Park, which is in Colorado, but the one that is the most picturesque and striking so that you remember it a long time on account of its unusual surroundings is Long's Peak Inn.

14. It is often, but not always, a good sign that when one person is quick to suspect another person of disloyalty or dishonesty that he himself is disloyal or dishonest.

15. The canine quadruped was under suspicion of having obliterated by a process of mastication that article of sustenance which the butcher deposits at our posterior portal.

B. The Exact Word

Substitute, for inaccurate words and phrases, expressions which carry an exact and reasonable meaning.

1. Ostrich eggs made into omelets are a funny experience.

2. A small back porch can be built which will enter directly into the kitchen.

3. Ruskin uses a great deal of unfamiliar words.

4. Reading will broaden the point of view of a student.

5. To visit the plant in operation is indeed a spectacular sight.

6. My plants grew and looked nicer than any I ever saw.

7. I place little truth in that article, since it appeared in a strong partisan paper.

8. The manufacturing of automobiles has gained to quite an extent.

9. Emerson has some real clever thoughts in his essays.

10. I do not mean to degrade our local street car system, for indeed, it is good along some lines.

11. I want to attain a greater per cent of efficiency in my study.

12. Imagination is an important part in the successful writing of themes.

13. His employer praised him for the preparation he had done.

14. I used water-wings as a sort of a "safety first" until I learned how to swim.

15. In order to prevent infection from disease, two big things are necessary.

16. The pastor delivered the announcements and after the collection had been obtained, he presented the sermon of the morning.

17. Another factor in my career that winter was that I became a part of the orchestra.

18. It was a mighty nice party that Mrs. Jones gave and everybody seemed to have an awfully nice time.

19. The more general word socialism might be divided into three distinct classes, namely: the political party, the theoretical socialist, and last what might be called a general tendency.

20. Starting with the pioneer days and up to the present time every energy was set forth to lay low the forests and to get homes from the wilderness.

C. Words Sometimes Confused in Meaning

Use the word which accurately expresses the thought.

1. The climate of California is very (healthful, healthy).

2. (Leave, let) me have the book.

3. He is afraid that he will (loose, lose) his position.

4. The (principal, principle) speaker of the day was Colonel Walker.

5. I cannot run (as, like) he can.

6. An hour ago he (laid, lay) down to sleep.

7. I fear we are (liable, likely) to be punished.

8. The scolding did not much (affect, effect) him.

9. The light roller presses down the bricks so that the steam roller will break (fewer, less) of them.

10. Whittier makes many (allusions, illusions) to the Bible.

11. Bread will (raise, rise) much more quickly in a warm place than in a place where there is a draft.

12. It hardly seems (credible, creditable) that a small child could walk ten miles.

13. I can't write a letter on this (stationary, stationery).

14. He (sets, sits) at the head of the table.

15. He spoke to the stranger (respectfully, respectively).

16. Did the president (affect, effect) a settlement of the strike?

17. I cannot (accept, except) help from anyone.

18. Are the guests (already, all ready) for dinner?

19. Is the train moving or (stationary, stationery)?

20. It is (apt, likely, liable) to be pleasant tomorrow.

D. Colloquialism, Slang, Faulty Idiom, etc.

The diction of the following sentences is incorrect or inappropriate for written discourse. Improve the sentences.

1. I was kind of tired this morning, but now I feel alright.

2. I should of known better.

3. A young lady and myself went walking.

4. He is out of town for a couple days.

5. I feel some better now.

6. He will benefit greatly from the results.

7. The Puritans were a very odd acting people.

8. I like camping because of many reasons.

9. Cook your meal, and after you are finished eating, wash the dishes.

10. He is a regular genius of a bookkeeper.

11. It is hard to see how humans can live in such tenements.

12. The soldiers destroyed property without the least regard of who owned it.

13. She was crazy for an invite to the hop.

14. It was up to me to get out before there was something doing.

15. The Gettysburg Address is very simple of understanding though very strong of meaning.

16. When we become located in a desirable locality, we intend to pay off some of our social indebtedness.

17. Have some local glass dealer to mend the broken door, and send us the bill for the same.

18. The first part of Franklin's Autobiography is different than the latter part, which he wrote after the Revolutionary War.

19. In 1771 a fellow by the name of Arkwright established a mill in which spinning machines were run by water power.

20. Each day has brought closer to home the truth that the condition of mankind in one part of the world is certain to effect the equilibrium of mankind in most all other parts of the world.



SPELLING

No one is able to spell all unusual words on demand. But every one must spell correctly even unusual words in formal writing. The writer has time or must take time to consult a dictionary. The best dictionaries are Webster's New International Dictionary, the Standard Dictionary (less conservative than Webster's), the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia (Volume 2 of the Century is the best place to look for proper names), and Murray's New English Dictionary (very thorough, each word being illustrated with numerous quotations to show historical development). An abridged edition of one of these (the price is one to three dollars) should be accessible to each student who cannot buy the larger volumes. The best are: Webster's Secondary School Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls Desk Standard Dictionary, the Oxford Concise Dictionary, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

But the student will be spared constant recourse to the dictionary, and will save himself much time and many humiliations, if he will employ the rules and principles which follow.

Recording Errors

70. Keep a list of all the words you misspell, copying them several times in correct form. Concentrate your effort upon a few words at a time—upon those words which you yourself actually misspell. The list will be shorter than you think. It may comprise not more than twenty or thirty words. Unless you are extraordinarily deficient, it will certainly not comprise more than a hundred or a hundred and fifty. Find where your weakness lies; then master it. You can accomplish the difficult part of the task in a single afternoon. An occasional review, and constant care when you write, will make your mastery permanent.

After this, and only after this, begin slowly to learn the spelling of words which you do not yourself use often, but which are a desirable equipment for all educated men. See the list under 79. Concentrate your efforts upon a few words at a time. It is better to know a few exactly than a large number hazily. Form the mental habit of being always right with a small group of words, and extend this group gradually.

Exercise:

Prepare for your instructor a corrected list of words which you have misspelled in your papers to the present time.

Pronouncing Accurately

71. Avoid slovenly pronunciation. Careful articulation makes for correctness in spelling.

Watch the vowels of unaccented syllables; give them distinct (not exaggerated) utterance, at least until you are familiar with the spelling. Examples: sep=a=rate, opp=o=rtunity, ever=y=body, soph=o=more, d=i=vine.

Sound accurately all the consonants between syllables, and do not sound a single consonant twice. Examples: can=d=idate, gover=n=ment, su=r=prise (not supp=r=ise), o=m=i=ss=ion (compare o=cc=a=s=ion), de=f=er (compare di=ff=er).

Sound the g in final -ing. Examples: eating, running.

Pronounce the -al of adverbs derived from adjectives in -ic or -al. Examples: tragically, occasionally, generally, ungrammatically.

Do not transpose letters; place each letter where it belongs. Examples: p=er=spiration (not p=re=spiration), tra=g=edy (not tra=d=e=g=y).

Note.—The principle of phonetic spelling as stated above applies to many words, but by no means to all. The Simplified Spelling Board would extend this principle by changing the spelling of words to correspond with their actual sounds. It recommends such forms as tho, thru, enuf, quartet, catalog, program. If the student employs these forms, he must use them consistently. Many writers oppose simplified spelling; many advocate it; many compromise. Others desire to supplant our present alphabet with one more nearly phonetic, and prefer, until this fundamental reform takes place, to preserve our present spelling as it is.

Exercise:

Copy the following words slowly, pronouncing the syllables as you write: accidentally, accommodate, accurately, artistically, athletics (not atheletics), boundary, candidate, cavalry, commission, curiosity, defer, definite, description, despair, different, dining room, dinned, disappoint, divide, divine, emphatically, eighth, everybody, February, finally, goddess, government, hundred, hurrying, instinct, laboratory, library, lightning, might have (not might of), naturally, necessary, occasionally, omission, opinion, opportunity, optimist, partner, perform, perhaps, perspiration, prescription, primitive, privilege, probably, quantity, really, recognise, recommend, reverence, separate, should have (not should of), sophomore, strictly, superintendent, surprise, temperance, tragedy, usually, whether.

Logical Kinship in Words

72. Get help in spelling a difficult word by thinking of related words. To think of ridiculous will prevent your writing a for the second i of ridicule; to think of ridicule will prevent your writing rediculous. To think of prepare will prevent your writing preperation; to think of preparation will forestall preparitory. To think of busy will save you from the monstrosity buisness. To think of the prefixes re- (meaning again) and dis- (meaning not), and the verbs commend and appoint, will prevent your writing recommend or disappoint with a double c or s.

Note.—The relationship between words is not always a safe guide to spelling. Observe four, forty; nine, ninth; maintain, maintenance; please, pleasant; speak, speech; prevail, prevalent. Do not confuse the following prefixes, which have no logical connection:

ante- (before) anti- (against, opposite) de- (from, about) dis- (apart, away, not) per- (through, entirely) pre- (before)

Exercise:

1. Write the nouns corresponding to the following verbs: prepare, allude, govern, represent, degrade.

2. Write the adjectives corresponding to the following nouns and the nouns corresponding to the following adjectives: desperation, academy, origin, ridiculous, miraculous, grammatical, arithmetical, busy.

3. Write the adverbs corresponding to the following adjectives: real, sure, actual, hurried, accidental, incidental, grammatical.

4. Copy the following pairs of related words or related forms of words: labor, laboratory; debate, debater; base, based; deal, dealt; chose, chosen; mean, meant.

5. Write each of the following words with a hyphen between the prefix and the body of the word: describe, description, disappoint, disappear, disease, dissatisfy, dissever, permit, perspire, prescription, preconceive, recommend, recollect, reconsider, antedate, antecedent, anticlimax, antitoxin.

Superficial Resemblances between Words

73. Guard against misspelling a word because it bears a superficial resemblance, in sound or appearance, to some other word. Most of the words in the following list have no logical connection; the resemblance is one of form only (angel, angle). But a few words are included which are different in spelling in spite of a logical relation (breath, breathe).

accept (to receive) except (to exclude, with exclusion of)

advice (noun) advise (verb)

affect (to influence in part) effect (to bring to pass totally)

allusion (a reference) illusion (a deceiving appearance)

all right almost already

altogether always

alley (a back street) ally (a confederate)

altar (a structure used in worship) alter (to make otherwise)

angel (a celestial being) angle (the meeting place of two lines)

baring (making bare) barring (obstructing) bearing (carrying) born (brought into being) borne (carried)

breath (noun) breathe (verb)

capital (a city) capitol (a building)

canvas (a cloth) canvass (to solicit)

clothes (garments) cloths (pieces of cloth)

coarse (not fine) course (route, method of behavior)

conscious (aware) conscience (an inner moral sense)

dairy diary

device (noun) devise (verb)

desert (a barren country) dessert (food)

dining room dinning

disappear disappoint

disavowal dissatisfaction dissimilar dissipate dissuade

decent (adjective) descent (downward slope or motion) dissent (a disagreement)

dual (adjective) duel (noun)

formally (in a formal way) formerly (in time past)

forth forty four fourth

freshman freshmen (not used as adjective)

gambling (wagering money on games of chance) gamboling (frisking or leaping with joy)

guard regard

hear here

hinder hindrance

holly (a tree) holy (hallowed, sacred) wholly (altogether)

hoping (from hope) hopping

instance (an example) instants (periods of time)

isle (an island) aisle (a narrow passage)

its (possessive pronoun) it's (contraction of it is)

Johnson, Samuel Jonson, Ben

later (comparative of late) latter (the second)

lead (present tense) led (past tense)

lessen (verb) lesson (noun)

liable (expresses responsibility or disagreeable probability) likely (expresses probability)

loose (free, not bound) lose (to suffer the loss of)

maintain maintenance

nineteenth ninetieth ninety ninth

past (adjective, adverb, preposition) passed (verb, past tense)

peace (a state of calm) piece (a fragment)

perceive perform persevere persuade purchase pursue

personal (private, individual) personnel (the body of persons engaged in some activity)

Philippines Filipino

plain (clear; adjective) plain (flat region; noun) plane (flat; adjective) plane (geometrical term; noun)

planed (past tense of plane) planned (past tense of plan)

pleasant please

precede proceed } succeed } these three are the exceed } "double e group" concede intercede recede supersede

pre ce dence (act or right of preceding) prec e dents (things said or done before, now used as authority or model)

presence (state of being present) presents (gifts)

prevail prevalent

principal (chief, leading, the leading official of a school, a sum of money) principle (a general truth)

quiet (still) quite (completely)

rain reign (rule of a monarch) rein (part of a harness)

respectfully ("Yours respectfully") respectively (in a way proper to each—should never be used to close a letter)

right rite (ceremony) write

shone (past tense of shine) shown (past tense of show)

seize siege

sight (view, spectacle) site (situation, a plot of ground reserved for some use) cite (to bring forward as evidence)

speak speech

Spencer, Herbert (scientist) Spenser, Edmund (poet)

stationary (not moving) stationery (writing materials)

statue (a sculptured likeness) stature (height, figure) statute (a law)

steal (to take by theft) steel (a variety of iron)

than then

their (belonging to them) there (in that place) they're (they are)

therefor (to that end, for that thing) therefore (for that reason)

till until

to too two

track (an imprint, or a road) tract (an area of land) tract (a treatise on religion)

village villain

wandering wondering

weak (not strong) week (seven days)

weather whether

whole (entire) hole (an opening)

who's (who is) whose (the possessive of who)

your (indicates possession) you're (contraction of you are)

Exercise:

1. Insert to, too, or two: He is —— tired —— walk the ——miles —— the town. Then ——, it is —— late —— catch a car. It is —— minutes of ——. It is —— bad.

2. Insert lose or loose: You will —— your money if you carry it —— in your pocket. We are ——ing time. The sailor ——ens the rope. Did you —— your ticket?

3. Insert speak or speech: I was ——ing with our congressman about his recent ——. I —— from experience.

4. Insert plan or plane: The architect's —— was accepted. The carpenter's —— cuts a long shaving. The carpenter does not —— the house.

5. Insert quite or quiet: The baby is ——ly sleeping. She is —— well now, but last night she was —— sick. Be ——. Walk ——ly when you go.

Words in ei or ie

74. Write i before e When sounded as ee Except after c.

Examples: believe, grief, chief; but receive, deceive, ceiling.

Exceptions: Neither financier seized either species of weird leisure. (Also a few uncommon words, like seignior, inveigle, plebeian.)

Rules based on a key-word, lice, Alice, Celia (i follows l and e follows c) apply after two consonants only, and do not help one to spell a word like grief. Rule 74 applies after all consonants.

Note.—The words in which the sound is ee are the words really difficult to spell. When the sound is any other than ee (especially when it is a), i usually follows e.

Examples: veil, weigh, freight, neighbor, height, sleight, heir, heifer, counterfeit, foreign, etc.

Exceptions: ancient, friend, sieve, mischief, fiery, tries, etc.

Exercise:

Write the following words, supplying ei or ie: conc—t, retr—ve, dec—tful, n—ce, y—ld, p—ce, s—ge, s—ze, rec—pt, n—ther, w—rd, rel—ve, l—sure, f—ld, v—n, r—gn, sover—gn, sl—gh, br—f, dec—ve, r—n, f—nt, perc—ve, w—ld, gr—vous, —ther.

Doubling a Final Consonant

75. Monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable, if they end in one consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel.

Examples: (a) Words derived from monosyllables: plan-ned, clan-nish, get-ting, hot-test, bag-gage, (b) Words derived from words accented on the final syllable: begin-ning, repel-lent, unregret-ted.

Note 1.—There are four distinct steps in the application of this rule. (1) The primary word must be found. To decide whether begging contains two g's, we must first think of beg. (2) The primary word must be a monosyllable or a word accented on the final syllable. Hit and allot meet this test; open does not. Deferred and differed, preferred and proffered, committed (or committee) and prohibited double or refrain from doubling the final consonant of the primary word according to the position of the accent. The seeming discrepancy between preferred and preferable, between conferred and conference, is due to a shifting of the accent to the first syllable in the case of preferable and conference. (3) The primary word must end in one consonant. Trace, oppose, interfere, help, reach, and perform fail to meet this test, and therefore in derivatives do not double the last consonant. Assurance has one r, as it should have; occurrence has two r's, as it should have. (4) The final consonant of the primary word must be preceded by a single vowel. This principle excludes the extra consonant from needy, daubed, and proceeding, and gives it to running.

Note 2.—After q, u has the force of w. Hence quitting, quizzes, squatter, acquitted, equipped, and similar words are not really exceptions to the rule.

Exercise:

1. Write the present participle (in -ing) of din (not dine), begin, sin (compare shine), stop, prefer, rob, drop, occur, omit, swim, get, commit.

2. Write the past tense (in -ed) of plan (not plane), star (compare stare), stop (compare slope), lop (not lope), hop (not hope), fit, benefit, occur (compare cure), offer, confer, bat (compare abate).

Final e before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel

76. Words that end in silent e usually drop the e in derivatives or before a suffix beginning with a vowel.

Examples: bride, bridal; guide, guidance; please, pleasure; fleece, fleecy; force, forcible; argue, arguing; arrive, arrival; conceive, conceivable; college, collegiate; write, writing; use, using; change, changing; judge, judging; believe, believing.

Note 1.—Of the exceptions some retain the e to prevent confusion with other words. Exceptions: dyeing, singeing, mileage, acreage, hoeing, shoeing, agreeing, eyeing. The exceptions cause comparatively little trouble. One rarely sees hoing or shoing; he often sees hopeing and inviteing.

Note 2.—After c or g and before a suffix beginning with a or o the e is retained. The purpose of this retention is to preserve the soft sound of the c or g. (Observe that c and g have the hard sound in cable, gable, cold, go.)

Examples: peaceable, changeable, noticeable, serviceable, outrageous, courageous, advantageous.

Exercise:

1. Write the present participle of the following words: use, love, change, judge, shake, hope, shine, have, seize, slope, strike, dine, come, place, argue, achieve, emerge, arrange, abide, oblige, subdue.

2. Write the present participle of the following words: singe, tinge, dye, agree, eye.

3. Write the -ous or -able form of the following words: trace, love, blame, move, conceive, courage, service, advantage, umbrage.

4. Write the adjectives which correspond to the following nouns: force, sphere, vice, sense, fleece, college, hygiene.

5. Write the nouns which correspond to the following verbs: please, guide, grieve, arrive, oblige, prepare, inspire.

Plurals

77a. Most nouns add s or es to form the plural. Examples: word, words; fire, fires, negro, negroes; Eskimo, Eskimos; leaf, leaves (f changes to v for the sake of euphony); knife, knives.

b. Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant (or by u as w) change the y to i and add es to form the plural.

Examples: sky, skies; lady, ladies; colloquy, colloquies; soliloquy, soliloquies.

Other nouns ending in y form the plural in the usual way. Examples: day, days; boy, boys; monkey, monkeys; valley, valleys.

c. Compound nouns usually form the plural by adding s or es to the principal word. Examples: sons-in-law, passers-by; but stand-bys, hat-boxes, writing-desks.

d. Letters, signs, and sometimes figures, add 's to form the plural. Examples: Cross your t's and dot your i's; ?'s; $'s; 3's or 3s.

e. A few nouns adhere to old declensions. Examples: ox, oxen; child, children; goose, geese; foot, feet; mouse, mice; man, men; woman, women; sheep, sheep; deer, deer; swine, swine.

f. Words adopted from foreign languages sometimes retain the foreign plural. Examples: alumnus, alumni; alumna, alumnae; fungus, fungi; focus, foci; radius, radii; datum, data; medium, media; phenomenon, phenomena; stratum, strata; analysis, analyses; antithesis, antitheses; basis, bases; crisis, crises; oasis, oases; hypothesis, hypotheses; parenthesis, parentheses; thesis, theses; beau, beaux; tableau, tableaux; Mr., Messrs. (Messieurs); Mrs., Mmes. (Mesdames).

Exercise:

Write the singular and plural of the following words: day, sky, lady, wife, leaf, loaf, negro, potato, tomato, pass, glass, boat, beet, flash, crash, bead, box, passenger, messenger, son-in-law, Smith, Jones, jack-o'-lantern, hanger-on, stratum, datum, phenomenon, crisis, basis, thesis, analysis.

Compounds

78a. Use a hyphen between two or more words which serve as a single adjective before a noun: iron-bound bucket, well-kept lawn, twelve-inch main, normal-school teacher, up-to-date methods, twentieth-century ideas, devil-may-care expression, a twenty-dollar-a-week clerk.

But when the words follow the noun, the hyphen is omitted. The lawn is well kept. Methods up to date in every way.

Also adverbs ending in -ly are not ordinarily made into compound modifiers: nicely kept lawn, securely guarded treasure.

b. Use a hyphen between members of a compound noun when the second member is a preposition, or when the writing of two nouns solid or separately might confuse the meaning: runner-up, kick-off; letting-down of effort, son-in-law, jack-o'-lantern, Pedro was a bull-fighter, a woman-hater, Did you ever see a shoe-polish like this?

c. Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, and in fractions according to the following examples:

Twenty-three, eighty-nine; but one hundred and one. Twenty-third, one-hundred-and-first man. Three-fourths, four and two-thirds, thirty-hundredths, thirty-one hundredths.

But omit the hyphen in simple fractions when loosely used: Three quarters of my life are spent. One third of his fortune.

d. A hyphen is not used in the following common words: airship, altogether, anybody, baseball, basketball, everybody, football, goodby, herself, handbook, himself, inasmuch, itself, midnight, myself, nevertheless, nobody, nothing (but no one), nowadays, railroad, themselves, together, typewritten, wherever, without, workshop, yourself, newspaper, sunset.

e. For words that do not come within the scope of rules, consult an up-to-date dictionary. Compounds tend, with the passing of time, to grow together. Once men wrote steam boat, later steam-boat, and finally steamboat. New-coined words are usually hyphenated; old words are often written solid. The degree of intimacy between the parts of a compound word affects usage; thus we write sun-motor, but sunbeam; birth-rate, but birthday; cooling-room, but bedroom; non-conductor, but nonsense. The ease with which a vowel blends with the consonant of a syllable adjoining it affects usage; thus self-evident, but selfsame; non-existent, but nondescript; un-American, but unwise. Many compounds, however, are still uncontrolled by usage; whether they should be written as two words or one, whether with or without the hyphen, the dictionaries themselves do not agree.

Exercise:

Copy the following expressions, inserting hyphens where they are necessary: twenty two years old, twenty two dollar bills make forty dollars, twenty seven eighths inch boards, a normal school graduate, two handled boxes, a cloth covered basket, blood red sun, water tight compartment, sixty horse power motor, seven dollar bathing suits, a happy go lucky fellow, germ destroying powder, he had a son in law, passers by on the street, the kick off is at three o'clock, dark complexioned woman, silver tongued orator, a dish like valley, a rope like tail, a fish shaped cloud, a touch me not expression, will o' the wisp, well to do merchant, rough and tumble existence.

79. SPELLING LIST

The English language comprises about 450,000 words. Of these a student uses about 4000 (although he may understand more than twice that number when he encounters them in sentences). Of these, in turn, not more than four or five hundred are frequently misspelled. The following list includes nearly all of the words which give serious trouble. Certain American colleges using this list require of freshmen an accuracy of ninety per cent.

absurd academy accept accidentally accommodate accumulate accustom acquainted acquitted across addressed adviser aeroplane affects aggravate alley allotted all right ally already altar alter altogether alumnus always amateur among analogous analysis angel angle annual anxiety apparatus appearance appropriate arctic argument arising arithmetic arrange arrival ascend asks athletic audience auxiliary awkward

balance barbarous baring barring baseball based bearing becoming before beggar begging beginning believing benefited biscuit boundaries brilliant Britain Britannica buoyant bureau business busy

calendar candidate can't cemetery certain changeable changing characteristic chauffeur choose chose chosen clothes coarse column coming commission committee comparative compel compelled competent concede conceivable conferred conquer conqueror conscience conscientious considered continuous control controlled cooperate country course courteous courtesy cruelty cylinder

dealt debater deceitful decide decision deferred definite descend describe description derived despair desperate destroy device devise dictionary difference digging dilemma dining room dinning disappear disappoint disavowal discipline disease dissatisfied dissipate distinction distribute divide divine doctor don't dormitories drudgery dying

ecstasy effects eighth eliminate embarrass eminent encouraging enemy equipped especially etc. everybody exaggerate exceed excellent except exceptional exhaust exhilarate existence expense experience explanation

familiar fascinate February fiery fifth finally financier forfeit formally formerly forth forty fourth frantically fraternity freshman (adj.) friend fulfil furniture

gallant gambling generally goddess government governor grammar grandeur grievous guard guess guidance

harass haul having height hesitancy holy hoping huge humorous hurriedly hundredths hygienic

imaginary imitative immediately immigration impromptu imminent incidentally incidents incredulous independence indispensable induce influence infinite instance instant intellectual intelligence intentionally intercede irresistible its it's itself invitation

judgment

knowledge

laboratory ladies laid later latter lead led liable library lightning likely literature loneliness loose lose losing lying

maintain maintenance manual manufacturer many marriage Massachusetts material mathematics mattress meant messenger miniature minutes mischievous Mississippi misspelled momentous month murmur muscle mysterious

necessary negroes neither nickel nineteenth ninetieth ninety ninth noticeable nowadays

oblige obstacle occasion occasionally occur occurred occurrence occurring o'clock officers omitted omission opinion opportunity optimistic original outrageous overrun

paid pantomime parallel parliament particularly partner pastime peaceable perceive perception peremptory perform perhaps permissible perseverance personal personnel perspiration persuade pertain pervade physical picnic picnicking planned pleasant politics politician possession possible practically prairie precede precedent precedents preference preferred prejudice preparation primitive principal principle prisoner privilege probably proceed prodigy profession professor proffered prohibition promissory prove purchase pursue putting

quantity quiet quite quizzes

rapid ready really recede receive recognize recommend reference referred regard region religion religious repetition replies representative restaurant rheumatism ridiculous

sacrilegious safety sandwich schedule science scream screech seems seize sense sentence separate sergeant several shiftless shining shone shown shriek siege similar since smooth soliloquy sophomore speak specimen speech statement stationary stationery statue stature statute steal steel stops stopped stopping stories stretch strictly succeeds successful summarize superintendent supersede sure surprise syllable symmetrical

temperament tendency than their there therefore they're thorough thousandths till to too together tragedy track tract transferred tranquillity translate treacherous treasurer tries trouble truly Tuesday two typical tyranny

universally until using usually

vacancy vengeance vigilance village villain

weak wear weather Wednesday week weird welfare where wherever whether which whole wholly who's whose wintry wiry within without women world writing written

your you're

Note 1.—The following words have more than one correct form, the one given here being preferred.

abridgement acknowledgment analyze ax boulder caliber catalog center check criticize develop development dulness endorse envelop esthetic gaiety gild gipsy glamor goodby gray inquire medieval meter mold mustache odor program prolog skilful theater

Note 2.—In a few groups of words American spelling and English spelling differ. American spelling gives preference to favor, honor, labor, rumor; English spelling gives preference to favour, honour, labour, rumour. American spelling gives preference to civilize, apprize; defense, pretense; traveler, woolen; etc. English spelling gives preference to civilise, apprise; defence, pretence; traveller, woollen; etc.



MISCELLANEOUS

Manuscript

80a. Titles. Center a title on the page. Capitalize important words. It is unnecessary to place a period after a title, but a question mark or exclamation point should be used when one is appropriate. Do not underscore the title, or unnecessarily place it in quotation marks. Leave a blank line under the title, before beginning the body of the writing.

b. Spacing. Careful spacing is as necessary as punctuation. Place writing on a page as you would frame a picture, crowding it toward neither the top nor the bottom. Leave liberal margins. Write verse as verse; do not give it equal indention or length of line with prose. Connect all the letters of a word. Leave a space after a word, and a double space after a sentence. Leave room between successive lines, and do not let the loops of letters run into the lines above or below.

c. Handwriting. Write a clear, legible hand. Form a, o, u, n, e, i, properly. Write out and horizontally. Avoid unnecessary flourishes in capitals, and curlicues at the end of words. Dot your i's and cross your t's; not with circles or long eccentric strokes, but simply and accurately. Let your originality express itself not in ornate penmanship, or unusual stationery, or literary affectations, but in the force and keenness of your ideas.

Capitals

81a. Begin with a capital a sentence, a line of poetry, or a quoted sentence. But if only a fragment of a sentence is quoted, the capital should be omitted.

Right: He said, "The time has come."

Right: The question is, Shall the bill pass?

Right: They said they would "not take no for an answer."

Right:

"The good die first, And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust Burn to the socket."—Wordsworth.



b. Begin proper names, and all important words used as or in proper names, with capitals. Words not so used should not begin with capitals.

Right: Mr. George K. Rogers, the Principal of the Urbana High School, a college president, the President of the Senior Class, a senior, the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, three battalions of infantry, the Fourth of July, on the tenth of June, the House of Representatives, an assembly of delegates, a Presbyterian church, the separation of church and state, the Baptist Church, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a creek known as Black Oak Creek, the Republican Party, a party that advocates high tariff, Rocky Mountains, The Bible, God, The Christian Era, Wednesday, in the summer, living in the South, turning south after taking a few steps to the east, one morning, O dark-haired Evening! italic type, watt, pasteurize, herculean effort.

c. Begin an adjective which designates a language or a race with a capital.

Right: A Norwegian peasant, Indian arrowheads, English literature, the study of French.

d. In the titles of books or themes capitalize the first word and all other important words. Prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are usually not important.

Right: The English Novel in the Time of Scott, War and Peace, Travels with a Donkey, When I Slept under the Stars.

e. Miscellaneous uses. Capitalize the pronoun I, the interjection O, titles that accompany a name, and abbreviations of proper names.

Right: Battery F, 150 F. A.; Mobile, Ala.; Dr. Stebbins.

Exercise:

1. the teacher said, "let me read you a famous soliloquy." he began: "to be, or not to be: that is the question."

2. the chinese laundry man does not write out his lists in english.

3. the la fayette tribune says that a Principal of a School has been elected to congress.

4. mr. woodson, the lecturer, said that "the title of a book may be a poem." he mentioned christmas eve on lonesome by john fox, jr.

5. i like architecture. as i approached the british museum, i noticed the ionic colonnade that runs along the front. the first room i visited was the one filled with marbles which lord elgin brought from the parthenon at athens.

Italics

In manuscript, a horizontal line drawn under a letter or word is a sign for the printer to use italic type.

82a. Quoted titles of books, periodicals, and manuscripts are usually italicized.

Right: I admire Shakespeare's Hamlet. [The italics make the reader know that the writer means, Hamlet the play, not Hamlet the man.]

Right: John Galsworthy's novel, The Patrician, appeared in serial form in the Atlantic Monthly.

Note 1.—When the title of a book begins with an article (a, an, or the), the article is italicized. But the before the title of a periodical is usually not italicized.

Note 2.—It is correct, but not the best practice, to indicate the titles of books by quotation marks. The best method is to use italics for the title of a book, and quotation marks for chapters or subdivisions of the same book. Example: See Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. II, p. 427, "Modern Architecture".

b. Words from a foreign language, unless they have been anglicized by frequent use, are italicized.

Right: A great noise announced the coming of the enfant terrible.

Right: A play always begins in medias res.

c. The names of ships are usually italicized.

Right: The Saxonia will sail at four o'clock.

d. Words taken out of their context and made the subject of discussion are italicized or placed in quotation marks.

Right: So is a word faded and colorless from constant use.

Right: The t in the word often is not pronounced.

e. A word or passage requiring great emphasis is italicized. This device should not be used to excess. The proper way to secure emphasis is to have good ideas, and to use emphatic sentence structure in expressing them.

Exercise:

1. In Vanity Fair Thackeray heads one chapter How to Live Well on Nothing a Year.

2. Auf wiedersehen was his parting word. He had informed me, sub rosa of course, that he was going to Bremen.

3. The battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac revolutionized naval warfare. How far back it seems to the days when Decatur set fire to the old Philadelphia!

4. Her They say's are as plenteous as rabbits in Australia.

5. A writer in the Century Magazine says the public may know better than an author what the title of his book should be. Dickens, for example, called one of his works The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.

Abbreviations

83a. In ordinary writing avoid abbreviations. The following, however, are always correct: Mr., Messrs., Dr., or St. (Saint), before proper names; B. C. or A. D., when necessary to avoid confusion, after a date; and No. or $ when followed by numerals.

In ordinary writing spell out

All titles, except those listed above.

Names of months, states, countries.

Christian names, unless initials are used instead.

Names of weights and measures, except in statistics.

Street, Avenue, Road, Railroad, Park, Fort, Mountain, Company, Brothers, Manufacturing, etc.

In ordinary writing, instead of & write and; for viz. write namely; for i. e., write that is; for e. g. write for example; for a. m. and p. m. write in the morning, this afternoon, tomorrow evening, Saturday night. Do not use etc. (et cetera) when it can be avoided.

b. In business correspondence, technical writing, tabulations, footnotes, and bibliographies, or wherever brevity is essential, other abbreviations may be used. Even here, short words should not be abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Samoa, Utah, March, April, May, June, July.

Exercise:

1. Mr. Gregg & Dr. Appleton were rivals.

2. Harris lacked but one of having a grade of one hundred; i. e., he had the two O's already.

3. His inheritance tax was three thousand $. In Apr. he moved from Portland, Me., to Sandusky, O.

4. Prof. Kellogg came down Beech St. at a quarter before eight every a. m.

5. A No. of old friends visited them on special occasions; e. g., on their wedding anniversaries.

Numbers

84a. It is customary to use figures for dates, for the street numbers in addresses, for reference to the pages of a book, and for statistics.

Right: June 16, 1920. 804 Chalmers Street. See Chapter 4, especially page 79.

Note.—It is desirable not to write st, nd, or th after the day of the month if the year is designated also. Right: March 3, 1919 (not March 3rd, 1919).

b. Figures are used for numbers which cannot be expressed in a few words. The dollar sign and figures are used with complicated sums of money.

Right: The farm comprised 3260 acres. The population of Kansas City, Missouri, was 248,381 in 1910. He earned $437 while attending school. The cost of the improvement was $1,940.25.

c. In other instances than those specified in a and b numbers as a rule should be written out. (This rule applies to numbers and to sums of money which can be expressed in a few words, to sums of money less than one dollar, and to ages and time of day.)

Right: The box weighs two hundred pounds. Xerxes had an army of three million men. I enclose seventy-five cents. He owed twelve hundred dollars. Grandfather Toland is eighty-seven years old. The train is due at a quarter past three.

Exercise:

1. For 70 pounds of excess baggage I had to pay $1.00.

2. At 2 o'clock Rice gave him the 2nd capsule.

3. The letter was sent from twenty-one Warner St. November the eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen.

4. Knox earned $5 a day he said; but they paid him only $0.75.

5. At 40 he owned a 2,000 acre farm and had an income of $10,000 a year.

Syllabication

85a. When a word is broken at the end of a line, use a hyphen there. Do not place a hyphen at the beginning of the second line.

b. Words are divided only between syllables: depart-ment, dis-charge, ab-surd, univer-sity, pro-fessor (not depa-rtment, disc-harge, abs-urd, unive-rsity, prof-essor).

c. Monosyllabic words are never divided: which, through, dipped, speak (not wh-ich, thr-ough, dip-ped, spe-ak).

d. A consonant at the junction of two syllables usually goes with the second: recipro-cate, ordi-nance, inti-mate (not reciproc-ate, ordin-ance, intim-ate). Sometimes two consonants are equivalent to a single letter: falli-ble, photo-graph (not fallib-le, photog-raph).

e. Two or more consonants at the junction of syllables are themselves divided: en-ter-prise, com-mis-sary, in-car-nate (not ent-erpr-ise, comm-iss-ary, inc-arn-ate).

f. A prefix or a suffix is usually set off from the rest of the word regardless of the rule for consonants between syllables: ex-empt, dis-appoint, sing-ing, pro-gress-ive. But when a final consonant is doubled before a suffix the additional consonant goes with the suffix: trip-ping, permit-ted, omis-sion.

g. The best usage avoids separating one or two letters (unless in prefixes like un or suffixes like ly) from the rest of the word: achieve-ment, enor-mous, remem-bered, dyspep-sia (not a-chievement, e-normous, remember-ed, dyspepsi-a).

h. The first part of a divided word should not be ludicrous or misleading: dogma-tize, croco-dile, de-cadence, metri-cal, goril-la (not dog-matize, croc-odile, deca-dence, met-rical, go-rilla).

Exercise:

Place a hyphen between each pair of syllables in each word of more than one syllable: thoughtful, burrowing, thorough, chimney, brought, helped, harshnesses, which, murmur, superstition, ground, symmetry, ripped, compartment, disallow, obey, opinion, opportune, aggressive, intellectually, complicated, encyclopedia, wrought, electricity, abstraction, syllabication, punctuation, frustrate, except, substituting, distressful.

Outlines

Three kinds of outlines are illustrated in this article: (a) the Topic Outline, (b) the Sentence Outline, and (c) the Paragraph Outline.

86a. A topic outline consists of headings (nouns or phrases containing nouns) which indicate the important ideas in a composition, and their relation to each other. Conform to the following model:

The Lumber Problem

Theme: The decline of our lumber supply requires that we shall take steps toward reforesting, conservation, and the use of substitutes for wood.

I The Depletion of our forests A Former abundance B Present scarcity (especially walnut, white pine, oak)

II The Causes of the depletion A Great demand 1 For building 2 For industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.) 3 For fuel, and other minor uses B Wasteful methods of forestry

III The Remedy A Reforestation 1 Planting by individuals 2 Planting by the states 3 Extension of the present National Forest Reserves

B The prevention of waste 1 In fires, by insects, etc. 2 In cutting and sawing 3 In by-products (sawing, odd lengths, etc.)

C The use of substitutes for wood (concrete, steel, brick, stone, etc.)

b. A sentence outline is expressed in complete sentences. Conform to the following model:

The Lumber Problem

I The depletion of our forests is evident when one compares A the former abundance, with B the present scarcity (of walnut, white pine, and oak, especially).

II The causes of the depletion are: A the great demand 1 for building, 2 for industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.), 3 for fuel and other minor uses; and B wasteful methods of forestry.

III The remedies for the depletion are: A reforestation 1 by individuals, 2 by the states, 3 by extension of the present National Forest Reserves; B the prevention of waste 1 in fires, by insects, etc., 2 in cutting and sawing, 3 in by-products (sawdust, odd lengths, etc.); and C the use of substitutes, for wood (concrete, steel, brick, stone, etc.)

c. A paragraph outline is a series of sentences summarizing the thought of successive paragraphs in a composition. Conform to the following model:

The Disagreeable Optimist

1. The present age may be called an era of efficiency, prosperity, and optimism, since efficiency has produced prosperity, and this in turn has produced "optimism"—a word recurrent in common literature and conversation.

2. The optimist is often not natural or sincere, because his thoughts are centered on keeping up an appearance of being happy.

3. He is intrusive, for he thrusts comfort upon those who wish to mourn, and repeats irritating epigrams and poems about cheer.

4. He is undiscriminating, in that he prescribes the same remedy, "good cheer," for everybody and for every condition.

5. He is sometimes harmful, because he tells us that the world is going well, when conditions need changing, and need changing badly.

d. Mechanical details. Indent headings that are coordinate (that is, of equal value) an equal distance from the margin. One inch to the right is a good distance for successive subordinate headings. Use Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals, and small letters to indicate the comparative rank of ideas. When a heading runs over one line, use hanging indention; that is, do not allow the second line to run back to the left-hand margin, but indent it. Make the numerals and letters (1, A, etc.) stand out prominently. The title of a theme should not be given a numeral or letter.

Faulty indention:

Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal supply is exhausted are

I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain districts II The tides III The heat of the sun

Correct hanging indention:

Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal supply is exhausted are

I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain districts II The tides III The heat of the sun

e. Ideas parallel in thought should be expressed in parallel form. Nouns and phrases including nouns are ordinarily used.

Faulty parallelism: Advantages of a garden: 1 Profitable 2 It affords good exercise 3 Gives pleasure

Right: Advantages of a garden: 1 Profit 2 Exercise 3 Pleasure

f. Avoid faulty coordination (giving two ideas equal rank, when one should be subordinated to the other) and vice versa, avoid faulty subordination.

Faulty coordination:

How Seeds Scatter

I By Wind II Some Seeds provided with parachutes III Others light, and easily blown about IV By Water V By Animals

Right:

How Seeds Scatter

I By Wind A Some seeds provided with parachutes B Others light, and easily blown about

II By Water

III By Animals

g. Avoid detailed subordination. Especially avoid a single subheading when it can be joined to the preceding line, or omitted.

Too detailed:

A The McClellan Orchard 1 Situation a On a northern slope 2 Nature of soil a Sandy 3 Kind of fruit a Apple b Cherry

Right:

A The McClellan Orchard 1. Situation: a northern slope 2. Nature of soil: sandy 3. Kind of fruit: apple and cherry

Exercise:

1. Give a title to an outline which shall include the following topics. Group the topics under two main headings, and give the headings names.