George Davidson 
 1825-1911 
 
r^ S^ 
 
 / t 
 
 SLIPS 
 
 TONGUE AND PEN 
 
 BY 
 J. H. LONG, M.A., LLB. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 1888 
 
Authorized Edition. 
 
 lists:- ran, 
 
CONTENTS: 
 
 PAGE. 
 COMMON ERRORS i 
 
 GRAMMATICAL POINTS 32 
 
 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION 47 
 
 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OITOSITES .. 55 
 
 PREFER 80 
 
 OBJECTIONABLE WORDS AND PHRASES 84 
 
 NOTES ON PUNCTUATION 88 
 
 INDEX 93 
 
COMMON 'ERRORS 
 
 Do not say, "The truth of that is apparent? [Use obvious 
 or evident. Apparent or seeming 'is opposed to real ; 
 obvious or evident, to obscure] 
 
 Do not use anticipate for expect. [Anticipate means to 
 reach before, to take before, to forestall, as: "I 
 anticipated all his wishes/'] 
 
 Do not say, all of them, both of them, for they [or theni\ 
 all, both, respectively. 
 
 Do not spell with z analyse, paralyse, and other words 
 derived from the Greek luo, lusis. 
 
 Do not use ale, tea, sugar, &c., in the plural. [Instead of 
 saying, " I have excellent teas, ales and sugars," say, 
 " I have excellent tea, ale and sugar, of various 
 qualities [or, at various prices, &c.]" 
 
 Do not use accord for grant or give. [Accord, intransitive, 
 means to agree or harmonize ; transitive, it means 
 to give or grant ; but it carries with it the idea of 
 great condescension, e.g. : "Pallas accords their 
 vow." In ordinary prose it should be employed 
 but rarely.] 
 
 Do not use accident for wound or hurt. [Accident means 
 misfortune or calamity, e.g. : " In the railway acci- 
 dent the man was badly injured."] 
 
2 COMMON 
 
 Do not use aggravate for irritate or vex. [Aggravate 
 means to render heavy or more difficult, e.g. : " The 
 guilt was aggravated by the circumstances of the 
 crime."] 
 
 Do not use alternation for series or succession. [Alterna- 
 tion is reciprocal succession, e.g.: "The alternation 
 of red and white balls on the string produced a 
 very pretty effect"] 
 
 Do not use alternative [in the plural] as equivalent to 
 things to be chosen from or among. [Alternative is 
 the choice itself, and should, properly speaking, be 
 restricted to a choice between two things, e.g.\ " My 
 alternative was escape or death."] 
 
 Do not use antiquarian [as a noun] for antiquary. [An- 
 tiquarian is an adjective.] 
 
 Do not use abortive of acts. [It may be used of plans 
 or attempts ; but it is, at the best, an inelegant word.] 
 
 Do not say, " The measures adopted by Congress for the 
 quelling of the rebellion &c." Say, " The measures 
 decided upon or taken &c." [Adapted is correctly 
 employed in such a sentence as, " The report upon 
 ways and means was adopted."] 
 
 Do not say, " His antecedents are bad." Say, " His past 
 history [or, his reputation] is bad/' 
 
 Do not use appreciate for value highly. {Appreciate is to 
 value correctly or justly.] Say, therefore, " I prize 
 [or value] that horse highly;" not, "I appreciate 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 3 
 
 Do not say, at auction but by auction* 
 
 Do not say, " The wind was accompanied [or attended] 
 by rain Sac" Use with of things [unless personi- 
 fied] ; by^ of persons. 
 
 Do not use anniversary of celebrations that are .not 
 yearly. Thus, not, a centennial anniversary ; but, 
 a centennial celebration, festival^ &c. 
 
 Do not use affable as an exact synonym for kindly or 
 good-natured, [Affable is properly applied to the 
 bearing of superiors towards inferiors, not to the 
 bearing of equals towards equals.] 
 
 Do not say, "Both are alike;" say, "They [or they two] 
 are alike. Both denotes union ; alike^ separation. 
 
 Do not say, " I am afraid it will rain." Say, " I fear it 
 will rain." 
 
 Do not say, " That ad;;iits of no doubt." [Leave out 
 the of,} 
 
 Do not say, " He alludes [or refers] to Mr. Smith," when 
 you mean that he merely names Mr. Smith. Say, 
 " He means Mr. Smith." [The real meaning of 
 allude or refer to is to touch lightly upon, to call 
 attention to, delicately or indirectly.] 
 
 Do not say, " He went around the world." It should be, 
 "He went round &c." [Around denotes rest 
 " The shelves are around the room ;" round denotes 
 motion.] 
 
4 COMMON EllllOilS. 
 
 Do not say, "He remained there no longer than could be 
 avoided'' [Logically, it ought to be, than could not 
 be avoided ; but, as this is a very inelegant expres- 
 sion, use some other form, e.g. : "He remained there 
 no longer than was unavoidable," or, " than was 
 necessary."] 
 
 Do not say, " I went all over the town," for " I went over 
 all the town." 
 
 Do not use above as an attributive adjective. Say, "the 
 foregoing [or preceding} paragraph," not " the above 
 paragraph." 
 
 Do not say, " He is as rich, or richer, than my brother." 
 [It should be, " He is as rich as, or &c." If preferred, 
 the form of the sentence may be changed, "He is as 
 rich as my brother, or richer."] 
 
 Do not say, "John and James both are here." It should 
 be, "feth John and James are here." 
 
 Do not use balance for remainder. \Balance is the excess 
 of one thing over another, z. ., what will make them 
 balance.] 
 
 Do not spell benefited with two fs. 
 
 Do not use to beat for to defeat. E.g. : "The army was 
 beaten," is incorrect [Beat means to strike or hit.] 
 
 Do not say, at best, at most, at least [the last two in 
 reference to quantity.] Use the article at the 
 best &c. 
 
 Do not say, "He is bound to go," for, "He intends to go," 
 or, "He is determined to go." 
 
COMMON ERROH3. 
 
 Do not spell bye in by-the-bye without the e. [Bye is an 
 old word meaning place. So by-the-bye is by the 
 place, /. ., passing by the place, or digressing from 
 the main subject Still, it is customary to write 
 by-law, although bye-law is sometimes seen. In 
 good-bye bye is, of course, a contraction for be with 
 ye, i.e., "God be with ye."] 
 
 Do not use banister for baluster or balustrade. 
 
 Do not say, "He was killed by a bullet." Use with. 
 \By denotes conscious agency ; with, unconscious 
 instrumentality. By expresses indirect ; with, direct 
 agency.] So, a man is killed with an axe, by a man, 
 When the unconscious instrument is personified, by 
 may be used, e.g.) " The man was struck by light- 
 ning." 
 
 Do not say, "He has a bad cold, a bad wound, &c." Use 
 some other adjective severe, dangerous, &c. 
 
 Do not say, " I wish very badly to do so." Use very 
 much, greatly, or some other adverbial expression. 
 
 Do not say, " I beg to say &c.," for " I beg leave to say 
 &c." 
 
 Do not use between of more than two objects. Use among. 
 "I live between Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown." "I live 
 among friends." [Between is often incorrectly em- 
 ployed in such expressions as, " The distance be- 
 tween each post was twenty feet." There can be 
 no distance between one thing. A different turn 
 must be given to such a sentence ; e.g. : "The dis- 
 tance from each post to the next one was &c. ;" or, 
 
 Wo^ fcftt 
 
6 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 " The distance between any two consecutive posts 
 was &c."] 
 
 Do not speak of collecting a bill. The items or the 
 various moneys or amounts constituting a bill may 
 be collected. [It is impossible to collect one thing- 
 only.] 
 
 Do not use an infinitive as the object of commence or 
 essay. [There is no necessity for using commence 
 at all. Begin is a much better word.] 
 
 Do not use condone for atone for ex palliate. [Condone is 
 simply to forgive, as applied to things.] 
 
 Do not use climax for acme or highest point. \Climax is a 
 ladder or gradual ascent, not the top of the ladder.] 
 
 Do not use constantly for often or continually. [Con- 
 stantly means firmly or steadfastly ; as, " He kept 
 his eyes fixed constantly on the goal."] 
 
 Do not use celebrity for celebrated person. [Celebrity 
 means renown; e.g. : "A man of celebrity in 
 Science."] 
 
 Do not use consequence for importance or moment. {Con- 
 sequence means result] 
 
 Do not say, " He is of a capricious mind" Say simply, 
 " He is capricious." 
 
 Do not use claim for assert or say. 
 
 Do not use upon for on, after to call. E.g. : "lie called 
 on [not upon] me." 
 
 Do not say, " I cannot catch the train," for " I cannot 
 catch jup to [or, with] the train/' 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 7 
 
 Do not use consider for deem or think. [Consider means 
 to ponder.] 
 
 Do not use curious for strange or remarkable. 
 
 Do not use caption for heading. \Caftion means taking, 
 or capture.] 
 
 Do not use citizen for person. 
 
 Do not use circumstance for event or occurrence. [A Cir- 
 cumstance is "something pertaining to a fact, but 
 not essential thereto."] 
 
 Do not use may, can, must, shall, will, and other auxiliary 
 verbs alone, unless the form of the preceding 
 principal verb may be repeated without change 
 after the auxiliary. E.g.: " He did as well as he 
 could? is incorrect. " He will do as well as he can? 
 is correct. 
 
 Do not use couple for two, unless the persons or things 
 spoken of are joined, either literally or figuratively. 
 Thus, speak of a happy couple [a man and wife], 
 or of a couple of Jiandcuffs, but not of a couple of 
 dollars. 
 
 Do not use calibre [figuratively] of things. It is a appli- 
 cable to persons only. 
 
 Do not use contention of an individual act : a contest, 
 struggle, combat. {Contention implies habit or cus- 
 tom ; e.g. : " He displayed a spirit of contention 
 through all the negotiations/'] 
 
 Do not say, " He was on the horns of a dilemma." 
 [Dilemma means "two enclosing positions terminat- 
 
8 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 ing in what may be called horns." Say, therefore, 
 " He was between the horns of a dilemma ;" or, " He 
 was in a dilemma."] 
 
 Do not say, " In distinction [or contradistinction] to? 
 [Use from.] 
 
 Do not say, "It would be desirable [or advisable^ to go 
 away." Say, "It is desirable [or advisable] to go 
 away." 
 
 Do not use demean for bemean. To demean oneself \s to 
 behave oneself; to bemean oneself is to lower or dis- 
 grace oneself. 
 
 Do not say, " Goods of that description'' for " goods of 
 that kind or sort." [Confine description to the 
 meaning of explanation or recital] 
 
 Do not use detect for distinguish, see, make out. [Detect 
 means to bring to light, to reveal, to expose. Thus, 
 "The criminals were detected in their crime," is 
 correct. "The peasants could be detected at once," 
 is incorrect. 
 
 Do not use dangerous for very ill or in danger. 
 
 Do not use denuded as an exact equivalent of bare. [A 
 thing cannot be denuded of that which it has never 
 had.] 
 
 Do not use deprecate for condemn or censure. [Deprecate 
 means to beg off or pray exemption from. E.g.: 
 "I deprecate the infliction of the death penalty upon 
 the prisoner."] 
 
 Do not say, " He died with a disease." [Use oj\\ 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 Do not use directly for as soon as. [Say, "As soon as he 
 came in, he went out again;" not, "Directly he &c., 
 &c."] 
 
 Do not use donate for give, unless the gift is princely in 
 amount or made with great ceremony. 
 
 Do not say a dirt road for a sand [or eartJi or gravel, 
 &c.] road. 
 
 Do not use divine [as a noun] for clergyman, minister, 
 preacher, &c. 
 
 Do not say, "That property has depreciated in value? 
 Depreciate alone means to fall in value. In value 
 is therefore pleonastic. [Depreciate is either transi- 
 tive (to bring down the value of) or intransitive (to 
 fall in value). The former is said to be the prefer- 
 able use, but the latter is the more common use.] 
 
 Do not say, " I differ with you upon that point." Say, 
 " I differ from you &c." [Differ with is sometimes 
 used for quarrel with, or have a misunderstanding 
 with. This use is, however, rather rare.] 
 
 Do not say, "He lives some distance from here." Say, 
 " He lives at some distance &c." 
 
 Do not use differentiate for distinguish. [Differentiate 
 should be confined to mathematical and other 
 scientific expressions.] 
 
 Do not employ expect for think or believe. \Expect means 
 to look forward to, and should be used only of the 
 future.] 
 
10 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 -- 
 
 Do not say, " He has lost ever so many horses." If 
 used at all, the expression should be, "never so 
 many."] 
 
 Do not say equally as 1'jell as. Say, equally zve!l > or as 
 well as. 
 
 Do not say equanimity of mind, anxiety of mind, una- 
 nimity of mind. That is, do not use compounds 
 of animus or anima along with mind, temper, spirit, 
 affection, &c. ; as such expressions are pleonastic. 
 [So, unity or agreement of mind is a better expression 
 than equanimity of mind.] 
 
 Do not say, " I have every confidence in him," for, " I 
 have the greatest [or entire] confidence in him." 
 
 Do not use executed fa* put to death. [Laws or sentences 
 are executed (i.e., carried out), and the criminal is 
 handed or shot or otherwise killed.] 
 
 Do not use enact for act. To enact is to establish by 
 law, to decree, to perform. [So say, " A law was 
 passed " not enacted ; but, " It was enacted s by 
 law that all murderers should be put to death."] 
 
 Do not use endorse for approve of, applaud, sanction. 
 Confine the employment of endorse to its ordinary 
 commercial meaning. 
 
 Do not use embrace for comprise. 
 
 Do not use empty for discharge or flow into [of a 
 river]. 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 11 
 
 Do not say, " He tried an experiment? [This is tauto- 
 logical, as an experiment is a trial. The expression 
 should be, "He made, or performed, an experi- 
 ment."] 
 
 Do not say on every hand, for on each hand, or on both 
 hands. 
 
 Do not use either, neither and ivhether of more than two 
 persons or things. 
 
 Do not follow else with but. Than is the proper word 
 to use after else. 
 
 Do not use exemplary as an exact synonym for excellent. 
 [Exemplary means giving an example, as in : "He 
 inflicted exemplary punishment."] 
 
 Do not say, "I experience great pleasure [or pain"]. 
 Say, " 
 
 Do not use excessively for exceedingly or very. 
 
 Do not use effluviums or effluviae for effluvia [the plural 
 of effluvium.] 
 
 Do not confuse few and a few. There is a great dis- 
 tinction in meaning between the two. E.g. : "Few 
 persons like Mr. Smith," means that but few like 
 him, i.e., that he is generally disliked. "A feiv 
 persons like Mr. Smith," means that some persons 
 [perhaps all who know him] like him. Therefore, 
 few should be followed by and; a few by but ; e.g. : 
 " Few persons like Mr. Smith, and these persons 
 would not like him did they know him well." "A 
 
12 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 few persons like Mr. Smith, but more persons like 
 Mr. Brown." 
 
 Do not confuse at fault with in fault. \At fault is a 
 hunting phrase meaning " off the scent " (equivalent 
 to at sea); in fault is in error.] 
 
 Do not say, " He faithfully promised to do it." [One 
 may do a thing faithfully, or may promise to do it 
 faithfully; but one cannot faithfully promise to do it.] 
 
 Do not use future for next or subsequent [of the past]. 
 Thus, "The future career of Milton was &c.," should 
 be, "The after [or subsequent] career of Milton was 
 &c." Again, " For the future the course of Colum- 
 bus was &c.," should be, "Thenceforward [or after 
 thiSy or thereafter, or subsequently^ the course of 
 Columbus was &c." 
 
 Do not say, " Go and fetch it." [Fetch alone means to go 
 and bring. The expression is, therefore, pleonastic.] 
 
 Do not say, " I forbid you from going." Say, " I forbid 
 you to go," or, "I forbid your going." \\N\i\\prevent 
 or hinder, however, use from.] 
 
 Do not compare adjectives ending in fuL Say, "He 
 showed more grace," or use some other expression 
 in preference to " He was more graceful? [Of course, 
 the adjective/^// ought never to be compared. In- 
 stead of saying. "That jug is fuller than the other," 
 say, " That jug is more nearly full than &c." A 
 similar remark will apply to many other adjectives 
 (entire, perfect, &c.), the meaning of which admits 
 of no degrees or gradations.] 
 
COMMON ERROES. 13 
 
 Do not use female for woman. 
 
 Do not say fall down, sink down, rise up, ascend up, &c., 
 as the adverbs are implied in the verbs. Say fall, 
 sink, rise, ascend, &c. 
 
 Do not use fix for repair, arrange, set up. \Fix pro- 
 perly means to fasten firmly, as, "He fixed a nail 
 into the wall."] 
 
 Do not spell the plural of fly, a carriage, ^fer. The cor- 
 rect form \sflys. 
 
 Do not use incorrect forms of foreign adjectives. Say, 
 
 na'ifs men, naives ^vomen, naifs features, i. ., make 
 the adjectives agree in gender and number with its 
 noun taken as a foreign word. [This rule applies 
 especially to French adjectives.] 
 
 Do not use the word graphic of sound, or of anything 
 but written or pictured representation. 
 
 Do not use going to vr just going to, for about to. 
 
 Do not use grow as a transitive verb. Say, " He culti- 
 vates [produces, raises crops of, &c.] corn." 
 
 Do not say, "He grows small f for this involves a con- 
 tradiction. Use decrease, diminish, become smaller. 
 
 Do not use get to for attend, be at, be present at, go to. 
 
 Do not use gubernatorial for governmental. 
 
 Do not use gratuitous for asserted without proof . 
 
14 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 Do not say, " The thing is no good [or no use\? Say, 
 "The thing is of no good [<?/no use]." 
 
 Do not .say, "That is one of the great, if not the greatest 
 man I have ever seen." This construction involves 
 a grammatical contradiction, as will be seen by 
 supplying the ellipsis: "That is one of the greatest 
 [men], if not the greatest [man], I have ever seen." 
 
 Do not say, " He gives no more than he can help'' 
 [Logically, it ought to be, " He gives no more than 
 he cannot help;" but as this expression is very 
 awkward, use some other, e.g. : " He gives no more 
 than is absolutely necessary," " He gives only what 
 he must give (or, is forced to give, or, cannot avoid 
 giving)."] 
 
 Do not use humanitarian for humane. [The original 
 and correct meaning of humanitarian is denying 
 the divinity of Christ. 
 
 Do not use, as an adverb, hardly for hard. Say, " He 
 struck the man hard," "He felt the blow hard" [not 
 hardly]. Hardly means scarcely. 
 
 Do not use the word help-meet [one word]. Say, " He 
 has a help meet [fit] for him," "He has a help-mate," 
 but not, "He has a help-meet" 
 
 Do not use high with calibre^ when the latter has a figura- 
 tive meaning. Say, "A man of large [or great} 
 calibre." 
 
 Do not use have pleonastically, e.g. : " I do not like to 
 have you go," for, " I do not like your going," or, 
 " I do not like you to go." 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 15 
 
 Do not say, *He reached a higher stage of perfection than 
 most men." [There can be no grades or stages in 
 perfection. The sentence should therefore be, "He 
 came nearer perfection &c." A similar remark 
 applies to all these other words (entirity, totality, 
 fulness, &c.), the meaning of which, from their very 
 nature, admits of no gradations.] 
 
 Do not use if for whether. Say, " I cannot tell whether 
 [not if] he will 
 
 Do not use invest for buy, without an object. Say, " He 
 bought/' not, "He invested in that." Invest is cor- 
 rectly used as follows : " He invested a large sum 
 of money in wheat." 
 
 Do not use idea for opinion. \Idea is an image in the 
 mind.] 
 
 Do not use incorrect, or wrong, or bad, with orthography, 
 orthoepy, calligraphy, &c. [The reason is obvious : 
 orthos means correct kalos means beautiful. So 
 say, wrong spelling, incorrect pronunciation, badwrit* 
 ing, &c. 
 
 Do not use individual for person, unless you wish to em- 
 phasize the idea of individuality, as is the case in the 
 following sentence : " We may condemn the associa- 
 tion as a whole, whilst honoring the individuals 
 that compose it." 
 
 Do not use infallible for Inevitable. Say, " The inevit- 
 able [not, the infallible] result was so and so." 
 
16 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 Do not use inaugurate for begin. [To inaugurate is to 
 install in office with certain ceremonies." Inaugurate 
 should seldom be used of things, unless personified. 
 It is the proper word in the following phrase : " To 
 inaugurate a good and jovial year."] 
 
 Do not use implicit for unbounded or unlimited, as it is 
 used in, " I have implicit confidence in him/ 1 [Im- 
 plicit properly means woven into, expressed bv im- 
 plication, as opposed to explicit. 
 
 Do not employ item for paragraph or piece of news. 
 
 Do not say, " I have not seen him in six months, in a 
 year, &c." [Use for.] 
 
 Do not say an illy equipped force, for an ill [or badly] 
 equipped force. There is no such word as illy : ill 
 being both abverb and adjective. [In England, ill 
 (as adjective) is preferred to sick : sick having the 
 meaning of nauseated. In America sick and /// are 
 almost interchangeable. Authority shows that sick, 
 in the sense of /'//, is perfectly correct] 
 
 Do not use identified with for prominent in or closely con- 
 nected with, as it is used in the following sentence : 
 " He was identified with that movement." Prom- 
 inently identified with, is worse still. \To identify 
 is, to prove to be the same, or to ascertain or cer- 
 tify to the identity of." E.g. : "The body was 
 identified as that of Mr. H."] 
 
 Do not use if when there is no supposition or doubt. 
 Do not say, " If, in the main, I have so acted, my 
 reason is &c." [Say, " My reason for having so 
 acted is &c."] 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 17 
 
 Do not employ interested in for concerned in or taking 
 part in. It is correct to say, " I am interested in 
 \i. e., I take an interest iii\ works of art ; " but it is 
 not correct to say, " I am interested in wheat " [for, 
 " I deal in wheat," or, " I am engaged in wheat- 
 buying"]. 
 
 Do not say, in so far as, for so far as, or as far as. 
 [The in is clearly superfluous. Of the two expres- 
 sions, so far as and as far as, the first is greatly 
 preferable.] 
 
 Do not speak of a monthly or a quarterly magazine as a 
 journal. [Etymologically, a journal is a daily news- 
 paper. The term journal may, however, be applied 
 to a weekly, a semi- weekly or a tri- weekly publica- 
 tion] 
 
 Do not use jeivelry of individual gems or other orna- 
 ments. Say, "His stock of jet e ry was large;" but, 
 " She wore magnificent jewels'.' [Jewelry is a col- 
 lective noun.] 
 
 Do not spell the plural of Knight Templar Knights 
 Templar or Knight Templars; it is Knights Tem- 
 plars. \Templar is a noun in opposition to Knight] 
 
 Do not say, " The lozvest and the highest house on the 
 cliff," when referring to the position of the houses. 
 Use lowermost and uppermost. Lowest and highest 
 should be applied to dimensions only. 
 
 Do not say, " He left it alone," for " He let it alone." 
 
 Do not say, " He /// a fire." Use lighted. [Lit is some- 
 times vulgarly employed as the past tense of light 
 (alight), to come down upon, rest upon. Instead of 
 
18 COMMON 
 
 saying, "The bird /// upon the fence," say, "The 
 bird alighted upon the fence."] 
 
 Do not use leave (to quit) without an object, as it is used 
 in "When did you leave?" [Say, "When did you 
 go away?" "When did you leave home, town, &c.?"] 
 
 Do not say, " The lay of the land is good," for, " The 
 lie &c." [The use of lie in this sense should be 
 avoided for the same reason that makes us avoid 
 the use of certain, any, &c., viz., it is an ambiguons 
 word.] 
 
 Do not use limited as exactly synonymous with small 'or 
 short, but confine it to its strictly literal and origi- 
 nal meaning of shortened, abbreviated, compressed 
 within limits; e.g.: "He was granted strictly 
 limited hours of recreation." 
 
 Do not employ loan as a verb Loan is properly used as 
 a noun, the corresponding verb being lend. Say, 
 " He lent me money, and afterwarks I effected [or 
 made] a loan for him." 
 
 Do not say, " I speak loud',' for, " I speak loudly'' [Shake- 
 speare uses loud for loudly, but loudly is the correct 
 prose form of the adverb.] 
 
 Do not use at length for at last, finally. \At length means 
 fully, lengthily, as, "He reported the speech at 
 length/'] 
 
 Do not use myself and the other reflexive pronouns as 
 nominatives, except for emphasis. Do not say, 
 "When the soldiers and myself \&& gone." [Use / 
 instead of myself ^\ 
 
COM:,ION EHROIIS. 19 
 
 Do not use the masses for tlie people. 
 
 Do not say, " He is more of a man than I am." Use some 
 other expression : more manly, better, &c. 
 
 Do not say, " / am mistaken? for, " / mistake, I make a 
 mistake, I am incorrect, &c." [" / am mistaken " 
 really means, "/ am misunderstood" or "taken 
 
 wrongly!'} . 
 
 Do not spell the plural of mlas:na, miasma. It is mias- 
 mata. 
 
 Do not use make tm gain or earn. [Say, "Does he earn 
 much?" "Will he gain much?" not, "Does he 
 make much?" "Will he make much?"] 
 
 Do not use novitiate for novice. [The novitiate is the 
 period during which one is a novice.} 
 
 Do not say, " He merely named the incident or occur- 
 rence." [A. person or place may be named, but not 
 an occurrence or event. The latter is mentioned, 
 alluded to, described^} 
 
 Do not say, " No one was there," for, " not one was there." 
 [The adjective no was originally no one. Therefore, 
 no one is pleonastic. The adverb no is etymologi- 
 cally not or never. Therefore, such expressions as 
 no sooner, no more may be considered correct, al- 
 though not sooner, not more are preferable. Nobody, 
 no person, &c., may often be advantageously used in 
 place of no one. To the employment of these there 
 is no objection, as there is to that of no one} 
 
 Do not say, "No gold or silver. Say, "No gold nor 
 silver." [" No gold or silver " would mean that gold 
 
20 COKMON ERRORS. 
 
 and silver are the same thing. If this meaning were 
 intended, there ought to be a comma after gold, or 
 else "or silver" ought to be in parentheses; e.g. : 
 "No ancient Mexicans, or Aztecs, or (or Aztecs] 
 were to be seen."] 
 
 Do not say, " not as good" " net as wise" [After not 
 use so.] 
 
 Do not say, "He came near dying" for "He almost died/* 
 "lie narrowly escaped death," &c. 
 
 Do not say, " No gold and no silver are here." Use the 
 singular verb. [The principle in this case is the 
 same as in the case of each and every] 
 
 Do not use nasty for disagreeable. 
 
 Do not say, " I never remember to have seen," for, M I 
 do not remember ever to have seen." [" I never 
 remember to have seen," really means, "" I always 
 forget &c."] 
 
 Do not use " next Sunday," " next Monday," &c., for 
 the Sunday, Monday, &c., after next. [Next Sunday 
 is the nearest Sunday.] 
 
 Do not say, " I never committed the crime," for, " I did 
 not commit the crime;" i.e., do not use never for not. 
 
 Do not say, " I do not think it is true," for, " I think [or 
 better, believe} it is not true." 
 
 Do not say, " He was nothing like so good as his brother," 
 "He wrote nothing like so well as his brother/' 1 [Use 
 " not nearly?] 
 
 Do not use near for nearly. [Say, " He is not nearly so 
 rich as &c.," not, " He is not near &c."] 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 21 
 
 Do not use the expression nezv beginners for beginners 
 alone. 
 
 Do not say on the street for in the street. [A street is 
 properly a passage or space, not a roadway.] 
 
 Do not employ the self-contradictory expression old news. 
 
 Do not use he, him and his, or s/ie, her and her, for one 
 and one's. Say, " When one learns one's lesson, one 
 &c. ;" not, " When one learns his lesson, lie &c." 
 [Of course, they, their and them ought never to have 
 one as antecedent] 
 
 Do not use over and above for mere than. 
 
 Do not use over his signature for under his signature. 
 [The latter, which is the only correct form, means 
 under the sanction of his signature.] 
 
 Do not use observe for say. [I observe means I see or 
 notice.] 
 
 Do not use ovation as an exact synonym for shouting and 
 cheering. Ovation is applied correctly to great occa- 
 sions, festivals, triumphs. 
 
 Do not say, "I have no other purpose than this." Say, 
 " I have no purpose other than this," z,e., keep other 
 and than together. [A similar rule applies to com- 
 paratives in general and to many words (e.g., rather) 
 like other ) which have a comparative form and force. 
 Therefore say, " Your house is larger than your 
 cousin's," in preference to, " That is a larger house 
 of yours than your cousin's."] 
 
 Do not say old veterans, as the word veterans implies 
 length of service. If " length of days," as well as 
 
22 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 length of service, is to be expressed, use aged or 
 some other word or phrase instead of old. 
 
 Do not, unless unavoidable, pluralize the indefinite pro- 
 noun one. Prefer, " You have three good horses 
 and I have two bad horses," or, " You have three 
 good, and I have two bad horses/' to " You have 
 three good horses and I have two bad ones" 
 
 Do not say, among the others^ among others, among the 
 rest. [A person or thing cannot be among other 
 persons or things. Say, along with the others^ or 
 others^ or the rest] 
 
 Do not use proposition far proposal or offer. Say : " I made 
 the proposal to him ; and he, in return, demonstrated 
 the proposition for me." [Proposal, in the sense of 
 offer, is preferable to proposition, because it is shorter 
 and unambiguous.] 
 
 Do not use pocket-hand-kerchief and neck-hand-kerchief 
 for hand-kerchief or neck-kerchief respectively. 
 
 Do not use pretend for claim or assert. Say, "He 
 claimed [or asserted] that he was correct." 
 
 Do not use preposterous for absurb. [Preposterous pro- 
 perly means, putting the first last and the last first. 
 Besides, it is a longer word than absurd] 
 
 Do not use previous and subsequent as adverbs. Say : 
 "-He came previously [or subsequently] to your 
 arrival." 
 
 Do not use partially for partly. \Partially should be 
 confined to its meaning of with partiality, but is sel- 
 dom employed. 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 23 
 
 Do not use people for persons individually. Say, w There 
 were three persons [not, people] present." [People 
 means a race or nation, or else persons collectively 
 the old word /<?/.] 
 
 Do not use a plural verb or pronoun with each or every. 
 Say : " Each day and each hour [or, every day and 
 every hour] brings its cares." 
 
 Do not use ihefl/ural form of the noun in such cases as, 
 "Men's healths have suffered;" "The children's 
 illnesses have increased." [The rule is, that a noun 
 governing the possessive plural, should not itself be 
 in the plural, unless the sense requires it. This rule 
 will apply chiefly to abstract nouns : virtue^ sin, &c. 
 The sense will, of course, require the plural in such 
 an instance as, "The children's hands were in- 
 jured."] 
 
 Do not use the plural form in such compound adjec- 
 tival expressions as, calves'./tftf/ jelly, ten-yW pole, 
 twenty-dW7tfr watch. 
 
 Do not say, " All have rights and privileges? [Privilege 
 (literally, private law] is some favor or advantage 
 enjoyed by an individual. So, all have rights ; but 
 all have not privileges] 
 
 Do not use the present participle for the past participle 
 or the perfect participle. So, instead of saying, 
 "After seeing him, I went away;" say, "After 
 having seen him," &c. 
 
 Do not use plastic of the person or hand that fashions, 
 but of the material fashioned. Say, " His plastic 
 mind was easily impressed ;" not, " He moulded with 
 his plastic touch the mind of his brother.". 
 
24 COMMON ERRORS, 
 
 Do not use pell-mell of one person or thing. 
 
 Do not say, " Providing he has the money, he will pay." 
 Use provided* 
 
 Do not use presume for think or believe. Do not say, " I 
 presume that is correct." 
 
 Do not use period for point of time. Period means series 
 of years or duration. E.g. : " The period between 
 1862 and 1882 was" &c. 
 
 Do not use persuaded for convinced. One is convinced 
 by argument ; one is persuaded by entreaty. One's 7 
 is persuaded ; one's reason, convinced. 
 
 Do not use quite before a noun. Do not say, "That is 
 quite a house." {Quite may properly be used before 
 an adjective (" He is quite ill"): it then means en- 
 tirely, completely ; not tolerably, pretty] 
 
 Do not use partake for eat or drink. Say, " He ate 
 some food and drank some water ," not, " He/#r- 
 took of food and water." \Partake means to share 
 or share with ; e.g. : " Sit down, and partake of din- 
 ner with me."] 
 
 Do not use per before English nouns : use a. Per is 
 correct before Latin nouns. [Thus : " So much per- 
 annum ;" "so much a year;" "per capita," or "a 
 head."] 
 
 Do not use the past tense for the perfect tense. Say, 
 "He is the best man I have ever seen" [not, " \ 
 ever saw "]. 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 25 
 
 Do not use replace for displace. To replace is to place 
 again, i. e., to restore [the same thing] to its former 
 place. Displace is to put out of place, and therefore 
 [often], to put one thing into the place of another. 
 
 Do not say, " You have no right to pay him so large a 
 price;" meaning, "You are not called upon [or, in 
 duty bound] " &c. 
 
 Do not say, " It is rarely that I see him. {Rarely ', ad- 
 verb, should be rare> adjective, after the verb to be.] 
 
 Do not use recommend for advise or counsel. " I recom- 
 mend 'you to go away," should be, "I advise you" &c 
 
 Do not use rendition for performance or rendering [of 
 a reading, piece of music, &c.]. Rendition means 
 surrender. 
 
 Do not say, Rev. Mr. H. is here." Say, " The Rev. Mr. 
 H. is here." 
 
 Do not say, " This road takes you to Paris." Say, " This 
 road leads [or, leads one'} to Paris." 
 
 Do not use remit for send. Remit means to send back, 
 to relax, to surrender, to forgive. "To send a 
 remittance," is still worse than, " to remit money." 
 
 Do not use the adjective scarce for the adverb scarcely. 
 Say, " Scarcely a bushel " [not, scarce]. 
 
 Do not use species for kind, unless in a scientific sense. 
 
 Do not say, " I shall have pleasure in accepting your in- 
 vitation." Use the present tense [I have or take 
 pleasure" &c.]. 
 
26 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 Do not say, seldom ^or ever, for seldom or never > or seldom 
 if ever. 
 
 Do not use spare for give. Spare means to save. So : 
 " I cannot spare you any more, should be, " I can- 
 not give you any more." 
 
 Do not use sensation for exciting news 
 
 Do not use since for ago. Say, " About a year ago ;" not, 
 " About a year since.' 1 
 
 Do not say, " The business was very large, so much so as 
 to require " &c. [Repeat the adjective : " so large as 
 to"&c. 
 
 Do not use summons, as a verb, for summon. Say, " He 
 was summoned [not summonsed} to court." 
 
 Do not say, " He is such another man as his brother." 
 \Another should precede such : " another such."] 
 
 Do not use superior for able. Say, " He is an able [not 
 a superior} man." 
 
 Do not use supposititious for supposed or hypothetical* Sup- 
 posititious means spurious ; and there is no necessity 
 for using it at all. 
 
 Do not use settle hr pay. Say, " He paid the account;" 
 not, " He settled the account." 
 
 Do not use such for so. Say, " So good a man ;" not : 
 " Such a good man." 
 
 Do not say, " // storms" when it only rains or snows. [A 
 storm is a violent movement in the atmosphere, with 
 or without hail, snow, sleet or rain.] 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 27 
 
 Do no use splendid for merely great or good. Splendid 
 should be used of that only which is literally or 
 metaphorically brilliant. E.g. : " A splendid endur- 
 ance of hardships on the march," is incorrect. " A 
 splendid charge upon the enemy, when the march 
 was over ;" is correct. 
 
 4 
 
 Do not say, a summer's morning, a winters morning ; 
 for, a summer morning, a vvinter morning: [We 
 should never think of saying, a spring's morning, a 
 fall's morning] 
 
 Do not use strata as a singular noun. Stratum is sin- 
 gular ; strata is plural. 
 
 Do not speak of a wider [or more extended] point of view 
 \pr stand-point] ; as a point cannot be anything but 
 a point. [Point of view is preferable to standpoint ; 
 as the latter expression is logically absurd : one 
 cannot stand on a point. If stand-point is used, do 
 not say, u He approached from the stand-point ;" as 
 approach denotes motion, stand-point rest.] 
 
 Do not use sincere without its completing words. E.g. .' 
 " He is sincere in his aims, in his means ;" is correct 
 [This necessity arises from the two-fold or ambigu- 
 ous meaning of sincere. One may be sincere in one's 
 aims, but not sincere in one's means of reaching 
 those aims.] Honest, on the other hand, may be 
 used alone ; as it means straight-forward and sincere 
 in every thing. 
 
 Do not use scorn and disdain, as verbs, with the name 
 of a person as object. Do not say, " He scorns [or 
 
28 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 disdains] Mr. S." Use despise, look down upon, or 
 some other expression. 
 
 Do not use small of quantity. \Small is applicable only 
 to dimensions. Thus, do not say, " The smallest 
 assistance will be thankfully received." It should 
 be, " The least as Distance " &c.] 
 
 Do not use statu quo or bona fide for status quo or 
 bona fides. Say, "The status quo remained un- 
 changed, each party having preserved bona fides!' 
 A similar remark will apply to many other foreign 
 expressions. Of course, wherever there is a satis- 
 factory English equivalent, a foreign word or phrase 
 should not be used. 
 
 Do not say, " Will you take some meat ?" Say, " Will 
 you have veal [or beef, or whatever it is] ?" 
 
 Do not say, " It is a quarter to ten." Say, " A quarter 
 <?/ten." 
 
 Do not say, " The taxes are levied on persons, and col- 
 lected from land." The reverse is the case : taxes 
 are levied on land and collected from persons. 
 
 Do not use though for if. Say : " I feel as if [not though'] 
 I could die." 
 
 Do not say, " We take dinner, tea," &c. Use have. 
 i. / i 
 
 /! > ; '' t * /'t 
 
 Do not employ thereabouts, hereabouts, whereabouts (with 
 finals) as adverbs. Say, "It was in 1859 or there- 
 about'' As nouns these words take the s ; e.g.: " Do 
 you know his whereabouts ?" 
 
 Do not say, that far, that much, that many, &c., for so far, 
 so much* so many, &c. 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 29 
 
 Do not use the word tea for broth, medicine, solution, 
 unless absolutely unavoidable. \Tea is the plant 
 itself or the beverage made from its leaves.] 
 
 Do not say, " I prefer to walk to ride!' Say, " I prefer 
 walking to riding? 
 
 Do not say, " I have been to Paris." [Use at. One can 
 go to, but not be to, a place]. ^D ^ /fc j**^~ J t* 
 
 Do not say, " Which do you the more admire : him or 
 her?" 
 
 Do not use underhanded for underhand. Say, " He made 
 money by underhand [not underhanded] dealings." 
 
 Do not use utter as an exact equivalent of say or express. 
 [ Utter is to speak, give forth, or pronounce, generally 
 in a loud voice.] Say therefore, " He uttered a sharp 
 cry ;" but, " He expressed a noble sentiment." 
 
 Do not use ultimate of the past. Confine it to the future. 
 Do not say : " The ultimate issue of the Thirty 
 Years' war was" &c. Say, "The result [or, the 
 issue, the end, the conclusion, the subsequent course 
 of the Thirty Years' War was " &c. 
 
 Do not use the adjective utter indiscriminately for entire 
 or complete. E.g.: One may say, utter nonsense ; 
 but not, utter sense. [A similar remark will apply 
 to the adverb utterly] 
 
 Do not use valuable for valued. Say : " One of our 
 most valued [or, most highly valued not valuable] 
 contributors has sent us a most valuable [not valued] 
 article." 
 
 3 
 
30 COMMON ERRORS. 
 
 Do not say, " I am very pleased," " too pleased," " so 
 pleased ;" for, " I am very much pleased," " too much 
 pleased," "so much pleased." That is, with past 
 participles used as adjectives or along with auxili- 
 aries, insert much after very, too and so. We say, 
 " He is very little [too little, so little] loved." We 
 ought, therefore, to say, " He is very much [too 
 much, so much] loved." Strictly speaking, so hated 
 means hated, not to a certain degree, but in a cer- 
 tain manner. 
 
 Do not say Toronto and vicinity ; but, Toronto and its 
 vicinity. {Neighbourhood is generally a better word 
 to employ than vicinity.] 
 
 Do not repeat unnecessarily the word whether. Do not 
 say, "Whether he was rich, or whether he was 
 poor." [Omit the second whetker.~\ As has been said 
 before, whether, either and neither ought properly to 
 be employed only of two persons or things. There- 
 fore, where several are mentioned, they should be 
 grouped in couples: e.g. : "Whether he has gold 
 or silver, whether he has stocks or bonds;" [or: 
 "Whether he has gold or silver, stocks or bonds" 
 (the second whether being unexpressed).] This is 
 better than: "Whether he has gold, silver, stocks 
 or bonds." 
 
 Do not say : " Whether he be right or wrong." [Use 
 with whether the indicative is, not the subjunctive 
 be, unless the rules given for the subjunctive apply 
 to the sentence.] 
 
 Do not say : " Give it to whomsoever asks for it." Say : 
 " Give it to whosoever [or whoever] asks for it." [The 
 
COMMON ERRORS. 31 
 
 object of to is not whomsoever, but some noun or 
 pronoun unexpressed : the person, him."] 
 
 Do not say, " Where have you gone to?" Say, "Where 
 have you gone ? " 
 
 Do not use the verb witness for see or behold. Say : 
 " That is the most beautiful scenery I have ever 
 beheld [or seen; not witnessed}? To witness means 
 to see or be present at the performance of some act 
 or at the occurrence of some event. So a man wit- 
 nesses a fight, but does not witness scenery. Wit- 
 ness, moreover, generally carries with it the idea of 
 giving testimony. Where such idea is lacking, it is 
 better to use see or behold. 
 
 Do not use what for ? for why ? Say : " Why do you 
 act so? " not : " What do you act so for?" 
 
 Do not say, "A widow woman" [Omit woman, which is 
 superfluous.] 
 
 Do not confuse the "editorial we" with the ordinary 
 we, as is done in the following: "As a public jour- 
 nalist, we must say that when other men act in that 
 way, we all \i. e., all persons] feel aggrieved." 
 
 Do not say whether or no, for, whether or not, unless no 
 is an adjective qualifying some noun unexpressed. 
 Thus: "Whether he comes or not [not no];" but, 
 " Whether he is a merchant or no" In the lat- 
 ter instance, however, not would be quite correct. 
 [" Whether he is a merchant or is not a merchant"J 
 
 Do not use " the whole of" [before a plural noun] for all. 
 Say: "All the deputies were present ;" not, " The 
 whole of" &c. 
 
32 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 Do not use winsome for winning. Winsome means 
 joyous, light-hearted. " His daughter was a win- 
 some lass; she had a winning smile." 
 
 Do not use worse for more. Say : " He disliked vinegar 
 more [not worse] than pepper." [A similar remark 
 will apply to better.] 
 
 Do not use want for need [verb]. To avoid ambiguity, 
 want should be restricted to its meaning of wish or 
 desire ; need, to that of lack or be under the necessity 
 of. Say, therefore, " I want to go for a drive ;" but 
 not, " The man was so poor that he actually wanted 
 [lacked, needed] bread ;" or worse, " You want [need 
 to, or must] go away." 
 
 Do not say, " Yesterdays Times has come." Say, " The 
 Times of yesterday has come." 
 
 Do not end a letter with Yours &c., for Yours truly \ 
 Respectfully yours, or some other expression. 
 
 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 Avoid such constructions as, "The object of your brother's 
 writing the letter was" &c. [Prefer, "The object 
 your brother had in writing the letter was" &c.; or, 
 "Your brother's object in writing the letter was" &c. 
 The gerundial infinite ought to be used if at all 
 but very sparingly with a possessive case, especially 
 when the possessive is preceded by of. A similar 
 remark applies still more strongly to the noun form 
 in ing ; e.g. : " His killing of the man was" &c. 
 
 Be careful about the position of also, even, only in fact, 
 of all adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. As 
 
GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 33 
 
 a general rule, adverbs precede the words they 
 modify. Thus: "He only writes," is correct; but, 
 say, " He does nothing but write ;" or use some 
 other expression. 
 
 Prefer : " In the works of even great men ; " to, " In the 
 works even of great men." So : " Of botJi ancient 
 and modern times," is better than, "Both <?/" ancient 
 and of modern times." {Both would properly come 
 before of in such a construction as : " Both of and 
 from him."] " Both of ancient and modern times " 
 [without the second of] is entirely incorrect. 
 
 " Nobody's else book," is said to be preferable to, " No- 
 body else's book." Custom has, however, firmly 
 established the latter form. But it is better to em- 
 ploy some other expression ; e.g. : " The book of 
 no one else ;" " No other person's book." 
 
 "Thou canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it 
 goeth." Or should be used here, as the not modifies 
 (in meaning) all the subsequent part of the sentence. 
 We should never think of saying : " Whence it 
 cometh nor whither it goeth, thou canst not tell." 
 In, "We will not serve thy gods nor worship the 
 golden image which thou hast set up ;" nor is cor- 
 rect ; as serve does not govern the rest of the sen- 
 tence. [Some grammarians, however, contend that 
 or would be equally good : the effect of the not ex- 
 tending over both subsequent verbs. The sound- 
 ness of this contention is questionable.] The most 
 elegant form to give the sentence is ; " We will not 
 serve thy gods, nor will we worship the golden 
 image" &c. 
 
34 GRAMMATICAL POINTS.. 
 
 In such an expression as, "I do not want butter or 
 honey;" the strict meaning is, " I do not want merely 
 one of the two." " I want neither butter nor honey," 
 means, " I do not want either." 
 
 When two nouns in the possessive case are in apposition, 
 the apostrophe and s may be added to either noun. 
 Thus : " This book is Virgil, the Roman poefs ;" or : 
 ' This book is Virgil's, the Roman poet." [If, how- 
 ever, the appositive enlargement is complex, or if it 
 consists of several terms, the apostrophe and s should 
 be added to the first noun. E.g.: "This book is 
 Virgil's, the great and renowned Roman poet." 
 Again, if each appositive noun is very emphatic, the 
 apostrophe and s may be added to each. When any 
 doubt arises as to the proper form, employ another 
 expression ; e.g.: " This book is one of the works of 
 Virgil, the great and renowned Roman poet." 
 
 Avoid the use of such forms as, "John, William and 
 James's father." Prefer, "The father of John, William 
 and James;" or, "The father of John, of William 
 and of James." 
 
 None and any, although originally singular, may now be 
 used as plurals. 
 
 Such expressions as, "While playing, the boy was killed," 
 are quite correct. That is, the auxiliary may be left 
 out, although the phrase is introduced by a sub- 
 ordinate conjunction. 
 
 When the auxiliary verb used with a past participle con- 
 sists of two words (i.e., is compound), the adverb 
 generally comes after the compound auxiliary, not 
 
GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 35 
 
 between its two parts. E.g.: "Why he should have 
 suddenly renounced his faith," &c.; is better than, 
 "Why he should suddenly have renounced" &c. 
 The best form, perhaps, is, "Why he should have 
 renounced his faith suddenly " &a 
 
 It is correct to say, " This seven years has passed;" 
 " This hundred dollars is there :" the seven years 
 being taken as forming one period of time ; and the 
 hundred dollars, one sum of money. To avoid the 
 seeming want of agreement between the singular 
 and the plural, use some collective noun after this ; 
 e.g.: space, period, in the first case ; sum, amount, in 
 the second. [The forms, these seven years, these hun- 
 dred dollars, would draw attention to the individual 
 years and the individual dollars.] 
 
 As a general rule, collective nouns (that is, those nouns 
 as which have both the singular and the plural form, 
 number, crowd) require a singular verb with their 
 singular form, and a plural verb with their plural 
 form. [However, the plural verb may be used with 
 the singular form when the idea of plurality is to be 
 very prominent] Nouns of multitude, on the other 
 hand, (that is, those which have no plural form, as 
 clergy, nobility) generally require a plural verb. E.g. : 
 "The clergy were assembled ; there was a large num- 
 ber present." 
 
 Do not use such words as mathematics, statics, physics, 
 metaphysics (i. e., words originally plural, but now 
 used in the singular), as subjects. So, say : " The 
 study [or science, or practice] of mathematics is use- 
 ful;" rather than, " Mathematics is [or are] useful." 
 
36 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 Dare, meaning to venture, and used with another verb, 
 requires no to before this latter verb, and has in 
 its past tense dztrst and in its third person singular 
 present indicative dare (not dares). [The form 
 dared may, however, be used for durst, in the past 
 tense. Dared will then take no to before the infini- 
 tive. Durst is often employed for the present dare, 
 although the latter is preferable ; e.g. : " He durst 
 not do so." 
 
 Dare, as a principal verb, meaning to challenge, has dares 
 in the third person singular present indicative, and 
 dared in the past. E.g. : " He dares me to-day, and 
 he dared me yesterday to fight." 
 
 Need has, in the third person singular present indicative, 
 the same peculiarity as dare. Meaning to lack and 
 used as a principal verb, it takes s ; meaning to be 
 necessary, and used as an auxiliary (without to), it 
 does not; e.g.: "He needs money; still he ;/m/not 
 beg." 
 
 The participle and the infinitive may be used absolutely, 
 as: " Speaking [or, to speak} generally, it is advisable 
 to go." This absolute form should be but sparingly 
 employed. 
 
 If, although, and other conditional conjunctions do not 
 necessarily require the subjunctive mood. They do 
 require it, (i) When the conception is contrary 
 to facts; e.g. : "If the world were round." (2) 
 When the supposition is a mere mental conception, 
 without reference to how the matter will really be 
 decided, or to what the result will be; e.g. : "If 
 he went away [or, were to go away], I should be 
 
GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 37 
 
 happy." [In such expressions as, " If it rains, I 
 shall not go out ;" the indicative is to be preferred to 
 the subjunctive.] 
 
 As a principal verb, do may be employed for active 
 transitive verbs only. For these verbs, moreover, do 
 ought not be used except to avoid excessive re- 
 petition when they are of but one syllable, unless 
 they are followed by other words forming a phrase, 
 for which phrase do may stand. E.g. : " He carves 
 marble better I do ;" but, " He writes better than I 
 write." [In this last sentence it would, of course, 
 be incorrect to omit the verb after // as the first 
 form of the verb (writes) can not be used with /.] 
 Many good writers employ do for active intransitive 
 verbs such as fly, run, act ; but this use should be 
 avoided. As an auxiliary, do may not be used 
 without its principal verb unless the form of the 
 principal verb already employed permits such use ; 
 i.e., unless this preceding verb may be repeated 
 without change after the do. E .g. : " He has not 
 looked well lately, nor does he to-day ;" should be 
 " He * * * ; nor does he look well to-day." [A 
 similar remark applies to other auxiliaries when 
 employed without their principal verbs.] 
 
 "The verses are as follows;" [or, "as follow?] Both ex- 
 pressions are sanctioned by good usage. 
 
 Some may be correctly used in such expressions as, 
 " some fifty men," " some ten miles ;" /. e., " about 
 fifty men," &c. This employment of some is be- 
 coming obsolete. 
 
38 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 You may properly occur in the same sentence with, and 
 as an equivalent of, Your Majesty, Your Excellency, 
 &c. E.g. : " Your Majesty says your Majesty has " 
 &c. ; or : " Your Majesty says you have " &c. [The 
 first is, of course, much more formal than the second, 
 and should be preferred when addressing persons 
 of high station.] 
 
 " It is I, your brother, who begs you." " It is I, your 
 brother, who beg you." In the first, the emphasis is 
 on the word brother ; in the second, on the /. [In 
 the latter, it is better to enclose your brother in 
 parentheses, the corrfma being omitted.] 
 
 In " not only but also? the also may be omitted. E.g. : 
 " He not only killed the man, but he mutilated the 
 corpse/' [It is generally better to use the complete 
 form, " not only but also."] 
 
 Do not use like for as. Say : "As did Nero of old, so 
 Thebaw put countless numbers of victims to death ;" 
 not, "Like Nero of old, Thebaw" &c. The use of 
 like for as is defended on the ground that the sen- 
 tence may be expanded into : " Being like Nero, 
 Thebaw" &c. Still, it is the actions of the men 
 that are compared, not the men themselves. 
 
 Avoid such awkward collocations as, " This is a far 
 [or much\ richer man than his brother." Say, 
 " This man is far [much] richer [or, richer by far] 
 than " &c. A like remark applies to such, similar t 
 and many other words. Say, " A horse such as that 
 is worth one hundred dollars ;" rather than, " Such 
 a horse as that is " &c. 
 
GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 39 
 
 The or in whether or may be left out ; but it is gen- 
 erally better to express it. So : "I do not know 
 whether he will come or not," is better than, " I do 
 not know whether he will come." 
 
 The adjective is often used for the adverb before a pre- 
 sent participle employed as an adjective to qualify a 
 noun. E.g.: "a plain-speaking man/' "a good- 
 looking man," " a right-living man." [In such ex- 
 pressions, it is better to unite the adjective and the 
 participle with a hyphen.] With a past participle, 
 the adjective is very rarely used. E.g. : " a plainly 
 furnished house," "a well dressed man." Occa- 
 sionally the adjective occurs with the past participle; 
 e.g.: "a plain-spoken man." 
 
 When the construction is changed from the negative to 
 the affirmative, repeat the subject pronoun ; or, if a 
 noun is the subject, insert the personal pronoun be- 
 fore the second verb. Thus : " He does not walk, 
 but he rides." With whosoever, whoever, &c., as 
 subjects, it is not necessary to use the pronoun before 
 the affirmative verb. E. g. : " That whosoever be- 
 lieveth on Him might not perish, but have everlast- 
 ing life." When a change of tense, mood or voice 
 occurs, it is generally advisable to insert the pronoun 
 before the second verb, although as is elsewhere 
 explained it is necessary to do so only when the 
 verbs are emphatically distinguished or contrasted. 
 [When the change is from the affirmative to the 
 negative, the repetition of the subject or the inser- 
 tion of the pronoun is not necessary. Indeed, the 
 the repetition of the subject depends largely on the 
 
40 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 emphasis desired or on the "sound" of the sen- 
 tence.] 
 
 Say, " Solomon, son of David," rather than, " Solomon, 
 t/te son of David." [The rule is that the article 
 ought not to be used before those appositive nouns 
 which are strictly limited by other definite words 
 The insertion of the article before David is not ab- 
 solutely incorrect ; but the omission of it produces 
 a good effect and sometimes prevents ambiguity, as 
 in, " John, [the] son of Smith, and Jones, are here." 
 Where a second addition occurs, the article must be 
 omitted even although it has been used before the 
 first addition. Thus : " The Apostle James, son 
 (or, the son) of Zebedee, and brother (not, the 
 brother) of St John".] 
 
 Say, " The eldest son of a duke is called Marquis [not a 
 Marquis]." The article is not to be used before 
 titles as titles, or names as names. \E.g. : "Derive 
 Thames."] With two or more nouns, the article 
 need not be repeated when there is no ambiguity. 
 When there is, it should be repeated. Thus : 
 " The Queen and King are here," is correct [The 
 repetition of the article would, of course, add empha- 
 sis to the expression, i. e., it would draw attention to 
 each individual person or thing. E.g. : "A cool 
 temper, a sound judgment, a kindly disposition."] 
 
 " The European and tJie African race ;" or, " The Euro- 
 pean race and the African race'' Here two races 
 are meant: the one European, and the other African. 
 " The European and African races? has the same 
 meaning. "The European and the African races," 
 
GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 41 
 
 means there are two or more European and two 
 or more African races. This latter meaning would be 
 more clearly expressed by inserting the word races 
 after the word European. 
 
 " The conductor and the driver," implies two men. " The 
 conductor and driver," implies one man. Say, there- 
 fore: "Solomon, the historian and builder; not, 
 " Solomon, the historian and the builder." 
 
 " The bay or lame horse," refers to one horse. " The 
 bay or the lame horse," refers to two horses. [In 
 the former sentence, it wonld be better to put a 
 comma after fay.] The rule in all these cases is, 
 that the article must be repeated when there are two 
 or more persons or things. With but one person or 
 thing, the article may be repeated, as in poetry or 
 for the sake of emphasis. E.g. : "A sadder and a 
 wiser man." It follows from the foregoing rule, 
 that there should be no repetition of the article in 
 such a phrase as, " He is a better poet than musi- 
 cian? " He is a better poet than a musician," 
 would mean, " He is a better poet than a musician 
 is." 
 
 " The logical and grammatical analysis of a language is 
 [are]" &c. If but one analysis is meant i.e., if 
 there is but one subject the verb should be in the 
 singular, is. If two analyses are meant /. ., if there 
 are two subjects the verb may be in the plural, are. 
 In the latter case, however, it is better to supply the 
 article before grammatical. [" The logical and the 
 grammatical analysis are," &c.] It is still better to 
 supply the first subject ["Th? logical analysis and" 
 
42 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 &c.] : the verb being made plural. The supplying 
 of this ellipsis {analysis} avoids the clash between 
 a singular subject alone and a plural verb. Upon 
 the same principle, " The position of the materialist 
 and that of the idealist are reconcilable," is to be 
 preferred to, " The position of the materialist and 
 of the idealist are reconcilable." [The determining 
 principle in all these cases is not whether the adjec- 
 tives have the same meaning, but whether they 
 qualify the same subject.] 
 
 Do not say, " No greater or wiser a man ever lived/' 
 Say, " No greater or wiser man " &c. 
 
 The gerundial noun with the is generally to be preferred 
 to the simple gerund. E.g. : "The eating of meat 
 is forbidden," is better than, "Eating meat" &c. [In 
 some instances the latter form would cause con- 
 fusion of meaning.] 
 
 An excellent, but rather loosely worded, rule for the use of 
 shall and will is as follows : " If the speaker is nomina- 
 tive to the verb, and also determines the accomplish- 
 ment of the idea expressed by the verb ; or if the 
 speaker neither is nominative to the verb nor deter- 
 mines the accomplishment of the idea expressed by 
 the verb, use will. In all other cases, use shall" 
 
 Say, "It should seem that he has done so." [Not, "It 
 would seem " &c.] 
 
 In impersonal assertions, such as : " It is hoped [desired, 
 &c.] that all should sit down," shall 'and should ought 
 to be used. In direct and personal assertions, such 
 as : " I desired that my conductor would explain," 
 
GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 43 
 
 will and would are to be preferred. [Shall and 
 should are, in such constructions, not incorrect ; but 
 will and would are preferable. Perhaps the best 
 rule, in sentences such as the foregoing, is, that when 
 a command is intended, shall and should must be 
 used ; when a hope or wish is intended, will and 
 would may be used ] 
 
 In a subordinate clause, to express simple futurity, use 
 shall w\& should when the subject of the subordinate 
 clause is the subject of the principal clause also ; 
 ivill and would when it is not. Thus : " I believe I 
 shall live ;" " I believe he will live ;" " He believes 
 he shall live." 
 
 Again, in an independent clause use shall and should 
 when the event spoken of is under our control; wUl 
 and would 'when it is not. E.g. : "You said it should 
 be done ;" " You said it would rain." 
 
 Do not say, "I would be happy to go, if" &c.; or, "I 
 will be happy to go." Use should and shall. [The 
 idea of willingness, or volition, is sufficiently ex- 
 pressed in the word happy. Hence, would and will 
 are tautological.] 
 
 After nouns and adjectives following intransitive and 
 passive verbs the infinitive with to is generally 
 preferable to the gerund in -ing, to express purpose, 
 end, design. E.g. : " He has power to act ;" "It is 
 fitted to produce that result." 
 
 " Solomon, son of David, who slew Goliath ;" is correct. 
 "Solomon, son of David, who built the Temple ;" is 
 incorrect. [The relative should refer to the nearest 
 
44 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 antecedent. So, change the second phrase into, 
 " The son of David, Solomon, who" &c. ; or, "Solo- 
 mon, who was the son of David, and who' 1 &c.; or 
 employ some other form.] 
 
 Say, " He who was, and who is, and who is to come;" 
 or, " He who was, who is and who is to come. 31 
 That is, repeat the relative, especially when a con- 
 junction occurs. [If the sentence were to read, "He 
 who was, is and is to come;" He might seem to 
 be the subject of the first and the second is, and not 
 of some verb unexpressed.] The possessives also 
 should be repeated before nouns that are to be dis- 
 tinguished. E.g. : "Their form and their use give 
 us great trouble," 
 
 Do not use that for who or which, when the antecedent 
 is explicit. Say : " My father, who [not, that] is 
 dead." 
 
 Who or which is to be preferred to that when the 
 relative is separated from its verb or its antecedent, 
 and is emphasized by isolation/ E.g. : " There are 
 many persons who, had they opportunities, would 
 succeed in life." 
 
 Who or which is to be preferred to that when the relative 
 is governed in the objective by a preposition that 
 has the appearance of an adverb (beyond, over, under, 
 &c.). E.g. : "The limit beyond which no one has 
 gone," is better than, " The limit that no one has 
 gone beyond." 
 
 Avoid the use of than whom when whom is not really in 
 the objective case. Instead of than whom [which 
 
GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 45 
 
 is grammatically incorrect] and than zv/io [which, 
 although grammatically correct, has a very strange 
 sound] employ some other form. E.g.: In place of 
 " Nero, than whom no crueller man has ever lived, 
 was" &c.; say, "Nero and no crueller man has ever 
 lived was" &c. ; or, "No crueller man than Nero has 
 ever lived. He was" &c. [Of course, when the 
 relative is in the objective case, whom is correct after 
 than; e.g. : " My brother, than whom I love no one 
 more dearly, is ill."] 
 
 Who or which may sometimes [e.g., to avoid uudue re- 
 petition] be used for that ; but that ought never to 
 be usd for who or which. 
 
 After indefinite pronouns or indefinite pronominal adjec- 
 tives (others, several, many, some, none, one, &c.), who 
 or which is to be preferred to that. 
 
 After personal pronouns prefer who or which. E. g. : 
 " He who is wise," &c. 
 
 After the conjunction that, prefer who or which. E. g. : 
 " He said that the man who saw him " &c. 
 
 It is not improper, to follow the demonstrative this by 
 the relative that. E. g. : " It was this that caused 
 his death." 
 
 When who or which is used restrictively for that, it is 
 well to place the or that before the antecedent, e.g. : 
 " The States [or, those States] which border on 
 Canada," &c. 
 
 The objective relative may be omitted whenever the 
 antecedent and the subject of the relative sentence 
 
46 GRAMMATICAL POINTS. 
 
 come into juxtaposition ; e.g. : " Give me the book 
 you have." 
 
 The personal pronoun it and the relative pronoun which 
 may have as antecedents a short, clear clause ; but 
 this usage is not desirable. So, although, "He gave 
 me his word of honour: which I had not expected," 
 is not incorrect ; yet it is better to say, " He gave 
 me his word of honour : a thing I had" &c.; or, "He 
 gave me his word of honour. I had never expected 
 this." 
 
 Avoid such a relative construction as : " That was the 
 man who, the witness said, had broken into the 
 store/' Say: "That man, the witness said, had" 
 &c.; or: "That was the man, the witness said, who" 
 &c. ; or : " That was the man whom the witness 
 accused of having broken " &c. [The fault of the 
 first construction is that, for an instant, the mind 
 is in doubt whether ^vho or ^vhom ought to be used ] 
 
 Distinguish, according to the sense you wish to convey, be- 
 tween the use of the adjective and that of the adverb, 
 after intransitive verbs expressing action [go, come, 
 arrive, depart, &c.] E.g. : " He arrived safe." "He 
 arrived safely." The former denotes his condition 
 upon arrival, without reference to his condition upon 
 the way. The latter denotes his condition upon the 
 way, without reference to his condition upon arrival. 
 So say: "He came safely through numberless perils, 
 but dropped dead upon the threshold of his own 
 home." 
 
 Lesser may be used of dimensions, but not of quantity. 
 Thus : " He is lesser than his brother," is not incor- 
 
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 47 
 
 rect ; but, " He is smaller than [or, shorter than, or 
 not so large as]," &c., is better. " There is lesser 
 
 wheat than corn," is incorrect. 
 
 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 
 
 To avoid ambiguity, report a speech in the first, not in 
 the third person. 
 
 Try to avoid the use of words that have two or more 
 meanings: any, certain, left, lie, &c. [Any is some- 
 times used incorrectly for indefinitely large; e.g.: 
 " He gave me any number of books."] 
 
 Avoid using a word that leaves us for a moment doubt- 
 ful what part of speech it is. E.g.: "The good 
 remains, he said," &c. [Until something further is 
 given, we are in doubt whether remains is a noun, 
 the subject of some unexpressed verb ; or a verb, 
 agreeing with its subject, good, used as a noun.] 
 
 Avoid fat excessive use of such expressions as, of this 
 sort, of this kind, in this way, in this manner. It is 
 better to repeat the words to which the reference is 
 made. 
 
 Avoid what is called the prospective use of it. Say, 
 " To give is good ;" not, " It is good to give." 
 
 It is often said that a sentence ought not to end with a 
 preposition. There is no objection, however, to such 
 an ending, provided the preposition governs a rela- 
 tive pronoun and is not likely to be mistaken f^r 
 
48 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 
 
 some other part of speech. Thus : " The rule that 
 I always adhere to," is quite correct. [If preferred, 
 "The rule to which I always adhere," may, of 
 course, be used.] It is hardly necessary to say that 
 the clause or sentence should not end with the to of 
 the infinitive; i. e., to, the sign of the infinitive, ought 
 never to be used alone. 
 
 Avoid the excessive use of there is, there are, there will 
 be, &c. 
 
 To relieve the monotony and to give force to the expres- 
 sion, change such constructions as, "He replied that 
 he deemed it best that his example should not be 
 followed ;" into, " He deemed it best, he replied, that 
 his example should not be followed." 
 
 Force may often be gained by the use of particular, 
 in place of general, terms. E.g. : gold for great 
 riches, a crust of bread for poverty. On the same 
 principle, a particular proper name may be used 
 effectively for a common, or class, name. E.g. : 
 "Solomon," is more forcible than "the wisest man;" 
 " Nero," than " the most cruel man." 
 
 The great rule, however, for force, or effect, is that the 
 reader shall be kept in suspense ; that is, that he 
 shall be made to feel the incompleteness of the 
 sentence, until the end is reached. To attain this 
 object the following directions have been given : 
 
 (1) Put a conditional clause first, not last. E.g. : 
 " If he wishes, I will go away." [When the condi- 
 tional clause is veiy emphatic, it may be placed last] 
 
 (2) Let participial phrases come before the words 
 
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 49 
 
 qualified by them. E.g. : "Wasted by disease, worn 
 out with toil, he was fast sinking into the grave." 
 [This remark will often apply to adjectives and ad- 
 verbs, as well as to participles. E.g. : "Weary of life, . 
 glad to depart, he quietly passed away."] (3) Use 
 suspensive words: not only, but also; either, or ; 
 partly, partly ; on the one hand, on the other ; in 
 the first, second, &c., place. Of course, this "prin- 
 ciple of suspense" is not to be too frequently 
 employed. 
 
 Emphatic words must be in emphatic positions ; i. e., at 
 the beginning or at the end of the proposition. 
 " Coward though he was, he was forced to fight ;" is 
 much more striking than, " He was forced to fight, 
 although he was a coward." 
 
 The most emphatic place for the subject is at the end, 
 its ordinary place being at the beginning of the 
 proposition. 
 
 On a similar principle, the object is made emphatic by 
 putting it before its verb. 
 
 Again, emphasis may be given by the use, before the em- 
 phatic noun, of such an expression as, as for the, 
 as to the, concerning, &c. 
 
 Avoid putting a minimizing expression, such as, at least, 
 at all events, at any rate, between two emphatic 
 expressions. 
 
 Avoid the placing of an unemphatic word at the end 
 of the proposition. The following sentence is weak, 
 because this rule has not been observed. " The docu- 
 ments proved how just in all his dealings he was." 
 
50 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 
 
 What have been called " short, chippy endings" should 
 be avoided, as such endings spoil the rythm which 
 should exist even in prose. E.g.: "The man, 
 pierced with balls, died ;" is bad. 
 
 Prepositions and pronouns attached to emphatic words 
 need not, however, be removed from the end. So : 
 " Bear witness how he loved him," is correct. [In 
 such instances the emphatic and the unemphatic 
 word form, as it were, a compound expression.] 
 
 Avoid, on the other hand, a monotonous final emphasis. 
 
 Frequently an idea may be expressed more forcibly in 
 the form of a question than in that of an assertion. 
 
 Brevity may often be obtained by the use of a word for 
 a phrase. E. g. : unintelligible ', indelible. 
 
 Brevity may be obtained, also, by the use of metaphors, 
 in place of literal words or phrases. 
 
 The omission of the present participle often gives brevity 
 and force to the sentence. E.g.: "The Indians 
 [being] on the war-path, what dared we do ?" 
 
 Brevity may be gained by using the imperative for 
 other moods. E.g.: "Do this, and you will suf- 
 fer ;" for, " If you do this " &c. [This use of the 
 imperative should be indulged in but sparingly.] 
 
 Repeat the nominative when the verbs of the various 
 clauses are of diverse moods, tenses or voices and 
 are emphatically distinguished. E.g. : " He is, and 
 he always has been, rich." 
 
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 51 
 
 Repeat the preposition after an intervening conjunction, 
 especially if a verb and a pronoun also intervene. 
 E.g.: "The man does not remember the respect 
 he ought to have for those persons who have helped 
 him, and for his old friend C. in particular." [If 
 the preposition for were not repeated after and, the 
 sentence might mean that the man does not re- 
 member his old friend C. in particular.] 
 
 Do not repeat the sign to of the infinitive unless atten- 
 tion is called to each individual verb. 
 
 When otherwise there would be doubt as to whether an 
 infinitive expresses a purpose or not, and it is in- 
 tended that it shall express a purpose, use in order 
 tJiat, for the purpose of [followed by the form in 
 -ing\> r some such phrase. [Purpose may be clearly 
 shewn, of course, by the use of that with an auxili- 
 ary verb. E. g. : " He died that we might live ;" 
 which is equivalent to : " He died in order to give 
 us life. 35 ] 
 
 To avoid ambiguity, or to add emphasis, repeat the 
 subordinate conjunction. E.g. : " When the hunter 
 had returned to the far-off camp, and when he had 
 recounted his adventures " &c. 
 
 Be careful in the use of participial constructions. E.g. : 
 "They will be shunned on their return, accom- 
 panied by the oppressors of their country ;" may 
 mean, " on account of their being accompanied " 
 &c. ; or, "when they are accompanied" &c. So: 
 " Children, playing on the ice, often fall ;" may 
 mean : " Children that play " &c. ; or " Children, 
 
52 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 
 
 when they play" &c. It is best to confine 
 the use of the participial phrase to the ad- 
 verbial meaning [" Children, when they play " &c.] ; 
 and with other meanings to employ the relative pro- 
 noun [" Children that play " &c.]. When the par- 
 ticipial phrase precedes the main proposition, the 
 former usually implies cause ; when it follows, time. 
 E.g.: "Seeing this, he withdrew" \ie. u He with- 
 drew because he saw this."] " He withdrew, seeing 
 this" [i.e., "He withdrew when he saw this."] If 
 there is doubt as to which meaning is intended, 
 use an introductory phrase, such as, while seeing, 
 upon seeing. 
 
 There are various constructions that may take the place 
 of the relative pronoun or of the relative clause. The 
 infinitive may often be used with effect. E.g. : " He 
 was the last that died," may be expressed as : "He 
 was the last to die." Again, if or some other con- 
 ditional word may be used to introduce a dependent 
 clause. E.g. : " If a man sins, he will be punished " 
 [i. e., " The man that sins " &c.] Again, the con- 
 junction and the demonstrative pronoun may be 
 used. E.g. : " He wasted his time at X., which was 
 very foolish ;" may be changed into : " He wasted 
 his time at X., and this was " &c. Again, pro- 
 nominal adverbs (whereby, wherein, &c.) may take 
 the place of the relative and a preposition. 
 
 Very often, after a negative, the antecedent to the rela- 
 tive should be repeated, or a summing-up noun 
 introduced. E.g.: "He said he would not hear me 
 a refusal that I expected." When otherwise there 
 
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 53 
 
 would be ambiguity, the same construction should 
 be used with an affirmative. 
 
 Prefer verbal clauses to verbal nouns. " That he had 
 betrayed his country was not so plainly shown," 
 is better than : " His having betrayed " &c. 
 
 Avoid what is called " mistake of subject." E.g. : " The 
 late arrival of the train caused " &c., should be : 
 " The lateness of the arrival " &c So : " Excuse a 
 letter to-day," should be : " Excuse my not having 
 written a letter to-day." 
 
 In prose be careful to avoid zeugma, i.e., the application 
 of a word to two or more ideas, to only one of 
 which it is really suitable. E.g. : " The landscape 
 and the shoutings formed a strange sight" 
 
 The great rule for figures of speech, especially for meta- 
 phors and similes, is to use strictly appropriate 
 language. Therefore, do not say, " Convey an im- 
 pression? Say, " Make [or leave] an impression." 
 Do not say, " The car of progress rolls onward, 
 gnashing its teeth in its course." 
 
 In metaphorical language the pronouns usually agree 
 with the noun used metaphorically, as if it were 
 taken in its literal sense. E.g. : " The stone which 
 the builders rejected," &c. Afterwards, however, 
 the pronouns may agree with the noun in its figura- 
 tive sense. E.g. : " Behold I lay in Zion a chief 
 corner-stone; and he that believeth on Him!' & c - 
 
 Do not employ different forms and expressions for the 
 same person or thing, unless there is a peculiar 
 
54 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS UPON COMPOSITION. 
 
 appropriateness in each term or expression. Only 
 confusion results from speaking, within narrow 
 limits, of Columbus as "the Genoese navigator," 
 " the discoverer of America," &c. 
 
 It is a bad fault, therefore, to repeat the meaning in 
 terms but slightly differing one from another. Thus, 
 do not, in close connection, use such synonyms as 
 all, universal, total. 
 
 A new construction ought not to be introduced without 
 sufficient cause. E.g.: "On horseback and on foot," 
 is preferable to, " On horseback and walking ;" 
 " The dead and the living," to, " The dead and those 
 still on the earth." 
 
 Let each sentence have one, and only one, subject o r 
 thought. That is, avoid mixed or confused sen- 
 tences. 
 
 It is often a good thing to introduce each sentence of a 
 paragraph by a short connecting expression : accord- 
 ingly, therefore, so, then. [Such words as but, and, 
 and other conjunctions generally used to join 
 clauses, may, for the sake of clearness, introduce a 
 new sentence.] 
 
 Sometimes two important sentences may very effectively 
 
 , be united by a short connective sentence, such as : 
 
 "This was as follows," " The result was as expected." 
 
 Often a good effect is produced by making a statement 
 or by giving an explanation twice : first, briefly, and 
 then fully ; or vice versti. 
 
 The guiding principle in descriptive writing is to imagine 
 we see, actually before us, the thing to be described. 
 
WOZDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 55 
 
 Except in scientific or other very precise writing, avoid 
 the frequent use of technical terms. It savors of 
 pedantry, as the meaning of these terms is often 
 unknown to the general reader. This " technical 
 slang " is commonly seen in newspaper accounts of 
 sporting and musical events. Why should bowling 
 be called "trundling the leather," or a lacrosse ball 
 the "rubber"? Why should the report of a con- 
 cert fairly bristle with "technique" and " timbre >; 
 and "genre" and " morceau "? Perhaps it is to dis- 
 play the writer's intimate knowledge of the subject. 
 
 WORDS OFIEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, 
 OPPOSITES. 
 
 Advantage, benefit. 
 
 Advantage is "a state of forwardness or advance ;" 
 and the word is applied rightly, therefore, to one 
 person or thing in relation to other persons or 
 things. Benefit is simply gain or profit, without 
 comparison of one person or thing with another. 
 [Thus : " He possesses an advantage over me," is 
 correct "All derived advantage from it," is incor- 
 . rect] 
 
 Also, likewise. 
 
 Also is applied to things and qualities, and denotes 
 mere addition. Likewise is applied to states of 
 being or of action ; and denotes some agreement or 
 connection between the ideas expressed in the words 
 it joins. [Thus : " He is a prince and also a musi- 
 cian ;" but : " lie is a poet and likewise a musician."] 
 
5G WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 Ability, capacity. 
 
 Ability is the power of doing something. Capacity 
 is the faculty of receiving something \e.g. : new ideas, 
 great thoughts.] [So : " That statesman has great 
 ability ;" " That pupil had wonderful capacity."] 
 
 Answer , reply. 
 
 An answer is given to questions; a reply, to attacks 
 and accusations. [An answer to an answer ma}% 
 however, be called a reply.] 
 
 Amid [amidst], among 
 
 Amid or amidst is used generally when the sur- 
 roundings are of a different nature from the person 
 or thing surrounded. Among, when they are of the 
 same nature. Again, amid or amidst is generally 
 applied to quantity ; among, to number. [So : 
 " among friends ;" " amidst enemies ;" " among thou- 
 sands;" "amid the snow."] 
 
 Abandon, desert, forsake. 
 
 Abandon and desert generally imply something 
 blame-worthy in the one who adandons or deserts ; 
 forsake does not. Again : abandon and forsake are 
 used of persons and things, desert is used of causes 
 or of persons, but not of things. [Thus : " The sol- 
 dier deserted his post of duty." " The man aban- 
 doned his early friends." " We forsook the dear 
 old homestead."] 
 
 Assist, aid. 
 
 Assist implies mutuality of help ; aid, not neces- 
 sarily so. [" The sufferers assisted one another." 
 ft I aided him in his distress."] 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 57 
 
 Anger, wrath. 
 
 Anger is inward feeling. Wrath is inward feeling 
 accompanied by outward manifestations. [" The 
 wrath of the elements." " The anger of the inmost 
 soul."] 
 
 Accurate, exact. 
 
 Accurate is aiming at, and therefore attaining to, 
 correctness. Exact has not necessarily this implica- 
 tion of intention, and may be used of accidental 
 correctness. [" He was very honest and accurate 
 in his accounts." " He was exact in that financial 
 statement, but it was by chance."] 
 
 Authentic, genuine (applied to books, writing, &c.). 
 
 Authentic is that which gives a true account of the 
 matters in question. Genuine is that which has been 
 written or composed by the person whose signa- 
 ture the book or paper bears. [" This is a genuine 
 letter of the great Captain's ; but it does not give 
 an authentic account of the voyage/'] 
 
 Admittance, admission. 
 
 Admittance is the right of entry ; admission is the 
 actual entry. [" The admittance fee was twenty- 
 five cents." "The burglar gained admission to the 
 house by a window.'*] 
 
 Allow and permit. 
 
 Allow is the stronger of the two. [" I begged to 
 to be allowed to go ; but I was refused." " Permit 
 me to show you to a seat."] 
 
58 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITE8. 
 
 Appear, seem. 
 
 Seem is confined to the mind ; appear, to the senses. 
 [" It seems to me that you have made a mistake. ' 
 " That house appears white to me."] 
 
 Bountiful and plentiful. 
 
 Bountiful is used of persons ; plentiful, of things. 
 [" The game was plentiful." " A bountiful giver."] 
 
 Bravery, courage, valor. 
 
 Bravery is a natural quality ; courage and valor are 
 acquired qualities ; courage, in particular, being the 
 result of reason. Bravery and valor are confined to 
 contests with living beings ; courage is not. Again, 
 valor is not used of single combat, but of war ; 
 bravery and courage may be used of single combat. 
 ["The natives showed great bravery." " He bore his 
 sufferings with undaunted courage." "His military 
 career was one long record of valor/'] 
 
 Beneficent, beneficence ; benevolent, benevolence. 
 
 Beneficent is used chiefly if not entirely of actions. 
 Benevolent is used of both actions and feelings, 
 chiefly of feelings. The same thing may be said of 
 most adjectives and nouns having the endings -ficent 
 and -ficence [facio, I do] respectively, and -volent 
 and -volence [volo, I will] respectively; e.g.: munifi- 
 cent, malevolent. [ a He was naturally very benevo- 
 lent ; but, owing to the circumstances of his life, he 
 could not shew any very great beneficence." " He 
 was a very munificent man, continually giving away 
 his money to the poor."] The use of these words 
 should be confined to persons or personified things. 
 It is incorrect, therefore, to speak of a munificent gift. 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 59 
 
 Brevity, conciseness ; brief, concise. 
 
 Brevity is mere shortness. Conciseness is shortness 
 along with condensation. [" His speech was very 
 brief; for really there was nothing to be said." 
 " Mr. H. is very concise in his speeches : they are 
 short, but full of matter."] 
 
 Continuous, continual. 
 
 Motion is continuous when there are no interruptions. 
 It is continual when there are interruptions. [" Life 
 itself is continuous." "The demands upon ones 
 purse are imperative and continual."] 
 
 diameter, reputation. 
 
 Character is our real inner worth ; reputation is the 
 world's opinion of our character. ["His reputation 
 is bad; but, could we see his real character, we 
 should find him not so bad, after all."] 
 
 Conscious, aware. 
 
 Conscious applies to the heart, the soul, the con- 
 science : L e., to the moral and spiritual part of man. 
 Aware applies to the mind. [" He was conscious 
 of his sin." " He was not aware that you saw him/'] 
 
 Crime, sin, vice. 
 
 A crime is an infraction of the law of a particular 
 land or people. Sin is the violation of a religious 
 law. This law may be common to many lands or 
 peoples. Vice is a continual course of wrong-doing, 
 and is unaffected by country, religious belief, or 
 state of life : being a line of conduct harmful to the 
 vicious man or to others. [Smuggling is a crime ; 
 idleness is a sin, and, if long-continued, it becomes 
 a vice ] 
 
60 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 Courteous, polite [polished]. 
 
 Courteous has reference chiefly to others ; polite or 
 polished, to ourselves. The former is " objective ;" 
 the latter, "subjective." [Thus: "We met an old 
 fisherman, who took us home and treated us with 
 great courtesy and kindness. Of course, he was not 
 polished : in fact, he had very little idea of polite- 
 ness/'] 
 
 Catalogue, list. 
 
 A catalogue is a list accompanied by short explana- 
 tions or notes. " The list of the paintings was only 
 a page and a half long ; but the complete catalogue 
 compiled later occupied four pages."] 
 
 Casual, accidental, fortuitous. 
 
 That is casual which is unpremeditated. That is 
 fortuitous which is " opposed to systematic design." 
 {Fortuitous generally implies a combination of 
 events.] That is accidental which interrupts (gener- 
 ally unpleasantly) the ordinary course of events. 
 [" Walking carelessly along, I took a casual look at 
 the prison window ; and there I beheld my friend." 
 " The accidental stopping of the coach saved him a 
 further explanation." " The meeting was quite for- 
 tuitous : it would not have taken place once in a 
 thousand times.'] 
 
 Compel^ compulsion ; coerce, coercion. 
 
 Compel and compulsion generally imply the employ- 
 ment of physical force. Coerce and coercion do not, 
 their meaning being almost always confined to 
 moral or mental pressure. 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 61 
 
 Confess, acknowledge. 
 
 Confess, confession, imply that what is told was be- 
 fore unknown to the person to whom the confession 
 is made. Acknowledge, acknowledgment, have no 
 such implication. [" But what was their surprise 
 when the captain confessed that he himself was the 
 murderer !" " The monster, being accused of the 
 crime, acknowledged his guilt."] 
 
 Conjecture, surmise. 
 
 A surmise is founded on evidence ; a conjecture, not 
 necessarily so. A conjecture, therefore, is generally 
 of something visionary ; a surmise of something 
 practical. [" His conjecture, that the moon is in- 
 habited, is now discredited." "After taking ob- 
 servations, he surmised that the Indians contem- 
 plated an attack."] 
 
 Con- and Co- [in composite words]. 
 
 Con- is used before a consonant ; co-, before a vowel 
 When, however, the two parts are very distinct, co- 
 is preferred, before even a consonant. A hyphen 
 will, in such cases, generally be used. [Contempo- 
 rary, coeval, co-partner.] 
 
 Complete, finished. 
 
 Complete means lacking nothing. Finished means 
 done as far as was intended. [" The house is 
 finished for the winter; but still, much more labor 
 will be required to make it complete."] 
 
 Custom, Jiabit, usage. 
 
 Custom and usage apply to society ; habit applies 
 to an individual. Again, usage implies long stand- 
 ing / custom, not necessarily so. a [" My habit in 
 
62 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITE3. 
 
 Africa was to rise early. Early rising is a custom 
 of the country, sanctioned by immemorial usage?] 
 
 Discriminate, distinguish. 
 
 Discriminate is used of small differences ; distin- 
 guish^ of great differences. Again : discriminate 
 applies to several objects ; distinquish, to two. Fur- 
 ther : discriminate is generally used of the mind ; 
 distinguish, of the senses. [" By the light of the 
 lantern he distinguished the bodies/' " He discri- 
 minated among the specimens, which, to an unprac- 
 tised eye, appeared all the same."] 
 
 Despotism, tyranny. 
 
 Despotism exists by law or of right. A tyranny 
 exists in the face of law and right. A despotism 
 may, therefore, be mild, as has often been the case 
 in history. 
 
 Determine, resolve. 
 
 Resolve is stronger than determine. [" I am resolved 
 to die rather than give up my Church." " I am de- 
 termined to get the book, if possible."] 
 
 Directed, guided. 
 
 One is directed by a person at a greater or less dis- 
 tance. One is guided by a person close at hand. 
 [" Taking our hand, he guided us through the forest." 
 " Standing on an eminence, he directed the pilgrims 
 to their various quarters, by a movement of the 
 hand."] 
 
 Deduction, induction. 
 
 In reasoning, deduction is proceeding from generals 
 to particulars ; induction, from particulars to gen- 
 erals. 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 63 
 
 Direct, address. 
 
 A letter is directed to him who is to receive it ; ad- 
 dressed, to him who is to read it. A parcel, there- 
 fore, is directed, not addressed. 
 
 Drive, ride. 
 
 Drive is to urge along ; ride^ to be borne along. 
 This is the distinction in America. [" Mr. Vander- 
 bilt drove a beautiful span of bays ; his wife rode 
 beside him."] In Great Britain and Ireland, drive 
 generally refers to vehicles (except busses, cabs, and 
 other public conveyances, with which its use is con- 
 fined to the driver) ; whilst ride means to be carried 
 upon the back of a horse, donkey, &c. Thus : " I 
 went out for a drive," would not necessarily mean 
 that I myself held the reins. The American use of 
 drive and ride is, however, more agreeable to reason 
 and authority. 
 
 Evidence, testimony. 
 
 Evidence is that which produces proof. Testimony 
 is that which is intended to produce proof, /. e., the 
 giving of what may be evidence. [" Much testimony 
 was taken, but really there was little evidence of 
 even the commission of the crime."] 
 
 Epidemic, endemic. 
 
 Epidemic is a disease brought upon or into a com- 
 munity from some outside quarter. It is therefore 
 unnatural to the locality. Endemic is a disease 
 natural to the community or locality. ["Yellow- 
 fever, which is epidemic at New York, is endemic 
 in Cuba."] 
 
64 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 Expense, cost ; expensive, costly. 
 
 Expense and expensive refer to the purchaser ; cost 
 and costly, to the thing purchased. [" That vase is 
 not too costly for it is very valuable ; but it is too 
 expensive for my limited means."] 
 
 Effect^ consequence, result. 
 
 The effect is that which immediately follows the 
 cause. Then comes the consequence, and after that 
 the result. ["The effect of wearing clothes is 
 warmth ; the conseqnence is the wearing out of the 
 clothes ; the result is the purchase of new clothes."] 
 
 Eternal, everlasting 1 . 
 
 Eternal : having neither begining nor end ; ever- 
 lasting : having beginning, but no end. [" Eternal 
 Father, strong to save." " The everlasting hills."] 
 
 Etc. \etceterd\, and so forth. 
 
 Etc. means, "and others of a different kind." And 
 so forth means, " and others of the same kind," " in 
 the same strain," " and the like." [" He has sold his 
 horses, cows, sheep, &c." " The result is a train of 
 coughs, colds, consumption, and so forth."] In dig- 
 nified composition the use of these expressions is 
 to be avoided as much as possible. It is incorrect 
 to use etc., &c., and so forth, in instances like the 
 following : " Employ some such word as mountain, 
 hill," &c. {Some such renders &c. superfluous ] 
 
 Ferment, foment. 
 
 Ferment is to produce alcohol by fermentation. 
 Hence ferment is sometimes used figuratively with 
 the intransitive force of " to be in an excited state." 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 65 
 
 Foment is to apply lotions to ; hence, figurativly, to 
 animate or , stir up. [" The revolutionary ingre- 
 dients seemed to be fermenting ; the leaven of social- 
 ism seemed to be working." "He fomented the 
 disturbance by appeals to the people."] 
 
 Faultless, blameless. 
 
 Faultless is, free from defects as well as from evil or 
 wickedness. Blameless is, free from evil or wicked- 
 ness alone. [" His course of life was blameless, 
 although he made many errors in business matters." 
 " His playing was faultless."] 
 
 Falsehood, falsity. 
 
 A falsehoodis a false or incorrect proposition. Fal- 
 sity is the falseness or incorrectness of the proposi- 
 tion, apart from the proposition itself. [" That 
 statement is a falsehood. The falsity of the asser- 
 tions contained therein is obvious."] 
 
 Farther, further. 
 
 Farther is used of rest ; further, of motion. In a 
 secondary sense further is generally preferred. 
 [ u Montreal is farther away than Toronto." " I throw 
 the ball further than you." " To speak further is 
 superfluous."] 
 
 Goodness, virtue. 
 
 Goodness is innate ; virtue, acquired. [" His good- 
 ness of heart prompted the savage to give us food. 1 ' 
 " His virtue was of slow growth : at first he was a 
 most degraded man."] 
 
 However, but, yet, still, notwithstanding, nevertheless, in 
 spite of. These words are in their proper gradation 
 from weak to strong. 
 
66 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOS1TES. 
 
 Hidden, concealed, secret. 
 
 Hidden and concealed imply intention ; secret does 
 not [" Hidden here, concealed there, the officers 
 found the stolen goods." "Deep in the earth he 
 found the secret ore."J 
 
 Haste, hurry. 
 
 Haste is quickness. Hurry is quickness accom- 
 panied with confusion or flurry. [" We are often in 
 haste ; we ought never to be in a hurry."] 
 
 Hindrance, obstacle, inpediment. 
 
 A hindrance stops us at the beginning ; an obstacle, in 
 the middle ; an inpediment retards us all the time, 
 [" Our journey was very unfortunate. The entrance 
 of a visitor was a hindrance to our departure ; about 
 a mile from the house we found in the road an ob- 
 stacle in the shape of a fallen tree ; whilst the mass 
 of baggage we carried was a serious inpediment to 
 our progress."] 
 
 Informed, instructed, taught. 
 
 One who is informed knows something new ; one 
 who is instructed understands something new ; one 
 who is taught can do something new. [" He was 
 informed of the death of his father." " He was 
 instructed in matters of trade." " He was taught 
 how to make sword-blades."] 
 
 To take issue, to join issue. 
 
 To take issue is to object to the right of denial. To 
 join issue is to admit the right of denial, but to dis- 
 agree as to facts. Join issue should, of course, never 
 be used for agree. [" He wanted to argue with me; 
 but I at once took issue with him, alleging that his 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 67 
 
 position in the matter precluded any argument." 
 u He said yes ; I said no. Upon this we joined 
 issue."] 
 
 Indecent^ immodest. 
 
 Indecent is used of the person ; immodest, of the con- 
 duct or disposition. ["The wearing of such clothes 
 was simply indecent" "His general behaviour was 
 quite immodest."] 
 
 Instant, moment. 
 
 An instant is shorter than a moment. [" In a few 
 moments nay, in a single instant we may be 
 ushered into eternity."] 
 
 Industrious, diligent ; industry, diligence. 
 
 Diligent and diligence express the idea of thoroughly 
 doing whatever is at hand. Industrious and industry 
 express the same idea, and, in addition, imply a 
 readiness or watchfulness for work. [" He performed 
 his task with diligence just as a well-trained horse 
 does. He lacked, however, those habits of industry 
 and thrift which raised his brother to wealth."] 
 
 Import, meaning, sense. 
 
 Import is the idea most readily conveyed. Meaning 
 is the idea intended to be conveyed. Sense is the 
 way in which the expression may be taken, or its 
 general substance or spirit. [" He says the mean- 
 ing is so and so. His words may have that sense, 
 but it is not their obvious import"] 
 
 Illusion, delusion. 
 
 Illusion is the imagining to be existent of something 
 non-existent Delusion is an incorrect idea about 
 
68 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 something really existent. [" His chief illusion was 
 that there were wild beasts in the room." " The 
 delusion under which he labored was that paper 
 currency is real money, instead of its representa- 
 tive."] 
 
 In-, tin- [prefixes]. 
 
 In- is the ordinary negative prefix to be used with 
 nouns and adjectives of Latin origin. Un- is the 
 negative prefix to be used : (i) with words of 
 Anglo-Saxon origin; (2) with verbs of Latin origin. 
 [Thus: inhospitable, ingratitude; unclean, unauthor- 
 ized^ There are, however, many exceptions; e.g. : 
 uncomfortable, incapacitate. 
 
 Inexorable, inflexible. 
 
 Inexorable is, not to be prevailed upon by entreaty ; 
 inflexible, not to be bent at all. Inflexible is there- 
 fore the stronger of the two. ["We tried entreaties, 
 but he was inexorable. Afterwards, we tried money 
 and threats ; but he was still inflexible."] 
 
 Jar, pitcher, jug. 1 
 
 A jar is a wide-mouthed vessel without a handle 
 [" A jar of jam"]. A pitcher is a wide-mouthed 
 vessel with a protruding lip and a large ear or 
 handle. [" Please pass the milk-pitcher."] A jug 
 is a small-mouthed vessel with a swelling body and 
 a small ear or handle near the mouth. [" He brought 
 a large jug of beer."] 
 
 Low-priced, cheap. 
 
 Low-priced is that for which little has been paid. 
 The thing may however, really be dear. Cheap 
 is that the price of which is low, its intrinsic 
 
WOHDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 69 
 
 worth being considered. [" The watch was by 
 no means low-priced ; it cost, in fact, one hundred 
 pounds; still, it was cheap at that sum, for its action 
 was perfect."] 
 
 Lazy, idle, slothful. 
 
 Lazy describes the general disposition, and is the 
 opposite to alert or industrious. Idle refers to a 
 particular time, place or matter, and is the opposite 
 to busy or occupied. Slothful or indolent implies a 
 hatred of exertion and a general slowness or languor. 
 The opposite to slothfulness or indolence is activity. 
 [" The boy was thoroughly lazy : he would neither 
 work nor play." " After a hard day's work, he was 
 now enjoying a few minutes of idle repose." " Be 
 not slothful in business."] 
 
 Laudable, praiseworthy. 
 
 Laudable is used of things; praiseworthy, of persons. 
 ["It is a most laudable endeavour." "He is a praise- 
 worthy man."] 
 
 Last, latest. 
 
 Last is used of place or order; latest, of time. ["His 
 name was last on the list." " He was the latest 
 to arrive/'] Late is often employed incorrectly for 
 last. E.g. : " The late [last] speaker. 
 
 Leave, quit. 
 
 Leave generally implies a return. Quit generally 
 implies no return. ["He left me for a moment." 
 " He quitted me for ever."] 
 
 Malice, spite. 
 
 Malice is used of conduct in general ; spite, of in- 
 dividual acts. [" He followed him for years with 
 
70 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 untiring malice." "On this occasion he certainly 
 shewed spite towards his opponent/'] 
 
 Marital, matrimonial. 
 
 Marital means, pertaining to a husband ; matri- 
 monial, pertaining to marriage. [" His marital rights 
 were disregarded." " Matrimonial alliances between 
 crowned heads are often matters of policy."] 
 
 Mistake, error. 
 
 A mistake is not necessarily blameworthy. An error 
 is blameworthy. [" That was a fortunate mistake." 
 " It was a downright error on his part ; for he had 
 been warned again and again."] 
 
 Mute, dumb. 
 
 Mute is used of one who can speak, but who, through 
 compulsion or otherwise, will not. Dumb is used 
 of one who cannot speak. So, the expression, a 
 deaf-mute, should be, a deaf and dumb person. [" He 
 was mute, in spite of all their threats : he would not 
 betray his friends." " He was dumb, having ut- 
 tered no articulate sound in his whole life."] 
 
 Merely, simply. 
 
 Merely implies no addition ; simply, no admixture. 
 [" They were there merely to prevent bloodshed." 
 " It was simply incredible that he should have so 
 acted."] 
 
 Nearly, entirely, scarcely ; almost, completely, hardly. 
 
 Nearly, entirely, scarcely, are applied to quantity, 
 time or space ; almost, completely, hardly, generally 
 to degree. [" It is nearly a mile from here." " The 
 apple is hardly ripe." '* He is almost dead."] 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITE^. 71 
 
 Neglectful^ negligent. 
 
 Neglectful refers to an individual act. Negligent^ to 
 a series of acts that have produced a habit [" To 
 forget that book was very neglectful." Ke was all 
 his life a most negligent man."] 
 
 Owing, due, 
 
 Due is used of debts. Owing calls attention to the 
 source or origin whence something springs. The 
 present participle [owing'] of the intransitive verb 
 to owe has taken the place of the past participle 
 [owed] of the transitive verb to owe. [" A large sum 
 was due him." u It was owing to the Crusades 
 that many oriental ideas and inventions were intro- 
 duced into the West."] 
 
 Qn> upon. 
 
 Upon is stronger than on, and should be employed 
 when particular attention is to be drawn to the sup- 
 port, whether literal or figurative. With verbs of 
 motion, also, upon is generally preferable. [" The 
 book is on the table." " He lifted the large box, 
 and put it upon the table." " Upon truth and right- 
 eousness, upon honour and justice, must rest the 
 foundations of every state."] 
 
 Perspicacity, perspicuity ; perspicacious, perspicuous. 
 
 Perspicacity and perspicacious express the power of 
 of seeing clearly. Perspicuity and perspicuous ex- 
 press the quality of clearness. The former two are 
 active in their meaning, the latter two passive. The 
 ending -city, here as elsewhere, denotes the power 
 or ability to do something; e.g.: veracity is the 
 quality of speaking the truth, not truth itself. [" I 
 
72 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITE3. 
 
 admire the perspicuity of his explanations." " He is 
 a most perspicacious man : nothing escapes his eye."] 
 In many cases, clear-sightedness ', clear-sighted, clear- 
 ness, clear, are greatly preferable to perspicacity and 
 the rest 
 
 Perpetually, continually ; perpetual, continual. 
 
 Perpetually is an exact synonym of continuously, and 
 means, therefore, never-ceasing. Continual implies 
 interruptions, and is equivalent to constantly re- 
 newed. [" The perpetual flow of the river." " The 
 continual roar of the mill, ceasing only for a short 
 time at night."] 
 
 Proclaim, announce. 
 
 One proclaims opinions, sentiments, and so forth. 
 One announces news, tidings, and so on. [" He 
 proclaimed to the vast throng the revolutionary doc- 
 trines of socialism." " The messenger announced 
 that the battle was lost."] 
 
 Purpose, intent or intention. 
 
 Purpose generally implies the employment of means 
 to accomplish the end. Intent and intention may 
 exist without the employment of means. [" His 
 intention was to do wonders ; but he never did any- 
 thing at all." " His practical purpose soon found 
 ways and means to accomplish what he wished."] 
 
 Poverty, indigence, pauperism. 
 
 Poverty means straitened circumstances, one's posi* 
 tion in life being considered. Indigence is absolute 
 destitution. Pauperism implies the receiving of pub- 
 lic relief. [" The duke was in poverty, although he 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 73 
 
 had ; 1,000 a year. But what is that for the ex- 
 penses of a duke ?" " I found them in the greatest 
 indigence without any fuel, and with but a mouth- 
 ful of bread." "Legalized pauperism kills indi- 
 vidual effort."] 
 
 Reticent, reticence ; reserved, reserve. 
 
 Reticence and reticent are confined to habitual quiet 
 or caution. Reserve and reserved may refer to tem- 
 porary quiet or caution. ["He a very reticent man: 
 during our whole acquaintance with him I have 
 never heard him make a speech." " I questioned 
 him upon that point, but he kcot a careful re- 
 serve/'] 
 
 Reverse and converse. 
 
 Reverse is the opposite or antithesis. Converse is 
 " an opposite reciprocal proposition." In the con- 
 verse, therefore, the cause becomes the effect, the 
 condition becomes the result. [" Minus is the re- 
 verse of plus." " If the sides of two triangles are 
 respectively equal, the angles will be equal. But 
 the converse is not true; for the angles may be equal, 
 and the sides unequal."] 
 
 Recompense, reward, meed. 
 
 Recompense is a fair compensation. Reward is any 
 present or gift. Meed is something earned by one's 
 own toil. [" The recompense for the loss of his arm 
 at the Alma was not too great." " He rewarded 
 me munificently indeed, far above my deserts" 
 " He alone who fights and labours, wins the glori- 
 ous meed."] 
 
74 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 Robbery, theft. 
 
 Robbery is stealing with violence ; theft, generally 
 without. ["After a hard struggle, he robbed the 
 traveller of his watch." " I had not noticed the 
 theft, it was committed so quietly."] 
 
 Remember, recollect. 
 
 Remember is to gather materials ready at hand ; 
 recollect, to gather materials not ready at hand. 
 [" I do not remember, but I will try to recollect."] 
 
 Religion, piety. 
 
 Religion is a form of belief or worship. Piety is 
 reverence for what is good, and the desire to do 
 good. It includes, therefore, love, charity and such 
 like. [" There are many religions; there is but one 
 piety."] 
 
 Relieve, alleviate, mitigate. 
 
 Relieve is to remove pain entirely. Alleviate or 
 mitigate is to remove it but partially. Alleviate 
 is used generally of others, mitigate of ourselves. 
 [" At his touch the pain was instantly relieved." 
 " I alleviated his sufferings through the application 
 of a lotion." " My anguish was somewhat miti- 
 gated."] 
 
 Recant, abjure. 
 
 Recant generally implies the use of force ; abjure 
 generally does not. [" Unable to bear the torture, 
 he recanted." "I freely abjure all part in the 
 plot."] 
 
 Rend, tear. 
 
 Rend implies purpose; tear may or may not do so. 
 Rend generally carries with it the idea of splitting 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 75 
 
 or dividing. Such idea is not necessarily implied 
 in tear. [ u He unfortunately tore his coat." " He 
 tore his hair." " He rent his garment."] 
 
 Sewerage, sewage. 
 
 Sewerage: a system of drainage or the science of 
 drainage. It is but rarely used for sewage. Seivage: 
 sometimes the same as sewerage, but generally the 
 matter flowing through the drains. [" How many 
 books have been written on sewerage !" " The sew- 
 age from the city pollutes the river."] 
 
 Spontaneous, voluntary. 
 
 Spontaneous should be confined to things; voluntary, 
 to persons. [" It was an instance of spontaneous 
 combustion." "The action was voluntary on his 
 part."] 
 
 Sociable, social. 
 
 Sociable expresses a readiness for companionship. 
 Social refers to the relations that men in an organ- 
 ized society bear, one to another. [" He is a very 
 sociable man." " Have you read the great works 
 on social science and social progress ?"] Sociable 
 is, therefore, the correct form of the noun. [" The 
 sociable was successful."] 
 
 Satisfied, contented. 
 
 Satisfied is stronger than contented, and means that 
 all our desires are gratified. Satisfaction is posi- 
 tive pleasure, and comes from the outside. Con- 
 tentment is the absence of pain, and lies in our- 
 selves. Satisfaction is less lasting than contentment. 
 ["The industrious and intelligent artisan may, for a 
 
76 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 time, remain contented ; but he is certainly far from 
 satisfied with his lot."] 
 
 Sufficient, enough. 
 
 One has enough when one's desires are satisfied; 
 sufficient, when one's needs are satisfied. [" Do not 
 let the horse eat as much as he will. Give him 
 just sufficient/' " He was rich ; but, like all other 
 misers, he never had enough."] 
 
 Strong^ powerful. 
 
 Strong: of sound constitution, able to stand hard 
 work. Powerful; able to lift heavy weights, to 
 strike heavy blows, &c. [" He made a gallant fight 
 against disease ; for he was a very strong man." 
 " Strange to say, he was a very powerful man, able 
 to give tremendous blows; and yet, his constitution 
 was undermined through dissipation."] Muscular 
 is a very effective word. 
 
 Stub' or n, obstinate. 
 
 Stubborn : opposed to the way of others ; obstinate: 
 set in one's own way. [" I tried to induce him to 
 approve my scheme ; but, although he had none of 
 his own to offer, yet he was stubborn and refused." 
 "He wished to go his own way, and was very 
 obstinate about the matter."] 
 
 Safety, security. 
 
 Safety: freedom from danger. Security: freedom 
 from care. Security may, therefore, be real or 
 fancied. [" He relied with the greatest security 
 upon his followers ; but, really, he was far from 
 being in a position of safety."] 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 77 
 
 Subdue, subjugate. 
 
 Subdue is to conquer so thoroughly that resistance 
 ceases. Subjugate is to conquer and then to impose 
 restraints, generally repeated and severe. Subju- 
 gate, moreover, is used chiefly in a literal sense, i. e., 
 with reference to nations; subdue is frequently used 
 in a figurative sense, i. e., with reference to the mind 
 or the moral nature. [" England subdued, but did 
 not subjugate Russia." "The Poles have been 
 subjugated ; but their spirits are yet unsubdued."] 
 
 Source, origin. 
 
 Source implies that the supply is continuous ; origin, 
 that it has ceased. ["This was the origin of the 
 friendship, which was a source of such joy."] 
 
 Tongue, language. 
 
 Tongue is generally an original form of speech; 
 language, a derived form. [" The Latin is one of 
 the tongues from which so many languages have 
 sprung."] Language may, of course, be used of inar- 
 ticulate speech [" The language of birds "], where 
 tongue would be incorrect. 
 
 Transitory, transient or fleeting. 
 
 Transitory is liable to pass away. Transient or 
 fleeting is actually passing away. Transitory is 
 abstract ; transient and fleeting are concrete, as well 
 as abstract. Fleeting is preferable to transient. 
 [" Earth's joys are transitory : in a moment they 
 may pass away." " Life is fleeting as a shadow : 
 the transient moments can never be recalled."] 
 
 Trivial, trifling. 
 
 Trivial generally has a tinge of contempt ; trifling 
 
78 WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OPPOSITES. 
 
 generally not. ["That is the most absurd and 
 trivial matter in the world." " The greater part of 
 our time ought to be occupied with serious matters ; 
 the rest may be occupied with amusements and 
 other rather trifling matters."] 
 
 Talkative, loquacious. 
 
 Talkative implies a desire to speak, accompanied 
 or not with readiness of speech. Loquacious implies 
 a desire to speak, accompanied with a readiness of 
 speech. ["The little child was very talkative." 
 " Unlike most loquacious men, he was very instruc- 
 tive in his long harangues."] 
 
 Voluntary, willing. 
 
 Voluntary is with seeming readiness or acquiescence ; 
 ivilling, with real readiness or acquiescence. [" He 
 went voluntarily: no compulsion was used; but still, 
 he looked as if he did not like to go." " He was 
 ready yes, more than ready willing, to die."] 
 
 Vulgar, immodest ; vulgarity, immodesty. 
 
 Only what is metaphorically low is vulgar. Vul- 
 garity, moreover, generally implies pretension to re- 
 finement along with lowness of disposition. ["That 
 was a most immodest act." " His general bearing 
 was very vulgar." "The old-fashioned English 
 squire coarse as he was was not vulgar, was not 
 given to cheap display and pretence."] 
 
 Whole, entire. 
 
 Whole: that from which nothing has been taken, 
 The whole and all the are usually interchangeable. 
 Entire: that which is undivided. ["The whole 
 town was burned : not a single house escaped." 
 
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED, SYNONYMS, OFPOSITES. 79 
 
 " That congregation, at any rate, was entire in its 
 vote: there were no divisions among its members."] 
 
 Wit> humor. 
 
 Wit is the effect of unexpected fitness or congruity. 
 Humor is the effect of unexpected unfitness or in- 
 congruity. Again, humor is not, as wit is, sudden 
 and shoit-lived; it extends very often through a 
 whole book or speech. [" Humor is all. Wit should 
 be brought only to turn agreeably some proper 
 thought" " He made a very witty pun, and wrote 
 more than one humorous chapter."] 
 
 World, earth, globe. 
 
 World is our planet viewed from the " moral or 
 abstract point of view." The world refers, therefore, 
 almost always to its inhabitants. Earth is our 
 planet with reference to its external or material 
 formation or aspect. Globe is our planet in a geo- 
 logical sense chiefly. Globe is often used in poetry 
 for world or earth. [" The bodies revolving round 
 the sun are the following : Mercury, Venus, Earth, 
 Mars," &c. " When we look abroad upon the world 
 and see its wickedness, we are lost in wonder at 
 man's depravity." " Who can say how many ages 
 have been required for the formation of the crust of 
 the globe !"] 
 
 Wholly^ totally [with expressions denoting deprivation 
 or loss]. 
 
 Wholly lays stress upon the condition of the person 
 deprived ; totally, upon the thing of which he has 
 been deprived. [" He is wholly blind." " His sight 
 is totally gone."] 
 
80 PREFER. 
 
 PKEFEft. 
 
 Prefer: 
 
 Approve to approve of. ["To shew thyself approved 
 
 unto God."] 
 
 Agriculturist to agriculturalist. 
 Aside to apart. [" He took me aside."] Apart 
 
 means to pieces, as, "He took the clock apart" 
 Alone to only, as much as possible. 
 Arise to rise, in a figurative or secondary sense. 
 
 [" Greece arose from her ashes."] 
 Advance to progress [as verb]. Progress is not 
 
 properly formed from the Latin root. 
 Acquaintanceship to acquaintance, as an abstract 
 
 noun. Reserve acquaintance for persons or 
 
 things one is acquainted with. 
 
 Begin to initiate. Initiate may very properly be 
 used in the sense of, to induct into a position 
 or introduce to a society. 
 
 Begin to commence. 
 
 Become to grow, denoting a change of condition. 
 [" He becomes rich and wise."] 
 
 Believe to think. [" I believe it is so."] 
 
 Body [dead], or corpse, to the remains, 
 
 Buy to purchase. 
 
 % 
 
 Coffin to casket. 
 
 Cannot but to can but. ["I cannot but tell what I 
 know."] There is an ellipsis in all such expres- 
 sions: "I cannot do anything but (Y. e. y except) 
 tell what " &c. 
 
PREFER. 81 
 
 Prefer: 
 
 Come into collision to collide. 
 
 Correct or in the right to right, when correctness, 
 
 and not uprightness, is meant E.g. : " I am 
 
 correct in my statistics." 
 
 Converser or conversationist to conversationalist. 
 Controverter, or controvcrsionist, to controversion- 
 
 alist. 
 
 Church to sanctuary. 
 Contend against, oppose, be at variance with, to 
 
 militate against. 
 Corpulent, heavy, fat, to fleshy [of persons]. 
 
 Deadly to lethal. 
 Dwell, or live, to reside. 
 
 Exponental to exponential. 
 
 Earthen, golden, &c, to earth, gold, &c. [as adjec- 
 tives]. E.g. : "An earthen jar." 
 Enlarge on [or, upon] to dilate on [or, upon]. 
 
 Foregoing to above, as an adjective. [" The fore- 
 going statement is correct."] 
 
 Factory to manufactory. 
 
 Forbid to prohibit. 
 
 Forward, backward, toward, &c., to forwards, back- 
 wards, towards, &c. 
 
 
 
 Graceful to elegant, when speaking of the body and 
 its movements. 
 
 Hebrew to Jew, when speaking of race. 
 House to residence. 
 
82 PREFER. 
 
 Prefer : 
 
 Incorrect, or in the wrong, to wrong, when incorrect- 
 ness, and not unrighteousness, is meant 
 
 Iced-water, iced-cream, &c., to ice-water, ice-cream, 
 
 &c, 
 Inform to advise [in letters &c.] Advise has a 
 
 double meaning ; inform has not. 
 
 Kinsman, kinswoman, to relative, relation. 
 
 Last two weeks, last six months, &c., to past two 
 
 weeks, past six months, &c. 
 Lenity, or lenience, to leniency. 
 Loose to unloose. 
 Land to real estate. 
 Leading article, or leader, to editorial. 
 Lengthwise, sidewise, &c., to lengthways, sideways, 
 
 &c. 
 
 The morrow to to-morrow [as noun]. E.g. : "The 
 
 morrow will suit me." 
 The months by name to ult, prox., inst. 
 
 Much to a great deal. 
 
 Muscular to stout. [Stout is somewhat ambiguous, 
 meaning both strong- and corpulent] 
 
 One to [or, with] another to among themselves. 
 
 E.g.: "They divided the money one with 
 
 another." 
 Oneself to one's self. 
 
PREFER. 83 
 
 Prefer : 
 
 Oversee to supervise. 
 
 Offensive to obnoxious. 
 
 Ordinal numbers to cardinal numbers in the head- 
 ing of letters. Write March s^th, or March 
 the 24-th, rather than March 24. 
 
 Rich to wealthy. 
 Railway to railroad. 
 
 Seeming to apparent. 
 Self-same to identical. 
 
 Say to remark, or observe. \To remark and to 
 
 observe mean to notice.] 
 Station to depot [or dp6t], 
 Sympathy to pity, when speaking of or to equals. 
 
 *r 
 
 Truthfulness to veracity. [ Veracity should be used 
 
 of persons only.] 
 Tangental to tangential. 
 Thus to so. [" He does it thus!"} 
 
 Unexpressed to understood. [ Understood has two 
 meanings.] 
 
 Violoncello to violincello. [The instrument is a 
 large, not a small, violin.] 
 
 Various, or diverse, to different. [Different should 
 be confined to the meaning of differing from.} 
 
 Vacant to empty, of buildings no longer inhabited. 
 
84 OBJECTIONABLE WORDS AND PHRASES. 
 
 Prefer : 
 
 Wast to wert, in the second person singular, past 
 indicative. \Wert is the subjunctive, but it is 
 not incorrect in the indicative.] 
 
 Would rather, or should rather, to had rather. [Had 
 rather is not incorrect, but would rather or 
 should rather is preferable. All these forms 
 ought to be used as little as possible. Choose 
 some other expression.] 
 
 With reference to to in reference to. [We never 
 say, out of reference to, but always, without 
 reference /#.] 
 
 In general, prefer short words and phrases to long 
 words and phrases, and words of Anglo-Saxon, 
 to those of non- Anglo-Saxon, origin. 
 
 OBJECTIONABLE WORDS AND PHRASES. 
 
 A day or two, a man or two, &c. [Say, two or three 
 days, a few days ; tzvo or three men, a few men ; &c. 
 There is lack of agreement in a day or tivo, a man 
 or two. A somewhat similar error occurs in, "With 
 this, as with many other matters." The expression 
 should be : " With this, as with many another mat- 
 ter."] 
 
 Authoress, poetess, &c. [Such words may be used if 
 the gender is to be pointed out. Otherwise, the 
 ordinary forms autlior> poet> &c. are sufficient] 
 
 Anyhow, anyway. 
 
OBJECTIONABLE WORDS AND PHRASES. 85 
 
 Accountable, unaccountable. 
 Answerable, unanswerable. 
 Antagonize. 
 
 Aborigene [in the singular]. 
 
 A bit [at all, a little; as : " I am a bit tired "], not a bit 
 [not at alt\ 
 
 Confirmed invalid. 
 
 Cablegram. [Use telegram or telegraphic message.] 
 
 Down East, down South. [Say : " I am going 
 
 South." "I live in the East." "He practised at 
 
 the South."] 
 
 Desirability and undesirability. 
 Direful. [This word is not properly formed, as dire is 
 
 not a noun.] 
 Defalcate and defalcation [in the sense of making 
 
 default]. Defalcate, correctly used, is to cut off or 
 
 lop off. 
 
 Desiderate [for desire}. 
 Deceased [for ike late, the dead one, &c.], except in legal 
 
 and other formal expressions. 
 
 Every once in a while. [Say, once in a while, sometimes, 
 
 frequently] 
 Electropathy, hydropathy, &c. [Pathein is, to suffer ; 
 
 not, to cure.] 
 Effectuate. 
 Enjoy oneself. [Say, " I enjoyed the concert ;" not, 
 
 " I enjoyed myself at the concert"] 
 Eventuate. 
 
86 OBJECTIONABLE WORDS AND PHRASES. 
 
 Environment [Use surroundings] 
 Emasculate. 
 
 Go ahead. 
 
 Help [in the sense of to avoid}. Say : " I cannot avoid 
 doing so ; " not, " I cannot help doing so." 
 
 Have got [for have]. Get is generally superfluous, and 
 should be used as little as possible. 
 
 Impute. [Use ascribe] 
 Ignore. 
 
 Lose oneself. [Say, " He was lost or became lostor 
 
 lost his way in the wood."] 
 Line of goods. 
 Lots [for much or many]. 
 
 Malaprop. [Use mal-^-propos ; unsuitable, unseasonable, 
 or the corresponding adverbs.] 
 
 More guilty, most guilty ; less guilty, least guilty. [One 
 is either guilty or not guilty, of a crime ; although 
 one may be guilty of a greater or a less crime. A 
 similar remark applies to guiltless and innocent. 
 These adjectives should properly be used of indivi- 
 dual acts only.] 
 
 Necessitate. 
 
 Opine. 
 
 Out West. [Say : " He goes West (or, to the West)." 
 
 " I live in the West (or, at the West)."] 
 Out of [for of, with names of materials]. Say : " The 
 
 box is made 0/"[not, out of] wood.' 1 
 
OBJECTIONABLE WORDS AND PHRASES. 87 
 
 Ponder over. [U 'se ponder alone.] 
 
 Practitioner. [This word is incorrectly formed.] 
 
 Presidential. [The adjective if formed at all ought 
 to be presidental. Presidential campaign is a very 
 inelegant and ill-constructed expression. 
 
 Proven \_hr proved]. Gotten may be used for got ; but 
 nonproven ion proved. 
 
 Particle [a little or somewhat], not a particle \_not at all]. 
 
 Rostrum [far platform, pulpit]. If any form of this word 
 
 is to be used, it should be the plural, rostra. 
 Rehabilitate [for reinstate]. 
 Recuperate [for recover]. 
 Right off. 
 Right away. 
 
 Reliable, unreliable. [Use trustworthy, untrustivorthy] 
 Repudiate. [Use condemn or disoiun] 
 
 Spread [in the sense of meal, feast, banquet]. 
 Suicide, as a verb. [Say, commit suicide.] 
 
 Scientist. [Use scientific man, savant, &c. If a noun 
 with this meaning is to be formed from science, it 
 ought to be sciencist, not scientist^ 
 
 Stump, in the sense of platform ; as : " lie took the 
 stump." 
 
 Seeming paradox, {k. paradox is a seeming contradic- 
 tion. Seeming paradox is, therefore, tautological.] 
 
 Tiresome. [Use wearisome or tedious. Tiresome is incor- 
 rectly formed, tire not being a noun.] 
 
88 OBJECTIONABLE WORDS AND PHRASES. 
 
 That much, that little, [for so much, so little, or as much 
 as that, as little as that]. 
 
 Up North. [Say : " I live at (or in) the North." " He 
 goes to the North/'] 
 
 Voice [as a verb]. Say : " He expressed or gave ex- 
 pression to the sentiments of his followers ;" not, 
 " He voiced," &c. 
 
 Yours, ours, mine, &c>, [for your, our, my, &c., letter]. 
 Say : " I have received your letter of yesterday ;" 
 not, " I have received yours of yesterday." 
 
 NOTES ON PUNCTUATION. 
 
 Use a comma before or when the expressions between 
 which it occurs, refer to the same person or thing. 
 Thus: "Jones or Smith was here" [no comma]; 
 but : " Saul, or Paul " [comma]. 
 
 Put a comma after a proposition forming the subject of 
 a verb. So : " That he did so, is not clear." 
 
 When an infinitive is the subject of a verb, and follows 
 the verb, a comma is generally inserted before the 
 infinitive. This is especially the case if the infini- 
 tive or the verb has other words depending upon 
 it. So write : " It ill becomes great and good men, 
 to smile at sin." 
 
 Use no commas after short and closely-connected adjec- 
 tives qualifying the same noun. Thus : " A good 
 old sound dry wine." 
 
NOTES ON PUNCTUATION. 89 
 
 Use a comma before a quotation closely dependent upon 
 such introductory words as say, tell^ cry. E. g. : 
 " The man said, I will return." [With such quota- 
 tions especially if short the quotation marks are 
 generally omitted.] Before a direct quotation, /. e., 
 one not closely dependent upon introductory words 
 (say, will, cry, &c.), insert the colon. [When the 
 quotation is poetry, a dash often follows the colon, 
 especially if a space is left at the end of the line.] 
 
 As a general rule, the subject of a verb must be ex- 
 pressed in every clause preceded by a semi-colon. 
 If, however, there are several clauses or phrases 
 marked off by semi-colons, to avoid repetition the 
 subjects may be omitted. [The subject of a verb 
 may, of course, be understood before a comma.] 
 
 A short and serviceable rule for the use of the comma in 
 relative clauses, and in participial, adjectival and 
 adverbial phrases, is, to insert it when the clauses 
 and phrases are coordinate, but not when they are 
 restrictive. E. g. : " The things which are seen are 
 temporal." " He was a man known in three con- 
 tinents." [No commas.] " The king, who was now 
 old, declared for war." " His brother, known far 
 and wide, was present." [Commas.] Where the 
 subject of the verb is a phrase greatly lengthened 
 by adjuncts, a comma will be required before the 
 verb. E.g. : " The fact of his having acted in so 
 strange a way, warranted his detention." 
 
 Use a semi-colon, and not a comma, in the following 
 cases : 
 
90 NOTES ON PUNCTUATION. 
 
 <' 
 
 (i). Before reasons. E.g.: "Economy is no dis- 
 grace ; for it " &c. * 
 
 (2). Between two opposing clauses, when an adver- 
 sative conjunction introduces the second clause. 
 E. g. : " Straws swim at the surface ; but pearls 
 sink to the bottom." 
 
 A colon, not a semi-colon, should be used when the clause 
 or phrase that follows the mark expresses a result 
 or effect, or when it is in the form of an analogy, or 
 is a parallel to what precedes. " He lived a virtuous 
 life : he died a happy death." " The flowers bloom 
 and wither : so is it with the life of man." The 
 use of the colon before a quotation or a list is an 
 application of this principle. As a general thing, 
 therefore, the voice should be kept up before colons, 
 and let fall before semi-colons. 
 
 A long compound or complex sentence, the various 
 parts of which are divided by colons or semi-colons, 
 may be separated into two or more parts by pe- 
 riods. The second part will begin with for, there- 
 fore, and, as, or some other introductory word. 
 [This dividing up of long sentences must be spar- 
 ingly practised.] 
 
 Use brackets, and not parentheses, when, in a quotation, 
 you wish to insert words improperly omitted by the 
 author, or when you wish to explain something, or 
 to correct an error in your own writing. [In the 
 last two cases parentheses may be employed, but 
 brackets are preferable.] So : " The man [Mr. Jones] 
 was very rich." [When brackets are thus used in 
 
NOTES ON PUNCTUATION. 91 
 
 a quotation, additional quotation marks are not re- 
 quired after the word preceding, and before the 
 word following, the brackets.] 
 
 When both brackets and parentheses are employed, the 
 brackets enclose the parentheses : [( )]. 
 
 Parentheses, brackets and dashes do not affect the ordin- 
 ary punctuation of the sentence ; i. e., the points 
 which would be required in the rest of the sentence 
 if the parentheses, brackets, or dashes, were omitted, 
 are still used. 
 
 A punctuation mark may be used before, but not after, a 
 dash. 
 
 Mark with an interrogation point a question expressed 
 in the form of an assertion : e.g. : " I suppose, Sir, 
 you are his physician ?" 
 
 The plurals of two, three, &c., are written without the 
 apostrophe : twos, threes, &c. [Written as figures, 
 these words will have the apostrophe : 2*s, 3*3, &c.] 
 
 A hyphen is used between two substantives expressing 
 a compound idea, when the second substantive has 
 lost or changed its accent. Thus : ship-builder, 
 iron-worker; but master builder, lord chancellor. The 
 omission of the hyphen may cause confusion when 
 the compound expression is qualified by an adjec- 
 tive or an adjectival phrase. E.g.: "A large mill 
 owner," may be taken to mean, the owner of a large 
 mill, instead of, an extensive owner of mills, some of 
 which may be small. If the former sense is in- 
 tended, say, " An owner of a large mill \pr, of large 
 mills]." If the latter, say. "An extensive [or. im~ 
 
92 NOTES ON PUNCTUATION. 
 
 portant] owner of mills ;" or else use a hyphen : " A 
 large mill-owner. 1 ' 
 
 A hyphen is used between an adjective and its noun 
 when the two, taken together, form a compound 
 adjective. E.g.: "High-church principles." [A 
 similar remark may be made of adjectives, one 
 qualifying the other, as : a red-hot poker; also of 
 an adjective (or an adverb) qualifying a participle 
 used as an adjective, when the compound expres- 
 sion precedes the noun, as : a slow-sailing vessel. 
 When it follows the noun, the hyphen is not re- 
 quired ; as in : " A vessel slow (or, slowly) sailing 
 o'er the sea." In the latter case, the participle can- 
 not be said to be used as an adjective.] 
 
 In writing, it is better to divide syllables according to 
 sound than according to derivation. E.g. : Epiph- 
 any, pref-ace. 
 
 When a quotation contains several paragraphs, inverted 
 commas should be used at the beginning of each 
 paragraph, but the apostrophes should be omitted 
 after all the paragraphs except the last one. The 
 same rule will apply to several stanzas of poetry in 
 one quotation. When the poetical quotation con- 
 sists of verses not separated into stanzas, some 
 writers use inverted commas before each line. This 
 is unnecessary : inverted commas before the first 
 line, and apostrophes after the last, being sufficient. 
 
 Do not write the plural of proper names with an apos 
 trophe. Write : " I have seen the Smiths " [not, 
 Smith's}. " I know the three Marys " [not, Mary's\ 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAOB. 
 
 Apparent 
 
 Anticipate 
 
 All of them 
 
 Analyse 
 
 Ale 
 
 Accord 
 
 Accident 
 
 Aggravate 2 
 
 Alternation 2 
 
 Alternative 2 
 
 Antiquarian 2 
 
 Abortive 2 
 
 Adopted 2 
 
 Antecedents 2 
 
 Appreciate 2 
 
 At auction 3 
 
 Accompanied by 3 
 
 Anniversary 3 
 
 Affable 3 
 
 Alike 3 
 
 Afraid.. 3 
 
 Admit 3 
 
 Allude 3 
 
 Around 3 
 
 Avoided 4 
 
 All over . 4 
 
 Above 4 
 
 At best, at most, at least 4 
 
 Auxiliary verbs alone . 7 
 
 Advisable 8 
 
 Anxiety of mind 10 
 
 Ascend up *3 
 
 Among the others, the rest .... 22 
 
 Apposition 34 
 
 Any 34 
 
 Auxiliary verb omitted 34 
 
 Adverb with compound auxili- 
 ary verb 34 
 
 Although, with the subjunctive 
 
 mood 36 
 
 As follows 37 
 
 Awkward constructions. ... 38, 48 
 
 Adjective for adverb 39 
 
 Article with appositive nouns . . 40 
 
 PAG*. 
 
 Article with titles, names .... 40 
 Article (definite), repetition of 
 
 40, 41 
 
 Article {indefinite) after no 
 greater 42 
 
 Adjectives and adverbs after in- 
 transitive verbs 46 
 
 Antecedent to relative pronoun, 
 
 repeated 5 2 
 
 Advantage 55 
 
 Also 55 
 
 Ability 56 
 
 Answer 56 
 
 Amid, amidst 56 
 
 Among 56 
 
 Abandon 56 
 
 Assist . 56 
 
 Aid 56 
 
 Anger 57 
 
 Accurate 57 
 
 Authentic .... 57 
 
 Admittance 57 
 
 Admission 57 
 
 Allow 57 
 
 Appear 58 
 
 Aware 59 
 
 Accidental ... 60 
 
 Acknowledge..,. 61 
 
 Address 63 
 
 And so forth 64 
 
 Almost 70 
 
 Announce 7 2 
 
 Alleviate 74 
 
 Abjure 74 
 
 Approve 80 
 
 Agriculturist 80 
 
 Aside 80 
 
 Alone 80 
 
 Arise 80 
 
 Advance 80 
 
 Acquaintanceship 80 
 
 A day or two, a man or two . . 84 
 
 Authoress 84 
 
 Anyhow .................... 84 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Anyway 84 
 
 Accountable ....*.. 85 
 
 Answerable 85 
 
 Antagonize 85 
 
 Aborigene 85 
 
 Both of them I 
 
 Both 4 
 
 Balance 4 
 
 Benefited 4 
 
 Beat 4 
 
 Bound 4 
 
 By 5 
 
 By the bye 5 
 
 By-law 5 
 
 Banister 5 
 
 Bad cold, bad wound 5 
 
 Badly 5 
 
 Beg 5 
 
 Between 5 
 
 Bad orthography, orthoepy, cali- 
 
 graphy . ., 15 
 
 Bona fide .. 28 
 
 Been to 29 
 
 Brevity 50 
 
 Benefit 55 
 
 Bountiful 58 
 
 Bravery 58 
 
 Beneficent, beneficence 58 
 
 Benevolent, benevolence 58 
 
 Brevity, brief 59 
 
 Blameless 65 
 
 But 65 
 
 Begin 80 
 
 Become 80 
 
 Believe 80 
 
 Body 80 
 
 Buy 80 
 
 Backward 81 
 
 Bit, a ; not a bit 85 
 
 Brackets, use of 90, 91 
 
 Collect 6 
 
 Commence 6 
 
 Condone 6 
 
 Climax 6 
 
 Constantly 6 
 
 Celebrity 6 
 
 Consequence 6 
 
 Capricious 6 
 
 Claim 6 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Call upon 6 
 
 Catch 6 
 
 Consider.... 7 
 
 Curious 7 
 
 Caption 7 
 
 Citizen 7 
 
 Circumstance 7 
 
 Couple ^ 7 
 
 Calibre ... .* 7 
 
 Contention 7 
 
 Contradistinction 8 
 
 Can help 14 
 
 Caligraphy 15 
 
 Came near 20 
 
 Collective nouns 3^ 
 
 Conditional clause, place of. ... 48 
 
 Connective sentence 54 
 
 Capacity. 56 
 
 Courage 58 
 
 Concise, conciseness 59 
 
 Continuous 59, 72 
 
 Continual 59, 72 
 
 Character 59 
 
 Conscious 59 
 
 Crime 59 
 
 Courteous 60 
 
 Catalogue 60 
 
 Casual 60 
 
 Compel, compulsion 60 
 
 Coerce, coercion 60 
 
 Confess 61 
 
 Conjecture 61 
 
 Con-, co- . f 6 1 
 
 Complete 61 
 
 Custom 6 1 
 
 Cost, costly 64 
 
 Consequence 64 
 
 Concealed T , t>6 
 
 Cheap 68 
 
 Completely 70 
 
 Converse 73 
 
 Contented 75 
 
 Coffin 80 
 
 Cannot but 80 
 
 Come into collision 8 1 
 
 Correct 81 
 
 Converser, conversationist .... 81 
 
 Controverter, controversionist . . 81 
 
 Church 8l 
 
 Contend against 8 1 
 
 Corpulent 81 
 
INDEX. 
 
 95 
 
 PAOR. 
 
 Confirmed invalid ........... 85 
 
 Cablegram 85 
 
 Comma, use of 88, 89 
 
 Colon, use of 90 
 
 Cardinal numbers, plurals of .. 91 
 
 Dilemma 7 
 
 Distinction 8 
 
 Desirable 8 
 
 Demean 8 
 
 Description 8 
 
 Detect 8 
 
 Dangerous 8 
 
 Deprecate 8 
 
 Denuded 8 
 
 Die with 8 
 
 Directly 9 
 
 Donate 9 
 
 Dirt road 9 
 
 Divine.... 9 
 
 Depreciate 9 
 
 Differ with 9 
 
 Distance 9 
 
 Differentiate 9 
 
 Disdain 27 
 
 Dare 36 
 
 Do 37 
 
 Double meanings, words with . . 47 
 
 Doubtful parts of speech 47 
 
 Different expressions for same 
 
 thing 53, 54 
 
 Descriptive writing 54 
 
 Desert., 5 6 
 
 Discriminate 62 
 
 Distinguish 62 
 
 Despotism 62 
 
 Determine 62 
 
 Directed 62 
 
 Deduction 62 
 
 Direct 63 
 
 Drive 63 
 
 Diligent, diligence 67 
 
 Delusion 67 
 
 Dumb 7 
 
 Due 7i 
 
 Deadly 81 
 
 Dwell.... 8l 
 
 Diverse 83 
 
 Down East, down South 85 
 
 Desirability 85 
 
 Direful 85 
 
 PAGR. 
 
 Defalcate, defalcation 85 
 
 Desiderate 85 
 
 Deceased 85 
 
 Dash, use of 91 
 
 Essay 6 
 
 Expect 9 
 
 Ever so many 10 
 
 Equally as well as 10 
 
 Equanimity of mind 10 
 
 Every j O 
 
 Executed 10 
 
 Enact 10 
 
 Endorse 10 
 
 Embrace 10 
 
 Empty 10 
 
 Experiment, try an 1 1 
 
 Every hand 1 1 
 
 Either.. n 
 
 Else ii 
 
 Exemplary 1 1 
 
 Experience 1 1 
 
 Excessively 1 1 
 
 Effluviums, efflu viae 1 1 
 
 Each 23 
 
 Every 23 
 
 Emphatic words, place of .... 49 
 
 Emphasis 49 
 
 Exact 57 
 
 Evidence . . 63 
 
 Epidemic 63 
 
 Endemic 63 
 
 Expense, expensive 64 
 
 Effect 64 
 
 Eternal 64 
 
 Everlasting 64 
 
 Ktc 64 
 
 Error 70 
 
 Entirely 70 
 
 Enough 76 
 
 Entire 78 
 
 Earth 79 
 
 Exponental 8 1 
 
 Earthen 81 
 
 Enlarge on, upon 8l 
 
 Every once iii a while ....... 85 
 
 Electropathy 85 
 
 Effectuate 85 
 
 Enjoy oneself 85 
 
 Eventuate , 85 
 
 Environment 86 
 
96 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Emasculate. 
 
 PAGK. 
 ,. 86 
 
 Few, a few. II 
 
 Fault, at ; in 12 
 
 Faithfully promise 12 
 
 Future 12 
 
 Fetch 12 
 
 Forbid 12, 81 
 
 Ful [adjectives ending in] .... 12 
 
 Female 13 
 
 Fall down 13 
 
 Fix 13 
 
 Fly. 13 
 
 Foreign adjectives 13 
 
 First person preferred to third. . 47 
 
 Force in construction . . 48, 49, 50 
 
 Figures of speech 53 
 
 Forsake 56 
 
 Fortuitous 60 
 
 Finished 6 1 
 
 Ferment 64 
 
 Foment 64 
 
 Faultless 65 
 
 Falsehood 65 
 
 Falsity 65 
 
 Further 65 
 
 Farther 65 
 
 Fleeting 77 
 
 Foregoing 81 
 
 Factory 81 
 
 Forward 8l 
 
 Good bye 5 
 
 Graphic 13 
 
 Going to 13 
 
 Grow 13 
 
 Grow small 13 
 
 Get to 13 
 
 Gubernatorial 13 
 
 Gratuitous 13 
 
 Gerundial infinitive 32 
 
 Gerundial noun 42 
 
 Genuine 57 
 
 Guided 62 
 
 Goodness 65 
 
 Globe 79 
 
 Golden 81 
 
 Graceful 81 
 
 Goahead 86 
 
 Got 86 
 
 FAOR. 
 Humanitarian ...,.,.. 14 
 
 I lardly 14 
 
 Help-meet 14 
 
 High calibre 14 
 
 Have 14 
 
 Higher stage of perfection .... 15 
 Highest 17 
 
 I 1 ereabouts 28 
 
 Habit 61 
 
 However 65 
 
 Hidden 66 
 
 Haste 66 
 
 Hurry 66 
 
 Hindrance 66 
 
 Hardly 70 
 
 Humor 79 
 
 Heavy 81 
 
 Hebrew 81 
 
 House 81 
 
 Hydropathy 85 
 
 Help 14, 86 
 
 Hyphen, use of 91, 92 
 
 '5, 
 
 Invest 
 
 Idea ...................... 
 
 Incorrect orthography, orthoepy, 
 caligraphy ................ 
 
 Individual .... .............. 
 
 Infallible .................. 
 
 Inaugurate .................. 
 
 Implicit .................... 
 
 Item ...................... 
 
 In six months, a year ........ 
 
 Illy ....... ................ 
 
 Identified with .......... .... 
 
 Interested in ................ 
 
 In so far as ................. 
 
 Infinitive mood used absolutely. 
 If, with the subjunctive mood.. 
 I, your brother, who begs .... 
 
 Infinitive with to ........... 
 
 It, antecedent of ............ 
 
 It, prospective use of ........ 
 
 Imperative mood ............ 
 
 Infinitive expressing a purpose . 
 Introductory expressions ...... 
 
 Induction .................. 
 
 In spite of .................. 
 
 Impediment ................ 
 
 Informed ................. 
 
 16 
 '5 
 '5 
 
 15 
 15 
 15 
 16 
 16 
 16 
 16 
 16 
 16 
 17 
 17 
 
 47 
 So 
 5' 
 
 If 
 II 
 
 66 
 
INDEX. 
 
 97 
 
 PACE 
 
 Instructed 66 
 
 Indecent 67 
 
 Immodest 67 
 
 Instant 67 
 
 Industrious, industry 67 
 
 Import 67 
 
 Illusion 67 
 
 In- [prefix] 68 
 
 Inexorable 68 
 
 Inflexible 68 
 
 Idle 69 
 
 Intent, intention 72 
 
 Indigence 72 
 
 Immodest, immodesty 78 
 
 Incorrect 82 
 
 Iced-water, iced-cream 82 
 
 Inform 82 
 
 Ignore 86 
 
 Impute 86 
 
 Interrogation mark, use of .... 91 
 
 Just going to 13 
 ournal 17 
 
 Jewelry 17 
 
 Join issue 66 
 
 Jar 63 
 
 Jug 68 
 
 Knight Templar 17 
 
 Kinsman, kinswoman 82 
 
 Lowest 17 
 
 Left it alone 17 
 
 Lit 17 
 
 Leave 18 
 
 Lay 18 
 
 Limited 1$ 
 
 Loan 1 8 
 
 Loud 18 
 
 Length, at 18 
 
 Like 38 
 
 Lesser 46 
 
 Likewise 55 
 
 List 60 
 
 Low-priced 68 
 
 Lazy 69 
 
 Laudable 69 
 
 Lost 69 
 
 Latest 69 
 
 Leave 69 
 
 Language 77 
 
 PAG*. 
 
 Loquacious . 78 
 
 Live 81 
 
 Last two weeks, last six iDonths 82 
 
 Lenity 82 
 
 Loose 82 
 
 Land 82 
 
 Leading article, leader 82 
 
 Lengthwise . . . . 82 
 
 Lose oneself 86 
 
 Line of goods . . . 86 
 
 Lots 86 
 
 Less guilty, least guilty 86 
 
 Myself 18 
 
 Masses , 19 
 
 More of 19 
 
 Mistaken 19 
 
 Miasma 19 
 
 Make . 19 
 
 Multitude, nouns of 35 
 
 Mathematics 35 
 
 Metaphysics 35 
 
 Minimizing expressions 49 
 
 Monotonous final emphasis .... 50 
 
 Metaphors 50 
 
 M istake of subject 53 
 
 Moment 67 
 
 Meaning 67 
 
 Malice 69 
 
 Marital 70 
 
 Matrimonial 70 
 
 Mistake 70 
 
 Mute 70 
 
 Merely 70 
 
 Meed 73 
 
 Mitigate 74 
 
 Morrow, the 82 
 
 Months, the 02 
 
 Much 82 
 
 Muscular 82 
 
 Malaprop 86 
 
 More guilty, most guilly 86 
 
 Neither n 
 
 No good, no use 14 
 
 Novitiate 19 
 
 Name i<) 
 
 No one 19 
 
 No or , 19 
 
 Not as 20 
 
 No- -no are 20 
 
98 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAOB. 
 
 Nasty 20 
 
 Never remember 20 
 
 Next Sunday 20 
 
 Never 20 
 
 Not think 20 
 
 Nothing like so 20 
 
 Near 20 
 
 New beginners 21 
 
 Nobody's else 33 
 
 Not or 33, 34 
 
 None 34 
 
 Need 36 
 
 Not only but also 38 
 
 New construction 54 
 
 Notwithstanding 65 
 
 Nevertheless 65 
 
 Nearly 70 
 
 Neglectful 71 
 
 Negligent 71 
 
 Necessitate 86 
 
 One of the greatest, if not the 
 
 greatest 14 
 
 Orthography 15 
 
 Orthoepy 15 
 
 On the street 21 
 
 Old news 21 
 
 One, one's, ones 21, 22 
 
 Over and above 21 
 
 Over his signature 21 
 
 Observe 21 
 
 Ovation 21 
 
 Oiherthan 21 
 
 Old veterans 21 
 
 Omission of present participle. . 50 
 One and only one subject of 
 
 thought 54 
 
 Object place of 49 
 
 Obstacle 66 
 
 Owing 71 
 
 On 71 
 
 Obstinate 76 
 
 Origin 77 
 
 Oppose 81 
 
 One to another 82 
 
 Oneself 83 
 
 Oversee 83 
 
 Offensive 83 
 
 Ordinal numbers 83 
 
 Opine 86 
 
 Out West 86 
 
 Out of. 
 
 PAOH. 
 
 .. 86 
 
 Paralyse , i 
 
 Proposition 22 
 
 Pocket-hand-kerchief 22 
 
 Pretend 22 
 
 Preposterous 22 
 
 Previous 22 
 
 Partially 22 
 
 People 23 
 
 Plural forms . 23 
 
 Privilege 23 
 
 Present participle 23, 50 
 
 Plastic 23 
 
 Pell-mell 24 
 
 Providing 24 
 
 Presume 24 
 
 Period 24 
 
 Persuaded , . . 24 
 
 Partake 24 
 
 Per 24 
 
 Past tense 24 
 
 Point of view 27 
 
 Prefer to walk to ride 29 
 
 Position of adverbs, prepositions, 
 
 conjunctions 32 
 
 Position of of, both, even 33 
 
 Possessive case 34 
 
 Physics 35 
 
 Participle used absolutely .... 36 
 Preposition, sentence ending 
 
 with 47, 50 
 
 Particular terms for general .... 48 
 
 Participial phrase, place of .... 48 
 
 Pronouns at end of proposition. 50 
 
 Participial constructions 51 
 
 Pronouns, agreement of, in meta- 
 phorical language 53 
 
 Permit 57 
 
 Plentiful 58 
 
 Polite 60 
 
 Polished 60 
 
 Pitcher 68 
 
 Praiseworthy 69 
 
 Perspicacity, perspicacious .... 71 
 
 Perspicuous, perspicuity 71 
 
 Perpetually, perpetual 72 
 
 Proclaim 72 
 
 Purpose 72 
 
 Poverty 72 
 
 Pauperism , 72 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGS. 
 
 Piety , 74 
 
 Powerful 7 
 
 Poetess 84 
 
 Ponder over 87 
 
 Practitioner 87 
 
 Presidential 87 
 
 Proven 87 
 
 Particle, a ; not a particle .... 87 
 
 Period, use of 90 
 
 Parentheses, use of 91 
 
 Proper names, plurals of 92 
 
 Quite 24 
 
 Quarter to ten 28 
 
 Question, for emphasis 50 
 
 Quit 69 
 
 Quotation marks, use of 92 
 
 Refer 3 
 
 Riseup 13 
 
 Reflexive pronouns 1 8 
 
 Replace 25 
 
 Right 25 
 
 Rarely 25 
 
 Recommend 25 
 
 Rendition 2$ 
 
 Reverend 25 
 
 Road takes 25 
 
 Remit 25 
 
 Repetition of subject 39, 50 
 
 Relative pronoun, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52 
 
 Repetition of preposition 51 
 
 Repetition of sign of the infini- 
 tive $1 
 
 Repetition of subordinate con- 
 junctions 5 l 
 
 Relative clause 52 
 
 Repetition of meaning 54 
 
 Reply . . 56 
 
 Reputation 59 
 
 Resolve 62 
 
 Ride 63 
 
 Result 64 
 
 Reticence, reticent 73 
 
 Reserve, reserved 73 
 
 Reverse 73 
 
 Recompense 73 
 
 Reward 73 
 
 Robbery 74 
 
 Remember 74 
 
 Recollect 74 
 
 PAOR. 
 
 Religion 74 
 
 Relieve 74 
 
 Recant 74 
 
 Kcnd 74 
 
 Rich 83 
 
 Railway 83 
 
 Rostrum 87 
 
 Rehabilitate 87 
 
 Recuperate 87 
 
 Right o(T 87 
 
 Right away 87 
 
 Reliable 87 
 
 Repudiate 87 
 
 Sugar i 
 
 Sink down 13 
 
 Subsequent 22 
 
 Scarce 25 
 
 Species 25 
 
 Shall have the pleasure 25 
 
 Seldom or ever 26 
 
 Spare 26 
 
 Sensation 26 
 
 Since 26 
 
 So much so 26 
 
 Summons 26 
 
 Such another 26 
 
 Superior 26 
 
 Supposititious ..... 26 
 
 Settle 26 
 
 Such 26 
 
 Storms 26 
 
 Splendid 27 
 
 Summer's morning 27 
 
 Strata 27 
 
 Stand-point 27 
 
 Sincere 27 
 
 Scorn 27 
 
 Small 28 
 
 Statu quo 28 
 
 Statics. 35 
 
 Subjunctive mood 30, 36 
 
 Some 37 
 
 Subject pronoun repeated .... 39 
 
 Shall and will 42, 43 
 
 Sentence, end of 47 
 
 Suspense 48 
 
 Subject, place of 49 
 
 Short, "chippy " endings ... 50 
 
 Synonyms 54 
 
 Seem 58 
 
100 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Sin .... 
 
 Surmise 
 Still. 
 
 *? 
 
 Secret ...................... 66 
 
 Sense ....... .............. 67 
 
 Slothful .* .................. 69 
 
 Spite ...................... 69 
 
 Simply ............... ..... 70 
 
 Scarcely .................... 70 
 
 Sewerage .................. 75 
 
 Sewage ............. . ...... 75 
 
 Spontaneous ................ 75 
 
 Sociable .................... 75 
 
 Social ...................... 75 
 
 Satisfied .................... 75 
 
 Sufficient .................. 76 
 
 Strong ...................... 76 
 
 Stubborn .................. 76 
 
 Safety ...................... 76 
 
 Security .................... 76 
 
 Subdue .................... 77 
 
 Subjugate .................. 77 
 
 Source ...................... 77 
 
 Sidewise ............. '. ...... 82 
 
 Seeming ..................... 83 
 
 Self-same .................. 83 
 
 Say ......................... 83 
 
 Station .................... 83 
 
 Sympathy .... .............. 83 
 
 Should rather .............. 84 
 
 Short words and phrases ...... 84 
 
 Spread ..... . .............. 87 
 
 Suicide .................... 87 
 
 Scientist .................... 87 
 
 Stump ..................... 87 
 
 Seeming paradox ............ 87 
 
 Semi-colon, use of .......... 89 
 
 Syllabication ............. ... 92 
 
 Tea ...................... I, 29 
 
 Than ...................... 4 
 
 Take some meat, dinner ...... 28 
 
 Taxes ...................... 28 
 
 Though .................... 28 
 
 Thereabouts ................ 28 
 
 That far, much, many ........ 28 
 
 The more ................. 29 
 
 This seven years ............ 35 
 
 That [relative] ....... 44, 45, 46 
 
 Than whom ............... 44 
 
 This sort, kind, way, manner . . 47 
 
 There is, arc, will be 48 
 
 Twice, making statement 54 
 
 Technical terms. 55 
 
 Tyranny 62 
 
 Testimony 63 
 
 Taught 66 
 
 Take issue 66 
 
 Theft 74 
 
 Tear 74 
 
 Tongue 77 
 
 Transient 77 
 
 Transitory 77 
 
 Trivial 77 
 
 Trifling 77 
 
 Talkative 78 
 
 Totally 79 
 
 Toward . . 81 
 
 Truthfulness 83 
 
 Tangental ... 83 
 
 Thus 83 
 
 Tiresome 87 
 
 That much, that little 88 
 
 Unanimity of mind 10 
 
 Underhanded 29 
 
 Utter 29 
 
 Ultimate 29 
 
 Unemphatic word at end of pro- 
 position 49 
 
 Usage 61 
 
 Un- [prefix] 68 
 
 Upon 71 
 
 Unexpressed 83 
 
 Unaccountable 85 
 
 Unanswerable 85 
 
 Undesirability 85 
 
 Unreliable . . , 87 
 
 UpNorth 88 
 
 Valuable 29 
 
 Very 30 
 
 Vicinity 30 
 
 Verb, number of 41 
 
 Verbal clauses 53 
 
 Valor 58 
 
 Vice . 59 
 
 Virtue 65 
 
 Voluntary 75, 78 
 
 Vulgar, vulgarity 78 
 
 Variance, at 8 1 
 
 Violoncello 83 
 
1NDE3. 
 
 101 
 
 PAG*. 
 
 Various 83 
 
 Vacant 83 
 
 Voice 88 
 
 Whether II, 30 
 
 Wrong orthography, orthoepy, 
 
 caligraphy 15 
 
 Winter's morning 27 
 
 Whereabouts 28 
 
 Whomsoever 3 
 
 Where to 3 1 
 
 Witness 31 
 
 What for 31 
 
 Widow woman 3 1 
 
 We ..' 31 
 
 Whether or no . . * 3 1 
 
 Whole ot 3' 
 
 Winsome 3 2 
 
 Worse 3 2 
 
 Want S 2 
 
 PACK. 
 
 Whether or 39 
 
 Will and shall 42, 43 
 
 Who, which, that .... 44, 45, 46 
 
 Word for phrase 50 
 
 Wrath 57 
 
 Willing 78 
 
 Whole 78 
 
 Wit 79 
 
 World 79 
 
 Wholly 79 
 
 Wast 84 
 
 Would rather 84 
 
 With reference to 84 
 
 Yesterday's Times 32 
 
 Yours &c 32, 88 
 
 You 38 
 
 Yet 65 
 
 Zeugma 
 
 53 
 
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 our bodies with air and water and cause a large number of the diseases to whi< h 
 the flash is heir. Many physicians do not accept the microbian theory, consider- 
 ing that when microbes are found in the blood they are neither the cause of the 
 disease, nor the contagious element, nor the vehicle of contagion. In France the 
 opponents of the micronian theory are Robin, Bechamp, and Jousset de Bellesme ; 
 in England, Lewis and Lionel Beale. The writer comes to the conclusion that 
 Pasteur's microMan theory is the only one that explains all facts/' A'ew 1'ork 
 Times. 
 
 EARTHQUAKES AND OTHER EARTH MOVEMENTS. 
 
 By JOHN MILNE, Professor of Mining and Geology in the Imperial 
 College of Engineering, Tokio, Japan. With 38 Illustrations. 12mo. 
 Cloth, $1.75. 
 
 "In this little book Professor Milne hae endeavored to bring together all that 
 is known concerning the nature and causes of earthquake movements. His task 
 was one of much difficulty. Professor Milne's excellent work in the science of 
 seismology has been done in Japan, in a rejrion of incessant shocks of sufficient 
 energy to make observation possible, yet, with rare exceptions, of no disastrous 
 effects. He hae had the good fortune to be aided by Mr. Thomas Gray, a gentle- 
 man of great constructive skill, as well as by Professors J. A. Ewing, W. 8. Chap- 
 lin, and his other colleagues in the scientific colony which has gathered about the 
 Imperial University of Japan. To these eentlemeu we owe the best of our sci- 
 ence of seismology, for before their achievements we had nothing of value con- 
 cerning the physical conditions of earthquakes except the great works of Robert 
 Mallet; and Mallet, with all his genius and devotion to the subject, had but few 
 chances to observe the actual shocks, and so failed to understand many of their 
 important features." The Nation. 
 
 New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 1, 3, & 6 Bond Street. 
 
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