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diff --git a/old/30294-0.txt b/old/30294-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..69d830b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/30294-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12017 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Century Handbook of Writing, by Garland Greever and Easley S. Jones + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: The Century Handbook of Writing + +Author: Garland Greever + Easley S. Jones + +Release Date: October 20, 2009 [eBook #30294] +[Most recently updated: April 20, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes, Karina Aleksandrova, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING *** + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: + + 1. Italic text is rendered with underscores _like this_, and bold with +equal signs =like this=. + + 2. Misprints and punctuation errors were corrected. A list of +corrections can be found at the end of the text.] + + + + + THE + CENTURY HANDBOOK OF + WRITING + + BY + GARLAND GREEVER + _AND_ + EASLEY S. JONES + + NEW YORK + THE CENTURY CO. + 1927 + + + Copyright, 1918, by + THE CENTURY CO. + + PRINTED IN U.S.A. + + + + +PREFACE + + +This handbook treats essential matters of grammar, diction, spelling, +mechanics; and develops with thoroughness the principles of sentence +structure. Larger units of composition it leaves to the texts in formal +rhetoric. + +The book is built on a decimal plan, the material being simplified and +reduced to one hundred articles. Headings of these articles are +summarized on two opposite pages by a chart. Here the student can see at +a glance the resources of the volume, and the instructor can find +immediately the number he wishes to write in the margin of a theme. The +chart and the decimal scheme together make the rules accessible for +instant reference. + +By a device equally efficient, the book throws upon the student the +responsibility of teaching himself. Each article begins with a concise +rule, which is illustrated by examples; then follows a short "parallel +exercise" which the instructor may assign by adding an _x_ to the number +he writes in the margin of a theme. While correcting this exercise, the +student will give attention to the rule, and will acquire theory and +practice at the same time. Moreover, every group of ten articles is +followed by mixed exercises; these may be used for review, or imposed in +the margin of a theme as a penalty for flagrant or repeated error. Thus +friendly counsel is backed by discipline, and the instructor has the +means of compelling the student to make rapid progress toward good +English. + +Although a handbook of this nature is in some ways arbitrary, the +arbitrariness is always in the interest of simplicity. The book does +have simplicity, permits instant reference, and provides an adequate +drill which may be assigned at the stroke of a pen. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + SENTENCE STRUCTURE + + COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + + 1. Fragments wrongly used as sentences + 2. Incomplete constructions + 3. Necessary words omitted + 4. Comparisons not logically completed + 5. Cause and reason + 6. _Is when_ and _is where_ clauses + 7. Undeveloped thought + 8. Transitions + 9. EXERCISE + A. Incomplete sentences + B. Incomplete constructions + C. Incomplete logic + D. Undeveloped thought and transitions + + + UNITY OF THOUGHT + + 10. Unrelated ideas in one sentence + 11. Excessive detail + 12. Stringy sentences to be broken up + 13. Choppy sentences to be combined + 14. Excessive coördination + 15. Faulty subordination of the main thought + 16. Subordination thwarted by _and_ + 17. The _and which_ construction + 18. The comma splice + 19. EXERCISE + A. The comma splice + B. One thought in a sentence + C. Excessive coördination + D. Upside-down subordination + + + CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + + REFERENCE + 20. Divided reference + 21. Weak reference + 22. Broad reference + 23. Dangling participle or gerund + + COHERENCE + 24. General incoherence + 25. Logical sequence + 26. Squinting modifier + 27. Misplaced word + 28. Split construction + 29. EXERCISE + A. Reference of pronouns + B. Dangling modifiers + C. Coherence + + PARALLEL STRUCTURE + 30. Parallel structure for parallel thoughts + 31. Correlatives + + CONSISTENCY + 32. Shift in subject or voice + 33. Shift in number, person, or tense + 34. Mixed constructions + 35. Mixed imagery + + USE OF CONNECTIVES + 36. The exact connective + 37. Repetition of connective with gain in clearness + 38. Repetition of connective with loss in clearness + 39. EXERCISE + A. Parallel structure + B. Shift in subject or voice + C. Shift in number, person, or tense + D. The exact connective + E. Repetition of connectives + + + + EMPHASIS + + 40. Emphasis by position + 41. Emphasis by separation + 42. Emphasis by subordination + 43. The periodic sentence + 44. Order of climax + 45. The balanced sentence + 46. Weak effect of the passive voice + 47. Repetition effective: a Words; b Structure + 48. Repetition offensive: a Words; b Structure + 49. EXERCISE + A. Lack of emphasis in general + B. Loose structure + C. Repetition + + + + GRAMMAR + + 50. Case: a Nominative, especially after _than_ or _as_; + b Nominative _who_ and _whoever_; c Predicate nominative; + d Objective; e Objective with infinitive; f Possessive; + g Possessive with gerund; h Possession by inanimate + objects; i Agreement of pronouns + 51. Number: a _Each_, _every one_, etc.; b _Those kind_, etc.; + c Collective nouns; d _Don't_ + 52. Agreement--not to be thwarted by: a Intervening nouns; + b _Together with_ phrases; c _Or_ or _nor_ after subject; + d _And_ in the subject; e A predicate noun; + f An introductory _there_ + 53. _Shall_ and _will_ + 54. Principal parts. List + 55. Tense, mode, auxiliaries: a Tense in dependent clauses + or infinitives; b The past perfect; c Present tense for a + general statement; d Mode; e Auxiliaries + 56. Adjective and adverb: a Adjective misused for adverb; + b Ambiguous cases; c After verbs pertaining to the + senses + 57. A word in a double capacity + 58. List of the terms of grammar + 59. EXERCISE + A. Case of pronouns + B. Agreement + C. _Shall_ and _will_ + D. _Lie, lay; sit, set; rise, raise_ + E. Principal parts of verbs + F. General + + + + DICTION + + 60. Wordiness + 61. Triteness + 62. The exact word + 63. Concreteness + 64. Sound + 65. Subtle violations of good use: a Faulty idiom; b Colloquialism + 66. Gross violations of good use: a Barbarisms; b Improprieties; + c Slang + 67. Words often confused in meaning. List + 68. Glossary of faulty diction + 69. EXERCISE + A. Wordiness + B. The exact word + C. Words sometimes confused in meaning + D. Colloquialisms, slang, faulty idioms + + + + SPELLING + + 70. Recording errors + 71. Pronouncing accurately + 72. Logical kinship in words + 73. Superficial resemblances. List + 74. Words in _ei_ and _ie_ + 75. Doubling a final consonant + 76. Dropping final _e_ + 77. Plurals: a Plurals in _s_ or _es_; b Nouns ending in _y_; + c Compound nouns; d Letters, figures, and signs; + e Old plurals; f Foreign plurals + 78. Compounds: a Compound adjectives; b Compound nouns; + c Numbers; d Words written solid; e General principle + 79. SPELLING LIST (500 words, 200 in bold-face type) + + + + MISCELLANEOUS + + 80. Manuscript: a Titles; b Spacing; c Handwriting + 81. Capitals: a To begin a sentence or a quotation; b Proper + names; c Proper adjectives; d In titles of books or + themes; e Miscellaneous uses + 82. Italics: a Titles of books; b Foreign words; c Names of + ships; d Words taken out of context; e For emphasis + 83. Abbreviations: a In ordinary writing; b In business + writing + 84. Numbers: a Dates and street numbers; b Long figures; + Sums of money, etc. + 85. Syllabication: a Position of hyphen; b Division between + syllables; c Monosyllabic words not divided; d One consonant + between syllables; e Two consonants between + syllables; f Prefixes and suffixes; g Short words; h Misleading + division + 86. Outlines: a Topic Outline; b Sentence Outline; c Paragraph + Outline; d Indention; e Parallel form; f Faulty + coördination; g Too detailed subordination + 87. Letters: a Heading; b Inside address and greeting; + c Body, Language; d Close; e Outside address; + f Miscellaneous directions; g Model business letter; + h Formal notes + 88. Paragraphs: a Indention; b Length; c Dialogue + 89. EXERCISE + Capitals, numbers, abbreviations, etc. + + + + PUNCTUATION + + 90. The Period: a After sentences; b But not after fragments + of sentences; c After abbreviations + 91. The Comma: a Between clauses joined by _but_, _for_, _and_; + b But NOT to splice clauses not joined by a conjunction; + c After a subordinate clause preceding a main clause; + d To set off non-restrictive clauses and phrases; e To + set off parenthetical elements; f Between adjectives; + g Between words in a series; h Before a quotation; + i To compel a pause for clearness; j Superfluous uses + 92. The Semicolon: a Between coördinate clauses not joined + by a conjunction; b Between long coördinate clauses; + c Before a formal conjunctive adverb; d But not before + a quotation + 93. The Colon: a To introduce a formal series or quotation; + b Before concrete illustrations of a previous general + statement + 94. The Dash: a To enclose a parenthetical statement; b To + mark a breaking-off in thought; c Before a summarizing + statement; d But not to be used in place of a period; + e Not to be confused with the hyphen + 95. Parenthesis Marks: a Uses; b With other marks; c Confirmatory + symbols; d Not used to cancel words; + e Brackets + 96. Quotation Marks: a With quotations; b With paragraphs; + c In dialogue; d With slang, etc.; e With words + set apart; f Quotation within a quotation; g Together + with other marks; h Quotation interrupted by _he said_; + i Omission from a quotation; j Unnecessary in the title + of a theme, or as a label for humor or irony + 97. The Apostrophe: a In contractions; b To form the possessive; + c To form the possessive of nouns ending in _s_; + d Not used with personal possessive pronouns; e To + form the plural of certain signs and letters + 98. The Question Mark: a After a direct question; b Not + followed by a comma within a sentence; c In parentheses + to express uncertainty; d Not used to label irony; e The + Exclamation Point + 99. EXERCISE + 100. GENERAL EXERCISE + + + + +TO THE STUDENT + + +When a number is written in the margin of your theme, you are to turn to +the article which corresponds to the number. Read the rule (printed in +bold-face type), and study the examples. When an _r_ follows the number +on your theme, you are, in addition, to copy the rule. When an _x_ +follows the number, you are, besides acquainting yourself with the rule, +to write the exercise of five sentences, to correct your own faulty +sentence, and to hand in the six on theme paper. If the number ends in 9 +(9, 19, 29, etc.), you will find, not a rule, but a long exercise which +you are to write and hand in on theme paper. In the absence of special +instructions from your teacher, you are invariably to proceed as this +paragraph requires. + +Try to grasp the principle which underlies the rule. In many places in +this book the reason for the existence of the rule is clearly stated. +Thus under 20, the reason for the rule on parallel structure is +explained in a prologue. In other instances, as in the rule on divided +reference (20), the reason becomes clear the moment you read the +examples. In certain other instances the rule may appear arbitrary and +without a basis in reason. But there is a basis in reason, as you will +observe in the following illustration. + +Suppose you write, "He is twenty one years old." The instructor asks you +to put a hyphen in _twenty-one_, and refers you to 78. You cannot see +why a hyphen is necessary, since the meaning is clear without it. But +tomorrow you may write. "I will send you twenty five dollar bills." The +reader cannot tell whether you mean twenty five-dollar bills or +twenty-five dollar bills. In the first sentence the use of the hyphen in +_twenty-one_ did not make much difference. In the second sentence the +hyphen makes seventy-five dollars' worth of difference. Thus the +instructor, in asking you to write, "He is twenty-one years old," is +helping you to form a habit that will save you from serious error in +other sentences. Whenever you cannot understand the reason for a rule, +ask yourself whether the usage of many clear-thinking men for long years +past may not be protecting you from difficulties which you do not +foresee. Instructors and writers of text books (impressive as is the +evidence to the contrary) are human, and do not invent rules to puzzle +you. They do not, in fact, invent rules at all, but only make convenient +applications of principles which generations of writers have found to be +wisest and best. + + + + +THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING SENTENCE STRUCTURE + +COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + + +The first thing to make certain is that the thought of a sentence is +complete. A fragment which has no meaning when read alone, or a sentence +from which is omitted a necessary word, phrase, or idea, violates an +elementary principle of writing. + + +=Fragments Wrongly Used as Sentences= + +=1. Do not write a subordinate part of a sentence as if it were a +complete sentence.= + + Wrong: He stopped short. Hearing some one approach. + + Right: He stopped short, hearing some one approach. [Or] + Hearing some one approach, he stopped short. + + Wrong: The winters are cold. Although the summers are pleasant. + + Right: Although the summers are pleasant, the winters are cold. + + Wrong: The hunter tried to move the stone. Which he found very + heavy. + + Right: The hunter tried to move the stone, which he found very + heavy. [Or] The hunter tried to move the stone. He found it + very heavy. + +Note.--A sentence must in itself express a complete thought. Phrases or +subordinate clauses, if used alone, carry only an incomplete meaning. +They must therefore be attached to a sentence, or restated in +independent form. Elliptical expressions used in conversation may be +regarded as exceptions: Where? At what time? Ten o'clock. By no means. +Certainly. Go. + + Exercise: + + 1. My next experience was in a grain elevator. Where I worked + for two summers. + + 2. The parts of a fountain pen are: first, the point. This is + gold. Second, the body. + + 3. The form is set rigidly. So that it will not be displaced + when the concrete is thrown in. + + 4. There are several reasons to account for the swarming of + bees. One of these having already been mentioned. + + 5. Since June the company has increased its trade three per + cent. Since August, five per cent. + + +=Incomplete Constructions= + +=2. Do not leave uncompleted a construction which you have begun.= + + Wrong: You remember that in his speech in which he said he + would oppose the bill. + + Right: You remember that in his speech he said he would oppose + the bill. [Or] You remember the speech in which he said he + would oppose the bill. + + Wrong: He was a young man who, coming from the country, with + ignorance of city ways, but with plenty of determination to + succeed. + + Right: He was a young man who, coming from the country, was + ignorant of city ways, but had plenty of determination to + succeed. + + Wrong: From the window of the train I perceived one of those + unsightly structures. + + Right: From the window of the train I perceived one of those + unsightly structures which are always to be seen near a + station. + + Exercise: + + 1. As far as his having been deceived, there is a difference of + opinion on that matter. + + 2. The fact that he was always in trouble, his parents wondered + whether he should remain in school or not. + + 3. People who go back to the scenes of their childhood + everything looks strangely small. + + 4. It was the custom that whenever a political party came into + office, for the incoming men to discharge all employees of the + opposite party. + + 5. Although the average man, if asked whether he could shoot a + rabbit, would answer in the affirmative, even though he had + never hunted rabbits, would find himself badly mistaken. + + +=Necessary Words Omitted= + +=3. Do not omit a word or a phrase which is necessary to an immediate +understanding of a sentence.= + + Ambiguous: I consulted the secretary and president. [Did the + speaker consult one man or two?] + + Right: I consulted the secretary and the president. [Or] I + consulted the man who was president and secretary. + + Ambiguous: Water passes through the cement as well as the + bricks. + + Right: Water passes through the cement as well as through the + bricks. + + Wrong: I have had experience in every phase of the automobile. + + Right: I have had experience in every phase of automobile + driving and repairing. + + Wrong: About him were men whom he could not tell whether they + were friends or foes. + + Right: About him were men regarding whom he could not tell + whether they were friends or foes. [Or, better] About him were + men who might have been either friends or foes. + + Exercise: + + 1. When still a small boy, my family moved to Centerville. + + 2. Constantly in conversation with some one broadens our ideas + and our vocabulary. + + 3. It was a trick which opposing teams were sure to be + baffled. + + 4. They departed for the battle front with the knowledge they + might never return. + + 5. At the banquet were all classes of people; I met a banker + and plumber. + + +=Comparisons= + +=4. Comparisons must be completed logically.= + + Wrong: His speed was equal to a racehorse. + + Wrong: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer. + + Wrong: The shells which are used in quail hunting are different + than in rabbit hunting. + +Compare a thing with another thing, an abstraction with another +abstraction. Do not carelessly compare a thing with a part or quality of +another thing. Always ask yourself: What is compared with what? + + Right: His speed was equal to that of a racehorse. + + Right: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer's. + + Right: The shells used in quail hunting are different from + those used in rabbit hunting. + + Self-contradictory: Chicago is larger than any city in + Illinois. + + Right: Chicago is larger than any other city in Illinois. + + Impossible: Chicago is the largest of any other city in + Illinois. + + Right: Chicago is the largest of all the cities in Illinois. + [Or] Chicago is the largest city in Illinois. + +Note.--After a comparative, the subject of the comparison should be +excluded from the class with which it is compared; after a superlative, +the subject of the comparison should be included within the class. + + Wrong: {taller of all the girls. + {tallest of any girl. + + Right: {taller than any other girl [comparative]. + {tallest of all the girls [superlative]. + + Exercise: + + 1. The climate of America helps her athletes to become superior + to other countries. + + 2. This tobacco is the best of any other on the market. + + 3. You men are paid three dollars more than any other factory + in the city. + + 4. I thought I was best fitted for an engineering course than + any other. + + 5. Care should be taken not to turn in more cattle than the + grass in the pasture. + + +=Cause and Reason= + +=5. A simple statement of fact may be completed by a _because_ clause.= + + Right: I am late because I was sick. + +=But a statement containing _the reason is_ must be completed by a _that_ +clause.= + + Wrong: The reason I am late is because I was sick. [The + "reason" is not a "because"; the "reason" is the fact of + sickness.] + + Right: The reason I am late is that I was sick. + +=_Because_, the conjunction, may introduce an adverbial clause only.= + + Wrong: Because a man wears old clothes is no proof that he is + poor. [A _because_ clause cannot be the subject of _is_.] + + Right: The fact that a man wears old clothes is no proof that + he is poor. [Or] The wearing of old clothes is not proof that a + man is poor. + +Note.--_Because of_, _owing to_, _on account of_, introduce adverbial +phrases only. _Due to_ and _caused by_ introduce adjectival phrases +only. + + Wrong: He failed, due to weak eyes. [Due is an adjective; + it cannot modify a verb.] + + Right: His failure was {due to } weak eyes + {caused by} + + {because of } + Right: He failed {owing to } weak eyes. + {on account of} + + Exercise: + + 1. The reason why I would not buy a Ford car is because it is + too light. + + 2. My second reason for coming here is because of social + advantages. + + 3. Because John is rich does not make him happier than I. + + 4. Because I like farming is the reason I chose it. + + 5. The only reason why vegetation does not grow here is because + of the lack of water. + + +=_is when_ or _is where_ Clauses= + +=6. Do not use a _when_ or _where_ clause as a predicate noun. Do not +define a word by saying it is a "when" or a "where". Define a noun by +another noun, a verb by another verb, etc.= + + Wrong: The great event is when the train arrives. + + Right: The great event is the arrival of the train. + + Wrong: Immigration is where foreigners come into a country. + + Right: Immigration is the entering of foreigners into a + country. + + Wrong: A simile is when one object is compared with another. + + Right: A simile is a figure of speech in which one object is + compared with another. + +Note.--A definition of a term is a statement which (1) names the class +to which the term belongs, and (2) distinguishes it from other members +of the class. Example. A quadrilateral is a plane figure having four +sides and four angles. To test a definition ask whether it separates the +term defined from all other things. If the definition does not do this, +it is incomplete. Define _California_ (so as to exclude other states), +_window_ (so as to exclude _door_), _star_ (exclude _moon_), _night_, +_rain_, _circle_, _Bible_, _metal_, _mile_, _rectangle_. + + Exercise: + + 1. The pistol shot is when the race begins. + + 2. A snob is when a man treats others as inferior socially. + + 3. The wireless telegraph is where messages are sent a long + distance through the air. + + 4. The definition of usury is where one charges interest higher + than the legal rate. + + 5. Biology is when one studies plant and animal life. + + +=Undeveloped Thought= + +=7. Do not halfway express an idea. If the idea is important, develop it. +If it is not important, omit it.= + + Incomplete: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, + and Jack said he had a business engagement that night. + + Better: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, a fact + which was all the more annoying as Jack said he had a business + engagement that night. + + Puzzling: Since McAndrew had inherited money, his suitcase was + plastered with labels. + + Right: Since McAndrew had inherited money, he had traveled + extensively. His suitcase was plastered with the labels of + foreign hotels. + + Careless: In looking for gasoline troubles, we forgot to see + whether the tank was supplied. + + Right: In looking for the cause of the trouble, we forgot to + see whether the tank was supplied with gasoline. + +Note.--In giving information about books, do not confuse the title with +the contents or some part of the contents. Be accurate in referring to +the time, scene, action, plot, or characters. + + Loose thinking: Shakespeare's _Hamlet_ occurs in Denmark [The + scene is laid?]. Many passages are powerful, especially the + grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?]. The character of + Horatio is a noble fellow [conception], and the same is true of + Ophelia [Ophelia a fellow?]. The drama takes place over several + weeks. [The action covers a period of several weeks.] + + Exercise: + + 1. The victrola brings to the home the world's musical ability. + + 2. The user of Dietzgen instruments is not vexed by numerous + troubles that accompany the inferior makes. + + 3. To the picnicker rainy weather is bad weather, while the + farmer raises a big crop. + + 4. Some diseases can be checked by preventives, and in many + cases can be of great use to an army. + + 5. This idea of breaking all records held for eating is + naturally harmful to the digestion, and these important organs + may thank their stars that Christmas does not come very often. + + +=Transitions= + +The state of mind of a writer is not the state of mind of his reader. +The writer knows his ideas, and has spent much time with them. The +reader meets these ideas for the first time, and must gather them in at +a glance. The relation between two ideas may be clear to the writer, and +not at all clear to the reader. Therefore, + +=8. In passing from one thought to another, make the connection clear. If +necessary, insert a word, a phrase, or even a sentence, to carry the +reader safely across.= + + Space transition needed: We were surprised to see a house in + the distance, but we went to the door and knocked. [This + sentence does not give a reader the effect of distance.] + + Better: We were surprised to see a house in the distance. _But + we hastened toward it with thoughts of a warm meal and a good + lodging. We entered the yard_, and went up to the door, and + knocked. + + Exterior-interior transition needed: We noticed that the house + was built of cobblestones. There was a broad window from which + we could look out upon the small stream that dashed down the + rocky hillside. + + Better: We noticed that the house was built of cobblestones. + _We went inside, and found that the living room was large and + airy._ There was a broad window from which we could look out + upon the small stream that dashed down the rocky hillside. + + Cause transition lacking: The Romans were great road-builders. + They wished to maintain their empire. + + Better: The Romans were great road-builders, _because means of + moving troops quickly were necessary_ to the maintenance of + their empire. + + General-to-particular transition needed: Modern machinery often + makes men its slaves. Last summer I worked for the Chandler + Company. [This gap in thought occurs oftenest between the first + two sentences of a paragraph or theme.] + + Better: Modern machinery often makes men its slaves. _This + truth is well illustrated by my own experience._ Last summer I + worked for the Chandler Company. + + Transition to be improved by changing order: A careless trainer + may spoil a good colt. A good horse can never be made of a + vicious colt. [Here the order of ideas is: "Trainer ... colt. + Horse ... colt." Turn the last sentence end for end.] + + Better: A careless trainer may spoil a good colt. And a vicious + colt can never be made a good horse. [Now the order of ideas is + "Trainer ... colt. Colt ... horse."] + + Transition to be improved by removal of a disturbing element: + Our class in physics last week visited a pumping station in + which the Corliss type of steam engine is used. _The engines + are manufactured by the Allis-Chalmers Company of Milwaukee, + Wisconsin._ This type of engine is used because it has several + advantages. [The italicized sentence should be omitted here, + and used later in the theme.] + +Note.--The divisions of thought within a paragraph may likewise be +indicated by connectives: _however_, _on the other hand_, _equally +important_, _another interesting problem is_, _for this reason_, _the +remedy for this_, _so much for_, _it remains to mention_, _of course I +admit_, _finally_. (For a longer list see 36.) Such phrases are also +useful in linking one paragraph to another. + +When a student first learns the art, he is likely to use transition +phrases in excess, and produce something like the following: "When I +have to write a theme, I first think of my subject. As soon as I have my +subject, I take out my paper. On the paper I then make a rough outline." +This abuse of transition causes an overlapping of thought, like shingles +laid three inches to the weather. An abrupt transition is better than +wordiness. + + Exercise: + + 1. The shore looked far off. Then we reached it. + + 2. A light snow was falling last night. This is a good day for + hunting rabbits. + + 3. A dollar is often a large sum. I sold newspapers when I was + a boy. + + 4. Many English words still preserve their old meanings. There + is the teller in the bank. + + 5. We had to walk half a mile across the pastures in the fresh + morning air. Exercise indoors does not arouse much zest or + enthusiasm. + + +=9.= EXERCISE IN COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Fragments Misused as Sentences= + +Rewrite the following statements in sentences each of which expresses a +complete thought. + + 1. He gave me a flower. Which was wilted. + + 2. The gasoline flows through the supply tube to the + carburetor. Where it should vaporize and enter the cylinders. + + 3. People of all ages were there. Old men, young women, and + even children. + + 4. He told us that you had a good standing among business men. + That you always met your bills promptly. + + 5. Excuse Everett Smith from school this morning. He having the + measles. + + 6. The internal combustion engine may be either one of two + types. The two cycle or the four cycle. + + 7. The young men and women acted like children. Who should have + known better. + + 8. There was a cross cow in the pasture. Which had long horns. + + 9. Bacteria are microscopic organisms. Especially found where + milk or some other substance decomposes. + + 10. We pass on down the street. The buildings rising two or + three stories high on either side. + + 11. The Y. M. C. A. enables you to keep your religious + interests alive. As well as to associate with clean young men. + + 12. She wasted her time on foolish clothes. While her mother + took in washing. + + 13. He was dressed in a ridiculous fashion. Wearing, for + instance, an orange necktie. + + 14. The point is similar to that of the ordinary steel pen, + except that it is made of gold. Gold being used on account of + its greater smoothness and durability. + + 15. Tire troubles have been made less formidable by the + invention of a compact, efficient little vulcanizer. A factory + for making which is now being built. + +=B. Incomplete Constructions= + +Improve the following statements. Supply missing words. Make sure that +each construction and each sentence is complete. + + 1. When one year old, my mother died. + + 2. Yours received, and in reply would say your order has been + filled. + + 3. While in there a man came in and bought a quarter's worth of + soap. + + 4. War is largely dependent upon the engineers to design new + machinery. + + 5. When you talk to a man look at him, not the floor or + ceiling. + + 6. In writing a book, an author's first one is usually not very + good. + + 7. Every summer while in high school, our family has gone to + our cottage on Lake Michigan. + + 8. When a boy, Mary was my best friend. + + 9. There is, however, another reason a person should know how + to swim. + + 10. I think more of her than anyone else. + + 11. Corrupt laws are often the means rich people obtain the + earnings of others. + + 12. A hundred dollars invested in a warning signal, future + accidents would be prevented. + + 13. Electric transmission is sometimes used on automobiles more + of an experiment than anything else. + + 14. Was delighted to hear from you. Glad to hear you entered + the wholesale business. Wish you success. + + 15. As a rule people eat too much. This point should be + noticed, and not overwork the digestive organs. + +=C. Incomplete Logic= + +The following sentences are inadequate statements of cause, comparison, +etc. Complete the thought. + + 1. His neck is as long as a giraffe. + + 2. His name was David Meek, from New Hampshire. + + 3. The Pacific Ocean is larger than any ocean. + + 4. Because he never worked led to his failure. + + 5. A monitor is where a heavily armored boat of light draft can + go near the shore. + + 6. Democracy is when people, through representatives, govern + themselves. + + 7. The story of _Huckleberry Finn_ is in reality Mark Twain + himself. + + 8. Because a man has money is no reason why he should be lazy. + + 9. The character of Sydney Carton is the real hero of this + novel. + + 10. A forester leads an interesting life is the reason I want + to be one. + + 11. Tact is where a man anticipates the criticism of others, + and acts with discretion. + + 12. The comfort of a modern house is much greater than the + old-time house. + + 13. Free trade is when no revenue is collected on imports, + beyond enough to run the government. + + 14. The cost of room, board, and tuition is low at this school, + compared to the more fashionable schools. + + 15. The theme of this novel tells how a peasant, Jean Valjean, + from a convict comes to be a respected citizen. + +=D. Undeveloped Thought and Transitions= + +Complete the thought of the following sentences, and secure a smooth +transition between parts. + + 1. As you enter this room, to the left is an interesting + painting of the Canterbury Pilgrims. + + 2. Poe delights in fantastic plots. A pirate's treasure chest + was discovered in _The Gold Bug_. + + 3. I got up and ate a bite of breakfast. A few of my friends + came over. We went to play golf. + + 4. All the loose material on the trail is carried off by the + rush of the water. The last time I was on it was in early + summer, and I found it in this rough condition. + + 5. I managed to find the softest board in the floor and went to + sleep. Some of the boys found pleasure in arousing me with a + shower of cold water. + + 6. Under guise of friendly escort the Indians accompanied the + inhabitants of the fort a few miles. Only three escaped the + massacre. + + 7. Many people say that in civil engineering it depends on the + prosperity of the country; in hard times they do not build and + in good times they do build. + + 8. Canada has more forests than minerals. Canada has made only + a start in the lumber industry. The minerals are found, for the + most part, in the mountain district near Lake Superior. + + 9. Thanksgiving day, as we are told, is a day on which our + Puritan forefathers gathered round the roast turkey and gave + thanks to God for his goodness. Last Thanksgiving I was at + home. + + 10. The old method was to dig the holes by hand, and drop two + or three kernels in each hole. Corn has become a staple crop. + Machinery is used. The preparing of a field for corn has become + a science. + + + +UNITY OF THOUGHT + +Unity means oneness. A sentence should contain one thought. It may +contain two or more statements only when these are closely related parts +of a larger thought or impression. A writer should make certain, first, +that his thought has unity; and second, that this unity will be obvious +to the reader. + + +=Unrelated Ideas in One Sentence= + +=10. Do not combine ideas which have no obvious relation to each other. +Place the ideas in separate sentences. Or, write the ideas as one +sentence, making their relation obvious.= + + Wrong: The Spartans did not care for literature, and lived in + the southern part of Greece. + + Wrong: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, and the + most important work in preparing coffee for the market is the + roasting of the green berries. + +The simplest method of correction is to divide the sentence. + + Right: The Spartans lived in the southern part of Greece. They + did not care for literature. + + Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn. The most + important work in preparing the coffee for the market is the + roasting of the green berries. + +Another method of correction is to subordinate one idea to the other, or +to change the wording until the relation between the ideas is obvious. + + Right: The Spartans, who lived in the southern part of Greece, + did not care for literature. + + Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, since the + only important work in preparing the coffee for the market is + the roasting of the green berries. + + Exercise: + + 1. Franklin is often regarded as the typical American, and + wrote an interesting autobiography. + + 2. Coal miners wear little oil lamps in their caps, and they + seldom receive very good wages. + + 3. My neighbor, Mr. Houghton, was always a very good friend of + mine, and died last night. + + 4. I dropped the clock and injured the works, but the jeweler + told me it would be cheaper for me to buy a new clock. + + 5. The next thing the camper should do is to make a bed, and + the branches of the spruce are the best. + + +=Excessive Detail= + +=11. Do not encumber the main idea of a sentence with superfluous +details. Place some of the details in another sentence, or omit them.= + + Faulty: In the town in which I live there are several large + churches, and about six o'clock one morning, in a violent + storm, one of these churches was struck by lightning. + + Right: In my home town there are several large churches. One + morning about six o'clock, in a violent storm, one of these + churches was struck by lightning. + + Wrong: In 1836, in Baltimore, Poe married Virginia Clemm, his + cousin, who was hardly more than a child, being then fourteen + years old, while Poe himself was twenty-eight, and to her he + wrote much of his best verse. + + Right: In 1836 Poe married Virginia Clemm. Poe was then + twenty-eight, and Virginia was only fourteen. To this girl Poe + wrote much of his best verse. + + Exercise: + + 1. The house with the red tile roof is the finest in the city, + and is owned by Mr. Saunders, who made his money speculating in + land. + + 2. Then the engine tilted and fell over on one side, and the + boiler exploded and added to the frightful scene. + + 3. The deer whose antlers you see over the fireplace as you + enter the room was shot by my Uncle Will, who is now in South + America on a hunting expedition. + + 4. The seeds, which have previously been soaked in water over + night, are now planted carefully, not too deep, in straight + rows sixteen inches apart, the best time being in April, when + the ground is soft and has been thoroughly spaded. + + 5. One day last week my employer, Mr. Conway, a jolly, peculiar + man, raised my salary, first telling me I was about to be + discharged, and laughing at me when I looked so surprised. + +=Stringy Sentences to be Broken up= + +=12. Avoid stringy compound sentences. The crude, rambling style which +results from their use may be corrected by separating the material into +shorter sentences, or by subordinating lesser ideas to the main thought.= + + Faulty: The second speaker had sat quietly waiting, and he was + a man of a different type, and he began calmly, yet from the + very first words he showed great earnestness. + + Right: The second speaker, who had sat quietly waiting, was a + man of a different type. He began calmly, yet from his very + first words he showed great earnestness. + + Faulty: There are many stops on the organ which control the + tones of the different pipes and one has to learn how and when + to use these and this takes time and practice. + + Right: On the organ are many stops which control the tones of + the different pipes. To learn how and when to use these takes + time and practice. + + Faulty: He published prose fiction, and this was then the + accepted literary form, and the drama was neglected. + + Better: He published prose fiction, which was then the accepted + literary form, the drama being neglected. [This sentence makes + three statements in a diminishing series. The important idea is + expressed in a main clause; a less important explanation is + fitted into a relative clause; and a still less important + comment takes a parenthetical phrase at the end.] + +Note.--One of the crying faults of the immature writer is that by +excessive coördination he obscures the fine shades of meaning. When two +clauses are joined, the meaning will very often be more exact if one is +subordinated to the other. For a list of subordinating connectives, see +36. + + Exercise: + + 1. He went down town, and it began to rain, and so he decided + to go to the city library. + + 2. There is an old saying which I have often heard and I + believe in it to a certain extent, and it runs as follows: The + more you live at your wit's end, the more the wit's end grows. + + 3. Our salesman, Mr. Powers, has spoken very favorably of your + firm, and we feel that our relations will be most pleasant, and + the report of the commercial agencies is sufficient evidence of + your good financial standing. + + 4. There was no escaping from this churn, so one of the frogs, + after a brief struggle thought that he might just as well die + one time as another, and so he gave up and sank to the bottom. + + 5. Socrates did no writing himself, and the only information we + have of him we get from the writings of his pupils and from + later writers, and our most reliable knowledge comes from two + of these writers, Plato and Xenophon. + + +=Choppy Sentences to be Combined= + +=13. Do not use two or three short sentences to express ideas which will +make a more unified impression in one sentence. Place subordinate ideas +in subordinate grammatical constructions.= + + Excessive predication: Excavating is the first operation in + street paving. The excavating is usually done by means of a + steam shovel. The shovel scoops up the dirt and loads it + directly into wagons. + + Right: Excavating, the first operation in street paving, is + usually done by a steam shovel which loads the dirt directly + into wagons. + + Monotonous: The doe is wading along the shore. She is nibbling + the lily pads as she goes. Now she moves slowly around the + point. She has a little spotted fawn with her. The fawn frolics + along at the heels of his mother. + + Better: Wading along the shore, the doe nibbles the lily pads + by the way, and moves slowly around the point. A spotted fawn + frolics at her heels. + + Primer style: Rooms are marked on the floor. These rooms are + about fourteen feet square. + + Better: The floor is marked off into rooms about fourteen feet + square. + +Note.--An occasional short sentence is permissible, even desirable. +Successive short sentences may be used to express rapid action, or +emphatic assertion, or deliberate simplicity. Otherwise, avoid them. + + Exercise. + + 1. Decatur has wide streets. The streets are paved with brick, + asphalt, and creosote blocks. + + 2. Sixteen posts are set in a row. All of these are at equal + intervals. + + 3. The boat approaches the leeward side of the ship. This side + is the side protected from the wind. + + 4. The _Scientific American_ reports the progress of science. + It explains new inventions. It makes practical applications of + scientific principles. + + 5. The beans are usually harvested about the middle of + September. They are cut when the plants turn color at the roots + and the beans turn white. They are cut by a bean-cutter which + takes two rows at a time. + + +=Excessive Coördination= + +In structure a sentence may be + + A. Simple: The rain fell. + + B. Compound: The rain continued and the stream rose. + + C. Complex: When the rain ceased, the flood came. + +In B, the clauses are of almost equal importance, and the first is +coördinated with the second. In C, the clauses are not of equal +importance, and the first is subordinated to the second. _And_ is a +coördinating conjunction. _When_ is a subordinating conjunction. For a +list of connectives see 36. + +=14. Do not use coördination when subordination will secure a more clear +and emphatic unit of thought. Especially do not coördinate a main idea +with an explanatory detail.= The speech of children connects all ideas, +important and unimportant, with _and_. Discriminating writers place +minor ideas in subordinate clauses, consign still less important ideas +to participial or prepositional phrases, and omit trivial details +altogether. + + Childish: I went down town and saw a crowd standing in the + street, and wanted to know what was the matter, and so I went + up and asked a man. + + Right: When I went down town, I saw a crowd standing in the + street, and since I wanted to know what was the matter, I asked + a man. [Two clauses are subordinated by the use of _when_ and + _since_. This change abolishes two _ands_. The words _went up + and_ are struck out. One _and_ remains, and deserves to remain, + for it joins two ideas which are truly coördinate.] + + Main idea not emphasized: I talked with an old man and his name + was Ned. + + Better: I talked with an old man named Ned. [A participial + phrase replaces a clause. The name is now subordinated.] + + Main idea not emphasized: Developing is the next step in + preparing the film, and it is very important. + + Better: Developing, the next step in preparing the film, is + very important. [An appositional phrase replaces the first + predicate.] + + Main idea not emphasized: They began their perilous journey, + and they had four horses. + + Right [emphasizing _perilous journey_]: With four horses they + began their perilous journey. [A prepositional phrase replaces + a clause.] + + Right [emphasizing _having the horses_]: When they began their + perilous journey, they had four horses. [A subordinate clause + replaces a main clause.] + + Capable of greater unity: The frog is a stupid animal, and may + be caught with a hook baited with red flannel. [Is the writer + trying to tell us _how to catch frogs_, or merely that _frogs + are stupid_? Coördination makes the two ideas appear equally + important.] + + Right [emphasizing _frogs are stupid_]: The fact that the frog + can be caught with a hook baited with red flannel proves his + stupidity. + + Right [emphasizing _how to catch frogs_]: The frog, being + stupid, will bite at a piece of red flannel. + + Exercise. + + 1. Men were sent to Panama and could not live in such + unsanitary conditions. + + 2. When a letter came and it bore a familiar handwriting, I + always opened it eagerly. + + 3. West Hickory is the name of the place where the tannery is + situated, and it is a laboring man's town. + + 4. She wore a dress and it was silk, and cost her father a lot + of money. + + 5. Every race horse has a care taker or groom, and this man + spends all his time and makes the horse comfortable. + + +=Faulty Subordination of the Main Thought= + +=15. Do not put the principal statement of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase.= This violation of unity is sometimes called +"upside-down subordination". + + Faulty: I was going down the street, when I heard an explosion. + [If _hearing the explosion_ is the main thought, it should be + placed in the main clause.] + + Right: When I was going down the street, I heard an explosion. + + Faulty: Longstreet received orders to attack the Federal right + wing, which he did immediately. + + Right: As soon as Longstreet received orders, he attacked the + Federal right wing. + + Faulty: I suspected that it would rain, although I did not take + an umbrella. + + Right: Although I suspected that it would rain, I did not take + an umbrella. + + Exercise: + + 1. An old man used to work for us, who died yesterday. + + 2. He became angry, saying he positively refused to go. + + 3. He is a bright boy, although I should not want to trust him + with my pocketbook. + + 4. He had an ambition which was to become the best lawyer in + the state by the time he was forty years old. + + 5. The cable breaks and the elevator starts to drop, when the + safety device always operates at once to prevent an accident. + + +=Subordination Thwarted by _and_= + +=16. Do not attach to a main clause by means of _and_, a word, phrase, or +clause which you intend shall be subordinate. The presence of _and_ +thwarts subordination.= + + Wrong: Major went to bed, and leaving the work unfinished. + + Right: Major went to bed, leaving the work unfinished. + + Wrong: He ran home and with coat tails flying. + + Right: He ran home with coat tails flying. + + Exercise: + + 1. They denied my request, and giving no reason for the + refusal. + + 2. He gave me his answer and in few words. + + 3. The girl stood on the edge of the cliff, and thus showing + that she was not afraid. + + 4. A telegraph line is leased by the Associated Press, and thus + giving the newspapers quick service. + + 5. When the summer passed, the fisherman returned home for the + winter, and where he renewed his acquaintance with the + villagers. + + +=The _and which_ construction= + +=17. Use _and which_ (or _but which_), _and who_ (or _but who_) only +between relative clauses similar in form. Between a main clause and a +relative clause, _and_ or _but_ thwarts subordination.= + + Wrong: This is an important problem, and which we shall not + find easy to solve. + + Right: This problem is an important problem, which we shall not + find easy to solve. + + Right: This problem is one _which_ is important, _and which_ we + cannot easily solve. + + Wrong: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest and which + everybody should read. + + Right: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest, and one + which everybody should read. + + Wrong: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, + but who is now less popular than he was. + + Right: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, + who is now less popular than he was. + +Note.--Rule 17 is sometimes briefly stated: "Do not use _and which_ +unless you have already used _which_ in the sentence." This statement is +generally true, but an exception must be made for sentences like the +following: Right: "He told me what countries he had visited, and which +ones he liked most." + + Exercise: + + 1. Just outside is a small porch looking out over the street, + and which can be used for sleeping purposes. + + 2. She is a woman of pleasing personality, and who can converse + intelligently. + + 3. It is a difficult task, but which can be accomplished in + time. + + 4. He is a good-looking man, but who is very snobbish. + + 5. The rule made by the conference of college professors in + 1896, and which has been followed ever since, applies to the + case we are considering. + + +=Unity Thwarted by Punctuation= + +=The Comma Splice= + +=18. Do not splice two independent statements by means of a comma. Write +two sentences. Or, if the two statements together form a unit of +thought, combine them (1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a +semicolon, or (3) by reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a +subordinate clause.= + + Wrong: The town has two railroads, it was founded when oil was + discovered. + + Right: The town has two railroads. It was founded when oil was + discovered. + + Wrong: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was, + this was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. [Here are + three commas. The reader cannot quickly discover which one + marks the great division of thought.] + + Right: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was. + This was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. + + Wrong: The winters were long and cold, nothing could live + without shelter. + + Right: The winters were long and cold. Nothing could live + without shelter. + + Right: The winters were long and cold, and nothing could live + without shelter [For the use of the comma, see 91a]. + + Right: The winters were long and cold; nothing could live + without shelter [For the use of the semicolon see 92]. + + Right: The winters were so long and cold that nothing could + live without shelter. + +Exception.--Short coördinate clauses which are parallel in structure and +leave a unified impression, may be joined by commas, even though the +conjunctions be omitted. + + Right: All was excitement. The ducks quacked, the pigs + squealed, the dogs barked. [The general idea _excitement_ gives + the three clauses a certain unity.] + + Exercise: + + 1. The key is turned to the right, this unlocks the door. + + 2. The author keeps one guessing, there is no hint how the + story will end. + + 3. The farmer is independent, he has no task-master. + + 4. There has been a change of government, in fact there has + been a revolution. + + 5. Lamb had failed in poetry, in the drama, and in the novel, + in the essay, at last, he succeeded. + + +=19.= EXERCISE IN UNITY OF THOUGHT + +=A. The Comma Splice= + +Rewrite the following material in sentences each of which is a unit of +thought. Most of the statements should be summarily cut apart. If you +decide that others taken together have unity of thought, combine them +(1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a semicolon, or (3) by +reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a subordinate clause. + + 1. The canoe is long and narrow, it is made of birch bark. + + 2. I decided to serve tea, of course cream and sugar would be + needed. + + 3. Some men hunt rabbits for market purposes only, they are the + sportsman's enemies. + + 4. This city furnished many boats for the siege of Calais, when + these boats returned they brought the plague with them. + + 5. The bottom of the box is then put in, it is nailed to the + sides. + + 6. It is not easy to become a good musician, one must practice + continually. + + 7. The Northern and Southern states could not be separate + nations, there was no natural boundary between them. + + 8. The telephone is a great invention, it is very useful to the + farmer. + + 9. Why would no one come to help me, my feet ached and I was + thirsty. + + 10. I know a girl who has a cynical disposition, she is always + criticizing. + + 11. I went into the office hopeless, a dime stood between me + and starvation. + + 12. The construction of the bridge has much to do with the tone + of a violin, it should be lower on the side nearest the E + string. + + 13. A private expense account does not require much labor or + time, just one hour a week will suffice to keep tract of all + expenditures. + + 14. We offer you sixty dollars a month to start, this is all we + can afford to pay at present. + + 15. He wanted personal success but would not shirk a duty or + harm any one in any way to gain that success, at all times he + forgot his own personal importance and was ready to do any task + set before him. + +=B. One Thought in a Sentence= + +By dividing, subordinating, or logically combining the following +statements, secure unity of thought. + + 1. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 30, 1902, + where she has lived ever since and is now well known. + + 2. Franklin was kindly, shrewd, and capable, and was the + representative of the United States in France. + + 3. She said that Mrs. Brown was ill and that she was just + caring for the baby, she loved babies anyway, she said. + + 4. One Sunday afternoon there was an excursion to Beaver and + several of us decided to go and take our lunches and return on + the eight o'clock car. + + 5. He gave me the dimensions of the room. The dimensions were + ten by twelve feet. + + 6. Good grades may be obtained in two ways: by honest work, and + by cheating; however any one who cheats is doing himself more + harm than good. + + 7. The wall studding is made of two-by-fours. These + two-by-fours are placed sixteen inches apart. + + 8. The returning Crusaders brought with them oriental learning, + and found the peasantry impoverished. + + 9. The articles in this magazine are of high quality. The + articles are well written and attractively illustrated. + + 10. A Japanese woman going abroad at night must carry a lighted + lamp and must not speak to any one, women do not have much + freedom in Japan. + + 11. The sugar beets are irrigated by river water. They are + irrigated by means of furrows. The furrows run between the rows + of beets. The beets are irrigated once a week. + + 12. The referee asked each captain if his men were ready, after + which he blew the whistle, and the game was on, and within five + minutes our team scored a touchdown. + + 13. The ground should be harrowed as soon as possible after it + is plowed. It is a good plan to harrow the ground on the same + day that it is plowed, or on the day following. + + 14. Choose the middle of the prepared ground, which is about + eighty-five by fifty feet, as your starting point, measure + twenty-four feet east and west and set the net posts; then, + after marking off the different courts with tape, you are ready + for a good game of tennis. + + 15. There are two places on the island suitable for plays: one + in the bungalow and the other down on the sandy point; the + latter lends itself to the purpose readily, there are two trees + which make a splendid support for wires on which to hang the + curtain, and just east of these the ground slopes enough to + make a natural amphitheater. + +=C. Excessive Coördination= + +The ideas in the following sentences are loosely strung together with +coördinating conjunctions. Place the important idea in the main clause. +Subordinate other ideas by reducing each to a dependent clause, or a +phrase, or a word. + + 1. Chris has a new coat and it is double-breasted. + + 2. I had a dog, and his name was Scratcher. + + 3. He gave a laugh but it was forced. + + 4. The woodcock is so foolish and deliberately walks into a + trap. + + 5. The engineers fastened rafts to the piles, and which were + pulled up when the tide rose. + + 6. Students often sit all doubled up, and raising their feet + high on the table. + + 7. Dunlap is carrying a palette, but without any paint on it. + + 8. The government has been successful in its suit, and the + tobacco trust was dissolved. + + 9. The British troops had no protection against poisonous gas + and the use of gas by the enemy was unexpected. + + 10. I make it a rule to study one thing at least an hour and no + long rest between. + + 11. The concrete is spread in a layer, and this is about nine + inches thick, and the width being ten feet. + + 12. Rockwell is our postmaster, and is accommodating, but he + has a disposition to be curious. + + 13. At the Gatun Dam there are concrete locks, and the purpose + of these is to lift vessels into the lake. + + 14. They say to tourists that objects are historic but which + are not historic at all. + + 15. I was lying quietly in the hammock, and I happened to look + up in the tree, and there was a green bird and eating a cherry. + + 16. They disputed for a time, and afterward the officer became + angry, and whipped out his sword. + + 17. A mirage is an illusion and the traveler thinks he sees + water when there really is none. + +=D. Upside-down Subordination= + +In the following sentences the important idea is buried in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Rescue this main idea, express it in the main clause, +and if possible subordinate the rest of the sentence to it. + + 1. I spoke to her on the street, when she did not answer. + + 2. She thanked me for my assistance, also asking me to come and + visit her the following Sunday. + + 3. The water froze in the buckets, although they did not burst. + + 4. The crows cawed angrily and circling around in one place. + + 5. He is threatened with tuberculosis, although he will not + sleep in the open air. + + 6. We had hacked the bark, the tree dying after a few months. + + 7. One of the contestants was from Wendover College, who + received the prize. + + 8. You ask a person what a spiral staircase is, when he will go + to showing you by motions of his hand. + + 9. It was about three o'clock, and we decided to return home, + which we did. + + 10. The plumber came, stopping the leak as soon as he arrived. + + 11. Benton sold stamps, in which business he grew rich. + + 12. The sun's heat beats down upon the brick tenements, which + is terrible. + + 13. The chemist tested the purity of the water, but which he + found unfit to drink. + + 14. Montaigne wrote an essay on "Solitude," where he pointed + out the disadvantages of travel. + + 15. The house is set close to the edge of the bluff, + overlooking a wide bend of the Alleghany River. + + 16. Things had been going from bad to worse among the Indians, + and some Sioux were entertaining a few Chippewas, and murdered + them, when the government took a hand in the affair. + + 17. The slight knowledge of metals and wide-awake observation + of an inexperienced miner discovered gold in Arizona. + + + +CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +Clearness is fundamental. The writer should be content, not when his +meaning may be understood, but only when his meaning cannot be +misunderstood. He may attain this entire clearness by giving attention +to five matters: + + Reference (20-23) + Coherence (24-28) + Parallel Structure (30-31) + Consistency (32-35) + Use of Connectives (36-38) + + +REFERENCE + +By the use of pronouns, participles, and other dependent words, language +becomes flexible and free. But each dependent part must refer without +confusion to a word which is reasonably near, and properly expressed. +Ordinarily a reader expects a pronoun or a participle to refer to the +nearest noun (or pronoun) or to an emphatic noun. + + +=Divided Reference= + +=20. A pronoun should be placed near the word to which it refers, and +separated from words to which it might falsely seem to refer. If this +method does not secure clearness, discard the pronoun and change the +sentence structure.= + + Uncertain reference of _which_: He dropped the bundle in the + mud which he was carrying to his mother. [The reader for a + moment refers the pronoun to the wrong noun. Bring _which_ + nearer to its proper antecedent _bundle_.] + + Right: He dropped in the mud the bundle which he was carrying + to his mother. + + Vague reference of _this_: My failure in mathematics was + serious. My grades in English, history, and Latin were good + enough. But this brought down my average. [_This?_ What _this_? + Five nouns intrude between the pronoun _this_ and its proper + antecedent _failure_.] + + Right: In English, history, and Latin I received fairly good + grades. But in mathematics I received a failure. This brought + down my average. + + Remote reference of _it_: If you want to make a good speech, + take your hands out of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and + throw yourself into it. + + Right: If you want to make a good speech, take your hands out + of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into + what you are saying. [Or, better] Take your hands out of your + pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into the + speech. + + Ambiguous reference of _he_: John spoke to the stranger, and he + was very surly. + + Right: John spoke to the stranger, who was very surly. [Or] + John spoke in a surly manner to the stranger. + +Note.--The reference of relative and demonstrative pronouns is largely +dependent upon their position. The reference of a personal pronoun +(_he_, _she_, _they_, etc.) is not so much dependent upon its position, +the main consideration being that the antecedent shall be emphatic (See +the next article.) + + Exercise: + + 1. He was driving an old mule attached to a cart that was blind + in one eye. + + 2. There is a grimy streak on the wall over the radiator which + can be removed only with great difficulty. + + 3. The feet of Chinese girls were bandaged so tightly when they + were babies that they could not grow. + + 4. He gave me a receipt for the money which he told me to keep. + + 5. After the pictures have been taken and the film has been + removed, they are sent to the developing room where it is + developed and dried. + + +=Weak Reference= + +=21. Do not allow a pronoun to refer to a word not likely to be central +in the reader's thought; a word, for example, in the possessive case, or +in a parenthetical expression, or in a compound, or not expressed at +all. Make the pronoun refer to an emphatic word.= + + Wrong: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull + House, she always gave help. [_Poor woman_ and _Hull House_ are + the emphatic words, to which any pronoun used later is + instinctively referred by the reader.] + + Right: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull + House, she always received help. [Or] When a poor woman came to + Hull House, Jane Addams always gave help. + + Wrong: In biology, which is the study of plants and animals we + find that they are made up of unitary structures called cells. + [Since the words _plants and animals_ occur only in a + parenthetical clause, the reader is surprised to find them used + as an antecedent.] + + Right: In the study of biology we find that plants and animals + are made up of unitary structures called cells. + + Wrong: This old scissors-grinder sharpens them for the whole + neighborhood. [The center of interest in the reader's mind is a + man, not scissors.] + + Right: This old scissors-grinder sharpens scissors for the + whole neighborhood. + + Wrong: I always liked engineers, and I have chosen that as my + profession. + + Right: I always liked engineering, and I have chosen it as my + profession. + + Absurd: When the baby is through drinking milk, it should be + disconnected and put in boiling water. [The central idea in the + reader's mind is _baby_, not _milk-bottle_. The writer may have + been thinking about the _bottle_, but he did not make the word + emphatic; in fact, he did not express it at all.] + + Right: When the baby is through drinking milk, the bottle + should be taken apart and put in boiling water. + +Note.--Ordinarily, do not refer to the title in the first line of a +theme. The reader expects you to assert something, and face forward, not +to turn back to what you have said in the title. + + Faulty: Color Photography + + I am interested in this new development of science. For + a long time I ... + + Right: Color Photography + + Taking pictures in color has long appealed to me as an interesting + possibility ... + + Exercise: + + 1. In Shakespeare's play _Othello_ he makes Iago a fiend. + + 2. The noodle-cutter is a kitchen device which saves time in + making this troublesome dish. + + 3. The life of a forester is interesting, and I intend to + follow that profession. + + 4. He took down his great-grandfather's old sword, who had + carried it at Bunker Hill. + + 5. I was always making experiments in science, and I naturally + acquired a liking for periodicals of that nature. + + +=Broad Reference= + +=22. Do not use a pronoun to refer broadly to a general idea. Supply a +definite antecedent or abandon the pronoun.= + + Wrong: The tapper strikes the gong, which continues as long as + the push button is pressed. [The writer intends that _which_ + shall refer to the entire preceding clause, but the reference + is intercepted by the word _gong_.] + + Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: The tapper strikes the + gong, a process which continues as long as the push button is + pressed. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] The tapper strikes the + gong as long as the push button is pressed. + + Wrong: Read the directions which are printed on the bottle and + it may save you from making a mistake. + + Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: Read the directions + which are printed on the bottle. This precaution may save you + from making a mistake. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] Reading the + directions on the bottle may prevent a mistake. + + Wrong: The managers told him they would increase his salary if + he would represent them in South America. He refused that. + + Right: The managers told him they would increase his salary if + he would represent them in South America. He refused the offer. + +Exception.--It cannot be maintained that a pronoun must _always_ have +one definite word for its antecedent. Many of the best English authors +occasionally use a pronoun to refer to a clause. But the reference must +always be clear. + +Note.--Impersonal constructions must be used with caution. "It is +raining" is correct, although _it_ has no antecedent. We desire that the +antecedent shall be vague, impersonal. But unnecessary use of the +indefinite _it_, _you_, or _they_ should be avoided. + + Faulty: It says in our history that Columbus was an Italian. + + Right: Our history says that Columbus was an Italian. + + Not complimentary to the reader: You aren't hanged nowadays for + stealing. + + Right: No one is hanged nowadays for stealing. + + Faulty: They are noted for their tact in France. + + Right: The French are noted for their tact. + + Exercise: + + 1. You use little slang in your paper which is commendable. + + 2. They had no reinforcements which caused them to lose the + battle. + + 3. The carbon must be removed from pig iron to make pure steel, + and that is done by terrific heat. + + 4. Our stenographer spends most of her spare time at a cheap + movie theater, which is in itself an index of her character. + + 5. It says in the new rules that you aren't allowed in the + building on Sunday. + + +=Dangling Participle or Gerund= + +=23. A participle, being dependent, must refer to a noun or pronoun. The +noun or pronoun should be within the sentence which contains the +participle, and should be so conspicuous that the participle will be +associated with it instantly and without confusion.= + + Wrong: Coming in on the train, the high school building is + seen. [Is the building coming in? If not, who is?] + + Right: Coming in on the train, one sees the high school + building. + +A sentence containing a dangling participle may be corrected (1) by +giving the word to which the participle refers a conspicuous position in +the sentence, or (2) by replacing the participial phrase by some other +construction. + + Wrong: Having taken our seats, the umpire announced the + batteries. + + Right: Having taken our seats, we heard the umpire announce + the batteries. [Or] When we had taken our seats, the umpire + announced the batteries. + + Wrong: She was for a long time sick, caused by overwork. [The + participle _caused_ should not modify _sick_. A participle is + used as an adjective, and should therefore modify a noun.] + + Right--using an adjectival modifier: + + She had a long sickness, {caused by} overwork. + {due to } + + Right--using an adverbial modifier: + + {because of } + She was for a long time sick {owing to } overwork. + {on account of} + +=When a gerund phrase (_in passing_, _while speaking_ etc.) implies the +action of a special agent, indicate what the agent is. Otherwise the +phrase will be dangling.= + + Faulty: In talking to Mr. Brown the other day, he told me that + you intend to buy a car. + + Better: In talking to Mr. Brown the other day, I learned that + you intend to buy a car. + + Faulty: The address was concluded by reciting a passage from + Wordsworth. + + Better: The speaker concluded his address by reciting a passage + from Wordsworth. [Or] The address was concluded by the + recitation of a passage from Wordsworth. + +Note.--Two other kinds of dangling modifier, treated elsewhere in this +book, may be briefly mentioned here. A phrase beginning with the +adjective _due_ should refer to a noun; otherwise the phrase is left +dangling (See 5 Note). An elliptical sentence (one from which words are +omitted) is faulty when one of the elements is left dangling (See 3). + + Faulty: I was late _due_ to carelessness [Use _because of_]. + + Ludicrous: My shoestring always breaks when hurrying to the + office at eight o'clock [Say _when I am hurrying_]. + + Exercise: + + 1. Coming out of the house, a street car is seen. + + 2. While engaged in conversation with my host and hostess, my + maid placed upon the table a steaming leg of lamb. + + 3. A small quantity of gold is thoroughly mixed with a few + drops of turpentine, using the spatula to work it smooth. + + 4. After being in the oven twenty minutes, open the door. When + fully baked, you are ready to put the sauce on the pudding. + + 5. Entering the store, a soda fountain is observed. Passing + down the aisle, a candy counter comes into view. The rear of + the store is bright and pleasant, caused by a skylight. + + +COHERENCE + +The verb _cohere_ means to stick or hold firmly together. And the noun +_coherence_ as applied to writing means a close and natural sequence of +parts. Order is essential to clearness. + + +=General Incoherence= + +=24. Every part of a sentence must have a clear and natural connection +with the adjoining part. Like or related parts should normally be placed +together.= + + Bring related ideas together: Little Helen stood beside the + horse wearing white stockings and slippers. + + Right: Little Helen, in white stockings and slippers, stood + beside the horse. + + Keep unlike ideas apart: The colors of purple and green are + pleasing to the eye as found in the thistle. + + Right: The purple and green colors of the thistle are + pleasing. + + Distribute unrelated modifiers, instead of bunching them: I + found a heap of snow on my bed in the morning + which had drifted in through the window. [Subject + verb--object--place--time--explanation.] + + Right: In the morning I found on my bed + a heap of snow which had drifted in through the window. + [Time--subject verb--place--object--explanation.] + + Bring related modifiers together: When he has prepared his + lessons, he will come, as soon as he can put on his old + clothes. [Condition--main clause--condition.] + + Right: When he has prepared his lessons and put on his old + clothes, he will come. [Condition and condition--main clause.] + + Exercise: + + 1. He was gazing at the landscape which he had painted with a + smiling face. + + 2. She turned the steak with a fork which she was cooking for + dinner every few minutes. + + 3. Dickens puts the various experiences he had in the form of a + novel when he was a boy. + + 4. If the roads are made of dirt, the farmer has to wait, if + the weather is rainy, till they dry. + + 5. We received practically very little or none at all + experience in writing themes. + + +=Logical Sequence= + +=25. Place first in the sentence the idea which naturally comes first in +thought or in the order of time.= + + Faulty: We went to the station from the house after bidding all + goodby. + + Right: We said goodby to all, and went from the house to the + station. + +=Do not begin one idea, abandon it for a second, and then return to the +first. Complete one idea at a time.= + + Faulty: She looked up as he approached and smoothed her hair. + [The writer begins a main clause, changes to a subordinate + clause, and then attempts to add more to the main clause. + Unfortunately the last two verbs appear to be coördinate.] + + Right: She looked up and smoothed her hair as he approached. + [Or] As he approached she looked up, and smoothed her hair. + +=Ordinarily, let a second thought begin where the first leaves off.= + + Faulty: An orange grove requires plenty of water. The young + trees will die if they do not have plenty of water. [The order + of ideas is: "Grove ... water. Trees ... water." Reverse the + order of the second sentence.] + + Right: An orange grove requires plenty of water. For without + water the young trees will die. [Now the order of ideas is: + "Grove ... water. Water ... trees."] + + Exercise: + + 1. I boarded the train, after buying a ticket. + + 2. I dropped my pen when the whistle blew and sighed. + + 3. Unless the bank clerk has ability he will never be + successful unless he works faithfully and hard. + + 4. I remember the days when Rover was a pup. Now he is not half + so interesting as he was then. + + 5. A chessboard is divided into sixty-four squares, and there + is plenty of room between the opposing armies for a terrific + battle, since each army occupies only sixteen squares. + + +=Squinting Modifier= + +=26. Avoid the squinting construction. That is, do not place between two +parts of a sentence a modifier that may attach itself to either. Place +the modifier where it cannot be misunderstood.= + + Confusing: I told him when the time came I would do it. [_When + the time came_ is said to "squint" because the reader cannot + tell whether it looks forward to the end of the sentence, or + backward to the beginning.] + + Right: When the time came, I told him I would do it. [Or] I + told him I would do it when the time came. + + Confusing: Some friends I knew would enjoy the play. [_I knew_ + squints.] + + Right: Some friends would enjoy the play, I knew. + + Confusing: The orator whom every one was calling for + enthusiastically hurried to the platform. [_Enthusiastically_ + squints.] + + Clear: The orator whom every one was enthusiastically calling + for hurried to the platform. + + Exercise: + + 1. The man who laughs half the time does not understand the + joke. + + 2. Playing football in many ways improves the mind. + + 3. When she reached home much to her disgust the door was + locked. + + 4. When the lightning struck for the first time in my life I + was afraid. + + 5. The landlord wrote that he would if the rent were not paid + in thirty days eject the tenant. + + +=Misplaced Word= + +=27. Such an adverb as _only_, _ever_, _almost_, should be placed near +the word it modifies, and separated from words which it might falsely +seem to modify. Such a conjunction as _nevertheless_, if required with a +clause, should usually be placed near the beginning.= + + Illogical: I only need a few dollars. + + Right: I need only a few dollars. + + Illogical: I don't ever intend to go there again. + + Right: I don't intend ever to go there again. [Or] I intend + never to go there again. + + Illogical: She has the sweetest voice I nearly ever heard. + + Right: She has nearly [or _almost_] the sweetest voice I ever + heard. + + Tardy use of conjunction: I intend to try. I do not expect to + accomplish much, however. + + Right: I intend to try. I do not, however, expect to accomplish + much. + + Exercise: + + 1. Students are only admitted to one lecture. + + 2. This is the smallest book I almost ever saw. + + 3. He is so poor he hasn't any food, scarcely. + + 4. She had one dress that she never expected to wear. + + 5. The difficulties were tremendous. He said that he would do + his best, nevertheless. + + +=Split Construction= + +=28. Elements that have a close grammatical connection should not be +separated awkwardly or carelessly. These elements are: (a) subject and +verb, or verb and object; (b) the parts of a compound verb; and (c) the +parts of an infinitive.= + + Awkward: One in the struggle for efficiency should not become a + machine. + + Better: In the struggle for efficiency one should not become a + machine. + + Awkward: What use of an education could a girl who married a + penniless rogue and afterwards knew + nothing but hard labor, make? + + Better: What use of an education could a girl make who married + a penniless rogue and afterward knew nothing but hard labor? + + Crude: He was unable to even so much as stir a foot. + + Better: He was unable even to stir a foot. + +Note.--It is often desirable to separate the forms enumerated under (a) +and (b) above, either for emphasis (See 40) or to avoid a bunching of +modifiers at the end of a sentence (See 24). The whole point of rule 28 +is not to depart from a natural order needlessly. + + Exercise: + + 1. One thing the beginner must remember is to not get excited. + + 2. Ralph, when he heard the news, came flying out of the house. + + 3. The president called together, for the need was urgent, his + cabinet. + + 4. Bryce said that it is more patriotic to judiciously vote + than to frantically wave the American flag. + + 5. About the time Florence Nightingale had to give up her + plans, a war between Turkey, England, and France on one side + and Russia on the other, broke out. + + +=29.= EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Reference of Pronouns= + +In the following sentences make the reference of pronouns exact and +unmistakable. + + 1. Brown wrote to Roberts that he had made a mistake. + + 2. We heard a voice through the door which told us to enter. + + 3. There is a walk leading from the street to the house which + is made of thin slabs of stone. + + 4. A milking stool was beside the cow on which he was + accustomed to sit. + + 5. Should a community, such as a small village, spend the money + they do on roads? + + 6. This magazine prints many special articles on politics and + social reforms that are always instructive. + + 7. I wish I could do something for the protection of birds in + our country which is neglected. + + 8. After a man has failed in one business, it is no sign he + will fail in every other. + + 9. Sometimes cane syrup is mixed with the maple syrup, which + reduces the value of the product. + + 10. It means hard and diligent work to study Latin, but it + strengthens our brain or at least it gives it good exercise. + + 11. In the class room the students become acquainted, which may + develop into lifelong friendships. + + 12. He was delighted with a ride on horseback, which animal he + had been familiar with in his childhood on the farm. + + 13. It says in our history that the battle of New Orleans was + fought after the treaty of peace had been signed. + + 14. Sparks flew about in the air, and it reminded me of a huge + Fourth of July celebration. + + 15. The doctor gave me medicine to stop the dull pain in my + head. This made me feel much better. + +=B. Dangling Modifiers= + +Remembering that a participle is used as an adjective and must therefore +refer to a noun or pronoun, correct the following sentences. Gerund +phrases and a few elliptical sentences are included in the list. + + 1. Having planned the basement, the next thing considered was + the first floor. + + 2. Glancing around the room, the ugly wall paper at once + confronted me. + + 3. After ringing the bell, and waiting a few moments, a maid + came to the door. + + 4. When selecting a site for an orchard, it should be well + drained. + + 5. Not being a skilled dancer, my feet moved awkwardly. + + 6. Having no watch, the clock must be consulted. + + 7. He was sick, caused by eating too much dessert. + + 8. Radium is very difficult to get, making it the most valuable + metal. + + 9. One man goes home and beats his wife, resulting in internal + injuries. + + 10. Over the paper and kindling a few small chunks of coal are + scattered, taking care not to choke the draft. + + 11. In speaking of character, it does not mean to be a governor + or a general. + + 12. This town draws trade for a radius of twenty miles, thus + accounting for the large volume of business. + + 13. While talking to Ralph yesterday, he spoke about his recent + success in the hardware business. + + 14. The bus holds fifteen people, and when full, the bus man + shuts the door. + + 15. If bright and pleasant, the rabbit will be found sitting at + the entrance of his burrow. + +=C. Coherence= + +Secure a clear, smooth, natural order for the following sentences. + + 1. I have a lot for sale near the city limits. + + 2. Many men can only speak their native tongue. + + 3. I saw yesterday, crossing the street, a beautiful woman. + + 4. They entered the room, and sitting on the floor they saw a + baby. + + 5. I put down my book when the clock struck and yawned. + + 6. She dropped the money on the sidewalk which she was carrying + home. + + 7. The horse did not notice that the gate was open for several + minutes. + + 8. It was worth the trouble. I do not wish to have the + experience again, however. + + 9. My first trip away from home, of any distance, was made on a + steamboat from St. Louis to New Orleans. + + 10. He gazed at a young man who was waving his hands violently, + called a cheer leader. + + 11. Any soil will grow some variety of strawberry, except sand + and clay. + + 12. I turned triumphantly to Will, who was still gazing at the + place where the muskrat sank with a beaming face. + + 13. Only the interest, the principal being kept intact, is + spent. + + 14. A student should see that external conditions are favorable + for study, such as light, temperature, and clothing. + + 15. Draw a heavy line using a ruler to connect New York and San + Francisco across the map. + + +PARALLEL STRUCTURE + +When the structure of a sentence is simple and uniform, the important +words strike the eye at once. Compare the following: + + Parallel: Beggars must not be choosers. + + Confusing: Beggars must not be the one who choose. + +A reader gives attention partly to the structure of a sentence, and +partly to the thought. The less we puzzle him with our structure, the +more we shall impress him with our thought. + + Parallel: Seeing is believing. [Attention goes to the thought.] + + Confusing: Seeing is to believe. [Attention is diverted to + _structure_.] + +The reader's expectation is that uniform structure shall accompany +uniform ideas, and that a departure from uniformity shall indicate a +change of thought. + + +=Parallel Structure for Parallel Thoughts= + +=30. Give parallel structure to those parts of a sentence which are +parallel in thought. Do not needlessly interchange an infinitive with a +participle, a phrase with a clause, a single word with a phrase or +clause, a main clause with a dependent clause, one voice or mode of the +verb with another, etc.= + + Faulty: Riding is sometimes better exercise than to walk. + + Right: Riding is sometimes better exercise than walking. [Or] + To ride is sometimes better exercise than to walk. + + Faulty: He had two desires, of which the first was for money; + in the second place, he wanted fame. + + Right: He had two desires, of which the first was for money and + the second for fame. [Or] He had two desires: in the first + place, he wanted money; in the second, fame. + + Faulty: His rival handled cigars of better quality and having a + higher selling price. + + Right: His rival handled cigars of better quality and higher + price. + + Faulty: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, + and after a little practice you will be a good driver. + + Right: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, + and had a little practice, you will be a good driver. [Or] + After you master the gears and have a little practice, you will + be a good driver. + + Faulty. These are the duties of the president of a literary + society: + + (a) To preside at regular meetings, + (b) He calls special meetings, + (c) Appointment of committees. + + Right: These are the duties of the president of a literary + society: + + (a) To preside at regular meetings, + (b) To call special meetings, + (c) To appoint committees. + + Faulty: She was actively connected with the club, church, and + with several organized charities. [Here parallelism is obscured + by the omission from the second phrase of both the preposition + and the article.] + + Right: She was actively connected with the club, with the + church, and with several organized charities. + + Faulty: He was red-faced, awkward, and had a disposition to eat + everything on the table. [The third element is like the others + in thought, and should have similar form.] + + Right: He had a red face, an awkward manner, and a disposition + to eat everything on the table. [Or] He was red-faced, awkward, + and voracious. + +Note.--Avoid misleading parallelism. For ideas _different_ in kind, do +_not_ use parallel structure. + + Wrong: He was hot, puffing, and evidently had run very hard. + [The third element is unlike the others in thought; hence the + _and_ is misleading.] + + Right: He was hot and puffing; evidently he had run very hard. + + Confusing: He was admired for his knowledge of science, and for + his taste for art, and for this I too honor him. [The last + _for_ gives a false parallelism to unlike thoughts.] + + Better: He was admired for his scientific knowledge and for his + artistic taste. I honor him for both these qualities. + + Exercise: + + 1. The duties of the secretary are to answer correspondence, + and keeping the minutes of the meetings. + + 2. This process is the most difficult; it costs the most; and + is most important. + + 3. I make it a rule to be orderly, spend no money foolishly, + and keep still when I have nothing to say. + + 4. The cotton is put up in bales about five feet in length and + three feet wide and four thick, and one of them weighing about + five hundred pounds. + + 5. Considerations of economy that one should bear in mind when + planning a house are: first, a rectangular ground-plan; second, + a one-chimney plan; third, to have only one stairway; fourth, + eliminate as many doors as possible; fifth, the bathroom should + be above the kitchen so as to reduce the cost of plumbing; and + lastly, the rooms should be few and large rather than small and + many of them. + + +=Correlatives= + +Conjunctions that are used in pairs are called correlatives; for +example, _not only_ ... _but also_ ..., _both_ ... _and_ +..., _either_ ... _or_ ..., _neither_ ... _nor_ ..., _not_ ... _or_ ..., +_whether_ ... _or_ .... + +=31. Correlatives should usually be followed by elements parallel in +form; if a predicate follows one, a predicate should follow the other; +if a prepositional phrase follows one, a prepositional phrase should +follow the other; and so on.= + + Faulty: He was not only courteous to rich customers but also to + poor ones. [Here the phrases intended to be balanced against + each other are _to rich customer's_ and _to poor ones_. As the + sentence stands, it is the word _courteous_ that is balanced + against _to poor ones_.] + + Right: He was courteous not only to rich customers but also to + poor ones. + + Faulty: She could neither make up her mind to go nor could she + decide to stay. + + Right: She could neither make up her mind to go nor decide to + stay. [Or] She could not make up her mind either to go or to + stay. + + Faulty: I talked both with Brown and Miller. [Here one + conjunction is followed by a preposition and the other by a + noun.] + + Right: I talked with both Brown and Miller. [Or] I talked both + with Brown and with Miller. + + Exercise: + + 1. He was courteous to both friends and his enemies. + + 2. Such conduct is not only dangerous to society but becomes a + national disgrace as well. + + 3. She had neither affectation of manners nor was she + sharp-tongued. + + 4. After reading Thoreau's _Walden_ I appreciate not only the + style but also I am inclined to believe in his ideas. + + 5. The good that the delegates derive from the convention not + only helps them, but they tell others what happened. + + +CONSISTENCY + +=Shift in Subject or Voice= + +=32. Do not needlessly shift the subject, voice, or mode in the middle of +a sentence. Keep one point of view, until there is a reason for +changing.= + + Faulty: In the stream which the road led over, fish were + plentiful. [Here the first mental picture is of a stream. Then + the thought is jerked away to the road above. Then it returns + to the fish in the stream.] + + Right: In the stream which flowed under the roadway, fish were + plentiful. + + Faulty: Mark Twain was born in the West, but the East was his + home in later years. [The change of subject is uncalled for.] + + Right: Mark Twain was born in the West, but lived in the East + in his later years. [Or] The West was the birthplace of Mark + Twain, and the East was his home in his later years. + + Faulty: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of + gasoline, and at the same time very little lubricating oil is + used. [The shift from active to passive voice is awkward and + confusing.] + + Right: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of + gasoline, and at the same time use very little lubricating oil. + + Faulty: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when we wish + to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of + mathematics is indispensable. + + Right: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when certain + formulas are to be calculated, a knowledge of mathematics is + indispensable. [Or] When we face a problem in chemistry, or + wish to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of + mathematics is indispensable. + + Faulty: Next the ground should be harrowed. Then you sow the + wheat. [The subject changes from _ground_ to _you_. One verb + explains what _should_ be done, the other what somebody + _does_.] + + {is } + Right: Next the ground { } harrowed. Then it + {should be} + {is } + { } sown to wheat. [Or] Next you should harrow + {should be} + the ground. Then you should sow the wheat. + + Exercise: + + 1. One end of a camera carries the film, and the lens and + shutter are in the other end. + + 2. When an athlete is in training, good healthful food should + be eaten. + + 3. An engineer's time is not devoted to one branch of science, + but should include many. + + 4. By having only five men in charge of our city government, + they would have more power, and we could then fix + responsibility. + + 5. There are two main classes of cake, sponge and butter. We + are taught to make both in cooking school. I like the sponge + cake. The butter cake is preferred by most persons. + + +=Shift in Number, Person, or Tense= + +=33. Avoid an inconsistent change in number, person, or tense.= + + Faulty change in number: One should save their money. + + Right: People should save their money. [Or] A man should save + his money. + + Faulty change in person: Place the seeds in water, and in a few + days a person can see that they have started to grow. + + Right: Place the seeds in water, and in a few days you will see + that they have started to grow. + + Faulty change in number: Take your umbrella with you. They will + be needed today. + + Right: Take your umbrella with you. You will need it today. + + Faulty change in tense: Freedom means that a man may conduct + his affairs as he pleases so long as he did not injure anybody + else. + + Right: Freedom means that a man may conduct his affairs as he + pleases so long as he does not injure anybody else. + + Faulty change in tense: When he heard the news, he hurries down + town and buys a paper. + + Right: When he heard the news, he hurried down town and bought + a paper. + +Note.--A change of tense within a sentence is desirable and necessary in +certain instances, for which see 55. + +Sometimes, for the sake of vividness, past events are described in the +present tense, as if they were taking place before our eyes. This usage +is called the _historical present_. A shift to the historical present +should not be made abruptly, or frequently, or for any subject except an +important crisis. + + Exercise: + + 1. A person should be careful of their conduct. + + 2. Sentences should be so formed that the reader feels it to be + a unit. + + 3. One should make the best of their surroundings and their + possessions, provided they cannot better them. + + 4. When he sees me coming, he looked the other way. + + 5. Silas Marner lost many of his habits of solitude, and goes + out among his neighbors. + + +=Mixed Constructions= + +=34. Do not make a compromise between two constructions.= + + Faulty: I cannot help but go. + + Right: I cannot help going. [Or] I cannot but go. [Or] I can + but go. + + Faulty: They are as following: + + Right: They are as follows: [Or] They are the following: + + Faulty: He tried, but of no avail. + + Right: He tried, but to no avail. [Or] He tried, but his effort + was of no avail. + + Faulty: There is no honor to be on this committee. + + Right: It is no honor to be on this committee. [Or] There is no + honor in being on this committee. + + Faulty: Sparks from the chimney caught the house on fire. + + Right: Sparks from the chimney set the house on fire. [Or] The + house caught fire from the sparks from the chimney. + +Note.--The double negative and kindred expressions (_not hardly_, _not +scarcely_, etc.) are an especially gross form of mixed construction. + + Wrong: He isn't no better now than he was then. [Logically, not + no better means _better_. The two negatives cancel each other + and leave an affirmative.] + + Right: He isn't any better now than he was then. [Or] He is no + better now than he was then. + + Wrong: She couldn't see her friend nowhere. + + Right: She couldn't see her friend anywhere. [Or] She could see + her friend nowhere. + + Wrong: We couldn't hardly see through the mist. + + Right: We could hardly see through the mist. [Or] We couldn't + see well through the mist. + + Exercise: + + 1. He doesn't come here no more. + + 2. I cannot help but make this error. + + 3. I remember scarcely nothing of the occurrence. + + 4. I would not remain there only a few days. + + 5. John would not do this under no circumstances. + + +=Mixed Imagery= + +=35. Avoid phrases which may call up conflicting mental images. When +using metaphor, simile, etc., carry one figure of speech through, +instead of shifting to another, or dropping suddenly back into literal +speech.= + + Crude: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the heart of + the cotton belt. + + Right: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the South. + + Crude: He traveled a rough road and climbed with his burden the + ladder of success, where he is a glowing example and guide to + other men. [The suggestion which a reader with a sense of humor + may get is, that a man starts out as a traveler, suddenly + becomes a hod-carrier, and is then transformed into a bonfire + or a lighthouse.] + + Right: He traveled a rough road, but found success. Other men + followed in his steps. + + Incongruous: Spring came scattering flowers, and there was rain + a great per cent of the time. [This sentence mingles the + language of poetry with the language of science. It should be + fanciful, or else literal, throughout.] + + Right: Spring came scattering flowers and rain. [Or] Spring + came with much rain and many flowers. + + Inconsistent use of irony: The phonograph was shrieking, "Waltz + me around again, Willie." I am sure I love that beautiful song. + The taste of the people who attend these cheap theaters is + deplorable. [The three sentences should be ironical throughout, + or not ironical at all.] + + Exercise: + + 1. We should meet the future from the optimistic point of view. + + 2. General Wolfe put every ounce of his life into the capture + of Quebec. + + 3. A key-note of sincerity should be the mainspring of a + well-built speech. + + 4. He went drifting down the sands of time on flowery beds of + ease. + + 5. The blank in my mind crystallized into action. + + +USE OF CONNECTIVES + +=The Exact Connective= + +=36. Use a connective which expresses the exact relation between two +clauses. Distinguish between time and cause, concession and condition, +etc. Do not overwork _and_, _so_, or _while_.= + + Misleading: _While_ he is sick, he is able to walk. [Use + _though_.] + + Misleading: Miss Brown sang, _while_ her sister spoke a piece. + [Use _but_.] + + Faulty. Work hard _when_ you want to succeed. [Use _if_.] + + Faulty: They will be sorry _without_ they do this. [Use + _unless_.] + + Faulty: Little poetry is read, _only_ at times when it is + compulsory. [Use _except_.] + + Faulty. The early morning and evening are the best times to + find ducks, _and_ we did not see many flying. [Use _and for + that reason_.] + + Faulty: Corbin says: "In America sportsmanship is almost a + passion," _and_ in England "the player very seldom forgets that + he is a man first and an athlete afterward." [Use _whereas_.] + +Note.--_So_ is an elastic word that covers a multitude of vague +meanings. Language has need of such a word, and in many instances +(especially when the relation between clauses is obvious and does not +need to be pointed out) _so_ serves well enough. Use it, but not as a +substitute for more exact connectives. Beware of falling into the +"_so_-habit." + + Abuse of _so_ as a vague coördinating connective: So I went to + call on Mrs. Woods, and so she told me about Mrs. White's new + gown; so then I missed the car, and so of course our supper is + late. [Strike out every _so_.] + + Abuse of _so_ as a subordinating connective: You may go, _so_ + you keep still. [Use _provided_.] _So_ you do only that, I + shall be satisfied. [Use _though_.] + + Permissible: I was excited, so I missed the target. + +_So_ may sometimes be used to express result. But when a clause of +result is important and needs emphasis, it is perhaps better to strike +out _so_ and subordinate the preceding clause. + + Right: In my excitement I missed the target. + + Right: Because I was excited, I missed the target. + + Right: Being excited, I missed the target. + + +=List of Connectives= + +=A. With Coördinate Clauses, expressing= + + =1. Addition:= and, besides, furthermore, again, in addition, in + like manner, likewise, moreover, then too, and finally. + + =2. Contrast:= but, and yet, however, in spite of, in contrast to + this, nevertheless, notwithstanding, nor, on the contrary, for + all that, rather still, but unhappily, yet unfortunately, + whereas. + + =3. Alternative:= or, nor, else, otherwise, neither, nor, or on + the other hand. + + =4. Consequence:= therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, in + this way, it follows that, the consequence is, and under such + circumstances, wherefore, thus, as a result, as a consequence. + + =5. Explanation:= for example, for instance, in particular, more + specifically, for, because. + + =6. Repetition for emphasis:= in other words, that is to say, and + assuredly, certainly, in fact, and in truth, indeed it is + certain, undoubtedly, for example, in the same way, as I have + said. + +=B. With Subordinate Adverb Clauses, expressing= + + =1. Time:= when, then, before, while, after, until at last, as + long as, now that, upon which, until, whenever, whereupon, + meanwhile. + + =2. Place:= where, whence, whither, wherever. + + =3. Degree or Comparison:= as, more than, rather than, than, to + the degree in which. + + =4. Manner:= as, as if, as though. + + =5. Cause:= because, for, as, inasmuch as, since, owing to the + fact that, seeing that, in that. + + =6. Purpose:= that, so that, in order that, lest. + + =7. Result:= that is, so that, but that. + + =8. Condition:= if, provided that, in case that, on condition + that, supposing that, unless. + + =9. Concession:= though, although, assuming that, admitting that, + granting that, even if, no matter how, notwithstanding, of + course. + +=C. With Adjective Clauses.= Adjective or relative clauses are introduced +by who, which, that, or an equivalent compound. + + Exercise: + + Insert within the parentheses all the connectives that might + conceivably be used, and underscore the one which you consider + to be most exact: + + 1. He is not a broad-minded man; ( ) he has many prejudices. + + 2. A number of friends came in, bringing refreshments, ( ) + we spent a delightful evening. + + 3. We ought to return now, for it is growing dark; ( ) I + told Mary we would be home at six o'clock. + + 4. I do not believe that climate is responsible for many of the + differences between races, ( ) Taine says that it is. + + 5. She took the letter from me and read it slowly, ( ) her + eyes filled with tears. + + + +=Repetition of Connective with a Gain in Clearness= + +=37. Connectives that accompany a parallel series should be repeated when +clearness requires.= + + Preposition to be repeated: He was regarded as a hero by all + who had known him at school, and especially his old school + mates. + + Right: He was regarded as a hero _by_ all who had known him at + school, and especially _by_ his old school mates. + + Sign of the infinitive to be repeated: He wishes to join with + those who love freedom and justice, and end needless suffering. + + Right: He wishes _to_ join with those who love freedom and + justice, and _to_ end needless suffering. + + Conjunction to be repeated: Since he was known to have + succeeded in earlier enterprises, though confronted by + difficulties that would have taxed the ability of older men, + and his powers were now acknowledged to be mature, he was put + in charge of the undertaking. + + Right: _Since_ he was known to have succeeded in earlier + enterprises, though confronted by difficulties that would have + taxed the ability of older men, and _since_ his powers were now + acknowledged to be mature, he was put in charge of the + undertaking. + + Conjunction to be repeated: He explained that the strikers + asked only a fair hearing, since their contentions were + misunderstood; were by no means in favor of the violent + measures to which the public had grown accustomed; and had no + desire to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property. + + Right: He explained _that_ the strikers asked only a fair + hearing, since their contentions were misunderstood; _that_ + they were by no means in favor of the violent measures to which + the public had grown accustomed; and _that_ they had no desire + to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property. + + Exercise: + + 1. The place is often visited by fishermen who catch some + strange varieties of fish and especially summer tourists. + + 2. The worth of a man depends upon his character, not his + possessions. 3. He was delighted with that part of the city + which overlooked the harbor and bay, and especially the citadel + on the highest point. + + 4. Although he was so youthful in appearance that the + recruiting officer must have known he was under twenty-one, and + had not yet become a fully naturalized citizen, his effort to + enlist met with immediate success. + + 5. In the course of his speech he said that he was a foreigner, + he came to this country when he was fourteen years old, landing + in New York with his only possessions tied in a handkerchief, + went to work in an iron foundry, and after many years of toil + he found himself at the head of a great industry. + + +=Repetition of Connective with a Loss in Clearness= + +=38. Do not complicate thought by persistent repetition of elements +beginning with _that_, _which_, _of_, _for_, or _but_, and NOT parallel +in structure.= + + Complicated repetition of _that_: He gave a quarter to the boy + that brought the paper that printed the news that the war was + ended. [_That_, _which_, and _who_ are often used carelessly to + form a chain of subordinate clauses. Three successive + subordinations are all that a reader can possibly keep + straight; ordinarily a writer should not exceed two. But in + parallel structure (See 30 and 37) the number of _that_, + _which_, or _who_ clauses does not matter; a writer may + fill a page with them and not confuse the reader at all.] + + Right: He gave the boy a quarter for bringing him the paper + with the news that the war was ended. + + Complicated repetition of _of_: The East Side Civics Club is an + organization of helpers of the helpless of the lower classes of + the city. + + Right: The East Side Civics Club is organized to help the + helpless poor of the city. + + Complicated repetition of _for_: The general was dismayed, for + he had not expected resistance, for he had thought the power of + the enemy was shattered. + + Right: The general was dismayed; he had not expected + resistance, for he had thought the power of the enemy was + shattered. + + Complicated repetition of _but_: He was undoubtedly a brave + man, but now he was somewhat alarmed, but he would not turn + back. + + Right: He was undoubtedly a brave man; though now somewhat + alarmed, he would not turn back. [Or] He was undoubtedly a + brave man. He was now somewhat alarmed, but he would not turn + back. + +Note.--Guard against the _but_-habit. Frequent recurrence of _but_ makes +the reader's thought "tack" or change its course too often. There are +ways to avoid an excessive use of _but_ and _however_. When one wishes +to write about two things, A and B, which are opposed, he need not rush +back and forth from one idea to the other. Let him first say all he +wants to say about A. Then let him deliberately use the adversative +_but_, and proceed to the discussion of B. In the following paragraph on +"Whipping Children" the writer tries to be on both sides of the fence at +once. + + Confusing: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed, than + to explain and argue. _But_ the gentler method is better. _Yet_ + we all admit that the birch must be used sometimes. _However_, + if it is used only for serious trangressions, the child will + have a sense of proportion regarding what offenses are grave. + _But_ for ordinary small misdemeanors I think we need a new + motto: Spoil the rod and spare the child. + + Right: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed than to + explain and argue. And of course we all admit that the birch + must be used sometimes. _But_ if it is used only for serious + transgressions, the child will have a sense of proportion + regarding what offenses are grave. For ordinary small + misdemeanors I think we need a new motto: Spoil the rod and + spare the child. + + Exercise: + + 1. He did not agree at first, but hesitated for a time, but + finally said that he would go along. + + 2. Push down on the foot lever, which closes a switch which + starts an electric motor which turns the flywheel so that the + gasoline engine starts. + + 3. Apple dumplings are good, but they must be properly baked, + but fortunately this is not difficult to do. + + 4. The work of the course consists partly of the study of the + principles of grammar and of rhetoric, partly of the writing of + themes, partly of oral composition, and partly of the reading + and study of models of English prose. + + 5. The landscape which lay before me was one which was + different from any which I had ever seen before. There was one + thing which impressed me, and that was the miles and miles of + grass which stretched and undulated away from the hill on which + I stood. + + +=39.= EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Parallel Structure= + +Give parallel structure to elements which are parallel in thought. + + 1. Baskets are of practical value as well as being used for + ornaments. + + 2. The Book of Job ought to be interesting to a student, or for + anybody. + + 3. The important considerations are whether the soil is sandy, + and if it is well drained, and that it shall be easily + cultivated. + + 4. A flower garden is a source of profit--profit not measured + in money but in pleasure. + + 5. He was successful in business, and also attained success in + the political world. + + 6. Whether his object was writing for pastime, or to please a + friend, or money, we do not know. + + 7. Always praise your enemy, because if you whip him your glory + is increased, and if he whips you it lets you down easy. + + 8. Either the ship will sink in the rough sea or go to pieces + on the shore. + + 9. An athlete must possess strength, nerve, and be able to + think quickly. + + 10. We were interested in buying some dry-goods, and at the + same time see the sights of the great city. + + 11. Some people talk foolishness, and others on serious + subjects, and some keep still. + + 12. Not only she noticed my condition, but commented on it. + + 13. He abides by neither the laws of God nor man. He spoke both + to Harry and Tom. + + 14. It is good for the health of one's mind to get new ideas + every day, and expressing them clearly in writing. + + 15. Everyone who is capable of understanding the tax laws + should know them and how they are abused. + + 16. I began by making applications at federal, state, and city + employment bureaus for a position as cost accountant, salesman, + or clerical work. + + 17. The damage to the trunk was caused by rough handling and + not from faults in construction. + + 18. Pope, Swift, Addison, and Defoe were four satirists, but + differing greatly in their work. + + 19. The occupants of these buildings are engaged in various + kinds of business, namely: shoe-shining, shoe repair shops, + cleaning and pressing clothes, confectionery stores, and + restaurants. + + 20. I sing of geese: of the Biblical goose, that blew his bugle + from the roof of Noah's Ark; the classical goose that picked + his livelihood along the shores of the Ægean; of the + historical goose, that squawked to save old Rome; the mercenary + goose, laying the golden egg; and, finally, of the roast goose. + +=B. Shift in Subject or Voice= + +Rewrite the following sentences, avoiding all unnecessary shift in +construction. + + 1. After you decide on the plan of the house, your attention is + turned to the materials of construction. + + 2. Editors are careful to use words that are exact, yet simple, + and the use of technical terms is not generally considered to + be good. + + 3. Bank accounts should be balanced once a month in order that + you may know your exact standing. + + 4. We should have our athletic contest between the weakest + students, and in that way they will become physically strong. + + 5. When one is making a long-distance run, several cautions + should be borne in mind by him. + + 6. In melody the poem is good, but the author's ideas are + eccentric. + + 7. Lincoln's sentences are plain, blunt, and to the point. He + lacks the ornate eloquence of Jefferson. + + 8. The operator places a large shovelful of concrete in the + mold, and the mixture is made solid by tamping. + + 9. He might become angry, but it was over in a few minutes. + + 10. The pauper chanced to gain entrance to the royal palace, + and while there the young prince is met by him. + + 11. When the weather is hot, plowing is accomplished very + slowly with horses, while on the tractor the heat has no + effect. + + 12. First, one should mix one-half cup of corn syrup and one + cup of brown sugar; then one cup of cream and the flavoring are + added. + + 13. In the college situated in a small town there are + dormitories for the student, but in the cities they usually + room where they please. + + 14. An education should enable us to tell the valuable from + the cheap book, and by it we should be able to tell the true + from the counterfeit man. + + 15. Moisten the sand thoroughly and set the box in a warm + place, and in about a week's time it can readily be seen by the + way the grains have sprouted which ears of seed corn have + greatest vitality. + +=C. Shift in Number, Person, or Tense= + +Rewrite the following sentences, removing all inconsistency in +grammatical form. + + 1. Every one has a right to their own opinion. + + 2. Bryant rushed to the window and shouts at the postman. + + 3. The life of the honey bee has been studied, and their + activities found to be remarkable. + + 4. He says to me, "Are you ready?" And I answered, "No." + + 5. When a person keeps a store, you should remember the names + and faces of your customers. + + 6. An automobile is expensive, and they are liable to become an + elephant on your hands. + + 7. If one studies the market, he would find that prices rise + every year. + + 8. If one went to Europe, he will find everything different. + + 9. Since these tires were different in construction, the method + of repairing will vary. + + 10. Contentment is a state of mind in which one is satisfied + with themselves and their surroundings. + + 11. It is easy to catch 'possums if you can find the rascal. + + 12. The writer of a theme should not waste time on a long + introduction, and get to the facts of your subject as quickly + as possible. + + 13. Shakespeare's comedies are great fun. I prefer it to + tragedy. + + 14. Often a man will knock at the door, and finds no one at + home. + + 15. Too much attention will spoil a child. They should not be + entertained every minute. + +=D. The Exact Connective= + +Each of the following sentences contains an idea which is, or may be, +subordinate to another idea. (1) Decide what kind of subordinate +relation should exist between the ideas. (2) Determine what connective +best expresses this relation. (Consult 36 for a list of connectives.) +(3) Write the sentence as it should be. + + 1. Wealth is a good thing, while honest wealth is better. + + 2. Spend an hour in the open air every day when you want to + keep your health. + + 3. The rattlesnake gives warning and it is only afterward that + he strikes. + + 4. South Americans are our national neighbors, and we as a + nation should understand them. + + 5. The city man knows nothing about a cow, only that it has + horns. + + 6. He got up early in order that he might be able to see the + sunrise. + + 7. The tenderfoot saw the funnel-shaped cloud when he made for + a cyclone cellar. + + 8. Men fear what they do not understand, and a coward is one + who is ignorant. + + 9. Hinting did not influence her; then he tried scolding. + + 10. The valet spilled the wine, and the duke started up with an + oath. + + 11. While he writhed on the ground, he was not really hurt. + + 12. He will not cash the check without you indorse it. + + 13. We want this work done by the first of April, so please + send an estimate soon. + + 14. He had traveled everywhere, and he had a vivid recollection + of only three scenes: Niagara Falls, the Jungfrau, and Lake + Como. + + 15. I never hear him talk but he makes me angry. + + 16. Animals have some of the same feelings as human beings + have. + + 17. It was four o'clock and we decided to return and be home + for supper. + +=E. Repetition of Connectives= + +In the following sentences determine whether repetition is desirable or +undesirable, and change the sentences accordingly. + + 1. With the coming of meal time, the potatoes are removed from + the fire with a fork with a long handle. + + 2. His clothes were brushed and neat, but patched and + repatched. But still he could be bright and cheery. + + 3. To no other magazine do I look forward to the arrival of its + new issue, more than I do to the _World's Work_. + + 4. At the time the book was written, I believe Forster was + considered to be almost the best biographer living at that + time. + + 5. The freshman has no spirit until the sophomores have + provoked him until he resists until he finds that he has + spirit. + + 6. Some socialists are against the present system of + initiative, referendum, and recall, but advocate a system much + like it but applied in a different way. + + 7. The gun with which the Germans bombarded Paris with had a + range of seventy-five miles. + + 8. Basketball is a game that I have played for years, and I am + greatly interested in. + + 9. This is the lever which throws the switch which directs the + train that takes the track that goes to Boston. + + 10. Short talks were made by the captain, the coach, and by the + faculty. + + 11. At this school one can study to be a doctor, dentist, + farmer, a lawyer, or an engineer. + + 12. I like to cross the harbor on the ferry, to dodge in and + out among the ships, see the gulls dart among the waves, smell + the sharp tang of salty air, and to feel the rocking motion of + the boat. + + 13. In the sultry autumn, and when the winter's storms came, + and when in spring the winds whistled, and in the summer's + heat, he always wore the same old coat. + + 14. He knew that if he did not ignite the piece of wet bark + this time, that he could not dry his clothing or broil the + bacon. + + 15. The next speaker said that the need was critical, the + schools must be enlarged, and that the paving now begun must be + completed, and a new board of health should be created, that + the interest on past debts had to be paid, and the city + treasury was at this moment out of funds. + + + + +EMPHASIS + + +=Emphasis by Position= + +=40. Reserve the emphatic positions in a sentence for important words or +ideas. (The emphatic positions are the beginning and the end--especially +the end.)= + + Weak ending: Then like a flash a vivid memory of my uncle's + death came to me. + + Weak: I demand the release of the prisoners, in the first + place. + + Weak: This principle is one we cannot afford to accept, if my + understanding of the question is correct. + +Place the important idea at the end. Secure, if possible, an emphatic +beginning. "Tuck in" unimportant modifiers. + + Emphatic: Like a flash came to me a vivid memory of my uncle's + death. + + Emphatic: I demand, in the first place, the release of the + prisoners. + + Emphatic: This principle, if my understanding of the question + is correct, is one we cannot afford to accept. + + Exercise: + + 1. "War is inevitable," he said. + + 2. The cat had been poisoned to all appearances. + + 3. There are several methods of learning to swim, as everyone + knows. + + 4. A liar is as bad as a thief, in my estimation. + + 5. He saw a fight below him in the street, happening to look + out of the window. + + +=Emphasis by Separation= + +=41. An idea which needs much emphasis may be detached, and allowed to +stand in a sentence by itself.= + + Faulty: The flames were by this time beyond control, and the + walls collapsed, and several firemen were hurt. [The ideas here + are too important to be run together in one sentence.] + + Right: By this time the flames were beyond control, and the + walls collapsed. Several firemen were hurt. + +A quotation gains emphasis when it is separated from what follows. + + + Faulty: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men + Gang aft a-gley," + + are some lines from Burns which McDonald was always quoting. + + Right: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men + Gang aft a-gley." + + McDonald was always quoting these lines from Burns. + +Direct discourse is more emphatic when it is separated from explanatory +phrases, particularly from those which follow. + + Faulty: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted defiantly, "I + will never consent to that!" and he looked as if he meant what + he said. + + Right: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted his defiance: "I + will never agree to that!" And he looked as if he meant what he + said. + + Exercise: + + 1. After the tents are pitched, the beds made, and the fires + started, the first meal is cooked and served, and this meal is + the beginning of camp-life joy. + + 2. He tried to make his wife vote for his own, the Citizen's + Party, but she firmly refused. + + 3. At the word of command the dog rushed forward; the covey + rose with a mighty whir, and the hunter fired both barrels, and + the dog looked in vain for a dead bird, and then returned + disconsolate. + + 4. I sat and gazed at the motto, "Aim high, and believe + yourself capable of great things," which my mother had placed + there for me. + + 5. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, + A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, and Thou + Beside me singing in the Wilderness." + + were the four things Omar Khayyam wanted to make him happy. + + +=Emphasis by Subordination= + +=42. Do not place the important idea of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Make the important idea grammatically independent. If +possible, subordinate the rest of the sentence to it.= + + Faulty: He had a manner which made me angry. + + Faulty: The fire spread to the third story, when the house was + doomed. + + Faulty: For years the Indians molested the white people, + thereby causing the settlers to want revenge. + +The important idea should not be placed in a _which_ clause, or a _when_ +clause, or a participial phrase. + + Right: His manner made me angry. + + Right: When the fire spread to the third story, the house was + doomed. + + Right: Years of molestation by the Indians made the white men + want revenge. + + Exercise: + + 1. I was riding on the train, when suddenly there was an + accident. + + 2. There are two windows in each bedroom, thus insuring good + ventilation. + + 3. Yonder is the house which is my home. + + 4. He saw that argument was useless, so he let her talk. + + 5. His clothes were very old, making him look like a tramp. + + +=The Periodic Sentence= + +A sentence is periodic when the completion of the main thought is +delayed until the end. This delay creates a feeling of suspense. A +periodic sentence is doubly emphatic: it has emphasis by position +because the important idea comes at the end; it has emphasis by +subordination because all ideas except the last one are grammatically +dependent. + + +=43. To give emphasis to a loosely constructed sentence, turn it into +periodic form.= + + Loose: I saw two men fight a duel, many years ago, on a moonlit + summer night, in a little village in northern France. [What is + most important, the time? the place? or the actual duel? Place + the important idea last.] + + Periodic: Many years ago, on a moonlit summer night, in a + little village in northern France, I saw two men fight a duel. + + Loose: We left Yellowstone Gateway for the ride of our lives in + a six-horse tally-ho. [Place the important idea last, _and make + all other ideas grammatically subordinate_.] + + Periodic: Leaving Yellowstone Gateway in a six-horse tally-ho, + we had the ride of our lives. + + Loose: The river was swollen with incessant rain, and it swept + away the dam. [Which is the important idea? Why not make it + appear more important by subordinating everything to it?] + + Periodic: The river, swollen with incessant rain, swept away + the dam. + + Loose: War means to have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness + rudely broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, + to saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national + hatred. + + Periodic: To have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness rudely + broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, to + saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national + hatred--this is war. + + Exercise: + + 1. I am happy when the spring comes, when the sun is warm, when + the fields revive. + + 2. He cares nothing for culture, for justice, for progress. + + 3. As the boat gathered speed, the golden sun was setting far + across the harbor. + + 4. He amassed a great fortune, standing there behind his dingy + counter, discounting bills, pinching coins, buying cheap and + selling dear. + + 5. The shattered aqueducts, pier beyond pier, melt into the + darkness, from the plains to the mountains. + + +=Order of Climax= + +=44. In a series of words, phrases, or clauses of noticeable difference +in strength, use the order of climax.= + + Wrong order: He was insolent and lazy. + + Weak ending: Literature has expanded into a sea, where before + it was only a small stream. + + Weak ending: As we listened to his story we felt the sordid + misery and the peril and fear of war. + + Emphatic: He was lazy and insolent. + + Emphatic: The stream of literature has swollen into a torrent, + expanded into a sea. + + Emphatic: As we listened to his story we felt the fear, the + peril, the sordid misery of war. + + Exercise: + + 1. We boarded the train, after having bought our tickets and + checked our baggage. + + 2. War brings famine, death, disease after it. + + 3. They have broken up our homes, enslaved our children, and + stolen our property. + + 4. In the old story, the drunken man, carried into the duke's + palace, sees himself surrounded with luxury, and imagines + himself a true prince, after waking up. + + 5. The becalmed mariners were famished, hungry. + + +=The Balanced Sentence= + +=45. Two ideas similar or opposite in thought gain in emphasis when set +off, one against the other, in similar constructions.= + + Weak and straggling: This paper, like many others, has many bad + features, but in some ways it is very good. The news articles + are far better than the editorials, which are feeble. + + Balanced structure: This paper is in some respects good; in + other respects very poor. The news articles are impressive, the + editorials are feeble. + + Weak and complicated: From the East a man who lives in the West + can learn a great deal, and an Easterner ought to be able to + understand the West. + + Balanced: A Westerner can learn much from the East, and an + Easterner needs to understand the West. + + Weak: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger writers. + Mill taught some of them to reason, but many more of them + learned from Macaulay only a superficial eloquence. + + Balanced: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger + writers. If Mill taught some of them to reason, Macaulay + tempted many more of them to declaim. + +Note.--Although excessive use of balance is artificial, occasional use +of it is powerful. It can give to writing either dignity (as in an +oration) or point (as in an epigram). Observe how many proverbs are in +balanced structure. "Seeing is believing.--Nothing venture, nothing +have.--For every grain of wit there is a grain of folly.--You cannot do +wrong without suffering wrong.--An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." +Note the effective use of balance in Emerson's _Essays_, particularly in +_Compensation_; and in the Old Testament, particularly in _Psalms_ and +_Proverbs_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Machinery is of course labor-saving, but countless men are + thrown out of work. + + 2. There is a difference between success in business and in + acquiring culture. + + 3. I attend concerts for the pleasure of it, and to get an + understanding of music. + + 4. The stag in the fable admired his horns and blamed his feet; + but when the hunter came, his feet saved him, and afterward, + caught in the thicket, he was destroyed by his horns. + + 5. We do not see the stars at evening, sometimes because there + are clouds intervening, but oftener because there are + glimmerings of light; thus many truths escape us from the + obscurity we stand in, and many more from the state of mind + which induces us to sit down satisfied with our imaginations + and of our knowledge unsuspicious. [This sentence is correctly + balanced, except at the end.] + + +=The Weak Effect of the Passive Voice= + +=46. Use the active voice unless there is a reason for doing otherwise. +The passive voice is, as the name implies, not emphatic.= + + Weak: Your gift is appreciated by me. + + Better: I appreciate your gift. + + Weak and vague: His step on the porch was heard. + + Better: His step sounded on the porch. [Or] I heard his step on + the porch. + +The passive voice is especially objectionable when by failing to +indicate the agent of the verb it unnecessarily mystifies the reader. + + Vague: The train was seen speeding toward us. + + Better: We saw the train speeding toward us. + + Exercise: + + 1. Their minds were changed frequently as to what profession + should be taken up by them. + + 2. A gun should be examined and oiled well before a hunter + starts. + + 3. Finally the serenaders were recognized. + + 4. In athletics a man is developed physically. + + 5. If a man uses slang constantly, a good impression is not + made. + + +=Effective Repetition= + +=47a. The simplest and most natural way to emphasize a word or an idea is +to repeat it.= The Bible is the best standard of simplicity and dignity +in our language, and the Bible uses repetition constantly. A word or +idea that is repeated must, of course, be important enough to deserve +emphasis. + + Fairly emphatic: He works and toils and labors, but he seems + never to get anywhere. + + Very emphatic: Work, work, work, all he does is work, and still + he seems never to get anywhere. + + Fairly emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He + withdrew before it! + + Very emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He + withdrew! He retreated! He ran away! + + Homely but emphatic: "I went under," said the old salt; "bows, + gunnels, and starn--all under." + + Deliberately too emphatic: Everywhere we hear of + efficiency--efficiency experts, efficiency bureaus, efficiency + methods, in the office, in the school, in the home--until one + longs to fly to some savage island beyond the reach of inhuman + modern science. + +=b. Not only words, but an entire grammatical structure may be repeated +on a large scale for emphasis.= + + Weak: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good + condition, and that you will favor us with other orders in the + future, which will be given prompt and courteous attention. + [This sentence is flimsy and spineless because the writer had a + timid reluctance to repeat.] + + Strong: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good + condition. We believe that the quality of our goods will induce + you to send us a second order. We assure you that such an order + will receive prompt and courteous attention. [Note the emphasis + derived from the resolute march of the expressions _We hope_, + _We believe_, _We assure_.] + + Emphatic: Through the patience, the courage, the high character + of Alfred the country was saved--saved from the rapacities of + fortune, saved from the malignancy of its enemies, saved from + the sluggish despair of the people of England themselves. + + Emphatic and natural: This corner of the garden was my first + playground. Here I made my first toddling effort to walk. Here + on the soft grass I learned the delight of out-of-doors. Here I + became acquainted with the bull-frog, and the bumble-bee, and + the neighbor's dog. + + Emphatic and delightful: He maketh me to lie down in green + pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth + my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his + name's sake. + + Exercise: + + 1. He kept digging away for gold through long years. + + 2. Breaking against the shore, came innumerable waves. + + 3. Sand, sagebrush, shimmering flat horizon. I could not endure + the barren monotony of the desert. + + 4. We want you to come and visit us, and bring along a good + appetite and your customary high spirits. Plan to stay a long + time. + + 5. 'Twas bitter cold outside. The cat meowed until I had to let + her in. + + +=Offensive Repetition= + +Careless repetition attracts attention to words that do not need +emphasis. It is extremely annoying to the reader. + +=48a. Unless a word or phrase is repeated deliberately to gain force or +clearness, its repetition is a blunder. Get rid of recurring expressions +in one of three ways: (1) by substituting equivalent expressions, (2) by +using pronouns more liberally, (3) by rearranging the sentence so as to +say once what has awkwardly been said twice.= Each of these schemes is +illustrated below. + +=1.= Repetition cured by the use of equivalent expressions (synonyms). + + Bad: _Just_ as we were half way down the lake, _just_ off + Milwaukee, we _began_ to feel a slight motion of the ship and + the _wind began_ to freshen. The _wind began_ to blow more + fiercely from the south and the waves _began_ to leap high. The + boat _began_ to pitch and roll. + + Right: _Just_ as we were half way down the lake, _opposite_ + Milwaukee, we began to feel a slight motion of the ship, for + the wind _had_ freshened. Before long _a gale_, _blowing_ from + the south, _kicked up a heavy sea and caused_ the boat to pitch + and roll. [Notice how combining the last two sentences helps to + solve the problem of the last _began_, besides giving firmer + texture to the construction.] + +=2.= Repetition cured by the use of pronouns. (In using this method, one +should take care that the reference of the pronouns is clear.) + + Bad: The _Law Building_, the _Commerce Building_, and the + _Science Building_ are close together. The _Commerce Building_ + is south of the _Law Building_, and the _Science Building_ is + south of the _Commerce Building_. The _Law Building_ is old and + dilapidated. The _Commerce Building_ is a red brick _building_, + trimmed in terra-cotta. The _Science Building_ resembles the + _Commerce Building_. + + Right: The Law, Commerce, and Science Buildings are close + together in a row. _The first of these_ is old and dilapidated. + South of it stands the Commerce Building, _which_, because of + _its_ red brick and terra-cotta trimmings, somewhat resembles + the Science Building. + +=3.= Repetition cured by rearranging and condensing. + + Bad: The _autumn_ is my favorite of all the _seasons_. While + _autumn_ in the _city_ is not such a pleasant _season_ as + _autumn_ in the country, yet even in the _city_ my preference + will always be for the _autumn_. + + Right: My favorite season is autumn. I like it best in the + country, but even in the city it is the best time of the year. + +=b. Avoid a monotonous repetition of sentence structure. To give variety +to successive sentences: (1) vary the length, (2) vary the beginnings, +(3) avoid a series of similar compound sentences, (4) interchange loose +with periodic structure, (5) use rhetorical question, exclamation, +direct discourse, (6) avoid an excessive use of participles or +adjectives.= + +=1.= Vary the length of sentences. + + Bad: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his arms. She + was wet from head to toe. Damp curls clung to her pale face. + Water dripped from her clothes. One hand hung loosely over + Walter's arm. The other held a live duckling. She had saved + the little duck from drowning. This was Betty's first day in + the country. + + Right: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his + arms--little Betty who was spending her first day in the + country. She was wet from head to toe; damp curls clung to her + pale face, and water dripped from her clothes. In one hand she + held a live duckling. Her face lighted with courage as she told + how she jumped into the pond and saved the little duck from + drowning. + +=2.= Vary the beginnings of sentences. Do not allow too many sentences to +begin with the subject, or with a time clause, or with a participle, or +with _so_. When you have finished a composition, rapidly read over the +opening words of each sentence, to see if there is sufficient variety. + + Bad [too many sentences begin directly with the subject]: Our + way is circuitous. A sharp turn brings us round a rocky point. + The road drops suddenly into a little valley. The roof of a + house appears in a grove of trees below. A cottage is there and + a flower garden. An old-fashioned well is near the door. + + Right: Presently, on our circuitous way, we make a sharp turn + round a rocky point. Before us the road drops suddenly into a + little valley. In a grove of trees below appears the roof of a + house, and as we draw nearer we see a cottage surrounded by + flowers. Nothing could be more attractive to a weary traveler + than the old-fashioned well near the door. + +=3.= Avoid a series of similar compound sentences, especially those of two +parts of equal length, joined by _and_ or _but_. + + Bad: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his + master. One day there came a deep snow, and the flock did not + return. They found the herder frozen stiff, and the dog + shivering beside him. + + Right: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his + master. One day there came a deep snow. When the flock failed + to return, the men became uneasy, and began to search. They + found the herder frozen stiff, with the dog shivering beside + him. + +=4.= Change occasionally from loose to periodic or balanced structure (See +43 and 45). + + Monotonous: I stood at the foot of Tunbridge hill. I saw on the + horizon a dense wood, which, in the evening sunlight, was + veiled in purple haze [Loose]. On the left was the village, the + houses appearing like specks in the distance [Loose]. Nearer on + the right was the creek, winding through the willows [Loose]. + The creek approached nearer until it reached the dam, over + which it rushed tumultuously [Loose]. Near by was a thicket of + tall trees, through which I could see the white tents of my + fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires [Loose]. + + Right: Far south from Tunbridge hill, on the dim horizon, I + saw, veiled in the evening haze, a dense wood [Periodic, long, + conveying the idea of distance better than a loose sentence]. + On my left stood the village, the houses like specks; on my + right wound the creek, nearer and nearer through the willows + [Balanced]. The creek advanced by slow sinuous turns, until, + reaching the dam, it plunged over tumultuously [Loose]. Through + a thicket of tall trees, near at hand, I could see the white + tents of my fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires + [Periodic through the middle of the sentence; then loose]. + +=5.= Use question, exclamation, direct quotation. + + Somewhat flat: He asked me the road to Camden. I did not know. + I told him to ask Thurber, who knew the country well. + + Better: He asked me the road to Camden. The road to Camden? How + should I know? "Ask Thurber," I said impatiently; "he knows + this country. I'm a stranger." + +=6.= Avoid an excessive use of participles. Do not pile adjectives around +every noun. Above all, do not form a habit of using adjectives in pairs +or triplets. + + Bad: Sitting by the window, I saw a sharp, dazzling flash of + lightning, and heard a loud rumbling crash of heavy thunder, + warning me of the coming of the storm. Darting across the gray, + leaden sky, the quick, jagged lightning flashed incessantly. + The tall stately poplar trees thrashed around in the boisterous + wind. Then across the window, like a great white curtain, swept + the streaming, blinding rain. + + Right: I sat by the window. Suddenly a sharp flash of lightning + and a roll of thunder gave warning of the approach of a storm. + Soon lightning zig-zagged across the sky incessantly. The wind + huddled the poplar trees. Then like a white curtain across the + window streamed the rain. + + Exercise: + + 1. The parts of the tables are not put together at the factory, + but the different parts are shipped in different shipments. + + 2. In order to convince the reader that the present management + of farms is inefficient, I shall give some examples of + efficiency in the farm management on some farms with which I am + acquainted. + + 3. When one wishes to learn how to swim one must first become + accustomed to the water. The best way to become accustomed to + the water is to go into it frequently. After one has become + accustomed to the water he may begin to learn the strokes. + + 4. _The Life of Sir Walter Scott_, written by J. G. Lockhart, + is an interesting biography of this great writer. It consists + of a short biography by Scott himself, and also consists of a + continuation of this biography by his son-in-law, J. G. + Lockhart. + + 5. If a piece of steel is kept hot for several seconds, it will + lose some of its hardness. If kept hot longer, it will lose + more of its hardness. Along with losing its hardness it will + lose its brittleness. If the piece of steel is heated + continually it will lose nearly all its hardness and + brittleness. In other words, it will lose its "temper." + + +=49.= EXERCISE IN EMPHASIS + +=A. Lack of Emphasis in General= + +Make the following sentences emphatic. + + 1. The man is a thief who fails in business but continues to + live in luxury. + + 2. The plant was withered and dry, not having been watered for + over a week. + + 3. Much time is saved in Chicago by taking the elevated cars, + if you have a great distance to travel. + + 4. The clock struck eleven, when he immediately seized his hat + and left. + + 5. These liberal terms should be taken advantage of by us. + + 6. The study of biology has proved very interesting, as far as + I have gone. + + 7. Who is this that comes to the foot of the guillotine, + crouching, trembling? + + 8. They must pay the penalty. Their death is necessary. They + have caused harm enough. + + 9. I intend to get up fifteen minutes earlier, thereby giving + myself time to eat a good breakfast. + + 10. The book was reread several times, for I never grew tired + of it. + + 11. "What is the aim of a university education?" the speaker + asked. + + 12. A bicycle is sometimes ridden when a tire contains no air, + total ruin resulting from the weight of the rim upon the flat + tire. + + 13. He sprang forward the instant the pistol cracked, since the + start of a sprint is very important, and one cannot overdo the + practicing of it. + + 14. Sometimes the fuses fail to burn, or burn too fast, causing + an explosion before the workmen are prepared for it. + + 15. How father made soap was always a mystery to me. Cracklings + saved from butchering time, lye, and water went into the kettle + on a warm spring day and came out in the form of soap a few + hours later, to my great astonishment. + +=B. Loose or Unemphatic Structure= + +Make the following sentences more emphatic by throwing them into +periodic form. + + 1. It was Tom, as I had expected. + + 2. I will not tell, no matter how you beg. + + 3. The supremacy of the old river steamboat is gone forever, + unless conditions should be utterly changed. + + 4. Across the desert he traveled alone, and over strange seas, + and through quaint foreign villages. + + 5. The hot water dissolves the glue in the muresco, making the + mixture more easily applied. + + 6. Visions of rich meadows and harvest-laden fields now pass + before my eyes, as I sit by the fire. + + 7. Some of the women were weeping bitterly, thinking they would + never see their homes again. + + 8. I splashed along on foot for three miles after night in a + driving rain. + + 9. Very high rent is demanded, thus keeping the peasants + constantly in debt. + + 10. Roderigo was in despair because he had been rejected by + Desdemona, and was ready to end his life, by the time Iago + entered. + + 11. Through storm and cold the open boat was brought to the + shore at last, after toil and suffering, with great difficulty. + + 12. The car came to a violent stop against a rock pile, after + it demolished two fences, upset a hen-house, and scared a pig + out of his wits. + + 13. The Panama Canal is the fulfilment of the dreams of old + Spanish adventurers, the desires of later merchant princes, + and the demand of modern nations for free traffic on the seas. + + 14. The fiddle yelled, and the feet of the dancers beat the + floor, and the spectators applauded, and the room fairly rang. + + 15. The man with the best character, not the man with most + money, will come out on top in the end. + +=C. Faulty Repetition= + +Repetition in the following sentences is objectionable, because it +attracts attention to words or constructions that do not need to be +emphasized. Improve the sentences, avoiding unnecessary repetition. + + 1. He is a great friend of boys, and views things from the + boys' point of view. + + 2. In the case of the strike at Lawrence, Massachusetts, the + real cause was low wages caused by immigration and child labor. + + 3. First, a subject must be chosen, and in choosing a subject, + choose one that you know something about. + + 4. There are great opportunities in the field of science, and a + scientist who makes a mark in the world of science makes a mark + for himself everywhere. + + 5. While the practical man is learning skill in the practical + world, the college man is attaining a development of mentality + that will surpass that of the practical man when the college + man learns the skill of the practical man. + + 6. The field is dragged and rolled. Dragging and rolling leaves + the ground smooth and ready for planting. + + 7. A great number and variety of articles appears in every + issue. There is a complete review of each subject. It is + treated in a short, but thorough manner. + + 8. They gave me a hearty welcome. They stood back and looked at + me. They wanted to see if three months in the city had made any + changes in me. But they said it had not. + + 9. Engineering is looked upon by many students as an easy and + uninteresting study, but to my knowledge it is not + uninteresting and easy. Engineering is probably one of the + hardest courses in college. To me it is also the most + interesting. + + 10. A duck hunter should have a place to hunt where ducks are + frequently found in duck season. Ducks often light in the + backwater along a river, and in ponds. They are often found in + small lakes. Corn fields are common feeding places for ducks. + Ducks make regular trips to cornfields within reach of a body + of water such as a river or lake. It is their nature to spend + the night in the water, and in the morning and in the evening + they go out to the fields to feed. + + + + +GRAMMAR + + +=Case= + +=50a. The subject of a verb is in the nominative case, even when the verb +is remote, or understood (not expressed).= + + Wrong: They are as old as us. + + Right: They are as old as we [are]. + + Wrong: He is taller than her. + + Right: He is taller than she [is]. + +Note.--_Than_ and _as_ are conjunctions, not prepositions. When they are +followed by a pronoun merely, this pronoun is not their object, but part +of a clause the rest of which may be understood. The case of this +pronoun is determined by its relation to the rest of the unexpressed +clause. Sometimes the understood clause calls for the objective: "I like +his brother better than [I like] him." _Than whom_, though +ungrammatical, is sanctioned by usage. + +=b. Guard against the improper attraction of _who_ into the objective +case by intervening expressions like _he says_.= + + Wrong: The man whom they believed was the cause of the trouble + left the country. [_They believed_ is parenthetical, and the + subject of _was_ is _who_.] + + Right: The man who they believed was the cause of the trouble + left the country. + + Wrong: Whom do you suppose made us a visit? + + Right: Who do you suppose made us a visit? + +=Guard against the improper attraction of _who_ or _whoever_ into the +objective case by a preceding verb or preposition.= + + Wrong: Punish whomever is guilty. [The pronoun is the subject + of _is_. The object of _punish_ is the entire clause _whoever + is guilty_.] + + Right: Punish whoever is guilty. + + Wrong: The mystery as to whom had rendered him this service + remained. [The pronoun is the subject of _had rendered_. The + object of the preposition is the entire clause _who had + rendered him this service_.] + + Right: The mystery as to who had rendered him this service + remained. + +=c. The predicate complement of the verb _to be_ (in any of its forms, +_is_, _was_, _were_, _be_, etc.) is in the nominative case.= _To be_ +never takes an object, because it does not express action. + + Wrong: Was it her? Was it them? It is me. + + Right: Was it she? Was it they? Is it I. + + Wrong: The happiest people there were him and his mother. + + Right: The happiest people there were he and his mother. + +=d. The object of a preposition or a verb is in the objective case.= + + Wrong: Some of we fellows went fishing. + + Right: Some of us fellows went fishing. + + Wrong: That seems incredible to you and I. + + Right: That seems incredible to you and me. + + Wrong: Who did they detect? + + Right: Whom did they detect? + +=e. The "assumed" subject of an infinitive is in the objective case.= + + Right: I wanted him to go. [_Him to go_ is the group object of + the verb _wanted_. _To go_, being an infinitive, cannot assert + an action, and consequently cannot take a subject. But _to go_ + implies that something is at least capable of action. _Him_ is + the latent or assumed subject of the action implied in _to + go_.] + + Right: _Whom_ do you wish _to be_ your leader? [_Whom_ is the + assumed subject of the infinitive _to be_.] + +=f. A noun or pronoun used to express possession is in the possessive +case.= Do not omit the apostrophe (See 97) from nouns, or from the +pronouns _one's_ and _other's_. Most of the other possessive +pronouns do not require an apostrophe. + + Right: The man's hair is gray. + + Right: The machine does its work well. [_It's_ would mean _it + is_.] + + Right: One should do one's duty. + +=g. A noun or pronoun linked with a gerund should be in the possessive +case whenever the use of the objective case might cause confusion.= + + Faulty: Is there any criticism of Arthur going? + + Right: Is there any criticism of Arthur's going? + + Right: I had not heard of his being sick. + + Right, but slightly less desirable: I had not heard of him + being sick. + +Note.--In other instances than those in which clearness is involved many +good writers use the objective case with the gerund. But even in these +instances most writers prefer the possessive case. + +=h. It is usually awkward and slightly illogical to attribute possession +to inanimate objects.= + + Awkward: The farm's management. + + Better: The management of the farm. + + Awkward: The stomach's lining. + + Better: The lining of the stomach. + +Note.--Usage justifies many exceptions, particularly (1) expressions +that involve time or measure, _a day's work_, _a hair's breadth_, _a +year's salary_, _a week's vacation_, _a cable's length_; and (2) +expressions that involve personification, explicit or implied, _Reason's +voice_, _the law's delay_, _for mercy's sake_, _the heart's desire_, +_the tempest's breath_. + +=i. A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person, gender, and number, +but not in case.= + + Right: _I, who am_ older, know better. + + Right: Tell _me, who am_ older, your trouble. + + Right: Many a man has saved _himself_ by counsel. + + Exercise: + + 1. I am as old as (he, him). They may be pluckier than (we, + us). Nobody is less conceited than (she, her). + + 2. He gave help to (whoever, whomever) wanted it. The girls + (who, whom) they say have the worst taste are on a committee to + select the class pin. + + 3. Four of (we, us) boys were left without a cent. That is a + good investment for her cousin and (she, her). + + 4. It was (he, him). It is (they, them). The sole occupants of + the car were his chum and (he, him). + + 5. I had not heard of (his, him) being sick. She does not + approve of (our, us) being late to dinner. (They, them) who + labor now the Master will reward. + + +=Number= + +=51a. _Each_, _every_, _every one_, _everybody_, _anybody_, _either_, +_neither_, _no one_, _nobody_, and similar words are singular.= + + Wrong: Everybody did their best. + + Right: Everybody did his best. + + Wrong: Each of my three friends were there. + + Right: Each of my three friends was there. + + Wrong: Either of the candidates are capable of making a good + officer. + + Right: Either of the candidates is capable of making a good + officer. + +=b. Do not let _this_ or _that_ when modifying _kind_ or _sort_ be +attracted into the plural by a following noun.= + + Wrong: He knew nothing of those kind of activities. + + Right: He knew nothing of that kind of activities. + + Wrong: I never did like these sort of post cards. + + Right: I never did like this sort of post cards. + +=c. Collective nouns may be regarded as singular or plural, according to +the meaning intended.= + + Right: The crowd is waiting. + + Right: The crowd are not agreed. + + Right: Webster maintained that the United States is an + inseparable union; Hayne that the United States are a separable + union. + + English usage: The government were considering a new bill + regarding labor. + + American usage: The government was glad to place our troops at + the disposal of General Foch. + +=d. Do not use _don't_ in the third person singular. Use _doesn't_. +_Don't_ is contraction of _do not_.= + + Wrong: He don't get up early on Sunday morning. + + Right: He doesn't get up early on Sunday morning. + + Exercise: + + 1. She said not to buy those sort of carpet tacks. These kind + of apples won't keep. I don't care for these boasting kind of + travelers. + + 2. Neither of us were in condition to run the race. Every one + assured Mrs. Merton they had spent a pleasant evening. + + 3. He don't suffer much now. I don't care if she don't come + today. + + 4. Each of us in that dismal waiting room were angry with the + agent for telling us the train was not late. + + 5. No one of the girls will tell their age. It don't matter. + + +=Agreement= + +=52a. A verb agrees in number with the subject, not with a noun which +intervenes between it and the subject.= + + Wrong: The size of the plantations vary. + + Right: The size of the plantations varies. + + Wrong: The increasing use of luxuries are a menace to the + country. + + Right: The increasing use of luxuries is a menace to the + country. + + Wrong: The prices of grain fluctuates in response to the + demand. + + Right: The prices of grain fluctuate in response to the demand. + [Or] The price of grain fluctuates in response to the demand. + +=b. The number of the verb is not affected by the addition to the subject +of words introduced by _with_, _together with_, _no less than_, _as well +as_, and the like.= + + Wrong: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, have + investigated the charges. + + Right: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, has + investigated the charges. + +=c. Singular subjects joined by _or_ or _nor_ take a singular verb.= + + Wrong: Either the second or the third of the plans they have + devised are acceptable. + + Right: Either the second or the third of the plans they have + devised is acceptable. + +=d. A subject consisting of two or more nouns joined by _and_ takes a +plural verb.= + + Right: The hunting and fishing are good. + +=e. A verb should agree in number with the subject, not with a predicate +noun.= + + Wrong: The weak point in the team were the fielders. + + Right: The weak point in the team was the fielders. + + Wrong: Laziness and dissipation is the cause of his failure. + + Right: Laziness and dissipation are the cause of his failure. + +=f. In _There is_ and _There are_ sentences the verb should agree in +number with the noun that follows it.= + + Wrong: There is very good grounds for such a decision. + + Right: There are very good grounds for such a decision. + + Wrong: There was present a man, two women, and a child. + + Right: There were present a man, two women, and a child. + + Exercise: + + 1. The sound of falling acorns (is, are) one of the delights of + an autumn evening. Eye strain through ill-fit glasses (is, are) + injurious to the general health, but reading without glasses + (is, are) often more harmful still. + + 2. Neither the baritone nor the tenor (has, have) as good a + voice as the soprano. The guitar or the mandolin (is, are) + always out of tune. + + 3. The Amazon with its tributaries (affords, afford) access to + sea. The conductor of the freight train, along with the + engineer and fireman of the passenger, (was, were) injured. + + 4. Ghost stories late at night (is, are) a crime against + children. My reason for knowing that it is six o'clock (is, + are) the factory whistles. + + 5. There (was, were) in the same coach a dozen singing + freshmen. Years of experience in buying clothes (gives, give) + me confidence in my judgment. + + +=_Shall_ and _Will_, _Should_ and _Would_= + +Although there is a tendency to disregard subtle distinctions between +_shall_ and _will_ in ordinary speech, it is desirable to preserve the +more important distinctions in written discourse. + +=53. To express simple futurity or mere expectation, use _shall_ with the +first person (both singular and plural) and _will_ with the second and +third.= + + I shall go. We shall walk. + You will play. You will hear. + He will sing. They will reply. + +=To express resolution or emphatic assurance, reverse the usage; that is, +use _will_ with the first person (both singular and plural), and _shall_ +with the second and third.= + + I will; I tell you, I will. We will not be excluded. + You shall do what I bid. You shall not delay us. + He shall obey me. They shall pay the tribute. + +In asking questions, use the form expected in the answer. + + "Shall I go?" I asked myself musingly. "Shall we take a walk?" + "You promise. But will you pay?" "Will it rain tomorrow?" + +_Should_ and _would_ follow the rules given for _shall_ and _will_. + + Mere statement of a fact: + I [or We] should like to go. + You [or He or They] would of course accept the offer. + + Resolution or emphatic assurance: + I [or We] would never go under terms so degrading. + You [or He or They] should decline; honor demands it. + +_Should_ has also a special use in the subjunctive (in all persons) to +express a condition; and _would_ has a special use (in all persons) to +express a wish, or customary action. + + If it should rain, I shall not go. + + If I should remain, it would probably clear off. + + Would that I could swim! + + He [I, We, You, They] would often sit there by the hour. + + Exercise: + + 1. I (shall, will) probably do as he says. I'm determined; I + (shall, will) go! We (shall, will) see what tomorrow (shall, + will) bring forth. + + 2. The train (shall, will) whistle at this crossing, I suppose. + When the log is nearly severed, it (shall, will) begin to pinch + the saw. The weather (shall, will) be warmer tomorrow. + + 3. Johnny, you (shall, will) not go near those strawberries! He + (shall, will) not leave us in this predicament. I repeat it, he + (shall, will) not! We (shall, will) never sell this good old + horse. + + 4. (Shall, will) this calico fade? (Shall, will) you give the + organ grinder some money? (Shall, will) I raise the window? + (Should, would) I ask his permission? + + 5. If you (should, would) visit his laboratory, you (should, + would) learn how a starfish preserved in alcohol smells. You + (shall, will) all die some day, my friends. (Shall, will) I + ever forget this? Time (shall, will) tell. + + +=Principal Parts= + +=54. Use the correct form of the past tense and past participle.= Avoid +_come_, _done_, _bursted_, _knowed_, _says_ for the past tense; and +[_had_] _eat_, [_had_] _froze_, [_have_] _ran_, [_has_] _went_, [_has_] +_wrote_, [_are_] _suppose_ for the past participle. Memorize the +principal parts of difficult verbs. The principal parts are the present +tense, the past tense, and the past participle. A good way to recall +these is to repeat the formula: Today I _sing_; yesterday I _sang_; +often in the past I have _sung_. The principal parts of _sing_ are +_sing_, _sang_, _sung_. A list of difficult verbs is given below. + + bear bore borne + born + begin began begun + bend bent bent + bid bid bid + bade bidden + bite bit bit + bitten + bleed bled bled + blow blew blown + break broke broken + burn burnt burnt + burned burned + burst burst burst + catch caught caught + choose chose chosen + come came come + deal dealt dealt + dive dived dived + do did done + drag dragged dragged + draw drew drawn + dream dreamt dreamt + dreamed dreamed + drink drank drunk + drive drove driven + drown drowned drowned + dwell dwelt dwelt + dwelled dwelled + eat ate eaten + fall fell fallen + fight fought fought + flee fled fled + fly flew flown + flow flowed flowed + freeze froze frozen + get got got + go went gone + grow grew grown + hang hung hung + hang hanged hanged + hold held held + kneel knelt knelt + know knew known + lay laid laid + lead led led + lend lent lent + lie lay lain + lie lied lied + loose loosed loosed + lose lost lost + mean meant meant + pay paid paid + prove proved proved + read read read + rid rid rid + ride rode ridden + ring rang rung + rise rose risen + run ran run + say said said + see saw seen + set set set + shake shook shaken + shine shone shone + show showed shown + shrink shrank shrunk + sing sang sung + sit sat sat + slink slunk slunk + speak spoke spoken + spend spent spent + spit spit spit + spat spat + steal stole stolen + swear swore sworn + sweep swept swept + swim swam swum + take took taken + tear tore torn + throw threw thrown + thrust thrust thrust + tread trod trod + trodden + wake woke waked + waked + wear wore worn + weave wove woven + weep wept wept + write wrote written + + Exercise: + + 1. Adams ---- (past tense of _draw_) another glass of cider and + ---- (past tense of _drink_) it. When those squashes once ---- + (past tense of _begin_), they ---- (past tense of _grow_) like + mad. + + 2. The thermometer had ---- (past participle of _fall_) twenty + degrees, and three water pipes had ---- (past participle of + _freeze_). Afterward one ---- (past tense of _burst_). + + 3. Annie had ---- (past participle of _speak_) a piece, and + Nancy had ---- (past participle of _write_) a poem, and Isabel + had nearly ---- (past participle of _burst_) with envy. + + 4. He ---- (past tense of _do_) a brave deed; he ---- (past + tense of _swim_) straight for the whirlpool. I had ---- (past + participle of _know_) him before, and had ---- (past participle + of _shake_) hands with him. + + 5. He ---- (past tense of _come_) home late, and has ---- (past + participle of _eat_) his dinner. Now he has ---- (past + participle of _go_) down town. He has ---- (past participle of + _ride_) before. I ---- (past tense of _see_) him. He ---- (past + tense of _run_) swiftly. + + +=Tense, Mode, Auxiliaries= + +=55a. In dependent clauses and infinitives, the tense is to be considered +in relation to the time expressed in the principal verb.= + + Wrong: I intended to have gone. [The principal verb _intended_ + indicates a past time. In that past time I intended to do + something. What? Did I intend _to go_, or _to have gone_?] + + Right: I intended to go. + + Wrong: We hoped that you would have come to the party. [The + principal verb _hoped_ indicates a past time. In that past time + our hope was that you _would_ come, not that you _would have + come_.] + + Right: We hoped that you would come. + +=b. When narration in the past tense is interrupted for reference to a +preceding occurrence, the past perfect tense is used.= + + Wrong: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals + which he shot. + + Right: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals + which he had shot. + +=c. General statements equally true in the past and in the present are +usually expressed in the present tense.= + + Faulty: He said that Venus was a planet. + + Right: He said that Venus is a planet. + +=d. The subjunctive mode of the verb _to be_ is used to express a +condition contrary to fact, or a wish.= + + Faulty: If he was here, I should be happy. + + Right: If he were here, I should be happy. + + Faulty: I wish that I was a man. + + Right: I wish that I were a man. + +=e. Use the correct auxiliary. Make sure that the tense, mode, or aspect +of successive verbs is not altered without reason.= + + Wrong: By giving strict obedience to commands, a soldier + _learns_ discipline, and consequently _would have_ steady + nerves in time of war. [_Learns_ should be followed by _will + have_.] + + Wrong: An automobile _should be_ kept in good working order so + that its life _is_ lengthened. [_Should be_ is properly + followed by _may be_.] + + Exercise: + + 1. Every one hoped that you would have spoken. + + 2. I saw it in the window. It was the very book I wanted so + long. + + 3. If I was sick, I should go home. + + 4. They expected to have won the game. + + 5. The Masons never invite men to join their lodge, but if a + person expresses a desire to join, his friends would probably + be able to secure membership for him. + + +=Adjective and Adverb= + +=56a. Do not use an adjective to modify a verb.= + + Crude: He spoke slow and careful. + + Right: He spoke slowly and carefully. + + Crude: He sure did good in his classes. + + Right: He surely did well in his classes. + +=b. In such sentences as _He stood firm_ and _The cry rang clear_ the +modifier should be an adjective if it refers to the subject, an adverb +if it refers to the verb.= + + Right: The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home. [Here the + thought is that the sun which shines is bright.] + + Right: He worked diligently. [Here the modifier refers to the + manner of working rather than to the person who works. It + should therefore be an adverb.] + + Right: It stood immovable. The shot rang loud. He becomes + angry. The weeds grow thick. They remain obstinate. He seems + intelligent. + +=c. After a verb pertaining to the senses, _look_, _sound_, _taste_, +_smell_, _feel_, an adjective is used to denote a quality pertaining to +the subject.= (An adverb is used only when the reference is clearly to +the verb.) + + She looks _beautiful_. [Not _beautifully_.] + + The dinner bell sounds _good_. [Not _well_.] + + My food tastes _bad_. [Not _badly_.] + + That flower smells _bad_. [Not _badly_.] + + I feel good [_in good spirits_.] + + I feel well [_in good health_. An adjectival use of _well_.] + + I feel bad [_in bad health or spirits_. "I feel badly" would + mean "My sense of touch is impaired."] + + Exercise: + + 1. They fought ---- (heroic, heroically). Dave stumbled + ----(awkward, awkwardly). + + 2. Margaret ---- (sure, surely) worked ---- (faithful, + faithfully) in economics. + + 3. At this reply the teacher grew ---- (wrathful, wrathfully). + I hear you ---- (plain, plainly). + + 4. I feel ---- (giddy, giddily). Your rose looks ---- (sweet, + sweetly). No perfume smells so ---- (dainty, daintily). + + 5. That salad tastes ---- (good, well). I feel ---- (bad, + badly) today. Your voice sounds ---- (good, well) and + ----(familiar, familiarly). + + +=A Word in a Double Capacity= + +=57. Do not use a verb, conjunction, preposition, or noun in a double +capacity when one of the uses is ungrammatical.= + + Wrong [verb]: An opera house was built in one part of town, and + two churches in another. + + Right: An opera house was built in one part of town, and two + churches were built in another. + + Wrong [verb]: He always has and will do it. + + Right: He always has done it, and always will do it. + + Wrong [conjunction]: He was as old, if not older, than any + other man in the community. + + Right: He was as old as any other man in the community, if not + older. + + Wrong [preposition]: He was fond and diligent in work. + + Right: He was fond of work and diligent in it. + + Wrong [noun]: He is one of the most skilful, if not the most + skilful, tennis players in the state. + + Right: He is one of the most skilful tennis players in the + state, if not the most skilful. + + Exercise: + + 1. He is as old, if not older, than she is. + + 2. Two boats were in the water, and one on the shore. + + 3. From childhood he has, and to old age he will, have many + hobbies. + + 4. A visit to a ten cent store is better, or at least as good, + as a visit to a circus. You see as many or more queer things + than in any show. + + 5. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, secrets in keeping + our health, is to keep our teeth in good condition. A famous + physician said that one of the next, if not the very next, + marked advance in medical science will be through discoveries + in the realm of dentistry. + + + +Parts of Speech, Other Grammatical Terms, Conjugation + +The Parts of Speech and Their Uses + + =Noun.= A noun is a name. It may be =proper= (_Philip Watkins_), or + =common=. Common nouns may be =concrete= (_man_, _windmill_), or + =abstract= (_gratitude_, _nearness_). =A= noun applied to a group + is said to be =collective= (_family_, _race_). The uses of a noun + =are=: to serve as the subject of a verb, to serve as the object + of a verb or a preposition, to be in apposition with another + noun (Jenkins, our _coach_), to indicate possession (_Joseph's_ + coat of many colors); and less frequently, to serve as an + adjective (the _brick_ sidewalk) or adverb (John went _home_), + and to indicate direct address (_Jehovah_, help us!). + + =Pronoun.= A pronoun is a word which takes the place of a noun. + It may be =personal= (_I_, _thou_, _you_, _he_, _she_, _it_, + _we_, _they_), =relative= (_who_, _which_, _what_, _that_, _as_, + and compounds _whoever_, _whichsoever_, etc.), =interrogative= + (_who_, _which_, _what_), =demonstrative= (_this_, _that_, + _these_, _those_), or =indefinite= (_some_, _any_, _one_, _each_, + _either_, _neither_, _none_, _few_, _all_, _both_, etc.). + Strictly speaking, the last two groups, demonstratives and + indefinites, are adjectives used as pronouns. Certain pronouns + are also used as adjectives, notably the =possessives= (_my_, + _his_, _their_, etc.) and the relative or interrogative _which_ + and _what_. The addition of _-self_ to a personal pronoun forms + a =reflexive pronoun= or =intensive= (I blamed _myself_. You + _yourself_ are at fault). A noun for which the pronoun stands + is called the =antecedent=. The uses of pronouns are in general + the same as those of nouns. In addition, relatives serve as + connectives (the man _who_ spoke), interrogatives ask questions + (_what_ man?), and demonstratives point out (_that_ man). + + =Verb.= A verb is a word or word-group which makes an assertion + about the subject. It may express either action or mere + existence. It may be =transitive= (_trans_ meaning "across"; + hence action carried across, requiring a receiver of the act; + Brutus _stabbed_ Cæsar; Cæsar is _stabbed_) or =intransitive= + (not requiring a receiver of the act: Montgomery _fell_). Its + meaning is dependent upon its voice, mode, and tense. Voice + shows the relationship between the subject and the assertion + made by the verb. The =active voice= shows the subject as actor + (They _elected_ Washington); the =passive voice=, as acted upon + (Washington _was elected_). (A transitive verb may be active or + passive, but an intransitive verb has no voice.) Mode indicates + the manner of predicating an action, whether as assertion, + condition, command, etc. There are three modes in English. The + =indicative mode= affirms or denies (He _went_. She _did not + dance_.) The =subjunctive= expresses condition or wish (If he + _were_ older, he would be wiser. Would that I _were_ there!). + The =imperative= expresses command or exhortation (_Remain_ + there. _Go!_ _Let_ us pray). =Modal auxiliaries= with these three + modes form =modal aspects= of the verb. There are as many + different aspects as there are auxiliaries. Aspects are + sometimes spoken of as separate modes or called collectively + the "potential mode." Tense expresses the time of the action or + existence. The tenses are the =present=, the =past=, the =future= + (employing the auxiliaries _shall_ and _will_), the =perfect= + (employing _have_), the =past perfect= (employing _had_), and the + =future perfect= (employing _shall have_ and _will have_). + =Verbals= are certain forms of the verb used as other parts of + speech (noun, adjective, adverb). For the verbal forms, + infinitive, gerund, and participle, see the separate headings. + + =Adjective.= An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or + pronoun. An adjective may be =attributive= (_bright_ sun, + _cool-headed_ adventurers) or =predicate= (The field is _broad_. + The meat tastes _bad_. I want this _ready_ by Christmas). + Adjectives assume three forms known as degrees of comparison. + The =positive degree= indicates the simple quality of the object + without reference to any other. The =comparative degree= + indicates that two objects are compared (Stanley is the _older_ + brother). The =superlative degree= indicates that three or more + objects are compared (Stanley is the _oldest_ child in the + family) or that the speaker feels great interest or emotion (A + _most excellent_ record). Ordinarily _er_ or _r_ is added to + the positive to form the comparative, and _est_ or _st_ to the + positive to form the superlative (brave, braver, bravest). But + some adjectives (sometimes those of two, and always those of + more than two, syllables) prefix _more_ (or _less_) to the + positive to form the comparative, and _most_ (or _least_) to + the positive to form the superlative (beautiful, more + beautiful, most beautiful). Some adjectives express qualities + that do not permit comparison (_dead_, _four-sided_, _unique_). + + =Adverb.= An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an + adjective, another adverb (She played _well_; _unusually_ + handsome; _very_ sternly); or, more rarely, a verbal noun + (Walking _fast_ is good for the health), a preposition (The + ship drifted _almost_ upon the breakers), or a conjunction (It + came _just_ when we wished). Certain adverbs (_fatally_, + _entirely_) do not logically admit of comparison. Those that do + are compared like adjectives of more than two syllables + (_slowly_, _more_ or _less slowly_, _most_ or _least slowly_). + + =Preposition.= A preposition is a connective _placed before_ a + substantive (called its object) in order to subordinate the + substantive to some other word in a sentence (The boast _of_ + heraldry, the pomp _of_ power. He ran _toward_ the enemy + _without_ fear). + + =Conjunction.= A conjunction is a word used to _join together_ + words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. A =coördinate conjunction= + connects elements of equal rank (See 36). =Correlative + conjunctions= are conjunctions used in pairs (See 31). A + =subordinate conjunction= is one that connects elements unequal + in rank (See 36). When a conjunction, in addition to its + function as a connective, indicates a relation of time, place, + or cause, it is often called a =conjunctive adverb= or =relative + adverb=. + + =Interjection.= An interjection is a word _thrown into_ speech to + express emotion. It has no grammatical connection with other + words. (_Oh_, is that it? _Well_, I'll do it. _Hark!_) + +=Other Grammatical Terms= + + =Absolute expression.= An expression (usually composed of a + substantive and a participle, perhaps with modifiers) which, + though not formally and grammatically joined, is in thought + related to the remainder of the sentence. (_The relief party + having arrived_, we went home. _This disposed of_, the council + proceeded to other matters. _Defeated_, he was not dismayed.) + + =Antecedent.= A substantive to which a pronoun or participle + refers. Literally, _antecedent_ means _that which goes + before_; but sometimes the antecedent follows the dependent + word. (The _man_ who hesitates is lost. Entering the store, + _we_ saw a barrel of apples.) _Man_ is the antecedent of the + pronoun _who_, and _we_ is the antecedent of the participle + _entering_. + + =Auxiliary.= _Be_, _have_, _do_, _shall_, _will_, _ought_, _may_, + _can_, _must_, _might_, _could_, _would_, _should_, etc., when + used with participles and infinitives of other verbs, are + called auxiliary verbs. + + =Case.= The relation of a substantive to other words in the + sentence as shown by inflectional form or position. The subject + of a verb, or the predicate of the verb _to be_, is in the + nominative case. The object of a verb or preposition, or the + "assumed subject" of an infinitive, is in the objective case. A + noun or pronoun which denotes possession is in the possessive + case. + + =Clause.= A portion of a sentence which contains a subject and a + verb, perhaps with modifiers. The following sentence contains + one dependent (subordinate) and one independent (principal) + clause: _When the storm ceased, the grove was a ruin_. + + =Conjugation.= The inflectional changes in the verb to indicate + person, number, tense, voice, mode, and modal aspect. + + =Declension.= The changes in a noun, pronoun, or adjective to + indicate person, number, or case. + + =Ellipsis, elliptical expression.= An expression partially + incomplete, so that words have to be understood to complete the + meaning. An idea or relation corresponding to the omitted words + is present, at least vaguely, in the mind of the speaker. + Elliptical sentences are usually justifiable except when the + reader cannot instantly supply the understood words. Examples + of proper ellipses: You are as tall as I [am tall]. Is your + sister coming? I think [my sister is] not [coming]. I will go + if you will [go]. [I give you] Thanks for your advice. + + =Gerund.= A verbal in _-ing_ used as a noun. (I do not object to + your _telling_. His _having deserted_ us makes little + difference.) The gerund may be regarded as a special form of + the infinitive. + + =Infinitive.= A verbal ordinarily introduced by _to_ and used as + a noun (_To err_ is human). In such sentences as "The road to + follow is the river road," _follow_ may be regarded as the noun + of a phrase (compare _the road to Mandalay_), or the entire + phrase may be regarded as an adjective. Similarly, in "He + hastened to comply," _comply_ may be regarded as a noun or _to + comply_ as an adverb. After certain verbs (_bid_, _dare_, + _help_, _make_, _need_, etc.) the _to_ is omitted from the + infinitive group. (He bids me _go_. I need not _hesitate_.) + + =Inflection.= Change in the form of a word to show a modification + or shade of meaning. At a very early period in our language + there was a separate form for practically every modification. + Although separate forms are now less numerous, _inflection_ is + still a convenient term in grammar. Its scope is general: it + includes the declension of nouns, the comparison of adjectives + and adverbs, and the conjugation of verbs. + + =Modify.= To be grammatically dependent upon and to limit or + alter the quality of. In the expression "The very old man," + _the_ and _old_ modify _man_, and _very_ modifies _old_. + + =Participle.= A verbal used as an adjective, or as an adjective + with adverbial qualities. In the sentence "Mary, being oldest, + is also the best liked," _being oldest_ refers exclusively, or + almost exclusively, to the subject and is therefore adjectival. + In such sentences as "He fell back, exhausted" and "Running + down the street, I collided with a baby carriage," the + participle refers in part to the verb and is therefore + adverbial as well as adjectival. + + =Phrase.= A group of words forming a subordinate part of a + sentence and not containing a subject and its verb. Examples: + _With a whistle and a roar_ the train arrived [prepositional + phrase]. _Bowing his head_, the prisoner listened to the + verdict of the jury [participial phrase]. In a loose, + untechnical sense _phrase_ may refer to any short group of + words, even if the group includes a subject and its verb. + + =Predicate.= The word or word-group in a sentence which makes an + assertion about the subject. It consists of a finite verb with + or without objects or modifiers. + + =Predicate adjective.= An adjective in the predicate, usually + linked with the subject by some form of the verb _to be_ (_is_, + _was_, _were_, etc.). (John is _lazy_. The soldiers were very + _eager_.) + + =Predicate noun.= A noun linked with the subject by some form of + the verb _to be_. (John is _halfback._ They were our + _neighbors._) + + =Sentence.= A sentence is a group of words containing (1) a + subject (with or without modifiers) and a predicate (with or + without modifiers) and not grammatically dependent on any words + outside of itself; or (2) two or more such expressions related + in thought. Sentences of type 1 are simple or complex; + sentences of type 2 are compound. A =simple sentence= contains + one independent clause (The dog barks angrily). A =complex + sentence= contains one independent clause and one or more + subordinate clauses (The dog barks when the thief appears). A + =compound sentence= contains two or more independent clauses (The + dog barks, and the thief runs). + + =Substantive.= A noun or a word standing in place of a noun. (The + _king_ summoned _parliament_. The _bravest_ are the + _tenderest_. _She_ was inconsolable.) A =substantive phrase= is a + phrase used as a noun. (_From Dan to Beersheba_ is a term for + the whole of Israel.) A =substantive clause= is a clause used as + a noun. (_That he owed the money_ is certain.) + + =Syntax.= Construction; the grammatical relation between the + words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. + + =Verbal.= Any form of the verb used as another part of speech. + Infinitives, gerunds, and participles are verbals. They are + used to express action without asserting it, and cannot, + therefore, have subjects or be used as predicate verbs. + +=Abridged Conjugation of the verb _to take_= + + =Tense= =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + + =Indicative Mode= + + =Present= I take I am taken + =Past= I took I was taken + =Future= I shall (will) take I shall (will) be taken + =Perfect= I have taken I have been taken + =Past Perfect= I had taken I had been taken + =Future Perfect= I shall (will) have taken I shall (will) have been taken + + =Subjunctive Mode= + + =Present= If I take If I be taken + =Past= If I took If I were taken + =Perfect= If I have taken If I have been taken + =Past Perfect= If I had taken If I had been taken + + =Imperative Mode= + + =Present= Take + +=Modal Aspects= + +(Modal aspects, formed by combining auxiliaries with the main verb, give +special meanings--emphatic, progressive, etc.--to the primary modes. +Since there are almost as many aspects as there are auxiliaries, only a +few can be enumerated here.) + + =Tense= =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + + { =Emphatic:= I do take + { =Progressive:= I am taking I am being taken + =Present= { =Contingent:= I may take I may be taken + =Indicative= { =Potential:= I can take I can be taken + { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken + { =Etc.= + + { =Emphatic:= I did take + { =Progressive:= I was taking I was being taken + =Past= { =Contingent:= I might take I might be taken + =Indicative= { =Potential:= I could take I could be taken + { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken + { =Etc.= + + { =Emphatic:= If I do take + { =Progressive:= If I be taking + =Present= { =Contingent:= If I might take + =Subjunctive= { =Potential:= If I could take + { =Obligative:= If I must take + { =Etc.= + + =Present= { =Emphatic:= Do take + =Imperative= { =Progressive:= Be taking + + + =Verbals= + + =Infinitive= + + =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + =Present:= To take To be taken + =Perfect:= To have taken To have been taken + + =Gerund= + + =Present:= Taking Being taken + =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken + + =Participle= + + =Present:= Taking Being taken + =Past:= Taken + =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken + + Exercise: + + Copy a page of good prose from any book, leaving wide spaces + between the lines. Indicate the part of speech of every word. + This may be done by abbreviations placed beneath the words. For + example: + + "Von Arden, having fallen into a very unquiet + _noun_ _part._ _prep._ _art._ _adv._ _adj._ + + slumber, dreamed that he was an aged man + _noun_ _verb_ _conj._ _pers pro._ _verb_ _art._ _adj._ _noun_ + + who stood beside a window." + _rel. pro._ _verb_ _prep._ _art._ _noun_ + + + +=59.= EXERCISE IN GRAMMAR + +=A. Case of Pronouns= + +Determine the correct form of the pronoun. + + 1. It is (I, me). + + 2. No one knows better than (she, her). + + 3. Then came the whistle for Gerald and (I, me). + + 4. It was (they, them). + + 5. Alice can drive a car as well as (he, him). + + 6. It was (she, her) (who, whom) you saw on the car. + + 7. John, you may go with Dan and (I, me). + + 8. If I were (she, her), I could not think of accepting the + questionable honor. + + 9. One evening four of (we, us) girls decided to go to the + theater. + + 10. Others are older than (we, us). + + 11. (Who, Whom) do you imagine will be our next president? + + 12. He does not approve of (our, us) walking on the grass. + + 13. Counsel will be given to (they, them) who ask for it. + + 14. That seems strange to you and (I, me). + + 15. Her mother has more regular features than (she, her). + + 16. Women (who, whom) some people would call "quiet" are often + the wisest. + + 17. Between you and (I, me), I'm hungry. + + 18. The thought of (it, its) coming by parcel post never + entered my mind. + + 19. He never discovered (who, whom) his enemy was. + + 20. In case of a fumble, the ball is given to (whoever, + whomever) recovers it. + +=B. Agreement= + +Determine the correct form of the verb. + + 1. He (don't, doesn't) care for music. + + 2. The swimming, boating, and fishing (is, are) good. + + 3. Each one of the two hands of the clock (is, are) made of + gold. + + 4. The ore is sorted and the cars having good ore (is, are) + hauled to the smelter. + + 5. A deck of ordinary playing cards consisting of fifty-two + cards (is, are) used. + + 6. It is safe to say that only one out of every ten of the + great number of students (realizes, realize) the value of + economy. + + 7. In spite of all obstacles, the construction of the three + hundred trestles and the twenty scaffolds (was, were) + completed. + + 8. Some nights may seem still, yet there (is, are) always + noises. + + 9. The exact meaning of such words as _inspiration_, + _prophecy_, and _orthodox_ (puzzles, puzzle) laymen. + + 10. Hard roads (is, are) an important matter to all country + people. + + 11. There (has, have) been many lives lost in Arctic + exploration. + + 12. Personal gifts inspired by good will and directed by + careful thought (is, are) the very best kind of charity. + + 13. In Lincoln's replies to Douglas there (is, are) no flights + or oratory. + + 14. The conciseness of these lines (is, are) to be admired. + + 15. A constant stream of wagons and horses (was, were) passing + as the circus was unloaded. + + 16. Nevertheless there (exists, exist) a certain class of + students who are socially submerged. + + 17. She (doesn't, don't) care for olives. + + 18. "Current Events" (is, are) a very useful department of this + magazine. + + 19. No people (lives, live) in that house. + + 20. The corporal, together with two other members of the + patrol, (was, were) captured by the enemy. + +=C. _Shall_ and _Will_, _Should_ and _Would_= + +Determine the correct form of the verb. + + 1. Perhaps I (shall, will) be able to go. + + 2. I tell you, I (shall will) not allow that dog in the car. + + 3. It is odd what a person (shall, will) do in a time of + excitement. + + 4. They have never seen anything like it, and probably they + never (shall, will). + + 5. "Johnny, you (shall, will) not go!" Johnny knew that further + begging was useless. + + 6. As we (shall, will) find by investigation, our coast + fortifications are few. + + 7. I (shouldn't, wouldn't) do that for anything. + + 8. I (should, would) think you (should, would) enjoy your + bicycle. + + 9. (Shall, will) you go driving with us? + + 10. Do you think it (shall, will) rain? + + 11. Where (shall, will) I hang my hat? + + 12. (Should, would) you go if I (should, would) ask you? + + 13. Rover (should, would) stay in the house all the time, if we + (should, would) let him. + + 14. I promised that I (should, would) be at the station early, + lest we (should, would) miss the train. + + 15. You (shall, will) have much trouble with that cold, I'm + afraid. + +=D. _Lie_, _lay_; _sit_, _set_; _rise_, _raise_= + + Fix in mind the following principal parts: + + I lie I lay I have lain + I lay I laid I have laid + I sit I sat I have sat + I set I set I have set + I rise I rose I have risen + I raise I raised I have raised + + _Lie_, _sit_, _rise_ are used intransitively; _lay_, _set_, + _raise_ are used transitively. _Lay_, _set_, _raise_ are + causatives; that is, _to lay_ means _to cause to lie_, etc. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _lie_ or _lay_: + + 1. I ---- here and watch the clouds. My dog is ----ing at my + feet. + + 2. In the evening I ---- aside all cares. I ---- down on the + couch and read. Yesterday I ---- there an hour. + + 3. The children have ---- in bed until seven o'clock. John has + ---- his coat on a chair. He ---- there asleep now. + + 4. ---- the shovel down. The garden is now ---- out in rows. + ---- down and take a little rest. + + 5. Smoke ---- along the horizon. Snow was ----ing here + yesterday. He is ----ing plans for the future. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _sit_ or _set_: + + 6. Jerome ---- the box on the floor. Then he ---- on the box. + + 7. Four people are ----ing at the table. Who ---- the lamp + there? + + 8. I had ---- there an hour. They had ---- the pitcher outside + the door. + + 9. I often ---- up late. Last night I ---- up late. I must + ----the alarm clock. + + 10. ---- the package down. ---- down and rest. While we are + ----ing there the gardener is ----ing out the plants. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _rise_ or _raise_: + + 11. ---- up and speak! ---- the window. + + 12. He quickly ---- his head. The cork had gone under, but now + it ---- again to the surface. + + 13. During the night the bread ---- to the top of the pan. + + 14. The invalid slowly ---- himself in his bed. + + 15. The river has already ---- and overflowed its banks. + +=E. Principal Parts of Verbs= + +In the following sentences supply the correct form of the verb. + + 1. He ---- (past tense of _come_) to this country in 1887. + + 2. He has ---- (past participle of _eat_) breakfast and ---- + (past participle of _go_) to the office. + + 3. Have you ---- (past participle of _ride_) far? I have + ----(past participle of _drive_) ten miles. + + 4. I am sure it was Henry who ---- (past tense of _do_) it, for + I ---- (past tense of _see_) him running away as fast as he + could go. + + 5. The wind has ---- (past participle of _tear_) down the + chimney and ---- (past participle of _blow_) down the tree. + + 6. After he ---- (past tense of _lie_) down, he remembered he + had left his books ---- (present participle of _lie_) in the + orchard. + + 7. He ---- (past tense of _throw_) the ball so hard that the + window was ---- (past participle of _break_) into a hundred + pieces. + + 8. The man ---- (past tense of _give_) warning before we had + ---- (past participle of _go_) too far. + + 9. After we had ---- (past participle of _ride_) about ten + miles we ---- (past tense of _come_) upon a stretch of hard + road. + + 10. Where ---- (past tense of _be_) you? You ----n't (past + tense of _be_) at home when I ---- (past tense of _ring_) the + bell. + + 11. The harness was ---- (past participle of _break_ or + _burst_) beyond repair. Who ---- (past tense of _break_) it? + + 12. I ---- (past tense of _take_) four shots at the rabbit, but + every shot ---- (past tense of _go_) wild. + + 13. He has ---- (past participle of _swim_) across the harbor, + and has ---- (past participle of _break_) the record. + + 14. I had ---- (past participle of _drink_) buttermilk for + several weeks. I ---- (past tense of _begin_) to gain weight. + + 15. When we had ---- (past participle of _sit_) there an hour + and ---- (past participle of _eat_) all we wanted, Jim ---- + (past tense of _draw_) out his purse and ---- (past tense of + _give_) the waiter a dollar. + + +=F. General= + +Improve the grammar of the following sentences. + + 1. Those kind of lamps are ugly. + + 2. It don't interest me any more. + + 3. Nobody may enter the hall tonight without their admittance + cards. + + 4. One does not need to strain their ears while at the movies. + + 5. Nearly all people eat too much, too fast, and too irregular. + + 6. Don't take this letter too serious. + + 7. He done the best he could with these kind of tools. + + 8. Every person with a cold was blowing their nose. + + 9. It would help considerable if you would speak to the manager + about existing conditions. + + 10. If I were the mayor, I could not do as good as he does. + + 11. Talk polite to your customers. + + 12. It is important that a salesman has a good memory. + + 13. Each tube must be capable of withstanding a pressure of + five hundred pounds per square inch before they are lowered + into place. + + 14. She is as tall, if not taller, than he is. + + 15. He always has and always will say that. + + 16. He is one of the worst, if not the very worst, player on + the team. + + 17. Final examinations require time and study that would not + otherwise be done. + + 18. I feel badly. He talks rude. It smells fragrantly. + + + + +DICTION + + +=Wordiness= + +=60. Avoid wordiness. Strike out words not essential to the thought.= + + Roundabout impersonal construction: There are many interesting + things which may be seen in New York. [12 words.] + + Better: Many interesting things may be seen in New York. [9 + words.] + + Clause to be reduced to a phrase: The skeleton which stood in + the office of Dr. Willard was terrifying to little Cecil. [15 + words.] + + Right: The skeleton in Dr. Willard's office was terrifying to + little Cecil. [11 words.] + + Clause and phrase each to be reduced to a word: Men who cared + only for their individual interests were now in a state of + discouragement. [15 words.] + + Right: Selfish men were now discouraged. [5 words.] + + Separate predication in excess: That day I was shocking wheat + behind the binder. Shocking wheat behind the binder was my + usual job in harvest. That day while I was working at this job, + I found a nest full of partridge eggs. [37 words.] + + Right: That day, while shocking wheat behind the binder, my + usual job in harvest, I found a nest full of partridge eggs. + [21 words.] + + Ponderous scientific terms for simple ideas: Since, according + to the physicists, the per cent of efficiency of a machine is + equal to the amount of energy put in, divided by the amount of + useful work performed, it naturally follows that in all human + activities, unnecessary friction, since it lowers the amount of + nervous energy, is going to lower the per cent of efficiency. + While we may never reach an astonishing degree of efficiency by + economizing nervous energy, nevertheless, if we consistently + and perseveringly try to spare ourselves all unnecessary labor + and exertion, we shall have an abundant supply of energy to + direct into channels of usefulness. [100 words.] + + Right: If we economize our strength, we can make our actions + more efficient and useful. [14 words.] + + Inflated writing: She was supreme in beauty among the daughters + of Eve whom his ravished eyes had hitherto beheld. [17 words.] + + Right: She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. [10 + words.] + +Note.--A special form of wordiness is tautology--the useless repetition +of an idea in different words. + + Gross tautology: He had an entire monopoly of the whole fruit + trade. [This is like saying "black blackbird."] + + Right: He had a monopoly of the fruit trade. + + Tautological expressions: + + this here + where at + return back + ascend up + repeat again + biography of his life + good benefits + fellow playmates + Hallowe'en evening + important essentials + indorse on the back + connect up + meet up with + combined together + perfectly all right + utter absence of + quite round + absolutely annihilated + still continue to + absolutely new creation + necessary requisite + total effect of all this + + Exercise: + + 1. The people who act the parts in a play want the people who + witness the performance to applaud them. + + 2. There is an oily grass which is found on the prairie, and + which is called mesquite grass, and it covers the prairie. + + 3. You wish to call the operator. You take the receiver from + the hook. By taking the receiver from the hook you call the + operator. + + 4. At last the employer of the men, and those who were employed + by him, having compromised their difficulties, effected a + settlement, and reached an amicable understanding agreeable to + both parties. + + 5. The two merchants joined up their forces together in order + to secure a monopoly of the entire trade of the village. There + was one absolutely essential preliminary which they thought + must necessarily precede everything else. It was that they + should take all the old shop-worn articles and dispose of them + by selling them as bargains at a reduced rate. + + +=Triteness= + +=61. Avoid trite or hackneyed expressions.= Such expressions may be tags +from everyday speech (_the worse for wear_, _had the time of my life_); +or stale phrases from newspapers (_taken into custody_, _the officiating +clergyman_); or humorous substitutions (_ferocious canine_, _paternal +ancestor_); or forced synonyms (_gridiron heroes_, _the Hoosier +metropolis_); or conventional fine writing (_reigns supreme_, _wind +kissed the tree-tops_); or oft-repeated euphemisms (_limb_ for _leg_, +_pass away_ for _die_); or overworked quotations from literature +(_monarch of all I survey_, _footprints on the sands of time_). + + List of trite expressions: + + along these lines + meets the eye + feathered songsters + a long-felt want + the last sad rites + launched into eternity + last but not least + doomed to disappointment + at one fell swoop + sadder but wiser + did justice to a dinner + a goodly number + budding genius + beggars description + a dull thud + silence broken only by + wended their way + abreast of the times + trees stood like sentinels + method in his madness + sun-kissed meadows + tired but happy + hoping you are the same + nipped in the bud + the happy pair + seething mass of humanity + specimen of humanity + with bated breath + green with envy + the proud possessor + too full for utterance + a pugilistic encounter + conspicuous by its absence + with whom they come in contact + exception proves the rule + favor with a selection + as luck would have it + more easily imagined than described + where ignorance is bliss + + Exercise: + + 1. Halleck returned from his trip considerably the worse for + wear. + + 2. The baby whom she had promised to keep quiet proved to be a + foeman worthy of her steel. + + 3. I first saw the light of day in New Orleans. It was in the + Crescent City also that my dear mother passed away. + + 4. Americans come off second best in a vocalizing encounter + with umlauted _u_, while Germans and Frenchmen wage sanguinary + battles with our _th_. + + 5. The daily scramble for dear life to get aboard a trolley was + like taking arms against a sea of troubles. Even standing room + was conspicuous by its absence. Sheridan began to think along + the line of getting to the office in some other way. + + +=The Exact Word= + +=62. Find the exact word. Do not be content with a loose meaning. Seek +the verb, the noun, the adjective, the adverb, or the phrase which +expresses your thought with precision.= Such words as _said_, +_proposition_, and _nice_ are often used too loosely. Observe the +possible gain in definiteness by substitution. + + For _said_ (verb): _declared_, _related_, _insisted_, + _exclaimed_, _added_, _repeated_, _replied_, _admitted_, + _commented_, _corrected_, _protested_, _explained_, + _besought_, _interrupted_, _inquired_, _stammered_, _sighed_, + _murmured_, or _thundered_. + + For _proposition_ (noun): _transaction_, _undertaking_, + _venture_, _recourse_, _suggestion_, _overture_, _proposal_, + _proffer_, _convenience_, _difficulty_, _thesis_, or + _doctrine_. + + For _nice_ (adjective): _discriminating_, _precise_, + _fastidious_, _dainty_, _neat_, _pretty_, _pleasant_, + _fragrant_, _delicious_, _well-behaved_, _good_, or _moral_. + + Inexact verb: He had not sufficiently _regarded_ the + difficulties of the task [Use _considered_]. + + Inexact noun: Promptness is an _item_ which a manager should + possess [Use _quality_]. + + Inexact adjective: He looked _awfully funny_ when I told him he + had made a mistake [Use _surprised_]. + + Inexact phrasing throughout: Health is first in every line of + activity. A man who has it does not hold it with enough + respect, and make efforts enough to keep it. + + Right: Health is indispensable to success in any work. Even + those who have it do not realize its value. + + Exercise: + + 1. He was proud of the honorable record he had gained. + + 2. He resolved that some day he would be a banker, and I shall + tell you how he tried to do so. + + 3. Isn't the sunset grand? Isn't it nice to be out of doors? + + 4. The mystery as to which ones of the piano keys to play was + hard for him to acquire. + + 5. If the package comes by freight, you must negotiate the + proposition of getting it home; but if it comes by express, the + delivery is done free. + + +=Concreteness= + +=63. Concrete words are often more effective than vague, general, or +abstract words.= + + Not specific: She held herself aloof from her brothers' games + and amusements. + + Concrete: She never played soldier or sailed paper boats with + her brothers. + + No appeal to the senses: I liked to watch the servant girl as + she moved about the kitchen, preparing our morning repast. + + Concrete: I liked to watch Norah as she fried our crisp + breakfast bacon and browned our buckwheat cakes. + + Flat, not readily visualized: The first inhabitants overcame + the barriers to settlement about a century ago. + + Concrete: Rough backwoodsmen broke through the underbrush and + swamp-land a century ago. + + Exercise: + + 1. The scientist discovered a bird in a tree. + + 2. Our hostess set before us many good things to eat. + + 3. The sailor was carving queer figures on a piece of soft + wood. + + 4. The night watchman heard something that made him suspicious. + + 5. I stood at the door of the shop to watch the astonishing + things the blacksmith was doing. + + +=Sound= + +=64. Avoid the frequent repetition of a sound, especially if it be harsh +or unpleasant.= + + Bad: He is an exceedingly orderly secretary. + + Better: As a secretary he is very systematic. [Or] The + secretary is very systematic. + + Bad: Immediately the squirrel hid himself behind the hickory + tree. + + Better: Immediately the squirrel dodged behind the hickory + tree. + + Unfortunate rime: Bert did not dare to go home with wet hair. + + Better: Bert did not dare to go home with his hair wet. [Or] + Bert was afraid to go home with wet hair. + + Exercise: + + 1. That Christmas happened to be unusually happy. + + 2. I fear we must sit near the rear of the room. + + 3. The Jackies went clambering and scurrying up the rigging. + + 4. The ship slips anchor while the idlers sip tea on the deck. + + 5. The third treasure-seeker heard a thud. His pick had struck + an obstruction. + + +=Subtle Violations of Good Use: Faulty Idioms, Colloquialisms= + +=65. Avoid subtle violations of good use, particularly (a) faulty idioms +and (b) colloquialisms.= + +=a. Make your expression conform to English idiom.= A faulty idiom is an +expression which, though correct in grammar and general meaning, +combines words in a manner contrary to usage. Idioms are established by +custom, and cannot be explained by logical rules. "I enjoy to read" is +wrong, not because the words offend logic or grammar, but merely because +people do not instinctively make that combination of words. "I like to +read" and "I enjoy reading" are good idioms. + + =Faulty Idioms= =Correct Idioms= + + in the city Toledo in the city of Toledo + in the year of 1920 in the year 1920 + I hope you a good time I wish you a good time + the Rev. Hopkins the Reverend Mr. Hopkins + possessed with ability possessed of ability + stay to home stay at home + different than different from + independent from independent of + in search for in search of + +Observe that many idioms are concerned with prepositions. Make sure that +a verb or adjective is accompanied by the right preposition. Study the +following list of correct idioms: + + accused of (a theft) + accused by (a person) + accord with (a person) + agree with (a person) + agree to (a proposal) + agreeable to + angry at (things or persons) + angry with (a person) + careful about (an affair) + careful of (one's money) + comply with + convenient to (a person) + convenient for (a purpose) + correspond to (things) + correspond with (persons) + dissent from + enamored of + entrust to + free from + listen to + part from (a person) + part with (a thing) + pleased with + resolve on + sympathize with + take exception to + +=b. Do not carry the standards of conversation into formal writing.= +Colloquial usage is more free than literary usage. The colloquial +sentence _That's the man I talked with_ becomes in writing _That is the +man with whom I talked._ The colloquial sentence _It was a cold day but +there wasn't any wind blowing_ is a loose string of words. Written +discourse requires greater tension and more care in subordinating minor +ideas: _The day, though cold, was still._ Contractions are proper in +conversation, and in personal or informal writing. In formal writing +they are not appropriate. And do not let such expressions as _He +doesn't_, _We aren't_, _It's proved_, used in talk by careful speakers, +mislead you into expressions like _He don't_, _We ain't_, _It's proven_, +which violate even colloquial good use. + + Exercise: + + 1. He confessed of his inability to comply to the demand. + + 2. Is he from Irish descent? Is humor characteristic with the + Irish? + + 3. She was not to home, but I was reluctant against leaving. + + 4. He dissented to the opinion of the committee's majority, for + his ideas were utterly different than theirs. + + 5. He got a few jobs as a carpenter that summer, but they + didn't pay him much, and so he went to loafing around, and he's + been at it ever since. + + +=Gross Violations of Good Use: Barbarisms, Improprieties, Slang= + +=66. Avoid gross violations of good use, particularly (a) barbarisms, (b) +improprieties, and (c) slang.= + +=a. Barbarisms are distortions of words in good use, or coinages for +which there is no need.= Examples: _to concertize_, _to burgle_ or +_burglarize_, _to jell_, _alright_, _a-plenty_, _most_ (for _almost_), +_performess_, _fake_, _pep_, _tasty_, _illy_, _complected_, +_undoubtably_, _nowheres_, _soph_, _lab_, _gents_. + +=b. Improprieties are words wrenched from one part of speech to another, +or made to perform an unnatural service.= Examples: _to suspicion_, _to +gesture_, _to suicide_, _a steal_, _a try_, _a go_, _an invite_, _the +eats_, _humans_, _some_ or _real_ or _swell_ (as adverbs), _like_ (as a +conjunction). + +=c. Slang is speech consisting either of uncouth expressions of +illiterate origin, or of legitimate expressions used in grotesque or +irregular senses.= Though sometimes (witness eighteenth century _mob_, +and nineteenth century _buncombe_) it satisfies a real need and becomes +established in the language, in most instances it is short-lived +(witness the thieves' talk in _Oliver Twist_, or passages from any comic +opera song popular five years ago). Vicious types of slang are: + + Expressions of vulgar origin (from criminal classes, the prize + ring, the vaudeville circuit, etc.): _get pinched_, _down and + out_, _took the count_, _bum hunch_, _nix on the comedy + stuff_, _get across_. + + Language strained or distorted for novel effect: _performed the + feed act at a bang-up gastronomic emporium_, _bingled a tall + drive that made the horsehide ramble out into center garden_. + + Blanket expressions used as substitutes for thinking: + _corking_, _stunning_, _ain't it fierce?_, _can you beat it?_, + _going some_, _just so I get by with it_. + +The use of the last-named type is most to be regretted. It leads to a +mental habit of phonographic repetition, with no resort to independent +thinking. If a man really desires to use slang, let him invent new +expressions every day, and make them fit the specific occasion. + + Exercise: + + 1. I disremember what sort of an outfit he wore. + + 2. Helen's as light-complected a girl as you'll run across, I + calculate. + + 3. His ad brought a first-rate gent to hold down the job. + + 4. Thompson hasn't stability, or it seems like it. He ain't got + no gumption. He's too easy enthused. + + 5. The grub was to of cost us two bits, but we didn't have the + dough. We gets outside the food, and when the cashier ain't + lookin', we runs out the door and beats it. + + +=Words Often Confused in Meaning= + +=67. Do not confuse or interchange the meanings of the following words:= + + =_Accept_ and _except_.= _Accept_ means _to receive_; _except_ as + a verb means _to exclude_ and as a preposition means _with the + exception of_. + + =_Affect_ and _effect_.= _Affect_ is not used as a noun; _effect_ + as a noun means _result_. As verbs, _affect_ means _to + influence in part_; _effect_ means _to accomplish totally_. + "His story affected me deeply." "The Russians effected a + revolution." _Affect_ also has a special meaning _to feign_. + "She had an affected manner." + + =_Allusion_ and _illusion_.= _Allusion_ means _a reference_; + _illusion_ means a _deceptive appearance_. "A Biblical + allusion." "An optical illusion." + + =_Already_ and _all ready_.= _Already_ means _by this time_ or + _beforehand_; _all ready_ means _wholly ready_. "I have already + invited him." "Dinner is all ready." "We are all ready for + dinner." + + =_Altogether_ and _all together_.= _Altogether_ means _wholly_, + _entirely_; _all together_ means _collectively, in a group_. + "He is altogether honest." "The King sent the people all + together into exile." + + =_Can_ and _may_.= _Can_ means _to be able_; _may_ means _to have + permission_. _Can_ for _may_ has a certain colloquial standing, + but is condemned by literary usage. + + =_Emigrate_ and _immigrate_.= _Emigrate_ means _to go out from a + country_; _immigrate_ means _to enter into a country_. The same + man may be an _emigrant_ when he leaves Europe, and an + _immigrant_ when he enters America. + + =_Healthy_ and _healthful_.= _Healthy_ means _having health_; + _healthful_ means _giving health_. "Milk is healthful." "The + climate of Colorado is healthful." "The boy is healthy." + + =_Hanged_ and _hung_.= _Hanged_ is the correct past tense of + _hang_ in the sense _put to death, hanged on the gallows_; + _hung_ is the correct past tense for the general meaning + _suspended_. + + =_Hygienic_ and _sanitary_.= Both words mean _pertaining to + health_. _Hygienic_ is used when the condition is a matter of + personal habits or rules; _sanitary_ is used when the condition + is a matter of surroundings (water supply, food supply, sewage + disposal, etc.) or the relations of numbers of people. + + =_Instants_ and _instance_.= _Instants_ means _small portions of + time_; _instance_ means _an example_. + + =_Later_ and _latter_.= _Later_ means _more late_; _latter_ means + _the second in a series of two_. "The latter" is used in + conjunction with the phrase "the former." + + =_Lead_ and _led_.= _Led_ is the past tense of the verb _to + lead_. _Lead_ is the present tense. + + =_Learn_ and _teach_.= _Learn_ means _to get knowledge of_; + _teach_ means _to give knowledge of_ or _to_. "The instructor + _teaches_ (not _learns_) me physics." "He learns his lessons + easily." + + =_Leave_ and _let_.= _Leave_ means _to abandon_; _let_ means _to + permit_. + + =_Less_ and _fewer_.= _Less_ refers to quantity; _fewer_ refers + to number. "He has _fewer_ (not _less_) horses than he needs." + + =_Liable_, _likely_, and _apt_.= _Likely_ merely predicts; + _liable_ conveys the additional idea of harm or responsibility. + _Apt_ applies usually to persons, in the sense of _having + natural capability_, and sometimes to things, in the sense of + _fitting_, _appropriate_. "It is likely to be a pleasant day." + "I fear it is liable to rain." "He is liable for damages." "He + is an apt lad at his books." "That is an apt phrase." + + =_Lie_ and _lay_.= _Lay_, a transitive verb, means _to cause to + lie_. "I lay the book on the table and it lies there." "Now I + lay me down to sleep." A source of confusion between the two + words is that the past tense of _lie_ is _lay_: + + I lie down to sleep. I lay the book on the table. + I lay there yesterday. I laid it there yesterday. + I have lain here for hours. I have laid it there many times. + + =_Like_ and _as_ or _as if_.= _Like_ is in good use as a + preposition, and may be followed by a noun; _as_ is in good use + as a conjunction, and may be followed by a clause. "He is tall + like his father." "He is tall, as his father is." "It looks _as + if_ (not _like_) it were going to rain." + + =_Lose_ and _loose_.= _Lose_ means _to cease having_; _loose_ as + a verb means _to set free_, and as an adjective, _free, not + bound_. + + =_Majority_ and _plurality_.= In a loose sense, _majority_ means + the _greater part_. More strictly, it means the number by which + votes cast for one candidate exceed those of the opposition. A + _plurality_ is the excess of votes received by one candidate + over his nearest competitor. In an election A receives 500 + votes; B, 400 votes; and C, 300 votes. A has a plurality of + 100, but no majority. + + =_Practical_ and _practicable_.= _Practical_ means _not + theoretical_; _practicable_ means _capable of being put into + practice_. "A practical man." "The arrangement is + practicable." + + =_Principal_ and _principle_.= _Principal_ as an adjective means + _chief_ or _leading_; _principle_ as a noun means a _general + truth_. _Principal_ as a noun means a _sum of money_, or the + _chief official of a school_. + + =_Proof_ and _evidence_.= In a law court, _proof_ is _evidence + sufficient to establish a fact_; _evidence_ is _whatever is + brought forward in an attempt to establish a fact_. "The + evidence against the prisoner was extensive, but hardly proof + of his guilt." In ordinary speech, _proof_ is sometimes loosely + used as a synonym for _evidence_. + + =_Pseudo-_ and _quasi-_.= As a prefix, _pseudo-_ means _false_; + _quasi-_ means literally _as if_, hence _seeming_, _so-called_. + "Phrenology is a pseudo-science." "A quasi-evolutionary + doctrine." + + =_Quiet_ and _quite_.= _Quiet_ is an adjective meaning _calm_, + _not noisy_; _quite_ is an adverb meaning _entirely_. + + =_Respectfully_ and _respectively_.= _Respectfully_ means _in a + courteous manner_; _respectively_ means _in a way proper to + each_. "Yours _respectfully_" (not _respectively_). "He handed + the commissions to Gray and Hodgins respectively." + + =_Rise_ and _raise_.= _Rise_ is an intransitive verb; _raise_ is + a transitive verb. "I rise to go home." "I raise vegetables." + "I raise the stone from the ground." + + =_Sit_ and _set_.= _Set_, a transitive verb, means _to cause to + sit_. "He sets it in the corner and it sits there." The past + tense of _sit_ is _sat_. + + I sit down. I always set it in its place. + He sat in this very chair. I set it in its place yesterday. + He has sat there an hour. I have always set it just here. + + =_Stationary_ and _stationery_.= _Stationary_ is an adjective + meaning _fixed_; _stationery_ is a noun meaning _writing + material_. + + =_Statue_, _stature_, and _statute_.= _Statue_ means a _carved_ + or _moulded figure_; _stature_ means _height_; _statute_ means + a _law_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Insert _affect_ or _effect_: Noise does not ---- my + studying. It has little ---- on me. By the exercise of will + power I was able to ---- a change. + + 2. Insert _healthy_ or _healthful_: New Mexico has a ---- + climate, Graham bread is ----. You will be ---- if you take + exercise. + + 3. Insert _later_ or _latter_: I will see you ----. Here are + two plans: the former is complex; the ---- is simple. Sooner or + ---- you will learn the rule. + + 4. Insert _less_ or _fewer_: They have ---- money than we; we + have ---- pleasures than they. It seems to me there are ---- + accidents. + + 5. Insert _principal_ or _principle_: The ---- part of a clock + is the pendulum, which swings regularly, according to a ---- of + science. My ---- reason for trusting him is that he is a man of + ----. He is the ---- of the high school. The widow spends the + interest on the money, but keeps the ---- intact. + + +=Glossary of Faulty Diction= + +=68. Avoid faulty diction.= + + =_Ad_= (for _advertisement_). Avoid in formal writing and + speaking. + + =_Ain't_.= Never correct. Say _I'm not_, _you_ [_we_, _they_] + _aren't_, _he_ [_she_, _it_] _isn't_. + + =_All the farther_, _all the faster_.= Crude. Use _as far as_, + _as fast as_, in such sentences as "This is all the farther I + can go." + + =_As_.= (a) Incorrect in the sense of _that_ or _whether_. "I + don't know _whether_ (not _as_) I can tell you." "Not _that_ + (not _as_) I know." (b) _As ... as_ are correlatives. _Than_ + must not replace the second _as_. Right: "As good as or better + than his neighbors." "As good as his neighbors, or better [than + they]." See 57. + + =_Auto_.= An abbreviation not desirable in formal writing. + + =_Awful_.= Means _filling with awe_ or _filled with awe_. Do not + use in the sense of _uncivil_, _serious_, or _ludicrous_, or + (in the adverbial form) in the sense of _very_, _extremely_. + + =_Balance_.= Incorrect when used in the sense of _remainder_. + + =_Because_.= Not to be used for _the fact that_. "_The fact that_ + (not _because_) he is absent is no reason why we should not + proceed." See 5. + + =_Between_.= Used of two persons or things. Not to be confused + with _among_, which is used of more than two. + + =_Blame on_.= A crudity for _put the blame on_ or _blame_. + Faulty: "Don't blame it on me." Better: "Don't blame me." + + =_Borned_.= A monstrosity for _born_. "I was _born_ (not + _borned_) in 1899." + + =_Bursted_.= The past tense of _burst_ is the same as the + present. + + =_Bust_ or _busted_.= Vulgar for _burst_. Right: "The balloon + burst." "The bank failed." + + =_But what_.= _That_ is often preferable. "I do not doubt _that_ + (not _but what_) he is honest." + + =_Canine_.= An adjective. Not in good use as a noun. + + =_Cannot help but_.= A confusion of _can but_ and _cannot help_. + "I can but believe you"; or "I cannot help believing you"; not + "I cannot help but believe you." See 34. + + =_Caused by_.= To be used only when it refers definitely to a + noun. Wrong: "He was disappointed, caused by the lateness of + the train." The noun _disappointment_ should be used instead of + the verb _disappointed_. Then caused will have a definite + reference. Right: "His disappointment was caused by the + lateness of the train." See 23. + + =_Claim_.= Means _to demand as a right_. Incorrect for _maintain_ + or _assert_. + + =_Considerable_.= An adjective, not an adverb. "He talked + _considerably_ (not _considerable_) about it." + + =_Could of_.= An illiterate form arising from slovenly + pronunciation. Use _could have_. Avoid also _may of_, _must + of_, _would of_, etc. + + =_Data_.= Plural. The singular (seldom used) is _datum_. Compare + _stratum_, _strata_; _erratum_, _errata_. + + =_Demean_.= Means _to conduct oneself_, not _to lower_ or _to + degrade_. + + =_Different than_.= _Different from_ is to be preferred. _Than_ + is a conjunction. The idea of separation implied in _different_ + calls for a preposition, rather than a word of comparison. + + =_Disremember_.= Not in good use. + + =_Done_.= A gross error when used as the past tense of _do_, or + as an adverb meaning _already_. "_I did it_ (not _I done it_)." + "I've _already_ (not _done_) got my lessons." + + =_Don't_.= A contraction for _do not_; never to be used for _does + not_. The contraction of _does not_ is _doesn't_. See 51d. + + =_Drownded_.= Vulgar for _drowned_. + + =_Due to_.= To be used only when it refers definitely to a noun. + Faulty: "He refused the offer, due to his father's opposition." + Right: "His refusal of the offer was due to his father's + opposition." The noun _refusal_ should be used instead of the + verb _refused_. Then _due_ will have a definite reference. See + 5. + + =_Enthuse_.= Not in good use. + + =_Etc._= An abbreviation for the Latin _et cetera_, meaning _and + other_ [things]. _Et_ means _and_. _And etc._ is therefore + grossly incorrect. Do not write _ect._ + + =_Expect_.= Means _to look forward to_. Hardly correct in the + sense of _suppose_. + + =_Fine_.= Use cautiously as an adjective, and not at all as an + adverb. Seek the exact word. See 62. + + =_Former_.= Means the first or first named of two. Not to be used + when more than two have been named. The corresponding word is + _latter_. + + =_For to_.= Incorrect for _to_. "I want _you_ (not _for you_) to + listen carefully." "He made up his mind _to_ (not _for to_) + accept." + + =_Gent_.= A vulgar abbreviation of _gentleman_. + + =_Good_.= An adjective, not an adverb. Wrong: "He did good in + mathematics." Right: "He did well in mathematics." "He did good + work in mathematics." + + =_Gotten_.= An old form now usually replaced by _got_ except in + such expressions as _ill-gotten gains_. + + =_Guess_.= Expresses conjecture. Not to be used in formal + composition for _think_, _suppose_, or _expect_. + + =_Had of_.= Illiterate. "I wish I _had known_ (not _had of + known_) about it." + + =_Had ought_.= A vulgarism. "He _ought_ (not _had ought_) to have + resigned." "We _oughtn't_ (not _hadn't ought_) to make this + error." + + =_Hardly_.= Not to be used with a negative. See 34. + + =_Home_.= Do not use when you mean simply _house_. + + =_Human_ or _humans_.= Not in good use as a noun. Say _human + being_. Right: "The house was not fit for _human beings_ (not + _humans_) to live in." + + =_If_.= Do not use for _whether_. "I can't say _whether_ (not + _if_) the laundry will be finished today." + + =_In_.= Often misused for _into_. "He jumped _into_ (not _in_) + the pond." + + =_It's_.= Means _it is_; not to be written for the possessive + _its_. + + =_Kind of_.= (a) Should not modify adjectives or verbs. "He was + _somewhat_ (not _kind of_) lean." "_She partly suspected_ (not + _She kind of suspected_) what was going on." (b) When using + with a noun, do not follow by _a_. "That kind of man"; not + "That kind of a man." + + =_Like_.= To be followed by a substantive; never by a substantive + and a verb. "He ran like a deer." "Do _as_ (not _like_) I do." + "She felt _as if_ (not _like_) she was going to faint." _Like_ + is a preposition; _as_ is a conjunction. + + =_Literally_.= Do not use where you plainly do not mean it, as in + the sentence, "I was literally tickled to death." + + =_Loan_.= _Lend_ is in better use as a verb. + + =_Locate_.= Do not use for _settle_ or _establish oneself_. + + =_Lose out_.= Not used in formal writing. Say _lose_. + + =_Lots of_.= A mercantile term which has a dubious colloquial + standing. Not in good literary use for _many_ or _much_. + + =_Might of_.= A vulgarism for _might have_. + + =_Most_.= Do not use for _almost_. "_Almost_ (not _most_) all." + + =_Myself_.= Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the simple + personal pronoun would suffice. "I saw them myself." "Some + friends and _I_ (not _myself_) went walking." + + =_Neither_.= Used with _nor_, and not with _or_. "Neither the man + whom his associates had suspected _nor_ (not _or_) the one whom + the police had arrested was the criminal." "She could neither + paint a good picture _nor_ (not _or_) play the violin well." + + =_Nice_.= Means _delicate_ or _precise_. _Nice_ is used in a + loose colloquial way to indicate general approval, but should + not be so used in formal writing. Right: "He displayed nice + judgment." "We had a _pleasant_ (not _nice_) time." See 62. + + =_Nowhere near_.= Vulgar for _not nearly_. + + =_Nowheres_.= Vulgar. + + =_O_ and _Oh_.= _O_ is used with a noun in direct address; it is + not separated from the noun by any marks of punctuation. _Oh_ + is used as an interjection; it is followed by a comma or an + exclamation point. "Hear, O king, what thy servants would say." + "Oh, dear!" + + =_Of_.= Do not use for _have_ in such combinations as _should + have_, _may have_, _ought to have_. + + =_Off of_.= _On_, _upon_, or some equivalent expression is + usually preferable. + + =_Ought to of_.= A vulgarism for _ought to have_. + + =_Over with_.= Crude for _over_. + + =_Pants_.= _Trousers_ is the approved term in literary usage. + _Pants_ (from _pantaloons_) has found some degree of colloquial + and commercial acceptance. + + =_Party_.= Not to be used for _person_, except in legal phrases. + + =_Phone_.= A contraction not employed in formal writing. Say + _telephone_. + + =_Plenty_.= A noun; not in good use as an adjective or an adverb. + "He had _plenty of_ (not _plenty_) resources." "He had + _resources in plenty_ (not _resources plenty_)." + + =_Proposition_.= Means a _thing proposed_. Do not use loosely, as + in the sentence: "A berth on a Pullman is a good proposition + during a railway journey at night." See 62. + + =_Proven_.= Prefer _proved_. + + =_Providing_.= Prefer _provided_ in such expressions as "I will + vote for him _provided_ (not _providing_) he is a candidate." + + =_Quite a_.= Colloquial in such expressions as _quite a while_, + _quite a few_, _quite a number_. + + =_Raise_.= _Rear_ or _bring up_ is preferable in speaking of + children. "She _reared_ (not _raised_) seven children." + + =_Rarely ever_.= Crude for _rarely_, _hardly ever_. + + =_Real_.= Crude for _very_ or _really_. "She was _very_ (not + _real_) intelligent." "He was _really_ (not _real_) brave." + + =_Remember of_.= Not to be used for _remember_. + + =_Right smart_ and _Right smart of_.= Extremely vulgar. + + =_Same_.= No longer used as a pronoun except in legal documents. + "He saw her drop the purse and restored _it_ (not _the same_) + to her." + + =_Scarcely_.= Not to be used with a negative. See 34. + + =_Seldom ever_.= Crude for _seldom_, _hardly ever_. + + =_Shall_.= Do not confuse with _will_. See 53. + + =_Sight_.= _A sight_ or _a sight of_ is very crude for _many_, + _much_, _a great deal of_. "_A great many_ (not _a sight_) of + them." + + =_So_.= Not incorrect, but loose, vague, and often unnecessary. + (a) As an intensive, the frequent use of _so_ has been + christened "the feminine demonstrative." Hackneyed: "I was so + surprised." Better: "I was much surprised." Or, "I was + surprised." (b) As a connective, the frequent use of _so_ is a + mark of amateurishness. See 36 Note. + + =_Some_.= Not to be used as an adverb. "She was _somewhat_ (not + _some_) better the next day." Wrong: "He studied some that + night." Right: "He did some studying that night." + + =_Somewheres_.= Very crude. Use _somewhere_. + + =_Species_.= Has the same form in singular and plural. "He + discovered a new _species_ (not _specie_) of sunflower." + + =_Such_.= (a) To be completed by _that_, rather than by _so + that_, when a result clause follows. "There was such a crowd + _that_ (not _so that_) he did not find his friends." (b) To be + completed by _as_, rather than by _that_, _who_, or _which_, + when a relative clause follows. "I will accept such + arrangements _as_ (not _that_) may be made." "He called upon + such soldiers _as_ (not _who_) would volunteer for this service + to step forward." + + =_Superior than_.= Not in good use for _superior to_. + + =_Sure_.= Avoid the crude adverbial use. "It _surely_ (not + _sure_) was pleasant." In answer to the question, "Will you + go?" either _sure_ or _surely_ is correct, though _surely_ is + preferred. "[To be] sure." "[You may be] sure." "[I will] + surely [go]." + + =_Suspicion_.= A noun. Never to be used as a verb. + + =_Take and_.= Often unnecessary, sometimes crude. Redundant: "He + took the ax and sharpened it." Better: "He sharpened the ax." + Crude: "He took and nailed up the box." Better: "He nailed up + the box." + + =_Tend_.= In the sense _to look after_, takes a direct object + without an interposed _to_. _Attend_, however, is followed by + _to_. "The milliner's assistant _tends_ (not _tends to_) the + shop." "I shall _attend to your wants in a moment_." + + =_That there_.= Do not use for _that_. "I want _that_ (not _that + there_) box of berries." + + =_Them_.= Not to be used as an adjective. "_Those_ (not _them_) + boys." + + =_There were_ or _There was_.= Avoid the unnecessary use. Crude: + "There were seventeen senators voted for the bill." Better: + "Seventeen senators voted for the bill." + + =_These sort_, _These kind_.= Ungrammatical. See 51b. + + =_This here_.= Do not use for _this_. + + =_Those_.= Do not carelessly omit a relative clause after + _those_. Faulty: "He is one of those talebearers." Better: "He + is a talebearer." [Or] "He is one of those talebearers whom + everybody dislikes." + + =_Those kind_, _those sort_.= Ungrammatical. See 51b. + + =_Till_.= Do not carelessly misuse for _when_: "I had scarcely + strapped on my skates _when_ (not _till_) Henry fell through an + air hole." + + =_Transpire_.= Means _to give forth_ or _to become known_, not + _to occur_. "The secret _transpired_." "The sale of the + property _occurred_ (not _transpired_) last Thursday." + + =_Try_.= A verb, not a noun. + + =_Unique_.= Means _alone of its kind_, not _odd_ or _unusual_. + + =_United States_.= Ordinarily preceded by _the_. "The United + States raised a large army." (Not "United States raised a large + army.") + + =_Up_.= Do not needlessly insert after such verbs as _end_, + _rest_, _settle_. + + =_Used to could_.= Very crude. Say _used to be able_ or _once + could_. + + =_Very_.= Accompanied by _much_ when used with the past + participle. "He was _very much_ (not _very_) pleased with his + reception." + + =_Want to_.= Not to be used in the sense of _should_, _had + better_. "You _should_ (not _You want to_) keep in good + physical condition." + + =_Way_.= Not to be used for _away_. "Away (not _way_) down the + street." + + =_Ways_.= Not to be used for _way_ in referring to distance. "A + little _way_ (not _ways_)." + + =_When_.= (a) Not to be used for _that_ in such a sentence as "It + was in the afternoon that the races began." (b) A _when_ clause + is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6. + + =_Where_.= (a) Not to be used for _that_ in such a sentence as "I + see in the paper that our team lost the game." (b) A _where_ + clause is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6. + + =_Where at_.= Vulgar. "Where is he? (not _Where is he at_?)" + + =_Which_.= Do not use for _who_ or _that_ in referring to + persons. "The friends _who_ (not _which_) had loved him in his + boyhood were still faithful to him." + + =_Who_.= Do not use unnecessarily for _which_ or _that_ in + referring to animals. Do not use the possessive form _whose_ + for _of which_ unless the sentence is so turned as practically + to require the substitution. + + =_Will_.= Do not confuse with _shall_. See 53. + + =_Win out_.= Not used in formal writing or speaking. + + =_Woods_.= Not ordinarily to be used as singular. "_A wood_ (not + _A woods_)." + + =_Would have_.= Do not use for _had_ in if clauses. "If you _had_ + (not _would have_) spoken boldly, he would have granted your + request." + + =_Would of_.= A vulgarism for _would have_. + + =_You was_.= Use _You were_ in both singular and plural. + + =_Yourself_.= Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the + personal pronoun would suffice. "_You_ (not _Yourself_) and + your family must come." + + Exercise: + + 1. Be sure the gun works alright. I was already when you came. + + 2. He talked considerable, but I couldn't scarcely remember + what all he said. + + 3. I never suspicioned that John could of been guilty of + forging his father's note. It don't seem hardly possible. + + 4. The island was not inhabited by humans. It was different + than any place I ever remember of. One sailor and myself + climbed a sand hill, but we couldn't see any signs of life + anywheres. + + 5. Hawkeye walked a ways into a woods. He was a right smart at + ease, for he had Kildeer with him. + + +=69.= EXERCISE IN DICTION + +=A. Wordiness= + +Strike out all that is superfluous, and make the following sentences +simple and exact. + + 1. Some students lack the ability of being able to spell. + + 2. He seems to enjoy the universal esteem of all men. + + 3. The mind rebels against the enforced discipline imposed upon + it by others. + + 4. This is the house that was constructed and erected by a + young fellow who went by the common name of Jack. + + 5. There are invariably people in the world who always want to + get something for nothing. I saw some today crowding round a + soap man who was giving away free samples gratis. + + 6. Strawberries which grow in the woods or anywhere like that + have a flavor that is better than that of those which grow in + gardens. + + 7. The people showed Jackson the greatest honor it is within + their power to bestow by electing him president. + + 8. It was an old man of about sixty years, and he carried a + cane to support himself with when he took a walk. He pulled out + his watch to see what time it was every few minutes. + + 9. My favorite magazine is the one called _Popular Mechanics_. + I like it because it appeals to me. + + 10. There is a bird, and that bird is the cuckoo, that seems to + think it unnecessary to build its own nest, and so it occupies + any nest that it happens to find. + + 11. It is a good plan to follow if one would like to be able to + develop his memory to make it a rule to learn at least a few + lines of poetry every night before going to bed. + + 12. In the annals of history there is no historical character + more unselfish than the character of Robert E. Lee. + + 13. There are quite a few hotels in Estes Park, which is in + Colorado, but the one that is the most picturesque and striking + so that you remember it a long time on account of its unusual + surroundings is Long's Peak Inn. + + 14. It is often, but not always, a good sign that when one + person is quick to suspect another person of disloyalty or + dishonesty that he himself is disloyal or dishonest. + + 15. The canine quadruped was under suspicion of having + obliterated by a process of mastication that article of + sustenance which the butcher deposits at our posterior portal. + +=B. The Exact Word= + +Substitute, for inaccurate words and phrases, expressions which carry an +exact and reasonable meaning. + + 1. Ostrich eggs made into omelets are a funny experience. + + 2. A small back porch can be built which will enter directly + into the kitchen. + + 3. Ruskin uses a great deal of unfamiliar words. + + 4. Reading will broaden the point of view of a student. + + 5. To visit the plant in operation is indeed a spectacular + sight. + + 6. My plants grew and looked nicer than any I ever saw. + + 7. I place little truth in that article, since it appeared in a + strong partisan paper. + + 8. The manufacturing of automobiles has gained to quite an + extent. + + 9. Emerson has some real clever thoughts in his essays. + + 10. I do not mean to degrade our local street car system, for + indeed, it is good along some lines. + + 11. I want to attain a greater per cent of efficiency in my + study. + + 12. Imagination is an important part in the successful writing + of themes. + + 13. His employer praised him for the preparation he had done. + + 14. I used water-wings as a sort of a "safety first" until I + learned how to swim. + + 15. In order to prevent infection from disease, two big things + are necessary. + + 16. The pastor delivered the announcements and after the + collection had been obtained, he presented the sermon of the + morning. + + 17. Another factor in my career that winter was that I became a + part of the orchestra. + + 18. It was a mighty nice party that Mrs. Jones gave and + everybody seemed to have an awfully nice time. + + 19. The more general word socialism might be divided into three + distinct classes, namely: the political party, the theoretical + socialist, and last what might be called a general tendency. + + 20. Starting with the pioneer days and up to the present time + every energy was set forth to lay low the forests and to get + homes from the wilderness. + +=C. Words Sometimes Confused in Meaning= + +Use the word which accurately expresses the thought. + + 1. The climate of California is very (healthful, healthy). + + 2. (Leave, let) me have the book. + + 3. He is afraid that he will (loose, lose) his position. + + 4. The (principal, principle) speaker of the day was Colonel + Walker. + + 5. I cannot run (as, like) he can. + + 6. An hour ago he (laid, lay) down to sleep. + + 7. I fear we are (liable, likely) to be punished. + + 8. The scolding did not much (affect, effect) him. + + 9. The light roller presses down the bricks so that the steam + roller will break (fewer, less) of them. + + 10. Whittier makes many (allusions, illusions) to the Bible. + + 11. Bread will (raise, rise) much more quickly in a warm place + than in a place where there is a draft. + + 12. It hardly seems (credible, creditable) that a small child + could walk ten miles. + + 13. I can't write a letter on this (stationary, stationery). + + 14. He (sets, sits) at the head of the table. + + 15. He spoke to the stranger (respectfully, respectively). + + 16. Did the president (affect, effect) a settlement of the + strike? + + 17. I cannot (accept, except) help from anyone. + + 18. Are the guests (already, all ready) for dinner? + + 19. Is the train moving or (stationary, stationery)? + + 20. It is (apt, likely, liable) to be pleasant tomorrow. + +=D. Colloquialism, Slang, Faulty Idiom, etc.= + +The diction of the following sentences is incorrect or inappropriate for +written discourse. Improve the sentences. + + 1. I was kind of tired this morning, but now I feel alright. + + 2. I should of known better. + + 3. A young lady and myself went walking. + + 4. He is out of town for a couple days. + + 5. I feel some better now. + + 6. He will benefit greatly from the results. + + 7. The Puritans were a very odd acting people. + + 8. I like camping because of many reasons. + + 9. Cook your meal, and after you are finished eating, wash the + dishes. + + 10. He is a regular genius of a bookkeeper. + + 11. It is hard to see how humans can live in such tenements. + + 12. The soldiers destroyed property without the least regard of + who owned it. + + 13. She was crazy for an invite to the hop. + + 14. It was up to me to get out before there was something + doing. + + 15. The Gettysburg Address is very simple of understanding + though very strong of meaning. + + 16. When we become located in a desirable locality, we intend + to pay off some of our social indebtedness. + + 17. Have some local glass dealer to mend the broken door, and + send us the bill for the same. + + 18. The first part of Franklin's _Autobiography_ is different + than the latter part, which he wrote after the Revolutionary + War. + + 19. In 1771 a fellow by the name of Arkwright established a + mill in which spinning machines were run by water power. + + 20. Each day has brought closer to home the truth that the + condition of mankind in one part of the world is certain to + effect the equilibrium of mankind in most all other parts of + the world. + + + + +SPELLING + + +No one is able to spell all unusual words on demand. But every one must +spell correctly even unusual words in formal writing. The writer has +time or must take time to consult a dictionary. The best dictionaries +are _Webster's New International Dictionary_, the _Standard Dictionary_ +(less conservative than Webster's), the _Century Dictionary and +Cyclopedia_ (Volume 2 of the _Century_ is the best place to look for +proper names), and _Murray's New English Dictionary_ (very thorough, +each word being illustrated with numerous quotations to show historical +development). An abridged edition of one of these (the price is one to +three dollars) should be accessible to each student who cannot buy the +larger volumes. The best are: _Webster's Secondary School Dictionary_, +_Funk and Wagnalls Desk Standard Dictionary_, the _Oxford Concise +Dictionary_, and _Webster's Collegiate Dictionary_. + +But the student will be spared constant recourse to the dictionary, and +will save himself much time and many humiliations, if he will employ the +rules and principles which follow. + + +=Recording Errors= + +=70. Keep a list of all the words you misspell, copying them several +times in correct form.= Concentrate your effort upon a few words at a +time--upon those words which you yourself actually misspell. The list +will be shorter than you think. It may comprise not more than twenty or +thirty words. Unless you are extraordinarily deficient, it will +certainly not comprise more than a hundred or a hundred and fifty. Find +where your weakness lies; then master it. You can accomplish the +difficult part of the task in a single afternoon. An occasional review, +and constant care when you write, will make your mastery permanent. + +After this, and only after this, begin slowly to learn the spelling of +words which you do not yourself use often, but which are a desirable +equipment for all educated men. See the list under 79. _Concentrate your +efforts upon a few words at a time._ It is better to know a few exactly +than a large number hazily. Form the mental habit of being always right +with a small group of words, and extend this group gradually. + + Exercise: + + Prepare for your instructor a corrected list of words which you + have misspelled in your papers to the present time. + + +=Pronouncing Accurately= + +=71. Avoid slovenly pronunciation.= Careful articulation makes for +correctness in spelling. + +Watch the vowels of unaccented syllables; give them distinct (not +exaggerated) utterance, at least until you are familiar with the +spelling. Examples: _sep=a=rate_, _opp=o=rtunity_, _ever=y=body_, +_soph=o=more_, _d=i=vine_. + +Sound accurately all the consonants between syllables, and do not sound +a single consonant twice. Examples: _can=d=idate_, _gover=n=ment_, +_su=r=prise_ (not _supp=r=ise_), _o=m=i=ss=ion_ (compare _o=cc=a=s=ion_), +_de=f=er_ (compare _di=ff=er_). + +Sound the _g_ in final _-ing_. Examples: _eating_, _running_. + +Pronounce the _-al_ of adverbs derived from adjectives in _-ic_ or +_-al_. Examples: _tragically_, _occasionally_, _generally_, +_ungrammatically_. + +Do not transpose letters; place each letter where it belongs. Examples: +_p=er=spiration_ (not _p=re=spiration_), _tra=g=edy_ (not _tra=d=e=g=y_). + +Note.--The principle of phonetic spelling as stated above applies to +many words, but by no means to all. The Simplified Spelling Board would +extend this principle by changing the spelling of words to correspond +with their actual sounds. It recommends such forms as _tho_, _thru_, +_enuf_, _quartet_, _catalog_, _program_. If the student employs these +forms, he must use them consistently. Many writers oppose simplified +spelling; many advocate it; many compromise. Others desire to supplant +our present alphabet with one more nearly phonetic, and prefer, until +this fundamental reform takes place, to preserve our present spelling as +it is. + + Exercise: + + Copy the following words slowly, pronouncing the syllables as + you write: _accidentally_, _accommodate_, _accurately_, + _artistically_, _athletics_ (not _atheletics_), _boundary_, + _candidate_, _cavalry_, _commission_, _curiosity_, _defer_, + _definite_, _description_, _despair_, _different_, _dining + room_, _dinned_, _disappoint_, _divide_, _divine_, + _emphatically_, _eighth_, _everybody_, _February_, _finally_, + _goddess_, _government_, _hundred_, _hurrying_, _instinct_, + _laboratory_, _library_, _lightning_, _might have_ (not _might + of_), _naturally_, _necessary_, _occasionally_, _omission_, + _opinion_, _opportunity_, _optimist_, _partner_, _perform_, + _perhaps_, _perspiration_, _prescription_, _primitive_, + _privilege_, _probably_, _quantity_, _really_, _recognise_, + _recommend_, _reverence_, _separate_, _should have_ (not + _should of_), _sophomore_, _strictly_, _superintendent_, + _surprise_, _temperance_, _tragedy_, _usually_, _whether_. + + +=Logical Kinship in Words= + +=72. Get help in spelling a difficult word by thinking of related words.= +To think of _ridiculous_ will prevent your writing _a_ for the second +_i_ of _ridicule_; to think of _ridicule_ will prevent your writing +_rediculous_. To think of _prepare_ will prevent your writing +_preperation_; to think of _preparation_ will forestall _preparitory_. +To think of _busy_ will save you from the monstrosity _buisness._ To +think of the prefixes _re-_ (meaning _again_) and _dis-_ (meaning +_not_), and the verbs _commend_ and _appoint_, will prevent your writing +_recommend_ or _disappoint_ with a double _c_ or _s_. + +Note.--The relationship between words is not always a safe guide to +spelling. Observe _four_, _forty_; _nine_, _ninth_; _maintain_, +_maintenance_; _please_, _pleasant_; _speak_, _speech_; _prevail_, +_prevalent_. Do not confuse the following prefixes, which have no +logical connection: + + _ante-_ (before) _anti-_ (against, opposite) + _de-_ (from, about) _dis-_ (apart, away, not) + _per-_ (through, entirely) _pre-_ (before) + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the nouns corresponding to the following verbs: + _prepare_, _allude_, _govern_, _represent_, _degrade_. + + 2. Write the adjectives corresponding to the following nouns + and the nouns corresponding to the following adjectives: + _desperation_, _academy_, _origin_, _ridiculous_, _miraculous_, + _grammatical_, _arithmetical_, _busy_. + + 3. Write the adverbs corresponding to the following adjectives: + _real_, _sure_, _actual_, _hurried_, _accidental_, + _incidental_, _grammatical_. + + 4. Copy the following pairs of related words or related forms + of words: _labor, laboratory_; _debate, debater_; _base, + based_; _deal, dealt_; _chose, chosen_; _mean, meant_. + + 5. Write each of the following words with a hyphen between the + prefix and the body of the word: _describe_, _description_, + _disappoint_, _disappear_, _disease_, _dissatisfy_, _dissever_, + _permit_, _perspire_, _prescription_, _preconceive_, + _recommend_, _recollect_, _reconsider_, _antedate_, + _antecedent_, _anticlimax_, _antitoxin_. + + +=Superficial Resemblances between Words= + +=73. Guard against misspelling a word because it bears a superficial +resemblance, in sound or appearance, to some other word.= Most of the +words in the following list have no logical connection; the resemblance +is one of form only (_angel_, _angle_). But a few words are included +which are different in spelling in spite of a logical relation +(_breath_, _breathe_). + + accept (to receive) + except (to exclude, with exclusion of) + + advice (noun) + advise (verb) + + affect (to influence in part) + effect (to bring to pass totally) + + allusion (a reference) + illusion (a deceiving appearance) + + all right + almost + already + + altogether + always + + alley (a back street) + ally (a confederate) + + altar (a structure used in worship) + alter (to make otherwise) + + angel (a celestial being) + angle (the meeting place of two lines) + + baring (making bare) + barring (obstructing) + bearing (carrying) + born (brought into being) + borne (carried) + + breath (noun) + breathe (verb) + + capital (a city) + capitol (a building) + + canvas (a cloth) + canvass (to solicit) + + clothes (garments) + cloths (pieces of cloth) + + coarse (not fine) + course (route, method of behavior) + + conscious (aware) + conscience (an inner moral sense) + + dairy + diary + + device (noun) + devise (verb) + + desert (a barren country) + dessert (food) + + dining room + dinning + + disappear + disappoint + + disavowal + dissatisfaction + dissimilar + dissipate + dissuade + + decent (adjective) + descent (downward slope or motion) + dissent (a disagreement) + + dual (adjective) + duel (noun) + + formally (in a formal way) + formerly (in time past) + + forth + forty + four + fourth + + freshman + freshmen (not used as adjective) + + gambling (wagering money on games of chance) + gamboling (frisking or leaping with joy) + + guard + regard + + hear + here + + hinder + hindrance + + holly (a tree) + holy (hallowed, sacred) + wholly (altogether) + + hoping (from _hope_) + hopping + + instance (an example) + instants (periods of time) + + isle (an island) + aisle (a narrow passage) + + its (possessive pronoun) + it's (contraction of _it is_) + + Johnson, Samuel + Jonson, Ben + + later (comparative of _late_) + latter (the second) + + lead (present tense) + led (past tense) + + lessen (verb) + lesson (noun) + + liable (expresses responsibility or disagreeable probability) + likely (expresses probability) + + loose (free, not bound) + lose (to suffer the loss of) + + maintain + maintenance + + nineteenth + ninetieth + ninety + ninth + + past (adjective, adverb, preposition) + passed (verb, past tense) + + peace (a state of calm) + piece (a fragment) + + perceive + perform + persevere + persuade + purchase + pursue + + personal (private, individual) + personnel (the body of persons engaged in some activity) + + Philippines + Filipino + + plain (clear; adjective) + plain (flat region; noun) + plane (flat; adjective) + plane (geometrical term; noun) + + planed (past tense of _plane_) + planned (past tense of _plan_) + + pleasant + please + + precede + proceed } + succeed } these three are the + exceed } "double _e_ group" + concede + intercede + recede + supersede + + pre cé dence (act or right of preceding) + préc e dents (things said or done before, now used as authority + or model) + + presence (state of being present) + presents (gifts) + + prevail + prevalent + + principal (chief, leading, the leading official of a school, a + sum of money) + principle (a general truth) + + quiet (still) + quite (completely) + + rain + reign (rule of a monarch) + rein (part of a harness) + + respectfully ("Yours respectfully") + respectively (in a way proper to each--should never be used + to close a letter) + + right + rite (ceremony) + write + + shone (past tense of _shine_) + shown (past tense of _show_) + + seize + siege + + sight (view, spectacle) + site (situation, a plot of ground reserved for some use) + cite (to bring forward as evidence) + + speak + speech + + Spencer, Herbert (scientist) + Spenser, Edmund (poet) + + stationary (not moving) + stationery (writing materials) + + statue (a sculptured likeness) + stature (height, figure) + statute (a law) + + steal (to take by theft) + steel (a variety of iron) + + than + then + + their (belonging to them) + there (in that place) + they're (they are) + + therefor (to that end, for that thing) + therefore (for that reason) + + till + until + + to + too + two + + track (an imprint, or a road) + tract (an area of land) + tract (a treatise on religion) + + village + villain + + wandering + wondering + + weak (not strong) + week (seven days) + + weather + whether + + whole (entire) + hole (an opening) + + who's (who is) + whose (the possessive of _who_) + + your (indicates possession) + you're (contraction of _you are_) + + Exercise: + + 1. Insert _to_, _too_, or _two_: He is ---- tired ---- walk the + ----miles ---- the town. Then ----, it is ---- late ---- catch + a car. It is ---- minutes of ----. It is ---- bad. + + 2. Insert _lose_ or _loose_: You will ---- your money if you + carry it ---- in your pocket. We are ----ing time. The sailor + ----ens the rope. Did you ---- your ticket? + + 3. Insert _speak or speech_: I was ----ing with our congressman + about his recent ----. I ---- from experience. + + 4. Insert _plan_ or _plane_: The architect's ---- was accepted. + The carpenter's ---- cuts a long shaving. The carpenter does + not ---- the house. + + 5. Insert _quite_ or _quiet_: The baby is ----ly sleeping. She + is ---- well now, but last night she was ---- sick. Be ----. + Walk ----ly when you go. + + +=Words in _ei_ or _ie_= + + =74. Write _i_ before _e_ + When sounded as _ee_ + Except after _c_.= + +Examples: _believe_, _grief_, _chief_; but _receive_, _deceive_, +_ceiling_. + +Exceptions: _Neither financier seized either species of weird leisure._ +(Also a few uncommon words, like _seignior_, _inveigle_, _plebeian_.) + +Rules based on a key-word, lice, Alice, Celia (_i_ follows _l_ and _e_ +follows _c_) apply after two consonants only, and do not help one to +spell a word like _grief_. Rule 74 applies after all consonants. + +Note.--The words in which the sound is _ee_ are the words really +difficult to spell. When the sound is any other than _ee_ (especially +when it is _a_), _i_ usually follows _e_. + +Examples: _veil_, _weigh_, _freight_, _neighbor_, _height_, _sleight_, +_heir_, _heifer_, _counterfeit_, _foreign_, etc. + +Exceptions: _ancient_, _friend_, _sieve_, _mischief_, _fiery_, _tries_, +etc. + + Exercise: + + Write the following words, supplying _ei_ or _ie_: _conc--t_, + _retr--ve_, _dec--tful_, _n--ce_, _y--ld_, _p--ce_, _s--ge_, + _s--ze_, _rec--pt_, _n--ther_, _w--rd_, _rel--ve_, _l--sure_, + _f--ld_, _v--n_, _r--gn_, _sover--gn_, _sl--gh_, _br--f_, + _dec--ve_, _r--n_, _f--nt_, _perc--ve_, _w--ld_, _gr--vous_, + _--ther_. + + +=Doubling a Final Consonant= + +=75. Monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable, if they end +in one consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant before +a suffix beginning with a vowel.= + +Examples: (a) Words derived from monosyllables: _plan-ned_, _clan-nish_, +_get-ting_, _hot-test_, _bag-gage_, (b) Words derived from words +accented on the final syllable: _begin-ning_, _repel-lent_, +_unregret-ted_. + +Note 1.--There are four distinct steps in the application of this rule. +(1) The primary word must be found. To decide whether _begging_ contains +two _g's_, we must first think of _beg_. (2) The primary word must be a +monosyllable or a word accented on the final syllable. _Hit_ and _allot_ +meet this test; _open_ does not. _Deferred_ and _differed_, _preferred_ +and _proffered_, _committed_ (or _committee_) and _prohibited_ double or +refrain from doubling the final consonant of the primary word according +to the position of the accent. The seeming discrepancy between +_preferred_ and _preferable_, between _conferred_ and _conference_, is +due to a shifting of the accent to the first syllable in the case of +_preferable_ and _conference_. (3) The primary word must end in one +consonant. _Trace_, _oppose_, _interfere_, _help_, _reach_, and +_perform_ fail to meet this test, and therefore in derivatives do not +double the last consonant. _Assurance_ has one _r_, as it should have; +_occurrence_ has two _r's_, as it should have. (4) The final consonant +of the primary word must be preceded by a single vowel. This principle +excludes the extra consonant from _needy_, _daubed_, and _proceeding_, +and gives it to _running_. + +Note 2.--After _q_, _u_ has the force of _w_. Hence _quitting_, +_quizzes_, _squatter_, _acquitted_, _equipped_, and similar words are +not really exceptions to the rule. + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the present participle (in _-ing_) of _din_ (not + _dine_), _begin_, _sin_ (compare _shine_), _stop_, _prefer_, + _rob_, _drop_, _occur_, _omit_, _swim_, _get_, _commit_. + + 2. Write the past tense (in _-ed_) of _plan_ (not _plane_), + _star_ (compare _stare_), _stop_ (compare _slope_), _lop_ (not + _lope_), _hop_ (not _hope_), _fit_, _benefit_, _occur_ (compare + _cure_), _offer_, _confer_, _bat_ (compare _abate_). + + +=Final _e_ before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel= + +=76. Words that end in silent _e_ usually drop the _e_ in derivatives or +before a suffix beginning with a vowel.= + +Examples: _bride_, _bridal_; _guide_, _guidance_; _please_, _pleasure_; +_fleece_, _fleecy_; _force_, _forcible_; _argue_, _arguing_; _arrive_, +_arrival_; _conceive_, _conceivable_; _college_, _collegiate_; _write_, +_writing_; _use_, _using_; _change_, _changing_; _judge_, _judging_; +_believe_, _believing_. + +Note 1.--Of the exceptions some retain the _e_ to prevent confusion with +other words. Exceptions: _dyeing_, _singeing_, _mileage_, _acreage_, +_hoeing_, _shoeing_, _agreeing_, _eyeing_. The exceptions cause +comparatively little trouble. One rarely sees _hoing_ or _shoing_; he +often sees _hopeing_ and _inviteing_. + +Note 2.--After _c_ or _g_ and before a suffix beginning with _a_ or _o_ +the _e_ is retained. The purpose of this retention is to preserve the +soft sound of the _c_ or _g_. (Observe that _c_ and _g_ have the hard +sound in _cable_, _gable_, _cold_, _go_.) + +Examples: _peaceable_, _changeable_, _noticeable_, _serviceable_, +_outrageous_, _courageous_, _advantageous_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the present participle of the following words: _use_, + _love_, _change_, _judge_, _shake_, _hope_, _shine_, _have_, + _seize_, _slope_, _strike_, _dine_, _come_, _place_, _argue_, + _achieve_, _emerge_, _arrange_, _abide_, _oblige_, _subdue_. + + 2. Write the present participle of the following words: + _singe_, _tinge_, _dye_, _agree_, _eye_. + + 3. Write the _-ous_ or _-able_ form of the following words: + _trace_, _love_, _blame_, _move_, _conceive_, _courage_, + _service_, _advantage_, _umbrage_. + + 4. Write the adjectives which correspond to the following + nouns: _force_, _sphere_, _vice_, _sense_, _fleece_, _college_, + _hygiene_. + + 5. Write the nouns which correspond to the following verbs: + _please_, _guide_, _grieve_, _arrive_, _oblige_, _prepare_, + _inspire_. + + +=Plurals= + +=77a. Most nouns add _s_ or _es_ to form the plural.= Examples: _word_, +_words_; _fire_, _fires_, _negro_, _negroes_; _Eskimo_, _Eskimos_; +_leaf_, _leaves_ (_f_ changes to _v_ for the sake of euphony); knife, +knives. + +=b. Nouns ending in _y_ preceded by a consonant (or by _u_ as _w_) change +the _y_ to _i_ and add _es_ to form the plural.= + +Examples: _sky_, _skies_; _lady_, _ladies_; _colloquy_, _colloquies_; +_soliloquy_, _soliloquies_. + +=Other nouns ending in _y_ form the plural in the usual way.= Examples: +_day_, _days_; _boy_, _boys_; _monkey_, _monkeys_; _valley_, _valleys_. + +=c. Compound nouns usually form the plural by adding _s_ or _es_ to the +principal word.= Examples: _sons-in-law_, _passers-by_; but _stand-bys_, +_hat-boxes_, _writing-desks_. + +=d. Letters, signs, and sometimes figures, add _'s_ to form the plural.= +Examples: Cross your t's and dot your i's; ?'s; $'s; 3's or 3s. + +=e. A few nouns adhere to old declensions.= Examples: _ox_, _oxen_; +_child_, _children_; _goose_, _geese_; _foot_, _feet_; _mouse_, _mice_; +_man_, _men_; _woman_, _women_; _sheep_, _sheep_; _deer_, _deer_; +_swine_, _swine_. + +=f. Words adopted from foreign languages sometimes retain the foreign +plural.= Examples: _alumnus_, _alumni_; _alumna_, _alumnæ_; _fungus_, +_fungi_; _focus_, _foci_; _radius_, _radii_; _datum_, _data_; _medium_, +_media_; _phenomenon_, _phenomena_; _stratum_, _strata_; _analysis_, +_analyses_; _antithesis_, _antitheses_; _basis_, _bases_; _crisis_, +_crises_; _oasis_, _oases_; _hypothesis_, _hypotheses_; _parenthesis_, +_parentheses_; _thesis_, _theses_; _beau_, _beaux_; _tableau_, +_tableaux_; _Mr._, _Messrs._ (_Messieurs_); _Mrs._, _Mmes._ +(_Mesdames_). + + Exercise: + + Write the singular and plural of the following words: _day_, + _sky_, _lady_, _wife_, _leaf_, _loaf_, _negro_, _potato_, + _tomato_, _pass_, _glass_, _boat_, _beet_, _flash_, _crash_, + _bead_, _box_, _passenger_, _messenger_, _son-in-law_, _Smith_, + _Jones_, _jack-o'-lantern_, _hanger-on_, _stratum_, _datum_, + _phenomenon_, _crisis_, _basis_, _thesis_, _analysis_. + + +=Compounds= + +=78a. Use a hyphen between two or more words which serve as a single +adjective before a noun:= _iron-bound bucket_, _well-kept lawn_, +_twelve-inch main_, _normal-school teacher_, _up-to-date methods_, +_twentieth-century ideas_, _devil-may-care expression_, _a +twenty-dollar-a-week clerk_. + +=But when the words follow the noun, the hyphen is omitted.= _The lawn is +well kept. Methods up to date in every way_. + +=Also adverbs ending in _-ly_ are not ordinarily made into compound +modifiers:= _nicely kept lawn_, _securely guarded treasure_. + +=b. Use a hyphen between members of a compound noun when the second +member is a preposition, or when the writing of two nouns solid or +separately might confuse the meaning:= _runner-up_, _kick-off_; +_letting-down of effort_, _son-in-law_, _jack-o'-lantern_, _Pedro was a +bull-fighter_, _a woman-hater_, _Did you ever see a shoe-polish like +this?_ + +=c. Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, and +in fractions according to the following examples:= + +_Twenty-three_, _eighty-nine_; but _one hundred and one_. +_Twenty-third_, _one-hundred-and-first man_. _Three-fourths_, _four and +two-thirds_, _thirty-hundredths_, _thirty-one hundredths_. + +But omit the hyphen in simple fractions when loosely used: _Three +quarters of my life are spent._ _One third of his fortune._ + +=d. A hyphen is not used in the following common words:= _airship_, +_altogether_, _anybody_, _baseball_, _basketball_, _everybody_, +_football_, _goodby_, _herself_, _handbook_, _himself_, _inasmuch_, +_itself_, _midnight_, _myself_, _nevertheless_, _nobody_, _nothing_ (but +_no one_), _nowadays_, _railroad_, _themselves_, _together_, +_typewritten_, _wherever_, _without_, _workshop_, _yourself_, +_newspaper_, _sunset_. + +=e. For words that do not come within the scope of rules, consult an +up-to-date dictionary.= Compounds tend, with the passing of time, to grow +together. Once men wrote _steam boat_, later _steam-boat_, and finally +_steamboat_. New-coined words are usually hyphenated; old words are +often written solid. The degree of intimacy between the parts of a +compound word affects usage; thus we write _sun-motor_, but _sunbeam_; +_birth-rate_, but _birthday_; _cooling-room_, but _bedroom_; +_non-conductor_, but _nonsense_. The ease with which a vowel blends with +the consonant of a syllable adjoining it affects usage; thus +_self-evident_, but _selfsame_; _non-existent_, but _nondescript_; +_un-American_, but _unwise_. Many compounds, however, are still +uncontrolled by usage; whether they should be written as two words or +one, whether with or without the hyphen, the dictionaries themselves do +not agree. + + Exercise: + + Copy the following expressions, inserting hyphens where they + are necessary: _twenty two years old_, _twenty two dollar + bills_ _make forty dollars_, _twenty seven eighths inch + boards_, _a normal school graduate_, _two handled boxes_, _a + cloth covered basket_, _blood red sun_, _water tight + compartment_, _sixty horse power motor_, _seven dollar bathing + suits_, _a happy go lucky fellow_, _germ destroying powder_, + _he had a son in law_, _passers by on the street_, _the kick + off is at three o'clock_, _dark complexioned woman_, _silver + tongued orator_, _a dish like valley_, _a rope like tail_, _a + fish shaped cloud_, _a touch me not expression_, _will o' the + wisp_, _well to do merchant_, _rough and tumble existence_. + + +=79.= SPELLING LIST + +The English language comprises about 450,000 words. Of these a student +uses about 4000 (although he may understand more than twice that number +when he encounters them in sentences). Of these, in turn, not more than +four or five hundred are frequently misspelled. The following list +includes nearly all of the words which give serious trouble. Certain +American colleges using this list require of freshmen an accuracy of +ninety per cent. + + absurd + academy + =accept= + =accidentally= + =accommodate= + accumulate + accustom + acquainted + acquitted + =across= + addressed + =adviser= + aeroplane + =affects= + aggravate + alley + allotted + =all right= + ally + already + altar + alter + =altogether= + alumnus + =always= + =amateur= + =among= + analogous + analysis + =angel= + angle + annual + anxiety + apparatus + =appearance= + appropriate + arctic + =argument= + =arising= + =arithmetic= + arrange + arrival + ascend + asks + =athletic= + audience + auxiliary + awkward + + balance + barbarous + baring + barring + baseball + =based= + bearing + =becoming= + before + beggar + =begging= + =beginning= + =believing= + =benefited= + =biscuit= + boundaries + brilliant + =Britain= + =Britannica= + buoyant + bureau + =business= + =busy= + + =calendar= + =candidate= + =can't= + cemetery + =certain= + =changeable= + =changing= + characteristic + chauffeur + =choose= + chose + chosen + =clothes= + =coarse= + column + =coming= + commission + =committee= + comparative + =compel= + compelled + competent + concede + conceivable + =conferred= + conquer + conqueror + conscience + conscientious + considered + continuous + control + =controlled= + coöperate + country + =course= + =courteous= + courtesy + cruelty + cylinder + + =dealt= + debater + deceitful + decide + decision + deferred + =definite= + descend + =describe= + =description= + derived + =despair= + =desperate= + destroy + device + devise + dictionary + difference + digging + dilemma + =dining room= + dinning + =disappear= + =disappoint= + disavowal + discipline + disease + =dissatisfied= + dissipate + distinction + distribute + =divide= + =divine= + =doctor= + =don't= + dormitories + drudgery + dying + + ecstasy + =effects= + =eighth= + eliminate + =embarrass= + eminent + encouraging + =enemy= + =equipped= + especially + =etc.= + everybody + exaggerate + exceed + excellent + except + exceptional + exhaust + exhilarate + =existence= + expense + experience + explanation + + familiar + fascinate + =February= + fiery + fifth + =finally= + financier + forfeit + formally + =formerly= + forth + =forty= + =fourth= + frantically + fraternity + =freshman= (adj.) + =friend= + fulfil + furniture + + gallant + gambling + =generally= + goddess + =government= + governor + =grammar= + grandeur + =grievous= + guard + guess + guidance + + harass + haul + =having= + height + hesitancy + =holy= + =hoping= + huge + =humorous= + =hurriedly= + hundredths + hygienic + + =imaginary= + imitative + immediately + immigration + impromptu + imminent + incidentally + incidents + incredulous + =independence= + indispensable + induce + influence + =infinite= + =instance= + instant + =intellectual= + intelligence + =intentionally= + intercede + irresistible + =its= + it's + itself + invitation + + =judgment= + + =knowledge= + + laboratory + =ladies= + =laid= + =later= + =latter= + =lead= + =led= + liable + library + =lightning= + likely + literature + loneliness + =loose= + =lose= + =losing= + lying + + maintain + =maintenance= + manual + manufacturer + =many= + marriage + Massachusetts + material + =mathematics= + mattress + =meant= + messenger + =miniature= + minutes + =mischievous= + Mississippi + misspelled + momentous + month + murmur + muscle + mysterious + + =necessary= + =negroes= + =neither= + nickel + nineteenth + ninetieth + =ninety= + ninth + =noticeable= + =nowadays= + + oblige + obstacle + =occasion= + occasionally + occur + =occurred= + =occurrence= + occurring + =o'clock= + officers + =omitted= + =omission= + =opinion= + opportunity + =optimistic= + =original= + outrageous + overrun + + paid + pantomime + =parallel= + =parliament= + particularly + =partner= + =pastime= + peaceable + =perceive= + perception + peremptory + =perform= + =perhaps= + =permissible= + perseverance + pérsonal + personnél + =perspiration= + persuade + pertain + pervade + physical + picnic + picnicking + =planned= + =pleasant= + politics + politician + =possession= + possible + practically + =prairie= + =precede= + precédent + précedents + =preference= + =preferred= + prejudice + =preparation= + =primitive= + =principal= + =principle= + prisoner + =privilege= + =probably= + =proceed= + prodigy + profession + =professor= + proffered + prohibition + promissory + =prove= + purchase + pursue + putting + + quantity + =quiet= + =quite= + quizzes + + rapid + =ready= + =really= + recede + =receive= + recognize + =recommend= + =reference= + =referred= + =regard= + region + =religion= + =religious= + repetition + replies + representative + =restaurant= + rheumatism + ridiculous + + sacrilegious + safety + =sandwich= + schedule + science + scream + screech + =seems= + =seize= + sense + =sentence= + =separate= + sergeant + several + shiftless + =shining= + shone + shown + =shriek= + =siege= + similar + =since= + smooth + soliloquy + =sophomore= + speak + specimen + =speech= + statement + =stationary= + =stationery= + statue + stature + statute + steal + steel + stops + =stopped= + =stopping= + =stories= + stretch + =strictly= + succeeds + successful + summarize + =superintendent= + supersede + =sure= + =surprise= + syllable + symmetrical + + =temperament= + =tendency= + than + =their= + there + therefore + =they're= + thorough + thousandths + till + to + =too= + =together= + =tragedy= + track + =tract= + transferred + tranquillity + translate + treacherous + treasurer + =tries= + =trouble= + =truly= + =Tuesday= + two + typical + tyranny + + universally + =until= + =using= + =usually= + + vacancy + vengeance + vigilance + village + =villain= + + weak + =wear= + weather + =Wednesday= + week + =weird= + welfare + where + wherever + =whether= + which + whole + =wholly= + =who's= + whose + wintry + wiry + within + without + =women= + world + =writing= + written + + your + =you're= + +Note 1.--The following words have more than one correct form, the one +given here being preferred. + + abridgement + acknowledgment + analyze + ax + boulder + caliber + catalog + center + check + criticize + develop + development + dulness + endorse + envelop + esthetic + gaiety + gild + gipsy + glamor + goodby + gray + inquire + medieval + meter + mold + mustache + odor + program + prolog + skilful + theater + +Note 2.--In a few groups of words American spelling and English spelling +differ. American spelling gives preference to _favor_, _honor_, _labor_, +_rumor_; English spelling gives preference to _favour_, _honour_, +_labour_, _rumour_. American spelling gives preference to _civilize_, +_apprize_; _defense_, _pretense_; _traveler_, _woolen_; etc. English +spelling gives preference to _civilise_, _apprise_; _defence_, +_pretence_; _traveller_, _woollen_; etc. + + + + +MISCELLANEOUS + + +=Manuscript= + +=80a. Titles.= Center a title on the page. Capitalize important words. It +is unnecessary to place a period after a title, but a question mark or +exclamation point should be used when one is appropriate. Do not +underscore the title, or unnecessarily place it in quotation marks. +Leave a blank line under the title, before beginning the body of the +writing. + +=b. Spacing.= Careful spacing is as necessary as punctuation. Place +writing on a page as you would frame a picture, crowding it toward +neither the top nor the bottom. Leave liberal margins. Write verse as +verse; do not give it equal indention or length of line with prose. +Connect all the letters of a word. Leave a space after a word, and a +double space after a sentence. Leave room between successive lines, and +do not let the loops of letters run into the lines above or below. + +=c. Handwriting.= Write a clear, legible hand. Form _a_, _o_, _u_, _n_, +_e_, _i_, properly. Write out _and_ horizontally. Avoid unnecessary +flourishes in capitals, and curlicues at the end of words. Dot your +_i's_ and cross your _t's_; not with circles or long eccentric strokes, +but simply and accurately. Let your originality express itself not in +ornate penmanship, or unusual stationery, or literary affectations, but +in the force and keenness of your ideas. + + +=Capitals= + +=81a. Begin with a capital a sentence, a line of poetry, or a quoted +sentence. But if only a fragment of a sentence is quoted, the capital +should be omitted.= + + Right: He said, "The time has come." + + Right: The question is, Shall the bill pass? + + Right: They said they would "not take no for an answer." + + Right: + + "The good die first, + And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust + Burn to the socket."--Wordsworth. + + + +=b. Begin proper names, and all important words used as or in proper +names, with capitals.= Words not so used should not begin with capitals. + + Right: Mr. George K. Rogers, the Principal of the Urbana High + School, a college president, the President of the Senior Class, + a senior, the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, + three battalions of infantry, the Fourth of July, on the tenth + of June, the House of Representatives, an assembly of + delegates, a Presbyterian church, the separation of church and + state, the Baptist Church, the Society for the Prevention of + Cruelty to Animals, a creek known as Black Oak Creek, the + Republican Party, a party that advocates high tariff, Rocky + Mountains, The Bible, God, The Christian Era, Wednesday, in the + summer, living in the South, turning south after taking a few + steps to the east, one morning, O dark-haired Evening! italic + type, watt, pasteurize, herculean effort. + +=c. Begin an adjective which designates a language or a race with a +capital.= + + Right: A Norwegian peasant, Indian arrowheads, English + literature, the study of French. + +=d. In the titles of books or themes capitalize the first word and all +other important words.= Prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are +usually not important. + + Right: _The English Novel in the Time of Scott_, _War and + Peace_, _Travels with a Donkey_, _When I Slept under the + Stars_. + +=e. Miscellaneous uses. Capitalize the pronoun _I_, the interjection _O_, +titles that accompany a name, and abbreviations of proper names.= + + Right: Battery F, 150 F. A.; Mobile, Ala.; Dr. Stebbins. + + Exercise: + + 1. the teacher said, "let me read you a famous soliloquy." he + began: "to be, or not to be: that is the question." + + 2. the chinese laundry man does not write out his lists in + english. + + 3. the _la fayette tribune_ says that a Principal of a School + has been elected to congress. + + 4. mr. woodson, the lecturer, said that "the title of a book + may be a poem." he mentioned _christmas eve on lonesome_ by + john fox, jr. + + 5. i like architecture. as i approached the british museum, i + noticed the ionic colonnade that runs along the front. the + first room i visited was the one filled with marbles which lord + elgin brought from the parthenon at athens. + + +=Italics= + +In manuscript, a horizontal line drawn under a letter or word is a sign +for the printer to use italic type. + +=82a. Quoted titles of books, periodicals, and manuscripts are usually +italicized.= + + Right: I admire Shakespeare's _Hamlet_. [The italics make the + reader know that the writer means, _Hamlet_ the play, not + Hamlet the man.] + + Right: John Galsworthy's novel, _The Patrician_, appeared in + serial form in the _Atlantic Monthly_. + +Note 1.--When the title of a book begins with an article (_a_, _an_, or +_the_), the article is italicized. But _the_ before the title of a +periodical is usually not italicized. + +Note 2.--It is correct, but not the best practice, to indicate the +titles of books by quotation marks. The best method is to use italics +for the title of a book, and quotation marks for chapters or +subdivisions of the same book. Example: See _Encyclopedia Britannica_, +Vol. II, p. 427, "Modern Architecture". + +=b. Words from a foreign language, unless they have been anglicized by +frequent use, are italicized.= + + Right: A great noise announced the coming of the _enfant + terrible_. + + Right: A play always begins _in medias res_. + +=c. The names of ships are usually italicized.= + + Right: The _Saxonia_ will sail at four o'clock. + +=d. Words taken out of their context and made the subject of discussion +are italicized or placed in quotation marks.= + + Right: _So_ is a word faded and colorless from constant use. + + Right: The _t_ in the word _often_ is not pronounced. + +=e. A word or passage requiring great emphasis is italicized.= This device +should not be used to excess. The proper way to secure emphasis is to +have good ideas, and to use emphatic sentence structure in expressing +them. + + Exercise: + + 1. In Vanity Fair Thackeray heads one chapter How to Live Well + on Nothing a Year. + + 2. Auf wiedersehen was his parting word. He had informed me, + sub rosa of course, that he was going to Bremen. + + 3. The battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac + revolutionized naval warfare. How far back it seems to the days + when Decatur set fire to the old Philadelphia! + + 4. Her They say's are as plenteous as rabbits in Australia. + + 5. A writer in the Century Magazine says the public may know + better than an author what the title of his book should be. + Dickens, for example, called one of his works The Posthumous + Papers of the Pickwick Club. + + +=Abbreviations= + +=83a. In ordinary writing avoid abbreviations. The following, however, +are always correct: Mr., Messrs., Dr., or St. (Saint), before proper +names; B. C. or A. D., when necessary to avoid confusion, after a date; +and No. or $ when followed by numerals.= + +In ordinary writing spell out + + All titles, except those listed above. + + Names of months, states, countries. + + Christian names, unless initials are used instead. + + Names of weights and measures, except in statistics. + + Street, Avenue, Road, Railroad, Park, Fort, Mountain, Company, + Brothers, Manufacturing, etc. + +In ordinary writing, instead of _&_ write _and_; for _viz._ write +_namely_; for _i. e._, write _that is_; for _e. g._ write _for example_; +for _a. m._ and _p. m._ write _in the morning_, _this afternoon_, +_tomorrow evening_, _Saturday night_. Do not use _etc._ (_et cetera_) +when it can be avoided. + +=b. In business correspondence, technical writing, tabulations, +footnotes, and bibliographies, or wherever brevity is essential, other +abbreviations may be used.= Even here, short words should not be +abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Samoa, Utah, +March, April, May, June, July. + + Exercise: + + 1. Mr. Gregg & Dr. Appleton were rivals. + + 2. Harris lacked but one of having a grade of one hundred; _i. + e._, he had the two O's already. + + 3. His inheritance tax was three thousand $. In Apr. he moved + from Portland, Me., to Sandusky, O. + + 4. Prof. Kellogg came down Beech St. at a quarter before eight + every a. m. + + 5. A No. of old friends visited them on special occasions; _e. + g._, on their wedding anniversaries. + + +=Numbers= + +=84a. It is customary to use figures for dates, for the street numbers in +addresses, for reference to the pages of a book, and for statistics.= + +Right: June 16, 1920. 804 Chalmers Street. See Chapter 4, especially +page 79. + +Note.--It is desirable not to write _st_, _nd_, or _th_ after the day of +the month if the year is designated also. Right: March 3, 1919 (not +March 3rd, 1919). + +=b. Figures are used for numbers which cannot be expressed in a few +words. The dollar sign and figures are used with complicated sums of +money.= + +Right: The farm comprised 3260 acres. The population of Kansas City, +Missouri, was 248,381 in 1910. He earned $437 while attending school. +The cost of the improvement was $1,940.25. + +=c. In other instances than those specified in _a_ and _b_ numbers as a +rule should be written out.= (This rule applies to numbers and to sums of +money which can be expressed in a few words, to sums of money less than +one dollar, and to ages and time of day.) + +Right: The box weighs two hundred pounds. Xerxes had an army of three +million men. I enclose seventy-five cents. He owed twelve hundred +dollars. Grandfather Toland is eighty-seven years old. The train is due +at a quarter past three. + + Exercise: + + 1. For 70 pounds of excess baggage I had to pay $1.00. + + 2. At 2 o'clock Rice gave him the 2nd capsule. + + 3. The letter was sent from twenty-one Warner St. November the + eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen. + + 4. Knox earned $5 a day he said; but they paid him only $0.75. + + 5. At 40 he owned a 2,000 acre farm and had an income of + $10,000 a year. + + +=Syllabication= + +=85a. When a word is broken at the end of a line, use a hyphen there. Do +not place a hyphen at the beginning of the second line.= + +=b. Words are divided only between syllables:= _depart-ment_, +_dis-charge_, _ab-surd_, _univer-sity_, _pro-fessor_ (not _depa-rtment_, +_disc-harge_, _abs-urd_, _unive-rsity_, _prof-essor_). + +=c. Monosyllabic words are never divided:= _which_, _through_, _dipped_, +_speak_ (not _wh-ich_, _thr-ough_, _dip-ped_, _spe-ak_). + +=d. A consonant at the junction of two syllables usually goes with the +second:= _recipro-cate_, _ordi-nance_, _inti-mate_ (not _reciproc-ate_, +_ordin-ance_, _intim-ate_). Sometimes two consonants are equivalent to a +single letter: _falli-ble_, _photo-graph_ (not _fallib-le_, +_photog-raph_). + +=e. Two or more consonants at the junction of syllables are themselves +divided:= _en-ter-prise_, _com-mis-sary_, _in-car-nate_ (not +_ent-erpr-ise_, _comm-iss-ary_, _inc-arn-ate_). + +=f. A prefix or a suffix is usually set off from the rest of the word +regardless of the rule for consonants between syllables:= _ex-empt_, +_dis-appoint_, _sing-ing_, _pro-gress-ive_. But when a final consonant +is doubled before a suffix the additional consonant goes with the +suffix: _trip-ping_, _permit-ted_, _omis-sion_. + +=g. The best usage avoids separating one or two letters (unless in +prefixes like _un_ or suffixes like _ly_) from the rest of the word:= +_achieve-ment_, _enor-mous_, _remem-bered_, _dyspep-sia_ (not +_a-chievement_, _e-normous_, remember-ed, dyspepsi-a). + +=h. The first part of a divided word should not be ludicrous or +misleading:= _dogma-tize_, _croco-dile_, _de-cadence_, _metri-cal_, +_goril-la_ (not _dog-matize_, _croc-odile_, _deca-dence_, _met-rical_, +_go-rilla_). + + Exercise: + + Place a hyphen between each pair of syllables in each word of + more than one syllable: _thoughtful_, _burrowing_, _thorough_, + _chimney_, _brought_, _helped_, _harshnesses_, _which_, + _murmur_, _superstition_, _ground_, _symmetry_, _ripped_, + _compartment_, _disallow_, _obey_, _opinion_, _opportune_, + _aggressive_, _intellectually_, _complicated_, _encyclopedia_, + _wrought_, _electricity_, _abstraction_, _syllabication_, + _punctuation_, _frustrate_, _except_, _substituting_, + _distressful_. + + +=Outlines= + +Three kinds of outlines are illustrated in this article: (a) the Topic +Outline, (b) the Sentence Outline, and (c) the Paragraph Outline. + +=86a. A topic outline consists of headings (nouns or phrases containing +nouns) which indicate the important ideas in a composition, and their +relation to each other. Conform to the following model:= + + =The Lumber Problem= + + Theme: The decline of our lumber supply requires that we shall + take steps toward reforesting, conservation, and the use of + substitutes for wood. + + I The Depletion of our forests + A Former abundance + B Present scarcity (especially walnut, white pine, oak) + + II The Causes of the depletion + A Great demand + 1 For building + 2 For industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.) + 3 For fuel, and other minor uses + B Wasteful methods of forestry + + III The Remedy + A Reforestation + 1 Planting by individuals + 2 Planting by the states + 3 Extension of the present National Forest Reserves + + B The prevention of waste + 1 In fires, by insects, etc. + 2 In cutting and sawing + 3 In by-products (sawing, odd lengths, etc.) + + C The use of substitutes for wood (concrete, steel, brick, + stone, etc.) + + +=b. A sentence outline is expressed in complete sentences. Conform to the +following model:= + + =The Lumber Problem= + + I The depletion of our forests is evident when one compares + A the former abundance, with + B the present scarcity (of walnut, white pine, and oak, + especially). + + II The causes of the depletion are: + A the great demand + 1 for building, + 2 for industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.), + 3 for fuel and other minor uses; and + B wasteful methods of forestry. + + III The remedies for the depletion are: + A reforestation + 1 by individuals, + 2 by the states, + 3 by extension of the present National Forest + Reserves; + B the prevention of waste + 1 in fires, by insects, etc., + 2 in cutting and sawing, + 3 in by-products (sawdust, odd lengths, etc.); + and + C the use of substitutes, for wood (concrete, steel, + brick, stone, etc.) + + +=c. A paragraph outline is a series of sentences summarizing the thought +of successive paragraphs in a composition. Conform to the following +model:= + + =The Disagreeable Optimist= + + 1. The present age may be called an era of efficiency, + prosperity, and optimism, since efficiency has produced + prosperity, and this in turn has produced "optimism"--a word + recurrent in common literature and conversation. + + 2. The optimist is often not natural or sincere, because his + thoughts are centered on keeping up an appearance of being + happy. + + 3. He is intrusive, for he thrusts comfort upon those who wish + to mourn, and repeats irritating epigrams and poems about + cheer. + + 4. He is undiscriminating, in that he prescribes the same + remedy, "good cheer," for everybody and for every condition. + + 5. He is sometimes harmful, because he tells us that the world + is going well, when conditions need changing, and need changing + badly. + +=d. Mechanical details.= Indent headings that are coördinate (that is, of +equal value) an equal distance from the margin. One inch to the right is +a good distance for successive subordinate headings. Use Roman numerals, +capital letters, Arabic numerals, and small letters to indicate the +comparative rank of ideas. When a heading runs over one line, use +hanging indention; that is, do not allow the second line to run back to +the left-hand margin, but indent it. Make the numerals and letters (_1_, +_A_, etc.) stand out prominently. The title of a theme should not be +given a numeral or letter. + + Faulty indention: + + + Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal + supply is exhausted are + + I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain + districts + II The tides + III The heat of the sun + + + Correct hanging indention: + + Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal supply + is exhausted are + + I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain + districts + II The tides + III The heat of the sun + + +=e. Ideas parallel in thought should be expressed in parallel form.= Nouns +and phrases including nouns are ordinarily used. + + Faulty parallelism: + Advantages of a garden: + 1 Profitable + 2 It affords good exercise + 3 Gives pleasure + + Right: + Advantages of a garden: + 1 Profit + 2 Exercise + 3 Pleasure + +=f. Avoid faulty coördination (giving two ideas equal rank, when one +should be subordinated to the other) and _vice versa_, avoid faulty +subordination.= + + Faulty coördination: + + How Seeds Scatter + + I By Wind + II Some Seeds provided with parachutes + III Others light, and easily blown about + IV By Water + V By Animals + + Right: + + =How Seeds Scatter= + + I By Wind + A Some seeds provided with parachutes + B Others light, and easily blown about + + II By Water + + III By Animals + + +=g. Avoid detailed subordination. Especially avoid a single subheading +when it can be joined to the preceding line, or omitted.= + + Too detailed: + + A The McClellan Orchard + 1 Situation + a On a northern slope + 2 Nature of soil + a Sandy + 3 Kind of fruit + a Apple + b Cherry + + Right: + + A The McClellan Orchard + 1. Situation: a northern slope + 2. Nature of soil: sandy + 3. Kind of fruit: apple and cherry + + Exercise: + + 1. Give a title to an outline which shall include the following + topics. Group the topics under two main headings, and give the + headings names. + + Uses of the grape + The Vine + The Fruit Itself + How Marketed + How Cultivated + + 2. Place in order the sentences of the following outline on + "Why Keep a Diary?" Subordinate some of the headings to others. + + A diary affords great satisfaction in future years. + + We sometimes record in a diary information which proves useful. + + A few lines a day will suffice. + + A diary is not hard to keep. + + We may find time for writing in our diary if we do not waste + time at the table or on newspapers. + + We may write in our diary just before we go to bed. + + A diary will bring back the past. + + We all have some moments to kill. + + A diary gives us pleasure even in the present. + + 3. Place in order the headings of the following outline on + "Ulysses S. Grant." Subordinate some of the headings to others. + + Obscurity in 1861 + Prominence in 1865 + Patience + President + General + Perseverance and Resolution + Character + The Turning Point in His Career + + +=Letters= + +The parts of a letter are the heading, the inside address, the greeting, +the body, the close, and the signature. For these parts good use +prescribes definite forms, which we may sometimes ignore in personal +letters, but must rigidly observe in formal or business letters. + +=87a. The heading of a letter should give the full address of the writer +and the date of writing. Do not abbreviate short words, or omit Street +or Avenue.= + + Objectionable: #15 Hickory, Omaha. + + Right: 15 Hickory Street, Omaha, Nebraska. + + Objectionable: 4/12/19; 10-28-'16; May 2nd, 1910. + + Right: April 12, 1919; October 28, 1916; May 2, 1910. + + The following headings are correct: + + 106 East Race Street, + Red Oak, Iowa, + August 4, 1916. + + 423 Michigan Avenue + Chicago, Illinois + May 20, 1918 + + Prescott, Arizona, June 1, 1920. + + +Note.--In personal letters the heading may be transferred to the end, +below the signature, at the left-hand side. But it must not be so +divided that the street address will appear in one place and the town +and state in another. + +The "closed" form of punctuation (the use of punctuation at the ends of +the lines) is best until the student learns what is correct. Afterward, +the adoption of the "open" form becomes purely a matter of individual +taste and not a matter of carelessness or ignorance. + +=b. An inside address and a greeting are required in business letters.= +Personal letters contain the greeting, but may omit the inside address, +or may supply it at the end of the letter. + + + The Jeffrey Chemical Works, + 510 Marion Street, + Norfolk, Virginia. + + Gentlemen: + + + Mr. Joseph N. Kellogg + 1411 Lake Street + Cleveland, Ohio + + Dear Mr. Kellogg: + + + Secretary of Rice Institute, Houston, Texas. + + My dear Sir: + + Greetings used in business letters are: + + My dear Sir: + My dear Madam: + My dear Mr. Fisher: + Dear Sir: + Sir: + Sirs: + Gentlemen: + Ladies: + + Greetings used in personal letters are: + + My dear Miss Brown: + Dear Professor Ward: + Dear Jones, + Dear Mrs. Vincent, + Dear Robert, + Dear Olive, + +"My dear Miss Brown" is more ceremonious than "Dear Miss Brown". As a +rule, the more familiar the letter, the shorter the greeting. + +A colon follows the greeting if the letter is formal or long; a comma, +if the letter is familiar or in the nature of a note. + +Both inside address and greeting begin at the left-hand margin. The body +of the letter begins on the line below the greeting, and is indented as +much as an ordinary paragraph (about an inch). + +=c. The body of a letter should be written in correct style.= + +=1.= Do not omit pronouns, or write a "telegraphic style". + + Wrong: Just received yours of the 21st, and in reply would say + your order has been filled and shipped. + + Right: I have your letter of March twenty-first. Your order was + promptly filled and shipped. + +=2.= The idea that it is immodest to use _I_ is a superstition. Undue +repetition of _I_ is of course awkward; but entire avoidance of it is +silly. + +=3.= Use simple language. Say "your letter"; not "your kind favor", or +"yours duly received", or "yours of the 21st is at hand". + +=4.= Avoid "begging" expressions which you obviously do not mean, +especially the hackneyed "beg to advise". + + Wrong: Received yours of the 3rd instant, and beg to advise we + are out of stock. + + Right: We received your order of March 3. We find that we have + no more dining-room chairs B 2-4-6 in stock. + + Wrong: I beg to enclose a booklet. + + Right: I enclose a booklet. + + Wrong: Permit us to say that prices have been advanced. + + Right: The prices on our goods have been advanced. + +=5.= Avoid the formula "please find enclosed". The reader will find what +is enclosed; if you use "please", let it refer to what the reader shall +do with what is enclosed. + + Wrong: Enclosed please find 10 cents, for which send me + Bulletin 58. + + Right: I enclose ten cents, for which please send me Bulletin + 58. + +=6.= Avoid unnecessary commercial slang: _On the job_, _A-1 service_, +_O.K._, _your ad_, _popular-priced line_, _this party_, _as per +schedule_. + +=7.= Get to the important idea quickly. In applying for a position, do not +beat around the bush, or say you "wish to apply" or "would apply". +Begin, "I make application for ...", "kindly consider my application for +...", or "I apply ..." + +=8.= Group your ideas logically. Do not scatter information. A letter +applying for a position might consist of three paragraphs: Personal +qualifications (age, health, education, etc.); Experience (nature of +positions, dates, etc.); References (names, business or profession, +exact street address). Finish one group of ideas before passing to the +next. + +=9.= Do not monotonously close all letters with a sentence beginning with +a participle: _Hoping to hear from you ..._, _Asking your coöperation +..._, _Awaiting your further favors ..._, _Trusting this will be +satisfactory ..._, _Wishing you ..._, _Thanking you ..._. The +independent form of the verb is more emphatic (see 42); _I hope to hear +from you ..._, _We await further orders ..._, _We ask coöperation ..._. + +=d. The close= should be consistent in tone with the greeting. It is +written on a separate line, beginning near the middle of the page, and +is followed by a comma. Only the first word is capitalized. Preceding +expressions like "I am", "I remain", "As ever", (if they are used at +all) belong in the body of the letter. + + Right: I thank you for your courtesy, and remain + + Yours sincerely, + Robert Blair + + Right: I shall be grateful for any further information you can + give me. + + Yours truly, + Florence Mitchell + + In business letters the following forms are used: + + Yours truly, + Very truly yours, + Yours respectfully, + + In personal letters the following are used: + + Yours truly, + Yours sincerely, + Sincerely yours, + Cordially yours, + +=e. The outside address should follow one of the forms given below:= + + +---------------------------------------------------+ + | R. E. Stearns | + | 512 Chapel Hill St. | + | Durham, N. C. | + | | + | | + | Mr. Donald Kemp | + | 3314 Salem Street | + | Baltimore | + | Maryland | + +---------------------------------------------------+ + + +---------------------------------------------------+ + | Bentley Davis | + | 906 Park Street | + | Ogden, Utah | + | | + | | + | Rogers, Mead, and Company | + | 2401 Eighth Avenue | + | Los Angeles | + | California | + +---------------------------------------------------+ + +Note.--An abbreviation in an address is followed by a period. +Punctuation is also correct, but not necessary, after every line (a +period after the last line, and a comma after the others). + +A married woman is ordinarily addressed thus: Mrs. George H. Turner. But +a title belonging to the husband should not be transferred to the wife. +Wrong: Mrs. Dr. Jenkins, Mrs. Professor Ward. Right: Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. +Ward. Reverend Mr. Beecher is a correct address for a minister; not +"Rev. Beecher". If a title of respect is placed before a name +(Professor, Dr., Honorable), it is undesirable to place another title +after the name (Secretary, M.D., Ph.D., Principal, Esq.). + +=f. Miscellaneous directions.= Writing should be centered on the page, not +crowded against the top, or against one side. Letter paper so folded +that each sheet is a little book of four pages is best for personal +correspondence. Both sides of such paper may be written on. The pages +may be written on in any order which will be convenient to the reader. +An order like that of the pages in a printed book (1, 2, 3, 4) is best. + +Business letters are usually written on one side only of flat sheets +8-1/2 by 11 inches in size. The sheet is folded once horizontally in the +middle, and twice in the other direction, for insertion in the envelope. + +=g. A business letter should have, in general, the following form:= + + 1516 South Garrison Avenue. + Carthage, Missouri, + May 14, 1918. + + J. E. Pratt, General Superintendent, + The Southwest Missouri Railroad Company, + 1012 North Madison Street, + Webb City, Missouri. + + Dear Sir: + + I apply for a position as mechanic's assistant in the + electrical department of your shops. I am nineteen years old, + and in good physical condition. On June 6 I shall graduate from + Carthage High School, and after that date I can begin work + immediately. + + I have had no practical experience in electrical work. But I + have for two years made a special study of physics, in and out + of school. I worked last summer in the local garage of Mr. R. + S. Bryant. In addition, I have become familiar with tools in my + workshop at home, so that I both know and like machinery. + + For statements as to my character and ability, I refer you to + R. S. Bryant, Manager Bryant's Garage; Mr. Frank Darrow + (lawyer), 602 Ninth Street; W. C. Barnes, Superintendent of + Schools; and C. W. Oldham, Principal of the High School--all of + this city. + + Respectfully yours, + Howard Rolfe + +=h. Formal notes and replies are written in the third person (avoiding +_I_, _my_, _me_, _you_, _your_) and permit no abbreviations except +_Mr._, _Mrs._, _Dr._ = + + Mrs. Clarence King requests the company of + Mr. Charles Eliot at dinner on Friday, + April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock. + + 102 Pearl Street, + April the seventeenth. + +In accepting an invitation, the writer should repeat the day and hour +mentioned, in order to avoid a misunderstanding; in declining an +invitation, only the day need be mentioned. The verb used in the reply +should be in the present tense; not "will be pleased to accept", or +"regrets that he will be unable to accept"; but "is pleased to accept", +or "regrets that circumstances prevent his accepting". + + Mr. Charles Eliot gladly accepts the invitation of Mrs. King to + dinner on Friday, April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock. + + 514 Poplar Avenue, + April the eighteenth. + + +=Paragraphs= + +=88a. The first lines of paragraphs are uniformly indented, in +manuscript, about an inch; in print, somewhat less. After a sentence, +the remainder of a line should not be left blank, except at the end of a +paragraph.= + +=b. The length of a paragraph is ordinarily from fifty to three hundred +words, depending on the importance or complexity of the thought.= In +exposition, the paragraphs should be long enough to develop every idea +thoroughly. Scrappy expository paragraphs arouse the suspicion that the +writer is incoherent, or that he has not given sufficient thought to the +subject. Short paragraphs are permissible, and even desirable, in the +following cases: + +1. In a formal introduction to the main body of a discourse, or in the +formal conclusion. (In some instances the paragraph may consist of a +single sentence.) + +2. In the body of a composition, when a brief logical transition between +two longer paragraphs is necessary. + +3. In short compositions on complex subjects, where space forbids the +development of each thought on a proper scale. (But, as a rule, the +student should limit his subject to a few simple ideas, each of which +can be developed fully.) + +4. In newspapers, where brevity and emphasis are required. (But the +student should not take the journalistic style as a model.) + +5. In description or narration meant to be vivid, vigorous, or rapid. + +6. In dialogue. + +=c. In representing dialogue, each speech, no matter how short, is placed +in a separate paragraph.= + + Right: + + "Listen!" he said. "There was a noise + outside. Didn't you hear it?" + + "No," I whispered. It was dark in the room, except for a faint + light at the window, and I felt my way cautiously to his side. + "What is it? Burglars?" + + "I believe it is." + + "I can't hear anything." + + "Listen! There it is again." + + "Pshaw!" I had to laugh aloud. "Thompson's cow has got into the + garden again." + +Note that a slight amount of descriptive matter may be included in a +paragraph with the direct discourse, the only requirement being that a +change of speaker shall be indicated by a new paragraph. + +When special emphasis is desired, a quotation may be detached from a +preceding introductory statement. + + Right: The speaker turned gravely about, and facing the front + row, he said slowly and solemnly: + + "Small boys should be seen and not heard." + +In exceptional cases a long, rapid-fire dialogue may, for purposes of +compression, be placed in one paragraph. Dashes should then be used +before successive quotations to indicate a change of speaker. + +Omissions from a dialogue (as when only one side of a telephone +conversation is reported), long pauses, and the unfinished part of +interrupted statements, may be represented by a short row of dots. + + Exercise: + + Arrange in paragraphs, and insert quotation marks: + + 1. Help! I cried, rolling over in the narrow crevasse, and + wondering dazedly how far I had fallen through the snow. A + muffled voice came from above: We'll have a rope down to you in + a minute. Tie that bottle of brandy on the end of it, I + suggested, and it'll come faster. [The student will here insert + a sentence of his own to complete the dialogue.] + + 2. Good morning, James, said the deacon, suspiciously. How are + you? and where are you going? I'm all right, answered the boy, + and I'm goin' down to the creek. As he spoke, he tried to hide + something bulky underneath his coat. You oughtn't to go fishing + on Sunday. [Add another sentence to finish the dialogue.] + + +=89.= MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISE + +The following sentences illustrate errors in the use of capitals, +italics, numbers, abbreviations, etc. Make necessary changes. + + 1. I met him at kansas city at a dinner of the commercial club. + + 2. The senate and the house of representatives are the two + branches of congress. + + 3. In today's chicago herald the union pacific railroad + advertises reduced rates to yellowstone park and the northwest. + + 4. There are 30 men in each section in chemistry, but only 25 + in each section in french. + + 5. Early in pres. wilson's administration troops crossed the + rio grande river. Pres. Carranza protested. + + 6. In nineteen ten the population of new york city (including + suburbs) was 4,766,883. + + 7. Send the moving van to thirty walnut street at eight + o'clock. + + 8. I like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice better than George + Eliot's Adam Bede. + + 9. May I call for you about 7:30 p. m., Miss Reynolds? + + 10. The note draws 6 per cent interest, and is payable Jan. + 1st, 1921. + + 11. He will remain in town until Apr. 20th, and will then go + away for the Summer. He is going abroad to study the spanish + and italian languages. + + 12. Grays elegy in a country churchyard is perhaps the best + known poem in english literature. + + 13. Enclosed please find $4, for which send me the New Republic + for one year. + + 14. In reply to yours of 3-7-18 wish to advise that we are out + of stock. + + 15. I enclose $0.10 for a copy of bulletin #314 of the dept. of + Agriculture. Thanking you, I remain ... yours Respectively.... + + + + +PUNCTUATION + + +Punctuation is not used for its own sake. It is used in writing as +gestures, pauses, and changes of voice are used in speaking--to add +force or to reveal the precise relationship of thoughts. The tendency at +present is against the lavish use of punctuation. This does not mean, +however, that one may do as he pleases. In minor details of punctuation +there is room for individual preference, but in essential principles all +trustworthy writers agree. + + +=The Period= + +=90a. Place a period after a complete declarative or imperative sentence.= + +=b. Do not separate part of a sentence from the rest of the sentence by +means of a period. (See 1.)= + + Wrong: He denied the accusation. As every one expected him to + do. + + Right: He denied the accusation, as every one expected him to + do. + + Wrong: Anderson wrote good editorials. The best that appeared + in any paper in the city. + + Right: Anderson wrote good editorials, the best that appeared + in any paper in the city. [Or] Anderson wrote good + editorials--the best that appeared in any paper in the city. + +Exception.--Condensed or elliptical phrases established by long and +frequent use may be written as separate sentences. They should be +followed by appropriate punctuation--usually by a period. + + Examples: Yes. Of course. Really? By all means! + +Note.--The student should distinguish clearly between a subordinate +clause and a main clause. A subordinate clause is introduced by a +subordinate conjunction (_when_, _while_, _if_, _as_, _since_, +_although_, _that_, _lest_, _because_, _in order that_, etc.), or by a +relative pronoun (_who_, _which_, _that_, etc.). Since a subordinate +clause does not express a complete thought, it cannot stand alone, but +must be joined to a main clause to form a sentence. + +=c. Place a period after an abbreviation.= + + Bros. Mr. e. g. Ph.D. LL.D. etc. + +If an abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence, one period may serve +two functions. + + Exercise: + + 1. The hen clucks to her chickens. When she scratches up a + worm. + + 2. Before my brother could forewarn me. I had touched my tongue + against the cold iron. On which it stuck. + + 3. The commission had the services of two men of international + reputation. Charles Newman, Esq. and Gifford Bailey, + Ph D. + + 4. Since Hugh had fished only in creeks. He was surprised that + the lines were let down a hundred feet or more. The right + distance for codfish. + + 5. Between 1775 and 1825 Virginia furnished the nation its + leaders. Such as the author of the Declaration of Independence. + The orator of the Revolution. The leader of the Revolutionary + army. The chief maker of the Constitution. Four of our first + five Presidents. And our greatest Chief Justice of the Supreme + Court. + + +=The Comma= + +There are five principal uses of the comma: + + to separate clauses (a-d) + to set off a parenthetical element (e) + to mark a series (f-g) + to introduce a quotation (h) + to compel a pause for the sake of clearness (i) + +=91a. A comma is used between clauses joined by _but_, _for_, _and_, or +any other coördinating conjunction.= + + Right: The hour arrived, but Forbes did not appear. [The comma + emphasizes the contrast.] + + Right: She was glad she had looked, for a man was approaching + the house. [The comma prevents the combination _looked for a + man_.] + + Right: He gave the money to Burke, and Reynolds received + nothing. [The comma prevents confusion.] + +Exception.--If the clauses are short and closely linked in thought, the +comma may be omitted (She came and she was gone in a moment. McCoy +talked and the rest of us listened.) If the clauses are long and +complicated, a semicolon may be used (See 92b). + +Note.--No comma should follow the conjunction. Wrong: He was +enthusiastic but, inexperienced. Wrong: They went before the committee +but, not one of them would answer a question. + +=b. Do _not_ use a comma between independent clauses which are _not_ +joined by a conjunction. Use a period or a semicolon.= (This error, the +"comma splice," betrays ignorance of what constitutes a unified +sentence. See 18.) + + Wrong: The circus had just come to town, every one wanted to + see it. + + Right: The circus had just come to town. Every one wanted to + see it. + + Wrong: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan, his + mother desired to make an angel of him. + + Right: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan. His + mother desired to make an angel of him. + + Wrong: My courses required very hard study, did yours? + + Right: My courses required very hard study. Did yours? [Or] My + courses required very hard study; did yours? + + Wrong: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation, + indeed he will do so with alacrity. + + Right: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation. + Indeed he will do so with alacrity. [Or] He will assist you + without the slightest hesitation; indeed he will do so with + alacrity. + +Exception.--Short coördinate clauses which are not joined by +conjunctions, but which are parallel in structure and leave a unified +impression, may be joined by commas. + + Right: He sowed, he reaped, he repented. + +=c. An adverbial clause which precedes a main clause is usually set off +by a comma.= + +When long: + + Right: While I have much confidence in his sincerity, I cannot + approve his decision. [The comma marks the meeting point of + clauses too long to be easily read together. Brief clauses do + not require the comma. Right: Where thou goest I will go.] + +When ending in words that link themselves with words in the main +clause: + + Right: If Jacob finds time to plow, the garden can be planted + tomorrow. [The comma prevents _plow the garden_ from being read + as verb and object.] + +When not closely connected with the main clause in meaning: + + Right: Although they were few, they were resolute. [Here the + comma reveals the distinctness of the two stages of thought. In + the sentence _If it freezes the skating will be good_ the + distinctness of the two thoughts is less emphatic, and the + comma may be omitted.] + +Note.--The comma is usually omitted when the adverbial clause follows +the main clause. + + Right: The score stood twelve to twelve when the first half + ended. [The adverbial clause is linked closely with the element + it modifies, the predicate; punctuation is unnecessary. If the + _when_ clause were placed before the element it does not + modify, the subject, a comma should be inserted.] + +=d. Restrictive clauses should not be set off by commas; non-restrictive +clauses should be set off by commas.= (A restrictive clause is one +inseparably connected with the noun or pronoun it modifies; to omit it +would change the thought of the main clause. A non-restrictive clause is +less vitally connected with the noun or pronoun; to omit it would not +affect the thought of the main clause.) + + Right: Men who are industrious will succeed. [The relative + clause restricts the meaning; it is inseparably connected with + the noun it modifies, and to omit it would change the thought + of the main clause.] + + Right: Thomas Carlyle, who wrote forty volumes, was of peasant + origin. [The relative clause is non-restrictive; it is not + inseparably connected with the noun it modifies, and to omit + it would not change the thought of the main clause. Thus: + Thomas Carlyle was of peasant origin.] + + Right: Where is the house that Jack built? [Restrictive.] + + Right: I went to Jack's house, which is across the street. + [Non-restrictive.] + + Wrong: Students, who are lazy, do not deserve to pass. [The + sentence as it stands says that all students are lazy, and that + none of them deserve to pass. Without the commas, the sentence + would mean that such students as are lazy do not deserve to + pass.] + + Right: Students who are lazy do not deserve to pass. + +=The rule stated above for clauses applies also to phrases.= + + Right. She, hearing the voice, turned quickly. [_Hearing the + voice_ is non-restrictive. It does not identify _she_, and the + thought of the main clause is complete without it.] + + Right: Books pertaining to aeronautics are in demand. + [_Pertaining to aeronautics_ is restrictive. It explains what + books are referred to, and without it the meaning of the main + thought is changed.] + + Right: Our country, made up as it is of democratic people, + lacks the centralized power of a monarchy. [Non-restrictive.] + + Right: A country made up of democratic people must be lacking + in centralized power. [Restrictive. _Made up of democratic + people_ explains _country_ and is essential to the thought of + the sentence.] + +=e. Slightly parenthetical elements are set off by commas:= + +Direct address or explanation: + + Write soon, Henry, and tell all the news. + + They intend, as you know, to build a great dam across the + river. + + His father, they say, was frugal and industrious. + + I, on my part, however, am unalterably opposed to the + expenditure. + + He was, according to such reports as have reached me, + altogether in the right. + +Mild interjections: + + Well, we shall see. + + Come now, let's talk it over. + + But alas, the cupboard was bare. + + The custom is, oh, very old. + +Absolute phrases: + + This being admitted, I shall proceed to my other evidence. + +Geographical names which explain other names and dates which explain +other dates: + + The convention met at Madison, Wisconsin, on March 24, 1916. + +Words in apposition: + + We arrived at Austin, the capital of Texas. + + It was Archie, my best friend in boyhood. + + Exception.--The comma is omitted (1) When the appositive is + part of a proper name. Right: William the Silent, Alexander the + Great. (2) When there is unusually close connection between the + appositive and the noun it modifies. Right: My one confidant + was my brother Robert. (3) When the appositive is a word or + phrase to which attention is called by italics or some other + device which sets it apart. Right: The word _sequent_ is + derived from Latin. Right: The expression "That's fine" is one + which I use indiscriminately. + +Note.--When the parenthetical element occurs in the middle of a +sentence, "set off by commas" means _punctuate before and after_. + + Wrong: I was, madam at home yesterday. + + Right: I was, madam, at home yesterday. + + Wrong: I am to say the least, provoked. + + Right: I am, to say the least, provoked. + +=f. Consecutive adjectives that modify the same noun are separated from +each other by commas. If, however, the last adjective is closely linked +in meaning with the noun, no comma is used before it.= + + Right: A short, slight, pitiable figure. + + Right: A shrewd professional man. [_Shrewd_ modifies, not _man_ + alone, but _professional man_.] + + Right: A bedraggled old rooster. [_Old rooster_ has almost the + force of a compound word. _Bedraggled_ modifies the general + idea _old rooster_.] + +Note.--The commas in a series of adjectives are used to separate the +adjectives from each other. No comma should intervene between the final +adjective and the noun. Wrong: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened, +youngster. Right: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened youngster. + +=g. Words or phrases in series are separated by commas.= + +When the series takes the form _a, b, and c_, a comma precedes the +_and_. + + Confusing: The railroads in question are the New York Central, + Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio. [The reader might surmise + that the words _Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio_ represent + a single line or even three different lines.] + + Right: The railroads in question are the New York Central, + Pennsylvania, and Chesapeake and Ohio. + + Confusing: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs and honey. + [Omission of the comma after _eggs_ suggests a mixture.] + + Right: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey. + +=h. A comma should follow an expression like _he said_ which introduces a +short quotation.= (For longer or more formal quotations use a colon.) + + Right: He shouted, "Come on! I dare you!" + + Right: Our captain replied, "We're ready." + +But for indirect quotations, a caution is necessary. Do not place a +comma between a verb and a _that_ or _how_ clause which the verb +introduces. + + Wrong: He explained, how the accident occurred. + + Right: He explained how the accident occurred. + + Wrong: The chauffeur told us, that the gasoline tank was empty. + + Right: The chauffeur told us that the gasoline tank was empty. + +=i. A comma is used to separate parts of a sentence which might +erroneously be read together.= + + Confusing: Long before she had received a letter. + + Better: Long before, she had received a letter. + + Confusing: We turned the corner and the horse stopped throwing + us off. + + Better: We turned the corner and the horse stopped, throwing us + off. + + Confusing: Through the alumni gathered there went a thrill of + dismay. + + Better: Through the alumni gathered there, went a thrill of + dismay. + + Wrong: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie or cake and ice + cream. + + Right: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie, or cake and + ice cream. + + Right: The man whom everybody had for years regarded as a crank + and a weakling, is now praised for his sagacity and his + strength. + + Right: In a situation so critical as to require the utmost + coolness of mind, he lost his wits completely. [Here the + confusion might not be serious if the comma were omitted, but + separation of the long introduction from the main clause is + desirable.] + +=j. Do not use superfluous commas:= + +=1.= To mark a trivial pause: + + Needless use of comma: In the road, stood a wagon. + + Needless use of commas: The taking of notes, is a guarantee, + against inattention, in class. + +Slight pauses in a sentence are taken care of by the good sense of the +reader. Do not sprinkle commas when the sentence is moving along freely +with no complication in the thought. + + Right: In the road stood a wagon. + + Right: The taking of notes is a guarantee against inattention + in class. + +=2.= To separate an adjective from its noun: + + Wrong: A tall, solemn, antique, clock stood in the hallway. + [The first two commas separate the adjectives from each other. + There is no reason why _antique_ should be separated from the + noun.] + + Right: A tall, solemn, antique clock stood in the hallway. + +=3.= Before the first word or phrase in a series unless the comma would be +employed if the word or phrase stood alone: + + Wrong: He made a study of, gymnastics, medicine, and surgery. + + Right: He made a study of gymnastics, medicine, and surgery. + + Wrong: He had learned, to be prompt, to think clearly, and to + write correctly. + + Right: He had learned to be prompt, to think clearly, and to + write correctly. + + Exercise: + + 1. Before the workmen finished eating the tunnel caved in. + Three Italian laborers were crushed, the others with the + foreman escaped. + + 2. Sneed the new chairman proposed that the convention should + meet at Cheyenne Wyoming. The suggestion however was according + to reports not adopted. + + 3. He had a pen and an ink bottle was in the cupboard. By + washing poor widows can earn but scant living. + + 4. Saunders asked, how I liked the Overland car as compared + with the Chalmers, the Hudson and the Buick. I started to reply + but at that moment we were interrupted. + + 5. People, who steal watermelons, say the stolen melons are + sweetest. Farragut who was born in Tennessee was the North's + ablest naval commander. The developer is a chemical, which + reduces the silver salt. + + +=The Semicolon= + +The semicolon represents a division in thought somewhat greater than +that represented by a comma, and somewhat smaller than that represented +by a period. It may represent grammatical separation and logical +connection at the same time; that is, it may indicate that two +statements are separate units in grammar, and are yet to be taken +together to form a larger unit of logic or thought. + +=92a. The semicolon is used between coördinate clauses which are not +joined by a conjunction.= (For a possible exception see 91b.). + + Wrong: He was alarmed in fact he was terrified. + + Right: He was alarmed; in fact he was terrified. + + Right: He drew up at the curb; he leaped from the car. + +Note.--Very often the writer may choose freely between the semicolon and +the period; in such instances the use of the semicolon implies greater +logical unity between the clauses than the use of the period would show. +Unless this logical unity is distinct, the period is to be preferred. + +=b. The semicolon is sometimes used between coördinate clauses which are +joined by a conjunction if the clauses are long, or if the clauses have +commas within themselves, or if obscurity would result were the +semicolon not used.= (Otherwise, see 91a.) + + Right: Very slowly the glow in the heavens deepened and + extended itself along the eastern horizon; but at last the + bright-red rim of the sun showed above the crest of the hill. + + Right: He arrived, so they tell me, after nightfall; and + immediately going to a hotel, called for a room. + + Confusing: She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the + music, and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a + delight to her. + + Better. She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the + music; and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a + delight to her. + +=c. The semicolon is used between coördinate clauses which are joined by +a formal conjunctive adverb (_hence_, _thus_, _then_, _therefore_, +_accordingly_, _consequently_, _besides_, _still_, _nevertheless_, or +the like).= + + Wrong: We have failed in this therefore let us try something + else. + + Right: We have failed in this; therefore let us try something + else. + + Wrong: He was tattered and muddy, besides he ate like a + cormorant. + + Right: He was tattered and muddy; besides he ate like a + cormorant. + +Note 1.--If a simple conjunction like _and_ is used in the sentences +above, a comma will suffice. But a comma is not sufficient before a +conjunctive adverb like _therefore_. Conjunctive adverbs may be clearly +distinguished from simple conjunctions (See 91a). They cannot always be +easily distinguished from subordinating conjunctions (see 90b, Note), +but the distinction, when it can be made with certainty, is an aid to +clear thinking. + +Note 2.--Good usage sometimes permits a comma to be used before a +conjunctive adverb in short sentences where the break in the thought is +not formal or emphatic. For instance, when the conjunctive adverb _so_ +is used as a formal or emphatic connective, a semicolon is desirable (I +won't go; so that's settled). But in the sentence, "I was excited, so I +missed the target", a comma is sufficient. For the use of _so_ is here +informal, and probably expresses degree as well as result. (Compare "I +was so excited that I missed the target"). + +=d. The semicolon is not used before quotations, or after the "Dear Sir" +in letters. Use a comma or a colon.= (See 91h, 93a, and 87b.) + + Wrong: Mother said; "Let me get my needle." + + Right: Mother said, "Let me get my needle." + + Exercise: + + 1. The eggs tasted musty, they were cold storage eggs. + + 2. You should have seen that old, formally kept house, you + should have sat in that stuffy and immaculate parlor. + + 3. I objected to the plan however since he insisted upon it I + yielded. + + 4. I suppose I must go if I don't he will be anxious. + + 5. Although the note is due on March 19, you have three days of + grace, consequently you may pay it on March 22. + + +=The Colon= + +=93a. The colon is used to introduce formally a word, a list, a statement +or question, a series of statements or questions, or a long quotation.= + + Right: Only one man stood between Burr and the presidency: + Jefferson. + + Right: My favorite novels are the following: _Ivanhoe_, _Henry + Esmond_, and _The Mill on the Floss_. + + Right: The difficulty is this: Where is the money to come from? + + Right: The measure must be considered from several standpoints: + Is it timely? Is it expedient? Is it just? Is it superior to + the other measures proposed? + + Right: I shall do three things next year: study hard, take care + of my health, and enter into various student activities. + + Right: Webster concluded with the following peroration: "When + my eyes shall be turned for the last time to behold the sun in + heaven," etc., etc. + +=b. The colon may be used before concrete illustrations of a general +statement.= + + Right: The colors were various: blue, purple, emerald, and + orange. + + Right: The day was propitious: the sun shone, the birds sang, + the flowers sent forth their fragrance. + + Exercise: + + 1. The city must have these improvements paved streets more + schools better sanitation and a park. + + 2. A guild comprised men of a single class tailors, + fishmongers, or goldsmiths. + + 3. Everything was favorable, it was a wheat-raising district, + there were no rival mills, the means of transportation were + excellent. + + 4. The personal adornments of the eighteenth century "blood" + were elaborate, wigs, cocked hat, colored breeches, red-heeled + shoes, cane, and muff. + + 5. The chief of the engineers reported "The route, taken as a + whole, is practicable enough, but near Clifton, where the yards + must be placed, it leads through a rocky defile." + + +=The Dash= + +=94a. The dash may be used instead of the marks of parenthesis, +especially where informality is desired.= + + Right: She fell asleep--would you believe it?--in the middle of + the lecture. + + Right: That fellow actually--of course this is between you and + me--stole money from his father. + +=b. Insert a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.= + + Right: The next morning--let's see, what happened the next + morning? + +=c. The dash may be used near the end of a sentence, before a summarizing +statement or an afterthought.= + + Right: When you have carried in the wood and the water, and + milked the cows, and fed all the stock and the poultry, and + mended the harness--when you have done these things, you may + consider the rest of the evening your own. + + Right: Barnes played a mischievous trick one day--in fact, + Barnes was always into mischief. + +=d. The use of the dash to end sentences is childish.= + + Childish: At dawn I went on deck--far off to the left was a + cloud, I thought, on the edge of the water--it grew more + distinct as we angled toward it--it was land--before noon we + had sailed into harbor. + + Right: At dawn I went on deck. Far off to the left was a cloud, + I thought, on the edge of the water. It grew more distinct as + we angled toward it. It was land. Before noon we had sailed + into harbor. + +=e. A dash should be made about three times as long as a hyphen; +otherwise it may be mistaken as the sign of a compound word.= + + Exercise: + + 1. The boy left the package on the where did that boy leave the + package? + + 2. She was haughty independent as a queen in fact and she told + him no. + + 3. The clatter of the other typewriters, the relentless + movement of the hands of the clock, the calls from the press + room for more copy, these made Sears write like mad. + + 4. He made her acquaintance what do you think of this by + scribbling his name and address on some eggs he sold to a + grocer. + + 5. He obtained a position in a big department store--his good + taste was quickly recognized--within a month he was dressing + the windows. + + +=Parenthesis Marks and Brackets= + +=95a.= Parenthesis marks may be used to enclose matter foreign to the main +thought of the sentence. (But see also 94a and 91e.) + + Right: His testimony is conclusive (unless, to be sure, we find + that he has perjured himself). + +=b. A comma or a semicolon used at the end of a parenthesis should as a +rule follow the mark of parenthesis rather than precede it.= + + Right: If there is snow on the ground (and I am sure there will + be), we shall have plenty of sleighing. + +=c. When confirmatory symbols or figures are enclosed within parenthesis +marks, they should follow rather than precede the words they confirm.= + + Wrong: They earn (3) dollars a day. + + Right: They earn three (3) dollars a day. [Or] They earn three + dollars ($3) a day. + +=d. Do not use parenthesis marks to cancel a word or passage.= Draw a +horizontal line through whatever is to be omitted. + +=e. Brackets are used to insert explanatory matter in a quotation which +one gives from another writer.= Explanatory matter inserted by the +original writer is enclosed within parenthesis marks. + + Right: "Bunyan's masterpiece (_The Pilgrim's Progress_)," + declared the lecturer, "is out of harmony with the spirit of the + age that produced it [the age of the Restoration]." (Here the + explanatory words _the age of the Restoration_ are inserted + by the person who is quoting the lecturer.) + + Exercise: + + 1. The supremacy of the horse-drawn vehicle is unless a miracle + happens now gone forever. + + 2. My count shows (41) forty-one bales of cotton in the mill + yard. + + 3. [Insert _the Marne_ as your explanation]: "It was this + battle," said the lecturer, "that made the name of Joffre + immortal." + + 4. [Insert _Florida_ as the explanation of the person you are + quoting]: "In that state oranges are plentiful." + + 5. It was the opinion of Bailey and events proved him right + that the government must assume control of the railroads. + + +=Quotation Marks= + +=96a. Quotation marks should be used to enclose a direct, but not an +indirect, quotation.= + + Right: "I am thirsty," he said. + + Wrong: He said "that he was thirsty." + + Right: He said that he was thirsty. + +=b. A quotation of several paragraphs should have quotation marks at the +beginning of each paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph.= + +=c. In narrative each separate speech, however short, should be enclosed +within quotation marks=; but a single speech of several sentences should +have only one set of quotation marks. + + Wrong: "Will you come? she pleaded. + + Certainly." + + Right: "Will you come," she pleaded. + + "Certainly." + + Wrong: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did + this." "There were others whom I had to consider." "I can + mention no names." + + Right: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did this. + There were others whom I had to consider. I can mention no + names." + +=d. Quotation marks may be used with technical terms, with slang +introduced into formal writing, or with nicknames=; but not with merely +elevated diction, with good English that resembles slang, with nicknames +that have practically become proper names, or with fictitious names from +literature. + + Permissible: The rime is called a "feminine rime". He is really + "a corker". Their name for my friend was "Sissy". + + Better without the quotation marks: He was awed by "the + grandeur of the mountains". "A humbug". "Fetch". "Stonewall" + Jackson. He was a true "Rip Van Winkle". + +=e. Either quotation marks or italics may be used with words to which +special attention is called.= (See the examples under 91e, Exception, 3.) +Quotation marks are used with the titles of articles, of chapters in +books, of individual short poems, and the like. Italics are used with +the titles of books or of periodicals, with the names of ships, and with +foreign words which are still felt to be emphatically foreign. + +=f. A quotation within a quotation should be enclosed in single quotation +marks; a quotation within that, in double marks.= + + Right: "It required courage," the speaker said, "for a man to + affirm in those days: 'I endorse every word of Patrick Henry's + sentiment, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"'" + +=g. When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and a question mark +or an exclamation point, the question mark or the exclamation point +should come first if it applies to the quotation; last, if it applies to +the main sentence.= + + Wrong: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet"! + + Right: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet!" + + Wrong: Did Savonarola say, "I recant?" + + Right: Did Savonarola say, "I recant"? + +Note.--Regarding the position of a comma, semicolon, or period at the +end of a quotation, usage differs. Printers ordinarily place commas and +periods inside the quotation marks, and semicolons outside, from +considerations of spacing. But logic, not spacing, should determine the +order, and all three marks should be treated alike. They should be +placed within the quotation marks if they were a part of the original +quotation; otherwise outside. In quoting manuscript, the quotation marks +should enclose exactly what is in the original. In quoting oral +discourse, a certain liberty is necessarily allowed. + + Correct: He said calmly, "It is I." + + Also correct, but not commonly used: He said calmly, "It is I". + + Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: He began, + "Our Father which art in heaven." [The period should follow the + quotation mark, since there is no period in the original + quotation.] + + Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: Can you + tell me the difference between "apt," "likely," and "liable"; + between "noted" and "notorious"? + + Also correct: Can you tell me the difference between "apt", + "likely", and "liable"; between "noted" and "notorious"? + +=h. When a quotation is interrupted by such an expression as _he said,_= + +=1. An extra set of quotation marks is employed, and the interpolated +words are normally set off by commas.= + + Wrong: "I rise said he to second the motion." + + Right: "I rise," said he, "to second the motion." + +=2. A question mark or exclamation point should precede the interpolated +expression if it would be used were the expression omitted.= + + Right: "'May I go?'" complained father, "is all that boy can + ask." + + Right: "Merciful heavens!" he cried, "we are lost." + +=3. The expression should be followed by a semicolon if the semicolon +would follow the preceding words in case the expression were omitted.= + + Right: "I admit it", he said; "it is true." + +=4. Neither the expression nor the words following it should begin with a +capital.= + + Wrong: "We must be quiet", Said the old man, "If we expect to + catch sight of a squirrel." + + Right: "We must be quiet", said the old man, "if we expect to + catch sight of a squirrel." + +=i. An omission from a quotation is indicated by dots.= + + Right: "When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and + ... an exclamation point, ... the exclamation point should come + ... last, if it applies to the main sentence." [Abridged + citation of g above.] + +=j. Do not use superfluous quotation marks:= + +1. Around the title at the head of a theme (unless it is a quoted +title); + +2. As a label for humor or irony. + + Superfluous: The "abstemious" Mr. Crew ate an enormous dinner. + + Better: The abstemious Mr. Crew ate an enormous dinner. + + Exercise: + + 1. Carew says, "that the profit comes from selling + knickknacks." + + 2. What's the matter with that horse? asked Williams. He's as + frisky as if he had been shut up a week. + + 3. "Who's your favorite character in the play?, persisted + Laura. Is it "Brutus"? No, answered Howard; I admire his wife + "Portia". + + 4. "It's amazing, said Mrs. Phelps, how children love + playthings. Helen Locke said yesterday, Hughie always tells me + when I am putting him to bed, I want my Teddy bear". + + 5. "You see, said Daugherty, the two offices across the + corridor from each ether." "One is the county clerk's." "The + other is the county collector's." + + +=The Apostrophe= + +=97a. In contracted words place the apostrophe where letters are omitted, +and do not place it elsewhere.= + + Wrong: does'nt, theyr'e, oclock. + + Right: doesn't, they're, o'clock. + +=b. To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that does not +end in _s_, add '_s_.= + + Right: A hunter's gun, children's games, the cannon's mouth. + +=c. To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that ends in +_s_, place an apostrophe after (not before) the _s_ if there is no new +syllable in pronunciation. If there is a new syllable in pronunciation, +add _'s_.= + + Wrong: Moses's mandates, Keat's poems, Dicken's novels, those + hunter's guns. + + Right: Moses' mandates, Keats's poems (or Keats' poems), + Dickens' (or Dickens's) novels, those hunters' guns. + +=d. Do not use an apostrophe with the possessive adjectives _its_, _his_, +_hers_, _ours_, _yours_, and _theirs_. But _one's_, _other's_, +_either's_ take the apostrophe.= + +=e. Add _'s_ to form the plural of letters of the alphabet, of words +spoken of as words, and sometimes numbers.= But do not form the regular +plural of a word by adding _'s_ (See 77). + + Right: His _B's_, _8's_ (or _8s_), and _it's_ look much alike. + + Wrong: The Jones's, the Smith's, and the Brown's. + + Right: The Joneses, the Smiths, and the Browns. + + Exercise: + + 1. We don't know theyr'e dishonest. + + 2. The soldier's heads showed above the trenches. + + 3. Five 8es, three 7es, and two 12es make 85. + + 4. Pierce told the Keslers that Jones hogs were fatter than + their's. + + 5. Its three oclock by his watch; five minutes past three by + her's. + + +=The Question Mark and the Exclamation Point= + +=98a. Place a question mark after a direct question, but not after an +indirect question.= + + Wrong: What of it. What does it matter. + + Right: What of it? What does it matter? + + Wrong: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club? + + Right: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club. + +Note.--When the main sentence which introduces an indirect question is +itself interrogatory, a question mark follows. + + Right: Did she inquire whether you had met her aunt? + +=b. A question mark is often used within a sentence, but should not be +followed by a comma, semicolon, or period.= + + Wrong: "What shall I do?," he asked. + + Right: "What shall I do?" he asked. + + Wrong: But where are the stocks?, the bonds?, the evidences of + prosperity? + + Right: But where are the stocks? the bonds? the evidences of + prosperity? + +=c. A question mark within parentheses may be used to express uncertainty +as to the correctness of an assertion.= + + Right: Shakespeare was born April 23 (?), 1564. + + Right: In 1340 (?) was born Geoffrey Chaucer. + +=d. The use of a question mark as a label for humor or irony is childish.= + + Superfluous: Immediately the social lion (?) rose to his feet. + + Better: Immediately the social lion rose to his feet. + +=e. The exclamation point is used after words, expressions, or sentences +to show strong emotion.= + + Right: Hark! I hear horses. Give us a light there, ho! + +Note.--The lavish use of the exclamation point is not in good taste. +Unless the emotion to be conveyed is strong, a comma will suffice. See +91e. + + Exercise: + + 1. What is my temperature, doctor. + + 2. "Shall we go by the old mill?", asked Newcomb? + + 3. Did Wu Ting Fang say, "The Chinese Republic will survive." + + 4. He inquired whether Lorado Taft is the greatest living + American sculptor. + + 5. Farewell. Othello's occupation's gone. + + +=99.= EXERCISE IN PUNCTUATION + +=A.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. Why its ten oclock + + 2. It was a rainy foggy morning + + 3. Arthurs cousin said Lets go + + 4. I begged her to stay but she refused + + 5. His parents you know were wealthy + + 6. Near by the children were playing house + + 7. Ever since John has driven carefully + + 8. I smell something burning Etta + + 9. Well Harry are you ready for a tramp + + 10. I well remember a trip which I once took + + 11. When the day has ended the twilight comes + + 12. She was a poor lonely defenseless old woman + + 13. Trout bass and pickerel are often caught there + + 14. Lees army was defeated at Gettysburg Pennsylvania on July 3 + 1863 + + 15. Students who are poor appreciate the value of an education + + 16. Clem Rogers who is poor as Jobs turkey has bought a + phonograph + + 17. He had no resentment against the man who had injured him + + 18. He spoke to his father who sat on the veranda + + 19. The rifle which he used on this trip was the best he had + + 20. His long beard sticking out at an angle from his chin and + his tall silk hat looked ridiculous + +=B.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. I found the work difficult did you find it so + + 2. If they had agreed to buy things would have been different + but they didn't + + 3. I could satisfy myself if need be with dreams and imaginary + delights she must have realities + + 4. Well Im not disappointed its just what I expected + + 5. Hard roads are not only an advantage they are almost + indispensable + + 6. The man who hesitates is lost the woman who hesitates is won + + 7. The nihilists accept no principle or creed they reject + government and religion and all institutions which cramp the + individuals desires + + 8. No longer are women considered weaklings although not so + strong as man physically they are now assumed to have will and + courage of their own + + 9. The Pilgrims wished to thank God so they prepared a feast + + 10. Our country roads are full of chuck holes consequently one + must drive with caution + + 11. The first player advances ten paces the second eight the + third six and so on + + 12. I told her it was her own fault she was too reticent and + held herself aloof + + 13. He had complained of weariness therefore we left him in + camp + + 14. The Panama Canal consists of four sections the Atlantic + Level the Lake the Cut and the Pacific Level + + 15. There are three reasons why I do not like Ford cars first + they rattle second they bump and third they never wear out + + 16. Protoplasm has been found to contain four elements carbon + hydrogen oxygen and nitrogen but by no artificial combination + can these be made into the living substance + + 17. Phlox mignonette sweet peas cannas all these yield flowers + until late in the fall. + + 18. He asked for hot water the mollycoddle as if this were a + hotel + + 19. Is this seat occupied sir asked Brown who stood in the + aisle + + 20. There are two types of democracy 1 a pure democracy and 2 a + representative democracy + + +=C.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. And Harvey waiting all this time mind you sprang for the + door + + 2. I want to go to Memphis Tennessee to the old house if it is + still standing where I was born + + 3. My bill amounted to exactly counting the car fare nine + dollars and ninety five cents + + 4. I do not believe it he cried then turning to the others in + the group he asked nervously do you + + 5. Which is better to borrow money for ones school expenses or + to work ones way + + 6. He swore swore like a pirate and lashed the horses + + 7. Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit is satirical + + 8. But what of the Dakotas of Minnesota of Wisconsin are they + to give us no political support + + 9. The grain is then run into a bin called the weighing bin + from this it is let down on to the scales + + 10. Lincoln showed very plainly what the phrase All men are + created equal means and what its application was to the + anti-slavery movement. + + 11. His name was lets see what was the fellows name. + + 12. He looks sharply for little points passed over by the + average person are important to him + + 13. How uncomfortable I feel in a room whose windows are not + covered by curtains I cannot describe + + 14. Some time ago he moved away I was sorry because he was a + fine young man + + 15. I went to the lawyers office to hear the reading of my + uncles will + + 16. Well well I havent seen you for years But youre the same + stub nosed freckle faced good natured Tom + + 17. I did not stop long to consider the football togs were + nearest at hand so in they went cleated shoes trousers sweater + pads headgear and the rest + + 18. Today I shall outline explain and argue the subject which + has already been announced to you namely The Distribution of + Taxes in Illinois + + 19. His piping voice his long crooked nose his white hair + falling over the shoulders of his faded blue coat his shuffling + shambling gait as he hobbled up to Carletons Grocery with his + basket all this I shall remember as long as I live + + 20. We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are + created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with + certain inalienable rights that among these rights are life + liberty and the pursuit of happiness + + +100. GENERAL EXERCISE + +Improve the following sentences, making as many changes as are necessary +to express the thought clearly and accurately. + +=A.= + + 1. It don't sound right. + + 2. Us fellows hadn't ought to complain. + + 3. The decision effects my brother and I alike. + + 4. Following his breakfast he went up to the office. + + 5. One finds that beginning on a pipe organ is much more + complicated than the piano. + + 6. She married before she was eighteen, she had never taken + much interest in school work + + 7. New Year's Eve, a young lady who I was calling upon, and + myself decided to fool the old folks. + + 8. Williams drove across town at full speed, this was against + the ordinances. + + 9. Mr. Black, who had been laying on the sofa, rose and set + down by myself. + + 10. The agricultural course is a study which every person + should have a great deal of knowledge along that line. + + 11. Swinging around the curve, the open switch was seen in + time, and directly the train stopped we rushed off of the cars. + + 12. I can say a little in regard to my expectations in + connection with the next four years of my life, however. + Expectations of work, pleasure, and perhaps a little sorrow. + + 13. An interesting experience of mine was a collection of + insects made when I studied biology. + + 14. A man can talk to an animal, and he learns to obey him by + repeating certain commands. + + 15. The life of a princess as well as a hermit are made happy + by a little child, as illustrated in the stories of Pharaoh's + daughter and Silas Marner. + + +=B.= + + 1. Every one in the office were busy invoicing. + + 2. Their unconscious pranks and laughter is very amusing. + + 3. The tiger is a beautiful animal, it is also very ferocious. + + 4. Either he or she are good companions for you. + + 5. Again, take a student who has been forced to make his own + way, the question may be harder to decide. + + 6. As for the proposition which is before you, if it was me, I + would not even consider it. + + 7. The fly is the insect that causes more fatal deaths in a + year than any other insect. + + 8. The success of a sponge cake depends upon two things. The + beating of the eggs and the mixing of the flour in lightly. + + 9. James, a youth of such energy, and who is attractive in many + ways, failed in his exams. + + 10. Fish are only found in the deep holes, and they are hard to + get at. + + 11. Besides cigarettes, there are other forms of using tobacco, + such as cigars, and in pipes, and chewing tobacco, making the + total consumption very great. + + 12. I am endeavoring to secure for this position a man not only + with ability as a manager, but one who is capable of + understanding and sympathizing with rural community conditions. + + 13. Any one having any question to ask or who has trouble with + their camera, may write to this department. + + 14. When I hear oatmeal it nauseates me. I can see a mental + picture of the breakfast table where I sat nearly all last + summer. + + 15. In ones second year in high school the books to be read are + Burns poems, Miltons paradise Lost; Bunyans Pilgrims Progress, + and several of Shakespeares plays. + +=C.= + + 1. He promised to on no consideration delay. + + 2. I heard a voice at the door which was familiar. + + 3. The most important part of a book is often to read the + preface. + + 4. Observing carefully, a number of errors are seen to exist. + + 5. Unless one is very wealthy they cannot afford to own a car. + + 6. These kind of fellows usually make good athletes. + + 7. It was the custom of we campers to ride into town and back + on freight cars, when in need of supplies. + + 8. As I was sitting near a radiator so I moved as I decided it + was too warm there. + + 9. To thine own self be true is the advice Polonius gave to his + son. + + 10. In order that Otto should not regain his political power + back again, Sarphina put him in jail. + + 11. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction is + the idea which Emerson's essay on compensation begins. + + 12. To consult a Bible encyclopedia and read it concerning + Easter, one learns quite a little about that religious holiday. + + 13. Never try to shoot a rabbit or any animal when they are not + moving, for among hunters it is very poor sportsmanship to kill + any animal before they have had a chance to get away. + + 14. We find that many of Whittier's poems were concerned with + slavery, which he considered a very great moral wrong, and + determined to do all in his power to eradicate this evil. + + 15. Rhetoric is required in order that a person may learn how + to express their thoughts so as to be readily understood, and + the ability to do this greatly increases the value of your + knowledge. + + +=D.= + + 1. Socialism is different than anarchy. + + 2. He ate the lunch instead of his sister. + + 3. The Volga is the longest of any river in Europe. + + 4. I come over to see if you will leave Tilly go on a picnic + with us tomorrow. + + 5. The value of the birds are studied and the good results + taught to the older children. + + 6. Despotism is where a ruler is not responsible to those under + his authority. + + 7. When a boy or girl enters a high school they think they are + very important. + + 8. I was anxious to begin eating, so no time was wasted by me. + + 9. They run out of ammunition, which caused them to loose the + battle. + + 10. The mind is not only developed, but also the body. + + 11. He built a reservoir varying from 75 to 150 ft. in diameter + and from 8 to 15 ft. high. + + 12. The most principal reason for going to college is so as to + prepare myself for teaching. + + 13. While the room was not very large, yet it had a good-sized + closet in which to put a trunk would be easy and lighted by a + small window. + + 14. A college education is supposed to be general and thorough + by training a man not only into something definite, but give + him a wider scope from which to choose from. + + 15. Motion pictures give actual battle scenes showing just how + the different countries carry on warfare, in taking care of the + wounded, making ammunition, and how they discharge the + artillery, and advance or retreat. + + +=E.= + + 1. He acted like the rest did. + + 2. He don't see anything attractive about her. + + 3. Neither Admiral Beatty nor Admiral Sims are afraid to take + chances. + + 4. The Girl's Campfire Organization was organized when the Boy + Scouts organization was proved such a success. + + 5. Coal is found likely 15 ft. from the waters edge, extending + horizontally under the cliff. + + 6. It is no sure sign that just because a student has took a + course in literature, that he really enjoys the best reading. + + 7. One of the most noticeable characteristics about Lowell's + letters were that they are brief, to the point, and emphatic. + + 8. On the license there will be found the laws regarding + hunting and on the back of it tells when the different seasons + are open. + + 9. The St. Louis Republic is a partisan democratic newspaper + and thus it can be guessed as to what their editorials are like + concerning political questions. + + 10. If the public in general is well posted on the subject and + finds that the charity workers are in earnest, they are much + more apt to donate. + + 11. Some were laughing, some acted serious, others like myself + were merely looking on. + + 12. Entering the campus, the Library is seen, which is a + building nicer than all the others. + + 13. The Ideal Starter starts the engine perfectly without + leaving the driver's seat. + + 14. The fly feeds on decayed vegetable matter, and also the + decayed animal. + + 15. It is true that some people keep a fire extinguisher. It is + of minor importance when considering organized fire protection. + It is organized fire protection with which we are chiefly + concerned, so let us dismiss the former and proceed to the + latter subject. + + +=F.= + + 1. In olden days the curfew rung everywheres at 9 o'clock. + + 2. If a person was to become a charity worker, it would + necessitate him giving time and effort. + + 3. I think most any person can appreciate a good joke when it + is not on them. + + 4. Your clothing for the hunt should be warm and of goods that + will not tear easy. + + 5. Life can be classified in four general stages. Infancy, + Youth, Maturity, and Old Age. + + 6. At the sound of the summons I had to arise from my downy cot + and hurry to the morning repast. + + 7. He was surprised at the way people lived in the city. + Especially the dirt and misery of the slums. + + 8. The house is battered and dingy, being built twenty years + ago by Mr. Robinson, and needs paint badly. + + 9. We hadn't scarcely more than begun the work when one of the + engines got broke and we had to stop until it could be fixed. + + 10. Neither self-denial nor self-sacrifice are to be admired, + or even pardoned, at the cost of happiness, Stevenson says. + + 11. The thing that took my eye most of all were the walls. + Pennants, pictures, and souvenirs were hanging everywhere. + + 12. Grandmother had put the spectacles in the Bible which she + had lost. + + 13. In the summer time the weather is warm but some people are + complaining of the hot weather and who wish the weather would + turn cooler but is it not this kind of weather that makes the + plants grow, which in turn furnish us food? + + 14. Until athletics are demanded from the weaker students, the + training will go to the one who does not need it, and the ones + who do need it are sitting up on the bleachers exercising their + lungs. + + 15. The people of olden times used pumps, but did not know why + they worked, they thought it worked because "nature abhors a + vacuum." + + +=G.= + + 1. Each one of these three books are interesting. + + 2. You may put this hat in any desired shape you like. + + 3. We motored over to Bloomington which was much more pleasant + than the train. + + 4. Every one of his statements are so clear that they cannot be + misconstrued what they mean. + + 5. Analysis is when things are resolved into elements or parts. + + 6. She dropped the doll on the pavement, of which she was very + fond. + + 7. He was offered money to keep still, but would not, thus + showing his good character. + + 8. The first training center for training police dogs was in + Hildesheim, Prussia, and was in the year 1896. + + 9. The draining of land not only increases the yield, and it + greatly lengthens the season that the land may be worked. + + 10. He next stated the number of the founders of the + Constitution, which were 39 in no. + + 11. The life of Doctor Kingsley is a good example of a man who + has succeeded. + + 12. The fortunes of our country are now standing at the + cannon's mouth, and one vote may stem the tide of disaster. + + 13. There was little scenery on an Elizabethan stage. While the + parts intended for women were performed by men. + + 14. The cave which Tom Sawyer was lost in really existed. It + was the cave just outside Hannibal, Missouri, it was near the + Mississippi. Here was the place where Mark Twain was a boy. + + 15. Yes, and the buildings werent what they are now, do you + remember how we used to go to the old log meeting house, that + was up on stilts, and the pigs crawled under the floor and + raised such a disturbance that the preacher had to stop and + have the pigs chased out before he could continue the sermon? + + + + +INDEX + +_The numbers refer to articles._ + + + Abbreviations, 83, 90c + + Absolute expressions + Defined, 58 + Punctuation of, 91e + + _Accept_ and _except_, 67 + + _Ad_, 68 + + Addresses, 87b, 87e + + Adjectives + Classes of, 58 + Comparison of, 58 + Distinguished from adverbs, 56 + In a series, 91f, 91j2 + + Adverbs, + Classes of, 58 + Comparison of, 58 + Distinguished from adjectives, 56 + + _Affect_ and _effect_, 67 + + _Aggravate_, 68 + + Agreement + Of verbs, 52 + Of pronouns, 51, 50i + + _Ain't_, 68 + + _All right_, 68 + + _Almost_, Position of, 27 + + _Allusion and illusion_, 67 + + _Already_ and _all ready_, 67 + + _And_ before a subordinate phrase or clause, 16, 17 + + _And_ used to excess, 14 + + _And which_ construction, 17 + + Antecedent + Defined, 58 + Faulty reference to, 20-23 + + _Anybody_, Number of, 51a + + Apostrophe + In contractions, 97 + With possessive, 97, 50f + + Application for a position, 87g + + Articles, Omission of, 3 + + _As_, Incorrect use of, 50a, 68 + + Aspect of the verb, 58 + + Auxiliary + Defined, 58 + Use of, 55e + + _Awful_, Abuse of, 68 + + + Balanced sentence, 45 + + Balanced structure, 30, 45 + + Barbarisms, 66 + + _Because_ clauses, 5 + + _Because of_ phrases, 5 Note + + _Be_, Nominative with, 50c + + _Both ... and_, 31 + + Brackets, 95e + + Brevity for emphasis, 41, 60 + + Business letters, 87c + + _Bust_ or _busted_, 68 + + _But_ used to excess, 38 Note + + + _Can_ and _may_, 67 + + _Cannot help but_, 34 + + Capitals, 81 + + Case + Defined, 58 + Use of, 50 + + Cause, Inaccurate statement of, 5 + + _Caused by_, 5 Note, 23, 68 + + Change in number or person, 33 + + Change in subject or voice, 32 + + Change in tense, 33, 55 + + Choppy sentences, 13 + + _Claim_, 68 + + Clauses + Cause, 5 + Coördinated loosely, 14, 12 + Defined, 58 + House-that-Jack-built, 38 + Misplaced, 24 + Misused as sentences, 1, 90b + Restrictive and non-r., 91d + Subordinate. Not to be used as complete sentences, 1 + Subordination faulty, 15 + To be reduced to phrases, 60 + _When_ or _where_ clauses, 6 + + Clearness, 20-39 + + Climax, 44 + + Coherence, 24-29 + + Colon, 93 + + Collective nouns, Number of, 51c + + Colloquialisms, 65 + + Comma, 91, 92c Notes 1 and 2, 95b + After quotation, 96 Note + "Comma splice" or "comma fault," 18 + Not used after question mark, 98b + + Comparison of adjectives and adverbs, 58 + + Comparisons, Inaccurate, 4 + + Compound sentence structure in excess, 12, 14 + + Compound words, 78 + + Concreteness, 63 + + Conjugation, 58 + + Conjunctions + Defined, 58 + List of, 36 + Omitted, 37 + Repeated carelessly, 38 + + Conjunctive adverbs + Defined, 58 + Punctuation with, 92c + + Connectives, 8, 36, 37, 38 + + Consonants + Between syllables, 71, 85 + Final (in spelling), 75 + + Construction + Incomplete, 2 + Mixed, 34 + Split, 28 + + Contractions + Apostrophe with, 97 + When proper, 65b + + Coördination, Excessive, 12, 14 + + Correlatives, 31 + + _Could of_, 68 + + + Dangling gerund, 23 + + Dangling participle, 23 + + Dash, 94 + + Dates, Writing of, 84, 91e + + Declension, 58 + + Definition, 6 Note + + Dialogue + Paragraphing, 88c + Punctuation before, 91h, 93a + Punctuation in, 96 + + Diction, Faulty (list), 68 + + _Different than_, 68 + + Divided reference, 20 + + _Don't_, 51d + + Double capacity, Words in, 57 + + Double negative, 34 Note + + _Drownded_, 68 + + _Due to_, Proper use of, 5 Note, 23 Note, 68 + + + _Each_, Number of, 51a + + _ei_ or _ie_, 74 + + _Either_, Number of, 51a + + _Either ... or_, 31 + + Ellipsis + Defined, 58 + Misuse of, 3, 23 Note + + _Emigrate_ and _immigrate_, 67 + + Emphasis + By brevity, 41 + By position, 40 + By repetition, 47 + By separation, 41 + By subordination, 42, 14 + By variety, 48 + + _Enthuse_, 68 + + _Etc._, Use of, 68 + + Euphemism, 61 + + _Ever_, Position of, 27 + + _Every_, _every one_, _everybody_, Number of, 51a + + Exclamation point, 98e + + Exact connective, 36 + + Exact word, 62 + + + Figures, Use of, 84 + + Figures of speech, Mixed, 35 + + Final consonant (in spelling), 75 + + Final _e_ before a suffix, 76 + + _Fine_, Abuse of, 68 + + Fine writing, 61 + + Flowery language, 61 + + Formal invitations, 87h + + _Former_, 68 + + + _Gent_, 68 + + Geographical names, 91e + + Gerund + Dangling, 23 + Defined, 58 + With possessive, 50g + + Good use, 65, 66 + + _Gotten_, 68 + + Grammar, 50-59 + + Grammatical terms, 58 + + _Guess_, 68 + + + Hackneyed expressions, 61 + + _Had ought_, 68 + + Handwriting, 80c + + _Hanged_ and _hung_, 67 + + _Healthy_ and _healthful_, 67 + + Historical present, 33 Note + + _However_, Position of, 27 + + _Human_, _humans_, 68 + + _Hygienic_ and _sanitary_, 67 + + Hyphen + Between syllables, 85 + In compound words, 78 + + + Idioms, 65 + + Illogical thought, 4, 5, 6, 7 + + Imagery mixed, 35 + + Impersonal construction, Needless use of, 60 + + Improprieties, 66 + + Incomplete construction, 2 + + Indefinite _it_, _you_, _they_, 22 Note + + Indention of paragraphs, 88 + + Inflection, 58 + + Infinitive + Case with, 50e + Defined, 58 + Sign of, to be repeated, 37 + Split, 28 + Tense of, 55 + + _Instants_ and _instance_, 67 + + Interjections + Defined, 58 + Punctuation of, 91c, 98e + + Invitations, Formal, 87h + + _Is when_ clauses, 6 + + _Is where_ clauses, 6 + + Italics, 82, 96e + + Its (possessive adjective), without apostrophe, 50f, 97d + + + _Kind of_, 68 + + + _Later_ and _latter_, 67 + + _Lead_ and _led_, 67 + + _Learn_ and _teach_, 67 + + _Leave_ and _let_, 67 + + Length of paragraph, 88b + + Length of sentences, 12, 13, 48b + + _Less_ and _fewer_, 67 + + Letters, 87 + + _Liable_ and _likely_, 67 + + _Lie_ and _lay_, 59D, 67 + + _Like_ (for _as_), 67, 68 + + List + Of connectives, 36 + Of principal parts, 54 + Of grammatical terms, 58 + Of words confused in meaning, 67 + Of words incorrectly used, 68 + Of words logically akin, 72 + Of words confused in spelling, 73 + For spelling, 79 + + _Loan_, 68 + + _Locate_, 68 + + Logic, 4, 5, 6, 7 + + Logical Agreement, 4, 5, 6 + + Logical Sequence, 25 + + _Lose_ and loose, 67 + + _Lots of_, 68 + + + _Majority_ and _plurality_, 67 + + Manuscript, 80 + + _Might of_, 68 + + Misplaced word, 27 + + Mixed constructions, 34 + + Mixed imagery, 35 + + Modal aspects, 58 + + Mode + Definition of, 58 + Use of subjunctive, 55d + + Modifiers + Grouping of, 24, 25 + Needless separation of, 24, 27 + Squinting, 26 + Wrongly used as sentences, 1, 90b + + Money, 84c + + _Most_ (for _almost_), 66, 68 + + _Myself_, Needlessly used for _I_ or _me_, 68 + + + Negative, Double, 34 Note + + _Neither_, Number of, 51a + + _Neither ... nor_, 31 + + _Nice_, Inaccurate use of, 62, 68 + + Nicknames, Quotations with, 96d + + _Not only ... but also_, 31 + + Nouns, Classes of, 58 + + Number + Shift in, 33 + _These kind_, etc., 51b + _Each_, _Every_, etc., 51a + Collective nouns, 51c + Of verbs, 52 + + Numbers, Use of, 84 + Formation of plural, 77d, 97e + + + _O_ and _Oh_, 68 + + Objective case, 50d, 50e + + _Off of_, 68 + + Omission + Of words, 3 + From quotations, 96i + + _Only_, Position of, 27 + + Outlines, 86 + + Overlapping thought, 8 Note + + _Owing to_, Proper use of, 5 Note + + + Paragraphs, 88 + + Parallel structure, 30, 31, 45 + + Parenthesis and parenthetical elements, 91e, 94a, 95 + + Participle + Dangling, 23 + Definition of, 58 + + Parts of speech, 58 + + _Party_, Abuse of, 68 + + Passive voice, not emphatic, 46 + + Past tense, Wrong forms of, 54 + + Past perfect tense, 55 + + Period, 90, 91b, 92a Note + After quotation, 96g Note + Not used after question mark, 98b + "Period blunder," 1, 90b + + Periodic sentence, 43 + + Person, Change in, 33 + + Phonetic spelling, 71 Note + + Phrases + Defined, 58 + Not to be used as sentences, 1 Note + Absolute, 91e + + Plurals, Spelling of, 77 + + Poetry to be separated from prose, 41, 80b + + Point of view, Shift in, 32 + + Ponderous language, 60 + + Possessive + With gerund, 50g + Apostrophe with, 50f, 97 + Inanimate objects in, 50h + + _Practical and practicable_, 67 + + Predicate adjective, 58 + + Predicate noun, 58 + + Prefixes, 72 + + Prepositions + Defined, 58 + Omitted, 3, 37 + Repeated carelessly, 38 + + Principal parts, 54 + + _Principal_ and _principle_, 67 + + Pronouns + Agreement with antecedent, 50i + Case of, 50 + Kinds of, 58 + Reference of, 20, 21, 22 + Wrong use of _myself_, _yourself_, for _I_, _me_, _you_, 68 + + Pronunciation as a guide to spelling, 71 + + _Proof_ and _evidence_, 67 + + _Proposition_, Synonyms for, 62 + + _Proven_, 68 + + _Pseudo-_ and _quasi-_, 67 + + + _Quiet_ and _quite_, 67 + + Question mark, 98 + + Quotation marks _vs._ italics, 82a + Note 2, 96e + + Quotations + Punctuation before, 91h, 92d, 93a + Punctuation of, 96 + + + Reason, Statement of, to be completed by a _that_ clause, 5 + + Redundance, 60 + + Reference + Ambiguous, 20 + Broad, 22 + Divided, 20 + Impersonal, 22 Note + Remote, 20 + To a clause, 22 + To a title, 21 Note + To an unemphatic word, 21 + Weak, 21 + + Reflexive wrongly used for the simple pronoun, 68 + + Repetition + Of connectives, good, 37; + bad, 38 + Of structure, good 47b; + bad 48b + Of words, good, 47a; + bad, 48a + + _Respectfully_ and _respectively_, 67 + + Restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, 91d + + _Right smart_, 68 + + _Rise_ and _raise_, 59D, 67 + + + _Said_, Synonyms for, 62 + + _Same_, Abuse of, 68 + + Scrappy sentences, 13 + + Semicolon, 91b, 92, 95b + After quotation, 96g Note + Not used after question mark, 98b + + Sequence of tense, 55 + + Sequence of thought, 25 + + Series, Punctuation of, 91f, 91g, 91j 3 + + _Shall_ and _will_, 53 + + Shift in number, person, or tense, 33 + + Shift in subject or voice, 32 + + _Should_ and _would_, 53 + + _Sit_ and _set_, 59D, 67 + + Slang, 66 + Quotations with, 96d + + _So_, 36 Note, 68 + + _Some_, Abuse of, 68 + + _Somewheres_, 68 + + Sound, 64 + + Spacing, 80b + + Specific words, 63 + + Spelling, 70-79 + + Split construction, 28 + + Split infinitive, 28 + + Squinting, 26 + + _Stationary_ and _stationery_, 67 + + _Statue_, _stature_, and _statute_, 67 + + Stringy sentences, 12, 14 + + Subject in nominative case, 50a + + Subjunctive mode + Defined, 58 + Use of, 55d + + Subordinating conjunctions + Defined, 58 + Enumerated, 36 + + Subordination + Necessary, 12, 13, 14 + Faulty, 15, 16, 17, 42 + _And which_, 17 + + Substantive defined, 58 + + _Such_, 68 + + Suffixes, 75, 76 + + Superlative degree in comparisons, 4, 58 + + _Sure_ and _surely_, 68 + + _Suspicion_, 68 + + Syllabication, 85 + + Syntax defined, 58 + + + Tautology, 60 Note + + Technical terms, Quotations with, 96d + + Tense + In dependent clauses, 55a + In general statements, 55c + Past Perfect, 55b + Sequence of, 55 + Shift in, 33 + + _Than_ or _as_, Case of pronouns after, 50a + + _That there_, 68 + + _Them_ (misused as adjective), 68 + + _These kind_, 51b + + _Those_, Omission of relative clause after, 2, 68 + + Thought undeveloped, 7 + + Title + Capitals in, 81 + Reference to, 21 Note + Spacing, etc., 80a, 96j + Quoted (books, periodicals, etc.), 82a, 96e + + Transitions, 8, 36 + + _Transpire_, 68 + + Triteness, 61 + + + Undeveloped thought, 7 + + Unity, 10-19 + + Upside-down subordination, 15 + + Usage, Good, 65, 66 + + + Verbals, 58 + + Verb, Forms of the, 58 + + + _Ways_, 68 + + Weak reference, 21 + + _Where at_, 68 + + _While_, Abuse of, 36 + + _Win out_, 68 + + _Who_, _whoever_, 50b + + _Woods_, 68 + + _Would of_, 68 + + Wordiness, 60 + + Words + Confused in meaning, 67 + Confused in spelling, 73 + Double capacity of, 57 + Misused, 68 + Omission of, 3 + + + _Yourself_ wrongly used for _you_, 68 + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + + Article 7, Missing period added (Many passages are powerful, + especially the grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?].) + + Article 13, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 14, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 24, Added missing article "a" (In the morning I found on + my bed a heap of snow...) + + Article 25, Changed "them" to "then" (Do not begin one idea, + abandon it for a second, and then return to the first.) + + Article 31, Added missing comma (not only ... but also ..., + both ... and ...) + + Article 38, Changed "men to "man" (He was undoubtedly a brave + man...) + + Article 38, Changed "trangressions" to "transgressions" + (However, if it is used only for serious transgressions...) + + Article 39, Added missing parenthesis ((Consult 36 for a list + of connectives.)) + + Article 54, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 58, Changed "I was being taken" to "I must be taken" + in the conjugation table for the verb "to take" as Present + Indicative Obligative in Passive voice + + Article 65, Changed "idoms" to "idioms" (Study the following + list of correct idioms) + + Article 65, Added missing commas (ain't it fierce?, can you + beat it?, going some) + + Article 68, Added missing quotation mark ("We oughtn't (not + hadn't ought) to make this error.") + + Article 68, Changed "Verb" to "Very" (Very. Accompanied by + much when used with the past participle.) + + Article 71, Removed italic style for the word "compare" + (compare occasion) + + Article 86, Corrected numbering in a list changing "2." to + "3." (3. Place in order the headings of the following outline) + + Article 88, Added missing parenthesis ((In some instances the + paragraph may consist of a single sentence.)) + + Article 88, Changed comma to period (We'll have a rope down to + you in a minute.) + + Article 91, Added missing parenthesis ((She came and she was + gone in a moment. McCoy talked and the rest of us listened.)) + + Article 91, Changed period to colon (Right: For breakfast we + had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey.) + + Article 92, Changed period to colon (Better: She enjoyed the + dinners, and the dancing, and the music) + + Article 94, Changed "d." to "b.", and "b." to "d." (b. Insert + a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.; d. The use of + the dash to end sentences is childish.) + + Article 95, Changed "dedeclared" to "declared" ("Bunyan's + masterpiece (The Pilgrim's Progress)," declared the lecturer) + + INDEX, Changed period to comma (Impersonal construction, + Needless use of) + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING *** + +***** This file should be named 30294-0.txt or 30294-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/2/9/30294/ + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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Jones</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Century Handbook of Writing</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Garland Greever<br /> +Easley S. Jones</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: October 20, 2009 [eBook #30294]<br /> +[Most recently updated: April 20, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes, Karina Aleksandrova, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING ***</div> + +<div class="transnotes intro"> +<p>Transcriber's Notes</p> + +<ol> +<li>Misprints and punctuation errors were corrected. Hover over underlined <ins title="like this">word</ins> in the text to see the corrections made. A list of corrections can be found at <a href="#corrections">the end</a> of the text.</li> +<li>Abbreviations have been marked up using <abbr> tag with the expanded form in the title attribute.</li> +<li>A <a href="#chart">chart</a> summarizing the table of contents found inside the front and back covers is presented as an illustration and in tabular format.</li> +<li>The following accesskeys are provided: +<ul class="off"> +<li><a name="accesskeys" id="accesskeys"></a>0 <a href="#accesskeys" accesskey="0">This list of accesskeys</a></li> +<li>1 <a href="#contents" accesskey="1">Table of Contents</a></li> +<li>2 <a href="#sentence_structure" accesskey="2">Skip book’s frontmatter</a></li> +<li>3 <a href="#index" accesskey="3">Index</a></li></ul> +</li> +</ol> + +</div> + + +<h1>THE<br /> +CENTURY HANDBOOK OF<br /> +WRITING</h1> + +<p id="authors"><small>BY</small><br /> +GARLAND GREEVER<br /> +<small><i>AND</i></small><br /> +EASLEY S. JONES<br /><br /></p> + +<p id="pub-info">NEW YORK<br /> +THE CENTURY <abbr title="Company">CO.</abbr><br /> +<small>1927</small></p> + +<hr /> + +<p id="copyright">Copyright, 1918, by<br /> +<span class="smcap">The Century <abbr title="Company">Co.</abbr></span></p> + +<p class="center">PRINTED IN <abbr title="United States of America">U. S. A.</abbr></p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="preface" id="preface"></a>PREFACE</h2> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>This handbook treats essential matters of grammar, diction, spelling, +mechanics; and develops with thoroughness the principles of sentence +structure. Larger units of composition it leaves to the texts in formal +rhetoric.</p> + +<p>The book is built on a decimal plan, the material being simplified and +reduced to one hundred articles. Headings of these articles are +summarized on two opposite pages by a <a href="#chart">chart</a>. Here the student can see at +a glance the resources of the volume, and the instructor can find +immediately the number he wishes to write in the margin of a theme. The +chart and the decimal scheme together make the rules accessible for +instant reference.</p> + +<p>By a device equally efficient, the book throws upon the student the +responsibility of teaching himself. Each article begins with a concise +rule, which is illustrated by examples; then follows a short "parallel +exercise" which the instructor may assign by adding an <i>x</i> to the number +he writes in the margin of a theme. While correcting this exercise, the +student will give attention to the rule, and will acquire theory and +practice at the same time. Moreover, every group of ten articles is +followed by mixed exercises; these may be used for review, or imposed in +the margin of a theme as a penalty for flagrant or repeated error. Thus +friendly counsel is backed by discipline, and the instructor has the +means of compelling the student to make rapid progress toward good +English.</p> + +<p>Although a handbook of this nature is in some ways arbitrary, the +arbitrariness is always in the interest of simplicity. The book does +have simplicity, permits instant reference, and provides an adequate +drill which may be assigned at the stroke of a pen.</p> +</div> + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="contents" id="contents">TABLE OF CONTENTS</a></h2> + +<ul id="toc"> +<li><a href="#sentence_structure">SENTENCE STRUCTURE</a> + +<ul class="l3"><li><a href="#completeness_of_thought">COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT</a> + +<ul class="l5"><li>1. <a href="#article_1">Fragments wrongly used as sentences</a></li> +<li>2. <a href="#article_2">Incomplete constructions</a></li> +<li>3. <a href="#article_3">Necessary words omitted</a></li> +<li>4. <a href="#article_4">Comparisons not logically completed</a></li> +<li>5. <a href="#article_5">Cause and reason</a></li> +<li>6. <a href="#article_6"><i>Is when</i> and <i>is where</i> clauses</a></li> +<li>7. <a href="#article_7">Undeveloped thought</a></li> +<li>8. <a href="#article_8">Transitions</a></li> +<li>9. <a href="#article_9"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>A. <a href="#article_9A">Incomplete sentences</a></li> +<li>B. <a href="#article_9B">Incomplete constructions</a></li> +<li>C. <a href="#article_9C">Incomplete logic</a></li> +<li>D. <a href="#article_9D">Undeveloped thought and transitions</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> + + +<li><a href="#unity_of_thought">UNITY OF THOUGHT</a> + +<ul class="l5"><li>10. <a href="#article_10">Unrelated ideas in one sentence</a></li> +<li>11. <a href="#article_11">Excessive detail</a></li> +<li>12. <a href="#article_12">Stringy sentences to be broken up</a></li> +<li>13. <a href="#article_13">Choppy sentences to be combined</a></li> +<li>14. <a href="#article_14">Excessive coördination</a></li> +<li>15. <a href="#article_15">Faulty subordination of the main thought</a></li> +<li>16. <a href="#article_16">Subordination thwarted by <i>and</i></a></li> +<li>17. <a href="#article_17">The <i>and which</i> construction</a></li> +<li>18. <a href="#article_18">The comma splice</a></li> +<li>19. <a href="#article_19"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>A. <a href="#article_19A">The comma splice</a></li> +<li>B. <a href="#article_19B">One thought in a sentence</a></li> +<li>C. <a href="#article_19C">Excessive coördination</a></li> +<li>D. <a href="#article_19D">Upside-down subordination</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> + + +<li><a href="#clearness_of_thought">CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT</a> + +<ul class="l4"><li><a href="#reference"><span class="smcap">Reference</span></a> +<ul class="l5"><li>20. <a href="#article_20">Divided reference</a></li> +<li>21. <a href="#article_21">Weak reference</a></li> +<li>22. <a href="#article_22">Broad reference</a></li> +<li>23. <a href="#article_23">Dangling participle or gerund</a></li></ul></li> + +<li><a href="#coherence"><span class="smcap">Coherence</span></a> +<ul class="l5"><li>24. <a href="#article_24">General incoherence</a></li> +<li>25. <a href="#article_25">Logical sequence</a></li> +<li>26. <a href="#article_26">Squinting modifier</a></li> +<li>27. <a href="#article_27">Misplaced word</a></li> +<li>28. <a href="#article_28">Split construction</a></li> +<li>29. <a href="#article_29"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>A. <a href="#article_29A">Reference of pronouns</a></li> +<li>B. <a href="#article_29B">Dangling modifiers</a></li> +<li>C. <a href="#article_29C">Coherence</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> + +<li><a href="#parallel_structure"><span class="smcap">Parallel Structure</span></a> +<ul class="l5"><li>30. <a href="#article_30">Parallel structure for parallel thoughts</a></li> +<li>31. <a href="#article_31">Correlatives</a></li></ul></li> + +<li><a href="#consistency"><span class="smcap">Consistency</span></a> +<ul class="l5"><li>32. <a href="#article_32">Shift in subject or voice</a></li> +<li>33. <a href="#article_33">Shift in number, person, or tense</a></li> +<li>34. <a href="#article_34">Mixed constructions</a></li> +<li>35. <a href="#article_35">Mixed imagery</a></li></ul></li> + +<li><a href="#use_of_connectives"><span class="smcap">Use of Connectives</span></a> +<ul class="l5"><li>36. <a href="#article_36">The exact connective</a></li> +<li>37. <a href="#article_37">Repetition of connective with gain in clearness</a></li> +<li>38. <a href="#article_38">Repetition of connective with loss in clearness</a></li> +<li>39. <a href="#article_39"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>A. <a href="#article_39A">Parallel structure</a></li> +<li>B. <a href="#article_39B">Shift in subject or voice</a></li> +<li>C. <a href="#article_39C">Shift in number, person, or tense</a></li> +<li>D. <a href="#article_39D">The exact connective</a></li> +<li>E. <a href="#article_39E">Repetition of connectives</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li> + + + +<li><a href="#emphasis">EMPHASIS</a> +<ul class="l5"><li>40. <a href="#article_40">Emphasis by position</a></li> +<li>41. <a href="#article_41">Emphasis by separation</a></li> +<li>42. <a href="#article_42">Emphasis by subordination</a></li> +<li>43. <a href="#article_43">The periodic sentence</a></li> +<li>44. <a href="#article_44">Order of climax</a></li> +<li>45. <a href="#article_45">The balanced sentence</a></li> +<li>46. <a href="#article_46">Weak effect of the passive voice</a></li> +<li>47. <a href="#article_47">Repetition effective</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_47a">Words</a>;</li><li>b <a href="#article_47b">Structure</a></li></ul></li> +<li>48. <a href="#article_48">Repetition offensive</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_48a">Words</a>;</li><li>b <a href="#article_48b">Structure</a></li></ul></li> +<li>49. <a href="#article_49"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>A. <a href="#article_49A">Lack of emphasis in general</a></li> +<li>B. <a href="#article_49B">Loose structure</a></li> +<li>C. <a href="#article_49C">Repetition</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> + + + +<li><a href="#grammar">GRAMMAR</a> + +<ul class="l5"><li>50. <a href="#article_50">Case</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_50a">Nominative, especially after <i>than</i> or <i>as</i></a>;</li> +<li>b <a href="#article_50b">Nominative <i>who</i> and <i>whoever</i></a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_50c">Predicate nominative</a>;</li> +<li>d <a href="#article_50d">Objective</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_50e">Objective with infinitive</a>;</li> <li>f <a href="#article_50f">Possessive</a>;</li> +<li>g <a href="#article_50g">Possessive with gerund</a>;</li> <li>h <a href="#article_50h">Possession by inanimate +objects</a>;</li> <li>i <a href="#article_50i">Agreement of pronouns</a></li></ul></li> +<li>51. <a href="#article_51">Number</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_51a"><i>Each</i>, <i>every one</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_51b"><i>Those kind</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_51c">Collective nouns</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_51d"><i>Don't</i></a></li></ul></li> +<li>52. <a href="#article_52">Agreement—not to be thwarted by</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_52a">Intervening nouns</a>;</li> +<li>b <a href="#article_52b"><i>Together with</i> phrases</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_52c"><i>Or</i> or <i>nor</i> after subject</a>;</li> +<li>d <a href="#article_52d"><i>And</i> in the subject</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_52e">A predicate noun</a>;</li> +<li>f <a href="#article_52f">An introductory <i>there</i></a></li></ul></li> +<li>53. <a href="#article_53"><i>Shall</i> and <i>will</i></a></li> +<li>54. <a href="#article_54">Principal parts. List</a></li> +<li>55. <a href="#article_55">Tense, mode, auxiliaries</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_55a">Tense in dependent clauses +or infinitives</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_55b">The past perfect</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_55c">Present tense for a +general statement</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_55d">Mode</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_55e">Auxiliaries</a></li></ul></li> +<li>56. <a href="#article_56">Adjective and adverb</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_56a">Adjective misused for adverb</a>;</li> +<li>b <a href="#article_56b">Ambiguous cases</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_56c">After verbs pertaining to the +senses</a></li></ul></li> +<li>57. <a href="#article_57">A word in a double capacity</a></li> +<li>58. <a href="#article_58">List of the terms of grammar</a></li> +<li>59. <a href="#article_59"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>A. <a href="#article_59A">Case of pronouns</a></li> +<li>B. <a href="#article_59B">Agreement</a></li> +<li>C. <a href="#article_59C"><i>Shall</i> and <i>will</i></a></li> +<li>D. <a href="#article_59D"><i>Lie, lay; sit, set; rise, raise</i></a></li> +<li>E. <a href="#article_59E">Principal parts of verbs</a></li> +<li>F. <a href="#article_59F">General</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> + + + +<li><a href="#diction">DICTION</a> +<ul class="l5"><li>60. <a href="#article_60">Wordiness</a></li> +<li>61. <a href="#article_61">Triteness</a></li> +<li>62. <a href="#article_62">The exact word</a></li> +<li>63. <a href="#article_63">Concreteness</a></li> +<li>64. <a href="#article_64">Sound</a></li> +<li>65. <a href="#article_65">Subtle violations of good use</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_65a">Faulty idiom</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_65b">Colloquialism</a></li></ul></li> +<li>66. <a href="#article_66">Gross violations of good use</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_66a">Barbarisms</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_66b">Improprieties</a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_66c">Slang</a></li></ul></li> +<li>67. <a href="#article_67">Words often confused in meaning. List</a></li> +<li>68. <a href="#article_68">Glossary of faulty diction</a></li> +<li>69. <a href="#article_69"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>A. <a href="#article_69A">Wordiness</a></li> +<li>B. <a href="#article_69B">The exact word</a></li> +<li>C. <a href="#article_69C">Words sometimes confused in meaning</a></li> +<li>D. <a href="#article_69D">Colloquialisms, slang, faulty idioms</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> + + + +<li><a href="#spelling">SPELLING</a> +<ul class="l5"><li>70. <a href="#article_70">Recording errors</a></li> +<li>71. <a href="#article_71">Pronouncing accurately</a></li> +<li>72. <a href="#article_72">Logical kinship in words</a></li> +<li>73. <a href="#article_73">Superficial resemblances. List</a></li> +<li>74. <a href="#article_74">Words in <i>ei</i> and <i>ie</i></a></li> +<li>75. <a href="#article_75">Doubling a final consonant</a></li> +<li>76. <a href="#article_76">Dropping final <i>e</i></a></li> +<li>77. <a href="#article_77">Plurals</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_77a">Plurals in <i>s</i> or <i>es</i></a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_77b">Nouns ending in <i>y</i></a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_77c">Compound nouns</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_77d">Letters, figures, and signs</a>;</li> +<li>e <a href="#article_77e">Old plurals</a>;</li> <li>f <a href="#article_77f">Foreign plurals</a></li></ul></li> +<li>78. <a href="#article_78">Compounds</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_78a">Compound adjectives</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_78b">Compound nouns</a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_78c">Numbers</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_78d">Words written solid</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_78e">General principle</a></li></ul></li> +<li>79. <a href="#article_79"><span class="smcap">Spelling List</span> (500 words, 200 in bold-face type)</a></li></ul></li> + + + +<li><a href="#miscellaneous">MISCELLANEOUS</a> +<ul class="l5"><li>80. <a href="#article_80">Manuscript</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_80a">Titles</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_80b">Spacing</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_80c">Handwriting</a></li></ul></li> +<li>81. <a href="#article_81">Capitals</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_81a">To begin a sentence or a quotation</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_81b">Proper +names</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_81c">Proper adjectives</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_81d">In titles of books or +themes</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_81e">Miscellaneous uses</a></li></ul></li> +<li>82. <a href="#article_82">Italics</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_82a">Titles of books</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_82b">Foreign words</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_82c">Names of +ships</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_82d">Words taken out of context</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_82e">For emphasis</a></li></ul></li> +<li>83. <a href="#article_83">Abbreviations</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_83a">In ordinary writing</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_83b">In business +writing</a></li></ul></li> +<li>84. <a href="#article_84">Numbers</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_84a">Dates and street numbers</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_84b">Long figures; +Sums of money, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></a></li></ul></li> +<li>85. <a href="#article_85">Syllabication</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_85a">Position of hyphen</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_85b">Division between +syllables</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_85c">Monosyllabic words not divided</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_85d">One consonant +between syllables</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_85e">Two consonants between +syllables</a>;</li> <li>f <a href="#article_85f">Prefixes and suffixes</a>;</li> <li>g <a href="#article_85g">Short words</a>;</li> <li>h <a href="#article_85h">Misleading +division</a></li></ul></li> +<li>86. <a href="#article_86">Outlines</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_86a">Topic Outline</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_86b">Sentence Outline</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_86c">Paragraph +Outline</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_86d">Indention</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_86e">Parallel form</a>;</li> <li>f <a href="#article_86f">Faulty +coördination</a>;</li> <li>g <a href="#article_86g">Too detailed subordination</a></li></ul></li> +<li>87. <a href="#article_87">Letters</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_87a">Heading</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_87b">Inside address and greeting</a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_87c">Body, Language</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_87d">Close</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_87e">Outside address</a>;</li> +<li>f <a href="#article_87f">Miscellaneous directions</a>;</li> <li>g <a href="#article_87g">Model business letter</a>;</li> +<li>h <a href="#article_87h">Formal notes</a></li></ul></li> +<li>88. <a href="#article_88">Paragraphs</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_88a">Indention</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_88b">Length</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_88c">Dialogue</a></li></ul></li> +<li>89. <a href="#article_89"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a> +<ul><li>Capitals, numbers, abbreviations, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></li></ul></li></ul></li> + + + +<li><a href="#punctuation">PUNCTUATION</a> + +<ul class="l5"><li>90. <a href="#article_90">The Period</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_90a">After sentences</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_90b">But not after fragments +of sentences</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_90c">After abbreviations</a></li></ul></li> +<li>91. <a href="#article_91">The Comma</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_91a">Between clauses joined by <i>but</i>, <i>for</i>, <i>and</i></a>;</li> +<li>b <a href="#article_91b">But <span class="smcap">not</span> to splice clauses not joined by a conjunction</a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_91c">After a subordinate clause preceding a main clause</a>;</li> +<li>d <a href="#article_91d">To set off non-restrictive clauses and phrases</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_91e">To +set off parenthetical elements</a>;</li> <li>f <a href="#article_91f">Between adjectives</a>;</li> +<li>g <a href="#article_91g">Between words in a series</a>;</li> <li>h <a href="#article_91h">Before a quotation</a>;</li> +<li>i <a href="#article_91i">To compel a pause for clearness</a>;</li> <li>j <a href="#article_91j">Superfluous uses</a></li></ul></li> +<li>92. <a href="#article_92">The Semicolon</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_92a">Between coördinate clauses not joined +by a conjunction</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_92b">Between long coördinate clauses</a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_92c">Before a formal conjunctive adverb</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_92d">But not before +a quotation</a></li></ul></li> +<li>93. <a href="#article_93">The Colon</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_93a">To introduce a formal series or quotation</a>;</li> +<li>b <a href="#article_93b">Before concrete illustrations of a previous general +statement</a></li></ul></li> +<li>94. <a href="#article_94">The Dash</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_94a">To enclose a parenthetical statement</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_94b">To +mark a breaking-off in thought</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_94c">Before a summarizing +statement</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_94d">But not to be used in place of a period</a>;</li> +<li>e <a href="#article_94e">Not to be confused with the hyphen</a></li></ul></li> +<li>95. <a href="#article_95">Parenthesis Marks</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_95a">Uses</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_95b">With other marks</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_95c">Confirmatory +symbols</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_95d">Not used to cancel words</a>;</li> +<li>e <a href="#article_95e">Brackets</a></li></ul></li> +<li>96. <a href="#article_96">Quotation Marks</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_96a">With quotations</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_96b">With paragraphs</a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_96c">In dialogue</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_96d">With slang, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_96e">With words +set apart</a>;</li> <li>f <a href="#article_96f">Quotation within a quotation</a>;</li> <li>g <a href="#article_96g">Together +with other marks</a>;</li> <li>h <a href="#article_96h">Quotation interrupted by <i>he said</i></a>;</li> +<li>i <a href="#article_96i">Omission from a quotation</a>;</li> <li>j <a href="#article_96j">Unnecessary in the title +of a theme, or as a label for humor or irony</a></li></ul></li> +<li>97. <a href="#article_97">The Apostrophe</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_97a">In contractions</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_97b">To form the possessive</a>;</li> +<li>c <a href="#article_97c">To form the possessive of nouns ending in <i>s</i></a>;</li> +<li>d <a href="#article_97d">Not used with personal possessive pronouns</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_97e">To +form the plural of certain signs and letters</a></li></ul></li> +<li>98. <a href="#article_98">The Question Mark</a>: <ul class="inline"><li>a <a href="#article_98a">After a direct question</a>;</li> <li>b <a href="#article_98b">Not +followed by a comma within a sentence</a>;</li> <li>c <a href="#article_98c">In parentheses +to express uncertainty</a>;</li> <li>d <a href="#article_98d">Not used to label irony</a>;</li> <li>e <a href="#article_98e">The +Exclamation Point</a></li></ul></li> +<li>99. <a href="#article_99"><span class="smcap">Exercise</span></a></li> +<li>100. <a href="#article_100"><span class="smcap">General Exercise</span></a></li></ul></li> +</ul> + + +<hr /> +<h2>TO THE STUDENT</h2> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>When a number is written in the margin of your theme, you are to turn to +the article which corresponds to the number. Read the rule (printed in +bold-face type), and study the examples. When an <i>r</i> follows the number +on your theme, you are, in addition, to copy the rule. When an <i>x</i> +follows the number, you are, besides acquainting yourself with the rule, +to write the exercise of five sentences, to correct your own faulty +sentence, and to hand in the six on theme paper. If the number ends in 9 +(<a href="#article_9">9</a>, <a href="#article_19">19</a>, <a href="#article_29">29</a>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>), you will find, not a rule, but a long exercise which +you are to write and hand in on theme paper. In the absence of special +instructions from your teacher, you are invariably to proceed as this +paragraph requires.</p> + +<p>Try to grasp the principle which underlies the rule. In many places in +this book the reason for the existence of the rule is clearly stated. +Thus under 20, the reason for the rule on parallel structure is +explained in a prologue. In other instances, as in the rule on divided +reference (<a href="#article_20">20</a>), the reason becomes clear the moment you read the +examples. In certain other instances the rule may appear arbitrary and +without a basis in reason. But there is a basis in reason, as you will +observe in the following illustration.</p> + +<p>Suppose you write, "He is twenty one years old." The instructor asks you +to put a hyphen in <i>twenty-one</i>, and refers you to <a href="#article_78">78</a>. You cannot see +why a hyphen is necessary, since the meaning is clear without it. But +tomorrow you may write. "I will send you twenty five dollar bills." The +reader cannot tell whether you mean twenty five-dollar bills or +twenty-five dollar bills. In the first sentence the use of the hyphen in +<i>twenty-one</i> did not make much difference. In the second sentence the +hyphen makes seventy-five dollars' worth of difference. Thus the +instructor, in asking you to write, "He is twenty-one years old," is +helping you to form a habit that will save you from serious error in +other sentences. Whenever you cannot understand the reason for a rule, +ask yourself whether the usage of many clear-thinking men for long years +past may not be protecting you from difficulties which you do not +foresee. Instructors and writers of text books (impressive as is the +evidence to the contrary) are human, and do not invent rules to puzzle +you. They do not, in fact, invent rules at all, but only make convenient +applications of principles which generations of writers have found to be +wisest and best.</p> +</div> + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="sentence_structure" id="sentence_structure">SENTENCE STRUCTURE</a></h2> + +<h3><a name="completeness_of_thought" id="completeness_of_thought"></a>COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT</h3> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The first thing to make certain is that the thought of a sentence is +complete. A fragment which has no meaning when read alone, or a sentence +from which is omitted a necessary word, phrase, or idea, violates an +elementary principle of writing.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="article_1" id="article_1">Fragments Wrongly Used as Sentences</a></h5> + +<p><b>1. Do not write a subordinate part of a sentence as if it were a +complete sentence.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He stopped short. Hearing some one approach.</li> + +<li>Right: He stopped short, hearing some one approach. [Or] Hearing some +one approach, he stopped short.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The winters are cold. Although the summers are pleasant.</li> + +<li>Right: Although the summers are pleasant, the winters are cold.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The hunter tried to move the stone. Which he found very heavy.</li> + +<li>Right: The hunter tried to move the stone, which he found very heavy. +[Or] The hunter tried to move the stone. He found it very heavy. </li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_1_Note" id="article_1_Note">Note.</a>—A sentence must in itself express a complete thought. Phrases or +subordinate clauses, if used alone, carry only an incomplete meaning. +They must therefore be attached to a sentence, or restated in +independent form. Elliptical expressions used in conversation may be +regarded as exceptions: Where? At what time? Ten o'clock. By no means. +Certainly. Go.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>My next experience was in a grain elevator. Where I worked +for two summers.</li> + +<li>The parts of a fountain pen are: first, the point. This is +gold. Second, the body.</li> + +<li>The form is set rigidly. So that it will not be displaced +when the concrete is thrown in.</li> + +<li>There are several reasons to account for the swarming of +bees. One of these having already been mentioned.</li> + +<li>Since June the company has increased its trade three per +cent. Since August, five per cent.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_2" id="article_2">Incomplete Constructions</a></h5> + +<p><b>2. Do not leave uncompleted a construction which you have begun.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: You remember that in his speech in which he said he +would oppose the bill.</li> + +<li>Right: You remember that in his speech he said he would oppose +the bill. [Or] You remember the speech in which he said he +would oppose the bill.</li> + +<li>Wrong: He was a young man who, coming from the country, with +ignorance of city ways, but with plenty of determination to +succeed.</li> + +<li>Right: He was a young man who, coming from the country, was +ignorant of city ways, but had plenty of determination to +succeed.</li> + +<li>Wrong: From the window of the train I perceived one of those +unsightly structures.</li> + +<li>Right: From the window of the train I perceived one of those +unsightly structures which are always to be seen near a +station.</li></ul> + + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>As far as his having been deceived, there is a difference of +opinion on that matter.</li> + +<li>The fact that he was always in trouble, his parents wondered +whether he should remain in school or not.</li> + +<li>People who go back to the scenes of their childhood +everything looks strangely small.</li> + +<li>It was the custom that whenever a political party came into +office, for the incoming men to discharge all employees of the +opposite party.</li> + +<li>Although the average man, if asked whether he could shoot a +rabbit, would answer in the affirmative, even though he had +never hunted rabbits, would find himself badly mistaken.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_3" id="article_3">Necessary Words Omitted</a></h5> + +<p><b>3. Do not omit a word or a phrase which is necessary to an immediate +understanding of a sentence.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Ambiguous: I consulted the secretary and president. [Did the +speaker consult one man or two?]</li> + +<li>Right: I consulted the secretary and the president. [Or] I +consulted the man who was president and secretary.</li> + +<li>Ambiguous: Water passes through the cement as well as the +bricks.</li> + +<li>Right: Water passes through the cement as well as through the +bricks.</li> + +<li>Wrong: I have had experience in every phase of the automobile.</li> + +<li>Right: I have had experience in every phase of automobile +driving and repairing.</li> + +<li>Wrong: About him were men whom he could not tell whether they +were friends or foes.</li> + +<li>Right: About him were men regarding whom he could not tell +whether they were friends or foes. [Or, better] About him were +men who might have been either friends or foes.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>When still a small boy, my family moved to Centerville.</li> + +<li>Constantly in conversation with some one broadens our ideas +and our vocabulary.</li> + +<li>It was a trick which opposing teams were sure to be +baffled.</li> + +<li>They departed for the battle front with the knowledge they +might never return.</li> + +<li>At the banquet were all classes of people; I met a banker +and plumber.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_4" id="article_4">Comparisons</a></h5> + +<p><b>4. Comparisons must be completed logically.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: His speed was equal to a racehorse.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The shells which are used in quail hunting are different +than in rabbit hunting.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Compare a thing with another thing, an abstraction with another +abstraction. Do not carelessly compare a thing with a part or quality of +another thing. Always ask yourself: What is compared with what?</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: His speed was equal to that of a racehorse.</li> + +<li>Right: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer's.</li> + +<li>Right: The shells used in quail hunting are different from +those used in rabbit hunting.</li> + +<li>Self-contradictory: Chicago is larger than any city in +Illinois.</li> + +<li>Right: Chicago is larger than any other city in Illinois.</li> + +<li>Impossible: Chicago is the largest of any other city in +Illinois.</li> + +<li>Right: Chicago is the largest of all the cities in Illinois. +[Or] Chicago is the largest city in Illinois.</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_3_Note" id="article_3_Note">Note.</a>—After a comparative, the subject of the comparison should be +excluded from the class with which it is compared; after a superlative, +the subject of the comparison should be included within the class.</p> + +<ul class="examples"> +<li>Wrong: + <ul> + <li>taller of all the girls.</li> + <li>tallest of any girl.</li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li>Right: + <ul> + <li>taller than any other girl [comparative].</li> + <li>tallest of all the girls [superlative].</li> + </ul> +</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The climate of America helps her athletes to become superior +to other countries.</li> + +<li>This tobacco is the best of any other on the market.</li> + +<li>You men are paid three dollars more than any other factory +in the city.</li> + +<li>I thought I was best fitted for an engineering course than +any other.</li> + +<li>Care should be taken not to turn in more cattle than the +grass in the pasture.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_5" id="article_5">Cause and Reason</a></h5> + +<p><b>5. A simple statement of fact may be completed by a <i>because</i> clause.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: I am late because I was sick.</li></ul> + +<p><b>But a statement containing <i>the reason is</i> must be completed by a <i>that</i> +clause.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The reason I am late is because I was sick. [The +"reason" is not a "because"; the "reason" is the fact of +sickness.]</li> + +<li>Right: The reason I am late is that I was sick.</li> +</ul> + +<p><b><i>Because</i>, the conjunction, may introduce an adverbial clause only.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Because a man wears old clothes is no proof that he is +poor. [A <i>because</i> clause cannot be the subject of <i>is</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: The fact that a man wears old clothes is no proof that +he is poor. [Or] The wearing of old clothes is not proof that a +man is poor.</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_5_Note" id="article_5_Note">Note.</a>—<i>Because of</i>, <i>owing to</i>, <i>on account of</i>, introduce adverbial +phrases only. <i>Due to</i> and <i>caused by</i> introduce adjectival phrases +only.</p> + +<ul class="examples"> +<li>Wrong: He failed, due to weak eyes. [Due is an adjective; +it cannot modify a verb.]</li> + +<li>Right: His failure was + +<div class="inline"> + <ul> + <li>due to</li> + <li>caused by</li> + <li>because of</li> + </ul> +</div> + +weak eyes.</li> + +<li>Right: He failed + +<div class="inline"> + <ul> + <li>owing to</li> + <li>on account of</li> + </ul> +</div> + +weak eyes.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>The reason why I would not buy a Ford car is because it is +too light.</li> + +<li>My second reason for coming here is because of social +advantages.</li> + +<li>Because John is rich does not make him happier than I.</li> + +<li>Because I like farming is the reason I chose it.</li> + +<li>The only reason why vegetation does not grow here is because +of the lack of water.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_6" id="article_6"><i>is when</i> or <i>is where</i> Clauses</a></h5> + +<p><b>6. Do not use a <i>when</i> or <i>where</i> clause as a predicate noun. Do not +define a word by saying it is a "when" or a "where". Define a noun by +another noun, a verb by another verb, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The great event is when the train arrives.</li> + +<li>Right: The great event is the arrival of the train.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Immigration is where foreigners come into a country.</li> + +<li>Right: Immigration is the entering of foreigners into a +country.</li> + +<li>Wrong: A simile is when one object is compared with another.</li> + +<li>Right: A simile is a figure of speech in which one object is +compared with another.</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_6_Note" id="article_6_Note">Note.</a>—A definition of a term is a statement which (1) names the class +to which the term belongs, and (2) distinguishes it from other members +of the class. Example. A quadrilateral is a plane figure having four +sides and four angles. To test a definition ask whether it separates the +term defined from all other things. If the definition does not do this, +it is incomplete. Define <i>California</i> (so as to exclude other states), +<i>window</i> (so as to exclude <i>door</i>), <i>star</i> (exclude <i>moon</i>), <i>night</i>, +<i>rain</i>, <i>circle</i>, <i>Bible</i>, <i>metal</i>, <i>mile</i>, <i>rectangle</i>.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>The pistol shot is when the race begins.</li> + +<li>A snob is when a man treats others as inferior socially.</li> + +<li>The wireless telegraph is where messages are sent a long +distance through the air.</li> + +<li>The definition of usury is where one charges interest higher +than the legal rate.</li> + +<li>Biology is when one studies plant and animal life.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_7" id="article_7">Undeveloped Thought</a></h5> + +<p><b>7. Do not halfway express an idea. If the idea is important, develop it. +If it is not important, omit it.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Incomplete: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, +and Jack said he had a business engagement that night.</li> + +<li>Better: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, a fact +which was all the more annoying as Jack said he had a business +engagement that night.</li> + +<li>Puzzling: Since McAndrew had inherited money, his suitcase was +plastered with labels.</li> + +<li>Right: Since McAndrew had inherited money, he had traveled +extensively. His suitcase was plastered with the labels of +foreign hotels.</li> + +<li>Careless: In looking for gasoline troubles, we forgot to see +whether the tank was supplied.</li> + +<li>Right: In looking for the cause of the trouble, we forgot to +see whether the tank was supplied with gasoline.</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_7_Note" id="article_7_Note">Note.</a>—In giving information about books, do not confuse the title with +the contents or some part of the contents. Be accurate in referring to +the time, scene, action, plot, or characters.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Loose thinking: Shakespeare's <i>Hamlet</i> occurs in Denmark [The +scene is laid?]. Many passages are powerful, especially the +grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?]<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing period">.</ins> The character of Horatio is a noble fellow [conception], +and the same is true of Ophelia [Ophelia a fellow?]. The drama +takes place over several weeks. [The action covers a period of +several weeks.]</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>The victrola brings to the home the world's musical ability.</li> + +<li>The user of Dietzgen instruments is not vexed by numerous +troubles that accompany the inferior makes.</li> + +<li>To the picnicker rainy weather is bad weather, while the +farmer raises a big crop.</li> + +<li>Some diseases can be checked by preventives, and in many +cases can be of great use to an army.</li> + +<li>This idea of breaking all records held for eating is +naturally harmful to the digestion, and these important organs +may thank their stars that Christmas does not come very often.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_8" id="article_8">Transitions</a></h5> + +<p>The state of mind of a writer is not the state of mind of his reader. +The writer knows his ideas, and has spent much time with them. The +reader meets these ideas for the first time, and must gather them in at +a glance. The relation between two ideas may be clear to the writer, and +not at all clear to the reader. Therefore,</p> + +<p><b>8. In passing from one thought to another, make the connection clear. If +necessary, insert a word, a phrase, or even a sentence, to carry the +reader safely across.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Space transition needed: We were surprised to see a house in +the distance, but we went to the door and knocked. [This +sentence does not give a reader the effect of distance.]</li> + +<li>Better: We were surprised to see a house in the distance. <i>But +we hastened toward it with thoughts of a warm meal and a good +lodging. We entered the yard</i>, and went up to the door, and +knocked.</li> + +<li>Exterior-interior transition needed: We noticed that the house +was built of cobblestones. There was a broad window from which +we could look out upon the small stream that dashed down the +rocky hillside.</li> + +<li>Better: We noticed that the house was built of cobblestones. +<i>We went inside, and found that the living room was large and +airy.</i> There was a broad window from which we could look out +upon the small stream that dashed down the rocky hillside.</li> + +<li>Cause transition lacking: The Romans were great road-builders. +They wished to maintain their empire.</li> + +<li>Better: The Romans were great road-builders, <i>because means of +moving troops quickly were necessary</i> to the maintenance of +their empire.</li> + +<li>General-to-particular transition needed: Modern machinery often +makes men its slaves. Last summer I worked for the Chandler +Company. [This gap in thought occurs oftenest between the first +two sentences of a paragraph or theme.]</li> + +<li>Better: Modern machinery often makes men its slaves. <i>This +truth is well illustrated by my own experience.</i> Last summer I +worked for the Chandler Company.</li> + +<li>Transition to be improved by changing order: A careless trainer +may spoil a good colt. A good horse can never be made of a +vicious colt. [Here the order of ideas is: "Trainer ... colt. +Horse ... colt." Turn the last sentence end for end.]</li> + +<li>Better: A careless trainer may spoil a good colt. And a vicious +colt can never be made a good horse. [Now the order of ideas is +"Trainer ... colt. Colt ... horse."]</li> + +<li>Transition to be improved by removal of a disturbing element: +Our class in physics last week visited a pumping station in +which the Corliss type of steam engine is used. <i>The engines +are manufactured by the Allis-Chalmers Company of Milwaukee, +Wisconsin.</i> This type of engine is used because it has several +advantages. [The italicized sentence should be omitted here, +and used later in the theme.]</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_8_Note" id="article_8_Note">Note.</a>—The divisions of thought within a paragraph may likewise be +indicated by connectives: <i>however</i>, <i>on the other hand</i>, <i>equally +important</i>, <i>another interesting problem is</i>, <i>for this reason</i>, <i>the +remedy for this</i>, <i>so much for</i>, <i>it remains to mention</i>, <i>of course I +admit</i>, <i>finally</i>. (For a longer list see <a href="#article_36">36</a>.) Such phrases are also +useful in linking one paragraph to another.</p> + +<p>When a student first learns the art, he is likely to use transition +phrases in excess, and produce something like the following: "When I +have to write a theme, I first think of my subject. As soon as I have my +subject, I take out my paper. On the paper I then make a rough outline." +This abuse of transition causes an overlapping of thought, like shingles +laid three inches to the weather. An abrupt transition is better than +wordiness.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>The shore looked far off. Then we reached it.</li> + +<li>A light snow was falling last night. This is a good day for +hunting rabbits.</li> + +<li>A dollar is often a large sum. I sold newspapers when I was +a boy.</li> + +<li>Many English words still preserve their old meanings. There +is the teller in the bank.</li> + +<li>We had to walk half a mile across the pastures in the fresh +morning air. Exercise indoors does not arouse much zest or +enthusiasm.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_9" id="article_9">9. EXERCISE IN COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_9A" id="article_9A">A. Fragments Misused as Sentences</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Rewrite the following statements in sentences each of which expresses a +complete thought.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>He gave me a flower. Which was wilted.</li> + +<li>The gasoline flows through the supply tube to the +carburetor. Where it should vaporize and enter the cylinders.</li> + +<li>People of all ages were there. Old men, young women, and +even children.</li> + +<li>He told us that you had a good standing among business men. +That you always met your bills promptly.</li> + +<li>Excuse Everett Smith from school this morning. He having the +measles.</li> + +<li>The internal combustion engine may be either one of two +types. The two cycle or the four cycle.</li> + +<li>The young men and women acted like children. Who should have +known better.</li> + +<li>There was a cross cow in the pasture. Which had long horns.</li> + +<li>Bacteria are microscopic organisms. Especially found where +milk or some other substance decomposes.</li> + +<li>We pass on down the street. The buildings rising two or +three stories high on either side.</li> + +<li>The <abbr title="Young Men's Christian Association">Y. M. C. A.</abbr> enables you to keep your religious +interests alive. As well as to associate with clean young men.</li> + +<li>She wasted her time on foolish clothes. While her mother +took in washing.</li> + +<li>He was dressed in a ridiculous fashion. Wearing, for +instance, an orange necktie.</li> + +<li>The point is similar to that of the ordinary steel pen, +except that it is made of gold. Gold being used on account of +its greater smoothness and durability.</li> + +<li>Tire troubles have been made less formidable by the +invention of a compact, efficient little vulcanizer. A factory +for making which is now being built.</li> +</ol> + +<h6><a name="article_9B" id="article_9B">B. Incomplete Constructions</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Improve the following statements. Supply missing words. Make sure that +each construction and each sentence is complete.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>When one year old, my mother died.</li> + +<li>Yours received, and in reply would say your order has been +filled.</li> + +<li>While in there a man came in and bought a quarter's worth of +soap.</li> + +<li>War is largely dependent upon the engineers to design new +machinery.</li> + +<li>When you talk to a man look at him, not the floor or +ceiling.</li> + +<li>In writing a book, an author's first one is usually not very +good.</li> + +<li>Every summer while in high school, our family has gone to +our cottage on Lake Michigan.</li> + +<li>When a boy, Mary was my best friend.</li> + +<li>There is, however, another reason a person should know how +to swim.</li> + +<li>I think more of her than anyone else.</li> + +<li>Corrupt laws are often the means rich people obtain the +earnings of others.</li> + +<li>A hundred dollars invested in a warning signal, future +accidents would be prevented.</li> + +<li>Electric transmission is sometimes used on automobiles more +of an experiment than anything else.</li> + +<li>Was delighted to hear from you. Glad to hear you entered +the wholesale business. Wish you success.</li> + +<li>As a rule people eat too much. This point should be +noticed, and not overwork the digestive organs. </li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_9C" id="article_9C">C. Incomplete Logic</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The following sentences are inadequate statements of cause, comparison, +<abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr> Complete the thought.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>His neck is as long as a giraffe.</li> + +<li>His name was David Meek, from New Hampshire.</li> + +<li>The Pacific Ocean is larger than any ocean.</li> + +<li>Because he never worked led to his failure.</li> + +<li>A monitor is where a heavily armored boat of light draft can +go near the shore.</li> + +<li>Democracy is when people, through representatives, govern +themselves.</li> + +<li>The story of <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> is in reality Mark Twain +himself.</li> + +<li>Because a man has money is no reason why he should be lazy.</li> + +<li>The character of Sydney Carton is the real hero of this +novel.</li> + +<li>A forester leads an interesting life is the reason I want +to be one.</li> + +<li>Tact is where a man anticipates the criticism of others, +and acts with discretion.</li> + +<li>The comfort of a modern house is much greater than the +old-time house.</li> + +<li>Free trade is when no revenue is collected on imports, +beyond enough to run the government.</li> + +<li>The cost of room, board, and tuition is low at this school, +compared to the more fashionable schools.</li> + +<li>The theme of this novel tells how a peasant, Jean Valjean, +from a convict comes to be a respected citizen. </li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_9D" id="article_9D">D. Undeveloped Thought and Transitions</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Complete the thought of the following sentences, and secure a smooth +transition between parts.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>As you enter this room, to the left is an interesting +painting of the Canterbury Pilgrims.</li> + +<li>Poe delights in fantastic plots. A pirate's treasure chest +was discovered in <i>The Gold Bug</i>.</li> + +<li>I got up and ate a bite of breakfast. A few of my friends +came over. We went to play golf.</li> + +<li>All the loose material on the trail is carried off by the +rush of the water. The last time I was on it was in early +summer, and I found it in this rough condition.</li> + +<li>I managed to find the softest board in the floor and went to +sleep. Some of the boys found pleasure in arousing me with a +shower of cold water.</li> + +<li>Under guise of friendly escort the Indians accompanied the +inhabitants of the fort a few miles. Only three escaped the +massacre.</li> + +<li>Many people say that in civil engineering it depends on the +prosperity of the country; in hard times they do not build and +in good times they do build.</li> + +<li>Canada has more forests than minerals. Canada has made only +a start in the lumber industry. The minerals are found, for the +most part, in the mountain district near Lake Superior.</li> + +<li>Thanksgiving day, as we are told, is a day on which our +Puritan forefathers gathered round the roast turkey and gave +thanks to God for his goodness. Last Thanksgiving I was at +home.</li> + +<li>The old method was to dig the holes by hand, and drop two +or three kernels in each hole. Corn has become a staple crop. +Machinery is used. The preparing of a field for corn has become +a science.</li> +</ol> + + + +<h3><a name="unity_of_thought" id="unity_of_thought">UNITY OF THOUGHT</a></h3> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Unity means oneness. A sentence should contain one thought. It may +contain two or more statements only when these are closely related parts +of a larger thought or impression. A writer should make certain, first, +that his thought has unity; and second, that this unity will be obvious +to the reader.</p> +</div> + + +<h5><a name="article_10" id="article_10">Unrelated Ideas in One Sentence</a></h5> + +<p><b>10. Do not combine ideas which have no obvious relation to each other. +Place the ideas in separate sentences. Or, write the ideas as one +sentence, making their relation obvious.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The Spartans did not care for literature, and lived in +the southern part of Greece.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, and the +most important work in preparing coffee for the market is the +roasting of the green berries.</li> +</ul> + +<p>The simplest method of correction is to divide the sentence.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The Spartans lived in the southern part of Greece. They +did not care for literature.</li> + +<li>Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn. The most +important work in preparing the coffee for the market is the +roasting of the green berries.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Another method of correction is to subordinate one idea to the other, or +to change the wording until the relation between the ideas is obvious.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The Spartans, who lived in the southern part of Greece, +did not care for literature.</li> + +<li>Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, since the +only important work in preparing the coffee for the market is +the roasting of the green berries.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>Franklin is often regarded as the typical American, and +wrote an interesting autobiography.</li> + +<li>Coal miners wear little oil lamps in their caps, and they +seldom receive very good wages.</li> + +<li>My neighbor, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Houghton, was always a very good friend of +mine, and died last night.</li> + +<li>I dropped the clock and injured the works, but the jeweler +told me it would be cheaper for me to buy a new clock.</li> + +<li>The next thing the camper should do is to make a bed, and +the branches of the spruce are the best.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_11" id="article_11">Excessive Detail</a></h5> + +<p><b>11. Do not encumber the main idea of a sentence with superfluous +details. Place some of the details in another sentence, or omit them.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: In the town in which I live there are several large +churches, and about six o'clock one morning, in a violent +storm, one of these churches was struck by lightning.</li> + +<li>Right: In my home town there are several large churches. One +morning about six o'clock, in a violent storm, one of these +churches was struck by lightning.</li> + +<li>Wrong: In 1836, in Baltimore, Poe married Virginia Clemm, his +cousin, who was hardly more than a child, being then fourteen +years old, while Poe himself was twenty-eight, and to her he +wrote much of his best verse.</li> + +<li>Right: In 1836 Poe married Virginia Clemm. Poe was then +twenty-eight, and Virginia was only fourteen. To this girl Poe +wrote much of his best verse.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>The house with the red tile roof is the finest in the city, +and is owned by <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Saunders, who made his money speculating in +land.</li> + +<li>Then the engine tilted and fell over on one side, and the +boiler exploded and added to the frightful scene.</li> + +<li>The deer whose antlers you see over the fireplace as you +enter the room was shot by my Uncle Will, who is now in South +America on a hunting expedition.</li> + +<li>The seeds, which have previously been soaked in water over +night, are now planted carefully, not too deep, in straight +rows sixteen inches apart, the best time being in April, when +the ground is soft and has been thoroughly spaded.</li> + +<li>One day last week my employer, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Conway, a jolly, peculiar +man, raised my salary, first telling me I was about to be +discharged, and laughing at me when I looked so surprised.</li> +</ol> + +<h5><a name="article_12" id="article_12">Stringy Sentences to be Broken up</a></h5> + +<p><b>12. Avoid stringy compound sentences. The crude, rambling style which +results from their use may be corrected by separating the material into +shorter sentences, or by subordinating lesser ideas to the main thought.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: The second speaker had sat quietly waiting, and he was +a man of a different type, and he began calmly, yet from the +very first words he showed great earnestness.</li> + +<li>Right: The second speaker, who had sat quietly waiting, was a +man of a different type. He began calmly, yet from his very +first words he showed great earnestness.</li> + +<li>Faulty: There are many stops on the organ which control the +tones of the different pipes and one has to learn how and when +to use these and this takes time and practice.</li> + +<li>Right: On the organ are many stops which control the tones of +the different pipes. To learn how and when to use these takes +time and practice.</li> + +<li>Faulty: He published prose fiction, and this was then the +accepted literary form, and the drama was neglected.</li> + +<li>Better: He published prose fiction, which was then the accepted +literary form, the drama being neglected. [This sentence makes +three statements in a diminishing series. The important idea is +expressed in a main clause; a less important explanation is +fitted into a relative clause; and a still less important +comment takes a parenthetical phrase at the end.]</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_12_Note" id="article_12_Note">Note.</a>—One of the crying faults of the immature writer is that by +excessive coördination he obscures the fine shades of meaning. When two +clauses are joined, the meaning will very often be more exact if one is +subordinated to the other. For a list of subordinating connectives, see +<a href="#article_36">36</a>.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>He went down town, and it began to rain, and so he decided +to go to the city library.</li> + +<li>There is an old saying which I have often heard and I +believe in it to a certain extent, and it runs as follows: The +more you live at your wit's end, the more the wit's end grows.</li> + +<li>Our salesman, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Powers, has spoken very favorably of your +firm, and we feel that our relations will be most pleasant, and +the report of the commercial agencies is sufficient evidence of +your good financial standing.</li> + +<li>There was no escaping from this churn, so one of the frogs, +after a brief struggle thought that he might just as well die +one time as another, and so he gave up and sank to the bottom.</li> + +<li>Socrates did no writing himself, and the only information we +have of him we get from the writings of his pupils and from +later writers, and our most reliable knowledge comes from two +of these writers, Plato and Xenophon.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_13" id="article_13">Choppy Sentences to be Combined</a></h5> + +<p><b>13. Do not use two or three short sentences to express ideas which will +make a more unified impression in one sentence. Place subordinate ideas +in subordinate grammatical constructions.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Excessive predication: Excavating is the first operation in +street paving. The excavating is usually done by means of a +steam shovel. The shovel scoops up the dirt and loads it +directly into wagons.</li> + +<li>Right: Excavating, the first operation in street paving, is +usually done by a steam shovel which loads the dirt directly +into wagons.</li> + +<li>Monotonous: The doe is wading along the shore. She is nibbling +the lily pads as she goes. Now she moves slowly around the +point. She has a little spotted fawn with her. The fawn frolics +along at the heels of his mother.</li> + +<li>Better: Wading along the shore, the doe nibbles the lily pads +by the way, and moves slowly around the point. A spotted fawn +frolics at her heels.</li> + +<li>Primer style: Rooms are marked on the floor. These rooms are +about fourteen feet square.</li> + +<li>Better: The floor is marked off into rooms about fourteen feet +square.</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_13_Note" id="article_13_Note">Note.</a>—An occasional short sentence is permissible, even desirable. +Successive short sentences may be used to express rapid action, or +emphatic assertion, or deliberate simplicity. Otherwise, avoid them.</p> + +<p>Exercise<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had period">:</ins></p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>Decatur has wide streets. The streets are paved with brick, +asphalt, and creosote blocks.</li> + +<li>Sixteen posts are set in a row. All of these are at equal +intervals.</li> + +<li>The boat approaches the leeward side of the ship. This side +is the side protected from the wind.</li> + +<li>The <i>Scientific American</i> reports the progress of science. +It explains new inventions. It makes practical applications of +scientific principles.</li> + +<li>The beans are usually harvested about the middle of +September. They are cut when the plants turn color at the roots +and the beans turn white. They are cut by a bean-cutter which +takes two rows at a time.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_14" id="article_14">Excessive Coördination</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>In structure a sentence may be</p> + +<ol class="AU"> +<li>Simple: The rain fell.</li> +<li>Compound: The rain continued and the stream rose.</li> +<li>Complex: When the rain ceased, the flood came.</li> +</ol> + +<p>In B, the clauses are of almost equal importance, and the first is +coördinated with the second. In C, the clauses are not of equal +importance, and the first is subordinated to the second. <i>And</i> is a +coördinating conjunction. <i>When</i> is a subordinating conjunction. For a +list of connectives see <a href="#article_36">36</a>.</p> +</div> + +<p><b>14. Do not use coördination when subordination will secure a more clear +and emphatic unit of thought. Especially do not coördinate a main idea +with an explanatory detail.</b> The speech of children connects all ideas, +important and unimportant, with <i>and</i>. Discriminating writers place +minor ideas in subordinate clauses, consign still less important ideas +to participial or prepositional phrases, and omit trivial details +altogether.</p> + +<ul class="examples"> +<li>Childish: I went down town and saw a crowd standing in the +street, and wanted to know what was the matter, and so I went +up and asked a man.</li> + +<li>Right: When I went down town, I saw a crowd standing in the +street, and since I wanted to know what was the matter, I asked +a man. [Two clauses are subordinated by the use of <i>when</i> and +<i>since</i>. This change abolishes two <i>ands</i>. The words <i>went up +and</i> are struck out. One <i>and</i> remains, and deserves to remain, +for it joins two ideas which are truly coördinate.]</li> + +<li>Main idea not emphasized: I talked with an old man and his name +was Ned.</li> + +<li>Better: I talked with an old man named Ned. [A participial +phrase replaces a clause. The name is now subordinated.]</li> + +<li>Main idea not emphasized: Developing is the next step in +preparing the film, and it is very important.</li> + +<li>Better: Developing, the next step in preparing the film, is +very important. [An appositional phrase replaces the first +predicate.]</li> + +<li>Main idea not emphasized: They began their perilous journey, +and they had four horses.</li> + +<li>Right [emphasizing <i>perilous journey</i>]: With four horses they +began their perilous journey. [A prepositional phrase replaces +a clause.]</li> + +<li>Right [emphasizing <i>having the horses</i>]: When they began their +perilous journey, they had four horses. [A subordinate clause +replaces a main clause.]</li> + +<li>Capable of greater unity: The frog is a stupid animal, and may +be caught with a hook baited with red flannel. [Is the writer +trying to tell us <i>how to catch frogs</i>, or merely that <i>frogs +are stupid</i>? Coördination makes the two ideas appear equally +important.]</li> + +<li>Right [emphasizing <i>frogs are stupid</i>]: The fact that the frog +can be caught with a hook baited with red flannel proves his +stupidity.</li> + +<li>Right [emphasizing <i>how to catch frogs</i>]: The frog, being +stupid, will bite at a piece of red flannel.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had period">:</ins></p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>Men were sent to Panama and could not live in such +unsanitary conditions.</li> + +<li>When a letter came and it bore a familiar handwriting, I +always opened it eagerly.</li> + +<li>West Hickory is the name of the place where the tannery is +situated, and it is a laboring man's town.</li> + +<li>She wore a dress and it was silk, and cost her father a lot +of money.</li> + +<li>Every race horse has a care taker or groom, and this man +spends all his time and makes the horse comfortable.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_15" id="article_15">Faulty Subordination of the Main Thought</a></h5> + +<p><b>15. Do not put the principal statement of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase.</b> This violation of unity is sometimes called +"upside-down subordination".</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: I was going down the street, when I heard an explosion. +[If <i>hearing the explosion</i> is the main thought, it should be +placed in the main clause.]</li> + +<li>Right: When I was going down the street, I heard an explosion.</li> + +<li>Faulty: Longstreet received orders to attack the Federal right +wing, which he did immediately.</li> + +<li>Right: As soon as Longstreet received orders, he attacked the +Federal right wing.</li> + +<li>Faulty: I suspected that it would rain, although I did not take +an umbrella.</li> + +<li>Right: Although I suspected that it would rain, I did not take +an umbrella.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>An old man used to work for us, who died yesterday.</li> + +<li>He became angry, saying he positively refused to go.</li> + +<li>He is a bright boy, although I should not want to trust him +with my pocketbook.</li> + +<li>He had an ambition which was to become the best lawyer in +the state by the time he was forty years old.</li> + +<li>The cable breaks and the elevator starts to drop, when the +safety device always operates at once to prevent an accident.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_16" id="article_16">Subordination Thwarted by <i>and</i></a></h5> + +<p><b>16. Do not attach to a main clause by means of <i>and</i>, a word, phrase, or +clause which you intend shall be subordinate. The presence of <i>and</i> +thwarts subordination.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Major went to bed, and leaving the work unfinished.</li> + +<li>Right: Major went to bed, leaving the work unfinished.</li> + +<li>Wrong: He ran home and with coat tails flying.</li> + +<li>Right: He ran home with coat tails flying.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>They denied my request, and giving no reason for the +refusal.</li> + +<li>He gave me his answer and in few words.</li> + +<li>The girl stood on the edge of the cliff, and thus showing +that she was not afraid.</li> + +<li>A telegraph line is leased by the Associated Press, and thus +giving the newspapers quick service.</li> + +<li>When the summer passed, the fisherman returned home for the +winter, and where he renewed his acquaintance with the +villagers.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_17" id="article_17">The <i>and which</i> construction</a></h5> + +<p><b>17. Use <i>and which</i> (or <i>but which</i>), <i>and who</i> (or <i>but who</i>) only +between relative clauses similar in form. Between a main clause and a +relative clause, <i>and</i> or <i>but</i> thwarts subordination.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: This is an important problem, and which we shall not +find easy to solve.</li> + +<li>Right: This problem is an important problem, which we shall not +find easy to solve.</li> + +<li>Right: This problem is one <i>which</i> is important, <i>and which</i> we +cannot easily solve.</li> + +<li>Wrong: <i>Les Miserables</i> is a novel of great interest and which +everybody should read.</li> + +<li>Right: <i>Les Miserables</i> is a novel of great interest, and one +which everybody should read.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, +but who is now less popular than he was.</li> + +<li>Right: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, +who is now less popular than he was.</li> +</ul> + +<p><a name="article_17_Note" id="article_17_Note">Note.</a>—Rule 17 is sometimes briefly stated: "Do not use <i>and which</i> +unless you have already used <i>which</i> in the sentence." This statement is +generally true, but an exception must be made for sentences like the +following: Right: "He told me what countries he had visited, and which +ones he liked most."</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>Just outside is a small porch looking out over the street, +and which can be used for sleeping purposes.</li> + +<li>She is a woman of pleasing personality, and who can converse +intelligently.</li> + +<li>It is a difficult task, but which can be accomplished in +time.</li> + +<li>He is a good-looking man, but who is very snobbish.</li> + +<li>The rule made by the conference of college professors in +1896, and which has been followed ever since, applies to the +case we are considering.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_18" id="article_18">Unity Thwarted by Punctuation<br /> + +The Comma Splice</a></h5> + +<p><b>18. Do not splice two independent statements by means of a comma. Write +two sentences. Or, if the two statements together form a unit of +thought, combine them (1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a +semicolon, or (3) by reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a +subordinate clause.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"> +<li>Wrong: The town has two railroads, it was founded when oil was +discovered.</li> + +<li>Right: The town has two railroads. It was founded when oil was +discovered.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was, +this was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. [Here are +three commas. The reader cannot quickly discover which one +marks the great division of thought.]</li> + +<li>Right: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was. +This was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The winters were long and cold, nothing could live +without shelter.</li> + +<li>Right: The winters were long and cold. Nothing could live +without shelter.</li> + +<li>Right: The winters were long and cold, and nothing could live +without shelter [For the use of the comma, see <a href="#article_91a">91a</a>].</li> + +<li>Right: The winters were long and cold; nothing could live +without shelter [For the use of the semicolon see <a href="#article_92">92</a>].</li> + +<li>Right: The winters were so long and cold that nothing could +live without shelter.</li> +</ul> + +<p>Exception.—Short coördinate clauses which are parallel in structure and +leave a unified impression, may be joined by commas, even though the +conjunctions be omitted.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: All was excitement. The ducks quacked, the pigs +squealed, the dogs barked. [The general idea <i>excitement</i> gives +the three clauses a certain unity.]</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>The key is turned to the right, this unlocks the door.</li> + +<li>The author keeps one guessing, there is no hint how the +story will end.</li> + +<li>The farmer is independent, he has no task-master.</li> + +<li>There has been a change of government, in fact there has +been a revolution.</li> + +<li>Lamb had failed in poetry, in the drama, and in the novel, +in the essay, at last, he succeeded.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_19" id="article_19">19. EXERCISE IN UNITY OF THOUGHT</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_19A" id="article_19A">A. The Comma Splice</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Rewrite the following material in sentences each of which is a unit of +thought. Most of the statements should be summarily cut apart. If you +decide that others taken together have unity of thought, combine them +(1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a semicolon, or (3) by +reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a subordinate clause.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>The canoe is long and narrow, it is made of birch bark.</li> + +<li>I decided to serve tea, of course cream and sugar would be +needed.</li> + +<li>Some men hunt rabbits for market purposes only, they are the +sportsman's enemies.</li> + +<li>This city furnished many boats for the siege of Calais, when +these boats returned they brought the plague with them.</li> + +<li>The bottom of the box is then put in, it is nailed to the +sides.</li> + +<li>It is not easy to become a good musician, one must practice +continually.</li> + +<li>The Northern and Southern states could not be separate +nations, there was no natural boundary between them.</li> + +<li>The telephone is a great invention, it is very useful to the +farmer.</li> + +<li>Why would no one come to help me, my feet ached and I was +thirsty.</li> + +<li>I know a girl who has a cynical disposition, she is always +criticizing.</li> + +<li>I went into the office hopeless, a dime stood between me +and starvation.</li> + +<li>The construction of the bridge has much to do with the tone +of a violin, it should be lower on the side nearest the E +string.</li> + +<li>A private expense account does not require much labor or +time, just one hour a week will suffice to keep tract of all +expenditures.</li> + +<li>We offer you sixty dollars a month to start, this is all we +can afford to pay at present.</li> + +<li>He wanted personal success but would not shirk a duty or +harm any one in any way to gain that success, at all times he +forgot his own personal importance and was ready to do any task +set before him.</li> +</ol> + +<h6><a name="article_19B" id="article_19B">B. One Thought in a Sentence</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>By dividing, subordinating, or logically combining the following +statements, secure unity of thought.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 30, 1902, +where she has lived ever since and is now well known.</li> + +<li>Franklin was kindly, shrewd, and capable, and was the +representative of the United States in France.</li> + +<li>She said that Mrs. Brown was ill and that she was just +caring for the baby, she loved babies anyway, she said.</li> + +<li>One Sunday afternoon there was an excursion to Beaver and +several of us decided to go and take our lunches and return on +the eight o'clock car.</li> + +<li>He gave me the dimensions of the room. The dimensions were +ten by twelve feet.</li> + +<li>Good grades may be obtained in two ways: by honest work, and +by cheating; however any one who cheats is doing himself more +harm than good.</li> + +<li>The wall studding is made of two-by-fours. These +two-by-fours are placed sixteen inches apart.</li> + +<li>The returning Crusaders brought with them oriental learning, +and found the peasantry impoverished.</li> + +<li>The articles in this magazine are of high quality. The +articles are well written and attractively illustrated.</li> + +<li>A Japanese woman going abroad at night must carry a lighted +lamp and must not speak to any one, women do not have much +freedom in Japan.</li> + +<li>The sugar beets are irrigated by river water. They are +irrigated by means of furrows. The furrows run between the rows +of beets. The beets are irrigated once a week.</li> + +<li>The referee asked each captain if his men were ready, after +which he blew the whistle, and the game was on, and within five +minutes our team scored a touchdown.</li> + +<li>The ground should be harrowed as soon as possible after it +is plowed. It is a good plan to harrow the ground on the same +day that it is plowed, or on the day following.</li> + +<li>Choose the middle of the prepared ground, which is about +eighty-five by fifty feet, as your starting point, measure +twenty-four feet east and west and set the net posts; then, +after marking off the different courts with tape, you are ready +for a good game of tennis.</li> + +<li>There are two places on the island suitable for plays: one +in the bungalow and the other down on the sandy point; the +latter lends itself to the purpose readily, there are two trees +which make a splendid support for wires on which to hang the +curtain, and just east of these the ground slopes enough to +make a natural amphitheater.</li> +</ol> + +<h6><a name="article_19C" id="article_19C">C. Excessive Coördination</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The ideas in the following sentences are loosely strung together with +coördinating conjunctions. Place the important idea in the main clause. +Subordinate other ideas by reducing each to a dependent clause, or a +phrase, or a word.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>Chris has a new coat and it is double-breasted.</li> + +<li>I had a dog, and his name was Scratcher.</li> + +<li>He gave a laugh but it was forced.</li> + +<li>The woodcock is so foolish and deliberately walks into a +trap.</li> + +<li>The engineers fastened rafts to the piles, and which were +pulled up when the tide rose.</li> + +<li>Students often sit all doubled up, and raising their feet +high on the table.</li> + +<li>Dunlap is carrying a palette, but without any paint on it.</li> + +<li>The government has been successful in its suit, and the +tobacco trust was dissolved.</li> + +<li>The British troops had no protection against poisonous gas +and the use of gas by the enemy was unexpected.</li> + +<li>I make it a rule to study one thing at least an hour and no +long rest between.</li> + +<li>The concrete is spread in a layer, and this is about nine +inches thick, and the width being ten feet.</li> + +<li>Rockwell is our postmaster, and is accommodating, but he +has a disposition to be curious.</li> + +<li>At the Gatun Dam there are concrete locks, and the purpose +of these is to lift vessels into the lake.</li> + +<li>They say to tourists that objects are historic but which +are not historic at all.</li> + +<li>I was lying quietly in the hammock, and I happened to look +up in the tree, and there was a green bird and eating a cherry.</li> + +<li>They disputed for a time, and afterward the officer became +angry, and whipped out his sword.</li> + +<li>A mirage is an illusion and the traveler thinks he sees +water when there really is none.</li> +</ol> + +<h6><a name="article_19D" id="article_19D">D. Upside-down Subordination</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>In the following sentences the important idea is buried in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Rescue this main idea, express it in the main clause, +and if possible subordinate the rest of the sentence to it.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>I spoke to her on the street, when she did not answer.</li> + +<li>She thanked me for my assistance, also asking me to come and +visit her the following Sunday.</li> + +<li>The water froze in the buckets, although they did not burst.</li> + +<li>The crows cawed angrily and circling around in one place.</li> + +<li>He is threatened with tuberculosis, although he will not +sleep in the open air.</li> + +<li>We had hacked the bark, the tree dying after a few months.</li> + +<li>One of the contestants was from Wendover College, who +received the prize.</li> + +<li>You ask a person what a spiral staircase is, when he will go +to showing you by motions of his hand.</li> + +<li>It was about three o'clock, and we decided to return home, +which we did.</li> + +<li>The plumber came, stopping the leak as soon as he arrived.</li> + +<li>Benton sold stamps, in which business he grew rich.</li> + +<li>The sun's heat beats down upon the brick tenements, which +is terrible.</li> + +<li>The chemist tested the purity of the water, but which he +found unfit to drink.</li> + +<li>Montaigne wrote an essay on "Solitude," where he pointed +out the disadvantages of travel.</li> + +<li>The house is set close to the edge of the bluff, +overlooking a wide bend of the Alleghany River.</li> + +<li>Things had been going from bad to worse among the Indians, +and some Sioux were entertaining a few Chippewas, and murdered +them, when the government took a hand in the affair.</li> + +<li>The slight knowledge of metals and wide-awake observation +of an inexperienced miner discovered gold in Arizona.</li> +</ol> + + + +<h3><a name="clearness_of_thought">CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT</a></h3> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Clearness is fundamental. The writer should be content, not when his +meaning may be understood, but only when his meaning cannot be +misunderstood. He may attain this entire clearness by giving attention +to five matters:</p> +</div> + +<ul> +<li>Reference (<a href="#article_20">20</a>-<a href="#article_23">23</a>)</li> +<li>Coherence (<a href="#article_24">24</a>-<a href="#article_28">28</a>)</li> +<li>Parallel Structure (<a href="#article_30">30</a>-<a href="#article_31">31</a>)</li> +<li>Consistency (<a href="#article_32">32</a>-<a href="#article_35">35</a>)</li> +<li>Use of Connectives (<a href="#article_36">36</a>-<a href="#article_38">38</a>)</li> +</ul> + + +<h4><a name="reference" id="reference">REFERENCE</a></h4> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>By the use of pronouns, participles, and other dependent words, language +becomes flexible and free. But each dependent part must refer without +confusion to a word which is reasonably near, and properly expressed. +Ordinarily a reader expects a pronoun or a participle to refer to the +nearest noun (or pronoun) or to an emphatic noun.</p> +</div> + + +<h5><a name="article_20">Divided Reference</a></h5> + +<p><b>20. A pronoun should be placed near the word to which it refers, and +separated from words to which it might falsely seem to refer. If this +method does not secure clearness, discard the pronoun and change the +sentence structure.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Uncertain reference of <i>which</i>: He dropped the bundle in the +mud which he was carrying to his mother. [The reader for a +moment refers the pronoun to the wrong noun. Bring <i>which</i> +nearer to its proper antecedent <i>bundle</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: He dropped in the mud the bundle which he was carrying +to his mother.</li> + +<li>Vague reference of <i>this</i>: My failure in mathematics was +serious. My grades in English, history, and Latin were good +enough. But this brought down my average. [<i>This?</i> What <i>this</i>? +Five nouns intrude between the pronoun <i>this</i> and its proper +antecedent <i>failure</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: In English, history, and Latin I received fairly good +grades. But in mathematics I received a failure. This brought +down my average.</li> + +<li>Remote reference of <i>it</i>: If you want to make a good speech, +take your hands out of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and +throw yourself into it.</li> + +<li>Right: If you want to make a good speech, take your hands out +of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into +what you are saying. [Or, better] Take your hands out of your +pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into the +speech.</li> + +<li>Ambiguous reference of <i>he</i>: John spoke to the stranger, and he +was very surly.</li> + +<li>Right: John spoke to the stranger, who was very surly. [Or] +John spoke in a surly manner to the stranger.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_20_Note" id="article_20_Note">Note.</a>—The reference of relative and demonstrative pronouns is largely +dependent upon their position. The reference of a personal pronoun +(<i>he</i>, <i>she</i>, <i>they</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) is not so much dependent upon its position, +the main consideration being that the antecedent shall be emphatic (See +<a href="#article_21">the next article</a>.)</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He was driving an old mule attached to a cart that was blind +in one eye.</li> + +<li>There is a grimy streak on the wall over the radiator which +can be removed only with great difficulty.</li> + +<li>The feet of Chinese girls were bandaged so tightly when they +were babies that they could not grow.</li> + +<li>He gave me a receipt for the money which he told me to keep.</li> + +<li>After the pictures have been taken and the film has been +removed, they are sent to the developing room where it is +developed and dried.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_21" id="article_21">Weak Reference</a></h5> + +<p><b>21. Do not allow a pronoun to refer to a word not likely to be central +in the reader's thought; a word, for example, in the possessive case, or +in a parenthetical expression, or in a compound, or not expressed at +all. Make the pronoun refer to an emphatic word.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull +House, she always gave help. [<i>Poor woman</i> and <i>Hull House</i> are +the emphatic words, to which any pronoun used later is +instinctively referred by the reader.]</li> + +<li>Right: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull +House, she always received help. [Or] When a poor woman came to +Hull House, Jane Addams always gave help.</li> + +<li>Wrong: In biology, which is the study of plants and animals we +find that they are made up of unitary structures called cells. +[Since the words <i>plants and animals</i> occur only in a +parenthetical clause, the reader is surprised to find them used +as an antecedent.]</li> + +<li>Right: In the study of biology we find that plants and animals +are made up of unitary structures called cells.</li> + +<li>Wrong: This old scissors-grinder sharpens them for the whole +neighborhood. [The center of interest in the reader's mind is a +man, not scissors.]</li> + +<li>Right: This old scissors-grinder sharpens scissors for the +whole neighborhood.</li> + +<li>Wrong: I always liked engineers, and I have chosen that as my +profession.</li> + +<li>Right: I always liked engineering, and I have chosen it as my +profession.</li> + +<li>Absurd: When the baby is through drinking milk, it should be +disconnected and put in boiling water. [The central idea in the +reader's mind is <i>baby</i>, not <i>milk-bottle</i>. The writer may have +been thinking about the <i>bottle</i>, but he did not make the word +emphatic; in fact, he did not express it at all.]</li> + +<li>Right: When the baby is through drinking milk, the bottle +should be taken apart and put in boiling water.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_21_Note" id="article_21_Note">Note.</a>—Ordinarily, do not refer to the title in the first line of a +theme. The reader expects you to assert something, and face forward, not +to turn back to what you have said in the title.</p> + +<ul class="examples"> +<li>Faulty: +<p class="center">Color Photography</p> +<p>I am interested in this new development of science. For +a long time I ...</p></li> + +<li>Right: + +<p class="center">Color Photography</p> +<p>Taking pictures in color has long appealed to me as an interesting +possibility ...</p></li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>In Shakespeare's play <i>Othello</i> he makes Iago a fiend.</li> + +<li>The noodle-cutter is a kitchen device which saves time in +making this troublesome dish.</li> + +<li>The life of a forester is interesting, and I intend to +follow that profession.</li> + +<li>He took down his great-grandfather's old sword, who had +carried it at Bunker Hill.</li> + +<li>I was always making experiments in science, and I naturally +acquired a liking for periodicals of that nature.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_22" id="article_22">Broad Reference</a></h5> + +<p><b>22. Do not use a pronoun to refer broadly to a general idea. Supply a +definite antecedent or abandon the pronoun.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The tapper strikes the gong, which continues as long as +the push button is pressed. [The writer intends that <i>which</i> +shall refer to the entire preceding clause, but the reference +is intercepted by the word <i>gong</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: The tapper strikes the +gong, a process which continues as long as the push button is +pressed. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] The tapper strikes the +gong as long as the push button is pressed.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Read the directions which are printed on the bottle and +it may save you from making a mistake.</li> + +<li>Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: Read the directions +which are printed on the bottle. This precaution may save you +from making a mistake. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] Reading the +directions on the bottle may prevent a mistake.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The managers told him they would increase his salary if +he would represent them in South America. He refused that.</li> + +<li>Right: The managers told him they would increase his salary if +he would represent them in South America. He refused the offer.</li></ul> + +<p>Exception.—It cannot be maintained that a pronoun must <i>always</i> have +one definite word for its antecedent. Many of the best English authors +occasionally use a pronoun to refer to a clause. But the reference must +always be clear.</p> + +<p><a name="article_22_Note" id="article_22_Note">Note.</a>—Impersonal constructions must be used with caution. "It is +raining" is correct, although <i>it</i> has no antecedent. We desire that the +antecedent shall be vague, impersonal. But unnecessary use of the +indefinite <i>it</i>, <i>you</i>, or <i>they</i> should be avoided.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: It says in our history that Columbus was an Italian.</li> + +<li>Right: Our history says that Columbus was an Italian.</li> + +<li>Not complimentary to the reader: You aren't hanged nowadays for +stealing.</li> + +<li>Right: No one is hanged nowadays for stealing.</li> + +<li>Faulty: They are noted for their tact in France.</li> + +<li>Right: The French are noted for their tact.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>You use little slang in your paper which is commendable.</li> + +<li>They had no reinforcements which caused them to lose the +battle.</li> + +<li>The carbon must be removed from pig iron to make pure steel, +and that is done by terrific heat.</li> + +<li>Our stenographer spends most of her spare time at a cheap +movie theater, which is in itself an index of her character.</li> + +<li>It says in the new rules that you aren't allowed in the +building on Sunday.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_23" id="article_23">Dangling Participle or Gerund</a></h5> + +<p><b>23. A participle, being dependent, must refer to a noun or pronoun. The +noun or pronoun should be within the sentence which contains the +participle, and should be so conspicuous that the participle will be +associated with it instantly and without confusion.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Coming in on the train, the high school building is +seen. [Is the building coming in? If not, who is?]</li> + +<li>Right: Coming in on the train, one sees the high school +building.</li></ul> + +<p>A sentence containing a dangling participle may be corrected (1) by +giving the word to which the participle refers a conspicuous position in +the sentence, or (2) by replacing the participial phrase by some other +construction.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Having taken our seats, the umpire announced the +batteries.</li> + +<li>Right: Having taken our seats, we heard the umpire announce +the batteries. [Or] When we had taken our seats, the umpire +announced the batteries.</li> + +<li>Wrong: She was for a long time sick, caused by overwork. [The +participle <i>caused</i> should not modify <i>sick</i>. A participle is +used as an adjective, and should therefore modify a noun.]</li> + +<li>Right—using an adjectival modifier: + +<div>She had a long sickness, + +<div class="inline"> + <ul> + <li>caused by</li> + <li>due to</li> + </ul> +</div> + +overwork.</div></li> + +<li>Right—using an adverbial modifier: + +<div>She was for a long time sick + +<div class="inline"> + <ul> + <li>because of</li> + <li>owing to</li> + <li>on account of</li> + </ul> +</div> + +overwork.</div></li></ul> + +<p><b>When a gerund phrase (<i>in passing</i>, <i>while speaking</i> <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) implies the +action of a special agent, indicate what the agent is. Otherwise the +phrase will be dangling.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: In talking to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Brown the other day, he told me that +you intend to buy a car.</li> + +<li>Better: In talking to Mr. Brown the other day, I learned that +you intend to buy a car.</li> + +<li>Faulty: The address was concluded by reciting a passage from +Wordsworth.</li> + +<li>Better: The speaker concluded his address by reciting a passage +from Wordsworth. [Or] The address was concluded by the +recitation of a passage from Wordsworth.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_23_Note" id="article_23_Note">Note.</a>—Two other kinds of dangling modifier, treated elsewhere in this +book, may be briefly mentioned here. A phrase beginning with the +adjective <i>due</i> should refer to a noun; otherwise the phrase is left +dangling (See <a href="#article_5_Note">5 Note</a>). An elliptical sentence (one from +which words are omitted) is faulty when one of the elements is left +dangling (See <a href="#article_3">3</a>).</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: I was late <i>due</i> to carelessness [Use <i>because of</i>].</li> + +<li>Ludicrous: My shoestring always breaks when hurrying to the +office at eight o'clock [Say <i>when I am hurrying</i>].</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Coming out of the house, a street car is seen.</li> + +<li>While engaged in conversation with my host and hostess, my +maid placed upon the table a steaming leg of lamb.</li> + +<li>A small quantity of gold is thoroughly mixed with a few +drops of turpentine, using the spatula to work it smooth.</li> + +<li>After being in the oven twenty minutes, open the door. When +fully baked, you are ready to put the sauce on the pudding.</li> + +<li>Entering the store, a soda fountain is observed. Passing +down the aisle, a candy counter comes into view. The rear of +the store is bright and pleasant, caused by a skylight.</li></ol> + + +<h4><a name="coherence" id="coherence">COHERENCE</a></h4> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The verb <i>cohere</i> means to stick or hold firmly together. And the noun +<i>coherence</i> as applied to writing means a close and natural sequence of +parts. Order is essential to clearness.</p> +</div> + + +<h5><a name="article_24" id="article_24">General Incoherence</a></h5> + +<p><b>24. Every part of a sentence must have a clear and natural connection +with the adjoining part. Like or related parts should normally be placed +together.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bring related ideas together: Little Helen stood beside the +horse wearing white stockings and slippers.</li> + +<li>Right: Little Helen, in white stockings and slippers, stood +beside the horse.</li> + +<li>Keep unlike ideas apart: The colors of purple and green are +pleasing to the eye as found in the thistle.</li> + +<li>Right: The purple and green colors of the thistle are +pleasing.</li> + +<li>Distribute unrelated modifiers, instead of bunching them: I +found a heap of snow on my bed in the morning + which had drifted in through the window. [Subject +verb—object—place—time—explanation.]</li> + +<li>Right: In the morning I found on my bed +<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing the article 'a'">a</ins> heap of snow which had drifted in through the window. +[Time—subject verb—place—object—explanation.]</li> + +<li>Bring related modifiers together: When he has prepared his +lessons, he will come, as soon as he can put on his old +clothes. [Condition—main clause—condition.]</li> + +<li>Right: When he has prepared his lessons and put on his old +clothes, he will come. [Condition and condition—main clause.]</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He was gazing at the landscape which he had painted with a +smiling face.</li> + +<li>She turned the steak with a fork which she was cooking for +dinner every few minutes.</li> + +<li>Dickens puts the various experiences he had in the form of a +novel when he was a boy.</li> + +<li>If the roads are made of dirt, the farmer has to wait, if +the weather is rainy, till they dry.</li> + +<li>We received practically very little or none at all +experience in writing themes.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_25" id="article_25">Logical Sequence</a></h5> + +<p><b>25. Place first in the sentence the idea which naturally comes first in +thought or in the order of time.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: We went to the station from the house after bidding all +goodby.</li> + +<li>Right: We said goodby to all, and went from the house to the +station.</li></ul> + +<p><b>Do not begin one idea, abandon it for a second, and <ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'them'">then</ins> return to the first. Complete one idea at a time.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: She looked up as he approached and smoothed her hair. +[The writer begins a main clause, changes to a subordinate +clause, and then attempts to add more to the main clause. +Unfortunately the last two verbs appear to be coördinate.]</li> + +<li>Right: She looked up and smoothed her hair as he approached. +[Or] As he approached she looked up, and smoothed her hair.</li></ul> + +<p><b>Ordinarily, let a second thought begin where the first leaves off.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: An orange grove requires plenty of water. The young +trees will die if they do not have plenty of water. [The order +of ideas is: "Grove ... water. Trees ... water." Reverse the +order of the second sentence.]</li> + +<li>Right: An orange grove requires plenty of water. For without +water the young trees will die. [Now the order of ideas is: +"Grove ... water. Water ... trees."]</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I boarded the train, after buying a ticket.</li> + +<li>I dropped my pen when the whistle blew and sighed.</li> + +<li>Unless the bank clerk has ability he will never be +successful unless he works faithfully and hard.</li> + +<li>I remember the days when Rover was a pup. Now he is not half +so interesting as he was then.</li> + +<li>A chessboard is divided into sixty-four squares, and there +is plenty of room between the opposing armies for a terrific +battle, since each army occupies only sixteen squares.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_26" id="article_26">Squinting Modifier</a></h5> + +<p><b>26. Avoid the squinting construction. That is, do not place between two +parts of a sentence a modifier that may attach itself to either. Place +the modifier where it cannot be misunderstood.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Confusing: I told him when the time came I would do it. [<i>When +the time came</i> is said to "squint" because the reader cannot +tell whether it looks forward to the end of the sentence, or +backward to the beginning.]</li> + +<li>Right: When the time came, I told him I would do it. [Or] I +told him I would do it when the time came.</li> + +<li>Confusing: Some friends I knew would enjoy the play. [<i>I knew</i> +squints.]</li> + +<li>Right: Some friends would enjoy the play, I knew.</li> + +<li>Confusing: The orator whom every one was calling for +enthusiastically hurried to the platform. [<i>Enthusiastically</i> +squints.]</li> + +<li>Clear: The orator whom every one was enthusiastically calling +for hurried to the platform.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The man who laughs half the time does not understand the +joke.</li> + +<li>Playing football in many ways improves the mind.</li> + +<li>When she reached home much to her disgust the door was +locked.</li> + +<li>When the lightning struck for the first time in my life I +was afraid.</li> + +<li>The landlord wrote that he would if the rent were not paid +in thirty days eject the tenant.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_27" id="article_27">Misplaced Word</a></h5> + +<p><b>27. Such an adverb as <i>only</i>, <i>ever</i>, <i>almost</i>, should be placed near +the word it modifies, and separated from words which it might falsely +seem to modify. Such a conjunction as <i>nevertheless</i>, if required with a +clause, should usually be placed near the beginning.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Illogical: I only need a few dollars.</li> + +<li>Right: I need only a few dollars.</li> + +<li>Illogical: I don't ever intend to go there again.</li> + +<li>Right: I don't intend ever to go there again. [Or] I intend +never to go there again.</li> + +<li>Illogical: She has the sweetest voice I nearly ever heard.</li> + +<li>Right: She has nearly [or <i>almost</i>] the sweetest voice I ever +heard.</li> + +<li>Tardy use of conjunction: I intend to try. I do not expect to +accomplish much, however.</li> + +<li>Right: I intend to try. I do not, however, expect to accomplish +much.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Students are only admitted to one lecture.</li> + +<li>This is the smallest book I almost ever saw.</li> + +<li>He is so poor he hasn't any food, scarcely.</li> + +<li>She had one dress that she never expected to wear.</li> + +<li>The difficulties were tremendous. He said that he would do +his best, nevertheless.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_28" id="article_28">Split Construction</a></h5> + +<p><b>28. Elements that have a close grammatical connection should not be +separated awkwardly or carelessly. These elements are: (a) subject and +verb, or verb and object; (b) the parts of a compound verb; and (c) the +parts of an infinitive.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Awkward: One in the struggle for efficiency should not become a +machine.</li> + +<li>Better: In the struggle for efficiency one should not become a +machine.</li> + +<li>Awkward: What use of an education could a girl who married a +penniless rogue and afterwards knew +nothing but hard labor, make?</li> + +<li>Better: What use of an education could a girl make who married +a penniless rogue and afterward knew nothing but hard labor?</li> + +<li>Crude: He was unable to even so much as stir a foot.</li> + +<li>Better: He was unable even to stir a foot.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_28_Note" id="article_28_Note">Note.</a>—It is often desirable to separate the forms enumerated under (a) +and (b) above, either for emphasis (See <a href="#article_40">40</a>) or to avoid a +bunching of modifiers at the end of a sentence (See <a href="#article_24">24</a>). +The whole point of rule 28 is not to depart from a natural order +needlessly.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>One thing the beginner must remember is to not get excited.</li> + +<li>Ralph, when he heard the news, came flying out of the house.</li> + +<li>The president called together, for the need was urgent, his +cabinet.</li> + +<li>Bryce said that it is more patriotic to judiciously vote +than to frantically wave the American flag.</li> + +<li>About the time Florence Nightingale had to give up her +plans, a war between Turkey, England, and France on one side +and Russia on the other, broke out.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_29" id="article_29">29. EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_29A" id="article_29A">A. Reference of Pronouns</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>In the following sentences make the reference of pronouns exact and +unmistakable.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Brown wrote to Roberts that he had made a mistake.</li> + +<li>We heard a voice through the door which told us to enter.</li> + +<li>There is a walk leading from the street to the house which +is made of thin slabs of stone.</li> + +<li>A milking stool was beside the cow on which he was +accustomed to sit.</li> + +<li>Should a community, such as a small village, spend the money +they do on roads?</li> + +<li>This magazine prints many special articles on politics and +social reforms that are always instructive.</li> + +<li>I wish I could do something for the protection of birds in +our country which is neglected.</li> + +<li>After a man has failed in one business, it is no sign he +will fail in every other.</li> + +<li>Sometimes cane syrup is mixed with the maple syrup, which +reduces the value of the product.</li> + +<li>It means hard and diligent work to study Latin, but it +strengthens our brain or at least it gives it good exercise.</li> + +<li>In the class room the students become acquainted, which may +develop into lifelong friendships.</li> + +<li>He was delighted with a ride on horseback, which animal he +had been familiar with in his childhood on the farm.</li> + +<li>It says in our history that the battle of New Orleans was +fought after the treaty of peace had been signed.</li> + +<li>Sparks flew about in the air, and it reminded me of a huge +Fourth of July celebration.</li> + +<li>The doctor gave me medicine to stop the dull pain in my +head. This made me feel much better.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_29B" id="article_29B">B. Dangling Modifiers</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Remembering that a participle is used as an adjective and must therefore +refer to a noun or pronoun, correct the following sentences. Gerund +phrases and a few elliptical sentences are included in the list.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Having planned the basement, the next thing considered was +the first floor.</li> + +<li>Glancing around the room, the ugly wall paper at once +confronted me.</li> + +<li>After ringing the bell, and waiting a few moments, a maid +came to the door.</li> + +<li>When selecting a site for an orchard, it should be well +drained.</li> + +<li>Not being a skilled dancer, my feet moved awkwardly.</li> + +<li>Having no watch, the clock must be consulted.</li> + +<li>He was sick, caused by eating too much dessert.</li> + +<li>Radium is very difficult to get, making it the most valuable +metal.</li> + +<li>One man goes home and beats his wife, resulting in internal +injuries.</li> + +<li>Over the paper and kindling a few small chunks of coal are +scattered, taking care not to choke the draft.</li> + +<li>In speaking of character, it does not mean to be a governor +or a general.</li> + +<li>This town draws trade for a radius of twenty miles, thus +accounting for the large volume of business.</li> + +<li>While talking to Ralph yesterday, he spoke about his recent +success in the hardware business.</li> + +<li>The bus holds fifteen people, and when full, the bus man +shuts the door.</li> + +<li>If bright and pleasant, the rabbit will be found sitting at +the entrance of his burrow.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_29C" id="article_29C">C. Coherence</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Secure a clear, smooth, natural order for the following sentences.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I have a lot for sale near the city limits.</li> + +<li>Many men can only speak their native tongue.</li> + +<li>I saw yesterday, crossing the street, a beautiful woman.</li> + +<li>They entered the room, and sitting on the floor they saw a +baby.</li> + +<li>I put down my book when the clock struck and yawned.</li> + +<li>She dropped the money on the sidewalk which she was carrying +home.</li> + +<li>The horse did not notice that the gate was open for several +minutes.</li> + +<li>It was worth the trouble. I do not wish to have the +experience again, however.</li> + +<li>My first trip away from home, of any distance, was made on a +steamboat from St. Louis to New Orleans.</li> + +<li>He gazed at a young man who was waving his hands violently, +called a cheer leader.</li> + +<li>Any soil will grow some variety of strawberry, except sand +and clay.</li> + +<li>I turned triumphantly to Will, who was still gazing at the +place where the muskrat sank with a beaming face.</li> + +<li>Only the interest, the principal being kept intact, is +spent.</li> + +<li>A student should see that external conditions are favorable +for study, such as light, temperature, and clothing.</li> + +<li>Draw a heavy line using a ruler to connect New York and San +Francisco across the map.</li></ol> + + +<h4><a name="parallel_structure" id="parallel_structure">PARALLEL STRUCTURE</a></h4> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>When the structure of a sentence is simple and uniform, the important +words strike the eye at once. Compare the following:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Parallel: Beggars must not be choosers.</li> + +<li>Confusing: Beggars must not be the one who choose.</li></ul> + +<p>A reader gives attention partly to the structure of a sentence, and +partly to the thought. The less we puzzle him with our structure, the +more we shall impress him with our thought.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Parallel: Seeing is believing. [Attention goes to the thought.]</li> + +<li>Confusing: Seeing is to believe. [Attention is diverted to +<i>structure</i>.]</li></ul> + +<p>The reader's expectation is that uniform structure shall accompany +uniform ideas, and that a departure from uniformity shall indicate a +change of thought.</p> +</div> + + +<h5><a name="article_30" id="article_30">Parallel Structure for Parallel Thoughts</a></h5> + +<p><b>30. Give parallel structure to those parts of a sentence which are +parallel in thought. Do not needlessly interchange an infinitive with a +participle, a phrase with a clause, a single word with a phrase or +clause, a main clause with a dependent clause, one voice or mode of the +verb with another, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: Riding is sometimes better exercise than to walk.</li> + +<li>Right: Riding is sometimes better exercise than walking. [Or] +To ride is sometimes better exercise than to walk.</li> + +<li>Faulty: He had two desires, of which the first was for money; +in the second place, he wanted fame.</li> + +<li>Right: He had two desires, of which the first was for money and +the second for fame. [Or] He had two desires: in the first +place, he wanted money; in the second, fame.</li> + +<li>Faulty: His rival handled cigars of better quality and having a +higher selling price.</li> + +<li>Right: His rival handled cigars of better quality and higher +price.</li> + +<li>Faulty: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, +and after a little practice you will be a good driver.</li> + +<li>Right: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, +and had a little practice, you will be a good driver. [Or] +After you master the gears and have a little practice, you will +be a good driver.</li> + +<li>Faulty. These are the duties of the president of a literary +society: + +<ol class="AL"> +<li>To preside at regular meetings,</li> +<li>He calls special meetings,</li> +<li>Appointment of committees.</li> +</ol> +</li> + +<li>Right: These are the duties of the president of a literary +society: + +<ol class="AL"> +<li>To preside at regular meetings,</li> +<li>To call special meetings,</li> +<li>To appoint committees.</li> +</ol> +</li> + +<li>Faulty: She was actively connected with the club, church, and +with several organized charities. [Here parallelism is obscured +by the omission from the second phrase of both the preposition +and the article.]</li> + +<li>Right: She was actively connected with the club, with the +church, and with several organized charities.</li> + +<li>Faulty: He was red-faced, awkward, and had a disposition to eat +everything on the table. [The third element is like the others +in thought, and should have similar form.]</li> + +<li>Right: He had a red face, an awkward manner, and a disposition +to eat everything on the table. [Or] He was red-faced, awkward, +and voracious.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_30_Note" id="article_30_Note">Note.</a>—Avoid misleading parallelism. For ideas <i>different</i> in kind, do +<i>not</i> use parallel structure.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He was hot, puffing, and evidently had run very hard. +[The third element is unlike the others in thought; hence the +<i>and</i> is misleading.]</li> + +<li>Right: He was hot and puffing; evidently he had run very hard.</li> + +<li>Confusing: He was admired for his knowledge of science, and for +his taste for art, and for this I too honor him. [The last +<i>for</i> gives a false parallelism to unlike thoughts.]</li> + +<li>Better: He was admired for his scientific knowledge and for his +artistic taste. I honor him for both these qualities.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The duties of the secretary are to answer correspondence, +and keeping the minutes of the meetings.</li> + +<li>This process is the most difficult; it costs the most; and +is most important.</li> + +<li>I make it a rule to be orderly, spend no money foolishly, +and keep still when I have nothing to say.</li> + +<li>The cotton is put up in bales about five feet in length and +three feet wide and four thick, and one of them weighing about +five hundred pounds.</li> + +<li>Considerations of economy that one should bear in mind when +planning a house are: first, a rectangular ground-plan; second, +a one-chimney plan; third, to have only one stairway; fourth, +eliminate as many doors as possible; fifth, the bathroom should +be above the kitchen so as to reduce the cost of plumbing; and +lastly, the rooms should be few and large rather than small and +many of them.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_31" id="article_31">Correlatives</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Conjunctions that are used in pairs are called correlatives; for +example, <i>not only</i> ... <i>but also</i> ...<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing comma">,</ins> <i>both</i> ... <i>and</i> +..., <i>either</i> ... <i>or</i> ..., <i>neither</i> ... <i>nor</i> ..., <i>not</i> ... <i>or</i> ..., +<i>whether</i> ... <i>or</i> ....</p> +</div> + +<p><b>31. Correlatives should usually be followed by elements parallel in +form; if a predicate follows one, a predicate should follow the other; +if a prepositional phrase follows one, a prepositional phrase should +follow the other; and so on.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: He was not only courteous to rich customers but also to +poor ones. [Here the phrases intended to be balanced against +each other are <i>to rich customer's</i> and <i>to poor ones</i>. As the +sentence stands, it is the word <i>courteous</i> that is balanced +against <i>to poor ones</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: He was courteous not only to rich customers but also to +poor ones.</li> + +<li>Faulty: She could neither make up her mind to go nor could she +decide to stay.</li> + +<li>Right: She could neither make up her mind to go nor decide to +stay. [Or] She could not make up her mind either to go or to +stay.</li> + +<li>Faulty: I talked both with Brown and Miller. [Here one +conjunction is followed by a preposition and the other by a +noun.]</li> + +<li>Right: I talked with both Brown and Miller. [Or] I talked both +with Brown and with Miller.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He was courteous to both friends and his enemies.</li> + +<li>Such conduct is not only dangerous to society but becomes a +national disgrace as well.</li> + +<li>She had neither affectation of manners nor was she +sharp-tongued.</li> + +<li>After reading Thoreau's <i>Walden</i> I appreciate not only the +style but also I am inclined to believe in his ideas.</li> + +<li>The good that the delegates derive from the convention not +only helps them, but they tell others what happened.</li></ol> + + +<h4><a name="consistency" id="consistency">CONSISTENCY</a></h4> + +<h5><a name="article_32" id="article_32">Shift in Subject or Voice</a></h5> + +<p><b>32. Do not needlessly shift the subject, voice, or mode in the middle of +a sentence. Keep one point of view, until there is a reason for +changing.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: In the stream which the road led over, fish were +plentiful. [Here the first mental picture is of a stream. Then +the thought is jerked away to the road above. Then it returns +to the fish in the stream.]</li> + +<li>Right: In the stream which flowed under the roadway, fish were +plentiful.</li> + +<li>Faulty: Mark Twain was born in the West, but the East was his +home in later years. [The change of subject is uncalled for.]</li> + +<li>Right: Mark Twain was born in the West, but lived in the East +in his later years. [Or] The West was the birthplace of Mark +Twain, and the East was his home in his later years.</li> + +<li>Faulty: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of +gasoline, and at the same time very little lubricating oil is +used. [The shift from active to passive voice is awkward and +confusing.]</li> + +<li>Right: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of +gasoline, and at the same time use very little lubricating oil.</li> + +<li>Faulty: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when we wish +to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of +mathematics is indispensable.</li> + +<li>Right: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when certain +formulas are to be calculated, a knowledge of mathematics is +indispensable. [Or] When we face a problem in chemistry, or +wish to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of +mathematics is indispensable.</li> + +<li>Faulty: Next the ground should be harrowed. Then you sow the +wheat. [The subject changes from <i>ground</i> to <i>you</i>. One verb +explains what <i>should</i> be done, the other what somebody +<i>does</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: Next the ground + +<div class="inline"> + <ul> + <li>is</li> + <li>should be</li> + </ul> +</div> + +harrowed. Then it + +<div class="inline"> + <ul> + <li>is</li> + <li>should be</li> + </ul> +</div> + +sown to wheat. [Or] Next you should harrow +the ground. Then you should sow the wheat.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>One end of a camera carries the film, and the lens and +shutter are in the other end.</li> + +<li>When an athlete is in training, good healthful food should +be eaten.</li> + +<li>An engineer's time is not devoted to one branch of science, +but should include many.</li> + +<li>By having only five men in charge of our city government, +they would have more power, and we could then fix +responsibility.</li> + +<li>There are two main classes of cake, sponge and butter. We +are taught to make both in cooking school. I like the sponge +cake. The butter cake is preferred by most persons.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_33" id="article_33">Shift in Number, Person, or Tense</a></h5> + +<p><b>33. Avoid an inconsistent change in number, person, or tense.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty change in number: One should save their money.</li> + +<li>Right: People should save their money. [Or] A man should save +his money.</li> + +<li>Faulty change in person: Place the seeds in water, and in a few +days a person can see that they have started to grow.</li> + +<li>Right: Place the seeds in water, and in a few days you will see +that they have started to grow.</li> + +<li>Faulty change in number: Take your umbrella with you. They will +be needed today.</li> + +<li>Right: Take your umbrella with you. You will need it today.</li> + +<li>Faulty change in tense: Freedom means that a man may conduct +his affairs as he pleases so long as he did not injure anybody +else.</li> + +<li>Right: Freedom means that a man may conduct his affairs as he +pleases so long as he does not injure anybody else.</li> + +<li>Faulty change in tense: When he heard the news, he hurries down +town and buys a paper.</li> + +<li>Right: When he heard the news, he hurried down town and bought +a paper.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_33_Note" id="article_33_Note">Note.</a>—A change of tense within a sentence is desirable and necessary in +certain instances, for which see <a href="#article_55">55</a>.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, for the sake of vividness, past events are described in the +present tense, as if they were taking place before our eyes. This usage +is called the <i>historical present</i>. A shift to the historical present +should not be made abruptly, or frequently, or for any subject except an +important crisis.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>A person should be careful of their conduct.</li> + +<li>Sentences should be so formed that the reader feels it to be +a unit.</li> + +<li>One should make the best of their surroundings and their +possessions, provided they cannot better them.</li> + +<li>When he sees me coming, he looked the other way.</li> + +<li>Silas Marner lost many of his habits of solitude, and goes +out among his neighbors.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_34" id="article_34">Mixed Constructions</a></h5> + +<p><b>34. Do not make a compromise between two constructions.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: I cannot help but go.</li> + +<li>Right: I cannot help going. [Or] I cannot but go. [Or] I can +but go.</li> + +<li>Faulty: They are as following:</li> + +<li>Right: They are as follows: [Or] They are the following:</li> + +<li>Faulty: He tried, but of no avail.</li> + +<li>Right: He tried, but to no avail. [Or] He tried, but his effort +was of no avail.</li> + +<li>Faulty: There is no honor to be on this committee.</li> + +<li>Right: It is no honor to be on this committee. [Or] There is no +honor in being on this committee.</li> + +<li>Faulty: Sparks from the chimney caught the house on fire.</li> + +<li>Right: Sparks from the chimney set the house on fire. [Or] The +house caught fire from the sparks from the chimney.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_34_Note" id="article_34_Note">Note.</a>—The double negative and kindred expressions (<i>not hardly</i>, <i>not +scarcely</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) are an especially gross form of mixed construction.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He isn't no better now than he was then. [Logically, not +no better means <i>better</i>. The two negatives cancel each other +and leave an affirmative.]</li> + +<li>Right: He isn't any better now than he was then. [Or] He is no +better now than he was then.</li> + +<li>Wrong: She couldn't see her friend nowhere.</li> + +<li>Right: She couldn't see her friend anywhere. [Or] She could see +her friend nowhere.</li> + +<li>Wrong: We couldn't hardly see through the mist.</li> + +<li>Right: We could hardly see through the mist. [Or] We couldn't +see well through the mist.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He doesn't come here no more.</li> + +<li>I cannot help but make this error.</li> + +<li>I remember scarcely nothing of the occurrence.</li> + +<li>I would not remain there only a few days.</li> + +<li>John would not do this under no circumstances.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_35" id="article_35">Mixed Imagery</a></h5> + +<p><b>35. Avoid phrases which may call up conflicting mental images. When +using metaphor, simile, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>, carry one figure of speech through, +instead of shifting to another, or dropping suddenly back into literal +speech.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Crude: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the heart of +the cotton belt.</li> + +<li>Right: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the South.</li> + +<li>Crude: He traveled a rough road and climbed with his burden the +ladder of success, where he is a glowing example and guide to +other men. [The suggestion which a reader with a sense of humor +may get is, that a man starts out as a traveler, suddenly +becomes a hod-carrier, and is then transformed into a bonfire +or a lighthouse.]</li> + +<li>Right: He traveled a rough road, but found success. Other men +followed in his steps.</li> + +<li>Incongruous: Spring came scattering flowers, and there was rain +a great per cent of the time. [This sentence mingles the +language of poetry with the language of science. It should be +fanciful, or else literal, throughout.]</li> + +<li>Right: Spring came scattering flowers and rain. [Or] Spring +came with much rain and many flowers.</li> + +<li>Inconsistent use of irony: The phonograph was shrieking, "Waltz +me around again, Willie." I am sure I love that beautiful song. +The taste of the people who attend these cheap theaters is +deplorable. [The three sentences should be ironical throughout, +or not ironical at all.]</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>We should meet the future from the optimistic point of view.</li> + +<li>General Wolfe put every ounce of his life into the capture +of Quebec.</li> + +<li>A key-note of sincerity should be the mainspring of a +well-built speech.</li> + +<li>He went drifting down the sands of time on flowery beds of +ease.</li> + +<li>The blank in my mind crystallized into action.</li></ol> + + +<h4><a name="use_of_connectives" id="use_of_connectives">USE OF CONNECTIVES</a></h4> + +<h5><a name="article_36" id="article_36">The Exact Connective</a></h5> + +<p><b>36. Use a connective which expresses the exact relation between two +clauses. Distinguish between time and cause, concession and condition, +<abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr> Do not overwork <i>and</i>, <i>so</i>, or <i>while</i>.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Misleading: <i>While</i> he is sick, he is able to walk. [Use +<i>though</i>.]</li> + +<li>Misleading: Miss Brown sang, <i>while</i> her sister spoke a piece. +[Use <i>but</i>.]</li> + +<li>Faulty. Work hard <i>when</i> you want to succeed. [Use <i>if</i>.]</li> + +<li>Faulty: They will be sorry <i>without</i> they do this. [Use +<i>unless</i>.]</li> + +<li>Faulty: Little poetry is read, <i>only</i> at times when it is +compulsory. [Use <i>except</i>.]</li> + +<li>Faulty. The early morning and evening are the best times to +find ducks, <i>and</i> we did not see many flying. [Use <i>and for +that reason</i>.]</li> + +<li>Faulty: Corbin says: "In America sportsmanship is almost a +passion," <i>and</i> in England "the player very seldom forgets that +he is a man first and an athlete afterward." [Use <i>whereas</i>.]</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_36_Note" id="article_36_Note">Note.</a>—<i>So</i> is an elastic word that covers a multitude of vague +meanings. Language has need of such a word, and in many instances +(especially when the relation between clauses is obvious and does not +need to be pointed out) <i>so</i> serves well enough. Use it, but not as a +substitute for more exact connectives. Beware of falling into the +"<i>so</i>-habit."</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Abuse of <i>so</i> as a vague coördinating connective: So I went to +call on Mrs. Woods, and so she told me about Mrs. White's new +gown; so then I missed the car, and so of course our supper is +late. [Strike out every <i>so</i>.]</li> + +<li>Abuse of <i>so</i> as a subordinating connective: You may go, <i>so</i> +you keep still. [Use <i>provided</i>.] <i>So</i> you do only that, I +shall be satisfied. [Use <i>though</i>.]</li> + +<li>Permissible: I was excited, so I missed the target.</li></ul> + +<p><i>So</i> may sometimes be used to express result. But when a clause of +result is important and needs emphasis, it is perhaps better to strike +out <i>so</i> and subordinate the preceding clause.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: In my excitement I missed the target.</li> + +<li>Right: Because I was excited, I missed the target.</li> + +<li>Right: Being excited, I missed the target.</li></ul> + + +<h6><a name="list_of_connectives" id="list_of_connectives">List of Connectives</a></h6> + +<p><b>A. With Coördinate Clauses, expressing</b></p> + +<ol><li><b>Addition:</b> and, besides, furthermore, again, in addition, in +like manner, likewise, moreover, then too, and finally.</li> + +<li><b>Contrast:</b> but, and yet, however, in spite of, in contrast to +this, nevertheless, notwithstanding, nor, on the contrary, for +all that, rather still, but unhappily, yet unfortunately, +whereas.</li> + +<li><b>Alternative:</b> or, nor, else, otherwise, neither, nor, or on +the other hand.</li> + +<li><b>Consequence:</b> therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, in +this way, it follows that, the consequence is, and under such +circumstances, wherefore, thus, as a result, as a consequence.</li> + +<li><b>Explanation:</b> for example, for instance, in particular, more +specifically, for, because.</li> + +<li><b>Repetition for emphasis:</b> in other words, that is to say, and +assuredly, certainly, in fact, and in truth, indeed it is +certain, undoubtedly, for example, in the same way, as I have +said.</li></ol> + +<p><b>B. With Subordinate Adverb Clauses, expressing</b></p> + +<ol><li><b>Time:</b> when, then, before, while, after, until at last, as +long as, now that, upon which, until, whenever, whereupon, +meanwhile.</li> + +<li><b>Place:</b> where, whence, whither, wherever.</li> + +<li><b>Degree or Comparison:</b> as, more than, rather than, than, to +the degree in which.</li> + +<li><b>Manner:</b> as, as if, as though.</li> + +<li><b>Cause:</b> because, for, as, inasmuch as, since, owing to the +fact that, seeing that, in that.</li> + +<li><b>Purpose:</b> that, so that, in order that, lest.</li> + +<li><b>Result:</b> that is, so that, but that.</li> + +<li><b>Condition:</b> if, provided that, in case that, on condition +that, supposing that, unless.</li> + +<li><b>Concession:</b> though, although, assuming that, admitting that, +granting that, even if, no matter how, notwithstanding, of +course.</li></ol> + +<p><b>C. With Adjective Clauses.</b> Adjective or relative clauses are introduced +by who, which, that, or an equivalent compound.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Insert within the parentheses all the connectives that might +conceivably be used, and underscore the one which you consider +to be most exact:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>He is not a broad-minded man; ( ) he has many prejudices.</li> + +<li>A number of friends came in, bringing refreshments, ( ) +we spent a delightful evening.</li> + +<li>We ought to return now, for it is growing dark; ( ) I +told Mary we would be home at six o'clock.</li> + +<li>I do not believe that climate is responsible for many of the +differences between races, ( ) Taine says that it is.</li> + +<li>She took the letter from me and read it slowly, ( ) her +eyes filled with tears.</li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_37" id ="article_37">Repetition of Connective with a Gain in Clearness</a></h5> + +<p><b>37. Connectives that accompany a parallel series should be repeated when +clearness requires.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Preposition to be repeated: He was regarded as a hero by all +who had known him at school, and especially his old school +mates.</li> + +<li>Right: He was regarded as a hero <i>by</i> all who had known him at +school, and especially <i>by</i> his old school mates.</li> + +<li>Sign of the infinitive to be repeated: He wishes to join with +those who love freedom and justice, and end needless suffering.</li> + +<li>Right: He wishes <i>to</i> join with those who love freedom and +justice, and <i>to</i> end needless suffering.</li> + +<li>Conjunction to be repeated: Since he was known to have +succeeded in earlier enterprises, though confronted by +difficulties that would have taxed the ability of older men, +and his powers were now acknowledged to be mature, he was put +in charge of the undertaking.</li> + +<li>Right: <i>Since</i> he was known to have succeeded in earlier +enterprises, though confronted by difficulties that would have +taxed the ability of older men, and <i>since</i> his powers were now +acknowledged to be mature, he was put in charge of the +undertaking.</li> + +<li>Conjunction to be repeated: He explained that the strikers +asked only a fair hearing, since their contentions were +misunderstood; were by no means in favor of the violent +measures to which the public had grown accustomed; and had no +desire to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property.</li> + +<li>Right: He explained <i>that</i> the strikers asked only a fair +hearing, since their contentions were misunderstood; <i>that</i> +they were by no means in favor of the violent measures to which +the public had grown accustomed; and <i>that</i> they had no desire +to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The place is often visited by fishermen who catch some +strange varieties of fish and especially summer tourists.</li> + +<li>The worth of a man depends upon his character, not his +possessions. 3. He was delighted with that part of the city +which overlooked the harbor and bay, and especially the citadel +on the highest point.</li> + +<li>Although he was so youthful in appearance that the +recruiting officer must have known he was under twenty-one, and +had not yet become a fully naturalized citizen, his effort to +enlist met with immediate success.</li> + +<li>In the course of his speech he said that he was a foreigner, +he came to this country when he was fourteen years old, landing +in New York with his only possessions tied in a handkerchief, +went to work in an iron foundry, and after many years of toil +he found himself at the head of a great industry.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_38" id="article_38">Repetition of Connective with a Loss in Clearness</a></h5> + +<p><b>38. Do not complicate thought by persistent repetition of elements +beginning with <i>that</i>, <i>which</i>, <i>of</i>, <i>for</i>, or <i>but</i>, and NOT parallel +in structure.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Complicated repetition of <i>that</i>: He gave a quarter to the boy +that brought the paper that printed the news that the war was +ended. [<i>That</i>, <i>which</i>, and <i>who</i> are often used carelessly to +form a chain of subordinate clauses. Three successive +subordinations are all that a reader can possibly keep +straight; ordinarily a writer should not exceed two. But in +parallel structure (See <a href="#article_30">30</a> and <a href="#article_37">37</a>) the number of +<i>that</i>, <i>which</i>, or <i>who</i> clauses does not matter; a writer may +fill a page with them and not confuse the reader at all.]</li> + +<li>Right: He gave the boy a quarter for bringing him the paper +with the news that the war was ended.</li> + +<li>Complicated repetition of <i>of</i>: The East Side Civics Club is an +organization of helpers of the helpless of the lower classes of +the city.</li> + +<li>Right: The East Side Civics Club is organized to help the +helpless poor of the city.</li> + +<li>Complicated repetition of <i>for</i>: The general was dismayed, for +he had not expected resistance, for he had thought the power of +the enemy was shattered.</li> + +<li>Right: The general was dismayed; he had not expected +resistance, for he had thought the power of the enemy was +shattered.</li> + +<li>Complicated repetition of <i>but</i>: He was undoubtedly a brave +man, but now he was somewhat alarmed, but he would not turn +back.</li> + +<li>Right: He was undoubtedly a brave <ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'men'">man</ins>; though +now somewhat alarmed, he would not turn back. [Or] He was +undoubtedly a brave man. He was now somewhat alarmed, but he +would not turn back.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_38_Note" id="article_38_Note">Note.</a>—Guard against the <i>but</i>-habit. Frequent recurrence of <i>but</i> makes +the reader's thought "tack" or change its course too often. There are +ways to avoid an excessive use of <i>but</i> and <i>however</i>. When one wishes +to write about two things, A and B, which are opposed, he need not rush +back and forth from one idea to the other. Let him first say all he +wants to say about A. Then let him deliberately use the adversative +<i>but</i>, and proceed to the discussion of B. In the following paragraph on +"Whipping Children" the writer tries to be on both sides of the fence at +once.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Confusing: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed, than +to explain and argue. <i>But</i> the gentler method is better. <i>Yet</i> +we all admit that the birch must be used sometimes. <i>However</i>, +if it is used only for serious <ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'trangressions'">transgressions</ins>, the child will have a sense of proportion +regarding what offenses are grave. <i>But</i> for ordinary small +misdemeanors I think we need a new motto: Spoil the rod and +spare the child.</li> + +<li>Right: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed than to +explain and argue. And of course we all admit that the birch +must be used sometimes. <i>But</i> if it is used only for serious +transgressions, the child will have a sense of proportion +regarding what offenses are grave. For ordinary small +misdemeanors I think we need a new motto: Spoil the rod and +spare the child.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He did not agree at first, but hesitated for a time, but +finally said that he would go along.</li> + +<li>Push down on the foot lever, which closes a switch which +starts an electric motor which turns the flywheel so that the +gasoline engine starts.</li> + +<li>Apple dumplings are good, but they must be properly baked, +but fortunately this is not difficult to do.</li> + +<li>The work of the course consists partly of the study of the +principles of grammar and of rhetoric, partly of the writing of +themes, partly of oral composition, and partly of the reading +and study of models of English prose.</li> + +<li>The landscape which lay before me was one which was +different from any which I had ever seen before. There was one +thing which impressed me, and that was the miles and miles of +grass which stretched and undulated away from the hill on which +I stood.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_39" id="article_39">39. EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_39A" id="article_39A">A. Parallel Structure</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Give parallel structure to elements which are parallel in thought.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Baskets are of practical value as well as being used for +ornaments.</li> + +<li>The Book of Job ought to be interesting to a student, or for +anybody.</li> + +<li>The important considerations are whether the soil is sandy, +and if it is well drained, and that it shall be easily +cultivated.</li> + +<li>A flower garden is a source of profit—profit not measured +in money but in pleasure.</li> + +<li>He was successful in business, and also attained success in +the political world.</li> + +<li>Whether his object was writing for pastime, or to please a +friend, or money, we do not know.</li> + +<li>Always praise your enemy, because if you whip him your glory +is increased, and if he whips you it lets you down easy.</li> + +<li>Either the ship will sink in the rough sea or go to pieces +on the shore.</li> + +<li>An athlete must possess strength, nerve, and be able to +think quickly.</li> + +<li>We were interested in buying some dry-goods, and at the +same time see the sights of the great city.</li> + +<li>Some people talk foolishness, and others on serious +subjects, and some keep still.</li> + +<li>Not only she noticed my condition, but commented on it.</li> + +<li>He abides by neither the laws of God nor man. He spoke both +to Harry and Tom.</li> + +<li>It is good for the health of one's mind to get new ideas +every day, and expressing them clearly in writing.</li> + +<li>Everyone who is capable of understanding the tax laws +should know them and how they are abused.</li> + +<li>I began by making applications at federal, state, and city +employment bureaus for a position as cost accountant, salesman, +or clerical work.</li> + +<li>The damage to the trunk was caused by rough handling and +not from faults in construction.</li> + +<li>Pope, Swift, Addison, and Defoe were four satirists, but +differing greatly in their work.</li> + +<li>The occupants of these buildings are engaged in various +kinds of business, namely: shoe-shining, shoe repair shops, +cleaning and pressing clothes, confectionery stores, and +restaurants.</li> + +<li>I sing of geese: of the Biblical goose, that blew his bugle +from the roof of Noah's Ark; the classical goose that picked +his livelihood along the shores of the Ægean; of the +historical goose, that squawked to save old Rome; the mercenary +goose, laying the golden egg; and, finally, of the roast goose.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_39B" id="article_39B">B. Shift in Subject or Voice</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Rewrite the following sentences, avoiding all unnecessary shift in +construction.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>After you decide on the plan of the house, your attention is +turned to the materials of construction.</li> + +<li>Editors are careful to use words that are exact, yet simple, +and the use of technical terms is not generally considered to +be good.</li> + +<li>Bank accounts should be balanced once a month in order that +you may know your exact standing.</li> + +<li>We should have our athletic contest between the weakest +students, and in that way they will become physically strong.</li> + +<li>When one is making a long-distance run, several cautions +should be borne in mind by him.</li> + +<li>In melody the poem is good, but the author's ideas are +eccentric.</li> + +<li>Lincoln's sentences are plain, blunt, and to the point. He +lacks the ornate eloquence of Jefferson.</li> + +<li>The operator places a large shovelful of concrete in the +mold, and the mixture is made solid by tamping.</li> + +<li>He might become angry, but it was over in a few minutes.</li> + +<li>The pauper chanced to gain entrance to the royal palace, +and while there the young prince is met by him.</li> + +<li>When the weather is hot, plowing is accomplished very +slowly with horses, while on the tractor the heat has no +effect.</li> + +<li>First, one should mix one-half cup of corn syrup and one +cup of brown sugar; then one cup of cream and the flavoring are +added.</li> + +<li>In the college situated in a small town there are +dormitories for the student, but in the cities they usually +room where they please.</li> + +<li>An education should enable us to tell the valuable from +the cheap book, and by it we should be able to tell the true +from the counterfeit man.</li> + +<li>Moisten the sand thoroughly and set the box in a warm +place, and in about a week's time it can readily be seen by the +way the grains have sprouted which ears of seed corn have +greatest vitality.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_39C" id="article_39C">C. Shift in Number, Person, or Tense</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Rewrite the following sentences, removing all inconsistency in +grammatical form.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Every one has a right to their own opinion.</li> + +<li>Bryant rushed to the window and shouts at the postman.</li> + +<li>The life of the honey bee has been studied, and their +activities found to be remarkable.</li> + +<li>He says to me, "Are you ready?" And I answered, "No."</li> + +<li>When a person keeps a store, you should remember the names +and faces of your customers.</li> + +<li>An automobile is expensive, and they are liable to become an +elephant on your hands.</li> + +<li>If one studies the market, he would find that prices rise +every year.</li> + +<li>If one went to Europe, he will find everything different.</li> + +<li>Since these tires were different in construction, the method +of repairing will vary.</li> + +<li>Contentment is a state of mind in which one is satisfied +with themselves and their surroundings.</li> + +<li>It is easy to catch 'possums if you can find the rascal.</li> + +<li>The writer of a theme should not waste time on a long +introduction, and get to the facts of your subject as quickly +as possible.</li> + +<li>Shakespeare's comedies are great fun. I prefer it to +tragedy.</li> + +<li>Often a man will knock at the door, and finds no one at +home.</li> + +<li>Too much attention will spoil a child. They should not be +entertained every minute.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_39D" id="article_39D">D. The Exact Connective</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Each of the following sentences contains an idea which is, or may be, +subordinate to another idea. (1) Decide what kind of subordinate +relation should exist between the ideas. (2) Determine what connective +best expresses this relation. (Consult <a href="#article_36">36</a> for a list of connectives.<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing parenthesis">)</ins> (3) Write the sentence as it +should be.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Wealth is a good thing, while honest wealth is better.</li> + +<li>Spend an hour in the open air every day when you want to +keep your health.</li> + +<li>The rattlesnake gives warning and it is only afterward that +he strikes.</li> + +<li>South Americans are our national neighbors, and we as a +nation should understand them.</li> + +<li>The city man knows nothing about a cow, only that it has +horns.</li> + +<li>He got up early in order that he might be able to see the +sunrise.</li> + +<li>The tenderfoot saw the funnel-shaped cloud when he made for +a cyclone cellar.</li> + +<li>Men fear what they do not understand, and a coward is one +who is ignorant.</li> + +<li>Hinting did not influence her; then he tried scolding.</li> + +<li>The valet spilled the wine, and the duke started up with an +oath.</li> + +<li>While he writhed on the ground, he was not really hurt.</li> + +<li>He will not cash the check without you indorse it.</li> + +<li>We want this work done by the first of April, so please +send an estimate soon.</li> + +<li>He had traveled everywhere, and he had a vivid recollection +of only three scenes: Niagara Falls, the Jungfrau, and Lake +Como.</li> + +<li>I never hear him talk but he makes me angry.</li> + +<li>Animals have some of the same feelings as human beings +have.</li> + +<li>It was four o'clock and we decided to return and be home +for supper.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_39E" id="article_39E">E. Repetition of Connectives</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>In the following sentences determine whether repetition is desirable or +undesirable, and change the sentences accordingly.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>With the coming of meal time, the potatoes are removed from +the fire with a fork with a long handle.</li> + +<li>His clothes were brushed and neat, but patched and +repatched. But still he could be bright and cheery.</li> + +<li>To no other magazine do I look forward to the arrival of its +new issue, more than I do to the <i>World's Work</i>.</li> + +<li>At the time the book was written, I believe Forster was +considered to be almost the best biographer living at that +time.</li> + +<li>The freshman has no spirit until the sophomores have +provoked him until he resists until he finds that he has +spirit.</li> + +<li>Some socialists are against the present system of +initiative, referendum, and recall, but advocate a system much +like it but applied in a different way.</li> + +<li>The gun with which the Germans bombarded Paris with had a +range of seventy-five miles.</li> + +<li>Basketball is a game that I have played for years, and I am +greatly interested in.</li> + +<li>This is the lever which throws the switch which directs the +train that takes the track that goes to Boston.</li> + +<li>Short talks were made by the captain, the coach, and by the +faculty.</li> + +<li>At this school one can study to be a doctor, dentist, +farmer, a lawyer, or an engineer.</li> + +<li>I like to cross the harbor on the ferry, to dodge in and +out among the ships, see the gulls dart among the waves, smell +the sharp tang of salty air, and to feel the rocking motion of +the boat.</li> + +<li>In the sultry autumn, and when the winter's storms came, +and when in spring the winds whistled, and in the summer's +heat, he always wore the same old coat.</li> + +<li>He knew that if he did not ignite the piece of wet bark +this time, that he could not dry his clothing or broil the +bacon.</li> + +<li>The next speaker said that the need was critical, the +schools must be enlarged, and that the paving now begun must be +completed, and a new board of health should be created, that +the interest on past debts had to be paid, and the city +treasury was at this moment out of funds.</li></ol> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="emphasis" id="emphasis">EMPHASIS</a></h2> + + +<h5><a name="article_40" id="article_40">Emphasis by Position</a></h5> + +<p><b>40. Reserve the emphatic positions in a sentence for important words or +ideas. (The emphatic positions are the beginning and the end—especially +the end.)</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Weak ending: Then like a flash a vivid memory of my uncle's +death came to me.</li> + +<li>Weak: I demand the release of the prisoners, in the first +place.</li> + +<li>Weak: This principle is one we cannot afford to accept, if my +understanding of the question is correct.</li></ul> + +<p>Place the important idea at the end. Secure, if possible, an emphatic +beginning. "Tuck in" unimportant modifiers.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Emphatic: Like a flash came to me a vivid memory of my uncle's +death.</li> + +<li>Emphatic: I demand, in the first place, the release of the +prisoners.</li> + +<li>Emphatic: This principle, if my understanding of the question +is correct, is one we cannot afford to accept.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>"War is inevitable," he said.</li> + +<li>The cat had been poisoned to all appearances.</li> + +<li>There are several methods of learning to swim, as everyone +knows.</li> + +<li>A liar is as bad as a thief, in my estimation.</li> + +<li>He saw a fight below him in the street, happening to look +out of the window.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_41" id="article_41">Emphasis by Separation</a></h5> + +<p><b>41. An idea which needs much emphasis may be detached, and allowed to +stand in a sentence by itself.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: The flames were by this time beyond control, and the +walls collapsed, and several firemen were hurt. [The ideas here +are too important to be run together in one sentence.]</li> + +<li>Right: By this time the flames were beyond control, and the +walls collapsed. Several firemen were hurt.</li></ul> + +<p>A quotation gains emphasis when it is separated from what follows.</p> + +<ul class="examples"> +<li>Faulty: +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Gang aft a-gley,"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +are some lines from Burns which McDonald was always quoting.</li> + +<li>Right: +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Gang aft a-gley."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +McDonald was always quoting these lines from Burns.</li></ul> + +<p>Direct discourse is more emphatic when it is separated from explanatory +phrases, particularly from those which follow.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted defiantly, "I +will never consent to that!" and he looked as if he meant what +he said.</li> + +<li>Right: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted his defiance: "I +will never agree to that!" And he looked as if he meant what he +said.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>After the tents are pitched, the beds made, and the fires +started, the first meal is cooked and served, and this meal is +the beginning of camp-life joy.</li> + +<li>He tried to make his wife vote for his own, the Citizen's +Party, but she firmly refused.</li> + +<li>At the word of command the dog rushed forward; the covey +rose with a mighty whir, and the hunter fired both barrels, and +the dog looked in vain for a dead bird, and then returned +disconsolate.</li> + +<li>I sat and gazed at the motto, "Aim high, and believe +yourself capable of great things," which my mother had placed +there for me.</li> + +<li><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, and Thou<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Beside me singing in the Wilderness."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +were the four things Omar Khayyam wanted to make him happy.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_42" id="article_42">Emphasis by Subordination</a></h5> + +<p><b>42. Do not place the important idea of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Make the important idea grammatically independent. If +possible, subordinate the rest of the sentence to it.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: He had a manner which made me angry.</li> + +<li>Faulty: The fire spread to the third story, when the house was +doomed.</li> + +<li>Faulty: For years the Indians molested the white people, +thereby causing the settlers to want revenge.</li></ul> + +<p>The important idea should not be placed in a <i>which</i> clause, or a <i>when</i> +clause, or a participial phrase.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: His manner made me angry.</li> + +<li>Right: When the fire spread to the third story, the house was +doomed.</li> + +<li>Right: Years of molestation by the Indians made the white men +want revenge.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I was riding on the train, when suddenly there was an +accident.</li> + +<li>There are two windows in each bedroom, thus insuring good +ventilation.</li> + +<li>Yonder is the house which is my home.</li> + +<li>He saw that argument was useless, so he let her talk.</li> + +<li>His clothes were very old, making him look like a tramp.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_43" id="article_43">The Periodic Sentence</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>A sentence is periodic when the completion of the main thought is +delayed until the end. This delay creates a feeling of suspense. A +periodic sentence is doubly emphatic: it has emphasis by position +because the important idea comes at the end; it has emphasis by +subordination because all ideas except the last one are grammatically +dependent.</p> +</div> + +<p><b>43. To give emphasis to a loosely constructed sentence, turn it into +periodic form.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Loose: I saw two men fight a duel, many years ago, on a moonlit +summer night, in a little village in northern France. [What is +most important, the time? the place? or the actual duel? Place +the important idea last.]</li> + +<li>Periodic: Many years ago, on a moonlit summer night, in a +little village in northern France, I saw two men fight a duel.</li> + +<li>Loose: We left Yellowstone Gateway for the ride of our lives in +a six-horse tally-ho. [Place the important idea last, <i>and make +all other ideas grammatically subordinate</i>.]</li> + +<li>Periodic: Leaving Yellowstone Gateway in a six-horse tally-ho, +we had the ride of our lives.</li> + +<li>Loose: The river was swollen with incessant rain, and it swept +away the dam. [Which is the important idea? Why not make it +appear more important by subordinating everything to it?]</li> + +<li>Periodic: The river, swollen with incessant rain, swept away +the dam.</li> + +<li>Loose: War means to have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness +rudely broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, +to saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national +hatred.</li> + +<li>Periodic: To have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness rudely +broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, to +saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national +hatred—this is war.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I am happy when the spring comes, when the sun is warm, when +the fields revive.</li> + +<li>He cares nothing for culture, for justice, for progress.</li> + +<li>As the boat gathered speed, the golden sun was setting far +across the harbor.</li> + +<li>He amassed a great fortune, standing there behind his dingy +counter, discounting bills, pinching coins, buying cheap and +selling dear.</li> + +<li>The shattered aqueducts, pier beyond pier, melt into the +darkness, from the plains to the mountains.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_44" id="article_44">Order of Climax</a></h5> + +<p><b>44. In a series of words, phrases, or clauses of noticeable difference +in strength, use the order of climax.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong order: He was insolent and lazy.</li> + +<li>Weak ending: Literature has expanded into a sea, where before +it was only a small stream.</li> + +<li>Weak ending: As we listened to his story we felt the sordid +misery and the peril and fear of war.</li> + +<li>Emphatic: He was lazy and insolent.</li> + +<li>Emphatic: The stream of literature has swollen into a torrent, +expanded into a sea.</li> + +<li>Emphatic: As we listened to his story we felt the fear, the +peril, the sordid misery of war.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>We boarded the train, after having bought our tickets and +checked our baggage.</li> + +<li>War brings famine, death, disease after it.</li> + +<li>They have broken up our homes, enslaved our children, and +stolen our property.</li> + +<li>In the old story, the drunken man, carried into the duke's +palace, sees himself surrounded with luxury, and imagines +himself a true prince, after waking up.</li> + +<li>The becalmed mariners were famished, hungry.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_45" id="article_45">The Balanced Sentence</a></h5> + +<p><b>45. Two ideas similar or opposite in thought gain in emphasis when set +off, one against the other, in similar constructions.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Weak and straggling: This paper, like many others, has many bad +features, but in some ways it is very good. The news articles +are far better than the editorials, which are feeble.</li> + +<li>Balanced structure: This paper is in some respects good; in +other respects very poor. The news articles are impressive, the +editorials are feeble.</li> + +<li>Weak and complicated: From the East a man who lives in the West +can learn a great deal, and an Easterner ought to be able to +understand the West.</li> + +<li>Balanced: A Westerner can learn much from the East, and an +Easterner needs to understand the West.</li> + +<li>Weak: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger writers. +Mill taught some of them to reason, but many more of them +learned from Macaulay only a superficial eloquence.</li> + +<li>Balanced: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger +writers. If Mill taught some of them to reason, Macaulay +tempted many more of them to declaim.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_45_Note" id="article_45_Note">Note.</a>—Although excessive use of balance is artificial, occasional use +of it is powerful. It can give to writing either dignity (as in an +oration) or point (as in an epigram). Observe how many proverbs are in +balanced structure. "Seeing is believing.—Nothing venture, nothing +have.—For every grain of wit there is a grain of folly.—You cannot do +wrong without suffering wrong.—An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." +Note the effective use of balance in Emerson's <i>Essays</i>, particularly in +<i>Compensation</i>; and in the Old Testament, particularly in <i>Psalms</i> and +<i>Proverbs</i>.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Machinery is of course labor-saving, but countless men are +thrown out of work.</li> + +<li>There is a difference between success in business and in +acquiring culture.</li> + +<li>I attend concerts for the pleasure of it, and to get an +understanding of music.</li> + +<li>The stag in the fable admired his horns and blamed his feet; +but when the hunter came, his feet saved him, and afterward, +caught in the thicket, he was destroyed by his horns.</li> + +<li>We do not see the stars at evening, sometimes because there +are clouds intervening, but oftener because there are +glimmerings of light; thus many truths escape us from the +obscurity we stand in, and many more from the state of mind +which induces us to sit down satisfied with our imaginations +and of our knowledge unsuspicious. [This sentence is correctly +balanced, except at the end.]</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_46" id="article_46">The Weak Effect of the Passive Voice</a></h5> + +<p><b>46. Use the active voice unless there is a reason for doing otherwise. +The passive voice is, as the name implies, not emphatic.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Weak: Your gift is appreciated by me.</li> + +<li>Better: I appreciate your gift.</li> + +<li>Weak and vague: His step on the porch was heard.</li> + +<li>Better: His step sounded on the porch. [Or] I heard his step on +the porch.</li></ul> + +<p>The passive voice is especially objectionable when by failing to +indicate the agent of the verb it unnecessarily mystifies the reader.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Vague: The train was seen speeding toward us.</li> + +<li>Better: We saw the train speeding toward us.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Their minds were changed frequently as to what profession +should be taken up by them.</li> + +<li>A gun should be examined and oiled well before a hunter +starts.</li> + +<li>Finally the serenaders were recognized.</li> + +<li>In athletics a man is developed physically.</li> + +<li>If a man uses slang constantly, a good impression is not +made.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_47" id="article_47">Effective Repetition</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_47a">47a.</a> The simplest and most natural way to emphasize a word or an idea is +to repeat it.</b> The Bible is the best standard of simplicity and dignity +in our language, and the Bible uses repetition constantly. A word or +idea that is repeated must, of course, be important enough to deserve +emphasis.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Fairly emphatic: He works and toils and labors, but he seems +never to get anywhere.</li> + +<li>Very emphatic: Work, work, work, all he does is work, and still +he seems never to get anywhere.</li> + +<li>Fairly emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He +withdrew before it!</li> + +<li>Very emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He +withdrew! He retreated! He ran away!</li> + +<li>Homely but emphatic: "I went under," said the old salt; "bows, +gunnels, and starn—all under."</li> + +<li>Deliberately too emphatic: Everywhere we hear of +efficiency—efficiency experts, efficiency bureaus, efficiency +methods, in the office, in the school, in the home—until one +longs to fly to some savage island beyond the reach of inhuman +modern science.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_47b">b.</a> Not only words, but an entire grammatical structure may be repeated +on a large scale for emphasis.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Weak: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good +condition, and that you will favor us with other orders in the +future, which will be given prompt and courteous attention. +[This sentence is flimsy and spineless because the writer had a +timid reluctance to repeat.]</li> + +<li>Strong: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good +condition. We believe that the quality of our goods will induce +you to send us a second order. We assure you that such an order +will receive prompt and courteous attention. [Note the emphasis +derived from the resolute march of the expressions <i>We hope</i>, +<i>We believe</i>, <i>We assure</i>.]</li> + +<li>Emphatic: Through the patience, the courage, the high character +of Alfred the country was saved—saved from the rapacities of +fortune, saved from the malignancy of its enemies, saved from +the sluggish despair of the people of England themselves.</li> + +<li>Emphatic and natural: This corner of the garden was my first +playground. Here I made my first toddling effort to walk. Here +on the soft grass I learned the delight of out-of-doors. Here I +became acquainted with the bull-frog, and the bumble-bee, and +the neighbor's dog.</li> + +<li>Emphatic and delightful: He maketh me to lie down in green +pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth +my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his +name's sake.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He kept digging away for gold through long years.</li> + +<li>Breaking against the shore, came innumerable waves.</li> + +<li>Sand, sagebrush, shimmering flat horizon. I could not endure +the barren monotony of the desert.</li> + +<li>We want you to come and visit us, and bring along a good +appetite and your customary high spirits. Plan to stay a long +time.</li> + +<li>'Twas bitter cold outside. The cat meowed until I had to let +her in.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_48" id="article_48">Offensive Repetition</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Careless repetition attracts attention to words that do not need +emphasis. It is extremely annoying to the reader.</p> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_48a" id="article_48a">48a.</a> Unless a word or phrase is repeated deliberately to gain force or +clearness, its repetition is a blunder. Get rid of recurring expressions +in one of three ways: (1) by substituting equivalent expressions, (2) by +using pronouns more liberally, (3) by rearranging the sentence so as to +say once what has awkwardly been said twice.</b> Each of these schemes is +illustrated below.</p> + +<p><b>1.</b> Repetition cured by the use of equivalent expressions (synonyms).</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad: <i>Just</i> as we were half way down the lake, <i>just</i> off +Milwaukee, we <i>began</i> to feel a slight motion of the ship and +the <i>wind began</i> to freshen. The <i>wind began</i> to blow more +fiercely from the south and the waves <i>began</i> to leap high. The +boat <i>began</i> to pitch and roll.</li> + +<li>Right: <i>Just</i> as we were half way down the lake, <i>opposite</i> +Milwaukee, we began to feel a slight motion of the ship, for +the wind <i>had</i> freshened. Before long <i>a gale</i>, <i>blowing</i> from +the south, <i>kicked up a heavy sea and caused</i> the boat to pitch +and roll. [Notice how combining the last two sentences helps to +solve the problem of the last <i>began</i>, besides giving firmer +texture to the construction.]</li></ul> + +<p><b>2.</b> Repetition cured by the use of pronouns. (In using this method, one +should take care that the reference of the pronouns is clear.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad: The <i>Law Building</i>, the <i>Commerce Building</i>, and the +<i>Science Building</i> are close together. The <i>Commerce Building</i> +is south of the <i>Law Building</i>, and the <i>Science Building</i> is +south of the <i>Commerce Building</i>. The <i>Law Building</i> is old and +dilapidated. The <i>Commerce Building</i> is a red brick <i>building</i>, +trimmed in terra-cotta. The <i>Science Building</i> resembles the +<i>Commerce Building</i>.</li> + +<li>Right: The Law, Commerce, and Science Buildings are close +together in a row. <i>The first of these</i> is old and dilapidated. +South of it stands the Commerce Building, <i>which</i>, because of +<i>its</i> red brick and terra-cotta trimmings, somewhat resembles +the Science Building.</li></ul> + +<p><b>3.</b> Repetition cured by rearranging and condensing.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad: The <i>autumn</i> is my favorite of all the <i>seasons</i>. While +<i>autumn</i> in the <i>city</i> is not such a pleasant <i>season</i> as +<i>autumn</i> in the country, yet even in the <i>city</i> my preference +will always be for the <i>autumn</i>.</li> + +<li>Right: My favorite season is autumn. I like it best in the +country, but even in the city it is the best time of the year.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_48b" id="article_48b">b.</a> Avoid a monotonous repetition of sentence structure. To give variety +to successive sentences: (1) vary the length, (2) vary the beginnings, +(3) avoid a series of similar compound sentences, (4) interchange loose +with periodic structure, (5) use rhetorical question, exclamation, +direct discourse, (6) avoid an excessive use of participles or +adjectives.</b></p> + +<p><b>1.</b> Vary the length of sentences.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his arms. She +was wet from head to toe. Damp curls clung to her pale face. +Water dripped from her clothes. One hand hung loosely over +Walter's arm. The other held a live duckling. She had saved +the little duck from drowning. This was Betty's first day in +the country.</li> + +<li>Right: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his +arms—little Betty who was spending her first day in the +country. She was wet from head to toe; damp curls clung to her +pale face, and water dripped from her clothes. In one hand she +held a live duckling. Her face lighted with courage as she told +how she jumped into the pond and saved the little duck from +drowning.</li></ul> + +<p><b>2.</b> Vary the beginnings of sentences. Do not allow too many sentences to +begin with the subject, or with a time clause, or with a participle, or +with <i>so</i>. When you have finished a composition, rapidly read over the +opening words of each sentence, to see if there is sufficient variety.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad [too many sentences begin directly with the subject]: Our +way is circuitous. A sharp turn brings us round a rocky point. +The road drops suddenly into a little valley. The roof of a +house appears in a grove of trees below. A cottage is there and +a flower garden. An old-fashioned well is near the door.</li> + +<li>Right: Presently, on our circuitous way, we make a sharp turn +round a rocky point. Before us the road drops suddenly into a +little valley. In a grove of trees below appears the roof of a +house, and as we draw nearer we see a cottage surrounded by +flowers. Nothing could be more attractive to a weary traveler +than the old-fashioned well near the door.</li></ul> + +<p><b>3.</b> Avoid a series of similar compound sentences, especially those of two +parts of equal length, joined by <i>and</i> or <i>but</i>.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his +master. One day there came a deep snow, and the flock did not +return. They found the herder frozen stiff, and the dog +shivering beside him.</li> + +<li>Right: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his +master. One day there came a deep snow. When the flock failed +to return, the men became uneasy, and began to search. They +found the herder frozen stiff, with the dog shivering beside +him.</li></ul> + +<p><b>4.</b> Change occasionally from loose to periodic or balanced structure (See +<a href="#article_43">43</a> and <a href="#article_45">45</a>).</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Monotonous: I stood at the foot of Tunbridge hill. I saw on the +horizon a dense wood, which, in the evening sunlight, was +veiled in purple haze [Loose]. On the left was the village, the +houses appearing like specks in the distance [Loose]. Nearer on +the right was the creek, winding through the willows [Loose]. +The creek approached nearer until it reached the dam, over +which it rushed tumultuously [Loose]. Near by was a thicket of +tall trees, through which I could see the white tents of my +fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires [Loose].</li> + +<li>Right: Far south from Tunbridge hill, on the dim horizon, I +saw, veiled in the evening haze, a dense wood [Periodic, long, +conveying the idea of distance better than a loose sentence]. +On my left stood the village, the houses like specks; on my +right wound the creek, nearer and nearer through the willows +[Balanced]. The creek advanced by slow sinuous turns, until, +reaching the dam, it plunged over tumultuously [Loose]. Through +a thicket of tall trees, near at hand, I could see the white +tents of my fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires +[Periodic through the middle of the sentence; then loose].</li></ul> + +<p><b>5.</b> Use question, exclamation, direct quotation.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Somewhat flat: He asked me the road to Camden. I did not know. +I told him to ask Thurber, who knew the country well.</li> + +<li>Better: He asked me the road to Camden. The road to Camden? How +should I know? "Ask Thurber," I said impatiently; "he knows +this country. I'm a stranger."</li></ul> + +<p><b>6.</b> Avoid an excessive use of participles. Do not pile adjectives around +every noun. Above all, do not form a habit of using adjectives in pairs +or triplets.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad: Sitting by the window, I saw a sharp, dazzling flash of +lightning, and heard a loud rumbling crash of heavy thunder, +warning me of the coming of the storm. Darting across the gray, +leaden sky, the quick, jagged lightning flashed incessantly. +The tall stately poplar trees thrashed around in the boisterous +wind. Then across the window, like a great white curtain, swept +the streaming, blinding rain.</li> + +<li>Right: I sat by the window. Suddenly a sharp flash of lightning +and a roll of thunder gave warning of the approach of a storm. +Soon lightning zig-zagged across the sky incessantly. The wind +huddled the poplar trees. Then like a white curtain across the +window streamed the rain.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The parts of the tables are not put together at the factory, +but the different parts are shipped in different shipments.</li> + +<li>In order to convince the reader that the present management +of farms is inefficient, I shall give some examples of +efficiency in the farm management on some farms with which I am +acquainted.</li> + +<li>When one wishes to learn how to swim one must first become +accustomed to the water. The best way to become accustomed to +the water is to go into it frequently. After one has become +accustomed to the water he may begin to learn the strokes.</li> + +<li><i>The Life of Sir Walter Scott</i>, written by J. G. Lockhart, +is an interesting biography of this great writer. It consists +of a short biography by Scott himself, and also consists of a +continuation of this biography by his son-in-law, J. G. +Lockhart.</li> + +<li>If a piece of steel is kept hot for several seconds, it will +lose some of its hardness. If kept hot longer, it will lose +more of its hardness. Along with losing its hardness it will +lose its brittleness. If the piece of steel is heated +continually it will lose nearly all its hardness and +brittleness. In other words, it will lose its "temper."</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_49" id="article_49">49. EXERCISE IN EMPHASIS</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_49A" id="article_49A">A. Lack of Emphasis in General</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Make the following sentences emphatic.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The man is a thief who fails in business but continues to +live in luxury.</li> + +<li>The plant was withered and dry, not having been watered for +over a week.</li> + +<li>Much time is saved in Chicago by taking the elevated cars, +if you have a great distance to travel.</li> + +<li>The clock struck eleven, when he immediately seized his hat +and left.</li> + +<li>These liberal terms should be taken advantage of by us.</li> + +<li>The study of biology has proved very interesting, as far as +I have gone.</li> + +<li>Who is this that comes to the foot of the guillotine, +crouching, trembling?</li> + +<li>They must pay the penalty. Their death is necessary. They +have caused harm enough.</li> + +<li>I intend to get up fifteen minutes earlier, thereby giving +myself time to eat a good breakfast.</li> + +<li>The book was reread several times, for I never grew tired +of it.</li> + +<li>"What is the aim of a university education?" the speaker +asked.</li> + +<li>A bicycle is sometimes ridden when a tire contains no air, +total ruin resulting from the weight of the rim upon the flat +tire.</li> + +<li>He sprang forward the instant the pistol cracked, since the +start of a sprint is very important, and one cannot overdo the +practicing of it.</li> + +<li>Sometimes the fuses fail to burn, or burn too fast, causing +an explosion before the workmen are prepared for it.</li> + +<li>How father made soap was always a mystery to me. Cracklings +saved from butchering time, lye, and water went into the kettle +on a warm spring day and came out in the form of soap a few +hours later, to my great astonishment.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_49B" id="article_49B">B. Loose or Unemphatic Structure</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Make the following sentences more emphatic by throwing them into +periodic form.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>It was Tom, as I had expected.</li> + +<li>I will not tell, no matter how you beg.</li> + +<li>The supremacy of the old river steamboat is gone forever, +unless conditions should be utterly changed.</li> + +<li>Across the desert he traveled alone, and over strange seas, +and through quaint foreign villages.</li> + +<li>The hot water dissolves the glue in the muresco, making the +mixture more easily applied.</li> + +<li>Visions of rich meadows and harvest-laden fields now pass +before my eyes, as I sit by the fire.</li> + +<li>Some of the women were weeping bitterly, thinking they would +never see their homes again.</li> + +<li>I splashed along on foot for three miles after night in a +driving rain.</li> + +<li>Very high rent is demanded, thus keeping the peasants +constantly in debt.</li> + +<li>Roderigo was in despair because he had been rejected by +Desdemona, and was ready to end his life, by the time Iago +entered.</li> + +<li>Through storm and cold the open boat was brought to the +shore at last, after toil and suffering, with great difficulty.</li> + +<li>The car came to a violent stop against a rock pile, after +it demolished two fences, upset a hen-house, and scared a pig +out of his wits.</li> + +<li>The Panama Canal is the fulfilment of the dreams of old +Spanish adventurers, the desires of later merchant princes, +and the demand of modern nations for free traffic on the seas.</li> + +<li>The fiddle yelled, and the feet of the dancers beat the +floor, and the spectators applauded, and the room fairly rang.</li> + +<li>The man with the best character, not the man with most +money, will come out on top in the end.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_49C" id="article_49C">C. Faulty Repetition</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Repetition in the following sentences is objectionable, because it +attracts attention to words or constructions that do not need to be +emphasized. Improve the sentences, avoiding unnecessary repetition.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He is a great friend of boys, and views things from the +boys' point of view.</li> + +<li>In the case of the strike at Lawrence, Massachusetts, the +real cause was low wages caused by immigration and child labor.</li> + +<li>First, a subject must be chosen, and in choosing a subject, +choose one that you know something about.</li> + +<li>There are great opportunities in the field of science, and a +scientist who makes a mark in the world of science makes a mark +for himself everywhere.</li> + +<li>While the practical man is learning skill in the practical +world, the college man is attaining a development of mentality +that will surpass that of the practical man when the college +man learns the skill of the practical man.</li> + +<li>The field is dragged and rolled. Dragging and rolling leaves +the ground smooth and ready for planting.</li> + +<li>A great number and variety of articles appears in every +issue. There is a complete review of each subject. It is +treated in a short, but thorough manner.</li> + +<li>They gave me a hearty welcome. They stood back and looked at +me. They wanted to see if three months in the city had made any +changes in me. But they said it had not.</li> + +<li>Engineering is looked upon by many students as an easy and +uninteresting study, but to my knowledge it is not +uninteresting and easy. Engineering is probably one of the +hardest courses in college. To me it is also the most +interesting.</li> + +<li>A duck hunter should have a place to hunt where ducks are +frequently found in duck season. Ducks often light in the +backwater along a river, and in ponds. They are often found in +small lakes. Corn fields are common feeding places for ducks. +Ducks make regular trips to cornfields within reach of a body +of water such as a river or lake. It is their nature to spend +the night in the water, and in the morning and in the evening +they go out to the fields to feed.</li></ol> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="grammar" id="grammar"></a>GRAMMAR</h2> + + +<h5><a name="article_50" id="article_50">Case</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_50a" id="article_50a">50a.</a> The subject of a verb is in the nominative case, even when the verb +is remote, or understood (not expressed).</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: They are as old as us.</li> + +<li>Right: They are as old as we [are].</li> + +<li>Wrong: He is taller than her.</li> + +<li>Right: He is taller than she [is].</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_50a_Note" id="article_50a_Note">Note.</a>—<i>Than</i> and <i>as</i> are conjunctions, not prepositions. When they are +followed by a pronoun merely, this pronoun is not their object, but part +of a clause the rest of which may be understood. The case of this +pronoun is determined by its relation to the rest of the unexpressed +clause. Sometimes the understood clause calls for the objective: "I like +his brother better than [I like] him." <i>Than whom</i>, though +ungrammatical, is sanctioned by usage.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_50b" id="article_50b">b.</a> Guard against the improper attraction of <i>who</i> into the objective +case by intervening expressions like <i>he says</i>.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The man whom they believed was the cause of the trouble +left the country. [<i>They believed</i> is parenthetical, and the +subject of <i>was</i> is <i>who</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: The man who they believed was the cause of the trouble +left the country.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Whom do you suppose made us a visit?</li> + +<li>Right: Who do you suppose made us a visit?</li></ul> + +<p><b>Guard against the improper attraction of <i>who</i> or <i>whoever</i> into the +objective case by a preceding verb or preposition.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Punish whomever is guilty. [The pronoun is the subject +of <i>is</i>. The object of <i>punish</i> is the entire clause <i>whoever +is guilty</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: Punish whoever is guilty.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The mystery as to whom had rendered him this service +remained. [The pronoun is the subject of <i>had rendered</i>. The +object of the preposition is the entire clause <i>who had +rendered him this service</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: The mystery as to who had rendered him this service +remained.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_50c" id="article_50c">c.</a> The predicate complement of the verb <i>to be</i> (in any of its forms, +<i>is</i>, <i>was</i>, <i>were</i>, <i>be</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) is in the nominative case.</b> <i>To be</i> +never takes an object, because it does not express action.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Was it her? Was it them? It is me.</li> + +<li>Right: Was it she? Was it they? Is it I.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The happiest people there were him and his mother.</li> + +<li>Right: The happiest people there were he and his mother.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_50d" id="article_50d">d.</a> The object of a preposition or a verb is in the objective case.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Some of we fellows went fishing.</li> + +<li>Right: Some of us fellows went fishing.</li> + +<li>Wrong: That seems incredible to you and I.</li> + +<li>Right: That seems incredible to you and me.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Who did they detect?</li> + +<li>Right: Whom did they detect?</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_50e" id="article_50e">e.</a> The "assumed" subject of an infinitive is in the objective case.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: I wanted him to go. [<i>Him to go</i> is the group object of +the verb <i>wanted</i>. <i>To go</i>, being an infinitive, cannot assert +an action, and consequently cannot take a subject. But <i>to go</i> +implies that something is at least capable of action. <i>Him</i> is +the latent or assumed subject of the action implied in <i>to +go</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: <i>Whom</i> do you wish <i>to be</i> your leader? [<i>Whom</i> is the +assumed subject of the infinitive <i>to be</i>.]</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_50f" id="article_50f">f.</a> A noun or pronoun used to express possession is in the possessive +case.</b> Do not omit the apostrophe (See <a href="#article_97">97</a>) from nouns, or +from the pronouns <i>one's</i> and <i>other's</i>. Most of the other possessive +pronouns do not require an apostrophe.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The man's hair is gray.</li> + +<li>Right: The machine does its work well. [<i>It's</i> would mean <i>it +is</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: One should do one's duty.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_50g" id="article_50g">g.</a> A noun or pronoun linked with a gerund should be in the possessive +case whenever the use of the objective case might cause confusion.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: Is there any criticism of Arthur going?</li> + +<li>Right: Is there any criticism of Arthur's going?</li> + +<li>Right: I had not heard of his being sick.</li> + +<li>Right, but slightly less desirable: I had not heard of him +being sick.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_50g_Note" id="article_50g_Note">Note.</a>—In other instances than those in which clearness is involved many +good writers use the objective case with the gerund. But even in these +instances most writers prefer the possessive case.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_50h" id="article_50h">h.</a> It is usually awkward and slightly illogical to attribute possession +to inanimate objects.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Awkward: The farm's management.</li> + +<li>Better: The management of the farm.</li> + +<li>Awkward: The stomach's lining.</li> + +<li>Better: The lining of the stomach.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_50h_Note" id="article_50h_Note">Note.</a>—Usage justifies many exceptions, particularly (1) expressions +that involve time or measure, <i>a day's work</i>, <i>a hair's breadth</i>, <i>a +year's salary</i>, <i>a week's vacation</i>, <i>a cable's length</i>; and (2) +expressions that involve personification, explicit or implied, <i>Reason's +voice</i>, <i>the law's delay</i>, <i>for mercy's sake</i>, <i>the heart's desire</i>, +<i>the tempest's breath</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_50i" id="article_50i">i.</a> A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person, gender, and number, +but not in case.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: <i>I, who am</i> older, know better.</li> + +<li>Right: Tell <i>me, who am</i> older, your trouble.</li> + +<li>Right: Many a man has saved <i>himself</i> by counsel.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I am as old as (he, him). They may be pluckier than (we, +us). Nobody is less conceited than (she, her).</li> + +<li>He gave help to (whoever, whomever) wanted it. The girls +(who, whom) they say have the worst taste are on a committee to +select the class pin.</li> + +<li>Four of (we, us) boys were left without a cent. That is a +good investment for her cousin and (she, her).</li> + +<li>It was (he, him). It is (they, them). The sole occupants of +the car were his chum and (he, him).</li> + +<li>I had not heard of (his, him) being sick. She does not +approve of (our, us) being late to dinner. (They, them) who +labor now the Master will reward.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_51" id="article_51">Number</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_51a" id="article_51a">51a.</a> <i>Each</i>, <i>every</i>, <i>every one</i>, <i>everybody</i>, <i>anybody</i>, <i>either</i>, +<i>neither</i>, <i>no one</i>, <i>nobody</i>, and similar words are singular.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Everybody did their best.</li> + +<li>Right: Everybody did his best.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Each of my three friends were there.</li> + +<li>Right: Each of my three friends was there.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Either of the candidates are capable of making a good +officer.</li> + +<li>Right: Either of the candidates is capable of making a good +officer.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_51b" id="article_51b">b.</a> Do not let <i>this</i> or <i>that</i> when modifying <i>kind</i> or <i>sort</i> be +attracted into the plural by a following noun.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He knew nothing of those kind of activities.</li> + +<li>Right: He knew nothing of that kind of activities.</li> + +<li>Wrong: I never did like these sort of post cards.</li> + +<li>Right: I never did like this sort of post cards.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_51c" id="article_51c">c.</a> Collective nouns may be regarded as singular or plural, according to +the meaning intended.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The crowd is waiting.</li> + +<li>Right: The crowd are not agreed.</li> + +<li>Right: Webster maintained that the United States is an +inseparable union; Hayne that the United States are a separable +union.</li> + +<li>English usage: The government were considering a new bill +regarding labor.</li> + +<li>American usage: The government was glad to place our troops at +the disposal of General Foch.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_51d" id="article_51d">d.</a> Do not use <i>don't</i> in the third person singular. Use <i>doesn't</i>. +<i>Don't</i> is contraction of <i>do not</i>.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He don't get up early on Sunday morning.</li> + +<li>Right: He doesn't get up early on Sunday morning.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>She said not to buy those sort of carpet tacks. These kind +of apples won't keep. I don't care for these boasting kind of +travelers.</li> + +<li>Neither of us were in condition to run the race. Every one +assured Mrs. Merton they had spent a pleasant evening.</li> + +<li>He don't suffer much now. I don't care if she don't come +today.</li> + +<li>Each of us in that dismal waiting room were angry with the +agent for telling us the train was not late.</li> + +<li>No one of the girls will tell their age. It don't matter.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_52" id="article_52">Agreement</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_52a" id="article_52a">52a.</a> A verb agrees in number with the subject, not with a noun which +intervenes between it and the subject.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The size of the plantations vary.</li> + +<li>Right: The size of the plantations varies.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The increasing use of luxuries are a menace to the +country.</li> + +<li>Right: The increasing use of luxuries is a menace to the +country.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The prices of grain fluctuates in response to the +demand.</li> + +<li>Right: The prices of grain fluctuate in response to the demand. +[Or] The price of grain fluctuates in response to the demand.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_52b" id="article_52b">b.</a> The number of the verb is not affected by the addition to the subject +of words introduced by <i>with</i>, <i>together with</i>, <i>no less than</i>, <i>as well +as</i>, and the like.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, have +investigated the charges.</li> + +<li>Right: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, has +investigated the charges.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_52c" id="article_52c">c.</a> Singular subjects joined by <i>or</i> or <i>nor</i> take a singular verb.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Either the second or the third of the plans they have +devised are acceptable.</li> + +<li>Right: Either the second or the third of the plans they have +devised is acceptable.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_52d" id="article_52d">d.</a> A subject consisting of two or more nouns joined by <i>and</i> takes a +plural verb.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The hunting and fishing are good.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_52e" id="article_52e">e.</a> A verb should agree in number with the subject, not with a predicate +noun.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The weak point in the team were the fielders.</li> + +<li>Right: The weak point in the team was the fielders.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Laziness and dissipation is the cause of his failure.</li> + +<li>Right: Laziness and dissipation are the cause of his failure.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_52f" id="article_52f">f.</a> In <i>There is</i> and <i>There are</i> sentences the verb should agree in +number with the noun that follows it.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: There is very good grounds for such a decision.</li> + +<li>Right: There are very good grounds for such a decision.</li> + +<li>Wrong: There was present a man, two women, and a child.</li> + +<li>Right: There were present a man, two women, and a child.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The sound of falling acorns (is, are) one of the delights of +an autumn evening. Eye strain through ill-fit glasses (is, are) +injurious to the general health, but reading without glasses +(is, are) often more harmful still.</li> + +<li>Neither the baritone nor the tenor (has, have) as good a +voice as the soprano. The guitar or the mandolin (is, are) +always out of tune.</li> + +<li>The Amazon with its tributaries (affords, afford) access to +sea. The conductor of the freight train, along with the +engineer and fireman of the passenger, (was, were) injured.</li> + +<li>Ghost stories late at night (is, are) a crime against +children. My reason for knowing that it is six o'clock (is, +are) the factory whistles.</li> + +<li>There (was, were) in the same coach a dozen singing +freshmen. Years of experience in buying clothes (gives, give) +me confidence in my judgment.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_53" id="article_53"><i>Shall</i> and <i>Will</i>, <i>Should</i> and <i>Would</i></a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Although there is a tendency to disregard subtle distinctions between +<i>shall</i> and <i>will</i> in ordinary speech, it is desirable to preserve the +more important distinctions in written discourse.</p> +</div> + +<p><b>53. To express simple futurity or mere expectation, use <i>shall</i> with the +first person (both singular and plural) and <i>will</i> with the second and +third.</b></p> + +<table title="Example useage of shall and will" summary="The table rows indicate first, second or third person, and the columns indicate singular or plural"> +<tbody> +<tr><td>I shall go.</td><td>We shall walk.</td></tr> +<tr><td>You will play.</td><td>You will hear.</td></tr> +<tr><td>He will sing.</td><td>They will reply.</td></tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<p><b>To express resolution or emphatic assurance, reverse the usage; that is, +use <i>will</i> with the first person (both singular and plural), and <i>shall</i> +with the second and third.</b></p> + +<table title="Another example useage of shall and will" summary="The table rows indicate first, second or third person, and the columns indicate singular or plural"> +<tr><td>I will; I tell you, I will.</td><td>We will not be excluded.</td></tr> +<tr><td>You shall do what I bid.</td><td>You shall not delay us.</td></tr> +<tr><td>He shall obey me.</td><td>They shall pay the tribute.</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>In asking questions, use the form expected in the answer.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>"Shall I go?" I asked myself musingly. "Shall we take a walk?" +"You promise. But will you pay?" "Will it rain tomorrow?"</li></ul> + +<p><i>Should</i> and <i>would</i> follow the rules given for <i>shall</i> and <i>will</i>.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Mere statement of a fact:<br /> +I [or We] should like to go.<br /> +You [or He or They] would of course accept the offer.</li> +<li>Resolution or emphatic assurance:<br /> +I [or We] would never go under terms so degrading.<br /> +You [or He or They] should decline; honor demands it.</li> +</ul> + +<p><i>Should</i> has also a special use in the subjunctive (in all persons) to +express a condition; and <i>would</i> has a special use (in all persons) to +express a wish, or customary action.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>If it should rain, I shall not go.</li> + +<li>If I should remain, it would probably clear off.</li> + +<li>Would that I could swim!</li> + +<li>He [I, We, You, They] would often sit there by the hour.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I (shall, will) probably do as he says. I'm determined; I +(shall, will) go! We (shall, will) see what tomorrow (shall, +will) bring forth.</li> + +<li>The train (shall, will) whistle at this crossing, I suppose. +When the log is nearly severed, it (shall, will) begin to pinch +the saw. The weather (shall, will) be warmer tomorrow.</li> + +<li>Johnny, you (shall, will) not go near those strawberries! He +(shall, will) not leave us in this predicament. I repeat it, he +(shall, will) not! We (shall, will) never sell this good old +horse.</li> + +<li>(Shall, will) this calico fade? (Shall, will) you give the +organ grinder some money? (Shall, will) I raise the window? +(Should, would) I ask his permission?</li> + +<li>If you (should, would) visit his laboratory, you (should, +would) learn how a starfish preserved in alcohol smells. You +(shall, will) all die some day, my friends. (Shall, will) I +ever forget this? Time (shall, will) tell.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_54" id="article_54">Principal Parts</a></h5> + +<p><b>54. Use the correct form of the past tense and past participle.</b> Avoid +<i>come</i>, <i>done</i>, <i>bursted</i>, <i>knowed</i>, <i>says</i> for the past tense; and +[<i>had</i>] <i>eat</i>, [<i>had</i>] <i>froze</i>, [<i>have</i>] <i>ran</i>, [<i>has</i>] <i>went</i>, [<i>has</i>] +<i>wrote</i>, [<i>are</i>] <i>suppose</i> for the past participle. Memorize the +principal parts of difficult verbs. The principal parts are the present +tense, the past tense, and the past participle. A good way to recall +these is to repeat the formula: Today I <i>sing</i>; yesterday I <i>sang</i>; +often in the past I have <i>sung</i>. The principal parts of <i>sing</i> are +<i>sing</i>, <i>sang</i>, <i>sung</i>. A list of difficult verbs is given below.</p> + +<table title="Table of difficult verbs" summary="The columns indicate the present tense, the past tense, and the past participle" id="verbs" border="1" cellspacing="0"> +<tbody> +<tr class="odd"><td>bear</td><td>bore</td><td>borne<br />born</td></tr> +<tr><td>begin</td><td>began</td><td>begun</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>bend</td><td>bent</td><td>bent</td></tr> +<tr><td>bid</td><td>bid<br />bade</td><td>bid<br />bidden</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>bite</td><td>bit</td><td>bit<br />bitten</td></tr> +<tr><td>bleed</td><td>bled</td><td>bled</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>blow</td><td>blew</td><td>blown</td></tr> +<tr><td>break</td><td>broke</td><td>broken</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>burn</td><td>burnt<br />burned</td><td>burnt<br />burned</td></tr> +<tr><td>burst</td><td>burst</td><td>burst</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>catch</td><td>caught</td><td>caught</td></tr> +<tr><td>choose</td><td>chose</td><td>chosen</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>come</td><td>came</td><td>come</td></tr> +<tr><td>deal</td><td>dealt</td><td>dealt</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>dive</td><td>dived</td><td>dived</td></tr> +<tr><td>do</td><td>did</td><td>done</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>drag</td><td>dragged</td><td>dragged</td></tr> +<tr><td>draw</td><td>drew</td><td>drawn</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>dream</td><td>dreamt<br />dreamed</td><td>dreamt<br />dreamed</td></tr> +<tr><td>drink</td><td>drank</td><td>drunk</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>drive</td><td>drove</td><td>driven</td></tr> +<tr><td>drown</td><td>drowned</td><td>drowned</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>dwell</td><td>dwelt<br />dwelled</td><td>dwelt<br />dwelled</td></tr> +<tr><td>eat</td><td>ate</td><td>eaten</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>fall</td><td>fell</td><td>fallen</td></tr> +<tr><td>fight</td><td>fought</td><td>fought</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>flee</td><td>fled</td><td>fled</td></tr> +<tr><td>fly</td><td>flew</td><td>flown</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>flow</td><td>flowed</td><td>flowed</td></tr> +<tr><td>freeze</td><td>froze</td><td>frozen</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>get</td><td>got</td><td>got</td></tr> +<tr><td>go</td><td>went</td><td>gone</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>grow</td><td>grew</td><td>grown</td></tr> +<tr><td>hang</td><td>hung</td><td>hung</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>hang</td><td>hanged</td><td>hanged</td></tr> +<tr><td>hold</td><td>held</td><td>held</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>kneel</td><td>knelt</td><td>knelt</td></tr> +<tr><td>know</td><td>knew</td><td>known</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>lay</td><td>laid</td><td>laid</td></tr> +<tr><td>lead</td><td>led</td><td>led</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>lend</td><td>lent</td><td>lent</td></tr> +<tr><td>lie</td><td>lay</td><td>lain</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>lie</td><td>lied</td><td>lied</td></tr> +<tr><td>loose</td><td>loosed</td><td>loosed</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>lose</td><td>lost</td><td>lost</td></tr> +<tr><td>mean</td><td>meant</td><td>meant</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>pay</td><td>paid</td><td>paid</td></tr> +<tr><td>prove</td><td>proved</td><td>proved</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>read</td><td>read</td><td>read</td></tr> +<tr><td>rid</td><td>rid</td><td>rid</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>ride</td><td>rode</td><td>ridden</td></tr> +<tr><td>ring</td><td>rang</td><td>rung</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>rise</td><td>rose</td><td>risen</td></tr> +<tr><td>run</td><td>ran</td><td>run</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>say</td><td>said</td><td>said</td></tr> +<tr><td>see</td><td>saw</td><td>seen</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>set</td><td>set</td><td>set</td></tr> +<tr><td>shake</td><td>shook</td><td>shaken</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>shine</td><td>shone</td><td>shone</td></tr> +<tr><td>show</td><td>showed</td><td>shown</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>shrink</td><td>shrank</td><td>shrunk</td></tr> +<tr><td>sing</td><td>sang</td><td>sung</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>sit</td><td>sat</td><td>sat</td></tr> +<tr><td>slink</td><td>slunk</td><td>slunk</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>speak</td><td>spoke</td><td>spoken</td></tr> +<tr><td>spend</td><td>spent</td><td>spent</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>spit</td><td>spit<br />spat</td><td>spit<br />spat</td></tr> +<tr><td>steal</td><td>stole</td><td>stolen</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>swear</td><td>swore</td><td>sworn</td></tr> +<tr><td>sweep</td><td>swept</td><td>swept</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>swim</td><td>swam</td><td>swum</td></tr> +<tr><td>take</td><td>took</td><td>taken</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>tear</td><td>tore</td><td>torn</td></tr> +<tr><td>throw</td><td>threw</td><td>thrown</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>thrust</td><td>thrust</td><td>thrust</td></tr> +<tr><td>tread</td><td>trod</td><td>trod<br />trodden</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>wake</td><td>woke<br />waked</td><td>waked</td></tr> +<tr><td>wear</td><td>wore</td><td>worn</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>weave</td><td>wove</td><td>woven</td></tr> +<tr><td>weep</td><td>wept</td><td>wept</td></tr> +<tr class="odd"><td>write</td><td>wrote</td><td>written</td></tr> +</tbody></table> + +<p>Exercise<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had period">:</ins></p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Adams —— (past tense of <i>draw</i>) another glass of cider and +—— (past tense of <i>drink</i>) it. When those squashes once —— +(past tense of <i>begin</i>), they —— (past tense of <i>grow</i>) like +mad.</li> + +<li>The thermometer had —— (past participle of <i>fall</i>) twenty +degrees, and three water pipes had —— (past participle of +<i>freeze</i>). Afterward one —— (past tense of <i>burst</i>).</li> + +<li>Annie had —— (past participle of <i>speak</i>) a piece, and +Nancy had —— (past participle of <i>write</i>) a poem, and Isabel +had nearly —— (past participle of <i>burst</i>) with envy.</li> + +<li>He —— (past tense of <i>do</i>) a brave deed; he —— (past +tense of <i>swim</i>) straight for the whirlpool. I had —— (past +participle of <i>know</i>) him before, and had —— (past participle +of <i>shake</i>) hands with him.</li> + +<li>He —— (past tense of <i>come</i>) home late, and has —— (past +participle of <i>eat</i>) his dinner. Now he has —— (past +participle of <i>go</i>) down town. He has —— (past participle of +<i>ride</i>) before. I —— (past tense of <i>see</i>) him. He —— (past +tense of <i>run</i>) swiftly.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_55" id="article_55">Tense, Mode, Auxiliaries</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_55a" id="article_55a">55a.</a> In dependent clauses and infinitives, the tense is to be considered +in relation to the time expressed in the principal verb.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: I intended to have gone. [The principal verb <i>intended</i> +indicates a past time. In that past time I intended to do +something. What? Did I intend <i>to go</i>, or <i>to have gone</i>?]</li> + +<li>Right: I intended to go.</li> + +<li>Wrong: We hoped that you would have come to the party. [The +principal verb <i>hoped</i> indicates a past time. In that past time +our hope was that you <i>would</i> come, not that you <i>would have +come</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: We hoped that you would come.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_55b" id="article_55b">b.</a> When narration in the past tense is interrupted for reference to a +preceding occurrence, the past perfect tense is used.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals +which he shot.</li> + +<li>Right: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals +which he had shot.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_55c" id="article_55c">c.</a> General statements equally true in the past and in the present are +usually expressed in the present tense.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: He said that Venus was a planet.</li> + +<li>Right: He said that Venus is a planet.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_55d" id="article_55d">d.</a> The subjunctive mode of the verb <i>to be</i> is used to express a +condition contrary to fact, or a wish.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty: If he was here, I should be happy.</li> + +<li>Right: If he were here, I should be happy.</li> + +<li>Faulty: I wish that I was a man.</li> + +<li>Right: I wish that I were a man.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_55e" id="article_55e">e.</a> Use the correct auxiliary. Make sure that the tense, mode, or aspect +of successive verbs is not altered without reason.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: By giving strict obedience to commands, a soldier +<i>learns</i> discipline, and consequently <i>would have</i> steady +nerves in time of war. [<i>Learns</i> should be followed by <i>will +have</i>.]</li> + +<li>Wrong: An automobile <i>should be</i> kept in good working order so +that its life <i>is</i> lengthened. [<i>Should be</i> is properly +followed by <i>may be</i>.]</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Every one hoped that you would have spoken.</li> + +<li>I saw it in the window. It was the very book I wanted so +long.</li> + +<li>If I was sick, I should go home.</li> + +<li>They expected to have won the game.</li> + +<li>The Masons never invite men to join their lodge, but if a +person expresses a desire to join, his friends would probably +be able to secure membership for him.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_56" id="article_56">Adjective and Adverb</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_56a" id="article_56a">56a.</a> Do not use an adjective to modify a verb.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Crude: He spoke slow and careful.</li> + +<li>Right: He spoke slowly and carefully.</li> + +<li>Crude: He sure did good in his classes.</li> + +<li>Right: He surely did well in his classes.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_56b" id="article_56b">b.</a> In such sentences as <i>He stood firm</i> and <i>The cry rang clear</i> the +modifier should be an adjective if it refers to the subject, an adverb +if it refers to the verb.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home. [Here the +thought is that the sun which shines is bright.]</li> + +<li>Right: He worked diligently. [Here the modifier refers to the +manner of working rather than to the person who works. It +should therefore be an adverb.]</li> + +<li>Right: It stood immovable. The shot rang loud. He becomes +angry. The weeds grow thick. They remain obstinate. He seems +intelligent.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_56c" id="article_56c">c.</a> After a verb pertaining to the senses, <i>look</i>, <i>sound</i>, <i>taste</i>, +<i>smell</i>, <i>feel</i>, an adjective is used to denote a quality pertaining to +the subject.</b> (An adverb is used only when the reference is clearly to +the verb.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>She looks <i>beautiful</i>. [Not <i>beautifully</i>.]</li> + +<li>The dinner bell sounds <i>good</i>. [Not <i>well</i>.]</li> + +<li>My food tastes <i>bad</i>. [Not <i>badly</i>.]</li> + +<li>That flower smells <i>bad</i>. [Not <i>badly</i>.]</li> + +<li>I feel good [<i>in good spirits</i>.]</li> + +<li>I feel well [<i>in good health</i>. An adjectival use of <i>well</i>.]</li> + +<li>I feel bad [<i>in bad health or spirits</i>. "I feel badly" would +mean "My sense of touch is impaired."]</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>They fought —— (heroic, heroically). Dave stumbled +——(awkward, awkwardly).</li> + +<li>Margaret —— (sure, surely) worked —— (faithful, +faithfully) in economics.</li> + +<li>At this reply the teacher grew —— (wrathful, wrathfully). +I hear you —— (plain, plainly).</li> + +<li>I feel —— (giddy, giddily). Your rose looks —— (sweet, +sweetly). No perfume smells so —— (dainty, daintily).</li> + +<li>That salad tastes —— (good, well). I feel —— (bad, +badly) today. Your voice sounds —— (good, well) and +——(familiar, familiarly).</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_57" id="article_57">A Word in a Double Capacity</a></h5> + +<p><b>57. Do not use a verb, conjunction, preposition, or noun in a double +capacity when one of the uses is ungrammatical.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong [verb]: An opera house was built in one part of town, and +two churches in another.</li> + +<li>Right: An opera house was built in one part of town, and two +churches were built in another.</li> + +<li>Wrong [verb]: He always has and will do it.</li> + +<li>Right: He always has done it, and always will do it.</li> + +<li>Wrong [conjunction]: He was as old, if not older, than any +other man in the community.</li> + +<li>Right: He was as old as any other man in the community, if not +older.</li> + +<li>Wrong [preposition]: He was fond and diligent in work.</li> + +<li>Right: He was fond of work and diligent in it.</li> + +<li>Wrong [noun]: He is one of the most skilful, if not the most +skilful, tennis players in the state.</li> + +<li>Right: He is one of the most skilful tennis players in the +state, if not the most skilful.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He is as old, if not older, than she is.</li> + +<li>Two boats were in the water, and one on the shore.</li> + +<li>From childhood he has, and to old age he will, have many +hobbies.</li> + +<li>A visit to a ten cent store is better, or at least as good, +as a visit to a circus. You see as many or more queer things +than in any show.</li> + +<li>One of the greatest, if not the greatest, secrets in keeping +our health, is to keep our teeth in good condition. A famous +physician said that one of the next, if not the very next, +marked advance in medical science will be through discoveries +in the realm of dentistry.</li></ol> + + + +<h5><a name="article_58" id="article_58">Parts of Speech, Other Grammatical Terms, Conjugation</a></h5> + +<h6>The Parts of Speech and Their Uses</h6> + +<dl class="regular"><dt>Noun.</dt><dd>A noun is a name. It may be <b>proper</b> (<i>Philip Watkins</i>), or +<b>common</b>. Common nouns may be <b>concrete</b> (<i>man</i>, <i>windmill</i>), or +<b>abstract</b> (<i>gratitude</i>, <i>nearness</i>). <b>A</b> noun applied to a group +is said to be <b>collective</b> (<i>family</i>, <i>race</i>). The uses of a +noun <b>are</b>: to serve as the subject of a verb, to serve as the +object of a verb or a preposition, to be in apposition with +another noun (Jenkins, our <i>coach</i>), to indicate possession +(<i>Joseph's</i> coat of many colors); and less frequently, to serve +as an adjective (the <i>brick</i> sidewalk) or adverb (John went +<i>home</i>), and to indicate direct address (<i>Jehovah</i>, help us!).</dd> + +<dt>Pronoun.</dt><dd>A pronoun is a word which takes the place of a noun. +It may be <b>personal</b> (<i>I</i>, <i>thou</i>, <i>you</i>, <i>he</i>, <i>she</i>, <i>it</i>, +<i>we</i>, <i>they</i>), <b>relative</b> (<i>who</i>, <i>which</i>, <i>what</i>, <i>that</i>, <i>as</i>, +and compounds <i>whoever</i>, <i>whichsoever</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>), <b>interrogative</b> +(<i>who</i>, <i>which</i>, <i>what</i>), <b>demonstrative</b> (<i>this</i>, <i>that</i>, +<i>these</i>, <i>those</i>), or <b>indefinite</b> (<i>some</i>, <i>any</i>, <i>one</i>, <i>each</i>, +<i>either</i>, <i>neither</i>, <i>none</i>, <i>few</i>, <i>all</i>, <i>both</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>). +Strictly speaking, the last two groups, demonstratives and +indefinites, are adjectives used as pronouns. Certain pronouns +are also used as adjectives, notably the <b>possessives</b> (<i>my</i>, +<i>his</i>, <i>their</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) and the relative or interrogative <i>which</i> +and <i>what</i>. The addition of <i>-self</i> to a personal pronoun forms +a <b>reflexive pronoun</b> or <b>intensive</b> (I blamed <i>myself</i>. You +<i>yourself</i> are at fault). A noun for which the pronoun stands +is called the <b>antecedent</b>. The uses of pronouns are in general +the same as those of nouns. In addition, relatives serve as +connectives (the man <i>who</i> spoke), interrogatives ask questions +(<i>what</i> man?), and demonstratives point out (<i>that</i> man).</dd> + +<dt>Verb.</dt><dd>A verb is a word or word-group which makes an assertion +about the subject. It may express either action or mere +existence. It may be <b>transitive</b> (<i>trans</i> meaning "across"; +hence action carried across, requiring a receiver of the act; +Brutus <i>stabbed</i> Cæsar; Cæsar is <i>stabbed</i>) or <b>intransitive</b> +(not requiring a receiver of the act: Montgomery <i>fell</i>). Its +meaning is dependent upon its voice, mode, and tense. Voice +shows the relationship between the subject and the assertion +made by the verb. The <b>active voice</b> shows the subject as actor +(They <i>elected</i> Washington); the <b>passive voice</b>, as acted upon +(Washington <i>was elected</i>). (A transitive verb may be active or +passive, but an intransitive verb has no voice.) Mode indicates +the manner of predicating an action, whether as assertion, +condition, command, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr> There are three modes in English. The +<b>indicative mode</b> affirms or denies (He <i>went</i>. She <i>did not +dance</i>.) The <b>subjunctive</b> expresses condition or wish (If he +<i>were</i> older, he would be wiser. Would that I <i>were</i> there!). +The <b>imperative</b> expresses command or exhortation (<i>Remain</i> +there. <i>Go!</i> <i>Let</i> us pray). <b>Modal auxiliaries</b> with these three +modes form <b>modal aspects</b> of the verb. There are as many +different aspects as there are auxiliaries. Aspects are +sometimes spoken of as separate modes or called collectively +the "potential mode." Tense expresses the time of the action or +existence. The tenses are the <b>present</b>, the <b>past</b>, the <b>future</b> +(employing the auxiliaries <i>shall</i> and <i>will</i>), the <b>perfect</b> +(employing <i>have</i>), the <b>past perfect</b> (employing <i>had</i>), and the +<b>future perfect</b> (employing <i>shall have</i> and <i>will have</i>). +<b>Verbals</b> are certain forms of the verb used as other parts of +speech (noun, adjective, adverb). For the verbal forms, +infinitive, gerund, and participle, see the separate headings.</dd> + +<dt>Adjective.</dt><dd>An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or +pronoun. An adjective may be <b>attributive</b> (<i>bright</i> sun, +<i>cool-headed</i> adventurers) or <b>predicate</b> (The field is <i>broad</i>. +The meat tastes <i>bad</i>. I want this <i>ready</i> by Christmas). +Adjectives assume three forms known as degrees of comparison. +The <b>positive degree</b> indicates the simple quality of the object +without reference to any other. The <b>comparative degree</b> +indicates that two objects are compared (Stanley is the <i>older</i> +brother). The <b>superlative degree</b> indicates that three or more +objects are compared (Stanley is the <i>oldest</i> child in the +family) or that the speaker feels great interest or emotion (A +<i>most excellent</i> record). Ordinarily <i>er</i> or <i>r</i> is added to +the positive to form the comparative, and <i>est</i> or <i>st</i> to the +positive to form the superlative (brave, braver, bravest). But +some adjectives (sometimes those of two, and always those of +more than two, syllables) prefix <i>more</i> (or <i>less</i>) to the +positive to form the comparative, and <i>most</i> (or <i>least</i>) to +the positive to form the superlative (beautiful, more +beautiful, most beautiful). Some adjectives express qualities +that do not permit comparison (<i>dead</i>, <i>four-sided</i>, +<i>unique</i>).</dd> + +<dt>Adverb.</dt><dd>An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an +adjective, another adverb (She played <i>well</i>; <i>unusually</i> +handsome; <i>very</i> sternly); or, more rarely, a verbal noun +(Walking <i>fast</i> is good for the health), a preposition (The +ship drifted <i>almost</i> upon the breakers), or a conjunction (It +came <i>just</i> when we wished). Certain adverbs (<i>fatally</i>, +<i>entirely</i>) do not logically admit of comparison. Those that do +are compared like adjectives of more than two syllables +(<i>slowly</i>, <i>more</i> or <i>less slowly</i>, <i>most</i> or <i>least slowly</i>).</dd> + +<dt>Preposition.</dt><dd>A preposition is a connective <i>placed before</i> a +substantive (called its object) in order to subordinate the +substantive to some other word in a sentence (The boast <i>of</i> +heraldry, the pomp <i>of</i> power. He ran <i>toward</i> the enemy +<i>without</i> fear).</dd> + +<dt>Conjunction.</dt><dd>A conjunction is a word used to <i>join together</i> +words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. A <b>coördinate conjunction</b> +connects elements of equal rank (See <a href="#article_36">36</a>). +<b>Correlative conjunctions</b> are conjunctions used in pairs (See +<a href="#article_31">31</a>). A <b>subordinate conjunction</b> is one that +connects elements unequal in rank (See <a href="#article_36">36</a>). When a +conjunction, in addition to its function as a connective, +indicates a relation of time, place, or cause, it is often +called a <b>conjunctive adverb</b> or <b>relative adverb</b>.</dd> + +<dt>Interjection.</dt><dd>An interjection is a word <i>thrown into</i> speech to +express emotion. It has no grammatical connection with other +words. (<i>Oh</i>, is that it? <i>Well</i>, I'll do it. <i>Hark!</i>)</dd></dl> + +<h6>Other Grammatical Terms</h6> + +<dl class="regular"><dt>Absolute expression.</dt><dd>An expression (usually composed of a +substantive and a participle, perhaps with modifiers) which, +though not formally and grammatically joined, is in thought +related to the remainder of the sentence. (<i>The relief party +having arrived</i>, we went home. <i>This disposed of</i>, the council +proceeded to other matters. <i>Defeated</i>, he was not dismayed.)</dd> + +<dt>Antecedent.</dt><dd>A substantive to which a pronoun or participle +refers. Literally, <i>antecedent</i> means <i>that which goes +before</i>; but sometimes the antecedent follows the dependent +word. (The <i>man</i> who hesitates is lost. Entering the store, +<i>we</i> saw a barrel of apples.) <i>Man</i> is the antecedent of the +pronoun <i>who</i>, and <i>we</i> is the antecedent of the participle +<i>entering</i>.</dd> + +<dt>Auxiliary.</dt><dd><i>Be</i>, <i>have</i>, <i>do</i>, <i>shall</i>, <i>will</i>, <i>ought</i>, <i>may</i>, +<i>can</i>, <i>must</i>, <i>might</i>, <i>could</i>, <i>would</i>, <i>should</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>, when +used with participles and infinitives of other verbs, are +called auxiliary verbs.</dd> + +<dt>Case.</dt><dd>The relation of a substantive to other words in the +sentence as shown by inflectional form or position. The subject +of a verb, or the predicate of the verb <i>to be</i>, is in the +nominative case. The object of a verb or preposition, or the +"assumed subject" of an infinitive, is in the objective case. A +noun or pronoun which denotes possession is in the possessive +case.</dd> + +<dt>Clause.</dt><dd>A portion of a sentence which contains a subject and a +verb, perhaps with modifiers. The following sentence contains +one dependent (subordinate) and one independent (principal) +clause: <i>When the storm ceased, the grove was a ruin</i>.</dd> + +<dt>Conjugation.</dt><dd>The inflectional changes in the verb to indicate +person, number, tense, voice, mode, and modal aspect.</dd> + +<dt>Declension.</dt><dd>The changes in a noun, pronoun, or adjective to +indicate person, number, or case.</dd> + +<dt>Ellipsis, elliptical expression.</dt><dd>An expression partially +incomplete, so that words have to be understood to complete the +meaning. An idea or relation corresponding to the omitted words +is present, at least vaguely, in the mind of the speaker. +Elliptical sentences are usually justifiable except when the +reader cannot instantly supply the understood words. Examples +of proper ellipses: You are as tall as I [am tall]. Is your +sister coming? I think [my sister is] not [coming]. I will go +if you will [go]. [I give you] Thanks for your advice.</dd> + +<dt>Gerund.</dt><dd>A verbal in <i>-ing</i> used as a noun. (I do not object to +your <i>telling</i>. His <i>having deserted</i> us makes little +difference.) The gerund may be regarded as a special form of +the infinitive.</dd> + +<dt>Infinitive.</dt><dd>A verbal ordinarily introduced by <i>to</i> and used as +a noun (<i>To err</i> is human). In such sentences as "The road to +follow is the river road," <i>follow</i> may be regarded as the noun +of a phrase (compare <i>the road to Mandalay</i>), or the entire +phrase may be regarded as an adjective. Similarly, in "He +hastened to comply," <i>comply</i> may be regarded as a noun or <i>to +comply</i> as an adverb. After certain verbs (<i>bid</i>, <i>dare</i>, +<i>help</i>, <i>make</i>, <i>need</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) the <i>to</i> is omitted from the +infinitive group. (He bids me <i>go</i>. I need not <i>hesitate</i>.)</dd> + +<dt>Inflection.</dt><dd>Change in the form of a word to show a modification +or shade of meaning. At a very early period in our language +there was a separate form for practically every modification. +Although separate forms are now less numerous, <i>inflection</i> is +still a convenient term in grammar. Its scope is general: it +includes the declension of nouns, the comparison of adjectives +and adverbs, and the conjugation of verbs.</dd> + +<dt>Modify.</dt><dd>To be grammatically dependent upon and to limit or +alter the quality of. In the expression "The very old man," +<i>the</i> and <i>old</i> modify <i>man</i>, and <i>very</i> modifies <i>old</i>.</dd> + +<dt>Participle.</dt><dd>A verbal used as an adjective, or as an adjective +with adverbial qualities. In the sentence "Mary, being oldest, +is also the best liked," <i>being oldest</i> refers exclusively, or +almost exclusively, to the subject and is therefore adjectival. +In such sentences as "He fell back, exhausted" and "Running +down the street, I collided with a baby carriage," the +participle refers in part to the verb and is therefore +adverbial as well as adjectival.</dd> + +<dt>Phrase.</dt><dd>A group of words forming a subordinate part of a +sentence and not containing a subject and its verb. Examples: +<i>With a whistle and a roar</i> the train arrived [prepositional +phrase]. <i>Bowing his head</i>, the prisoner listened to the +verdict of the jury [participial phrase]. In a loose, +untechnical sense <i>phrase</i> may refer to any short group of +words, even if the group includes a subject and its verb.</dd> + +<dt>Predicate.</dt><dd>The word or word-group in a sentence which makes an +assertion about the subject. It consists of a finite verb with +or without objects or modifiers.</dd> + +<dt>Predicate adjective.</dt><dd>An adjective in the predicate, usually +linked with the subject by some form of the verb <i>to be</i> (<i>is</i>, +<i>was</i>, <i>were</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>). (John is <i>lazy</i>. The soldiers were very +<i>eager</i>.)</dd> + +<dt>Predicate noun.</dt><dd>A noun linked with the subject by some form of +the verb <i>to be</i>. (John is <i>halfback.</i> They were our +<i>neighbors.</i>)</dd> + +<dt>Sentence.</dt><dd>A sentence is a group of words containing (1) a +subject (with or without modifiers) and a predicate (with or +without modifiers) and not grammatically dependent on any words +outside of itself; or (2) two or more such expressions related +in thought. Sentences of type 1 are simple or complex; +sentences of type 2 are compound. A <b>simple sentence</b> contains +one independent clause (The dog barks angrily). A <b>complex +sentence</b> contains one independent clause and one or more +subordinate clauses (The dog barks when the thief appears). A +<b>compound sentence</b> contains two or more independent clauses (The +dog barks, and the thief runs).</dd> + +<dt>Substantive.</dt><dd>A noun or a word standing in place of a noun. (The +<i>king</i> summoned <i>parliament</i>. The <i>bravest</i> are the +<i>tenderest</i>. <i>She</i> was inconsolable.) A <b>substantive phrase</b> is a +phrase used as a noun. (<i>From Dan to Beersheba</i> is a term for +the whole of Israel.) A <b>substantive clause</b> is a clause used as +a noun. (<i>That he owed the money</i> is certain.)</dd> + +<dt>Syntax.</dt><dd>Construction; the grammatical relation between the +words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence.</dd> + +<dt>Verbal.</dt><dd>Any form of the verb used as another part of speech. +Infinitives, gerunds, and participles are verbals. They are +used to express action without asserting it, and cannot, +therefore, have subjects or be used as predicate verbs.</dd></dl> + +<h6>Abridged Conjugation of the verb <i>to take</i></h6> + +<table summary="Conjugation table for the verb 'to take' with columns for Active and Passive voice and rows for each tense in Indicative and Subjunctive modes"> +<thead><tr><th>Mode</th><th>Tense</th><th>Active Voice</th><th>Passive Voice</th></tr></thead> +<tbody> +<tr><th rowspan="6">Indicative</th><th>Present</th><td>I take</td><td>I am taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Past</th><td>I took</td><td>I was taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Future</th><td>I shall (will) take</td><td>I shall (will) be taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Perfect</th><td>I have taken</td><td>I have been taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Past Perfect</th><td>I had taken</td><td>I had been taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Future Perfect</th><td>I shall (will) have taken</td><td>I shall (will) have been taken</td></tr> + +<tr><th rowspan="4">Subjunctive</th><th>Present</th><td>If I take</td><td>If I be taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Past</th><td>If I took</td><td>If I were taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Perfect</th><td>If I have taken</td><td>If I have been taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Past Perfect</th><td>If I had taken</td><td>If I had been taken</td></tr> + +<tr><th>Imperative</th><th>Present</th><td>Take</td><td></td></tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<h6>Modal Aspects</h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>(Modal aspects, formed by combining auxiliaries with the main verb, give +special meanings—emphatic, progressive, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>—to the primary modes. +Since there are almost as many aspects as there are auxiliaries, only a +few can be enumerated here.)</p> +</div> + +<table summary="Conjugation table for the verb 'to take' with columns for Active and Passive voice and rows for modal aspects in various tenses"> +<thead><tr><th>Tense</th><th>Modal Aspect</th><th>Active Voice</th><th>Passive Voice</th></tr></thead> +<tbody> +<tr><th rowspan="6">Present Indicative</th><th>Emphatic:</th><td>I do take</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><th>Progressive:</th><td>I am taking</td><td>I am being taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Contingent:</th><td>I may take</td><td>I may be taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Potential:</th><td>I can take</td><td>I can be taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Obligative:</th><td>I must take</td><td><ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'I was being taken'">I must be taken</ins></td></tr> +<tr><th>Etc.</th><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><th rowspan="6">Past Indicative</th><th>Emphatic:</th><td>I did take</td></tr> +<tr><th>Progressive:</th><td>I was taking</td><td>I was being taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Contingent:</th><td>I might take</td><td>I might be taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Potential:</th><td>I could take</td><td>I could be taken</td></tr> +<tr><th>Obligative:</th><td><ins title="Transcriber's Note: Left as in the original; current usage is 'I had to take'">I must take</ins></td><td><ins title="Transcriber's Note: Left as in the original; current usage is 'I had to be taken'">I must be taken</ins></td></tr> +<tr><th>Etc.</th><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><th rowspan="6">Present Subjunctive</th><th>Emphatic:</th><td>If I do take</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><th>Progressive:</th><td>If I be taking</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><th>Contingent:</th><td>If I might take</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><th>Potential:</th><td>If I could take</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><th>Obligative:</th><td>If I must take</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><th>Etc.</th><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><th rowspan="2">Present Imperative</th><th>Emphatic:</th><td>Do take</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><th>Progressive:</th><td>Be taking</td><td></td></tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<h6>Verbals</h6> + +<table summary="Conjugation table for the verb 'to take' with columns for Active and Passive voice and rows for the various verbals in various tenses"> +<thead> +<tr> +<th>Verbal</th><th>Tense</th><th>Active Voice</th><th>Passive Voice</th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr> +<th rowspan="2">Infinitive</th> +<th>Present:</th><td>To take</td><td>To be taken</td> +</tr><tr> +<th>Perfect:</th><td>To have taken</td><td>To have been taken</td> +</tr><tr> +<th rowspan="2">Gerund</th> +<th>Present:</th><td>Taking</td><td>Being taken</td> +</tr><tr> +<th>Perfect:</th><td>Having taken</td><td>Having been taken</td> +</tr><tr> +<th rowspan="3">Participle</th> +<th>Present:</th><td>Taking</td><td>Being taken</td> +</tr><tr> +<th>Past:</th><td> </td><td>Taken</td> +</tr><tr> +<th>Perfect:</th><td>Having taken</td><td>Having been taken</td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Copy a page of good prose from any book, leaving wide spaces +between the lines. Indicate the part of speech of every word. +This may be done by abbreviations placed beneath the words. For +example:</p> +</div> + +<dl class="inline"> +<dt>"Von Arden,</dt><dd><i>noun</i></dd> +<dt>having fallen</dt><dd><abbr title="participle">part.</abbr></dd> +<dt>into</dt><dd><abbr title="preposition">prep.</abbr></dd> +<dt>a</dt><dd><abbr title="article">art.</abbr></dd> +<dt>very</dt><dd><abbr title="adverb">adv.</abbr></dd> +<dt>unquiet</dt><dd><abbr title="adjective">adj.</abbr></dd> +<dt>slumber,</dt><dd>noun</dd> +<dt>dreamed</dt><dd>verb</dd> +<dt>that</dt><dd><abbr title="conjunction">conj.</abbr></dd> +<dt>he</dt><dd><abbr title="personal pronoun">pers pro.</abbr></dd> +<dt>was</dt><dd>verb</dd> +<dt>an</dt><dd><abbr title="article">art.</abbr></dd> +<dt>aged</dt><dd><abbr title="adjective">adj.</abbr></dd> +<dt>man</dt><dd>noun</dd> +<dt>who</dt><dd><abbr title="relative pronoun">rel. pro.</abbr></dd> +<dt>stood</dt><dd>verb</dd> +<dt>beside</dt><dd><abbr title="preposition">prep.</abbr></dd> +<dt>a</dt><dd><abbr title="article">art.</abbr></dd> +<dt>window."</dt><dd>noun</dd> +</dl> + +<div style="clear:both;"></div> + + +<h5><a name="article_59" id="article_59">59. EXERCISE IN GRAMMAR</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_59A" id="article_59A">A. Case of Pronouns</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Determine the correct form of the pronoun.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>It is (I, me).</li> + +<li>No one knows better than (she, her).</li> + +<li>Then came the whistle for Gerald and (I, me).</li> + +<li>It was (they, them).</li> + +<li>Alice can drive a car as well as (he, him).</li> + +<li>It was (she, her) (who, whom) you saw on the car.</li> + +<li>John, you may go with Dan and (I, me).</li> + +<li>If I were (she, her), I could not think of accepting the +questionable honor.</li> + +<li>One evening four of (we, us) girls decided to go to the +theater.</li> + +<li>Others are older than (we, us).</li> + +<li>(Who, Whom) do you imagine will be our next president?</li> + +<li>He does not approve of (our, us) walking on the grass.</li> + +<li>Counsel will be given to (they, them) who ask for it.</li> + +<li>That seems strange to you and (I, me).</li> + +<li>Her mother has more regular features than (she, her).</li> + +<li>Women (who, whom) some people would call "quiet" are often +the wisest.</li> + +<li>Between you and (I, me), I'm hungry.</li> + +<li>The thought of (it, its) coming by parcel post never +entered my mind.</li> + +<li>He never discovered (who, whom) his enemy was.</li> + +<li>In case of a fumble, the ball is given to (whoever, +whomever) recovers it.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_59B" id="article_59B">B. Agreement</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Determine the correct form of the verb.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He (don't, doesn't) care for music.</li> + +<li>The swimming, boating, and fishing (is, are) good.</li> + +<li>Each one of the two hands of the clock (is, are) made of +gold.</li> + +<li>The ore is sorted and the cars having good ore (is, are) +hauled to the smelter.</li> + +<li>A deck of ordinary playing cards consisting of fifty-two +cards (is, are) used.</li> + +<li>It is safe to say that only one out of every ten of the +great number of students (realizes, realize) the value of +economy.</li> + +<li>In spite of all obstacles, the construction of the three +hundred trestles and the twenty scaffolds (was, were) +completed.</li> + +<li>Some nights may seem still, yet there (is, are) always +noises.</li> + +<li>The exact meaning of such words as <i>inspiration</i>, +<i>prophecy</i>, and <i>orthodox</i> (puzzles, puzzle) laymen.</li> + +<li>Hard roads (is, are) an important matter to all country +people.</li> + +<li>There (has, have) been many lives lost in Arctic +exploration.</li> + +<li>Personal gifts inspired by good will and directed by +careful thought (is, are) the very best kind of charity.</li> + +<li>In Lincoln's replies to Douglas there (is, are) no flights +or oratory.</li> + +<li>The conciseness of these lines (is, are) to be admired.</li> + +<li>A constant stream of wagons and horses (was, were) passing +as the circus was unloaded.</li> + +<li>Nevertheless there (exists, exist) a certain class of +students who are socially submerged.</li> + +<li>She (doesn't, don't) care for olives.</li> + +<li>"Current Events" (is, are) a very useful department of this +magazine.</li> + +<li>No people (lives, live) in that house.</li> + +<li>The corporal, together with two other members of the +patrol, (was, were) captured by the enemy.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_59C" id="article_59C">C. <i>Shall</i> and <i>Will</i>, <i>Should</i> and <i>Would</i></a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Determine the correct form of the verb.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Perhaps I (shall, will) be able to go.</li> + +<li>I tell you, I (shall will) not allow that dog in the car.</li> + +<li>It is odd what a person (shall, will) do in a time of +excitement.</li> + +<li>They have never seen anything like it, and probably they +never (shall, will).</li> + +<li>"Johnny, you (shall, will) not go!" Johnny knew that further +begging was useless.</li> + +<li>As we (shall, will) find by investigation, our coast +fortifications are few.</li> + +<li>I (shouldn't, wouldn't) do that for anything.</li> + +<li>I (should, would) think you (should, would) enjoy your +bicycle.</li> + +<li>(Shall, will) you go driving with us?</li> + +<li>Do you think it (shall, will) rain?</li> + +<li>Where (shall, will) I hang my hat?</li> + +<li>(Should, would) you go if I (should, would) ask you?</li> + +<li>Rover (should, would) stay in the house all the time, if we +(should, would) let him.</li> + +<li>I promised that I (should, would) be at the station early, +lest we (should, would) miss the train.</li> + +<li>You (shall, will) have much trouble with that cold, I'm +afraid.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_59D" id="article_59D">D. <i>Lie</i>, <i>lay</i>; <i>sit</i>, <i>set</i>; <i>rise</i>, <i>raise</i></a></h6> + +<p>Fix in mind the following principal parts:</p> + +<table summary="Three columns showing present, past and past participle forms for the verbs 'lie', 'lay', 'sit', 'set', 'rise', 'raise' in rows"> +<tr><td>I lie</td><td>I lay</td><td>I have lain</td></tr> +<tr><td>I lay</td><td>I laid</td><td>I have laid</td></tr> +<tr><td>I sit</td><td>I sat</td><td>I have sat</td></tr> +<tr><td>I set</td><td>I set</td><td>I have set</td></tr> +<tr><td>I rise</td><td>I rose</td><td>I have risen</td></tr> +<tr><td>I raise</td><td>I raised</td><td>I have raised</td></tr> +</table> + +<p><i>Lie</i>, <i>sit</i>, <i>rise</i> are used intransitively; <i>lay</i>, <i>set</i>, +<i>raise</i> are used transitively. <i>Lay</i>, <i>set</i>, <i>raise</i> are +causatives; that is, <i>to lay</i> means <i>to cause to lie</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></p> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Insert a correct form of the verb <i>lie</i> or <i>lay</i>:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I —— here and watch the clouds. My dog is ——ing at my +feet.</li> + +<li>In the evening I —— aside all cares. I —— down on the +couch and read. Yesterday I —— there an hour.</li> + +<li>The children have —— in bed until seven o'clock. John has +—— his coat on a chair. He —— there asleep now.</li> + +<li>—— the shovel down. The garden is now —— out in rows. +—— down and take a little rest.</li> + +<li>Smoke —— along the horizon. Snow was ——ing here +yesterday. He is ——ing plans for the future.</li></ol> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Insert a correct form of the verb <i>sit</i> or <i>set</i>:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Jerome —— the box on the floor. Then he —— on the box.[class="transnotes" this list should start from 6...]</li> + +<li>Four people are ——ing at the table. Who —— the lamp +there?</li> + +<li>I had —— there an hour. They had —— the pitcher outside +the door.</li> + +<li>I often —— up late. Last night I —— up late. I must +——the alarm clock.</li> + +<li>—— the package down. —— down and rest. While we are +——ing there the gardener is ——ing out the plants.</li></ol> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Insert a correct form of the verb <i>rise</i> or <i>raise</i>:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>—— up and speak! —— the window.</li> + +<li>He quickly —— his head. The cork had gone under, but now +it —— again to the surface.</li> + +<li>During the night the bread —— to the top of the pan.</li> + +<li>The invalid slowly —— himself in his bed.</li> + +<li>The river has already —— and overflowed its banks.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_59E" id="article_59E">E. Principal Parts of Verbs</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>In the following sentences supply the correct form of the verb.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He —— (past tense of <i>come</i>) to this country in 1887.</li> + +<li>He has —— (past participle of <i>eat</i>) breakfast and —— +(past participle of <i>go</i>) to the office.</li> + +<li>Have you —— (past participle of <i>ride</i>) far? I have +——(past participle of <i>drive</i>) ten miles.</li> + +<li>I am sure it was Henry who —— (past tense of <i>do</i>) it, for +I —— (past tense of <i>see</i>) him running away as fast as he +could go.</li> + +<li>The wind has —— (past participle of <i>tear</i>) down the +chimney and —— (past participle of <i>blow</i>) down the tree.</li> + +<li>After he —— (past tense of <i>lie</i>) down, he remembered he +had left his books —— (present participle of <i>lie</i>) in the +orchard.</li> + +<li>He —— (past tense of <i>throw</i>) the ball so hard that the +window was —— (past participle of <i>break</i>) into a hundred +pieces.</li> + +<li>The man —— (past tense of <i>give</i>) warning before we had +—— (past participle of <i>go</i>) too far.</li> + +<li>After we had —— (past participle of <i>ride</i>) about ten +miles we —— (past tense of <i>come</i>) upon a stretch of hard +road.</li> + +<li>Where —— (past tense of <i>be</i>) you? You ——n't (past +tense of <i>be</i>) at home when I —— (past tense of <i>ring</i>) the +bell.</li> + +<li>The harness was —— (past participle of <i>break</i> or +<i>burst</i>) beyond repair. Who —— (past tense of <i>break</i>) it?</li> + +<li>I —— (past tense of <i>take</i>) four shots at the rabbit, but +every shot —— (past tense of <i>go</i>) wild.</li> + +<li>He has —— (past participle of <i>swim</i>) across the harbor, +and has —— (past participle of <i>break</i>) the record.</li> + +<li>I had —— (past participle of <i>drink</i>) buttermilk for +several weeks. I —— (past tense of <i>begin</i>) to gain weight.</li> + +<li>When we had —— (past participle of <i>sit</i>) there an hour +and —— (past participle of <i>eat</i>) all we wanted, Jim —— +(past tense of <i>draw</i>) out his purse and —— (past tense of +<i>give</i>) the waiter a dollar.</li></ol> + + +<h6><a name="article_59F" id="article_59F">F. General</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Improve the grammar of the following sentences.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Those kind of lamps are ugly.</li> + +<li>It don't interest me any more.</li> + +<li>Nobody may enter the hall tonight without their admittance +cards.</li> + +<li>One does not need to strain their ears while at the movies.</li> + +<li>Nearly all people eat too much, too fast, and too irregular.</li> + +<li>Don't take this letter too serious.</li> + +<li>He done the best he could with these kind of tools.</li> + +<li>Every person with a cold was blowing their nose.</li> + +<li>It would help considerable if you would speak to the manager +about existing conditions.</li> + +<li>If I were the mayor, I could not do as good as he does.</li> + +<li>Talk polite to your customers.</li> + +<li>It is important that a salesman has a good memory.</li> + +<li>Each tube must be capable of withstanding a pressure of +five hundred pounds per square inch before they are lowered +into place.</li> + +<li>She is as tall, if not taller, than he is.</li> + +<li>He always has and always will say that.</li> + +<li>He is one of the worst, if not the very worst, player on +the team.</li> + +<li>Final examinations require time and study that would not +otherwise be done.</li> + +<li>I feel badly. He talks rude. It smells fragrantly.</li></ol> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="diction" id="diction">DICTION</a></h2> + + +<h5><a name="article_60" id="article_60">Wordiness</a></h5> + +<p><b>60. Avoid wordiness. Strike out words not essential to the thought.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Roundabout impersonal construction: There are many interesting +things which may be seen in New York. [12 words.]</li> + +<li>Better: Many interesting things may be seen in New York. [9 +words.]</li> + +<li>Clause to be reduced to a phrase: The skeleton which stood in +the office of Dr. Willard was terrifying to little Cecil. [15 +words.]</li> + +<li>Right: The skeleton in Dr. Willard's office was terrifying to +little Cecil. [11 words.]</li> + +<li>Clause and phrase each to be reduced to a word: Men who cared +only for their individual interests were now in a state of +discouragement. [15 words.]</li> + +<li>Right: Selfish men were now discouraged. [5 words.]</li> + +<li>Separate predication in excess: That day I was shocking wheat +behind the binder. Shocking wheat behind the binder was my +usual job in harvest. That day while I was working at this job, +I found a nest full of partridge eggs. [37 words.]</li> + +<li>Right: That day, while shocking wheat behind the binder, my +usual job in harvest, I found a nest full of partridge eggs. +[21 words.]</li> + +<li>Ponderous scientific terms for simple ideas: Since, according +to the physicists, the per cent of efficiency of a machine is +equal to the amount of energy put in, divided by the amount of +useful work performed, it naturally follows that in all human +activities, unnecessary friction, since it lowers the amount of +nervous energy, is going to lower the per cent of efficiency. +While we may never reach an astonishing degree of efficiency by +economizing nervous energy, nevertheless, if we consistently +and perseveringly try to spare ourselves all unnecessary labor +and exertion, we shall have an abundant supply of energy to +direct into channels of usefulness. [100 words.]</li> + +<li>Right: If we economize our strength, we can make our actions +more efficient and useful. [14 words.]</li> + +<li>Inflated writing: She was supreme in beauty among the daughters +of Eve whom his ravished eyes had hitherto beheld. [17 words.]</li> + +<li>Right: She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. [10 +words.]</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_60_Note" id="article_60_Note">Note.</a>—A special form of wordiness is tautology—the useless repetition +of an idea in different words.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Gross tautology: He had an entire monopoly of the whole fruit +trade. [This is like saying "black blackbird."]</li> + +<li>Right: He had a monopoly of the fruit trade.</li> + +<li>Tautological expressions: + +<ul> +<li>this here</li> +<li>where at</li> +<li>return back</li> +<li>ascend up</li> +<li>repeat again</li> +<li>biography of his life</li> +<li>good benefits</li> +<li>fellow playmates</li> +<li>Hallowe'en evening</li> +<li>important essentials</li> +<li>indorse on the back</li> +<li>connect up</li> +<li>meet up with</li> +<li>combined together</li> +<li>perfectly all right</li> +<li>utter absence of</li> +<li>quite round</li> +<li>absolutely annihilated</li> +<li>still continue to</li> +<li>absolutely new creation</li> +<li>necessary requisite</li> +<li>total effect of all this</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The people who act the parts in a play want the people who +witness the performance to applaud them.</li> + +<li>There is an oily grass which is found on the prairie, and +which is called mesquite grass, and it covers the prairie.</li> + +<li>You wish to call the operator. You take the receiver from +the hook. By taking the receiver from the hook you call the +operator.</li> + +<li>At last the employer of the men, and those who were employed +by him, having compromised their difficulties, effected a +settlement, and reached an amicable understanding agreeable to +both parties.</li> + +<li>The two merchants joined up their forces together in order +to secure a monopoly of the entire trade of the village. There +was one absolutely essential preliminary which they thought +must necessarily precede everything else. It was that they +should take all the old shop-worn articles and dispose of them +by selling them as bargains at a reduced rate.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_61" id="article_61">Triteness</a></h5> + +<p><b>61. Avoid trite or hackneyed expressions.</b> Such expressions may be tags +from everyday speech (<i>the worse for wear</i>, <i>had the time of my life</i>); +or stale phrases from newspapers (<i>taken into custody</i>, <i>the officiating +clergyman</i>); or humorous substitutions (<i>ferocious canine</i>, <i>paternal +ancestor</i>); or forced synonyms (<i>gridiron heroes</i>, <i>the Hoosier +metropolis</i>); or conventional fine writing (<i>reigns supreme</i>, <i>wind +kissed the tree-tops</i>); or oft-repeated euphemisms (<i>limb</i> for <i>leg</i>, +<i>pass away</i> for <i>die</i>); or overworked quotations from literature +(<i>monarch of all I survey</i>, <i>footprints on the sands of time</i>).</p> + +<div class="examples"><p>List of trite expressions:</p> + +<ul> +<li>along these lines</li> +<li>meets the eye</li> +<li>feathered songsters</li> +<li>a long-felt want</li> +<li>the last sad rites</li> +<li>launched into eternity</li> +<li>last but not least</li> +<li>doomed to disappointment</li> +<li>at one fell swoop</li> +<li>sadder but wiser</li> +<li>did justice to a dinner</li> +<li>a goodly number</li> +<li>budding genius</li> +<li>beggars description</li> +<li>a dull thud</li> +<li>silence broken only by</li> +<li>wended their way</li> +<li>abreast of the times</li> +<li>trees stood like sentinels</li> +<li>method in his madness</li> +<li>sun-kissed meadows</li> +<li>tired but happy</li> +<li>hoping you are the same</li> +<li>nipped in the bud</li> +<li>the happy pair</li> +<li>seething mass of humanity</li> +<li>specimen of humanity</li> +<li>with bated breath</li> +<li>green with envy</li> +<li>the proud possessor</li> +<li>too full for utterance</li> +<li>a pugilistic encounter</li> +<li>conspicuous by its absence</li> +<li>with whom they come in contact</li> +<li>exception proves the rule</li> +<li>favor with a selection</li> +<li>as luck would have it</li> +<li>more easily imagined than described</li> +<li>where ignorance is bliss</li> +</ul> +</div> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Halleck returned from his trip considerably the worse for +wear.</li> + +<li>The baby whom she had promised to keep quiet proved to be a +foeman worthy of her steel.</li> + +<li>I first saw the light of day in New Orleans. It was in the +Crescent City also that my dear mother passed away.</li> + +<li>Americans come off second best in a vocalizing encounter +with umlauted <i>u</i>, while Germans and Frenchmen wage sanguinary +battles with our <i>th</i>.</li> + +<li>The daily scramble for dear life to get aboard a trolley was +like taking arms against a sea of troubles. Even standing room +was conspicuous by its absence. Sheridan began to think along +the line of getting to the office in some other way.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_62" id="article_62">The Exact Word</a></h5> + +<p><b>62. Find the exact word. Do not be content with a loose meaning. Seek +the verb, the noun, the adjective, the adverb, or the phrase which +expresses your thought with precision.</b> Such words as <i>said</i>, +<i>proposition</i>, and <i>nice</i> are often used too loosely. Observe the +possible gain in definiteness by substitution.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>For <i>said</i> (verb): <i>declared</i>, <i>related</i>, <i>insisted</i>, +<i>exclaimed</i>, <i>added</i>, <i>repeated</i>, <i>replied</i>, <i>admitted</i>, +<i>commented</i>, <i>corrected</i>, <i>protested</i>, <i>explained</i>, +<i>besought</i>, <i>interrupted</i>, <i>inquired</i>, <i>stammered</i>, <i>sighed</i>, +<i>murmured</i>, or <i>thundered</i>.</li> + +<li>For <i>proposition</i> (noun): <i>transaction</i>, <i>undertaking</i>, +<i>venture</i>, <i>recourse</i>, <i>suggestion</i>, <i>overture</i>, <i>proposal</i>, +<i>proffer</i>, <i>convenience</i>, <i>difficulty</i>, <i>thesis</i>, or +<i>doctrine</i>.</li> + +<li>For <i>nice</i> (adjective): <i>discriminating</i>, <i>precise</i>, +<i>fastidious</i>, <i>dainty</i>, <i>neat</i>, <i>pretty</i>, <i>pleasant</i>, +<i>fragrant</i>, <i>delicious</i>, <i>well-behaved</i>, <i>good</i>, or <i>moral</i>.</li> + +<li>Inexact verb: He had not sufficiently <i>regarded</i> the +difficulties of the task [Use <i>considered</i>].</li> + +<li>Inexact noun: Promptness is an <i>item</i> which a manager should +possess [Use <i>quality</i>].</li> + +<li>Inexact adjective: He looked <i>awfully funny</i> when I told him he +had made a mistake [Use <i>surprised</i>].</li> + +<li>Inexact phrasing throughout: Health is first in every line of +activity. A man who has it does not hold it with enough +respect, and make efforts enough to keep it.</li> + +<li>Right: Health is indispensable to success in any work. Even +those who have it do not realize its value.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He was proud of the honorable record he had gained.</li> + +<li>He resolved that some day he would be a banker, and I shall +tell you how he tried to do so.</li> + +<li>Isn't the sunset grand? Isn't it nice to be out of doors?</li> + +<li>The mystery as to which ones of the piano keys to play was +hard for him to acquire.</li> + +<li>If the package comes by freight, you must negotiate the +proposition of getting it home; but if it comes by express, the +delivery is done free.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_63" id="article_63">Concreteness</a></h5> + +<p><b>63. Concrete words are often more effective than vague, general, or +abstract words.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Not specific: She held herself aloof from her brothers' games +and amusements.</li> + +<li>Concrete: She never played soldier or sailed paper boats with +her brothers.</li> + +<li>No appeal to the senses: I liked to watch the servant girl as +she moved about the kitchen, preparing our morning repast.</li> + +<li>Concrete: I liked to watch Norah as she fried our crisp +breakfast bacon and browned our buckwheat cakes.</li> + +<li>Flat, not readily visualized: The first inhabitants overcame +the barriers to settlement about a century ago.</li> + +<li>Concrete: Rough backwoodsmen broke through the underbrush and +swamp-land a century ago.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The scientist discovered a bird in a tree.</li> + +<li>Our hostess set before us many good things to eat.</li> + +<li>The sailor was carving queer figures on a piece of soft +wood.</li> + +<li>The night watchman heard something that made him suspicious.</li> + +<li>I stood at the door of the shop to watch the astonishing +things the blacksmith was doing.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_64" id="article_64">Sound</a></h5> + +<p><b>64. Avoid the frequent repetition of a sound, especially if it be harsh +or unpleasant.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Bad: He is an exceedingly orderly secretary.</li> + +<li>Better: As a secretary he is very systematic. [Or] The +secretary is very systematic.</li> + +<li>Bad: Immediately the squirrel hid himself behind the hickory +tree.</li> + +<li>Better: Immediately the squirrel dodged behind the hickory +tree.</li> + +<li>Unfortunate rime: Bert did not dare to go home with wet hair.</li> + +<li>Better: Bert did not dare to go home with his hair wet. [Or] +Bert was afraid to go home with wet hair.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>That Christmas happened to be unusually happy.</li> + +<li>I fear we must sit near the rear of the room.</li> + +<li>The Jackies went clambering and scurrying up the rigging.</li> + +<li>The ship slips anchor while the idlers sip tea on the deck.</li> + +<li>The third treasure-seeker heard a thud. His pick had struck +an obstruction.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_65" id="article_65">Subtle Violations of Good Use: Faulty Idioms, Colloquialisms</a></h5> + +<p><b>65. Avoid subtle violations of good use, particularly (a) faulty idioms +and (b) colloquialisms.</b></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_65a" id="article_65a">a.</a> Make your expression conform to English idiom.</b> A faulty idiom is an +expression which, though correct in grammar and general meaning, +combines words in a manner contrary to usage. Idioms are established by +custom, and cannot be explained by logical rules. "I enjoy to read" is +wrong, not because the words offend logic or grammar, but merely because +people do not instinctively make that combination of words. "I like to +read" and "I enjoy reading" are good idioms.</p> + +<table summary="A list of faulty idioms in the first column with the corrected version in the second column"> +<thead> +<tr><th>Faulty Idioms</th><th>Correct Idioms</th></tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr><td>in the city Toledo</td><td>in the city of Toledo</td></tr> +<tr><td>in the year of 1920</td><td>in the year 1920</td></tr> +<tr><td>I hope you a good time</td><td>I wish you a good time</td></tr> +<tr><td>the Rev. Hopkins</td><td>the Reverend <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Hopkins</td></tr> +<tr><td>possessed with ability</td><td>possessed of ability</td></tr> +<tr><td>stay to home</td><td>stay at home</td></tr> +<tr><td>different than</td><td>different from</td></tr> +<tr><td>independent from</td><td>independent of</td></tr> +<tr><td>in search for</td><td>in search of</td></tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<p>Observe that many idioms are concerned with prepositions. Make sure that +a verb or adjective is accompanied by the right preposition. Study the +following list of correct <ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'idoms'">idioms</ins>:</p> + +<ul> +<li>accused of (a theft)</li> +<li>accused by (a person)</li> +<li>accord with (a person)</li> +<li>agree with (a person)</li> +<li>agree to (a proposal)</li> +<li>agreeable to</li> +<li>angry at (things or persons)</li> +<li>angry with (a person)</li> +<li>careful about (an affair)</li> +<li>careful of (one's money)</li> +<li>comply with</li> +<li>convenient to (a person)</li> +<li>convenient for (a purpose)</li> +<li>correspond to (things)</li> +<li>correspond with (persons)</li> +<li>dissent from</li> +<li>enamored of</li> +<li>entrust to</li> +<li>free from</li> +<li>listen to</li> +<li>part from (a person)</li> +<li>part with (a thing)</li> +<li>pleased with</li> +<li>resolve on</li> +<li>sympathize with</li> +<li>take exception to</li> +</ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_65b" id="article_65b">b.</a> Do not carry the standards of conversation into formal writing.</b> +Colloquial usage is more free than literary usage. The colloquial +sentence <i>That's the man I talked with</i> becomes in writing <i>That is the +man with whom I talked.</i> The colloquial sentence <i>It was a cold day but +there wasn't any wind blowing</i> is a loose string of words. Written +discourse requires greater tension and more care in subordinating minor +ideas: <i>The day, though cold, was still.</i> Contractions are proper in +conversation, and in personal or informal writing. In formal writing +they are not appropriate. And do not let such expressions as <i>He +doesn't</i>, <i>We aren't</i>, <i>It's proved</i>, used in talk by careful speakers, +mislead you into expressions like <i>He don't</i>, <i>We ain't</i>, <i>It's proven</i>, +which violate even colloquial good use.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He confessed of his inability to comply to the demand.</li> + +<li>Is he from Irish descent? Is humor characteristic with the +Irish?</li> + +<li>She was not to home, but I was reluctant against leaving.</li> + +<li>He dissented to the opinion of the committee's majority, for +his ideas were utterly different than theirs.</li> + +<li>He got a few jobs as a carpenter that summer, but they +didn't pay him much, and so he went to loafing around, and he's +been at it ever since.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_66" id="article_66">Gross Violations of Good Use: Barbarisms, Improprieties, Slang</a></h5> + +<p><b>66. Avoid gross violations of good use, particularly (a) barbarisms, (b) +improprieties, and (c) slang.</b></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_66a" id="article_66a">a.</a> Barbarisms are distortions of words in good use, or coinages for +which there is no need.</b> Examples: <i>to concertize</i>, <i>to burgle</i> or +<i>burglarize</i>, <i>to jell</i>, <i>alright</i>, <i>a-plenty</i>, <i>most</i> (for <i>almost</i>), +<i>performess</i>, <i>fake</i>, <i>pep</i>, <i>tasty</i>, <i>illy</i>, <i>complected</i>, +<i>undoubtably</i>, <i>nowheres</i>, <i>soph</i>, <i>lab</i>, <i>gents</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_66b" id="article_66b">b.</a> Improprieties are words wrenched from one part of speech to another, +or made to perform an unnatural service.</b> Examples: <i>to suspicion</i>, <i>to +gesture</i>, <i>to suicide</i>, <i>a steal</i>, <i>a try</i>, <i>a go</i>, <i>an invite</i>, <i>the +eats</i>, <i>humans</i>, <i>some</i> or <i>real</i> or <i>swell</i> (as adverbs), <i>like</i> (as a +conjunction).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_66c" id="article_66c">c.</a> Slang is speech consisting either of uncouth expressions of +illiterate origin, or of legitimate expressions used in grotesque or +irregular senses.</b> Though sometimes (witness eighteenth century <i>mob</i>, +and nineteenth century <i>buncombe</i>) it satisfies a real need and becomes +established in the language, in most instances it is short-lived +(witness the thieves' talk in <i>Oliver Twist</i>, or passages from any comic +opera song popular five years ago). Vicious types of slang are:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Expressions of vulgar origin (from criminal classes, the prize +ring, the vaudeville circuit, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>): <i>get pinched</i>, <i>down and +out</i>, <i>took the count</i>, <i>bum hunch</i>, <i>nix on the comedy +stuff</i>, <i>get across</i>.</li> + +<li>Language strained or distorted for novel effect: <i>performed the +feed act at a bang-up gastronomic emporium</i>, <i>bingled a tall +drive that made the horsehide ramble out into center garden</i>.</li> + +<li>Blanket expressions used as substitutes for thinking: +<i>corking</i>, <i>stunning</i>, <i>ain't it fierce?</i><ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing comma">,</ins> <i>can you beat it?</i><ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing comma">,</ins> +<i>going some</i>, <i>just so I get by with it</i>.</li></ul> + +<p>The use of the last-named type is most to be regretted. It leads to a +mental habit of phonographic repetition, with no resort to independent +thinking. If a man really desires to use slang, let him invent new +expressions every day, and make them fit the specific occasion.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I disremember what sort of an outfit he wore.</li> + +<li>Helen's as light-complected a girl as you'll run across, I +calculate.</li> + +<li>His ad brought a first-rate gent to hold down the job.</li> + +<li>Thompson hasn't stability, or it seems like it. He ain't got +no gumption. He's too easy enthused.</li> + +<li>The grub was to of cost us two bits, but we didn't have the +dough. We gets outside the food, and when the cashier ain't +lookin', we runs out the door and beats it.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_67" id="article_67">Words Often Confused in Meaning</a></h5> + +<p><b>67. Do not confuse or interchange the meanings of the following words:</b></p> + + +<dl class="regular"><dt><i>Accept</i> and <i>except</i>.</dt><dd><i>Accept</i> means <i>to receive</i>; <i>except</i> as +a verb means <i>to exclude</i> and as a preposition means <i>with the +exception of</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Affect</i> and <i>effect</i>.</dt><dd><i>Affect</i> is not used as a noun; <i>effect</i> +as a noun means <i>result</i>. As verbs, <i>affect</i> means <i>to +influence in part</i>; <i>effect</i> means <i>to accomplish totally</i>. +"His story affected me deeply." "The Russians effected a +revolution." <i>Affect</i> also has a special meaning <i>to feign</i>. +"She had an affected manner."</dd> + +<dt><i>Allusion</i> and <i>illusion</i>.</dt><dd><i>Allusion</i> means <i>a reference</i>; +<i>illusion</i> means a <i>deceptive appearance</i>. "A Biblical +allusion." "An optical illusion."</dd> + +<dt><i>Already</i> and <i>all ready</i>.</dt><dd><i>Already</i> means <i>by this time</i> or +<i>beforehand</i>; <i>all ready</i> means <i>wholly ready</i>. "I have already +invited him." "Dinner is all ready." "We are all ready for +dinner."</dd> + +<dt><i>Altogether</i> and <i>all together</i>.</dt><dd><i>Altogether</i> means <i>wholly</i>, +<i>entirely</i>; <i>all together</i> means <i>collectively, in a group</i>. +"He is altogether honest." "The King sent the people all +together into exile."</dd> + +<dt><i>Can</i> and <i>may</i>.</dt><dd><i>Can</i> means <i>to be able</i>; <i>may</i> means <i>to have +permission</i>. <i>Can</i> for <i>may</i> has a certain colloquial standing, +but is condemned by literary usage.</dd> + +<dt><i>Emigrate</i> and <i>immigrate</i>.</dt><dd><i>Emigrate</i> means <i>to go out from a +country</i>; <i>immigrate</i> means <i>to enter into a country</i>. The same +man may be an <i>emigrant</i> when he leaves Europe, and an +<i>immigrant</i> when he enters America.</dd> + +<dt><i>Healthy</i> and <i>healthful</i>.</dt><dd><i>Healthy</i> means <i>having health</i>; +<i>healthful</i> means <i>giving health</i>. "Milk is healthful." "The +climate of Colorado is healthful." "The boy is healthy."</dd> + +<dt><i>Hanged</i> and <i>hung</i>.</dt><dd><i>Hanged</i> is the correct past tense of +<i>hang</i> in the sense <i>put to death, hanged on the gallows</i>; +<i>hung</i> is the correct past tense for the general meaning +<i>suspended</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Hygienic</i> and <i>sanitary</i>.</dt><dd>Both words mean <i>pertaining to +health</i>. <i>Hygienic</i> is used when the condition is a matter of +personal habits or rules; <i>sanitary</i> is used when the condition +is a matter of surroundings (water supply, food supply, sewage +disposal, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) or the relations of numbers of people.</dd> + +<dt><i>Instants</i> and <i>instance</i>.</dt><dd><i>Instants</i> means <i>small portions of +time</i>; <i>instance</i> means <i>an example</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Later</i> and <i>latter</i>.</dt><dd><i>Later</i> means <i>more late</i>; <i>latter</i> means +<i>the second in a series of two</i>. "The latter" is used in +conjunction with the phrase "the former."</dd> + +<dt><i>Lead</i> and <i>led</i>.</dt><dd><i>Led</i> is the past tense of the verb <i>to +lead</i>. <i>Lead</i> is the present tense.</dd> + +<dt><i>Learn</i> and <i>teach</i>.</dt><dd><i>Learn</i> means <i>to get knowledge of</i>; +<i>teach</i> means <i>to give knowledge of</i> or <i>to</i>. "The instructor +<i>teaches</i> (not <i>learns</i>) me physics." "He learns his lessons +easily."</dd> + +<dt><i>Leave</i> and <i>let</i>.</dt><dd><i>Leave</i> means <i>to abandon</i>; <i>let</i> means <i>to +permit</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Less</i> and <i>fewer</i>.</dt><dd><i>Less</i> refers to quantity; <i>fewer</i> refers +to number. "He has <i>fewer</i> (not <i>less</i>) horses than he needs."</dd> + +<dt><i>Liable</i>, <i>likely</i>, and <i>apt</i>.</dt><dd><i>Likely</i> merely predicts; +<i>liable</i> conveys the additional idea of harm or responsibility. +<i>Apt</i> applies usually to persons, in the sense of <i>having +natural capability</i>, and sometimes to things, in the sense of +<i>fitting</i>, <i>appropriate</i>. "It is likely to be a pleasant day." +"I fear it is liable to rain." "He is liable for damages." "He +is an apt lad at his books." "That is an apt phrase."</dd> + +<dt><i>Lie</i> and <i>lay</i>.</dt><dd><i>Lay</i>, a transitive verb, means <i>to cause to +lie</i>. "I lay the book on the table and it lies there." "Now I +lay me down to sleep." A source of confusion between the two +words is that the past tense of <i>lie</i> is <i>lay</i>:</dd> + +<dd> +<table summary="The first column presents examples of the verb 'lie' in various tenses; the second column presents the verb 'lay'."> +<tr><td>I lie down to sleep.</td><td>I lay the book on the table.</td></tr> +<tr><td>I lay there yesterday.</td><td>I laid it there yesterday.</td></tr> +<tr><td>I have lain here for hours.</td><td>I have laid it there many times.</td></tr> +</table> +</dd> + +<dt><i>Like</i> and <i>as</i> or <i>as if</i>.</dt><dd><i>Like</i> is in good use as a +preposition, and may be followed by a noun; <i>as</i> is in good use +as a conjunction, and may be followed by a clause. "He is tall +like his father." "He is tall, as his father is." "It looks <i>as +if</i> (not <i>like</i>) it were going to rain."</dd> + +<dt><i>Lose</i> and <i>loose</i>.</dt><dd><i>Lose</i> means <i>to cease having</i>; <i>loose</i> as +a verb means <i>to set free</i>, and as an adjective, <i>free, not +bound</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Majority</i> and <i>plurality</i>.</dt><dd>In a loose sense, <i>majority</i> means +the <i>greater part</i>. More strictly, it means the number by which +votes cast for one candidate exceed those of the opposition. A +<i>plurality</i> is the excess of votes received by one candidate +over his nearest competitor. In an election A receives 500 +votes; B, 400 votes; and C, 300 votes. A has a plurality of +100, but no majority.</dd> + +<dt><i>Practical</i> and <i>practicable</i>.</dt><dd><i>Practical</i> means <i>not +theoretical</i>; <i>practicable</i> means <i>capable of being put into +practice</i>. "A practical man." "The arrangement is +practicable."</dd> + +<dt><i>Principal</i> and <i>principle</i>.</dt><dd><i>Principal</i> as an adjective means +<i>chief</i> or <i>leading</i>; <i>principle</i> as a noun means a <i>general +truth</i>. <i>Principal</i> as a noun means a <i>sum of money</i>, or the +<i>chief official of a school</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Proof</i> and <i>evidence</i>.</dt><dd>In a law court, <i>proof</i> is <i>evidence +sufficient to establish a fact</i>; <i>evidence</i> is <i>whatever is +brought forward in an attempt to establish a fact</i>. "The +evidence against the prisoner was extensive, but hardly proof +of his guilt." In ordinary speech, <i>proof</i> is sometimes loosely +used as a synonym for <i>evidence</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Pseudo-</i> and <i>quasi-</i>.</dt><dd>As a prefix, <i>pseudo-</i> means <i>false</i>; +<i>quasi-</i> means literally <i>as if</i>, hence <i>seeming</i>, <i>so-called</i>. +"Phrenology is a pseudo-science." "A quasi-evolutionary +doctrine."</dd> + +<dt><i>Quiet</i> and <i>quite</i>.</dt><dd><i>Quiet</i> is an adjective meaning <i>calm</i>, +<i>not noisy</i>; <i>quite</i> is an adverb meaning <i>entirely</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Respectfully</i> and <i>respectively</i>.</dt><dd><i>Respectfully</i> means <i>in a +courteous manner</i>; <i>respectively</i> means <i>in a way proper to +each</i>. "Yours <i>respectfully</i>" (not <i>respectively</i>). "He handed +the commissions to Gray and Hodgins respectively."</dd> + +<dt><i>Rise</i> and <i>raise</i>.</dt><dd><i>Rise</i> is an intransitive verb; <i>raise</i> is +a transitive verb. "I rise to go home." "I raise vegetables." +"I raise the stone from the ground."</dd> + +<dt><i>Sit</i> and <i>set</i>.</dt><dd><i>Set</i>, a transitive verb, means <i>to cause to +sit</i>. "He sets it in the corner and it sits there." The past +tense of <i>sit</i> is <i>sat</i>.</dd> + +<dd> +<table summary="The first column presents the examples of the verb 'sit' in various tenses; the second column presents the verb 'sit'."> +<tr><td>I sit down.</td><td>I always set it in its place.</td></tr> +<tr><td>He sat in this very chair.</td><td>I set it in its place yesterday.</td></tr> +<tr><td>He has sat there an hour.</td><td>I have always set it just here.</td></tr> +</table> +</dd> + +<dt><i>Stationary</i> and <i>stationery</i>.</dt><dd><i>Stationary</i> is an adjective +meaning <i>fixed</i>; <i>stationery</i> is a noun meaning <i>writing +material</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Statue</i>, <i>stature</i>, and <i>statute</i>.</dt><dd><i>Statue</i> means a <i>carved</i> +or <i>moulded figure</i>; <i>stature</i> means <i>height</i>; <i>statute</i> means +a <i>law</i>.</dd></dl> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Insert <i>affect</i> or <i>effect</i>: Noise does not —— my +studying. It has little —— on me. By the exercise of will +power I was able to —— a change.</li> + +<li>Insert <i>healthy</i> or <i>healthful</i>: New Mexico has a —— +climate, Graham bread is ——. You will be —— if you take +exercise.</li> + +<li>Insert <i>later</i> or <i>latter</i>: I will see you ——. Here are +two plans: the former is complex; the —— is simple. Sooner or +—— you will learn the rule.</li> + +<li>Insert <i>less</i> or <i>fewer</i>: They have —— money than we; we +have —— pleasures than they. It seems to me there are —— +accidents.</li> + +<li>Insert <i>principal</i> or <i>principle</i>: The —— part of a clock +is the pendulum, which swings regularly, according to a —— of +science. My —— reason for trusting him is that he is a man of +——. He is the —— of the high school. The widow spends the +interest on the money, but keeps the —— intact.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_68" id="article_68">Glossary of Faulty Diction</a></h5> + +<p><b>68. Avoid faulty diction.</b></p> + + +<dl class="regular"><dt><i>Ad</i></dt><dd>(for <i>advertisement</i>). Avoid in formal writing and +speaking.</dd> + +<dt><i>Ain't</i>.</dt><dd>Never correct. Say <i>I'm not</i>, <i>you</i> [<i>we</i>, <i>they</i>] +<i>aren't</i>, <i>he</i> [<i>she</i>, <i>it</i>] <i>isn't</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>All the farther</i>, <i>all the faster</i>.</dt><dd>Crude. Use <i>as far as</i>, <i>as +fast as</i>, in such sentences as "This is all the farther I can +go."</dd> + +<dt><i>As</i>.</dt><dd>(a) Incorrect in the sense of <i>that</i> or <i>whether</i>. "I +don't know <i>whether</i> (not <i>as</i>) I can tell you." "Not <i>that</i> +(not <i>as</i>) I know." (b) <i>As ... as</i> are correlatives. <i>Than</i> +must not replace the second <i>as</i>. Right: "As good as or better +than his neighbors." "As good as his neighbors, or better [than +they]." See <a href="#article_57">57</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Auto</i>.</dt><dd>An abbreviation not desirable in formal writing.</dd> + +<dt><i>Awful</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>filling with awe</i> or <i>filled with awe</i>. Do not +use in the sense of <i>uncivil</i>, <i>serious</i>, or <i>ludicrous</i>, or +(in the adverbial form) in the sense of <i>very</i>, <i>extremely</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Balance</i>.</dt><dd>Incorrect when used in the sense of <i>remainder</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Because</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used for <i>the fact that</i>. "<i>The fact that</i> +(not <i>because</i>) he is absent is no reason why we should not +proceed." See <a href="#article_5">5</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Between</i>.</dt><dd>Used of two persons or things. Not to be confused +with <i>among</i>, which is used of more than two.</dd> + +<dt><i>Blame on</i>.</dt><dd>A crudity for <i>put the blame on</i> or <i>blame</i>. +Faulty: "Don't blame it on me." Better: "Don't blame me."</dd> + +<dt><i>Borned</i>.</dt><dd>A monstrosity for <i>born</i>. "I was <i>born</i> (not +<i>borned</i>) in 1899."</dd> + +<dt><i>Bursted</i>.</dt><dd>The past tense of <i>burst</i> is the same as the +present.</dd> + +<dt><i>Bust</i> or <i>busted</i>.</dt><dd>Vulgar for <i>burst</i>. Right: "The balloon +burst." "The bank failed."</dd> + +<dt><i>But what</i>.</dt><dd><i>That</i> is often preferable. "I do not doubt <i>that</i> +(not <i>but what</i>) he is honest."</dd> + +<dt><i>Canine</i>.</dt><dd>An adjective. Not in good use as a noun.</dd> + +<dt><i>Cannot help but</i>.</dt><dd>A confusion of <i>can but</i> and <i>cannot help</i>. +"I can but believe you"; or "I cannot help believing you"; not +"I cannot help but believe you." See <a href="#article_34">34</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Caused by</i>.</dt><dd>To be used only when it refers definitely to a +noun. Wrong: "He was disappointed, caused by the lateness of +the train." The noun <i>disappointment</i> should be used instead of +the verb <i>disappointed</i>. Then caused will have a definite +reference. Right: "His disappointment was caused by the +lateness of the train." See <a href="#article_23">23</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Claim</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>to demand as a right</i>. Incorrect for <i>maintain</i> +or <i>assert</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Considerable</i>.</dt><dd>An adjective, not an adverb. "He talked +<i>considerably</i> (not <i>considerable</i>) about it."</dd> + +<dt><i>Could of</i>.</dt><dd>An illiterate form arising from slovenly +pronunciation. Use <i>could have</i>. Avoid also <i>may of</i>, <i>must +of</i>, <i>would of</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></dd> + +<dt><i>Data</i>.</dt><dd>Plural. The singular (seldom used) is <i>datum</i>. Compare +<i>stratum</i>, <i>strata</i>; <i>erratum</i>, <i>errata</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Demean</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>to conduct oneself</i>, not <i>to lower</i> or <i>to +degrade</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Different than</i>.</dt><dd><i>Different from</i> is to be preferred. <i>Than</i> +is a conjunction. The idea of separation implied in <i>different</i> +calls for a preposition, rather than a word of comparison.</dd> + +<dt><i>Disremember</i>.</dt><dd>Not in good use.</dd> + +<dt><i>Done</i>.</dt><dd>A gross error when used as the past tense of <i>do</i>, or +as an adverb meaning <i>already</i>. "<i>I did it</i> (not <i>I done it</i>)." +"I've <i>already</i> (not <i>done</i>) got my lessons."</dd> + +<dt><i>Don't</i>.</dt><dd>A contraction for <i>do not</i>; never to be used for <i>does +not</i>. The contraction of <i>does not</i> is <i>doesn't</i>. See +<a href="#article_51d">51d</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Drownded</i>.</dt><dd>Vulgar for <i>drowned</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Due to</i>.</dt><dd>To be used only when it refers definitely to a noun. +Faulty: "He refused the offer, due to his father's opposition." +Right: "His refusal of the offer was due to his father's +opposition." The noun <i>refusal</i> should be used instead of the +verb <i>refused</i>. Then <i>due</i> will have a definite reference. See +<a href="#article_5">5</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Enthuse</i>.</dt><dd>Not in good use.</dd> + +<dt><i><abbr title="Et cetera">Etc.</abbr></i></dt><dd>An abbreviation for the Latin <i>et cetera</i>, meaning <i>and +other</i> [things]. <i>Et</i> means <i>and</i>. <i>And <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></i> is therefore +grossly incorrect. Do not write <i>ect.</i></dd> + +<dt><i>Expect</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>to look forward to</i>. Hardly correct in the +sense of <i>suppose</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Fine</i>.</dt><dd>Use cautiously as an adjective, and not at all as an +adverb. Seek the exact word. See <a href="#article_62">62</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Former</i>.</dt><dd>Means the first or first named of two. Not to be used +when more than two have been named. The corresponding word is +<i>latter</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>For to</i>.</dt><dd>Incorrect for <i>to</i>. "I want <i>you</i> (not <i>for you</i>) to +listen carefully." "He made up his mind <i>to</i> (not <i>for to</i>) +accept."</dd> + +<dt><i>Gent</i>.</dt><dd>A vulgar abbreviation of <i>gentleman</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Good</i>.</dt><dd>An adjective, not an adverb. Wrong: "He did good in +mathematics." Right: "He did well in mathematics." "He did good +work in mathematics."</dd> + +<dt><i>Gotten</i>.</dt><dd>An old form now usually replaced by <i>got</i> except in +such expressions as <i>ill-gotten gains</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Guess</i>.</dt><dd>Expresses conjecture. Not to be used in formal +composition for <i>think</i>, <i>suppose</i>, or <i>expect</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Had of</i>.</dt><dd>Illiterate. "I wish I <i>had known</i> (not <i>had of +known</i>) about it."</dd> + +<dt><i>Had ought</i>.</dt><dd>A vulgarism. "He <i>ought</i> (not <i>had ought</i>) to +have resigned." <ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing a quotation mark">"</ins>We <i>oughtn't</i> +(not <i>hadn't ought</i>) to make this error."</dd> + +<dt><i>Hardly</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used with a negative. See <a href="#article_34">34</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Home</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use when you mean simply <i>house</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Human</i> or <i>humans</i>.</dt><dd>Not in good use as a noun. Say <i>human +being</i>. Right: "The house was not fit for <i>human beings</i> (not +<i>humans</i>) to live in."</dd> + +<dt><i>If</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>whether</i>. "I can't say <i>whether</i> (not +<i>if</i>) the laundry will be finished today."</dd> + +<dt><i>In</i>.</dt><dd>Often misused for <i>into</i>. "He jumped <i>into</i> (not <i>in</i>) +the pond."</dd> + +<dt><i>It's</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>it is</i>; not to be written for the possessive +<i>its</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Kind of</i>.</dt><dd>(a) Should not modify adjectives or verbs. "He was +<i>somewhat</i> (not <i>kind of</i>) lean." "<i>She partly suspected</i> (not +<i>She kind of suspected</i>) what was going on." (b) When using +with a noun, do not follow by <i>a</i>. "That kind of man"; not +"That kind of a man."</dd> + +<dt><i>Like</i>.</dt><dd>To be followed by a substantive; never by a substantive +and a verb. "He ran like a deer." "Do <i>as</i> (not <i>like</i>) I do." +"She felt <i>as if</i> (not <i>like</i>) she was going to faint." <i>Like</i> +is a preposition; <i>as</i> is a conjunction.</dd> + +<dt><i>Literally</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use where you plainly do not mean it, as in +the sentence, "I was literally tickled to death."</dd> + +<dt><i>Loan</i>.</dt><dd><i>Lend</i> is in better use as a verb.</dd> + +<dt><i>Locate</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>settle</i> or <i>establish oneself</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Lose out</i>.</dt><dd>Not used in formal writing. Say <i>lose</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Lots of</i>.</dt><dd>A mercantile term which has a dubious colloquial +standing. Not in good literary use for <i>many</i> or <i>much</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Might of</i>.</dt><dd>A vulgarism for <i>might have</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Most</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>almost</i>. "<i>Almost</i> (not <i>most</i>) all."</dd> + +<dt><i>Myself</i>.</dt><dd>Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the simple +personal pronoun would suffice. "I saw them myself." "Some +friends and <i>I</i> (not <i>myself</i>) went walking."</dd> + +<dt><i>Neither</i>.</dt><dd>Used with <i>nor</i>, and not with <i>or</i>. "Neither the man +whom his associates had suspected <i>nor</i> (not <i>or</i>) the one whom +the police had arrested was the criminal." "She could neither +paint a good picture <i>nor</i> (not <i>or</i>) play the violin well."</dd> + +<dt><i>Nice</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>delicate</i> or <i>precise</i>. <i>Nice</i> is used in a +loose colloquial way to indicate general approval, but should +not be so used in formal writing. Right: "He displayed nice +judgment." "We had a <i>pleasant</i> (not <i>nice</i>) time." See +<a href="#article_62">62</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Nowhere near</i>.</dt><dd>Vulgar for <i>not nearly</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Nowheres</i>.</dt><dd>Vulgar.</dd> + +<dt><i>O</i> and <i>Oh</i>.</dt><dd><i>O</i> is used with a noun in direct address; it is +not separated from the noun by any marks of punctuation. <i>Oh</i> +is used as an interjection; it is followed by a comma or an +exclamation point. "Hear, O king, what thy servants would say." +"Oh, dear!"</dd> + +<dt><i>Of</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>have</i> in such combinations as <i>should +have</i>, <i>may have</i>, <i>ought to have</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Off of</i>.</dt><dd><i>On</i>, <i>upon</i>, or some equivalent expression is +usually preferable.</dd> + +<dt><i>Ought to of</i>.</dt><dd>A vulgarism for <i>ought to have</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Over with</i>.</dt><dd>Crude for <i>over</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Pants</i>.</dt><dd><i>Trousers</i> is the approved term in literary usage. +<i>Pants</i> (from <i>pantaloons</i>) has found some degree of colloquial +and commercial acceptance.</dd> + +<dt><i>Party</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used for <i>person</i>, except in legal phrases.</dd> + +<dt><i>Phone</i>.</dt><dd>A contraction not employed in formal writing. Say +<i>telephone</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Plenty</i>.</dt><dd>A noun; not in good use as an adjective or an adverb. +"He had <i>plenty of</i> (not <i>plenty</i>) resources." "He had +<i>resources in plenty</i> (not <i>resources plenty</i>)."</dd> + +<dt><i>Proposition</i>.</dt><dd>Means a <i>thing proposed</i>. Do not use loosely, as +in the sentence: "A berth on a Pullman is a good proposition +during a railway journey at night." See <a href="#article_62">62</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Proven</i>.</dt><dd>Prefer <i>proved</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Providing</i>.</dt><dd>Prefer <i>provided</i> in such expressions as "I will +vote for him <i>provided</i> (not <i>providing</i>) he is a candidate."</dd> + +<dt><i>Quite a</i>.</dt><dd>Colloquial in such expressions as <i>quite a while</i>, +<i>quite a few</i>, <i>quite a number</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Raise</i>.</dt><dd><i>Rear</i> or <i>bring up</i> is preferable in speaking of +children. "She <i>reared</i> (not <i>raised</i>) seven children."</dd> + +<dt><i>Rarely ever</i>.</dt><dd>Crude for <i>rarely</i>, <i>hardly ever</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Real</i>.</dt><dd>Crude for <i>very</i> or <i>really</i>. "She was <i>very</i> (not +<i>real</i>) intelligent." "He was <i>really</i> (not <i>real</i>) brave."</dd> + +<dt><i>Remember of</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used for <i>remember</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Right smart</i> and <i>Right smart of</i>.</dt><dd>Extremely vulgar.</dd> + +<dt><i>Same</i>.</dt><dd>No longer used as a pronoun except in legal documents. +"He saw her drop the purse and restored <i>it</i> (not <i>the same</i>) +to her."</dd> + +<dt><i>Scarcely</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used with a negative. See +<a href="#article_34">34</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Seldom ever</i>.</dt><dd>Crude for <i>seldom</i>, <i>hardly ever</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Shall</i>.</dt><dd>Do not confuse with <i>will</i>. See <a href="#article_53">53</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Sight</i>.</dt><dd><i>A sight</i> or <i>a sight of</i> is very crude for <i>many</i>, +<i>much</i>, <i>a great deal of</i>. "<i>A great many</i> (not <i>a sight</i>) of +them."</dd> + +<dt><i>So</i>.</dt><dd>Not incorrect, but loose, vague, and often unnecessary. +(a) As an intensive, the frequent use of <i>so</i> has been +christened "the feminine demonstrative." Hackneyed: "I was so +surprised." Better: "I was much surprised." Or, "I was +surprised." (b) As a connective, the frequent use of <i>so</i> is a +mark of amateurishness. See <a href="#article_36_Note">36 Note</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Some</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used as an adverb. "She was <i>somewhat</i> (not +<i>some</i>) better the next day." Wrong: "He studied some that +night." Right: "He did some studying that night."</dd> + +<dt><i>Somewheres</i>.</dt><dd>Very crude. Use <i>somewhere</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Species</i>.</dt><dd>Has the same form in singular and plural. "He +discovered a new <i>species</i> (not <i>specie</i>) of sunflower."</dd> + +<dt><i>Such</i>.</dt><dd>(a) To be completed by <i>that</i>, rather than by <i>so +that</i>, when a result clause follows. "There was such a crowd +<i>that</i> (not <i>so that</i>) he did not find his friends." (b) To be +completed by <i>as</i>, rather than by <i>that</i>, <i>who</i>, or <i>which</i>, +when a relative clause follows. "I will accept such +arrangements <i>as</i> (not <i>that</i>) may be made." "He called upon +such soldiers <i>as</i> (not <i>who</i>) would volunteer for this service +to step forward."</dd> + +<dt><i>Superior than</i>.</dt><dd>Not in good use for <i>superior to</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Sure</i>.</dt><dd>Avoid the crude adverbial use. "It <i>surely</i> (not +<i>sure</i>) was pleasant." In answer to the question, "Will you +go?" either <i>sure</i> or <i>surely</i> is correct, though <i>surely</i> is +preferred. "[To be] sure." "[You may be] sure." "[I will] +surely [go]."</dd> + +<dt><i>Suspicion</i>.</dt><dd>A noun. Never to be used as a verb.</dd> + +<dt><i>Take and</i>.</dt><dd>Often unnecessary, sometimes crude. Redundant: "He +took the ax and sharpened it." Better: "He sharpened the ax." +Crude: "He took and nailed up the box." Better: "He nailed up +the box."</dd> + +<dt><i>Tend</i>.</dt><dd>In the sense <i>to look after</i>, takes a direct object +without an interposed <i>to</i>. <i>Attend</i>, however, is followed by +<i>to</i>. "The milliner's assistant <i>tends</i> (not <i>tends to</i>) the +shop." "I shall <i>attend to your wants in a moment</i>."</dd> + +<dt><i>That there</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>that</i>. "I want <i>that</i> (not <i>that +there</i>) box of berries."</dd> + +<dt><i>Them</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used as an adjective. "<i>Those</i> (not <i>them</i>) +boys."</dd> + +<dt><i>There were</i> or <i>There was</i>.</dt><dd>Avoid the unnecessary use. Crude: +"There were seventeen senators voted for the bill." Better: +"Seventeen senators voted for the bill."</dd> + +<dt><i>These sort</i>, <i>These kind</i>.</dt><dd>Ungrammatical. See +<a href="#article_51b">51b</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>This here</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>this</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Those</i>.</dt><dd>Do not carelessly omit a relative clause after +<i>those</i>. Faulty: "He is one of those talebearers." Better: "He +is a talebearer." [Or] "He is one of those talebearers whom +everybody dislikes."</dd> + +<dt><i>Those kind</i>, <i>those sort</i>.</dt><dd>Ungrammatical. See <a href="#article_51b">51b</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Till</i>.</dt><dd>Do not carelessly misuse for <i>when</i>: "I had scarcely +strapped on my skates <i>when</i> (not <i>till</i>) Henry fell through an +air hole."</dd> + +<dt><i>Transpire</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>to give forth</i> or <i>to become known</i>, not +<i>to occur</i>. "The secret <i>transpired</i>." "The sale of the +property <i>occurred</i> (not <i>transpired</i>) last Thursday."</dd> + +<dt><i>Try</i>.</dt><dd>A verb, not a noun.</dd> + +<dt><i>Unique</i>.</dt><dd>Means <i>alone of its kind</i>, not <i>odd</i> or <i>unusual</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>United States</i>.</dt><dd>Ordinarily preceded by <i>the</i>. "The United +States raised a large army." (Not "United States raised a large +army.")</dd> + +<dt><i>Up</i>.</dt><dd>Do not needlessly insert after such verbs as <i>end</i>, +<i>rest</i>, <i>settle</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Used to could</i>.</dt><dd>Very crude. Say <i>used to be able</i> or <i>once +could</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i><ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'Verb'">Very</ins></i>.</dt><dd>Accompanied by <i>much</i> when used with +the past participle. "He was <i>very much</i> (not <i>very</i>) pleased +with his reception."</dd> + +<dt><i>Want to</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used in the sense of <i>should</i>, <i>had +better</i>. "You <i>should</i> (not <i>You want to</i>) keep in good +physical condition."</dd> + +<dt><i>Way</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used for <i>away</i>. "Away (not <i>way</i>) down the +street."</dd> + +<dt><i>Ways</i>.</dt><dd>Not to be used for <i>way</i> in referring to distance. "A +little <i>way</i> (not <i>ways</i>)."</dd> + +<dt><i>When</i>.</dt><dd>(a) Not to be used for <i>that</i> in such a sentence as "It +was in the afternoon that the races began." (b) A <i>when</i> clause +is not to be used as a predicate noun. See <a href="#article_6">6</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Where</i>.</dt><dd>(a) Not to be used for <i>that</i> in such a sentence as "I +see in the paper that our team lost the game." (b) A <i>where</i> +clause is not to be used as a predicate noun. See +<a href="#article_6">6</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Where at</i>.</dt><dd>Vulgar. "Where is he? (not <i>Where is he at</i>?)"</dd> + +<dt><i>Which</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>who</i> or <i>that</i> in referring to +persons. "The friends <i>who</i> (not <i>which</i>) had loved him in his +boyhood were still faithful to him."</dd> + +<dt><i>Who</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use unnecessarily for <i>which</i> or <i>that</i> in +referring to animals. Do not use the possessive form <i>whose</i> +for <i>of which</i> unless the sentence is so turned as practically +to require the substitution.</dd> + +<dt><i>Will</i>.</dt><dd>Do not confuse with <i>shall</i>. See <a href="#article_53">53</a>.</dd> + +<dt><i>Win out</i>.</dt><dd>Not used in formal writing or speaking.</dd> + +<dt><i>Woods</i>.</dt><dd>Not ordinarily to be used as singular. "<i>A wood</i> (not +<i>A woods</i>)."</dd> + +<dt><i>Would have</i>.</dt><dd>Do not use for <i>had</i> in if clauses. "If you <i>had</i> +(not <i>would have</i>) spoken boldly, he would have granted your +request."</dd> + +<dt><i>Would of</i>.</dt><dd>A vulgarism for <i>would have</i>.</dd> + +<dt><i>You was</i>.</dt><dd>Use <i>You were</i> in both singular and plural.</dd> + +<dt><i>Yourself</i>.</dt><dd>Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the +personal pronoun would suffice. "<i>You</i> (not <i>Yourself</i>) and +your family must come."</dd></dl> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Be sure the gun works alright. I was already when you came.</li> + +<li>He talked considerable, but I couldn't scarcely remember +what all he said.</li> + +<li>I never suspicioned that John could of been guilty of +forging his father's note. It don't seem hardly possible.</li> + +<li>The island was not inhabited by humans. It was different +than any place I ever remember of. One sailor and myself +climbed a sand hill, but we couldn't see any signs of life +anywheres.</li> + +<li>Hawkeye walked a ways into a woods. He was a right smart at +ease, for he had Kildeer with him.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_69" id="article_69">69. EXERCISE IN DICTION</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_69A" id="article_69A">A. Wordiness</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Strike out all that is superfluous, and make the following sentences +simple and exact.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Some students lack the ability of being able to spell.</li> + +<li>He seems to enjoy the universal esteem of all men.</li> + +<li>The mind rebels against the enforced discipline imposed upon +it by others.</li> + +<li>This is the house that was constructed and erected by a +young fellow who went by the common name of Jack.</li> + +<li>There are invariably people in the world who always want to +get something for nothing. I saw some today crowding round a +soap man who was giving away free samples gratis.</li> + +<li>Strawberries which grow in the woods or anywhere like that +have a flavor that is better than that of those which grow in +gardens.</li> + +<li>The people showed Jackson the greatest honor it is within +their power to bestow by electing him president.</li> + +<li>It was an old man of about sixty years, and he carried a +cane to support himself with when he took a walk. He pulled out +his watch to see what time it was every few minutes.</li> + +<li>My favorite magazine is the one called <i>Popular Mechanics</i>. +I like it because it appeals to me.</li> + +<li>There is a bird, and that bird is the cuckoo, that seems to +think it unnecessary to build its own nest, and so it occupies +any nest that it happens to find.</li> + +<li>It is a good plan to follow if one would like to be able to +develop his memory to make it a rule to learn at least a few +lines of poetry every night before going to bed.</li> + +<li>In the annals of history there is no historical character +more unselfish than the character of Robert E. Lee.</li> + +<li>There are quite a few hotels in Estes Park, which is in +Colorado, but the one that is the most picturesque and striking +so that you remember it a long time on account of its unusual +surroundings is Long's Peak Inn.</li> + +<li>It is often, but not always, a good sign that when one +person is quick to suspect another person of disloyalty or +dishonesty that he himself is disloyal or dishonest.</li> + +<li>The canine quadruped was under suspicion of having +obliterated by a process of mastication that article of +sustenance which the butcher deposits at our posterior portal.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_69B" id="article_69B">B. The Exact Word</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Substitute, for inaccurate words and phrases, expressions which carry an +exact and reasonable meaning.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Ostrich eggs made into omelets are a funny experience.</li> + +<li>A small back porch can be built which will enter directly +into the kitchen.</li> + +<li>Ruskin uses a great deal of unfamiliar words.</li> + +<li>Reading will broaden the point of view of a student.</li> + +<li>To visit the plant in operation is indeed a spectacular +sight.</li> + +<li>My plants grew and looked nicer than any I ever saw.</li> + +<li>I place little truth in that article, since it appeared in a +strong partisan paper.</li> + +<li>The manufacturing of automobiles has gained to quite an +extent.</li> + +<li>Emerson has some real clever thoughts in his essays.</li> + +<li>I do not mean to degrade our local street car system, for +indeed, it is good along some lines.</li> + +<li>I want to attain a greater per cent of efficiency in my +study.</li> + +<li>Imagination is an important part in the successful writing +of themes.</li> + +<li>His employer praised him for the preparation he had done.</li> + +<li>I used water-wings as a sort of a "safety first" until I +learned how to swim.</li> + +<li>In order to prevent infection from disease, two big things +are necessary.</li> + +<li>The pastor delivered the announcements and after the +collection had been obtained, he presented the sermon of the +morning.</li> + +<li>Another factor in my career that winter was that I became a +part of the orchestra.</li> + +<li>It was a mighty nice party that Mrs. Jones gave and +everybody seemed to have an awfully nice time.</li> + +<li>The more general word socialism might be divided into three +distinct classes, namely: the political party, the theoretical +socialist, and last what might be called a general tendency.</li> + +<li>Starting with the pioneer days and up to the present time +every energy was set forth to lay low the forests and to get +homes from the wilderness.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_69C" id="article_69C">C. Words Sometimes Confused in Meaning</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Use the word which accurately expresses the thought.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The climate of California is very (healthful, healthy).</li> + +<li>(Leave, let) me have the book.</li> + +<li>He is afraid that he will (loose, lose) his position.</li> + +<li>The (principal, principle) speaker of the day was Colonel +Walker.</li> + +<li>I cannot run (as, like) he can.</li> + +<li>An hour ago he (laid, lay) down to sleep.</li> + +<li>I fear we are (liable, likely) to be punished.</li> + +<li>The scolding did not much (affect, effect) him.</li> + +<li>The light roller presses down the bricks so that the steam +roller will break (fewer, less) of them.</li> + +<li>Whittier makes many (allusions, illusions) to the Bible.</li> + +<li>Bread will (raise, rise) much more quickly in a warm place +than in a place where there is a draft.</li> + +<li>It hardly seems (credible, creditable) that a small child +could walk ten miles.</li> + +<li>I can't write a letter on this (stationary, stationery).</li> + +<li>He (sets, sits) at the head of the table.</li> + +<li>He spoke to the stranger (respectfully, respectively).</li> + +<li>Did the president (affect, effect) a settlement of the +strike?</li> + +<li>I cannot (accept, except) help from anyone.</li> + +<li>Are the guests (already, all ready) for dinner?</li> + +<li>Is the train moving or (stationary, stationery)?</li> + +<li>It is (apt, likely, liable) to be pleasant tomorrow.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_69D" id="article_69D">D. Colloquialism, Slang, Faulty Idiom, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The diction of the following sentences is incorrect or inappropriate for +written discourse. Improve the sentences.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I was kind of tired this morning, but now I feel alright.</li> + +<li>I should of known better.</li> + +<li>A young lady and myself went walking.</li> + +<li>He is out of town for a couple days.</li> + +<li>I feel some better now.</li> + +<li>He will benefit greatly from the results.</li> + +<li>The Puritans were a very odd acting people.</li> + +<li>I like camping because of many reasons.</li> + +<li>Cook your meal, and after you are finished eating, wash the +dishes.</li> + +<li>He is a regular genius of a bookkeeper.</li> + +<li>It is hard to see how humans can live in such tenements.</li> + +<li>The soldiers destroyed property without the least regard of +who owned it.</li> + +<li>She was crazy for an invite to the hop.</li> + +<li>It was up to me to get out before there was something +doing.</li> + +<li>The Gettysburg Address is very simple of understanding +though very strong of meaning.</li> + +<li>When we become located in a desirable locality, we intend +to pay off some of our social indebtedness.</li> + +<li>Have some local glass dealer to mend the broken door, and +send us the bill for the same.</li> + +<li>The first part of Franklin's <i>Autobiography</i> is different +than the latter part, which he wrote after the Revolutionary +War.</li> + +<li>In 1771 a fellow by the name of Arkwright established a +mill in which spinning machines were run by water power.</li> + +<li>Each day has brought closer to home the truth that the +condition of mankind in one part of the world is certain to +effect the equilibrium of mankind in most all other parts of +the world.</li></ol> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="spelling" id="spelling">SPELLING</a></h2> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>No one is able to spell all unusual words on demand. But every one must +spell correctly even unusual words in formal writing. The writer has +time or must take time to consult a dictionary. The best dictionaries +are <i>Webster's New International Dictionary</i>, the <i>Standard Dictionary</i> +(less conservative than Webster's), the <i>Century Dictionary and +Cyclopedia</i> (Volume 2 of the <i>Century</i> is the best place to look for +proper names), and <i>Murray's New English Dictionary</i> (very thorough, +each word being illustrated with numerous quotations to show historical +development). An abridged edition of one of these (the price is one to +three dollars) should be accessible to each student who cannot buy the +larger volumes. The best are: <i>Webster's Secondary School Dictionary</i>, +<i>Funk and Wagnalls Desk Standard Dictionary</i>, the <i>Oxford Concise +Dictionary</i>, and <i>Webster's Collegiate Dictionary</i>.</p> + +<p>But the student will be spared constant recourse to the dictionary, and +will save himself much time and many humiliations, if he will employ the +rules and principles which follow.</p> +</div> + + +<h5><a name="article_70" id="article_70">Recording Errors</a></h5> + +<p><b>70. Keep a list of all the words you misspell, copying them several +times in correct form.</b> Concentrate your effort upon a few words at a +time—upon those words which you yourself actually misspell. The list +will be shorter than you think. It may comprise not more than twenty or +thirty words. Unless you are extraordinarily deficient, it will +certainly not comprise more than a hundred or a hundred and fifty. Find +where your weakness lies; then master it. You can accomplish the +difficult part of the task in a single afternoon. An occasional review, +and constant care when you write, will make your mastery permanent.</p> + +<p>After this, and only after this, begin slowly to learn the spelling of +words which you do not yourself use often, but which are a desirable +equipment for all educated men. See the list under <a href="#article_79">79</a>. +<em>Concentrate your efforts upon a few words at a time.</em> It is better to +know a few exactly than a large number hazily. Form the mental habit of +being always right with a small group of words, and extend this group +gradually.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<p class="exercise">Prepare for your instructor a corrected list of words which you +have misspelled in your papers to the present time.</p> + + +<h5><a name="article_71" id="article_71">Pronouncing Accurately</a></h5> + +<p><b>71. Avoid slovenly pronunciation.</b> Careful articulation makes for +correctness in spelling.</p> + +<p>Watch the vowels of unaccented syllables; give them distinct (not +exaggerated) utterance, at least until you are familiar with the +spelling. Examples: <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'separate' with the first letter 'a' emphasized">sep<b>a</b>rate</i>, <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'opportunity' with the second letter 'o' emphasized">opp<b>o</b>rtunity</i>, <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'everybody' with the first letter 'y' emphasized">ever<b>y</b>body</i>, <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'sophomore' with the second letter 'o' emphasized">soph<b>o</b>more</i>, +<i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'divine' with the first letter 'i' emphasized">d<b>i</b>vine</i>.</p> + +<p>Sound accurately all the consonants between syllables, and do not sound +a single consonant twice. Examples: <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'candidate' with the first letter 'd' emphasized">can<b>d</b>idate</i>, <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'government' with the first letter 'n' emphasized">gover<b>n</b>ment</i>, +<i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'surprise' with the first letter 'r' emphasized">su<b>r</b>prise</i> (not <i title="Transcriber's Note: Intentionally misspelled word 'surprise' with the first letter 'r' replaced with letter 'p' and the second letter 'r' emphasized">supp<b>r</b>ise</i>), <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'omission' with the letters 'm' and 'ss' emphasized">o<b>m</b>i<b>ss</b>ion</i> (<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had the word 'compare' italicized">compare</ins> <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'occasion' with letters 'cc' and 's' emphasized">o<b>cc</b>a<b>s</b>ion</i>), <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'defer' with the letter 'f' emphasized">de<b>f</b>er</i> +(compare <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'differ' with the letters 'ff' emphasized">di<b>ff</b>er</i>).</p> + +<p>Sound the <i>g</i> in final <i>-ing</i>. Examples: <i>eating</i>, <i>running</i>.</p> + +<p>Pronounce the <i>-al</i> of adverbs derived from adjectives in <i>-ic</i> or +<i>-al</i>. Examples: <i>tragically</i>, <i>occasionally</i>, <i>generally</i>, +<i>ungrammatically</i>.</p> + +<p>Do not transpose letters; place each letter where it belongs. Examples: +<i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'perspiration' with the letters 'er' emphasized">p<b>er</b>spiration</i> (not <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'perspiration' intentionally misspelled as 'prespiration' and letters 're' emphasized">p<b>re</b>spiration</i>), <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'tragedy' with the letter 'g' emphasized">tra<b>g</b>edy</i> (not <i title="Transcriber's Note: The word 'tragedy' intentionally misspelled as 'tradegy' with the letters 'd' and 'g' emphasized">tra<b>d</b>e<b>g</b>y</i>).</p> + +<p><a name="article_71_Note" id="article_71_Note">Note.</a>—The principle of phonetic spelling as stated above applies to +many words, but by no means to all. The Simplified Spelling Board would +extend this principle by changing the spelling of words to correspond +with their actual sounds. It recommends such forms as <i>tho</i>, <i>thru</i>, +<i>enuf</i>, <i>quartet</i>, <i>catalog</i>, <i>program</i>. If the student employs these +forms, he must use them consistently. Many writers oppose simplified +spelling; many advocate it; many compromise. Others desire to supplant +our present alphabet with one more nearly phonetic, and prefer, until +this fundamental reform takes place, to preserve our present spelling as +it is.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<p class="exercise">Copy the following words slowly, pronouncing the syllables as +you write: <i>accidentally</i>, <i>accommodate</i>, <i>accurately</i>, +<i>artistically</i>, <i>athletics</i> (not <i>atheletics</i>), <i>boundary</i>, +<i>candidate</i>, <i>cavalry</i>, <i>commission</i>, <i>curiosity</i>, <i>defer</i>, +<i>definite</i>, <i>description</i>, <i>despair</i>, <i>different</i>, <i>dining +room</i>, <i>dinned</i>, <i>disappoint</i>, <i>divide</i>, <i>divine</i>, +<i>emphatically</i>, <i>eighth</i>, <i>everybody</i>, <i>February</i>, <i>finally</i>, +<i>goddess</i>, <i>government</i>, <i>hundred</i>, <i>hurrying</i>, <i>instinct</i>, +<i>laboratory</i>, <i>library</i>, <i>lightning</i>, <i>might have</i> (not <i>might +of</i>), <i>naturally</i>, <i>necessary</i>, <i>occasionally</i>, <i>omission</i>, +<i>opinion</i>, <i>opportunity</i>, <i>optimist</i>, <i>partner</i>, <i>perform</i>, +<i>perhaps</i>, <i>perspiration</i>, <i>prescription</i>, <i>primitive</i>, +<i>privilege</i>, <i>probably</i>, <i>quantity</i>, <i>really</i>, <i>recognise</i>, +<i>recommend</i>, <i>reverence</i>, <i>separate</i>, <i>should have</i> (not +<i>should of</i>), <i>sophomore</i>, <i>strictly</i>, <i>superintendent</i>, +<i>surprise</i>, <i>temperance</i>, <i>tragedy</i>, <i>usually</i>, <i>whether</i>.</p> + + +<h5><a name="article_72" id="article_72">Logical Kinship in Words</a></h5> + +<p><b>72. Get help in spelling a difficult word by thinking of related words.</b> +To think of <i>ridiculous</i> will prevent your writing <i>a</i> for the second +<i>i</i> of <i>ridicule</i>; to think of <i>ridicule</i> will prevent your writing +<i>rediculous</i>. To think of <i>prepare</i> will prevent your writing +<i>preperation</i>; to think of <i>preparation</i> will forestall <i>preparitory</i>. +To think of <i>busy</i> will save you from the monstrosity <i>buisness.</i> To +think of the prefixes <i>re-</i> (meaning <i>again</i>) and <i>dis-</i> (meaning +<i>not</i>), and the verbs <i>commend</i> and <i>appoint</i>, will prevent your writing +<i>recommend</i> or <i>disappoint</i> with a double <i>c</i> or <i>s</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="article_72_Note" id="article_72_Note">Note.</a>—The relationship between words is not always a safe guide to +spelling. Observe <i>four</i>, <i>forty</i>; <i>nine</i>, <i>ninth</i>; <i>maintain</i>, +<i>maintenance</i>; <i>please</i>, <i>pleasant</i>; <i>speak</i>, <i>speech</i>; <i>prevail</i>, +<i>prevalent</i>. Do not confuse the following prefixes, which have no +logical connection:</p> + +<table summary="The rows contain the similar prefixes not to be confused."> +<tr><td><i>ante-</i> (before)</td><td><i>anti-</i> (against, opposite)</td></tr> +<tr><td><i>de-</i> (from, about)</td><td><i>dis-</i> (apart, away, not)</td></tr> +<tr><td><i>per-</i> (through, entirely)</td><td><i>pre-</i> (before)</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Write the nouns corresponding to the following verbs: +<i>prepare</i>, <i>allude</i>, <i>govern</i>, <i>represent</i>, <i>degrade</i>.</li> + +<li>Write the adjectives corresponding to the following nouns +and the nouns corresponding to the following adjectives: +<i>desperation</i>, <i>academy</i>, <i>origin</i>, <i>ridiculous</i>, <i>miraculous</i>, +<i>grammatical</i>, <i>arithmetical</i>, <i>busy</i>.</li> + +<li>Write the adverbs corresponding to the following adjectives: +<i>real</i>, <i>sure</i>, <i>actual</i>, <i>hurried</i>, <i>accidental</i>, +<i>incidental</i>, <i>grammatical</i>.</li> + +<li>Copy the following pairs of related words or related forms +of words: <i>labor, laboratory</i>; <i>debate, debater</i>; <i>base, +based</i>; <i>deal, dealt</i>; <i>chose, chosen</i>; <i>mean, meant</i>.</li> + +<li>Write each of the following words with a hyphen between the +prefix and the body of the word: <i>describe</i>, <i>description</i>, +<i>disappoint</i>, <i>disappear</i>, <i>disease</i>, <i>dissatisfy</i>, <i>dissever</i>, +<i>permit</i>, <i>perspire</i>, <i>prescription</i>, <i>preconceive</i>, +<i>recommend</i>, <i>recollect</i>, <i>reconsider</i>, <i>antedate</i>, +<i>antecedent</i>, <i>anticlimax</i>, <i>antitoxin</i>.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_73" id="article_73">Superficial Resemblances between Words</a></h5> + +<p><b>73. Guard against misspelling a word because it bears a superficial +resemblance, in sound or appearance, to some other word.</b> Most of the +words in the following list have no logical connection; the resemblance +is one of form only (<i>angel</i>, <i>angle</i>). But a few words are included +which are different in spelling in spite of a logical relation +(<i>breath</i>, <i>breathe</i>).</p> + +<div class="spellinglist"> +<ul><li>accept (to receive)</li> +<li>except (to exclude, with exclusion of)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>advice (noun)</li> +<li>advise (verb)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>affect (to influence in part)</li> +<li>effect (to bring to pass totally)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>allusion (a reference)</li> +<li>illusion (a deceiving appearance)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>all right</li> +<li>almost</li> +<li>already</li></ul> + +<ul><li>altogether</li> +<li>always</li></ul> + +<ul><li>alley (a back street)</li> +<li>ally (a confederate)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>altar (a structure used in worship)</li> +<li>alter (to make otherwise)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>angel (a celestial being)</li> +<li>angle (the meeting place of two lines)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>baring (making bare)</li> +<li>barring (obstructing)</li> +<li>bearing (carrying)</li> +<li>born (brought into being)</li> +<li>borne (carried)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>breath (noun)</li> +<li>breathe (verb)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>capital (a city)</li> +<li>capitol (a building)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>canvas (a cloth)</li> +<li>canvass (to solicit)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>clothes (garments)</li> +<li>cloths (pieces of cloth)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>coarse (not fine)</li> +<li>course (route, method of behavior)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>conscious (aware)</li> +<li>conscience (an inner moral sense)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>dairy</li> +<li>diary</li></ul> + +<ul><li>device (noun)</li> +<li>devise (verb)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>desert (a barren country)</li> +<li>dessert (food)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>dining room</li> +<li>dinning</li></ul> + +<ul><li>disappear</li> +<li>disappoint</li></ul> + +<ul><li>disavowal</li> +<li>dissatisfaction</li> +<li>dissimilar</li> +<li>dissipate</li> +<li>dissuade</li></ul> + +<ul><li>decent (adjective)</li> +<li>descent (downward slope or motion)</li> +<li>dissent (a disagreement)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>dual (adjective)</li> +<li>duel (noun)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>formally (in a formal way)</li> +<li>formerly (in time past)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>forth</li> +<li>forty</li> +<li>four</li> +<li>fourth</li></ul> + +<ul><li>freshman</li> +<li>freshmen (not used as adjective)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>gambling (wagering money on games of chance)</li> +<li>gamboling (frisking or leaping with joy)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>guard</li> +<li>regard</li></ul> + +<ul><li>hear</li> +<li>here</li></ul> + +<ul><li>hinder</li> +<li>hindrance</li></ul> + +<ul><li>holly (a tree)</li> +<li>holy (hallowed, sacred)</li> +<li>wholly (altogether)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>hoping (from <i>hope</i>)</li> +<li>hopping</li></ul> + +<ul><li>instance (an example)</li> +<li>instants (periods of time)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>isle (an island)</li> +<li>aisle (a narrow passage)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>its (possessive pronoun)</li> +<li>it's (contraction of <i>it is</i>)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>Johnson, Samuel</li> +<li>Jonson, Ben</li></ul> + +<ul><li>later (comparative of <i>late</i>)</li> +<li>latter (the second)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>lead (present tense)</li> +<li>led (past tense)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>lessen (verb)</li> +<li>lesson (noun)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>liable (expresses responsibility or disagreeable probability)</li> +<li>likely (expresses probability)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>loose (free, not bound)</li> +<li>lose (to suffer the loss of)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>maintain</li> +<li>maintenance</li></ul> + +<ul><li>nineteenth</li> +<li>ninetieth</li> +<li>ninety</li> +<li>ninth</li></ul> + +<ul><li>past (adjective, adverb, preposition)</li> +<li>passed (verb, past tense)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>peace (a state of calm)</li> +<li>piece (a fragment)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>perceive</li> +<li>perform</li> +<li>persevere</li> +<li>persuade</li> +<li>purchase</li> +<li>pursue</li></ul> + +<ul><li>personal (private, individual)</li> +<li>personnel (the body of persons engaged in some activity)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>Philippines</li> +<li>Filipino</li></ul> + +<ul><li>plain (clear; adjective)</li> +<li>plain (flat region; noun)</li> +<li>plane (flat; adjective)</li> +<li>plane (geometrical term; noun)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>planed (past tense of <i>plane</i>)</li> +<li>planned (past tense of <i>plan</i>)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>pleasant</li> +<li>please</li></ul> + +<div class="sidenote">} these three are the "double <i>e</i> group"</div> +<ul><li>precede</li> +<li>proceed }</li> +<li>succeed }</li> +<li>exceed }</li> +<li>concede</li> +<li>intercede</li> +<li>recede</li> +<li>supersede</li></ul> + +<ul><li>pre cé dence (act or right of preceding)</li> +<li>préc e dents (things said or done before, now used as authority</li> +<li>or model)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>presence (state of being present)</li> +<li>presents (gifts)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>prevail</li> +<li>prevalent</li></ul> + +<ul><li>principal (chief, leading, the leading official of a school, a +sum of money)</li> +<li>principle (a general truth)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>quiet (still)</li> +<li>quite (completely)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>rain</li> +<li>reign (rule of a monarch)</li> +<li>rein (part of a harness)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>respectfully ("Yours respectfully")</li> +<li>respectively (in a way proper to each--should never be used +to close a letter)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>right</li> +<li>rite (ceremony)</li> +<li>write</li></ul> + +<ul><li>shone (past tense of <i>shine</i>)</li> +<li>shown (past tense of <i>show</i>)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>seize</li> +<li>siege</li></ul> + +<ul><li>sight (view, spectacle)</li> +<li>site (situation, a plot of ground reserved for some use)</li> +<li>cite (to bring forward as evidence)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>speak</li> +<li>speech</li></ul> + +<ul><li>Spencer, Herbert (scientist)</li> +<li>Spenser, Edmund (poet)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>stationary (not moving)</li> +<li>stationery (writing materials)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>statue (a sculptured likeness)</li> +<li>stature (height, figure)</li> +<li>statute (a law)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>steal (to take by theft)</li> +<li>steel (a variety of iron)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>than</li> +<li>then</li></ul> + +<ul><li>their (belonging to them)</li> +<li>there (in that place)</li> +<li>they're (they are)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>therefor (to that end, for that thing)</li> +<li>therefore (for that reason)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>till</li> +<li>until</li></ul> + +<ul><li>to</li> +<li>too</li> +<li>two</li></ul> + +<ul><li>track (an imprint, or a road)</li> +<li>tract (an area of land)</li> +<li>tract (a treatise on religion)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>village</li> +<li>villain</li></ul> + +<ul><li>wandering</li> +<li>wondering</li></ul> + +<ul><li>weak (not strong)</li> +<li>week (seven days)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>weather</li> +<li>whether</li></ul> + +<ul><li>whole (entire)</li> +<li>hole (an opening)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>who's (who is)</li> +<li>whose (the possessive of <i>who</i>)</li></ul> + +<ul><li>your (indicates possession)</li> +<li>you're (contraction of <i>you are</i>)</li></ul> +</div> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Insert <i>to</i>, <i>too</i>, or <i>two</i>: He is —— tired —— walk the +——miles —— the town. Then ——, it is —— late —— catch +a car. It is —— minutes of ——. It is —— bad.</li> + +<li>Insert <i>lose</i> or <i>loose</i>: You will —— your money if you +carry it —— in your pocket. We are ——ing time. The sailor +——ens the rope. Did you —— your ticket?</li> + +<li>Insert <i>speak or speech</i>: I was ——ing with our congressman +about his recent ——. I —— from experience.</li> + +<li>Insert <i>plan</i> or <i>plane</i>: The architect's —— was accepted. +The carpenter's —— cuts a long shaving. The carpenter does +not —— the house.</li> + +<li>Insert <i>quite</i> or <i>quiet</i>: The baby is ——ly sleeping. She +is —— well now, but last night she was —— sick. Be ——. +Walk ——ly when you go.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_74" id="article_74">Words in <i>ei</i> or <i>ie</i></a></h5> + +<p><b>74.</b></p> +<div class="poem" style="margin-top: -2.3em;"><div class="stanza"> +<span><b>Write <i>i</i> before <i>e</i></b><br /></span> +<span><b>When sounded as <i>ee</i></b><br /></span> +<span><b>Except after <i>c</i>.</b><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Examples: <i>believe</i>, <i>grief</i>, <i>chief</i>; but <i>receive</i>, <i>deceive</i>, +<i>ceiling</i>.</p> + +<p>Exceptions: <i>Neither financier seized either species of weird leisure.</i> +(Also a few uncommon words, like <i>seignior</i>, <i>inveigle</i>, <i>plebeian</i>.)</p> + +<p>Rules based on a key-word, lice, Alice, Celia (<i>i</i> follows <i>l</i> and <i>e</i> +follows <i>c</i>) apply after two consonants only, and do not help one to +spell a word like <i>grief</i>. Rule 74 applies after all consonants.</p> + +<p><a name="article_74_Note" id="article_74_Note">Note.</a>—The words in which the sound is <i>ee</i> are the words really +difficult to spell. When the sound is any other than <i>ee</i> (especially +when it is <i>a</i>), <i>i</i> usually follows <i>e</i>.</p> + +<p>Examples: <i>veil</i>, <i>weigh</i>, <i>freight</i>, <i>neighbor</i>, <i>height</i>, <i>sleight</i>, +<i>heir</i>, <i>heifer</i>, <i>counterfeit</i>, <i>foreign</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></p> + +<p>Exceptions: <i>ancient</i>, <i>friend</i>, <i>sieve</i>, <i>mischief</i>, <i>fiery</i>, <i>tries</i>, +<abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<p class="exercise">Write the following words, supplying <i>ei</i> or <i>ie</i>: <i>conc—t</i>, +<i>retr—ve</i>, <i>dec—tful</i>, <i>n—ce</i>, <i>y—ld</i>, <i>p—ce</i>, <i>s—ge</i>, +<i>s—ze</i>, <i>rec—pt</i>, <i>n—ther</i>, <i>w—rd</i>, <i>rel—ve</i>, <i>l—sure</i>, +<i>f—ld</i>, <i>v—n</i>, <i>r—gn</i>, <i>sover—gn</i>, <i>sl—gh</i>, <i>br—f</i>, +<i>dec—ve</i>, <i>r—n</i>, <i>f—nt</i>, <i>perc—ve</i>, <i>w—ld</i>, <i>gr—vous</i>, +<i>—ther</i>.</p> + + +<h5><a name="article_75" id="article_75">Doubling a Final Consonant</a></h5> + +<p><b>75. Monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable, if they end +in one consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant before +a suffix beginning with a vowel.</b></p> + +<p>Examples: (a) Words derived from monosyllables: <i>plan-ned</i>, <i>clan-nish</i>, +<i>get-ting</i>, <i>hot-test</i>, <i>bag-gage</i>, (b) Words derived from words +accented on the final syllable: <i>begin-ning</i>, <i>repel-lent</i>, +<i>unregret-ted</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="article_75_Note1" id="article_75_Note1">Note 1.</a>—There are four distinct steps in the application of this rule. +(1) The primary word must be found. To decide whether <i>begging</i> contains +two <i>g's</i>, we must first think of <i>beg</i>. (2) The primary word must be a +monosyllable or a word accented on the final syllable. <i>Hit</i> and <i>allot</i> +meet this test; <i>open</i> does not. <i>Deferred</i> and <i>differed</i>, <i>preferred</i> +and <i>proffered</i>, <i>committed</i> (or <i>committee</i>) and <i>prohibited</i> double or +refrain from doubling the final consonant of the primary word according +to the position of the accent. The seeming discrepancy between +<i>preferred</i> and <i>preferable</i>, between <i>conferred</i> and <i>conference</i>, is +due to a shifting of the accent to the first syllable in the case of +<i>preferable</i> and <i>conference</i>. (3) The primary word must end in one +consonant. <i>Trace</i>, <i>oppose</i>, <i>interfere</i>, <i>help</i>, <i>reach</i>, and +<i>perform</i> fail to meet this test, and therefore in derivatives do not +double the last consonant. <i>Assurance</i> has one <i>r</i>, as it should have; +<i>occurrence</i> has two <i>r's</i>, as it should have. (4) The final consonant +of the primary word must be preceded by a single vowel. This principle +excludes the extra consonant from <i>needy</i>, <i>daubed</i>, and <i>proceeding</i>, +and gives it to <i>running</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="article_75_Note2" id="article_75_Note2">Note 2.</a>—After <i>q</i>, <i>u</i> has the force of <i>w</i>. Hence <i>quitting</i>, +<i>quizzes</i>, <i>squatter</i>, <i>acquitted</i>, <i>equipped</i>, and similar words are +not really exceptions to the rule.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Write the present participle (in <i>-ing</i>) of <i>din</i> (not +<i>dine</i>), <i>begin</i>, <i>sin</i> (compare <i>shine</i>), <i>stop</i>, <i>prefer</i>, +<i>rob</i>, <i>drop</i>, <i>occur</i>, <i>omit</i>, <i>swim</i>, <i>get</i>, <i>commit</i>.</li> + +<li>Write the past tense (in <i>-ed</i>) of <i>plan</i> (not <i>plane</i>), +<i>star</i> (compare <i>stare</i>), <i>stop</i> (compare <i>slope</i>), <i>lop</i> (not +<i>lope</i>), <i>hop</i> (not <i>hope</i>), <i>fit</i>, <i>benefit</i>, <i>occur</i> (compare +<i>cure</i>), <i>offer</i>, <i>confer</i>, <i>bat</i> (compare <i>abate</i>).</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_76" id="article_76">Final <i>e</i> before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel</a></h5> + +<p><b>76. Words that end in silent <i>e</i> usually drop the <i>e</i> in derivatives or +before a suffix beginning with a vowel.</b></p> + +<p>Examples: <i>bride</i>, <i>bridal</i>; <i>guide</i>, <i>guidance</i>; <i>please</i>, <i>pleasure</i>; +<i>fleece</i>, <i>fleecy</i>; <i>force</i>, <i>forcible</i>; <i>argue</i>, <i>arguing</i>; <i>arrive</i>, +<i>arrival</i>; <i>conceive</i>, <i>conceivable</i>; <i>college</i>, <i>collegiate</i>; <i>write</i>, +<i>writing</i>; <i>use</i>, <i>using</i>; <i>change</i>, <i>changing</i>; <i>judge</i>, <i>judging</i>; +<i>believe</i>, <i>believing</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="article_76_Note1" id="article_76_Note1">Note 1.</a>—Of the exceptions some retain the <i>e</i> to prevent confusion with +other words. Exceptions: <i>dyeing</i>, <i>singeing</i>, <i>mileage</i>, <i>acreage</i>, +<i>hoeing</i>, <i>shoeing</i>, <i>agreeing</i>, <i>eyeing</i>. The exceptions cause +comparatively little trouble. One rarely sees <i>hoing</i> or <i>shoing</i>; he +often sees <i>hopeing</i> and <i>inviteing</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="article_76_Note2" id="article_76_Note2">Note 2.</a>—After <i>c</i> or <i>g</i> and before a suffix beginning with <i>a</i> or <i>o</i> +the <i>e</i> is retained. The purpose of this retention is to preserve the +soft sound of the <i>c</i> or <i>g</i>. (Observe that <i>c</i> and <i>g</i> have the hard +sound in <i>cable</i>, <i>gable</i>, <i>cold</i>, <i>go</i>.)</p> + +<p>Examples: <i>peaceable</i>, <i>changeable</i>, <i>noticeable</i>, <i>serviceable</i>, +<i>outrageous</i>, <i>courageous</i>, <i>advantageous</i>.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Write the present participle of the following words: <i>use</i>, +<i>love</i>, <i>change</i>, <i>judge</i>, <i>shake</i>, <i>hope</i>, <i>shine</i>, <i>have</i>, +<i>seize</i>, <i>slope</i>, <i>strike</i>, <i>dine</i>, <i>come</i>, <i>place</i>, <i>argue</i>, +<i>achieve</i>, <i>emerge</i>, <i>arrange</i>, <i>abide</i>, <i>oblige</i>, <i>subdue</i>.</li> + +<li>Write the present participle of the following words: +<i>singe</i>, <i>tinge</i>, <i>dye</i>, <i>agree</i>, <i>eye</i>.</li> + +<li>Write the <i>-ous</i> or <i>-able</i> form of the following words: +<i>trace</i>, <i>love</i>, <i>blame</i>, <i>move</i>, <i>conceive</i>, <i>courage</i>, +<i>service</i>, <i>advantage</i>, <i>umbrage</i>.</li> + +<li>Write the adjectives which correspond to the following +nouns: <i>force</i>, <i>sphere</i>, <i>vice</i>, <i>sense</i>, <i>fleece</i>, <i>college</i>, +<i>hygiene</i>.</li> + +<li>Write the nouns which correspond to the following verbs: +<i>please</i>, <i>guide</i>, <i>grieve</i>, <i>arrive</i>, <i>oblige</i>, <i>prepare</i>, +<i>inspire</i>.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_77" id="article_77">Plurals</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_77a" id="article_77a">77a.</a> Most nouns add <i>s</i> or <i>es</i> to form the plural.</b> Examples: <i>word</i>, +<i>words</i>; <i>fire</i>, <i>fires</i>, <i>negro</i>, <i>negroes</i>; <i>Eskimo</i>, <i>Eskimos</i>; +<i>leaf</i>, <i>leaves</i> (<i>f</i> changes to <i>v</i> for the sake of euphony); knife, +knives.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_77b" id="article_77b">b.</a> Nouns ending in <i>y</i> preceded by a consonant (or by <i>u</i> as <i>w</i>) change +the <i>y</i> to <i>i</i> and add <i>es</i> to form the plural.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Examples: <i>sky</i>, <i>skies</i>; <i>lady</i>, <i>ladies</i>; <i>colloquy</i>, <i>colloquies</i>; +<i>soliloquy</i>, <i>soliloquies</i>.</li> + +<li><b>Other nouns ending in <i>y</i> form the plural in the usual way.</b> Examples: +<i>day</i>, <i>days</i>; <i>boy</i>, <i>boys</i>; <i>monkey</i>, <i>monkeys</i>; <i>valley</i>, <i>valleys</i>.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_77c" id="article_77c">c.</a> Compound nouns usually form the plural by adding <i>s</i> or <i>es</i> to the +principal word.</b> Examples: <i>sons-in-law</i>, <i>passers-by</i>; but <i>stand-bys</i>, +<i>hat-boxes</i>, <i>writing-desks</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_77d" id="article_77d">d.</a> Letters, signs, and sometimes figures, add <i>'s</i> to form the plural.</b> +Examples: Cross your t's and dot your i's; ?'s; $'s; 3's or 3s.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_77e" id="article_77e">e.</a> A few nouns adhere to old declensions.</b> Examples: <i>ox</i>, <i>oxen</i>; +<i>child</i>, <i>children</i>; <i>goose</i>, <i>geese</i>; <i>foot</i>, <i>feet</i>; <i>mouse</i>, <i>mice</i>; +<i>man</i>, <i>men</i>; <i>woman</i>, <i>women</i>; <i>sheep</i>, <i>sheep</i>; <i>deer</i>, <i>deer</i>; +<i>swine</i>, <i>swine</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_77f" id="article_77f">f.</a> Words adopted from foreign languages sometimes retain the foreign +plural.</b> Examples: <i>alumnus</i>, <i>alumni</i>; <i>alumna</i>, <i>alumnæ</i>; <i>fungus</i>, +<i>fungi</i>; <i>focus</i>, <i>foci</i>; <i>radius</i>, <i>radii</i>; <i>datum</i>, <i>data</i>; <i>medium</i>, +<i>media</i>; <i>phenomenon</i>, <i>phenomena</i>; <i>stratum</i>, <i>strata</i>; <i>analysis</i>, +<i>analyses</i>; <i>antithesis</i>, <i>antitheses</i>; <i>basis</i>, <i>bases</i>; <i>crisis</i>, +<i>crises</i>; <i>oasis</i>, <i>oases</i>; <i>hypothesis</i>, <i>hypotheses</i>; <i>parenthesis</i>, +<i>parentheses</i>; <i>thesis</i>, <i>theses</i>; <i>beau</i>, <i>beaux</i>; <i>tableau</i>, +<i>tableaux</i>; <i><abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr></i>, <i>Messrs.</i> (<i>Messieurs</i>); <i>Mrs.</i>, <i>Mmes.</i> +(<i>Mesdames</i>).</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<p class="exercise">Write the singular and plural of the following words: <i>day</i>, +<i>sky</i>, <i>lady</i>, <i>wife</i>, <i>leaf</i>, <i>loaf</i>, <i>negro</i>, <i>potato</i>, +<i>tomato</i>, <i>pass</i>, <i>glass</i>, <i>boat</i>, <i>beet</i>, <i>flash</i>, <i>crash</i>, +<i>bead</i>, <i>box</i>, <i>passenger</i>, <i>messenger</i>, <i>son-in-law</i>, <i>Smith</i>, +<i>Jones</i>, <i>jack-o'-lantern</i>, <i>hanger-on</i>, <i>stratum</i>, <i>datum</i>, +<i>phenomenon</i>, <i>crisis</i>, <i>basis</i>, <i>thesis</i>, <i>analysis</i>.</p> + + +<h5><a name="article_78" id="article_78">Compounds</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_78a" id="article_78a">78a.</a> Use a hyphen between two or more words which serve as a single +adjective before a noun:</b> <i>iron-bound bucket</i>, <i>well-kept lawn</i>, +<i>twelve-inch main</i>, <i>normal-school teacher</i>, <i>up-to-date methods</i>, +<i>twentieth-century ideas</i>, <i>devil-may-care expression</i>, <i>a +twenty-dollar-a-week clerk</i>.</p> + +<p><b>But when the words follow the noun, the hyphen is omitted.</b> <i>The lawn is +well kept. Methods up to date in every way</i>.</p> + +<p><b>Also adverbs ending in <i>-ly</i> are not ordinarily made into compound +modifiers:</b> <i>nicely kept lawn</i>, <i>securely guarded treasure</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_78b" id="article_78b">b.</a> Use a hyphen between members of a compound noun when the second +member is a preposition, or when the writing of two nouns solid or +separately might confuse the meaning:</b> <i>runner-up</i>, <i>kick-off</i>; +<i>letting-down of effort</i>, <i>son-in-law</i>, <i>jack-o'-lantern</i>, <i>Pedro was a +bull-fighter</i>, <i>a woman-hater</i>, <i>Did you ever see a shoe-polish like +this?</i></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_78c" id="article_78c">c.</a> Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, and +in fractions according to the following examples:</b></p> + +<p><i>Twenty-three</i>, <i>eighty-nine</i>; but <i>one hundred and one</i>. +<i>Twenty-third</i>, <i>one-hundred-and-first man</i>. <i>Three-fourths</i>, <i>four and +two-thirds</i>, <i>thirty-hundredths</i>, <i>thirty-one hundredths</i>.</p> + +<p>But omit the hyphen in simple fractions when loosely used: <i>Three +quarters of my life are spent.</i> <i>One third of his fortune.</i></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_78d" id="article_78d">d.</a> A hyphen is not used in the following common words:</b> <i>airship</i>, +<i>altogether</i>, <i>anybody</i>, <i>baseball</i>, <i>basketball</i>, <i>everybody</i>, +<i>football</i>, <i>goodby</i>, <i>herself</i>, <i>handbook</i>, <i>himself</i>, <i>inasmuch</i>, +<i>itself</i>, <i>midnight</i>, <i>myself</i>, <i>nevertheless</i>, <i>nobody</i>, <i>nothing</i> (but +<i>no one</i>), <i>nowadays</i>, <i>railroad</i>, <i>themselves</i>, <i>together</i>, +<i>typewritten</i>, <i>wherever</i>, <i>without</i>, <i>workshop</i>, <i>yourself</i>, +<i>newspaper</i>, <i>sunset</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_78e" id="article_78e">e.</a> For words that do not come within the scope of rules, consult an +up-to-date dictionary.</b> Compounds tend, with the passing of time, to grow +together. Once men wrote <i>steam boat</i>, later <i>steam-boat</i>, and finally +<i>steamboat</i>. New-coined words are usually hyphenated; old words are +often written solid. The degree of intimacy between the parts of a +compound word affects usage; thus we write <i>sun-motor</i>, but <i>sunbeam</i>; +<i>birth-rate</i>, but <i>birthday</i>; <i>cooling-room</i>, but <i>bedroom</i>; +<i>non-conductor</i>, but <i>nonsense</i>. The ease with which a vowel blends with +the consonant of a syllable adjoining it affects usage; thus +<i>self-evident</i>, but <i>selfsame</i>; <i>non-existent</i>, but <i>nondescript</i>; +<i>un-American</i>, but <i>unwise</i>. Many compounds, however, are still +uncontrolled by usage; whether they should be written as two words or +one, whether with or without the hyphen, the dictionaries themselves do +not agree.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<p class="exercise">Copy the following expressions, inserting hyphens where they +are necessary: <i>twenty two years old</i>, <i>twenty two dollar +bills</i> <i>make forty dollars</i>, <i>twenty seven eighths inch +boards</i>, <i>a normal school graduate</i>, <i>two handled boxes</i>, <i>a +cloth covered basket</i>, <i>blood red sun</i>, <i>water tight +compartment</i>, <i>sixty horse power motor</i>, <i>seven dollar bathing +suits</i>, <i>a happy go lucky fellow</i>, <i>germ destroying powder</i>, +<i>he had a son in law</i>, <i>passers by on the street</i>, <i>the kick +off is at three o'clock</i>, <i>dark complexioned woman</i>, <i>silver +tongued orator</i>, <i>a dish like valley</i>, <i>a rope like tail</i>, <i>a +fish shaped cloud</i>, <i>a touch me not expression</i>, <i>will o' the +wisp</i>, <i>well to do merchant</i>, <i>rough and tumble existence</i>.</p> + + +<h5><a name="article_79" id="article_79">79. SPELLING LIST</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The English language comprises about 450,000 words. Of these a student +uses about 4000 (although he may understand more than twice that number +when he encounters them in sentences). Of these, in turn, not more than +four or five hundred are frequently misspelled. The following list +includes nearly all of the words which give serious trouble. Certain +American colleges using this list require of freshmen an accuracy of +ninety per cent.</p> +</div> + +<div class="spellinglist"> +<ul><li>absurd</li> +<li>academy</li> +<li><b>accept</b></li> +<li><b>accidentally</b></li> +<li><b>accommodate</b></li> +<li>accumulate</li> +<li>accustom</li> +<li>acquainted</li> +<li>acquitted</li> +<li><b>across</b></li> +<li>addressed</li> +<li><b>adviser</b></li> +<li>aeroplane</li> +<li><b>affects</b></li> +<li>aggravate</li> +<li>alley</li> +<li>allotted</li> +<li><b>all right</b></li> +<li>ally</li> +<li>already</li> +<li>altar</li> +<li>alter</li> +<li><b>altogether</b></li> +<li>alumnus</li> +<li><b>always</b></li> +<li><b>amateur</b></li> +<li><b>among</b></li> +<li>analogous</li> +<li>analysis</li> +<li><b>angel</b></li> +<li>angle</li> +<li>annual</li> +<li>anxiety</li> +<li>apparatus</li> +<li><b>appearance</b></li> +<li>appropriate</li> +<li>arctic</li> +<li><b>argument</b></li> +<li><b>arising</b></li> +<li><b>arithmetic</b></li> +<li>arrange</li> +<li>arrival</li> +<li>ascend</li> +<li>asks</li> +<li><b>athletic</b></li> +<li>audience</li> +<li>auxiliary</li> +<li>awkward</li></ul> + +<ul><li>balance</li> +<li>barbarous</li> +<li>baring</li> +<li>barring</li> +<li>baseball</li> +<li><b>based</b></li> +<li>bearing</li> +<li><b>becoming</b></li> +<li>before</li> +<li>beggar</li> +<li><b>begging</b></li> +<li><b>beginning</b></li> +<li><b>believing</b></li> +<li><b>benefited</b></li> +<li><b>biscuit</b></li> +<li>boundaries</li> +<li>brilliant</li> +<li><b>Britain</b></li> +<li><b>Britannica</b></li> +<li>buoyant</li> +<li>bureau</li> +<li><b>business</b></li> +<li><b>busy</b></li></ul> + +<ul><li><b>calendar</b></li> +<li><b>candidate</b></li> +<li><b>can't</b></li> +<li>cemetery</li> +<li><b>certain</b></li> +<li><b>changeable</b></li> +<li><b>changing</b></li> +<li>characteristic</li> +<li>chauffeur</li> +<li><b>choose</b></li> +<li>chose</li> +<li>chosen</li> +<li><b>clothes</b></li> +<li><b>coarse</b></li> +<li>column</li> +<li><b>coming</b></li> +<li>commission</li> +<li><b>committee</b></li> +<li>comparative</li> +<li><b>compel</b></li> +<li>compelled</li> +<li>competent</li> +<li>concede</li> +<li>conceivable</li> +<li><b>conferred</b></li> +<li>conquer</li> +<li>conqueror</li> +<li>conscience</li> +<li>conscientious</li> +<li>considered</li> +<li>continuous</li> +<li>control</li> +<li><b>controlled</b></li> +<li>coöperate</li> +<li>country</li> +<li><b>course</b></li> +<li><b>courteous</b></li> +<li>courtesy</li> +<li>cruelty</li> +<li>cylinder</li></ul> + +<ul><li><b>dealt</b></li> +<li>debater</li> +<li>deceitful</li> +<li>decide</li> +<li>decision</li> +<li>deferred</li> +<li><b>definite</b></li> +<li>descend</li> +<li><b>describe</b></li> +<li><b>description</b></li> +<li>derived</li> +<li><b>despair</b></li> +<li><b>desperate</b></li> +<li>destroy</li> +<li>device</li> +<li>devise</li> +<li>dictionary</li> +<li>difference</li> +<li>digging</li> +<li>dilemma</li> +<li><b>dining room</b></li> +<li>dinning</li> +<li><b>disappear</b></li> +<li><b>disappoint</b></li> +<li>disavowal</li> +<li>discipline</li> +<li>disease</li> +<li><b>dissatisfied</b></li> +<li>dissipate</li> +<li>distinction</li> +<li>distribute</li> +<li><b>divide</b></li> +<li><b>divine</b></li> +<li><b>doctor</b></li> +<li><b>don't</b></li> +<li>dormitories</li> +<li>drudgery</li> +<li>dying</li></ul> + +<ul><li>ecstasy</li> +<li><b>effects</b></li> +<li><b>eighth</b></li> +<li>eliminate</li> +<li><b>embarrass</b></li> +<li>eminent</li> +<li>encouraging</li> +<li><b>enemy</b></li> +<li><b>equipped</b></li> +<li>especially</li> +<li><b>etc.</b></li> +<li>everybody</li> +<li>exaggerate</li> +<li>exceed</li> +<li>excellent</li> +<li>except</li> +<li>exceptional</li> +<li>exhaust</li> +<li>exhilarate</li> +<li><b>existence</b></li> +<li>expense</li> +<li>experience</li> +<li>explanation</li></ul> + +<ul><li>familiar</li> +<li>fascinate</li> +<li><b>February</b></li> +<li>fiery</li> +<li>fifth</li> +<li><b>finally</b></li> +<li>financier</li> +<li>forfeit</li> +<li>formally</li> +<li><b>formerly</b></li> +<li>forth</li> +<li><b>forty</b></li> +<li><b>fourth</b></li> +<li>frantically</li> +<li>fraternity</li> +<li><b>freshman</b> (<abbr title="adjective">adj.</abbr>)</li> +<li><b>friend</b></li> +<li>fulfil</li> +<li>furniture</li></ul> + +<ul><li>gallant</li> +<li>gambling</li> +<li><b>generally</b></li> +<li>goddess</li> +<li><b>government</b></li> +<li>governor</li> +<li><b>grammar</b></li> +<li>grandeur</li> +<li><b>grievous</b></li> +<li>guard</li> +<li>guess</li> +<li>guidance</li></ul> + +<ul><li>harass</li> +<li>haul</li> +<li><b>having</b></li> +<li>height</li> +<li>hesitancy</li> +<li><b>holy</b></li> +<li><b>hoping</b></li> +<li>huge</li> +<li><b>humorous</b></li> +<li><b>hurriedly</b></li> +<li>hundredths</li> +<li>hygienic</li></ul> + +<ul><li><b>imaginary</b></li> +<li>imitative</li> +<li>immediately</li> +<li>immigration</li> +<li>impromptu</li> +<li>imminent</li> +<li>incidentally</li> +<li>incidents</li> +<li>incredulous</li> +<li><b>independence</b></li> +<li>indispensable</li> +<li>induce</li> +<li>influence</li> +<li><b>infinite</b></li> +<li><b>instance</b></li> +<li>instant</li> +<li><b>intellectual</b></li> +<li>intelligence</li> +<li><b>intentionally</b></li> +<li>intercede</li> +<li>irresistible</li> +<li><b>its</b></li> +<li>it's</li> +<li>itself</li> +<li>invitation</li></ul> + +<ul><li><b>judgment</b></li></ul> + +<ul><li><b>knowledge</b></li></ul> + +<ul><li>laboratory</li> +<li><b>ladies</b></li> +<li><b>laid</b></li> +<li><b>later</b></li> +<li><b>latter</b></li> +<li><b>lead</b></li> +<li><b>led</b></li> +<li>liable</li> +<li>library</li> +<li><b>lightning</b></li> +<li>likely</li> +<li>literature</li> +<li>loneliness</li> +<li><b>loose</b></li> +<li><b>lose</b></li> +<li><b>losing</b></li> +<li>lying</li></ul> + +<ul><li>maintain</li> +<li><b>maintenance</b></li> +<li>manual</li> +<li>manufacturer</li> +<li><b>many</b></li> +<li>marriage</li> +<li>Massachusetts</li> +<li>material</li> +<li><b>mathematics</b></li> +<li>mattress</li> +<li><b>meant</b></li> +<li>messenger</li> +<li><b>miniature</b></li> +<li>minutes</li> +<li><b>mischievous</b></li> +<li>Mississippi</li> +<li>misspelled</li> +<li>momentous</li> +<li>month</li> +<li>murmur</li> +<li>muscle</li> +<li>mysterious</li></ul> + +<ul><li><b>necessary</b></li> +<li><b>negroes</b></li> +<li><b>neither</b></li> +<li>nickel</li> +<li>nineteenth</li> +<li>ninetieth</li> +<li><b>ninety</b></li> +<li>ninth</li> +<li><b>noticeable</b></li> +<li><b>nowadays</b></li></ul> + +<ul><li>oblige</li> +<li>obstacle</li> +<li><b>occasion</b></li> +<li>occasionally</li> +<li>occur</li> +<li><b>occurred</b></li> +<li><b>occurrence</b></li> +<li>occurring</li> +<li><b>o'clock</b></li> +<li>officers</li> +<li><b>omitted</b></li> +<li><b>omission</b></li> +<li><b>opinion</b></li> +<li>opportunity</li> +<li><b>optimistic</b></li> +<li><b>original</b></li> +<li>outrageous</li> +<li>overrun</li></ul> + +<ul><li>paid</li> +<li>pantomime</li> +<li><b>parallel</b></li> +<li><b>parliament</b></li> +<li>particularly</li> +<li><b>partner</b></li> +<li><b>pastime</b></li> +<li>peaceable</li> +<li><b>perceive</b></li> +<li>perception</li> +<li>peremptory</li> +<li><b>perform</b></li> +<li><b>perhaps</b></li> +<li><b>permissible</b></li> +<li>perseverance</li> +<li>pérsonal</li> +<li>personnél</li> +<li><b>perspiration</b></li> +<li>persuade</li> +<li>pertain</li> +<li>pervade</li> +<li>physical</li> +<li>picnic</li> +<li>picnicking</li> +<li><b>planned</b></li> +<li><b>pleasant</b></li> +<li>politics</li> +<li>politician</li> +<li><b>possession</b></li> +<li>possible</li> +<li>practically</li> +<li><b>prairie</b></li> +<li><b>precede</b></li> +<li>precédent</li> +<li>précedents</li> +<li><b>preference</b></li> +<li><b>preferred</b></li> +<li>prejudice</li> +<li><b>preparation</b></li> +<li><b>primitive</b></li> +<li><b>principal</b></li> +<li><b>principle</b></li> +<li>prisoner</li> +<li><b>privilege</b></li> +<li><b>probably</b></li> +<li><b>proceed</b></li> +<li>prodigy</li> +<li>profession</li> +<li><b>professor</b></li> +<li>proffered</li> +<li>prohibition</li> +<li>promissory</li> +<li><b>prove</b></li> +<li>purchase</li> +<li>pursue</li> +<li>putting</li></ul> + +<ul><li>quantity</li> +<li><b>quiet</b></li> +<li><b>quite</b></li> +<li>quizzes</li></ul> + +<ul><li>rapid</li> +<li><b>ready</b></li> +<li><b>really</b></li> +<li>recede</li> +<li><b>receive</b></li> +<li>recognize</li> +<li><b>recommend</b></li> +<li><b>reference</b></li> +<li><b>referred</b></li> +<li><b>regard</b></li> +<li>region</li> +<li><b>religion</b></li> +<li><b>religious</b></li> +<li>repetition</li> +<li>replies</li> +<li>representative</li> +<li><b>restaurant</b></li> +<li>rheumatism</li> +<li>ridiculous</li></ul> + +<ul><li>sacrilegious</li> +<li>safety</li> +<li><b>sandwich</b></li> +<li>schedule</li> +<li>science</li> +<li>scream</li> +<li>screech</li> +<li><b>seems</b></li> +<li><b>seize</b></li> +<li>sense</li> +<li><b>sentence</b></li> +<li><b>separate</b></li> +<li>sergeant</li> +<li>several</li> +<li>shiftless</li> +<li><b>shining</b></li> +<li>shone</li> +<li>shown</li> +<li><b>shriek</b></li> +<li><b>siege</b></li> +<li>similar</li> +<li><b>since</b></li> +<li>smooth</li> +<li>soliloquy</li> +<li><b>sophomore</b></li> +<li>speak</li> +<li>specimen</li> +<li><b>speech</b></li> +<li>statement</li> +<li><b>stationary</b></li> +<li><b>stationery</b></li> +<li>statue</li> +<li>stature</li> +<li>statute</li> +<li>steal</li> +<li>steel</li> +<li>stops</li> +<li><b>stopped</b></li> +<li><b>stopping</b></li> +<li><b>stories</b></li> +<li>stretch</li> +<li><b>strictly</b></li> +<li>succeeds</li> +<li>successful</li> +<li>summarize</li> +<li><b>superintendent</b></li> +<li>supersede</li> +<li><b>sure</b></li> +<li><b>surprise</b></li> +<li>syllable</li> +<li>symmetrical</li></ul> + +<ul><li><b>temperament</b></li> +<li><b>tendency</b></li> +<li>than</li> +<li><b>their</b></li> +<li>there</li> +<li>therefore</li> +<li><b>they're</b></li> +<li>thorough</li> +<li>thousandths</li> +<li>till</li> +<li>to</li> +<li><b>too</b></li> +<li><b>together</b></li> +<li><b>tragedy</b></li> +<li>track</li> +<li><b>tract</b></li> +<li>transferred</li> +<li>tranquillity</li> +<li>translate</li> +<li>treacherous</li> +<li>treasurer</li> +<li><b>tries</b></li> +<li><b>trouble</b></li> +<li><b>truly</b></li> +<li><b>Tuesday</b></li> +<li>two</li> +<li>typical</li> +<li>tyranny</li></ul> + +<ul><li>universally</li> +<li><b>until</b></li> +<li><b>using</b></li> +<li><b>usually</b></li></ul> + +<ul><li>vacancy</li> +<li>vengeance</li> +<li>vigilance</li> +<li>village</li> +<li><b>villain</b></li></ul> + +<ul><li>weak</li> +<li><b>wear</b></li> +<li>weather</li> +<li><b>Wednesday</b></li> +<li>week</li> +<li><b>weird</b></li> +<li>welfare</li> +<li>where</li> +<li>wherever</li> +<li><b>whether</b></li> +<li>which</li> +<li>whole</li> +<li><b>wholly</b></li> +<li><b>who's</b></li> +<li>whose</li> +<li>wintry</li> +<li>wiry</li> +<li>within</li> +<li>without</li> +<li><b>women</b></li> +<li>world</li> +<li><b>writing</b></li> +<li>written</li></ul> + +<ul><li>your</li> +<li><b>you're</b></li></ul> +</div> + +<p><a name="article_79_Note1" id="article_79_Note1">Note 1.</a>—The following words have more than one correct form, the one +given here being preferred.</p> + +<div class="spellinglist"> +<ul><li>abridgement</li> +<li>acknowledgment</li> +<li>analyze</li> +<li>ax</li> +<li>boulder</li> +<li>caliber</li> +<li>catalog</li> +<li>center</li> +<li>check</li> +<li>criticize</li> +<li>develop</li> +<li>development</li> +<li>dulness</li> +<li>endorse</li> +<li>envelop</li> +<li>esthetic</li> +<li>gaiety</li> +<li>gild</li> +<li>gipsy</li> +<li>glamor</li> +<li>goodby</li> +<li>gray</li> +<li>inquire</li> +<li>medieval</li> +<li>meter</li> +<li>mold</li> +<li>mustache</li> +<li>odor</li> +<li>program</li> +<li>prolog</li> +<li>skilful</li> +<li>theater</li> +</ul></div> + +<p><a name="article_79_Note2" id="article_79_Note2">Note 2.</a>—In a few groups of words American spelling and English spelling +differ. American spelling gives preference to <i>favor</i>, <i>honor</i>, <i>labor</i>, +<i>rumor</i>; English spelling gives preference to <i>favour</i>, <i>honour</i>, +<i>labour</i>, <i>rumour</i>. American spelling gives preference to <i>civilize</i>, +<i>apprize</i>; <i>defense</i>, <i>pretense</i>; <i>traveler</i>, <i>woolen</i>; <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr> English +spelling gives preference to <i>civilise</i>, <i>apprise</i>; <i>defence</i>, +<i>pretence</i>; <i>traveller</i>, <i>woollen</i>; <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="miscellaneous" id="miscellaneous">MISCELLANEOUS</a></h2> + + +<h5><a name="article_80" id="article_80">Manuscript</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_80a" id="article_80a">80a.</a> Titles.</b> Center a title on the page. Capitalize important words. It +is unnecessary to place a period after a title, but a question mark or +exclamation point should be used when one is appropriate. Do not +underscore the title, or unnecessarily place it in quotation marks. +Leave a blank line under the title, before beginning the body of the +writing.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_80b" id="article_80b">b.</a> Spacing.</b> Careful spacing is as necessary as punctuation. Place +writing on a page as you would frame a picture, crowding it toward +neither the top nor the bottom. Leave liberal margins. Write verse as +verse; do not give it equal indention or length of line with prose. +Connect all the letters of a word. Leave a space after a word, and a +double space after a sentence. Leave room between successive lines, and +do not let the loops of letters run into the lines above or below.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_80c" id="article_80c">c.</a> Handwriting.</b> Write a clear, legible hand. Form <i>a</i>, <i>o</i>, <i>u</i>, <i>n</i>, +<i>e</i>, <i>i</i>, properly. Write out <i>and</i> horizontally. Avoid unnecessary +flourishes in capitals, and curlicues at the end of words. Dot your +<i>i's</i> and cross your <i>t's</i>; not with circles or long eccentric strokes, +but simply and accurately. Let your originality express itself not in +ornate penmanship, or unusual stationery, or literary affectations, but +in the force and keenness of your ideas.</p> + + +<h5><a name="article_81" id="article_81">Capitals</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_81a" id="article_81a">81a.</a> Begin with a capital a sentence, a line of poetry, or a quoted +sentence. But if only a fragment of a sentence is quoted, the capital +should be omitted.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: He said, "The time has come."</li> + +<li>Right: The question is, Shall the bill pass?</li> + +<li>Right: They said they would "not take no for an answer."</li> + +<li>Right: + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">"The good die first,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Burn to the socket."—Wordsworth.<br /></span> +</div></div> +</li> +</ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_81b" id="article_81b">b.</a> Begin proper names, and all important words used as or in proper +names, with capitals.</b> Words not so used should not begin with capitals.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> George K. Rogers, the Principal of the Urbana High +School, a college president, the President of the Senior Class, +a senior, the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, +three battalions of infantry, the Fourth of July, on the tenth +of June, the House of Representatives, an assembly of +delegates, a Presbyterian church, the separation of church and +state, the Baptist Church, the Society for the Prevention of +Cruelty to Animals, a creek known as Black Oak Creek, the +Republican Party, a party that advocates high tariff, Rocky +Mountains, The Bible, God, The Christian Era, Wednesday, in the +summer, living in the South, turning south after taking a few +steps to the east, one morning, O dark-haired Evening! italic +type, watt, pasteurize, herculean effort.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_81c" id="article_81c">c.</a> Begin an adjective which designates a language or a race with a +capital.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: A Norwegian peasant, Indian arrowheads, English +literature, the study of French.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_81d" id="article_81d">d.</a> In the titles of books or themes capitalize the first word and all +other important words.</b> Prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are +usually not important.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: <i>The English Novel in the Time of Scott</i>, <i>War and +Peace</i>, <i>Travels with a Donkey</i>, <i>When I Slept under the +Stars</i>.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_81e" id="article_81e">e.</a> Miscellaneous uses. Capitalize the pronoun <i>I</i>, the interjection <i>O</i>, +titles that accompany a name, and abbreviations of proper names.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Battery F, 150 <abbr title="Field Artillery">F. A.</abbr>; Mobile, <abbr title="Alabama">Ala.</abbr>; <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Stebbins.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>the teacher said, "let me read you a famous soliloquy." he +began: "to be, or not to be: that is the question."</li> + +<li>the chinese laundry man does not write out his lists in +english.</li> + +<li>the <i>la fayette tribune</i> says that a Principal of a School +has been elected to congress.</li> + +<li><abbr title="mister">mr.</abbr> woodson, the lecturer, said that "the title of a book +may be a poem." he mentioned <i>christmas eve on lonesome</i> by +john fox, <abbr title="junior">jr.</abbr></li> + +<li>i like architecture. as i approached the british museum, i +noticed the ionic colonnade that runs along the front. the +first room i visited was the one filled with marbles which lord +elgin brought from the parthenon at athens.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_82" id="article_82">Italics</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>In manuscript, a horizontal line drawn under a letter or word is a sign +for the printer to use italic type.</p> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_82a" id="article_82a">82a.</a> Quoted titles of books, periodicals, and manuscripts are usually +italicized.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: I admire Shakespeare's <i>Hamlet</i>. [The italics make the +reader know that the writer means, <i>Hamlet</i> the play, not +Hamlet the man.]</li> + +<li>Right: John Galsworthy's novel, <i>The Patrician</i>, appeared in +serial form in the <i>Atlantic Monthly</i>.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_82a_Note1" id="article_82a_Note1">Note 1.</a>—When the title of a book begins with an article (<i>a</i>, <i>an</i>, or +<i>the</i>), the article is italicized. But <i>the</i> before the title of a +periodical is usually not italicized.</p> + +<p><a name="article_82a_Note2" id="article_82a_Note2">Note 2.</a>—It is correct, but not the best practice, to indicate the +titles of books by quotation marks. The best method is to use italics +for the title of a book, and quotation marks for chapters or +subdivisions of the same book. Example: See <i>Encyclopedia Britannica</i>, +<abbr title="Volume">Vol.</abbr> <abbr title="two">II</abbr>, <abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 427, "Modern Architecture".</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_82b" id="article_82b">b.</a> Words from a foreign language, unless they have been anglicized by +frequent use, are italicized.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: A great noise announced the coming of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">enfant +terrible</i>.</li> + +<li>Right: A play always begins <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in medias res</i>.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_82c" id="article_82c">c.</a> The names of ships are usually italicized.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The <i>Saxonia</i> will sail at four o'clock.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_82d" id="article_82d">d.</a> Words taken out of their context and made the subject of discussion +are italicized or placed in quotation marks.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: <i>So</i> is a word faded and colorless from constant use.</li> + +<li>Right: The <i>t</i> in the word <i>often</i> is not pronounced.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_82e" id="article_82e">e.</a> A word or passage requiring great emphasis is italicized.</b> This device +should not be used to excess. The proper way to secure emphasis is to +have good ideas, and to use emphatic sentence structure in expressing +them.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>In Vanity Fair Thackeray heads one chapter How to Live Well +on Nothing a Year.</li> + +<li><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Auf wiedersehen</span> was his parting word. He had +informed me, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">sub rosa</span> of course, that he was going to +Bremen.</li> + +<li>The battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac +revolutionized naval warfare. How far back it seems to the days +when Decatur set fire to the old Philadelphia!</li> + +<li>Her They say's are as plenteous as rabbits in Australia.</li> + +<li>A writer in the Century Magazine says the public may know +better than an author what the title of his book should be. +Dickens, for example, called one of his works The Posthumous +Papers of the Pickwick Club.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_83" id="article_83">Abbreviations</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_83a" id="article_83a">83a.</a> In ordinary writing avoid abbreviations. The following, however, +are always correct: <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr>, <abbr title="messieurs">Messrs.</abbr>, <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr>, or <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> (Saint), before proper +names; <abbr title="Before Christ">B. C.</abbr> or <abbr title="Anno Domini" lang="la" xml:lang="la">A. D.</abbr>, when necessary to avoid confusion, after a date; +and <abbr title="number">No.</abbr> or $ when followed by numerals.</b></p> + +<p>In ordinary writing spell out</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>All titles, except those listed above.</li> + +<li>Names of months, states, countries.</li> + +<li>Christian names, unless initials are used instead.</li> + +<li>Names of weights and measures, except in statistics.</li> + +<li>Street, Avenue, Road, Railroad, Park, Fort, Mountain, Company, +Brothers, Manufacturing, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></li></ul> + +<p>In ordinary writing, instead of <i>&</i> write <i>and</i>; for <i>viz.</i> write +<i>namely</i>; for <i>i. e.</i>, write <i>that is</i>; for <i>e. g.</i> write <i>for example</i>; +for <i>a. m.</i> and <i>p. m.</i> write <i>in the morning</i>, <i>this afternoon</i>, +<i>tomorrow evening</i>, <i>Saturday night</i>. Do not use <i><abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></i> (<i>et cetera</i>) +when it can be avoided.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_83b" id="article_83b">b.</a> In business correspondence, technical writing, tabulations, +footnotes, and bibliographies, or wherever brevity is essential, other +abbreviations may be used.</b> Even here, short words should not be +abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Samoa, Utah, +March, April, May, June, July.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Gregg & <abbr title="doctor">Dr.</abbr> Appleton were rivals.</li> + +<li>Harris lacked but one of having a grade of one hundred; <i>i. +e.</i>, he had the two O's already.</li> + +<li>His inheritance tax was three thousand $. In <abbr title="April">Apr.</abbr> he moved +from Portland, <abbr title="Maine">Me.</abbr>, to Sandusky, <abbr title="Ohio">O.</abbr></li> + +<li><abbr title="Professor">Prof.</abbr> Kellogg came down Beech <abbr title="Street">St.</abbr> at a quarter before eight +every a. m.</li> + +<li>A <abbr title="number">No.</abbr> of old friends visited them on special occasions; <i>e. +g.</i>, on their wedding anniversaries.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_84" id="article_84">Numbers</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_84a" id="article_84a">84a.</a> It is customary to use figures for dates, for the street numbers in +addresses, for reference to the pages of a book, and for statistics.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: June 16, 1920. 804 Chalmers Street. See Chapter 4, especially +page 79.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_84a_Note" id="article_84a_Note">Note.</a>—It is desirable not to write <i>st</i>, <i>nd</i>, or <i>th</i> after the day of +the month if the year is designated also. Right: March 3, 1919 (not +March <abbr title="third">3rd</abbr>, 1919).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_84b" id="article_84b">b.</a> Figures are used for numbers which cannot be expressed in a few +words. The dollar sign and figures are used with complicated sums of +money.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The farm comprised 3260 acres. The population of Kansas City, +Missouri, was 248,381 in 1910. He earned $437 while attending school. +The cost of the improvement was $1,940.25.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_84c" id="article_84c">c.</a> In other instances than those specified in <i>a</i> and <i>b</i> numbers as a +rule should be written out.</b> (This rule applies to numbers and to sums of +money which can be expressed in a few words, to sums of money less than +one dollar, and to ages and time of day.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The box weighs two hundred pounds. Xerxes had an army of three +million men. I enclose seventy-five cents. He owed twelve hundred +dollars. Grandfather Toland is eighty-seven years old. The train is due +at a quarter past three.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>For 70 pounds of excess baggage I had to pay $1.00.</li> + +<li>At 2 o'clock Rice gave him the <abbr title="second">2nd</abbr> capsule.</li> + +<li>The letter was sent from twenty-one Warner St. November the +eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen.</li> + +<li>Knox earned $5 a day he said; but they paid him only $0.75.</li> + +<li>At 40 he owned a 2,000 acre farm and had an income of +$10,000 a year.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_85" id="article_85">Syllabication</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_85a" id="article_85a">85a.</a> When a word is broken at the end of a line, use a hyphen there. Do +not place a hyphen at the beginning of the second line.</b></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_85b" id="article_85b">b.</a> Words are divided only between syllables:</b> <i>depart-ment</i>, +<i>dis-charge</i>, <i>ab-surd</i>, <i>univer-sity</i>, <i>pro-fessor</i> (not <i>depa-rtment</i>, +<i>disc-harge</i>, <i>abs-urd</i>, <i>unive-rsity</i>, <i>prof-essor</i>).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_85c" id="article_85c">c.</a> Monosyllabic words are never divided:</b> <i>which</i>, <i>through</i>, <i>dipped</i>, +<i>speak</i> (not <i>wh-ich</i>, <i>thr-ough</i>, <i>dip-ped</i>, <i>spe-ak</i>).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_85d" id="article_85d">d.</a> A consonant at the junction of two syllables usually goes with the +second:</b> <i>recipro-cate</i>, <i>ordi-nance</i>, <i>inti-mate</i> (not <i>reciproc-ate</i>, +<i>ordin-ance</i>, <i>intim-ate</i>). Sometimes two consonants are equivalent to a +single letter: <i>falli-ble</i>, <i>photo-graph</i> (not <i>fallib-le</i>, +<i>photog-raph</i>).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_85e" id="article_85e">e.</a> Two or more consonants at the junction of syllables are themselves +divided:</b> <i>en-ter-prise</i>, <i>com-mis-sary</i>, <i>in-car-nate</i> (not +<i>ent-erpr-ise</i>, <i>comm-iss-ary</i>, <i>inc-arn-ate</i>).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_85f" id="article_85f">f.</a> A prefix or a suffix is usually set off from the rest of the word +regardless of the rule for consonants between syllables:</b> <i>ex-empt</i>, +<i>dis-appoint</i>, <i>sing-ing</i>, <i>pro-gress-ive</i>. But when a final consonant +is doubled before a suffix the additional consonant goes with the +suffix: <i>trip-ping</i>, <i>permit-ted</i>, <i>omis-sion</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_85g" id="article_85g">g.</a> The best usage avoids separating one or two letters (unless in +prefixes like <i>un</i> or suffixes like <i>ly</i>) from the rest of the word:</b> +<i>achieve-ment</i>, <i>enor-mous</i>, <i>remem-bered</i>, <i>dyspep-sia</i> (not +<i>a-chievement</i>, <i>e-normous</i>, remember-ed, dyspepsi-a).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_85h" id="article_85h">h.</a> The first part of a divided word should not be ludicrous or +misleading:</b> <i>dogma-tize</i>, <i>croco-dile</i>, <i>de-cadence</i>, <i>metri-cal</i>, +<i>goril-la</i> (not <i>dog-matize</i>, <i>croc-odile</i>, <i>deca-dence</i>, <i>met-rical</i>, +<i>go-rilla</i>).</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<p class="exercise">Place a hyphen between each pair of syllables in each word of +more than one syllable: <i>thoughtful</i>, <i>burrowing</i>, <i>thorough</i>, +<i>chimney</i>, <i>brought</i>, <i>helped</i>, <i>harshnesses</i>, <i>which</i>, +<i>murmur</i>, <i>superstition</i>, <i>ground</i>, <i>symmetry</i>, <i>ripped</i>, +<i>compartment</i>, <i>disallow</i>, <i>obey</i>, <i>opinion</i>, <i>opportune</i>, +<i>aggressive</i>, <i>intellectually</i>, <i>complicated</i>, <i>encyclopedia</i>, +<i>wrought</i>, <i>electricity</i>, <i>abstraction</i>, <i>syllabication</i>, +<i>punctuation</i>, <i>frustrate</i>, <i>except</i>, <i>substituting</i>, +<i>distressful</i>.</p> + + +<h5><a name="article_86" id="article_86">Outlines</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Three kinds of outlines are illustrated in this article: (a) the Topic +Outline, (b) the Sentence Outline, and (c) the Paragraph Outline.</p> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_86a" id="article_86a">86a.</a> A topic outline consists of headings (nouns or phrases containing +nouns) which indicate the important ideas in a composition, and their +relation to each other. Conform to the following model:</b></p> + +<div class="examples"><p><b>The Lumber Problem</b></p> + +<p>Theme: The decline of our lumber supply requires that we shall +take steps toward reforesting, conservation, and the use of +substitutes for wood.</p> + +<ol class="RU"> +<li>The Depletion of our forests + <ol class="AU"> + <li>Former abundance</li> + <li>Present scarcity (especially walnut, white pine, oak)</li> + </ol></li> + +<li>The Causes of the depletion + <ol class="AU"><li>Great demand + <ol><li>For building</li> + <li>For industrial expansion (ties, posts, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>)</li> + <li>For fuel, and other minor uses</li></ol></li> + <li>Wasteful methods of forestry</li></ol></li> + +<li>The Remedy + <ol class="AU"><li>Reforestation + <ol><li>Planting by individuals</li> + <li>Planting by the states</li> + <li>Extension of the present National Forest Reserves</li></ol></li> + + <li>The prevention of waste + <ol><li>In fires, by insects, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></li> + <li>In cutting and sawing</li> + <li>In by-products (sawing, odd lengths, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>)</li></ol></li> + + <li>The use of substitutes for wood (concrete, steel, brick, stone, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>)</li></ol></li> +</ol> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_86b" id="article_86b">b.</a> A sentence outline is expressed in complete sentences. Conform to the +following model:</b></p> + +<div class="examples"><p><b>The Lumber Problem</b></p> + +<ol class="RU"> +<li>The depletion of our forests is evident when one compares + <ol class="AU"><li>the former abundance, with</li> + <li>the present scarcity (of walnut, white pine, and oak, especially).</li></ol></li> + +<li>The causes of the depletion are: + <ol class="AU"><li>the great demand + <ol><li>for building,</li> + <li>for industrial expansion (ties, posts, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>),</li> + <li>for fuel and other minor uses; and</li></ol></li> + <li>wasteful methods of forestry.</li></ol></li> + +<li>The remedies for the depletion are: + <ol class="AU"><li>reforestation + <ol><li>by individuals,</li> + <li>by the states,</li> + <li>by extension of the present National Forest Reserves;</li></ol></li> + <li>the prevention of waste + <ol><li>in fires, by insects, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>,</li> + <li>in cutting and sawing,</li> + <li>in by-products (sawdust, odd lengths, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>); and</li></ol></li> + <li>the use of substitutes, for wood (concrete, steel, brick, stone, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>)</li></ol></li> +</ol> + +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_86c" id="article_86c">c.</a> A paragraph outline is a series of sentences summarizing the thought +of successive paragraphs in a composition. Conform to the following +model:</b></p> + +<div class="examples"><p><b>The Disagreeable Optimist</b></p> + +<ol><li>The present age may be called an era of efficiency, +prosperity, and optimism, since efficiency has produced +prosperity, and this in turn has produced "optimism"—a word +recurrent in common literature and conversation.</li> + +<li>The optimist is often not natural or sincere, because his +thoughts are centered on keeping up an appearance of being +happy.</li> + +<li>He is intrusive, for he thrusts comfort upon those who wish +to mourn, and repeats irritating epigrams and poems about +cheer.</li> + +<li>He is undiscriminating, in that he prescribes the same +remedy, "good cheer," for everybody and for every condition.</li> + +<li>He is sometimes harmful, because he tells us that the world +is going well, when conditions need changing, and need changing +badly.</li></ol></div> + +<p><b><a name="article_86d" id="article_86d">d.</a> Mechanical details.</b> Indent headings that are coördinate (that is, of +equal value) an equal distance from the margin. One inch to the right is +a good distance for successive subordinate headings. Use Roman numerals, +capital letters, Arabic numerals, and small letters to indicate the +comparative rank of ideas. When a heading runs over one line, use +hanging indention; that is, do not allow the second line to run back to +the left-hand margin, but indent it. Make the numerals and letters (<i>1</i>, +<i>A</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>) stand out prominently. The title of a theme should not be +given a numeral or letter.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty indention: + +<p>Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal +supply is exhausted are<br /><br /> + +<span class="i2">I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain +districts<br /></span> +<span class="i2">II The tides<br /></span> +<span class="i2">III The heat of the sun<br /></span> +</p></li> + +<li>Correct hanging indention: + +<p>Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal supply +is exhausted are</p> + +<ol class="RU"><li>Rivers and streams, especially in mountain +districts</li> +<li>The tides</li> +<li>The heat of the sun</li> +</ol></li> +</ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_86e" id="article_86e">e.</a> Ideas parallel in thought should be expressed in parallel form.</b> Nouns +and phrases including nouns are ordinarily used.</p> + +<ul class="examples"> +<li>Faulty parallelism: + +<p>Advantages of a garden:</p> +<ol><li>Profitable</li> +<li>It affords good exercise</li> +<li>Gives pleasure</li></ol></li> + +<li>Right: +<p>Advantages of a garden:</p> +<ol><li>Profit</li> +<li>Exercise</li> +<li>Pleasure</li></ol></li> +</ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_86f" id="article_86f">f.</a> Avoid faulty coördination (giving two ideas equal rank, when one +should be subordinated to the other) and <i>vice versa</i>, avoid faulty +subordination.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Faulty coördination: + +<p><b>How Seeds Scatter</b></p> + +<ol class="RU"><li>By Wind</li> +<li>Some Seeds provided with parachutes</li> +<li>Others light, and easily blown about</li> +<li>By Water</li> +<li>By Animals</li> +</ol></li> + +<li>Right: + +<p><b>How Seeds Scatter</b></p> + +<ol class="RU"> +<li>By Wind +<ol class="AU"><li>Some seeds provided with parachutes</li> +<li>Others light, and easily blown about</li></ol></li> +<li>By Water</li> +<li>By Animals</li> +</ol></li> +</ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_86g" id="article_86g">g.</a> Avoid detailed subordination. Especially avoid a single subheading +when it can be joined to the preceding line, or omitted.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Too detailed: + +<ol class="AU"><li>The McClellan Orchard +<ol><li>Situation +<ol class="AL"><li>On a northern slope</li></ol></li> +<li>Nature of soil +<ol class="AL"><li>Sandy</li></ol></li> +<li>Kind of fruit +<ol class="AL"><li>Apple</li> +<li>Cherry</li></ol></li></ol></li></ol></li> + + +<li>Right: + +<ol class="AU"><li>The McClellan Orchard +<ol><li>Situation: a northern slope</li> +<li>Nature of soil: sandy</li> +<li>Kind of fruit: apple and cherry</li></ol></li></ol></li> +</ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Give a title to an outline which shall include the following +topics. Group the topics under two main headings, and give the +headings names. + +<ul><li>Uses of the grape</li> +<li>The Vine</li> +<li>The Fruit Itself</li> +<li>How Marketed</li> +<li>How Cultivated</li></ul></li> + +<li>Place in order the sentences of the following outline on +"Why Keep a Diary?" Subordinate some of the headings to others. + +<ul><li>A diary affords great satisfaction in future years.</li> + +<li>We sometimes record in a diary information which proves useful.</li> + +<li>A few lines a day will suffice.</li> + +<li>A diary is not hard to keep.</li> + +<li>We may find time for writing in our diary if we do not waste +time at the table or on newspapers.</li> + +<li>We may write in our diary just before we go to bed.</li> + +<li>A diary will bring back the past.</li> + +<li>We all have some moments to kill.</li> + +<li>A diary gives us pleasure even in the present.</li></ul></li> + +<li><ins title="Transcriber's Note: In the original the list item was misnumbered as '2'">Place</ins> in order the headings of the following outline on +"Ulysses S. Grant." Subordinate some of the headings to others. + +<ul><li>Obscurity in 1861</li> +<li>Prominence in 1865</li> +<li>Patience</li> +<li>President</li> +<li>General</li> +<li>Perseverance and Resolution</li> +<li>Character</li> +<li>The Turning Point in His Career</li></ul></li> +</ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_87" id="article_87">Letters</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The parts of a letter are the heading, the inside address, the greeting, +the body, the close, and the signature. For these parts good use +prescribes definite forms, which we may sometimes ignore in personal +letters, but must rigidly observe in formal or business letters.</p> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_87a" id="article_87a">87a.</a> The heading of a letter should give the full address of the writer +and the date of writing. Do not abbreviate short words, or omit Street +or Avenue.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Objectionable: #15 Hickory, Omaha.</li> + +<li>Right: 15 Hickory Street, Omaha, Nebraska.</li> + +<li>Objectionable: 4/12/19; 10-28-'16; May <abbr title="second">2nd</abbr>, 1910.</li> + +<li>Right: April 12, 1919; October 28, 1916; May 2, 1910.</li> + +<li>The following headings are correct: + +<ul class="letter-headings"> +<li>106 East Race Street,<br /> +<span class="i2">Red Oak, Iowa,<br /></span> +<span class="i3">August 4, 1916.</span></li> + +<li>423 Michigan Avenue<br /> +Chicago, Illinois<br /> +May 20, 1918</li> + +<li>Prescott, Arizona, June 1, 1920.</li> +</ul> +</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_87a_Note" id="article_87a_Note">Note.</a>—In personal letters the heading may be transferred to the end, +below the signature, at the left-hand side. But it must not be so +divided that the street address will appear in one place and the town +and state in another.</p> + +<p>The "closed" form of punctuation (the use of punctuation at the ends of +the lines) is best until the student learns what is correct. Afterward, +the adoption of the "open" form becomes purely a matter of individual +taste and not a matter of carelessness or ignorance.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_87b" id="article_87b">b.</a> An inside address and a greeting are required in business letters.</b> +Personal letters contain the greeting, but may omit the inside address, +or may supply it at the end of the letter.</p> + +<ul class="examples letter-headings"> +<li>The Jeffrey Chemical Works,<br /> +510 Marion Street,<br /> +Norfolk, Virginia.<br /><br /> + +Gentlemen:</li> + +<li><abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Joseph N. Kellogg<br /> +1411 Lake Street<br /> +Cleveland, Ohio<br /><br /> + +Dear <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Kellogg:</li> + +<li>Secretary of Rice Institute,<br /> +<span class="i2">Houston, Texas.<br /></span><br /> + +My dear Sir:</li></ul> + +<p>Greetings used in business letters are:</p> + +<ul> +<li>My dear Sir:</li> +<li>My dear Madam:</li> +<li>My dear <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Fisher:</li> +<li>Dear Sir:</li> +<li>Sir:</li> +<li>Sirs:</li> +<li>Gentlemen:</li> +<li>Ladies:</li> +</ul> + +<p>Greetings used in personal letters are:</p> + +<ul> +<li>My dear Miss Brown:</li> +<li>Dear Professor Ward:</li> +<li>Dear Jones,</li> +<li>Dear Mrs. Vincent,</li> +<li>Dear Robert,</li> +<li>Dear Olive,</li> +</ul> + +<p>"My dear Miss Brown" is more ceremonious than "Dear Miss Brown". As a +rule, the more familiar the letter, the shorter the greeting.</p> + +<p>A colon follows the greeting if the letter is formal or long; a comma, +if the letter is familiar or in the nature of a note.</p> + +<p>Both inside address and greeting begin at the left-hand margin. The body +of the letter begins on the line below the greeting, and is indented as +much as an ordinary paragraph (about an inch).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_87c" id="article_87c">c.</a> The body of a letter should be written in correct style.</b></p> + +<p><b>1.</b> Do not omit pronouns, or write a "telegraphic style".</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Just received yours of the <abbr title="twenty-first">21st</abbr>, and in reply would say +your order has been filled and shipped.</li> + +<li>Right: I have your letter of March twenty-first. Your order was +promptly filled and shipped.</li></ul> + +<p><b>2.</b> The idea that it is immodest to use <i>I</i> is a superstition. Undue +repetition of <i>I</i> is of course awkward; but entire avoidance of it is +silly.</p> + +<p><b>3.</b> Use simple language. Say "your letter"; not "your kind favor", or +"yours duly received", or "yours of the <abbr title="twenty-first">21st</abbr> is at hand".</p> + +<p><b>4.</b> Avoid "begging" expressions which you obviously do not mean, +especially the hackneyed "beg to advise".</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Received yours of the <abbr title="third">3rd</abbr> instant, and beg to advise we +are out of stock.</li> + +<li>Right: We received your order of March 3. We find that we have +no more dining-room chairs B 2-4-6 in stock.</li> + +<li>Wrong: I beg to enclose a booklet.</li> + +<li>Right: I enclose a booklet.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Permit us to say that prices have been advanced.</li> + +<li>Right: The prices on our goods have been advanced.</li></ul> + +<p><b>5.</b> Avoid the formula "please find enclosed". The reader will find what +is enclosed; if you use "please", let it refer to what the reader shall +do with what is enclosed.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Enclosed please find 10 cents, for which send me +Bulletin 58.</li> + +<li>Right: I enclose ten cents, for which please send me Bulletin +58.</li></ul> + +<p><b>6.</b> Avoid unnecessary commercial slang: <i>On the job</i>, <i>A-1 service</i>, +<i>O.K.</i>, <i>your ad</i>, <i>popular-priced line</i>, <i>this party</i>, <i>as per +schedule</i>.</p> + +<p><b>7.</b> Get to the important idea quickly. In applying for a position, do not +beat around the bush, or say you "wish to apply" or "would apply". +Begin, "I make application for ...", "kindly consider my application for +...", or "I apply ..."</p> + +<p><b>8.</b> Group your ideas logically. Do not scatter information. A letter +applying for a position might consist of three paragraphs: Personal +qualifications (age, health, education, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>); Experience (nature of +positions, dates, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>); References (names, business or profession, +exact street address). Finish one group of ideas before passing to the +next.</p> + +<p><b>9.</b> Do not monotonously close all letters with a sentence beginning with +a participle: <i>Hoping to hear from you ...</i>, <i>Asking your coöperation +...</i>, <i>Awaiting your further favors ...</i>, <i>Trusting this will be +satisfactory ...</i>, <i>Wishing you ...</i>, <i>Thanking you ...</i>. The +independent form of the verb is more emphatic (see <a href="#article_42">42</a>); <i>I hope to hear +from you ...</i>, <i>We await further orders ...</i>, <i>We ask coöperation ...</i>.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_87d" id="article_87d">d.</a> The close</b> should be consistent in tone with the greeting. It is +written on a separate line, beginning near the middle of the page, and +is followed by a comma. Only the first word is capitalized. Preceding +expressions like "I am", "I remain", "As ever", (if they are used at +all) belong in the body of the letter.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: I thank you for your courtesy, and remain<br /><br /> + +<div class="signature">Yours sincerely,<br /> +<span class="i1">Robert Blair<br /></span></div></li> + +<li>Right: I shall be grateful for any further information you can +give me.<br /><br /> + +<div class="signature">Yours truly,<br /> +<span class="i1">Florence Mitchell</span></div></li></ul> + +<p>In business letters the following forms are used:</p> + +<ul> +<li>Yours truly,</li> +<li>Very truly yours,</li> +<li>Yours respectfully,</li> +</ul> + +<p>In personal letters the following are used:</p> + +<ul> +<li>Yours truly,</li> +<li>Yours sincerely,</li> +<li>Sincerely yours,</li> +<li>Cordially yours,</li> +</ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_87e" id="article_87e">e.</a> The outside address should follow one of the forms given below:</b></p> + +<div class="envelope"> +<div class="address2"> + <p>R. E. Stearns<br /> + 512 Chapel Hill St.<br /> + Durham, N. C.</p> +</div> + +<div class="address"> + <p><span class="i0"><abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Donald Kemp<br /></span> + <span class="i1">3314 Salem Street<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Baltimore<br /></span> + <span class="i3">Maryland</span></p> +</div> +</div> + +<div class="envelope"> +<div class="address2"> + <p>Bentley Davis<br /> + 906 Park Street<br /> + Ogden, Utah</p> +</div> +<div class="address"> + <p>Rogers, Mead, and Company<br /> + 2401 Eighth Avenue<br /> + Los Angeles<br /> + California</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p><a name="article_87e_Note" id="article_87e_Note">Note.</a>—An abbreviation in an address is followed by a period. +Punctuation is also correct, but not necessary, after every line (a +period after the last line, and a comma after the others).</p> + +<p>A married woman is ordinarily addressed thus: Mrs. George H. Turner. But +a title belonging to the husband should not be transferred to the wife. +Wrong: Mrs. <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Jenkins, Mrs. Professor Ward. Right: Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. +Ward. Reverend <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Beecher is a correct address for a minister; not +"<abbr title="Reverend">Rev.</abbr> Beecher". If a title of respect is placed before a name +(Professor, <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr>, Honorable), it is undesirable to place another title +after the name (Secretary, <abbr title="Doctor of Medicine">M.D.</abbr>, <abbr title="Doctor of Philosophy">Ph.D.</abbr>, Principal, <abbr title="Esquire">Esq.</abbr>).</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_87f" id="article_87f">f.</a> Miscellaneous directions.</b> Writing should be centered on the page, not +crowded against the top, or against one side. Letter paper so folded +that each sheet is a little book of four pages is best for personal +correspondence. Both sides of such paper may be written on. The pages +may be written on in any order which will be convenient to the reader. +An order like that of the pages in a printed book (1, 2, 3, 4) is best.</p> + +<p>Business letters are usually written on one side only of flat sheets +8-1/2 by 11 inches in size. The sheet is folded once horizontally in the +middle, and twice in the other direction, for insertion in the envelope.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_87g" id="article_87g">g.</a> A business letter should have, in general, the following form:</b></p> + +<div class="examples"> +<div class="address"> + <p><span class="i0">1516 South Garrison Avenue.<br /></span> + <span class="i1">Carthage, Missouri,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">May 14, 1918.</span></p> +</div> + +<div class="address2"> +<p><span class="i0">J. E. Pratt, General Superintendent,<br /></span> +<span class="i1">The Southwest Missouri Railroad Company,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">1012 North Madison Street,<br /></span> +<span class="i3">Webb City, Missouri.<br /></span></p> +</div> + +<p>Dear Sir:</p> + +<p>I apply for a position as mechanic's assistant in the +electrical department of your shops. I am nineteen years old, +and in good physical condition. On June 6 I shall graduate from +Carthage High School, and after that date I can begin work +immediately.</p> + +<p>I have had no practical experience in electrical work. But I +have for two years made a special study of physics, in and out +of school. I worked last summer in the local garage of <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> R. +S. Bryant. In addition, I have become familiar with tools in my +workshop at home, so that I both know and like machinery.</p> + +<p>For statements as to my character and ability, I refer you to +R. S. Bryant, Manager Bryant's Garage; <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Frank Darrow +(lawyer), 602 Ninth Street; W. C. Barnes, Superintendent of +Schools; and C. W. Oldham, Principal of the High School—all of +this city.</p> + +<div class="signature"> +<p><span class="i0">Respectfully yours,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Howard Rolfe<br /></span></p> +</div> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_87h" id="article_87h">h.</a> Formal notes and replies are written in the third person (avoiding +<i>I</i>, <i>my</i>, <i>me</i>, <i>you</i>, <i>your</i>) and permit no abbreviations except +<i><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr></i>, <i>Mrs.</i>, <i><abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr></i> </b></p> + +<div class="note"> +<p>Mrs. Clarence King requests the company of +<abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Charles Eliot at dinner on Friday, +April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock.</p> + +<p><span class="i0">102 Pearl Street,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">April the seventeenth.<br /></span></p> +</div> + +<p>In accepting an invitation, the writer should repeat the day and hour +mentioned, in order to avoid a misunderstanding; in declining an +invitation, only the day need be mentioned. The verb used in the reply +should be in the present tense; not "will be pleased to accept", or +"regrets that he will be unable to accept"; but "is pleased to accept", +or "regrets that circumstances prevent his accepting".</p> + +<div class="note"> +<p><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Charles Eliot gladly accepts the invitation of Mrs. King to +dinner on Friday, April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock.</p> + +<p><span class="i0">514 Poplar Avenue,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">April the eighteenth.<br /></span></p> +</div> + + +<h5><a name="article_88" id="article_88">Paragraphs</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_88a" id="article_88a">88a.</a> The first lines of paragraphs are uniformly indented, in +manuscript, about an inch; in print, somewhat less. After a sentence, +the remainder of a line should not be left blank, except at the end of a +paragraph.</b></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_88b" id="article_88b">b.</a> The length of a paragraph is ordinarily from fifty to three hundred +words, depending on the importance or complexity of the thought.</b> In +exposition, the paragraphs should be long enough to develop every idea +thoroughly. Scrappy expository paragraphs arouse the suspicion that the +writer is incoherent, or that he has not given sufficient thought to the +subject. Short paragraphs are permissible, and even desirable, in the +following cases:</p> + +<p><b>1.</b> In a formal introduction to the main body of a discourse, or in the +formal conclusion. (In some instances the paragraph may consist of a +single sentence.<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing parenthesis">)</ins></p> + +<p><b>2.</b> In the body of a composition, when a brief logical transition between +two longer paragraphs is necessary.</p> + +<p><b>3.</b> In short compositions on complex subjects, where space forbids the +development of each thought on a proper scale. (But, as a rule, the +student should limit his subject to a few simple ideas, each of which +can be developed fully.)</p> + +<p><b>4.</b> In newspapers, where brevity and emphasis are required. (But the +student should not take the journalistic style as a model.)</p> + +<p><b>5.</b> In description or narration meant to be vivid, vigorous, or rapid.</p> + +<p><b>6.</b> In dialogue.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_88c" id="article_88c">c.</a> In representing dialogue, each speech, no matter how short, is placed +in a separate paragraph.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: + +<blockquote><p>"Listen!" he said. "There was a noise +outside. Didn't you hear it?"</p> + +<p>"No," I whispered. It was dark in the room, except for a faint +light at the window, and I felt my way cautiously to his side. +"What is it? Burglars?"</p> + +<p>"I believe it is."</p> + +<p>"I can't hear anything."</p> + +<p>"Listen! There it is again."</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" I had to laugh aloud. "Thompson's cow has got into the +garden again."</p></blockquote> +</li></ul> + +<p>Note that a slight amount of descriptive matter may be included in a +paragraph with the direct discourse, the only requirement being that a +change of speaker shall be indicated by a new paragraph.</p> + +<p>When special emphasis is desired, a quotation may be detached from a +preceding introductory statement.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: <p>The speaker turned gravely about, and facing the front +row, he said slowly and solemnly:</p> + +<p>"Small boys should be seen and not heard."</p></li></ul> + +<p>In exceptional cases a long, rapid-fire dialogue may, for purposes of +compression, be placed in one paragraph. Dashes should then be used +before successive quotations to indicate a change of speaker.</p> + +<p>Omissions from a dialogue (as when only one side of a telephone +conversation is reported), long pauses, and the unfinished part of +interrupted statements, may be represented by a short row of dots.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Arrange in paragraphs, and insert quotation marks:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Help! I cried, rolling over in the narrow crevasse, and +wondering dazedly how far I had fallen through the snow. A +muffled voice came from above: We'll have a rope down to you in +a minute<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had comma">.</ins> Tie that bottle of brandy on the end of it, I +suggested, and it'll come faster. [The student will here insert +a sentence of his own to complete the dialogue.]</li> + +<li>Good morning, James, said the deacon, suspiciously. How are +you? and where are you going? I'm all right, answered the boy, +and I'm goin' down to the creek. As he spoke, he tried to hide +something bulky underneath his coat. You oughtn't to go fishing +on Sunday. [Add another sentence to finish the dialogue.]</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_89" id="article_89">89. MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISE</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The following sentences illustrate errors in the use of capitals, +italics, numbers, abbreviations, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr> Make necessary changes.</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>I met him at kansas city at a dinner of the commercial club.</li> + +<li>The senate and the house of representatives are the two +branches of congress.</li> + +<li>In today's chicago herald the union pacific railroad +advertises reduced rates to yellowstone park and the northwest.</li> + +<li>There are 30 men in each section in chemistry, but only 25 +in each section in french.</li> + +<li>Early in <abbr title="president">pres.</abbr> wilson's administration troops crossed the +rio grande river. <abbr title="President">Pres.</abbr> Carranza protested.</li> + +<li>In nineteen ten the population of new york city (including +suburbs) was 4,766,883.</li> + +<li>Send the moving van to thirty walnut street at eight +o'clock.</li> + +<li>I like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice better than George +Eliot's Adam Bede.</li> + +<li>May I call for you about 7:30 p. m., Miss Reynolds?</li> + +<li>The note draws 6 per cent interest, and is payable <abbr title="January">Jan.</abbr> +<abbr title="first">1st</abbr>, 1921.</li> + +<li>He will remain in town until <abbr title="April">Apr.</abbr> <abbr title="twentieth">20th</abbr>, and will then go +away for the Summer. He is going abroad to study the spanish +and italian languages.</li> + +<li>Grays elegy in a country churchyard is perhaps the best +known poem in english literature.</li> + +<li>Enclosed please find $4, for which send me the New Republic +for one year.</li> + +<li>In reply to yours of 3-7-18 wish to advise that we are out +of stock.</li> + +<li>I enclose $0.10 for a copy of bulletin #314 of the <abbr title="department">dept.</abbr> of +Agriculture. Thanking you, I remain ... yours Respectively....</li></ol> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="punctuation" id="punctuation">PUNCTUATION</a></h2> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Punctuation is not used for its own sake. It is used in writing as +gestures, pauses, and changes of voice are used in speaking—to add +force or to reveal the precise relationship of thoughts. The tendency at +present is against the lavish use of punctuation. This does not mean, +however, that one may do as he pleases. In minor details of punctuation +there is room for individual preference, but in essential principles all +trustworthy writers agree.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="article_90" id="article_90">The Period</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_90a" id="article_90a">90a.</a> Place a period after a complete declarative or imperative sentence.</b></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_90b" id="article_90b">b.</a> Do not separate part of a sentence from the rest of the sentence by +means of a period. (See <a href="#article_1">1</a>.)</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He denied the accusation. As every one expected him to +do.</li> + +<li>Right: He denied the accusation, as every one expected him to +do.</li> + +<li>Wrong: Anderson wrote good editorials. The best that appeared +in any paper in the city.</li> + +<li>Right: Anderson wrote good editorials, the best that appeared +in any paper in the city. [Or] Anderson wrote good +editorials—the best that appeared in any paper in the city.</li></ul> + +<p>Exception.—Condensed or elliptical phrases established by long and +frequent use may be written as separate sentences. They should be +followed by appropriate punctuation—usually by a period.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Examples: Yes. Of course. Really? By all means!</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_90b_Note" id="article_90b_Note">Note.</a>—The student should distinguish clearly between a subordinate +clause and a main clause. A subordinate clause is introduced by a +subordinate conjunction (<i>when</i>, <i>while</i>, <i>if</i>, <i>as</i>, <i>since</i>, +<i>although</i>, <i>that</i>, <i>lest</i>, <i>because</i>, <i>in order that</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>), or by a +relative pronoun (<i>who</i>, <i>which</i>, <i>that</i>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>). Since a subordinate +clause does not express a complete thought, it cannot stand alone, but +must be joined to a main clause to form a sentence.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_90c" id="article_90c">c.</a> Place a period after an abbreviation.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li><abbr title="Brothers">Bros.</abbr> <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> <abbr title="for example">e. g.</abbr> <abbr title="Doctor of Philosophy">Ph.D.</abbr> <abbr title="Doctor of Laws">LL.D.</abbr> <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></li></ul> + +<p>If an abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence, one period may serve +two functions.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The hen clucks to her chickens. When she scratches up a +worm.</li> + +<li>Before my brother could forewarn me. I had touched my tongue +against the cold iron. On which it stuck.</li> + +<li>The commission had the services of two men of international +reputation. Charles Newman, <abbr title="Esquire">Esq.</abbr> and Gifford Bailey, +<abbr title="Doctor of Philosophy">Ph D.</abbr></li> + +<li>Since Hugh had fished only in creeks. He was surprised that +the lines were let down a hundred feet or more. The right +distance for codfish.</li> + +<li>Between 1775 and 1825 Virginia furnished the nation its +leaders. Such as the author of the Declaration of Independence. +The orator of the Revolution. The leader of the Revolutionary +army. The chief maker of the Constitution. Four of our first +five Presidents. And our greatest Chief Justice of the Supreme +Court.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_91" id="article_91">The Comma</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>There are five principal uses of the comma:</p> + +<ul> +<li>to separate clauses (<a href="#article_91a">a</a>-<a href="#article_91d">d</a>)</li> +<li>to set off a parenthetical element (<a href="#article_91e">e</a>)</li> +<li>to mark a series (<a href="#article_91f">f</a>-<a href="#article_91g">g</a>)</li> +<li>to introduce a quotation (<a href="#article_91h">h</a>)</li> +<li>to compel a pause for the sake of clearness (<a href="#article_91i">i</a>)</li> +</ul> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_91a" id="article_91a">91a.</a> A comma is used between clauses joined by <i>but</i>, <i>for</i>, <i>and</i>, or +any other coördinating conjunction.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The hour arrived, but Forbes did not appear. [The comma +emphasizes the contrast.]</li> + +<li>Right: She was glad she had looked, for a man was approaching +the house. [The comma prevents the combination <i>looked for a +man</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: He gave the money to Burke, and Reynolds received +nothing. [The comma prevents confusion.]</li></ul> + +<p>Exception.—If the clauses are short and closely linked in thought, the +comma may be omitted (She came and she was gone in a moment. McCoy +talked and the rest of us listened.<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original was missing parenthesis">)</ins> If the +clauses are long and complicated, a semicolon may be used (See +<a href="#article_92b">92b</a>).</p> + +<p><a name="article_91a_Note" id="article_91a_Note">Note.</a>—No comma should follow the conjunction. Wrong: He was +enthusiastic but, inexperienced. Wrong: They went before the committee +but, not one of them would answer a question.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_91b" id="article_91b">b.</a> Do <i>not</i> use a comma between independent clauses which are <i>not</i> +joined by a conjunction. Use a period or a semicolon.</b> (This error, the +"comma splice," betrays ignorance of what constitutes a unified +sentence. See <a href="#article_18">18</a>.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: The circus had just come to town, every one wanted to +see it.</li> + +<li>Right: The circus had just come to town. Every one wanted to +see it.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan, his +mother desired to make an angel of him.</li> + +<li>Right: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan. His +mother desired to make an angel of him.</li> + +<li>Wrong: My courses required very hard study, did yours?</li> + +<li>Right: My courses required very hard study. Did yours? [Or] My +courses required very hard study; did yours?</li> + +<li>Wrong: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation, +indeed he will do so with alacrity.</li> + +<li>Right: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation. +Indeed he will do so with alacrity. [Or] He will assist you +without the slightest hesitation; indeed he will do so with +alacrity.</li></ul> + +<p>Exception.—Short coördinate clauses which are not joined by +conjunctions, but which are parallel in structure and leave a unified +impression, may be joined by commas.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: He sowed, he reaped, he repented.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91c" id="article_91c">c.</a> An adverbial clause which precedes a main clause is usually set off +by a comma.</b></p> + +<p>When long:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: While I have much confidence in his sincerity, I cannot +approve his decision. [The comma marks the meeting point of +clauses too long to be easily read together. Brief clauses do +not require the comma. Right: Where thou goest I will go.]</li></ul> + +<p>When ending in words that link themselves with words in the main +clause:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: If Jacob finds time to plow, the garden can be planted +tomorrow. [The comma prevents <i>plow the garden</i> from being read +as verb and object.]</li></ul> + +<p>When not closely connected with the main clause in meaning:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Although they were few, they were resolute. [Here the +comma reveals the distinctness of the two stages of thought. In +the sentence <i>If it freezes the skating will be good</i> the +distinctness of the two thoughts is less emphatic, and the +comma may be omitted.]</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_91c_Note" id="article_91c_Note">Note.</a>—The comma is usually omitted when the adverbial clause follows +the main clause.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The score stood twelve to twelve when the first half +ended. [The adverbial clause is linked closely with the element +it modifies, the predicate; punctuation is unnecessary. If the +<i>when</i> clause were placed before the element it does not +modify, the subject, a comma should be inserted.]</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91d" id="article_91d">d.</a> Restrictive clauses should not be set off by commas; non-restrictive +clauses should be set off by commas.</b> (A restrictive clause is one +inseparably connected with the noun or pronoun it modifies; to omit it +would change the thought of the main clause. A non-restrictive clause is +less vitally connected with the noun or pronoun; to omit it would not +affect the thought of the main clause.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Men who are industrious will succeed. [The relative +clause restricts the meaning; it is inseparably connected with +the noun it modifies, and to omit it would change the thought +of the main clause.]</li> + +<li>Right: Thomas Carlyle, who wrote forty volumes, was of peasant +origin. [The relative clause is non-restrictive; it is not +inseparably connected with the noun it modifies, and to omit +it would not change the thought of the main clause. Thus: +Thomas Carlyle was of peasant origin.]</li> + +<li>Right: Where is the house that Jack built? [Restrictive.]</li> + +<li>Right: I went to Jack's house, which is across the street. +[Non-restrictive.]</li> + +<li>Wrong: Students, who are lazy, do not deserve to pass. [The +sentence as it stands says that all students are lazy, and that +none of them deserve to pass. Without the commas, the sentence +would mean that such students as are lazy do not deserve to +pass.]</li> + +<li>Right: Students who are lazy do not deserve to pass.</li></ul> + +<p><b>The rule stated above for clauses applies also to phrases.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right. She, hearing the voice, turned quickly. [<i>Hearing the +voice</i> is non-restrictive. It does not identify <i>she</i>, and the +thought of the main clause is complete without it.]</li> + +<li>Right: Books pertaining to aeronautics are in demand. +[<i>Pertaining to aeronautics</i> is restrictive. It explains what +books are referred to, and without it the meaning of the main +thought is changed.]</li> + +<li>Right: Our country, made up as it is of democratic people, +lacks the centralized power of a monarchy. [Non-restrictive.]</li> + +<li>Right: A country made up of democratic people must be lacking +in centralized power. [Restrictive. <i>Made up of democratic +people</i> explains <i>country</i> and is essential to the thought of +the sentence.]</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91e" id="article_91e">e.</a> Slightly parenthetical elements are set off by commas:</b></p> + +<p>Direct address or explanation:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Write soon, Henry, and tell all the news.</li> + +<li>They intend, as you know, to build a great dam across the +river.</li> + +<li>His father, they say, was frugal and industrious.</li> + +<li>I, on my part, however, am unalterably opposed to the +expenditure.</li> + +<li>He was, according to such reports as have reached me, +altogether in the right.</li></ul> + +<p>Mild interjections:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Well, we shall see.</li> + +<li>Come now, let's talk it over.</li> + +<li>But alas, the cupboard was bare.</li> + +<li>The custom is, oh, very old.</li></ul> + +<p>Absolute phrases:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>This being admitted, I shall proceed to my other evidence.</li></ul> + +<p>Geographical names which explain other names and dates which explain +other dates:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>The convention met at Madison, Wisconsin, on March 24, 1916.</li></ul> + +<p>Words in apposition:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>We arrived at Austin, the capital of Texas.</li> + +<li>It was Archie, my best friend in boyhood.</li> + +<li><a name="article_91e_Exception" id="article_91e_Exception">Exception.</a>—The comma is omitted (1) When the appositive is +part of a proper name. Right: William the Silent, Alexander the +Great. (2) When there is unusually close connection between the +appositive and the noun it modifies. Right: My one confidant +was my brother Robert. (3) When the appositive is a word or +phrase to which attention is called by italics or some other +device which sets it apart. Right: The word <i>sequent</i> is +derived from Latin. Right: The expression "That's fine" is one +which I use indiscriminately.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_91e_Note" id="article_91e_Note">Note.</a>—When the parenthetical element occurs in the middle of a +sentence, "set off by commas" means <i>punctuate before and after</i>.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: I was, madam at home yesterday.</li> + +<li>Right: I was, madam, at home yesterday.</li> + +<li>Wrong: I am to say the least, provoked.</li> + +<li>Right: I am, to say the least, provoked.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91f" id="article_91f">f.</a> Consecutive adjectives that modify the same noun are separated from +each other by commas. If, however, the last adjective is closely linked +in meaning with the noun, no comma is used before it.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: A short, slight, pitiable figure.</li> + +<li>Right: A shrewd professional man. [<i>Shrewd</i> modifies, not <i>man</i> +alone, but <i>professional man</i>.]</li> + +<li>Right: A bedraggled old rooster. [<i>Old rooster</i> has almost the +force of a compound word. <i>Bedraggled</i> modifies the general +idea <i>old rooster</i>.]</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_91f_Note" id="article_91f_Note">Note.</a>—The commas in a series of adjectives are used to separate the +adjectives from each other. No comma should intervene between the final +adjective and the noun. Wrong: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened, +youngster. Right: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened youngster.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_91g" id="article_91g">g.</a> Words or phrases in series are separated by commas.</b></p> + +<p>When the series takes the form <i>a, b, and c</i>, a comma precedes the +<i>and</i>.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Confusing: The railroads in question are the New York Central, +Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio. [The reader might surmise +that the words <i>Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio</i> represent +a single line or even three different lines.]</li> + +<li>Right: The railroads in question are the New York Central, +Pennsylvania, and Chesapeake and Ohio.</li> + +<li>Confusing: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs and honey. +[Omission of the comma after <i>eggs</i> suggests a mixture.]</li> + +<li>Right<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had period">:</ins> For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, +eggs, and honey.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91h" id="article_91h">h.</a> A comma should follow an expression like <i>he said</i> which introduces a +short quotation.</b> (For longer or more formal quotations use a colon.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: He shouted, "Come on! I dare you!"</li> + +<li>Right: Our captain replied, "We're ready."</li></ul> + +<p>But for indirect quotations, a caution is necessary. Do not place a +comma between a verb and a <i>that</i> or <i>how</i> clause which the verb +introduces.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He explained, how the accident occurred.</li> + +<li>Right: He explained how the accident occurred.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The chauffeur told us, that the gasoline tank was empty.</li> + +<li>Right: The chauffeur told us that the gasoline tank was empty.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91i" id="article_91i">i.</a> A comma is used to separate parts of a sentence which might +erroneously be read together.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Confusing: Long before she had received a letter.</li> + +<li>Better: Long before, she had received a letter.</li> + +<li>Confusing: We turned the corner and the horse stopped throwing +us off.</li> + +<li>Better: We turned the corner and the horse stopped, throwing us +off.</li> + +<li>Confusing: Through the alumni gathered there went a thrill of +dismay.</li> + +<li>Better: Through the alumni gathered there, went a thrill of +dismay.</li> + +<li>Wrong: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie or cake and ice +cream.</li> + +<li>Right: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie, or cake and +ice cream.</li> + +<li>Right: The man whom everybody had for years regarded as a crank +and a weakling, is now praised for his sagacity and his +strength.</li> + +<li>Right: In a situation so critical as to require the utmost +coolness of mind, he lost his wits completely. [Here the +confusion might not be serious if the comma were omitted, but +separation of the long introduction from the main clause is +desirable.]</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91j" id="article_91j">j.</a> Do not use superfluous commas:</b></p> + +<p><b>1.</b> To mark a trivial pause:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Needless use of comma: In the road, stood a wagon.</li> + +<li>Needless use of commas: The taking of notes, is a guarantee, +against inattention, in class.</li></ul> + +<p>Slight pauses in a sentence are taken care of by the good sense of the +reader. Do not sprinkle commas when the sentence is moving along freely +with no complication in the thought.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: In the road stood a wagon.</li> + +<li>Right: The taking of notes is a guarantee against inattention +in class.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91j2" id="article_91j2">2.</a></b> To separate an adjective from its noun:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: A tall, solemn, antique, clock stood in the hallway. +[The first two commas separate the adjectives from each other. +There is no reason why <i>antique</i> should be separated from the +noun.]</li> + +<li>Right: A tall, solemn, antique clock stood in the hallway.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_91j3" id="article_91j3">3.</a></b> Before the first word or phrase in a series unless the comma would be +employed if the word or phrase stood alone:</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He made a study of, gymnastics, medicine, and surgery.</li> + +<li>Right: He made a study of gymnastics, medicine, and surgery.</li> + +<li>Wrong: He had learned, to be prompt, to think clearly, and to +write correctly.</li> + +<li>Right: He had learned to be prompt, to think clearly, and to +write correctly.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Before the workmen finished eating the tunnel caved in. +Three Italian laborers were crushed, the others with the +foreman escaped.</li> + +<li>Sneed the new chairman proposed that the convention should +meet at Cheyenne Wyoming. The suggestion however was according +to reports not adopted.</li> + +<li>He had a pen and an ink bottle was in the cupboard. By +washing poor widows can earn but scant living.</li> + +<li>Saunders asked, how I liked the Overland car as compared +with the Chalmers, the Hudson and the Buick. I started to reply +but at that moment we were interrupted.</li> + +<li>People, who steal watermelons, say the stolen melons are +sweetest. Farragut who was born in Tennessee was the North's +ablest naval commander. The developer is a chemical, which +reduces the silver salt.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_92" id="article_92">The Semicolon</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>The semicolon represents a division in thought somewhat greater than +that represented by a comma, and somewhat smaller than that represented +by a period. It may represent grammatical separation and logical +connection at the same time; that is, it may indicate that two +statements are separate units in grammar, and are yet to be taken +together to form a larger unit of logic or thought.</p> +</div> + +<p><b><a name="article_92a" id="article_92a">92a.</a> The semicolon is used between coördinate clauses which are not +joined by a conjunction.</b> (For a possible exception see <a href="#article_91b">91b</a>.).</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He was alarmed in fact he was terrified.</li> + +<li>Right: He was alarmed; in fact he was terrified.</li> + +<li>Right: He drew up at the curb; he leaped from the car.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_92a_Note" id="article_92a_Note">Note.</a>—Very often the writer may choose freely between the semicolon and +the period; in such instances the use of the semicolon implies greater +logical unity between the clauses than the use of the period would show. +Unless this logical unity is distinct, the period is to be preferred.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_92b" id="article_92b">b.</a> The semicolon is sometimes used between coördinate clauses which are +joined by a conjunction if the clauses are long, or if the clauses have +commas within themselves, or if obscurity would result were the +semicolon not used.</b> (Otherwise, see <a href="#article_91a">91a</a>.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Very slowly the glow in the heavens deepened and +extended itself along the eastern horizon; but at last the +bright-red rim of the sun showed above the crest of the hill.</li> + +<li>Right: He arrived, so they tell me, after nightfall; and +immediately going to a hotel, called for a room.</li> + +<li>Confusing: She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the +music, and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a +delight to her.</li> + +<li>Better<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had period">:</ins> She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the +music; and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a +delight to her.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_92c" id="article_92c">c.</a> The semicolon is used between coördinate clauses which are joined by +a formal conjunctive adverb (<i>hence</i>, <i>thus</i>, <i>then</i>, <i>therefore</i>, +<i>accordingly</i>, <i>consequently</i>, <i>besides</i>, <i>still</i>, <i>nevertheless</i>, or +the like).</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: We have failed in this therefore let us try something +else.</li> + +<li>Right: We have failed in this; therefore let us try something +else.</li> + +<li>Wrong: He was tattered and muddy, besides he ate like a +cormorant.</li> + +<li>Right: He was tattered and muddy; besides he ate like a +cormorant.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_91c_Note1" id="article_91c_Note1">Note 1.</a>—If a simple conjunction like <i>and</i> is used in the sentences +above, a comma will suffice. But a comma is not sufficient before a +conjunctive adverb like <i>therefore</i>. Conjunctive adverbs may be clearly +distinguished from simple conjunctions (See <a href="#article_91a">91a</a>). They +cannot always be easily distinguished from subordinating conjunctions +(see <a href="#article_90b_Note">90b, Note</a>), but the distinction, when it can be made +with certainty, is an aid to clear thinking.</p> + +<p><a name="article_91c_Note2" id="article_91c_Note2">Note 2.</a>—Good usage sometimes permits a comma to be used before a +conjunctive adverb in short sentences where the break in the thought is +not formal or emphatic. For instance, when the conjunctive adverb <i>so</i> +is used as a formal or emphatic connective, a semicolon is desirable (I +won't go; so that's settled). But in the sentence, "I was excited, so I +missed the target", a comma is sufficient. For the use of <i>so</i> is here +informal, and probably expresses degree as well as result. (Compare "I +was so excited that I missed the target").</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_92d" id="article_92d">d.</a> The semicolon is not used before quotations, or after the "Dear Sir" +in letters. Use a comma or a colon.</b> (See <a href="#article_91h">91h</a>, <a href="#article_93a">93a</a>, and +<a href="#article_87b">87b</a>.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Mother said; "Let me get my needle."</li> + +<li>Right: Mother said, "Let me get my needle."</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The eggs tasted musty, they were cold storage eggs.</li> + +<li>You should have seen that old, formally kept house, you +should have sat in that stuffy and immaculate parlor.</li> + +<li>I objected to the plan however since he insisted upon it I +yielded.</li> + +<li>I suppose I must go if I don't he will be anxious.</li> + +<li>Although the note is due on March 19, you have three days of +grace, consequently you may pay it on March 22.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_93" id="article_93">The Colon</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_93a" id="article_93a">93a.</a> The colon is used to introduce formally a word, a list, a statement +or question, a series of statements or questions, or a long quotation.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Only one man stood between Burr and the presidency: +Jefferson.</li> + +<li>Right: My favorite novels are the following: <i>Ivanhoe</i>, <i>Henry +Esmond</i>, and <i>The Mill on the Floss</i>.</li> + +<li>Right: The difficulty is this: Where is the money to come from?</li> + +<li>Right: The measure must be considered from several standpoints: +Is it timely? Is it expedient? Is it just? Is it superior to +the other measures proposed?</li> + +<li>Right: I shall do three things next year: study hard, take care +of my health, and enter into various student activities.</li> + +<li>Right: Webster concluded with the following peroration: "When +my eyes shall be turned for the last time to behold the sun in +heaven," <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr>, <abbr title="et cetera">etc.</abbr></li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_93b" id="article_93b">b.</a> The colon may be used before concrete illustrations of a general +statement.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The colors were various: blue, purple, emerald, and +orange.</li> + +<li>Right: The day was propitious: the sun shone, the birds sang, +the flowers sent forth their fragrance.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The city must have these improvements paved streets more +schools better sanitation and a park.</li> + +<li>A guild comprised men of a single class tailors, +fishmongers, or goldsmiths.</li> + +<li>Everything was favorable, it was a wheat-raising district, +there were no rival mills, the means of transportation were +excellent.</li> + +<li>The personal adornments of the eighteenth century "blood" +were elaborate, wigs, cocked hat, colored breeches, red-heeled +shoes, cane, and muff.</li> + +<li>The chief of the engineers reported "The route, taken as a +whole, is practicable enough, but near Clifton, where the yards +must be placed, it leads through a rocky defile."</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_94" id="article_94">The Dash</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_94a" id="article_94a">94a.</a> The dash may be used instead of the marks of parenthesis, +especially where informality is desired.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: She fell asleep—would you believe it?—in the middle of +the lecture.</li> + +<li>Right: That fellow actually—of course this is between you and +me—stole money from his father.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_94b" id="article_94b"><ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'd.'">b.</ins></a> Insert a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: The next morning—let's see, what happened the next +morning?</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_94c" id="article_94c">c.</a> The dash may be used near the end of a sentence, before a summarizing +statement or an afterthought.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: When you have carried in the wood and the water, and +milked the cows, and fed all the stock and the poultry, and +mended the harness—when you have done these things, you may +consider the rest of the evening your own.</li> + +<li>Right: Barnes played a mischievous trick one day—in fact, +Barnes was always into mischief.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_94d" id="article_94d"><ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'b.'">d.</ins></a> The use of the dash to end sentences is childish.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Childish: At dawn I went on deck—far off to the left was a +cloud, I thought, on the edge of the water—it grew more +distinct as we angled toward it—it was land—before noon we +had sailed into harbor.</li> + +<li>Right: At dawn I went on deck. Far off to the left was a cloud, +I thought, on the edge of the water. It grew more distinct as +we angled toward it. It was land. Before noon we had sailed +into harbor.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_94e" id="article_94e">e.</a> A dash should be made about three times as long as a hyphen; +otherwise it may be mistaken as the sign of a compound word.</b></p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The boy left the package on the where did that boy leave the +package?</li> + +<li>She was haughty independent as a queen in fact and she told +him no.</li> + +<li>The clatter of the other typewriters, the relentless +movement of the hands of the clock, the calls from the press +room for more copy, these made Sears write like mad.</li> + +<li>He made her acquaintance what do you think of this by +scribbling his name and address on some eggs he sold to a +grocer.</li> + +<li>He obtained a position in a big department store—his good +taste was quickly recognized—within a month he was dressing +the windows.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_95" id="article_95">Parenthesis Marks and Brackets</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_95a" id="article_95a">95a.</a></b> Parenthesis marks may be used to enclose matter foreign to the main +thought of the sentence. (But see also <a href="#article_94a">94a</a> and <a href="#article_91e">91e</a>.)</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: His testimony is conclusive (unless, to be sure, we find +that he has perjured himself).</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_95b" id="article_95b">b.</a> A comma or a semicolon used at the end of a parenthesis should as a +rule follow the mark of parenthesis rather than precede it.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: If there is snow on the ground (and I am sure there will +be), we shall have plenty of sleighing.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_95c" id="article_95c">c.</a> When confirmatory symbols or figures are enclosed within parenthesis +marks, they should follow rather than precede the words they confirm.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: They earn (3) dollars a day.</li> + +<li>Right: They earn three (3) dollars a day. [Or] They earn three +dollars ($3) a day.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_95d" id="article_95d">d.</a> Do not use parenthesis marks to cancel a word or passage.</b> Draw a +horizontal line through whatever is to be omitted.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_95e" id="article_95e">e.</a> Brackets are used to insert explanatory matter in a quotation which +one gives from another writer.</b> Explanatory matter inserted by the +original writer is enclosed within parenthesis marks.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: "Bunyan's masterpiece (<i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>)," +<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had 'dedeclared'">declared</ins> the lecturer, "is out of +harmony with the spirit of the age that produced it [the age of +the Restoration]." (Here the explanatory words <i>the age of the +Restoration</i> are inserted by the person who is quoting the +lecturer.)</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>The supremacy of the horse-drawn vehicle is unless a miracle +happens now gone forever.</li> + +<li>My count shows (41) forty-one bales of cotton in the mill +yard.</li> + +<li>[Insert <i>the Marne</i> as your explanation]: "It was this +battle," said the lecturer, "that made the name of Joffre +immortal."</li> + +<li>[Insert <i>Florida</i> as the explanation of the person you are +quoting]: "In that state oranges are plentiful."</li> + +<li>It was the opinion of Bailey and events proved him right +that the government must assume control of the railroads.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_96" id="article_96">Quotation Marks</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_96a" id="article_96a">96a.</a> Quotation marks should be used to enclose a direct, but not an +indirect, quotation.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: "I am thirsty," he said.</li> + +<li>Wrong: He said "that he was thirsty."</li> + +<li>Right: He said that he was thirsty.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_96b" id="article_96b">b.</a> A quotation of several paragraphs should have quotation marks at the +beginning of each paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph.</b></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_96c" id="article_96c">c.</a> In narrative each separate speech, however short, should be enclosed +within quotation marks</b>; but a single speech of several sentences should +have only one set of quotation marks.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: <p>"Will you come? she pleaded.</p> + +<p>Certainly."</p></li> + +<li>Right: <p>"Will you come," she pleaded.</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p></li> + +<li>Wrong: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did +this." "There were others whom I had to consider." "I can +mention no names."</li> + +<li>Right: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did this. +There were others whom I had to consider. I can mention no +names."</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_96d" id="article_96d">d.</a> Quotation marks may be used with technical terms, with slang +introduced into formal writing, or with nicknames</b>; but not with merely +elevated diction, with good English that resembles slang, with nicknames +that have practically become proper names, or with fictitious names from +literature.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Permissible: The rime is called a "feminine rime". He is really +"a corker". Their name for my friend was "Sissy".</li> + +<li>Better without the quotation marks: He was awed by "the +grandeur of the mountains". "A humbug". "Fetch". "Stonewall" +Jackson. He was a true "Rip Van Winkle".</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_96e" id="article_96e">e.</a> Either quotation marks or italics may be used with words to which +special attention is called.</b> (See the examples under <a href="#article_91e_Exception">91e, Exception, +3</a>.) Quotation marks are used with the titles of articles, +of chapters in books, of individual short poems, and the like. Italics +are used with the titles of books or of periodicals, with the names of +ships, and with foreign words which are still felt to be emphatically +foreign.</p> + +<p><b><a name="article_96f" id="article_96f">f.</a> A quotation within a quotation should be enclosed in single quotation +marks; a quotation within that, in double marks.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: "It required courage," the speaker said, "for a man to +affirm in those days: 'I endorse every word of Patrick Henry's +sentiment, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"'"</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_96g" id="article_96g">g.</a> When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and a question mark +or an exclamation point, the question mark or the exclamation point +should come first if it applies to the quotation; last, if it applies to +the main sentence.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet"!</li> + +<li>Right: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet!"</li> + +<li>Wrong: Did Savonarola say, "I recant?"</li> + +<li>Right: Did Savonarola say, "I recant"?</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_96g_Note" id="article_96g_Note">Note.</a>—Regarding the position of a comma, semicolon, or period at the +end of a quotation, usage differs. Printers ordinarily place commas and +periods inside the quotation marks, and semicolons outside, from +considerations of spacing. But logic, not spacing, should determine the +order, and all three marks should be treated alike. They should be +placed within the quotation marks if they were a part of the original +quotation; otherwise outside. In quoting manuscript, the quotation marks +should enclose exactly what is in the original. In quoting oral +discourse, a certain liberty is necessarily allowed.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Correct: He said calmly, "It is I."</li> + +<li>Also correct, but not commonly used: He said calmly, "It is I".</li> + +<li>Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: He began, +"Our Father which art in heaven." [The period should follow the +quotation mark, since there is no period in the original +quotation.]</li> + +<li>Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: Can you +tell me the difference between "apt," "likely," and "liable"; +between "noted" and "notorious"?</li> + +<li>Also correct: Can you tell me the difference between "apt", +"likely", and "liable"; between "noted" and "notorious"?</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_96h" id="article_96h">h.</a> When a quotation is interrupted by such an expression as <i>he said,</i></b></p> + +<p><b>1. An extra set of quotation marks is employed, and the interpolated +words are normally set off by commas.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: "I rise said he to second the motion."</li> + +<li>Right: "I rise," said he, "to second the motion."</li></ul> + +<p><b>2. A question mark or exclamation point should precede the interpolated +expression if it would be used were the expression omitted.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: "'May I go?'" complained father, "is all that boy can +ask."</li> + +<li>Right: "Merciful heavens!" he cried, "we are lost."</li></ul> + +<p><b>3. The expression should be followed by a semicolon if the semicolon +would follow the preceding words in case the expression were omitted.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: "I admit it", he said; "it is true."</li></ul> + +<p><b>4. Neither the expression nor the words following it should begin with a +capital.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: "We must be quiet", Said the old man, "If we expect to +catch sight of a squirrel."</li> + +<li>Right: "We must be quiet", said the old man, "if we expect to +catch sight of a squirrel."</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_96i" id="article_96i">i.</a> An omission from a quotation is indicated by dots.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: "When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and +... an exclamation point, ... the exclamation point should come +... last, if it applies to the main sentence." [Abridged +citation of <a href="#article_96g">g</a> above.]</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_96j" id="article_96j">j.</a> Do not use superfluous quotation marks:</b></p> + +<p>1. Around the title at the head of a theme (unless it is a quoted +title);</p> + +<p>2. As a label for humor or irony.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Superfluous: The "abstemious" <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Crew ate an enormous dinner.</li> + +<li>Better: The abstemious <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Crew ate an enormous dinner.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Carew says, "that the profit comes from selling +knickknacks."</li> + +<li>What's the matter with that horse? asked Williams. He's as +frisky as if he had been shut up a week.</li> + +<li>"Who's your favorite character in the play?, persisted +Laura. Is it "Brutus"? No, answered Howard; I admire his wife +"Portia".</li> + +<li>"It's amazing, said Mrs. Phelps, how children love +playthings. Helen Locke said yesterday, Hughie always tells me +when I am putting him to bed, I want my Teddy bear".</li> + +<li>"You see, said Daugherty, the two offices across the +corridor from each ether." "One is the county clerk's." "The +other is the county collector's."</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_97" id="article_97">The Apostrophe</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_97a" id="article_97a">97a.</a> In contracted words place the apostrophe where letters are omitted, +and do not place it elsewhere.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: does'nt, theyr'e, oclock.</li> + +<li>Right: doesn't, they're, o'clock.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_97b" id="article_97b">b.</a> To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that does not +end in <i>s</i>, add '<i>s</i>.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: A hunter's gun, children's games, the cannon's mouth.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_97c" id="article_97c">c.</a> To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that ends in +<i>s</i>, place an apostrophe after (not before) the <i>s</i> if there is no new +syllable in pronunciation. If there is a new syllable in pronunciation, +add <i>'s</i>.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: Moses's mandates, Keat's poems, Dicken's novels, those +hunter's guns.</li> + +<li>Right: Moses' mandates, Keats's poems (or Keats' poems), +Dickens' (or Dickens's) novels, those hunters' guns.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_97d" id="article_97d">d.</a> Do not use an apostrophe with the possessive adjectives <i>its</i>, <i>his</i>, +<i>hers</i>, <i>ours</i>, <i>yours</i>, and <i>theirs</i>. But <i>one's</i>, <i>other's</i>, +<i>either's</i> take the apostrophe.</b></p> + +<p><b><a name="article_97e" id="article_97e">e.</a> Add <i>'s</i> to form the plural of letters of the alphabet, of words +spoken of as words, and sometimes numbers.</b> But do not form the regular +plural of a word by adding <i>'s</i> (See <a href="#article_77">77</a>).</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: His <i>B's</i>, <i>8's</i> (or <i>8s</i>), and <i>it's</i> look much alike.</li> + +<li>Wrong: The Jones's, the Smith's, and the Brown's.</li> + +<li>Right: The Joneses, the Smiths, and the Browns.</li></ul> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>We don't know theyr'e dishonest.</li> + +<li>The soldier's heads showed above the trenches.</li> + +<li>Five 8es, three 7es, and two 12es make 85.</li> + +<li>Pierce told the Keslers that Jones hogs were fatter than +their's.</li> + +<li>Its three oclock by his watch; five minutes past three by +her's.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_98" id="article_98">The Question Mark and the Exclamation Point</a></h5> + +<p><b><a name="article_98a" id="article_98a">98a.</a> Place a question mark after a direct question, but not after an +indirect question.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: What of it. What does it matter.</li> + +<li>Right: What of it? What does it matter?</li> + +<li>Wrong: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club?</li> + +<li>Right: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club.</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_98a_Note" id="article_98a_Note">Note.</a>—When the main sentence which introduces an indirect question is +itself interrogatory, a question mark follows.</p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Did she inquire whether you had met her aunt?</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_98b" id="article_98b">b.</a> A question mark is often used within a sentence, but should not be +followed by a comma, semicolon, or period.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Wrong: "What shall I do?," he asked.</li> + +<li>Right: "What shall I do?" he asked.</li> + +<li>Wrong: But where are the stocks?, the bonds?, the evidences of +prosperity?</li> + +<li>Right: But where are the stocks? the bonds? the evidences of +prosperity?</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_98c" id="article_98c">c.</a> A question mark within parentheses may be used to express uncertainty +as to the correctness of an assertion.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Shakespeare was born April 23 (?), 1564.</li> + +<li>Right: In 1340 (?) was born Geoffrey Chaucer.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_98d" id="article_98d">d.</a> The use of a question mark as a label for humor or irony is childish.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Superfluous: Immediately the social lion (?) rose to his feet.</li> + +<li>Better: Immediately the social lion rose to his feet.</li></ul> + +<p><b><a name="article_98e" id="article_98e">e.</a> The exclamation point is used after words, expressions, or sentences +to show strong emotion.</b></p> + +<ul class="examples"><li>Right: Hark! I hear horses. Give us a light there, ho!</li></ul> + +<p><a name="article_98e_Note" id="article_98e_Note">Note.</a>—The lavish use of the exclamation point is not in good taste. +Unless the emotion to be conveyed is strong, a comma will suffice. See +<a href="#article_91e">91e</a>.</p> + +<p>Exercise:</p> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>What is my temperature, doctor.</li> + +<li>"Shall we go by the old mill?", asked Newcomb?</li> + +<li>Did Wu Ting Fang say, "The Chinese Republic will survive."</li> + +<li>He inquired whether Lorado Taft is the greatest living +American sculptor.</li> + +<li>Farewell. Othello's occupation's gone.</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_99" id="article_99">99. EXERCISE IN PUNCTUATION</a></h5> + +<h6><a name="article_99A" id="article_99A">A.</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Punctuate the following sentences:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Why its ten oclock</li> + +<li>It was a rainy foggy morning</li> + +<li>Arthurs cousin said Lets go</li> + +<li>I begged her to stay but she refused</li> + +<li>His parents you know were wealthy</li> + +<li>Near by the children were playing house</li> + +<li>Ever since John has driven carefully</li> + +<li>I smell something burning Etta</li> + +<li>Well Harry are you ready for a tramp</li> + +<li>I well remember a trip which I once took</li> + +<li>When the day has ended the twilight comes</li> + +<li>She was a poor lonely defenseless old woman</li> + +<li>Trout bass and pickerel are often caught there</li> + +<li>Lees army was defeated at Gettysburg Pennsylvania on July 3 +1863</li> + +<li>Students who are poor appreciate the value of an education</li> + +<li>Clem Rogers who is poor as Jobs turkey has bought a +phonograph</li> + +<li>He had no resentment against the man who had injured him</li> + +<li>He spoke to his father who sat on the veranda</li> + +<li>The rifle which he used on this trip was the best he had</li> + +<li>His long beard sticking out at an angle from his chin and +his tall silk hat looked ridiculous</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_99B" id="article_99B">B.</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Punctuate the following sentences:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"> +<li>I found the work difficult did you find it so</li> + +<li>If they had agreed to buy things would have been different +but they didn't</li> + +<li>I could satisfy myself if need be with dreams and imaginary +delights she must have realities</li> + +<li>Well Im not disappointed its just what I expected</li> + +<li>Hard roads are not only an advantage they are almost +indispensable</li> + +<li>The man who hesitates is lost the woman who hesitates is won</li> + +<li>The nihilists accept no principle or creed they reject +government and religion and all institutions which cramp the +individuals desires</li> + +<li>No longer are women considered weaklings although not so +strong as man physically they are now assumed to have will and +courage of their own</li> + +<li>The Pilgrims wished to thank God so they prepared a feast</li> + +<li>Our country roads are full of chuck holes consequently one +must drive with caution</li> + +<li>The first player advances ten paces the second eight the +third six and so on</li> + +<li>I told her it was her own fault she was too reticent and +held herself aloof</li> + +<li>He had complained of weariness therefore we left him in +camp</li> + +<li>The Panama Canal consists of four sections the Atlantic +Level the Lake the Cut and the Pacific Level</li> + +<li>There are three reasons why I do not like Ford cars first +they rattle second they bump and third they never wear out</li> + +<li>Protoplasm has been found to contain four elements carbon +hydrogen oxygen and nitrogen but by no artificial combination +can these be made into the living substance</li> + +<li>Phlox mignonette sweet peas cannas all these yield flowers +until late in the fall.</li> + +<li>He asked for hot water the mollycoddle as if this were a +hotel</li> + +<li>Is this seat occupied sir asked Brown who stood in the +aisle</li> + +<li>There are two types of democracy 1 a pure democracy and 2 a +representative democracy</li></ol> + + +<h6><a name="article_99C" id="article_99C">C.</a></h6> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Punctuate the following sentences:</p> +</div> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>And Harvey waiting all this time mind you sprang for the +door</li> + +<li>I want to go to Memphis Tennessee to the old house if it is +still standing where I was born</li> + +<li>My bill amounted to exactly counting the car fare nine +dollars and ninety five cents</li> + +<li>I do not believe it he cried then turning to the others in +the group he asked nervously do you</li> + +<li>Which is better to borrow money for ones school expenses or +to work ones way</li> + +<li>He swore swore like a pirate and lashed the horses</li> + +<li>Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit is satirical</li> + +<li>But what of the Dakotas of Minnesota of Wisconsin are they +to give us no political support</li> + +<li>The grain is then run into a bin called the weighing bin +from this it is let down on to the scales</li> + +<li>Lincoln showed very plainly what the phrase All men are +created equal means and what its application was to the +anti-slavery movement.</li> + +<li>His name was lets see what was the fellows name.</li> + +<li>He looks sharply for little points passed over by the +average person are important to him</li> + +<li>How uncomfortable I feel in a room whose windows are not +covered by curtains I cannot describe</li> + +<li>Some time ago he moved away I was sorry because he was a +fine young man</li> + +<li>I went to the lawyers office to hear the reading of my +uncles will</li> + +<li>Well well I havent seen you for years But youre the same +stub nosed freckle faced good natured Tom</li> + +<li>I did not stop long to consider the football togs were +nearest at hand so in they went cleated shoes trousers sweater +pads headgear and the rest</li> + +<li>Today I shall outline explain and argue the subject which +has already been announced to you namely The Distribution of +Taxes in Illinois</li> + +<li>His piping voice his long crooked nose his white hair +falling over the shoulders of his faded blue coat his shuffling +shambling gait as he hobbled up to Carletons Grocery with his +basket all this I shall remember as long as I live</li> + +<li>We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are +created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with +certain inalienable rights that among these rights are life +liberty and the pursuit of happiness</li></ol> + + +<h5><a name="article_100" id="article_100">100. GENERAL EXERCISE</a></h5> + +<div class="intro"> +<p>Improve the following sentences, making as many changes as are necessary +to express the thought clearly and accurately.</p> +</div> + +<h6><a name="article_100A" id="article_100A">A.</a></h6> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>It don't sound right.</li> + +<li>Us fellows hadn't ought to complain.</li> + +<li>The decision effects my brother and I alike.</li> + +<li>Following his breakfast he went up to the office.</li> + +<li>One finds that beginning on a pipe organ is much more +complicated than the piano.</li> + +<li>She married before she was eighteen, she had never taken +much interest in school work</li> + +<li>New Year's Eve, a young lady who I was calling upon, and +myself decided to fool the old folks.</li> + +<li>Williams drove across town at full speed, this was against +the ordinances.</li> + +<li><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Black, who had been laying on the sofa, rose and set +down by myself.</li> + +<li>The agricultural course is a study which every person +should have a great deal of knowledge along that line.</li> + +<li>Swinging around the curve, the open switch was seen in +time, and directly the train stopped we rushed off of the cars.</li> + +<li>I can say a little in regard to my expectations in +connection with the next four years of my life, however. +Expectations of work, pleasure, and perhaps a little sorrow.</li> + +<li>An interesting experience of mine was a collection of +insects made when I studied biology.</li> + +<li>A man can talk to an animal, and he learns to obey him by +repeating certain commands.</li> + +<li>The life of a princess as well as a hermit are made happy +by a little child, as illustrated in the stories of Pharaoh's +daughter and Silas Marner.</li></ol> + + +<h6><a name="article_100B" id="article_100B">B.</a></h6> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Every one in the office were busy invoicing.</li> + +<li>Their unconscious pranks and laughter is very amusing.</li> + +<li>The tiger is a beautiful animal, it is also very ferocious.</li> + +<li>Either he or she are good companions for you.</li> + +<li>Again, take a student who has been forced to make his own +way, the question may be harder to decide.</li> + +<li>As for the proposition which is before you, if it was me, I +would not even consider it.</li> + +<li>The fly is the insect that causes more fatal deaths in a +year than any other insect.</li> + +<li>The success of a sponge cake depends upon two things. The +beating of the eggs and the mixing of the flour in lightly.</li> + +<li>James, a youth of such energy, and who is attractive in many +ways, failed in his exams.</li> + +<li>Fish are only found in the deep holes, and they are hard to +get at.</li> + +<li>Besides cigarettes, there are other forms of using tobacco, +such as cigars, and in pipes, and chewing tobacco, making the +total consumption very great.</li> + +<li>I am endeavoring to secure for this position a man not only +with ability as a manager, but one who is capable of +understanding and sympathizing with rural community conditions.</li> + +<li>Any one having any question to ask or who has trouble with +their camera, may write to this department.</li> + +<li>When I hear oatmeal it nauseates me. I can see a mental +picture of the breakfast table where I sat nearly all last +summer.</li> + +<li>In ones second year in high school the books to be read are +Burns poems, Miltons paradise Lost; Bunyans Pilgrims Progress, +and several of Shakespeares plays.</li></ol> + +<h6><a name="article_100C" id="article_100C">C.</a></h6> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He promised to on no consideration delay.</li> + +<li>I heard a voice at the door which was familiar.</li> + +<li>The most important part of a book is often to read the +preface.</li> + +<li>Observing carefully, a number of errors are seen to exist.</li> + +<li>Unless one is very wealthy they cannot afford to own a car.</li> + +<li>These kind of fellows usually make good athletes.</li> + +<li>It was the custom of we campers to ride into town and back +on freight cars, when in need of supplies.</li> + +<li>As I was sitting near a radiator so I moved as I decided it +was too warm there.</li> + +<li>To thine own self be true is the advice Polonius gave to his +son.</li> + +<li>In order that Otto should not regain his political power +back again, Sarphina put him in jail.</li> + +<li>For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction is +the idea which Emerson's essay on compensation begins.</li> + +<li>To consult a Bible encyclopedia and read it concerning +Easter, one learns quite a little about that religious holiday.</li> + +<li>Never try to shoot a rabbit or any animal when they are not +moving, for among hunters it is very poor sportsmanship to kill +any animal before they have had a chance to get away.</li> + +<li>We find that many of Whittier's poems were concerned with +slavery, which he considered a very great moral wrong, and +determined to do all in his power to eradicate this evil.</li> + +<li>Rhetoric is required in order that a person may learn how +to express their thoughts so as to be readily understood, and +the ability to do this greatly increases the value of your +knowledge.</li></ol> + + +<h6><a name="article_100D" id="article_100D">D.</a></h6> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Socialism is different than anarchy.</li> + +<li>He ate the lunch instead of his sister.</li> + +<li>The Volga is the longest of any river in Europe.</li> + +<li>I come over to see if you will leave Tilly go on a picnic +with us tomorrow.</li> + +<li>The value of the birds are studied and the good results +taught to the older children.</li> + +<li>Despotism is where a ruler is not responsible to those under +his authority.</li> + +<li>When a boy or girl enters a high school they think they are +very important.</li> + +<li>I was anxious to begin eating, so no time was wasted by me.</li> + +<li>They run out of ammunition, which caused them to loose the +battle.</li> + +<li>The mind is not only developed, but also the body.</li> + +<li>He built a reservoir varying from 75 to 150 <abbr title="feet">ft.</abbr> in diameter +and from 8 to 15 <abbr title="feet">ft.</abbr> high.</li> + +<li>The most principal reason for going to college is so as to +prepare myself for teaching.</li> + +<li>While the room was not very large, yet it had a good-sized +closet in which to put a trunk would be easy and lighted by a +small window.</li> + +<li>A college education is supposed to be general and thorough +by training a man not only into something definite, but give +him a wider scope from which to choose from.</li> + +<li>Motion pictures give actual battle scenes showing just how +the different countries carry on warfare, in taking care of the +wounded, making ammunition, and how they discharge the +artillery, and advance or retreat.</li></ol> + + +<h6><a name="article_100E" id="article_100E">E.</a></h6> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>He acted like the rest did.</li> + +<li>He don't see anything attractive about her.</li> + +<li>Neither Admiral Beatty nor Admiral Sims are afraid to take +chances.</li> + +<li>The Girl's Campfire Organization was organized when the Boy +Scouts organization was proved such a success.</li> + +<li>Coal is found likely 15 <abbr title="feet">ft.</abbr> from the waters edge, extending +horizontally under the cliff.</li> + +<li>It is no sure sign that just because a student has took a +course in literature, that he really enjoys the best reading.</li> + +<li>One of the most noticeable characteristics about Lowell's +letters were that they are brief, to the point, and emphatic.</li> + +<li>On the license there will be found the laws regarding +hunting and on the back of it tells when the different seasons +are open.</li> + +<li>The St. Louis Republic is a partisan democratic newspaper +and thus it can be guessed as to what their editorials are like +concerning political questions.</li> + +<li>If the public in general is well posted on the subject and +finds that the charity workers are in earnest, they are much +more apt to donate.</li> + +<li>Some were laughing, some acted serious, others like myself +were merely looking on.</li> + +<li>Entering the campus, the Library is seen, which is a +building nicer than all the others.</li> + +<li>The Ideal Starter starts the engine perfectly without +leaving the driver's seat.</li> + +<li>The fly feeds on decayed vegetable matter, and also the +decayed animal.</li> + +<li>It is true that some people keep a fire extinguisher. It is +of minor importance when considering organized fire protection. +It is organized fire protection with which we are chiefly +concerned, so let us dismiss the former and proceed to the +latter subject.</li></ol> + + +<h6><a name="article_100F" id="article_100F">F.</a></h6> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>In olden days the curfew rung everywheres at 9 o'clock.</li> + +<li>If a person was to become a charity worker, it would +necessitate him giving time and effort.</li> + +<li>I think most any person can appreciate a good joke when it +is not on them.</li> + +<li>Your clothing for the hunt should be warm and of goods that +will not tear easy.</li> + +<li>Life can be classified in four general stages. Infancy, +Youth, Maturity, and Old Age.</li> + +<li>At the sound of the summons I had to arise from my downy cot +and hurry to the morning repast.</li> + +<li>He was surprised at the way people lived in the city. +Especially the dirt and misery of the slums.</li> + +<li>The house is battered and dingy, being built twenty years +ago by <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Robinson, and needs paint badly.</li> + +<li>We hadn't scarcely more than begun the work when one of the +engines got broke and we had to stop until it could be fixed.</li> + +<li>Neither self-denial nor self-sacrifice are to be admired, +or even pardoned, at the cost of happiness, Stevenson says.</li> + +<li>The thing that took my eye most of all were the walls. +Pennants, pictures, and souvenirs were hanging everywhere.</li> + +<li>Grandmother had put the spectacles in the Bible which she +had lost.</li> + +<li>In the summer time the weather is warm but some people are +complaining of the hot weather and who wish the weather would +turn cooler but is it not this kind of weather that makes the +plants grow, which in turn furnish us food?</li> + +<li>Until athletics are demanded from the weaker students, the +training will go to the one who does not need it, and the ones +who do need it are sitting up on the bleachers exercising their +lungs.</li> + +<li>The people of olden times used pumps, but did not know why +they worked, they thought it worked because "nature abhors a +vacuum."</li></ol> + + +<h6><a name="article_100G" id="article_100G">G.</a></h6> + +<ol class="exercise"><li>Each one of these three books are interesting.</li> + +<li>You may put this hat in any desired shape you like.</li> + +<li>We motored over to Bloomington which was much more pleasant +than the train.</li> + +<li>Every one of his statements are so clear that they cannot be +misconstrued what they mean.</li> + +<li>Analysis is when things are resolved into elements or parts.</li> + +<li>She dropped the doll on the pavement, of which she was very +fond.</li> + +<li>He was offered money to keep still, but would not, thus +showing his good character.</li> + +<li>The first training center for training police dogs was in +Hildesheim, Prussia, and was in the year 1896.</li> + +<li>The draining of land not only increases the yield, and it +greatly lengthens the season that the land may be worked.</li> + +<li>He next stated the number of the founders of the +Constitution, which were 39 in no.</li> + +<li>The life of Doctor Kingsley is a good example of a man who +has succeeded.</li> + +<li>The fortunes of our country are now standing at the +cannon's mouth, and one vote may stem the tide of disaster.</li> + +<li>There was little scenery on an Elizabethan stage. While the +parts intended for women were performed by men.</li> + +<li>The cave which Tom Sawyer was lost in really existed. It +was the cave just outside Hannibal, Missouri, it was near the +Mississippi. Here was the place where Mark Twain was a boy.</li> + +<li>Yes, and the buildings werent what they are now, do you +remember how we used to go to the old log meeting house, that +was up on stilts, and the pigs crawled under the floor and +raised such a disturbance that the preacher had to stop and +have the pigs chased out before he could continue the sermon?</li></ol> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="index" id="index"></a>INDEX</h2> + +<div class="intro"> +<p><i>The numbers refer to articles.</i></p> +</div> + +<div class="center"> + <table style="width:75%; text-align: center;" border="1" summary="Links to the alphabetical listings"> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_A">A</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_B">B</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_C">C</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_D">D</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_E">E</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_F">F</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_G">G</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_H">H</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_I">I</a></td> + <td>J</td> + <td><a href="#IX_K">K</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_L">L</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_M">M</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_N">N</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_O">O</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_P">P</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_Q">Q</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_R">R</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_S">S</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_T">T</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_U">U</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_V">V</a></td> + <td><a href="#IX_W">W</a></td> + <td>X</td> + <td><a href="#IX_Y">Y</a></td> + <td>Z</td> + + </tr> + + </table> +</div> + +<div class="index"> +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a name="IX_A" id="IX_A"></a>Abbreviations, <a href="#article_83">83</a>, <a href="#article_90c">90c</a></li> +<li>Absolute expressions + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Punctuation of, <a href="#article_91e">91e</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Accept</i> and <i>except</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Ad</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Addresses, <a href="#article_87b">87b</a>, <a href="#article_87e">87e</a></li> +<li>Adjectives + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Classes of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Comparison of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Distinguished from adverbs, <a href="#article_56">56</a></li> + <li>In a series, <a href="#article_91f">91f</a>, <a href="#article_91j2">91j2</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Adverbs, + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Classes of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Comparison of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Distinguished from adjectives, <a href="#article_56">56</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Affect</i> and <i>effect</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Aggravate</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Agreement + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Of verbs, <a href="#article_52">52</a></li> + <li>Of pronouns, <a href="#article_51">51</a>, <a href="#article_50i">50i</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Ain't</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>All right</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Almost</i>, Position of, <a href="#article_27">27</a></li> +<li><i>Allusion and illusion</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Already</i> and <i>all ready</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>And</i> before a subordinate phrase or clause, <a href="#article_16">16</a>, <a href="#article_17">17</a></li> +<li><i>And</i> used to excess, <a href="#article_14">14</a></li> +<li><i>And which</i> construction, <a href="#article_17">17</a></li> +<li>Antecedent + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Faulty reference to, <a href="#article_20">20</a>-<a href="#article_23">23</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Anybody</i>, Number of, <a href="#article_51a">51a</a></li> +<li>Apostrophe + <ul class="IX"> + <li>In contractions, <a href="#article_97">97</a></li> + <li>With possessive, <a href="#article_97">97</a>, <a href="#article_50f">50f</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Application for a position, <a href="#article_87g">87g</a></li> +<li>Articles, Omission of, <a href="#article_3">3</a></li> +<li><i>As</i>, Incorrect use of, <a href="#article_50a">50a</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Aspect of the verb, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Auxiliary + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Use of, <a href="#article_55e">55e</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Awful</i>, Abuse of, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_B" name="IX_B"></a>Balanced sentence, <a href="#article_45">45</a></li> +<li>Balanced structure, <a href="#article_30">30</a>, <a href="#article_45">45</a></li> +<li>Barbarisms, <a href="#article_66">66</a></li> +<li><i>Because</i> clauses, <a href="#article_5">5</a></li> +<li><i>Because of</i> phrases, <a href="#article_5_Note">5 Note</a></li> +<li><i>Be</i>, Nominative with, <a href="#article_50c">50c</a></li> +<li><i>Both ... and</i>, <a href="#article_31">31</a></li> +<li>Brackets, <a href="#article_95e">95e</a></li> +<li>Brevity for emphasis, <a href="#article_41">41</a>, <a href="#article_60">60</a></li> +<li>Business letters, <a href="#article_87c">87c</a></li> +<li><i>Bust</i> or <i>busted</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>But</i> used to excess, <a href="#article_38_Note">38 Note</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_C" name="IX_C"></a><i>Can</i> and <i>may</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Cannot help but</i>, <a href="#article_34">34</a></li> +<li>Capitals, <a href="#article_81">81</a></li> +<li>Case + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Use of, <a href="#article_50">50</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Cause, Inaccurate statement of, <a href="#article_5">5</a></li> +<li><i>Caused by</i>, <a href="#article_5_Note">5 Note</a>, <a href="#article_23">23</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Change in number or person, <a href="#article_33">33</a></li> +<li>Change in subject or voice, <a href="#article_32">32</a></li> +<li>Change in tense, <a href="#article_33">33</a>, <a href="#article_55">55</a></li> +<li>Choppy sentences, <a href="#article_13">13</a></li> +<li><i>Claim</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Clauses + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Cause, <a href="#article_5">5</a></li> + <li>Coördinated loosely, <a href="#article_14">14</a>, <a href="#article_12">12</a></li> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>House-that-Jack-built, <a href="#article_38">38</a></li> + <li>Misplaced, <a href="#article_24">24</a></li> + <li>Misused as sentences, <a href="#article_1">1</a>, <a href="#article_90b">90b</a></li> + <li>Restrictive and non-r., <a href="#article_91d">91d</a></li> + <li>Subordinate. Not to be used as complete sentences, <a href="#article_1">1</a></li> + <li>Subordination faulty, <a href="#article_15">15</a></li> + <li>To be reduced to phrases, <a href="#article_60">60</a></li> + <li><i>When</i> or <i>where</i> clauses, <a href="#article_6">6</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Clearness, <a href="#article_20">20</a>-<a href="#article_39">39</a></li> +<li>Climax, <a href="#article_44">44</a></li> +<li>Coherence, <a href="#article_24">24</a>-<a href="#article_29">29</a></li> +<li>Colon, <a href="#article_93">93</a></li> +<li>Collective nouns, Number of, <a href="#article_51c">51c</a></li> +<li>Colloquialisms, <a href="#article_65">65</a></li> +<li>Comma, <a href="#article_91">91</a>, <a href="#article_92c">92c</a> Notes <a href="#article_91c_Note1">1</a> and <a href="#article_91c_Note2">2</a>, <a href="#article_95b">95b</a> + <ul class="IX"> + <li>After quotation, <a href="#article_96g_Note">96 Note</a></li> + <li>"Comma splice" or "comma fault," <a href="#article_18">18</a></li> + <li>Not used after question mark, <a href="#article_98b">98b</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Comparison of adjectives and adverbs, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Comparisons, Inaccurate, <a href="#article_4">4</a></li> +<li>Compound sentence structure in excess, <a href="#article_12">12</a>, <a href="#article_14">14</a></li> +<li>Compound words, <a href="#article_78">78</a></li> +<li>Concreteness, <a href="#article_63">63</a></li> +<li>Conjugation, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Conjunctions + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>List of, <a href="#article_36">36</a></li> + <li>Omitted, <a href="#article_37">37</a></li> + <li>Repeated carelessly, <a href="#article_38">38</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Conjunctive adverbs + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Punctuation with, <a href="#article_92c">92c</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Connectives, <a href="#article_8">8</a>, <a href="#article_36">36</a>, <a href="#article_37">37</a>, <a href="#article_38">38</a></li> +<li>Consonants + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Between syllables, <a href="#article_71">71</a>, <a href="#article_85">85</a></li> + <li>Final (in spelling), <a href="#article_75">75</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Construction + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Incomplete, <a href="#article_2">2</a></li> + <li>Mixed, <a href="#article_34">34</a></li> + <li>Split, <a href="#article_28">28</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Contractions + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Apostrophe with, <a href="#article_97">97</a></li> + <li>When proper, <a href="#article_65b">65b</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Coördination, Excessive, <a href="#article_12">12</a>, <a href="#article_14">14</a></li> +<li>Correlatives, <a href="#article_31">31</a></li> +<li><i>Could of</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_D" name="IX_D"></a>Dangling gerund, <a href="#article_23">23</a></li> +<li>Dangling participle, <a href="#article_23">23</a></li> +<li>Dash, <a href="#article_94">94</a></li> +<li>Dates, Writing of, <a href="#article_84">84</a>, <a href="#article_91e">91e</a></li> +<li>Declension, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Definition, <a href="#article_6_Note">6 Note</a></li> +<li>Dialogue + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Paragraphing, <a href="#article_88c">88c</a></li> + <li>Punctuation before, <a href="#article_91h">91h</a>, <a href="#article_93a">93a</a></li> + <li>Punctuation in, <a href="#article_96">96</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Diction, Faulty (list), <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Different than</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Divided reference, <a href="#article_20">20</a></li> +<li><i>Don't</i>, <a href="#article_51d">51d</a></li> +<li>Double capacity, Words in, <a href="#article_57">57</a></li> +<li>Double negative, <a href="#article_34_Note">34 Note</a></li> +<li><i>Drownded</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Due to</i>, Proper use of, <a href="#article_5_Note">5 Note</a>, <a href="#article_23_Note">23 Note</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_E" name="IX_E"></a><i>Each</i>, Number of, <a href="#article_51a">51a</a></li> +<li><i>ei</i> or <i>ie</i>, <a href="#article_74">74</a></li> +<li><i>Either</i>, Number of, <a href="#article_51a">51a</a></li> +<li><i>Either ... or</i>, <a href="#article_31">31</a></li> +<li>Ellipsis + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Misuse of, <a href="#article_3">3</a>, <a href="#article_23_Note">23 Note</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Emigrate</i> and <i>immigrate</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Emphasis + <ul class="IX"> + <li>By brevity, <a href="#article_41">41</a></li> + <li>By position, <a href="#article_40">40</a></li> + <li>By repetition, <a href="#article_47">47</a></li> + <li>By separation, <a href="#article_41">41</a></li> + <li>By subordination, <a href="#article_42">42</a>, <a href="#article_14">14</a></li> + <li>By variety, <a href="#article_48">48</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Enthuse</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Etc.</i>, Use of, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Euphemism, <a href="#article_61">61</a></li> +<li><i>Ever</i>, Position of, <a href="#article_27">27</a></li> +<li><i>Every</i>, <i>every one</i>, <i>everybody</i>, Number of, <a href="#article_51a">51a</a></li> +<li>Exclamation point, <a href="#article_98e">98e</a></li> +<li>Exact connective, <a href="#article_36">36</a></li> +<li>Exact word, <a href="#article_62">62</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_F" name="IX_F"></a>Figures, Use of, <a href="#article_84">84</a></li> +<li>Figures of speech, Mixed, <a href="#article_35">35</a></li> +<li>Final consonant (in spelling), <a href="#article_75">75</a></li> +<li>Final <i>e</i> before a suffix, <a href="#article_76">76</a></li> +<li><i>Fine</i>, Abuse of, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Fine writing, <a href="#article_61">61</a></li> +<li>Flowery language, <a href="#article_61">61</a></li> +<li>Formal invitations, <a href="#article_87h">87h</a></li> +<li><i>Former</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_G" name="IX_G"></a><i>Gent</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Geographical names, <a href="#article_91e">91e</a></li> +<li>Gerund + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Dangling, <a href="#article_23">23</a></li> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>With possessive, <a href="#article_50g">50g</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Good use, <a href="#article_65">65</a>, <a href="#article_66">66</a></li> +<li><i>Gotten</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Grammar, <a href="#article_50">50</a>-<a href="#article_59">59</a></li> +<li>Grammatical terms, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li><i>Guess</i>,<a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_H" name="IX_H"></a>Hackneyed expressions, <a href="#article_61">61</a></li> +<li><i>Had ought</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Handwriting, <a href="#article_80c">80c</a></li> +<li><i>Hanged</i> and <i>hung</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Healthy</i> and <i>healthful</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Historical present, <a href="#article_33_Note">33 Note</a></li> +<li><i>However</i>, Position of, <a href="#article_27">27</a></li> +<li><i>Human</i>, <i>humans</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Hygienic</i> and <i>sanitary</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Hyphen + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Between syllables, <a href="#article_85">85</a></li> + <li>In compound words, <a href="#article_78">78</a></li> + </ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_I" name="IX_I"></a>Idioms, <a href="#article_65">65</a></li> +<li>Illogical thought, <a href="#article_4">4</a>, <a href="#article_5">5</a>, <a href="#article_6">6</a>, <a href="#article_7">7</a></li> +<li>Imagery mixed, <a href="#article_35">35</a></li> +<li>Impersonal construction<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had period">,</ins> Needless use of, <a href="#article_60">60</a></li> +<li>Improprieties, <a href="#article_66">66</a></li> +<li>Incomplete construction, <a href="#article_2">2</a></li> +<li>Indefinite <i>it</i>, <i>you</i>, <i>they</i>, <a href="#article_22_Note">22 Note</a></li> +<li>Indention of paragraphs, <a href="#article_88">88</a></li> +<li>Inflection, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Infinitive + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Case with, <a href="#article_50e">50e</a></li> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Sign of, to be repeated, <a href="#article_37">37</a></li> + <li>Split, <a href="#article_28">28</a></li> + <li>Tense of, <a href="#article_55">55</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Instants</i> and <i>instance</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Interjections + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Punctuation of, <a href="#article_91c">91c</a>, <a href="#article_98e">98e</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Invitations, Formal, <a href="#article_87h">87h</a></li> +<li><i>Is when</i> clauses, <a href="#article_6">6</a></li> +<li><i>Is where</i> clauses, <a href="#article_6">6</a></li> +<li>Italics, <a href="#article_82">82</a>, <a href="#article_96e">96e</a></li> +<li>Its (possessive adjective), without apostrophe, <a href="#article_50f">50f</a>, <a href="#article_97d">97d</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_K" name="IX_K"></a><i>Kind of</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_L" name="IX_L"></a><i>Later</i> and <i>latter</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Lead</i> and <i>led</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Learn</i> and <i>teach</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Leave</i> and <i>let</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Length of paragraph, <a href="#article_88b">88b</a></li> +<li>Length of sentences, <a href="#article_12">12</a>, <a href="#article_13">13</a>, <a href="#article_48b">48b</a></li> +<li><i>Less</i> and <i>fewer</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Letters, <a href="#article_87">87</a></li> +<li><i>Liable</i> and <i>likely</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Lie</i> and <i>lay</i>, <a href="#article_59D">59D</a>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Like</i> (for <i>as</i>), <a href="#article_67">67</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>List + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Of connectives, <a href="#article_36">36</a></li> + <li>Of principal parts, <a href="#article_54">54</a></li> + <li>Of grammatical terms, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Of words confused in meaning, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> + <li>Of words incorrectly used, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> + <li>Of words logically akin, <a href="#article_72">72</a></li> + <li>Of words confused in spelling, <a href="#article_73">73</a></li> + <li>For spelling, <a href="#article_79">79</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Loan</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Locate</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Logic, <a href="#article_4">4</a>, <a href="#article_5">5</a>, <a href="#article_6">6</a>, <a href="#article_7">7</a></li> +<li>Logical Agreement, <a href="#article_4">4</a>, <a href="#article_5">5</a>, <a href="#article_6">6</a></li> +<li>Logical Sequence, <a href="#article_25">25</a></li> +<li><i>Lose</i> and loose, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Lots of</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_M" name="IX_M"></a><i>Majority</i> and <i>plurality</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Manuscript, <a href="#article_80">80</a></li> +<li><i>Might of</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Misplaced word, <a href="#article_27">27</a></li> +<li>Mixed constructions, <a href="#article_34">34</a></li> +<li>Mixed imagery, <a href="#article_35">35</a></li> +<li>Modal aspects, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Mode + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Definition of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Use of subjunctive, <a href="#article_55d">55d</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Modifiers + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Grouping of, <a href="#article_24">24</a>, <a href="#article_25">25</a></li> + <li>Needless separation of, <a href="#article_24">24</a>, <a href="#article_27">27</a></li> + <li>Squinting, <a href="#article_26">26</a></li> + <li>Wrongly used as sentences, <a href="#article_1">1</a>, <a href="#article_90b">90b</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Money, <a href="#article_84c">84c</a></li> +<li><i>Most</i> (for <i>almost</i>), <a href="#article_66">66</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Myself</i>, Needlessly used for <i>I</i> or <i>me</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_N" name="IX_N"></a>Negative, Double, <a href="#article_34_Note">34 Note</a></li> +<li><i>Neither</i>, Number of, <a href="#article_51a">51a</a></li> +<li><i>Neither ... nor</i>, <a href="#article_31">31</a></li> +<li><i>Nice</i>, Inaccurate use of, <a href="#article_62">62</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Nicknames, Quotations with, <a href="#article_96d">96d</a></li> +<li><i>Not only ... but also</i>, <a href="#article_31">31</a></li> +<li>Nouns, Classes of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Number + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Shift in, <a href="#article_33">33</a></li> + <li><i>These kind</i>, etc., <a href="#article_51b">51b</a></li> + <li><i>Each</i>, <i>Every</i>, etc., <a href="#article_51a">51a</a></li> + <li>Collective nouns, <a href="#article_51c">51c</a></li> + <li>Of verbs, <a href="#article_52">52</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Numbers, Use of, <a href="#article_84">84</a> + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Formation of plural, <a href="#article_77d">77d</a>, <a href="#article_97e">97e</a></li> + </ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_O" name="IX_O"></a><i>O</i> and <i>Oh</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Objective case, <a href="#article_50d">50d</a>, <a href="#article_50e">50e</a></li> +<li><i>Off of</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Omission + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Of words, <a href="#article_3">3</a></li> + <li>From quotations, <a href="#article_96i">96i</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Only</i>, Position of, <a href="#article_27">27</a></li> +<li>Outlines, <a href="#article_86">86</a></li> +<li>Overlapping thought, <a href="#article_8_Note">8 Note</a></li> +<li><i>Owing to</i>, Proper use of, <a href="#article_5_Note">5 Note</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_P" name="IX_P"></a>Paragraphs, <a href="#article_88">88</a></li> +<li>Parallel structure, <a href="#article_30">30</a>, <a href="#article_31">31</a>, <a href="#article_45">45</a></li> +<li>Parenthesis and parenthetical elements, <a href="#article_91e">91e</a>, <a href="#article_94a">94a</a>, <a href="#article_95">95</a></li> +<li>Participle + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Dangling, <a href="#article_23">23</a></li> + <li>Definition of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Parts of speech, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li><i>Party</i>, Abuse of, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Passive voice, not emphatic, <a href="#article_46">46</a></li> +<li>Past tense, Wrong forms of, <a href="#article_54">54</a></li> +<li>Past perfect tense, <a href="#article_55">55</a></li> +<li>Period, <a href="#article_90">90</a>, <a href="#article_91b">91b</a>, <a href="#article_92a_Note">92a Note</a> + <ul class="IX"> + <li>After quotation, <a href="#article_96g_Note">96g Note</a></li> + <li>Not used after question mark, <a href="#article_98b">98b</a></li> + <li>"Period blunder," <a href="#article_1">1</a>, <a href="#article_90b">90b</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Periodic sentence, <a href="#article_43">43</a></li> +<li>Person, Change in, <a href="#article_33">33</a></li> +<li>Phonetic spelling, <a href="#article_71_Note">71 Note</a></li> +<li>Phrases + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Not to be used as sentences, <a href="#article_1_Note">1 Note</a></li> + <li>Absolute, <a href="#article_91e">91e</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Plurals, Spelling of, <a href="#article_77">77</a></li> +<li>Poetry to be separated from prose, <a href="#article_41">41</a>, <a href="#article_80b">80b</a></li> +<li>Point of view, Shift in, <a href="#article_32">32</a></li> +<li>Ponderous language, <a href="#article_60">60</a></li> +<li>Possessive + <ul class="IX"> + <li>With gerund, <a href="#article_50g">50g</a></li> + <li>Apostrophe with, <a href="#article_50f">50f</a>, <a href="#article_97">97</a></li> + <li>Inanimate objects in, <a href="#article_50h">50h</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Practical and practicable</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Predicate adjective, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Predicate noun, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Prefixes, <a href="#article_72">72</a></li> +<li>Prepositions + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Omitted, <a href="#article_3">3</a>, <a href="#article_37">37</a></li> + <li>Repeated carelessly, <a href="#article_38">38</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Principal parts, <a href="#article_54">54</a></li> +<li><i>Principal</i> and <i>principle</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Pronouns + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Agreement with antecedent, <a href="#article_50i">50i</a></li> + <li>Case of, <a href="#article_50">50</a></li> + <li>Kinds of, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Reference of, <a href="#article_20">20</a>, <a href="#article_21">21</a>, <a href="#article_22">22</a></li> + <li>Wrong use of <i>myself</i>, <i>yourself</i>, for <i>I</i>, <i>me</i>, <i>you</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Pronunciation as a guide to spelling, <a href="#article_71">71</a></li> +<li><i>Proof</i> and <i>evidence</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Proposition</i>, Synonyms for, <a href="#article_62">62</a></li> +<li><i>Proven</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Pseudo-</i> and <i>quasi-</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_Q" name="IX_Q"></a><i>Quiet</i> and <i>quite</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Question mark, <a href="#article_98">98</a></li> +<li>Quotation marks <i>vs.</i> italics, <a href="#article_82a_Note2">82a Note 2</a>, <a href="#article_96e">96e</a></li> +<li>Quotations + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Punctuation before, <a href="#article_91h">91h</a>, <a href="#article_92d">92d</a>, <a href="#article_93a">93a</a></li> + <li>Punctuation of, <a href="#article_96">96</a></li> + </ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_R" name="IX_R"></a>Reason, Statement of, to be completed by a <i>that</i> clause, <a href="#article_5">5</a></li> +<li>Redundance, <a href="#article_60">60</a></li> +<li>Reference + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Ambiguous, <a href="#article_20">20</a></li> + <li>Broad, <a href="#article_22">22</a></li> + <li>Divided, <a href="#article_20">20</a></li> + <li>Impersonal, <a href="#article_22_Note">22 Note</a></li> + <li>Remote, <a href="#article_20">20</a></li> + <li>To a clause, <a href="#article_22">22</a></li> + <li>To a title, <a href="#article_21_Note">21 Note</a></li> + <li>To an unemphatic word, <a href="#article_21">21</a></li> + <li>Weak, <a href="#article_21">21</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Reflexive wrongly used for the simple pronoun, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Repetition + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Of connectives, good, <a href="#article_37">37</a>; bad, <a href="#article_38">38</a></li> + <li>Of structure, good <a href="#article_47b">47b</a>; bad <a href="#article_48b">48b</a></li> + <li>Of words, good, <a href="#article_47a">47a</a>; bad, <a href="#article_48a">48a</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Respectfully</i> and <i>respectively</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, <a href="#article_91d">91d</a></li> +<li><i>Right smart</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Rise</i> and <i>raise</i>, <a href="#article_59D">59D</a>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_S" name="IX_S"></a><i>Said</i>, Synonyms for, <a href="#article_62">62</a></li> +<li><i>Same</i>, Abuse of, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Scrappy sentences, <a href="#article_13">13</a></li> +<li>Semicolon, <a href="#article_91b">91b</a>, <a href="#article_92">92</a>, <a href="#article_95b">95b</a> + <ul class="IX"> + <li>After quotation, <a href="#article_96g_Note">96g Note</a></li> + <li>Not used after question mark, <a href="#article_98b">98b</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Sequence of tense, <a href="#article_55">55</a></li> +<li>Sequence of thought, <a href="#article_25">25</a></li> +<li>Series, Punctuation of, <a href="#article_91f">91f</a>, <a href="#article_91g">91g</a>, <a href="#article_91j3">91j 3</a></li> +<li><i>Shall</i> and <i>will</i>, <a href="#article_53">53</a></li> +<li>Shift in number, person, or tense, <a href="#article_33">33</a></li> +<li>Shift in subject or voice, <a href="#article_32">32</a></li> +<li><i>Should</i> and <i>would</i>, <a href="#article_53">53</a></li> +<li><i>Sit</i> and <i>set</i>, <a href="#article_59D">59D</a>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Slang, <a href="#article_66">66</a> + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Quotations with, <a href="#article_96d">96d</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>So</i>, <a href="#article_36_Note">36 Note</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Some</i>, Abuse of, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Somewheres</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Sound, <a href="#article_64">64</a></li> +<li>Spacing, <a href="#article_80b">80b</a></li> +<li>Specific words, <a href="#article_63">63</a></li> +<li>Spelling, <a href="#article_70">70</a>-<a href="#article_79">79</a></li> +<li>Split construction, <a href="#article_28">28</a></li> +<li>Split infinitive, <a href="#article_28">28</a></li> +<li>Squinting, <a href="#article_26">26</a></li> +<li><i>Stationary</i> and <i>stationery</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li><i>Statue</i>, <i>stature</i>, and <i>statute</i>, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> +<li>Stringy sentences, <a href="#article_12">12</a>, <a href="#article_14">14</a></li> +<li>Subject in nominative case, <a href="#article_50a">50a</a></li> +<li>Subjunctive mode + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Use of, <a href="#article_55d">55d</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Subordinating conjunctions + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> + <li>Enumerated, <a href="#article_36">36</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Subordination + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Necessary, <a href="#article_12">12</a>, <a href="#article_13">13</a>, <a href="#article_14">14</a></li> + <li>Faulty, <a href="#article_15">15</a>, <a href="#article_16">16</a>, <a href="#article_17">17</a>, <a href="#article_42">42</a></li> + <li><i>And which</i>, <a href="#article_17">17</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Substantive defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li><i>Such</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Suffixes, <a href="#article_75">75</a>, <a href="#article_76">76</a></li> +<li>Superlative degree in comparisons, <a href="#article_4">4</a>, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li><i>Sure</i> and <i>surely</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Suspicion</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Syllabication, <a href="#article_85">85</a></li> +<li>Syntax defined, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_T" name="IX_T"></a>Tautology, <a href="#article_60_Note">60 Note</a></li> +<li>Technical terms, Quotations with, <a href="#article_96d">96d</a></li> +<li>Tense + <ul class="IX"> + <li>In dependent clauses, <a href="#article_55a">55a</a></li> + <li>In general statements, <a href="#article_55c">55c</a></li> + <li>Past Perfect, <a href="#article_55b">55b</a></li> + <li>Sequence of, <a href="#article_55">55</a></li> + <li>Shift in, <a href="#article_33">33</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li><i>Than</i> or <i>as</i>, Case of pronouns after, <a href="#article_50a">50a</a></li> +<li><i>That there</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Them</i> (misused as adjective), <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>These kind</i>, <a href="#article_51b">51b</a></li> +<li><i>Those</i>, Omission of relative clause after, <a href="#article_2">2</a>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Thought undeveloped, <a href="#article_7">7</a></li> +<li>Title + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Capitals in, <a href="#article_81">81</a></li> + <li>Reference to, <a href="#article_21_Note">21 Note</a></li> + <li>Spacing, etc., <a href="#article_80a">80a</a>, <a href="#article_96j">96j</a></li> + <li>Quoted (books, periodicals, etc.), <a href="#article_82a">82a</a>, <a href="#article_96e">96e</a></li> + </ul></li> +<li>Transitions, <a href="#article_8">8</a>, <a href="#article_36">36</a></li> +<li><i>Transpire</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Triteness, <a href="#article_61">61</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_U" name="IX_U"></a>Undeveloped thought, <a href="#article_7">7</a></li> +<li>Unity, <a href="#article_10">10</a>-<a href="#article_19">19</a></li> +<li>Upside-down subordination, <a href="#article_15">15</a></li> +<li>Usage, Good, <a href="#article_65">65</a>, <a href="#article_66">66</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_V" name="IX_V"></a>Verbals, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +<li>Verb, Forms of the, <a href="#article_58">58</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_W" name="IX_W"></a><i>Ways</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Weak reference, <a href="#article_21">21</a></li> +<li><i>Where at</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>While</i>, Abuse of, <a href="#article_36">36</a></li> +<li><i>Win out</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Who</i>, <i>whoever</i>, <a href="#article_50b">50b</a></li> +<li><i>Woods</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li><i>Would of</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +<li>Wordiness, <a href="#article_60">60</a></li> +<li>Words + <ul class="IX"> + <li>Confused in meaning, <a href="#article_67">67</a></li> + <li>Confused in spelling, <a href="#article_73">73</a></li> + <li>Double capacity of, <a href="#article_57">57</a></li> + <li>Misused, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> + <li>Omission of, <a href="#article_3">3</a></li> + </ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_Y" name="IX_Y"></a><i>Yourself</i> wrongly used for <i>you</i>, <a href="#article_68">68</a></li> +</ul> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<p><a name="chart"></a></p> + +<div class="center"> + <a href="images/table1.png"> + <img src="images/table1-th.png" + width="705" height="493" + alt="Chart summarizing table of contents, linked to a larger version" + title="" /> + </a> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="1px" summary="Table of contents presented visually, breaking the different parts into rows"> +<tr> +<th rowspan="4"><small style="text-transform: lowercase;">Sentence structure</small></th> +<th colspan="2">Completeness <small>of thought</small></th> +<td>1<br />Fragments misused as sentences</td> +<td>2<br />Incomplete constructions</td> +<td>3<br />Necessary words omitted</td> +<td>4<br />Comparisons not complete in thought</td> +<td>5<br />Cause and reason</td> +<td>6<br /><i>is when</i> or <i>is where</i> clauses</td> +<td>7<br />Undeveloped thought</td> +<td>8<br />Transitions</td> +<td>9<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th>Unity <small>of thought</small></th> +<td>10<br />Unrelated ideas</td> +<td>11<br />Excessive detail</td> +<td>12<br />Stringy sentences to be broken up</td> +<td>13<br />Choppy sentences to be combined</td> +<td>14<br />Excessive coördination</td> +<td>15<br />Subordination of the main thought</td> +<td>16<br />Subordination thwarted by <i>and</i></td> +<td>17<br /><i>and which</i> constructions</td> +<td>18<br />The comma splice</td> +<td>19<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Clearness <span style="font-size: smaller;">of thought</span></th> +<td>20<br />Divided reference</td> +<td>21<br />Weak reference</td> +<td>22<br />Broad reference</td> +<td>23<br />Dangling participle or gerund</td> +<td>24<br />General incoherence</td> +<td>25<br />Logical sequence</td> +<td>26<br />Squinting modifier</td> +<td>27<br />Misplaced word</td> +<td>28<br />Split construction</td> +<td>29<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>30<br />Parallel structure</td> +<td>31<br />Correlatives</td> +<td>32<br />Shift in subject or voice</td> +<td>33<br />Shift in number, person or tense</td> +<td>34<br />Mixed constructions</td> +<td>35<br />Mixed imagery</td> +<td>36<br />The exact connective</td> +<td>37<br />Connective to be repeated</td> +<td>38<br />Connective not to be repeated</td> +<td>39<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Emphasis</th> +<td>40<br />Emphasis by position</td> +<td>41<br />Emphasis by separation</td> +<td>42<br />Emphasis by subordination</td> +<td>43<br />Periodic sentence</td> +<td>44<br />Order of climax</td> +<td>45<br />Balanced sentence</td> +<td>46<br />The weak passive voice</td> +<td>47<br />Repetition effective</td> +<td>48<br />Repetition offensive</td> +<td>49<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Grammar</th> +<td>50<br />Case</td> +<td>51<br />Number</td> +<td>52<br />Agreement</td> +<td>53<br /><i>Shall</i> and <i>will</i></td> +<td>54<br />Principal parts</td> +<td>55<br />Tense mode auxiliary</td> +<td>56<br />Adjective and adverb</td> +<td>57<br />Word in a double capacity</td> +<td>58<br />List of the terms of grammar</td> +<td>59<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Diction</th> +<td>60<br />Wordiness</td> +<td>61<br />Triteness</td> +<td>62<br />The exact word</td> +<td>63<br />Concreteness</td> +<td>64<br />Sound</td> +<td>65<br />Idioms Colloquialisms</td> +<td>66<br />Barbarisms Slang</td> +<td>67<br />Words often confused in meaning</td> +<td>68<br />Glossary of faulty diction</td> +<td>69<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Spelling</th> +<td>70<br />Recording errors</td> +<td>71<br />Pronouncing accurately</td> +<td>72<br />Logical kinship</td> +<td>73<br />Superficial resemblances List</td> +<td>74<br /><i>ei</i> and <i>ie</i></td> +<td>75<br />Doubling a final consonant</td> +<td>76<br />Dropping final <i>e</i></td> +<td>77<br />Plurals</td> +<td>78<br />Compounds</td> +<td>79<br />Spelling list</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Miscellaneous</th> +<td>80<br />Manuscript</td> +<td>81<br />Capitals</td> +<td>82<br />Italics</td> +<td>83<br />Abbreviations</td> +<td>84<br />Numbers</td> +<td>85<br />Syllabication</td> +<td>86<br />Outlines</td> +<td>87<br />Letters</td> +<td>88<br />Paragraphs</td> +<td>89<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Punctuation</th> +<td>90<br />Period</td> +<td>91<br />Comma</td> +<td>92<br />Semicolon</td> +<td>93<br />Colon</td> +<td>94<br />Dash</td> +<td>95<br />Parenthesis Brackets</td> +<td>96<br />Quotation marks</td> +<td>97<br />Apostrophe</td> +<td>98<br />Question and exclamation marks</td> +<td>99<br />Exercise</td> +</tr></table> + +<hr /> + +<div class="transnotes intro"> +<p><a name="corrections" id="corrections"></a>Transcriber's Notes:</p> +<ul class="off"> +<li><a href="#article_7">Article 7</a>, Missing period added (Many passages are powerful, especially the +grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?].)</li> +<li><a href="#article_13">Article 13</a>, Changed period to colon (Exercise:)</li> +<li><a href="#article_14">Article 14</a>, Changed period to colon (Exercise:)</li> +<li><a href="#article_24">Article 24</a>, Added missing article "a" (In the morning I found on my bed a heap of snow...)</li> +<li><a href="#article_25">Article 25</a>, Changed "them" to "then" (Do not begin one idea, abandon it for a second, and then return to the first.)</li> +<li><a href="#article_31">Article 31</a>, Added missing comma (<i>not only</i> ... <i>but also</i> ..., <i>both</i> ... <i>and</i> ...)</li> +<li><a href="#article_38">Article 38</a>, Changed "men to "man" (He was undoubtedly a brave man...)</li> +<li><a href="#article_38">Article 38</a>, Changed "trangressions" to "transgressions" (<i>However</i>, if it is used only for serious transgressions...)</li> +<li><a href="#article_39">Article 39</a>, Added missing parenthesis ((Consult <a href="#article_36">36</a> for a list of connectives.))</li> +<li><a href="#article_54">Article 54</a>, Changed period to colon (Exercise:)</li> +<li><a href="#article_58">Article 58</a>, Changed "I was being taken" to "I must be taken" in the conjugation table for the verb "to take" as Present Indicative Obligative in Passive voice</li> +<li><a href="#article_65">Article 65</a>, Changed "idoms" to "idioms" (Study the following list of correct idioms)</li> +<li><a href="#article_65">Article 65</a>, Added missing commas (<i>ain't it fierce?</i>, <i>can you beat it?</i>, <i>going some</i>)</li> +<li><a href="#article_68">Article 68</a>, Added missing quotation mark ("We <i>oughtn't</i> +(not <i>hadn't ought</i>) to make this error.")</li> +<li><a href="#article_68">Article 68</a>, Changed "Verb" to "Very" (<i>Very</i>. Accompanied by <i>much</i> when used with the past participle.)</li> +<li><a href="#article_71">Article 71</a>, Removed italic style for the word "compare" (compare <i>o<b>cc</b>a<b>s</b>ion</i>)</li> +<li><a href="#article_86">Article 86</a>, Corrected numbering in a list changing "2." to "3." (3. Place in order the headings of the following outline)</li> +<li><a href="#article_88">Article 88</a>, Added missing parenthesis ((In some instances the paragraph may consist of a single sentence.))</li> +<li><a href="#article_88">Article 88</a>, Changed comma to period (We'll have a rope down to you in a minute.)</li> +<li><a href="#article_91">Article 91</a>, Added missing parenthesis ((She came and she was gone in a moment. McCoy talked and the rest of us listened.))</li> +<li><a href="#article_91">Article 91</a>, Changed period to colon (Right: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey.)</li> +<li><a href="#article_92">Article 92</a>, Changed period to colon (Better: She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the music)</li> +<li><a href="#article_94">Article 94</a>, Changed "d." to "b.", and "b." to "d." (b. Insert a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.; d. The use of the dash to end sentences is childish.)</li> +<li><a href="#article_95">Article 95</a>, Changed "dedeclared" to "declared" ("Bunyan's masterpiece (The Pilgrim's Progress)," declared the lecturer)</li> +<li><a href="#index">INDEX</a>, Changed period to comma (Impersonal construction<ins title="Transcriber's Note: The original had period">,</ins> Needless use of)</li> +</ul> +</div> + +<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING ***</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 30294-h.htm or 30294-h.zip</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/2/9/30294/</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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Jones + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Century Handbook of Writing + +Author: Garland Greever + Easley S. Jones + +Release Date: October 20, 2009 [EBook #30294] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes, Karina +Aleksandrova, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: + + 1. Italic text is rendered with underscores _like this_, and bold with +equal signs =like this=. + + 2. Misprints and punctuation errors were corrected. A list of +corrections can be found at the end of the text.] + + + + + THE + CENTURY HANDBOOK OF + WRITING + + BY + GARLAND GREEVER + _AND_ + EASLEY S. JONES + + NEW YORK + THE CENTURY CO. + 1927 + + + Copyright, 1918, by + THE CENTURY CO. + + PRINTED IN U.S.A. + + + + +PREFACE + + +This handbook treats essential matters of grammar, diction, spelling, +mechanics; and develops with thoroughness the principles of sentence +structure. Larger units of composition it leaves to the texts in formal +rhetoric. + +The book is built on a decimal plan, the material being simplified and +reduced to one hundred articles. Headings of these articles are +summarized on two opposite pages by a chart. Here the student can see at +a glance the resources of the volume, and the instructor can find +immediately the number he wishes to write in the margin of a theme. The +chart and the decimal scheme together make the rules accessible for +instant reference. + +By a device equally efficient, the book throws upon the student the +responsibility of teaching himself. Each article begins with a concise +rule, which is illustrated by examples; then follows a short "parallel +exercise" which the instructor may assign by adding an _x_ to the number +he writes in the margin of a theme. While correcting this exercise, the +student will give attention to the rule, and will acquire theory and +practice at the same time. Moreover, every group of ten articles is +followed by mixed exercises; these may be used for review, or imposed in +the margin of a theme as a penalty for flagrant or repeated error. Thus +friendly counsel is backed by discipline, and the instructor has the +means of compelling the student to make rapid progress toward good +English. + +Although a handbook of this nature is in some ways arbitrary, the +arbitrariness is always in the interest of simplicity. The book does +have simplicity, permits instant reference, and provides an adequate +drill which may be assigned at the stroke of a pen. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + SENTENCE STRUCTURE + + COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + + 1. Fragments wrongly used as sentences + 2. Incomplete constructions + 3. Necessary words omitted + 4. Comparisons not logically completed + 5. Cause and reason + 6. _Is when_ and _is where_ clauses + 7. Undeveloped thought + 8. Transitions + 9. EXERCISE + A. Incomplete sentences + B. Incomplete constructions + C. Incomplete logic + D. Undeveloped thought and transitions + + + UNITY OF THOUGHT + + 10. Unrelated ideas in one sentence + 11. Excessive detail + 12. Stringy sentences to be broken up + 13. Choppy sentences to be combined + 14. Excessive coördination + 15. Faulty subordination of the main thought + 16. Subordination thwarted by _and_ + 17. The _and which_ construction + 18. The comma splice + 19. EXERCISE + A. The comma splice + B. One thought in a sentence + C. Excessive coördination + D. Upside-down subordination + + + CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + + REFERENCE + 20. Divided reference + 21. Weak reference + 22. Broad reference + 23. Dangling participle or gerund + + COHERENCE + 24. General incoherence + 25. Logical sequence + 26. Squinting modifier + 27. Misplaced word + 28. Split construction + 29. EXERCISE + A. Reference of pronouns + B. Dangling modifiers + C. Coherence + + PARALLEL STRUCTURE + 30. Parallel structure for parallel thoughts + 31. Correlatives + + CONSISTENCY + 32. Shift in subject or voice + 33. Shift in number, person, or tense + 34. Mixed constructions + 35. Mixed imagery + + USE OF CONNECTIVES + 36. The exact connective + 37. Repetition of connective with gain in clearness + 38. Repetition of connective with loss in clearness + 39. EXERCISE + A. Parallel structure + B. Shift in subject or voice + C. Shift in number, person, or tense + D. The exact connective + E. Repetition of connectives + + + + EMPHASIS + + 40. Emphasis by position + 41. Emphasis by separation + 42. Emphasis by subordination + 43. The periodic sentence + 44. Order of climax + 45. The balanced sentence + 46. Weak effect of the passive voice + 47. Repetition effective: a Words; b Structure + 48. Repetition offensive: a Words; b Structure + 49. EXERCISE + A. Lack of emphasis in general + B. Loose structure + C. Repetition + + + + GRAMMAR + + 50. Case: a Nominative, especially after _than_ or _as_; + b Nominative _who_ and _whoever_; c Predicate nominative; + d Objective; e Objective with infinitive; f Possessive; + g Possessive with gerund; h Possession by inanimate + objects; i Agreement of pronouns + 51. Number: a _Each_, _every one_, etc.; b _Those kind_, etc.; + c Collective nouns; d _Don't_ + 52. Agreement--not to be thwarted by: a Intervening nouns; + b _Together with_ phrases; c _Or_ or _nor_ after subject; + d _And_ in the subject; e A predicate noun; + f An introductory _there_ + 53. _Shall_ and _will_ + 54. Principal parts. List + 55. Tense, mode, auxiliaries: a Tense in dependent clauses + or infinitives; b The past perfect; c Present tense for a + general statement; d Mode; e Auxiliaries + 56. Adjective and adverb: a Adjective misused for adverb; + b Ambiguous cases; c After verbs pertaining to the + senses + 57. A word in a double capacity + 58. List of the terms of grammar + 59. EXERCISE + A. Case of pronouns + B. Agreement + C. _Shall_ and _will_ + D. _Lie, lay; sit, set; rise, raise_ + E. Principal parts of verbs + F. General + + + + DICTION + + 60. Wordiness + 61. Triteness + 62. The exact word + 63. Concreteness + 64. Sound + 65. Subtle violations of good use: a Faulty idiom; b Colloquialism + 66. Gross violations of good use: a Barbarisms; b Improprieties; + c Slang + 67. Words often confused in meaning. List + 68. Glossary of faulty diction + 69. EXERCISE + A. Wordiness + B. The exact word + C. Words sometimes confused in meaning + D. Colloquialisms, slang, faulty idioms + + + + SPELLING + + 70. Recording errors + 71. Pronouncing accurately + 72. Logical kinship in words + 73. Superficial resemblances. List + 74. Words in _ei_ and _ie_ + 75. Doubling a final consonant + 76. Dropping final _e_ + 77. Plurals: a Plurals in _s_ or _es_; b Nouns ending in _y_; + c Compound nouns; d Letters, figures, and signs; + e Old plurals; f Foreign plurals + 78. Compounds: a Compound adjectives; b Compound nouns; + c Numbers; d Words written solid; e General principle + 79. SPELLING LIST (500 words, 200 in bold-face type) + + + + MISCELLANEOUS + + 80. Manuscript: a Titles; b Spacing; c Handwriting + 81. Capitals: a To begin a sentence or a quotation; b Proper + names; c Proper adjectives; d In titles of books or + themes; e Miscellaneous uses + 82. Italics: a Titles of books; b Foreign words; c Names of + ships; d Words taken out of context; e For emphasis + 83. Abbreviations: a In ordinary writing; b In business + writing + 84. Numbers: a Dates and street numbers; b Long figures; + Sums of money, etc. + 85. Syllabication: a Position of hyphen; b Division between + syllables; c Monosyllabic words not divided; d One consonant + between syllables; e Two consonants between + syllables; f Prefixes and suffixes; g Short words; h Misleading + division + 86. Outlines: a Topic Outline; b Sentence Outline; c Paragraph + Outline; d Indention; e Parallel form; f Faulty + coördination; g Too detailed subordination + 87. Letters: a Heading; b Inside address and greeting; + c Body, Language; d Close; e Outside address; + f Miscellaneous directions; g Model business letter; + h Formal notes + 88. Paragraphs: a Indention; b Length; c Dialogue + 89. EXERCISE + Capitals, numbers, abbreviations, etc. + + + + PUNCTUATION + + 90. The Period: a After sentences; b But not after fragments + of sentences; c After abbreviations + 91. The Comma: a Between clauses joined by _but_, _for_, _and_; + b But NOT to splice clauses not joined by a conjunction; + c After a subordinate clause preceding a main clause; + d To set off non-restrictive clauses and phrases; e To + set off parenthetical elements; f Between adjectives; + g Between words in a series; h Before a quotation; + i To compel a pause for clearness; j Superfluous uses + 92. The Semicolon: a Between coördinate clauses not joined + by a conjunction; b Between long coördinate clauses; + c Before a formal conjunctive adverb; d But not before + a quotation + 93. The Colon: a To introduce a formal series or quotation; + b Before concrete illustrations of a previous general + statement + 94. The Dash: a To enclose a parenthetical statement; b To + mark a breaking-off in thought; c Before a summarizing + statement; d But not to be used in place of a period; + e Not to be confused with the hyphen + 95. Parenthesis Marks: a Uses; b With other marks; c Confirmatory + symbols; d Not used to cancel words; + e Brackets + 96. Quotation Marks: a With quotations; b With paragraphs; + c In dialogue; d With slang, etc.; e With words + set apart; f Quotation within a quotation; g Together + with other marks; h Quotation interrupted by _he said_; + i Omission from a quotation; j Unnecessary in the title + of a theme, or as a label for humor or irony + 97. The Apostrophe: a In contractions; b To form the possessive; + c To form the possessive of nouns ending in _s_; + d Not used with personal possessive pronouns; e To + form the plural of certain signs and letters + 98. The Question Mark: a After a direct question; b Not + followed by a comma within a sentence; c In parentheses + to express uncertainty; d Not used to label irony; e The + Exclamation Point + 99. EXERCISE + 100. GENERAL EXERCISE + + + + +TO THE STUDENT + + +When a number is written in the margin of your theme, you are to turn to +the article which corresponds to the number. Read the rule (printed in +bold-face type), and study the examples. When an _r_ follows the number +on your theme, you are, in addition, to copy the rule. When an _x_ +follows the number, you are, besides acquainting yourself with the rule, +to write the exercise of five sentences, to correct your own faulty +sentence, and to hand in the six on theme paper. If the number ends in 9 +(9, 19, 29, etc.), you will find, not a rule, but a long exercise which +you are to write and hand in on theme paper. In the absence of special +instructions from your teacher, you are invariably to proceed as this +paragraph requires. + +Try to grasp the principle which underlies the rule. In many places in +this book the reason for the existence of the rule is clearly stated. +Thus under 20, the reason for the rule on parallel structure is +explained in a prologue. In other instances, as in the rule on divided +reference (20), the reason becomes clear the moment you read the +examples. In certain other instances the rule may appear arbitrary and +without a basis in reason. But there is a basis in reason, as you will +observe in the following illustration. + +Suppose you write, "He is twenty one years old." The instructor asks you +to put a hyphen in _twenty-one_, and refers you to 78. You cannot see +why a hyphen is necessary, since the meaning is clear without it. But +tomorrow you may write. "I will send you twenty five dollar bills." The +reader cannot tell whether you mean twenty five-dollar bills or +twenty-five dollar bills. In the first sentence the use of the hyphen in +_twenty-one_ did not make much difference. In the second sentence the +hyphen makes seventy-five dollars' worth of difference. Thus the +instructor, in asking you to write, "He is twenty-one years old," is +helping you to form a habit that will save you from serious error in +other sentences. Whenever you cannot understand the reason for a rule, +ask yourself whether the usage of many clear-thinking men for long years +past may not be protecting you from difficulties which you do not +foresee. Instructors and writers of text books (impressive as is the +evidence to the contrary) are human, and do not invent rules to puzzle +you. They do not, in fact, invent rules at all, but only make convenient +applications of principles which generations of writers have found to be +wisest and best. + + + + +THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING SENTENCE STRUCTURE + +COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + + +The first thing to make certain is that the thought of a sentence is +complete. A fragment which has no meaning when read alone, or a sentence +from which is omitted a necessary word, phrase, or idea, violates an +elementary principle of writing. + + +=Fragments Wrongly Used as Sentences= + +=1. Do not write a subordinate part of a sentence as if it were a +complete sentence.= + + Wrong: He stopped short. Hearing some one approach. + + Right: He stopped short, hearing some one approach. [Or] + Hearing some one approach, he stopped short. + + Wrong: The winters are cold. Although the summers are pleasant. + + Right: Although the summers are pleasant, the winters are cold. + + Wrong: The hunter tried to move the stone. Which he found very + heavy. + + Right: The hunter tried to move the stone, which he found very + heavy. [Or] The hunter tried to move the stone. He found it + very heavy. + +Note.--A sentence must in itself express a complete thought. Phrases or +subordinate clauses, if used alone, carry only an incomplete meaning. +They must therefore be attached to a sentence, or restated in +independent form. Elliptical expressions used in conversation may be +regarded as exceptions: Where? At what time? Ten o'clock. By no means. +Certainly. Go. + + Exercise: + + 1. My next experience was in a grain elevator. Where I worked + for two summers. + + 2. The parts of a fountain pen are: first, the point. This is + gold. Second, the body. + + 3. The form is set rigidly. So that it will not be displaced + when the concrete is thrown in. + + 4. There are several reasons to account for the swarming of + bees. One of these having already been mentioned. + + 5. Since June the company has increased its trade three per + cent. Since August, five per cent. + + +=Incomplete Constructions= + +=2. Do not leave uncompleted a construction which you have begun.= + + Wrong: You remember that in his speech in which he said he + would oppose the bill. + + Right: You remember that in his speech he said he would oppose + the bill. [Or] You remember the speech in which he said he + would oppose the bill. + + Wrong: He was a young man who, coming from the country, with + ignorance of city ways, but with plenty of determination to + succeed. + + Right: He was a young man who, coming from the country, was + ignorant of city ways, but had plenty of determination to + succeed. + + Wrong: From the window of the train I perceived one of those + unsightly structures. + + Right: From the window of the train I perceived one of those + unsightly structures which are always to be seen near a + station. + + Exercise: + + 1. As far as his having been deceived, there is a difference of + opinion on that matter. + + 2. The fact that he was always in trouble, his parents wondered + whether he should remain in school or not. + + 3. People who go back to the scenes of their childhood + everything looks strangely small. + + 4. It was the custom that whenever a political party came into + office, for the incoming men to discharge all employees of the + opposite party. + + 5. Although the average man, if asked whether he could shoot a + rabbit, would answer in the affirmative, even though he had + never hunted rabbits, would find himself badly mistaken. + + +=Necessary Words Omitted= + +=3. Do not omit a word or a phrase which is necessary to an immediate +understanding of a sentence.= + + Ambiguous: I consulted the secretary and president. [Did the + speaker consult one man or two?] + + Right: I consulted the secretary and the president. [Or] I + consulted the man who was president and secretary. + + Ambiguous: Water passes through the cement as well as the + bricks. + + Right: Water passes through the cement as well as through the + bricks. + + Wrong: I have had experience in every phase of the automobile. + + Right: I have had experience in every phase of automobile + driving and repairing. + + Wrong: About him were men whom he could not tell whether they + were friends or foes. + + Right: About him were men regarding whom he could not tell + whether they were friends or foes. [Or, better] About him were + men who might have been either friends or foes. + + Exercise: + + 1. When still a small boy, my family moved to Centerville. + + 2. Constantly in conversation with some one broadens our ideas + and our vocabulary. + + 3. It was a trick which opposing teams were sure to be + baffled. + + 4. They departed for the battle front with the knowledge they + might never return. + + 5. At the banquet were all classes of people; I met a banker + and plumber. + + +=Comparisons= + +=4. Comparisons must be completed logically.= + + Wrong: His speed was equal to a racehorse. + + Wrong: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer. + + Wrong: The shells which are used in quail hunting are different + than in rabbit hunting. + +Compare a thing with another thing, an abstraction with another +abstraction. Do not carelessly compare a thing with a part or quality of +another thing. Always ask yourself: What is compared with what? + + Right: His speed was equal to that of a racehorse. + + Right: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer's. + + Right: The shells used in quail hunting are different from + those used in rabbit hunting. + + Self-contradictory: Chicago is larger than any city in + Illinois. + + Right: Chicago is larger than any other city in Illinois. + + Impossible: Chicago is the largest of any other city in + Illinois. + + Right: Chicago is the largest of all the cities in Illinois. + [Or] Chicago is the largest city in Illinois. + +Note.--After a comparative, the subject of the comparison should be +excluded from the class with which it is compared; after a superlative, +the subject of the comparison should be included within the class. + + Wrong: {taller of all the girls. + {tallest of any girl. + + Right: {taller than any other girl [comparative]. + {tallest of all the girls [superlative]. + + Exercise: + + 1. The climate of America helps her athletes to become superior + to other countries. + + 2. This tobacco is the best of any other on the market. + + 3. You men are paid three dollars more than any other factory + in the city. + + 4. I thought I was best fitted for an engineering course than + any other. + + 5. Care should be taken not to turn in more cattle than the + grass in the pasture. + + +=Cause and Reason= + +=5. A simple statement of fact may be completed by a _because_ clause.= + + Right: I am late because I was sick. + +=But a statement containing _the reason is_ must be completed by a _that_ +clause.= + + Wrong: The reason I am late is because I was sick. [The + "reason" is not a "because"; the "reason" is the fact of + sickness.] + + Right: The reason I am late is that I was sick. + +=_Because_, the conjunction, may introduce an adverbial clause only.= + + Wrong: Because a man wears old clothes is no proof that he is + poor. [A _because_ clause cannot be the subject of _is_.] + + Right: The fact that a man wears old clothes is no proof that + he is poor. [Or] The wearing of old clothes is not proof that a + man is poor. + +Note.--_Because of_, _owing to_, _on account of_, introduce adverbial +phrases only. _Due to_ and _caused by_ introduce adjectival phrases +only. + + Wrong: He failed, due to weak eyes. [Due is an adjective; + it cannot modify a verb.] + + Right: His failure was {due to } weak eyes + {caused by} + + {because of } + Right: He failed {owing to } weak eyes. + {on account of} + + Exercise: + + 1. The reason why I would not buy a Ford car is because it is + too light. + + 2. My second reason for coming here is because of social + advantages. + + 3. Because John is rich does not make him happier than I. + + 4. Because I like farming is the reason I chose it. + + 5. The only reason why vegetation does not grow here is because + of the lack of water. + + +=_is when_ or _is where_ Clauses= + +=6. Do not use a _when_ or _where_ clause as a predicate noun. Do not +define a word by saying it is a "when" or a "where". Define a noun by +another noun, a verb by another verb, etc.= + + Wrong: The great event is when the train arrives. + + Right: The great event is the arrival of the train. + + Wrong: Immigration is where foreigners come into a country. + + Right: Immigration is the entering of foreigners into a + country. + + Wrong: A simile is when one object is compared with another. + + Right: A simile is a figure of speech in which one object is + compared with another. + +Note.--A definition of a term is a statement which (1) names the class +to which the term belongs, and (2) distinguishes it from other members +of the class. Example. A quadrilateral is a plane figure having four +sides and four angles. To test a definition ask whether it separates the +term defined from all other things. If the definition does not do this, +it is incomplete. Define _California_ (so as to exclude other states), +_window_ (so as to exclude _door_), _star_ (exclude _moon_), _night_, +_rain_, _circle_, _Bible_, _metal_, _mile_, _rectangle_. + + Exercise: + + 1. The pistol shot is when the race begins. + + 2. A snob is when a man treats others as inferior socially. + + 3. The wireless telegraph is where messages are sent a long + distance through the air. + + 4. The definition of usury is where one charges interest higher + than the legal rate. + + 5. Biology is when one studies plant and animal life. + + +=Undeveloped Thought= + +=7. Do not halfway express an idea. If the idea is important, develop it. +If it is not important, omit it.= + + Incomplete: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, + and Jack said he had a business engagement that night. + + Better: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, a fact + which was all the more annoying as Jack said he had a business + engagement that night. + + Puzzling: Since McAndrew had inherited money, his suitcase was + plastered with labels. + + Right: Since McAndrew had inherited money, he had traveled + extensively. His suitcase was plastered with the labels of + foreign hotels. + + Careless: In looking for gasoline troubles, we forgot to see + whether the tank was supplied. + + Right: In looking for the cause of the trouble, we forgot to + see whether the tank was supplied with gasoline. + +Note.--In giving information about books, do not confuse the title with +the contents or some part of the contents. Be accurate in referring to +the time, scene, action, plot, or characters. + + Loose thinking: Shakespeare's _Hamlet_ occurs in Denmark [The + scene is laid?]. Many passages are powerful, especially the + grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?]. The character of + Horatio is a noble fellow [conception], and the same is true of + Ophelia [Ophelia a fellow?]. The drama takes place over several + weeks. [The action covers a period of several weeks.] + + Exercise: + + 1. The victrola brings to the home the world's musical ability. + + 2. The user of Dietzgen instruments is not vexed by numerous + troubles that accompany the inferior makes. + + 3. To the picnicker rainy weather is bad weather, while the + farmer raises a big crop. + + 4. Some diseases can be checked by preventives, and in many + cases can be of great use to an army. + + 5. This idea of breaking all records held for eating is + naturally harmful to the digestion, and these important organs + may thank their stars that Christmas does not come very often. + + +=Transitions= + +The state of mind of a writer is not the state of mind of his reader. +The writer knows his ideas, and has spent much time with them. The +reader meets these ideas for the first time, and must gather them in at +a glance. The relation between two ideas may be clear to the writer, and +not at all clear to the reader. Therefore, + +=8. In passing from one thought to another, make the connection clear. If +necessary, insert a word, a phrase, or even a sentence, to carry the +reader safely across.= + + Space transition needed: We were surprised to see a house in + the distance, but we went to the door and knocked. [This + sentence does not give a reader the effect of distance.] + + Better: We were surprised to see a house in the distance. _But + we hastened toward it with thoughts of a warm meal and a good + lodging. We entered the yard_, and went up to the door, and + knocked. + + Exterior-interior transition needed: We noticed that the house + was built of cobblestones. There was a broad window from which + we could look out upon the small stream that dashed down the + rocky hillside. + + Better: We noticed that the house was built of cobblestones. + _We went inside, and found that the living room was large and + airy._ There was a broad window from which we could look out + upon the small stream that dashed down the rocky hillside. + + Cause transition lacking: The Romans were great road-builders. + They wished to maintain their empire. + + Better: The Romans were great road-builders, _because means of + moving troops quickly were necessary_ to the maintenance of + their empire. + + General-to-particular transition needed: Modern machinery often + makes men its slaves. Last summer I worked for the Chandler + Company. [This gap in thought occurs oftenest between the first + two sentences of a paragraph or theme.] + + Better: Modern machinery often makes men its slaves. _This + truth is well illustrated by my own experience._ Last summer I + worked for the Chandler Company. + + Transition to be improved by changing order: A careless trainer + may spoil a good colt. A good horse can never be made of a + vicious colt. [Here the order of ideas is: "Trainer ... colt. + Horse ... colt." Turn the last sentence end for end.] + + Better: A careless trainer may spoil a good colt. And a vicious + colt can never be made a good horse. [Now the order of ideas is + "Trainer ... colt. Colt ... horse."] + + Transition to be improved by removal of a disturbing element: + Our class in physics last week visited a pumping station in + which the Corliss type of steam engine is used. _The engines + are manufactured by the Allis-Chalmers Company of Milwaukee, + Wisconsin._ This type of engine is used because it has several + advantages. [The italicized sentence should be omitted here, + and used later in the theme.] + +Note.--The divisions of thought within a paragraph may likewise be +indicated by connectives: _however_, _on the other hand_, _equally +important_, _another interesting problem is_, _for this reason_, _the +remedy for this_, _so much for_, _it remains to mention_, _of course I +admit_, _finally_. (For a longer list see 36.) Such phrases are also +useful in linking one paragraph to another. + +When a student first learns the art, he is likely to use transition +phrases in excess, and produce something like the following: "When I +have to write a theme, I first think of my subject. As soon as I have my +subject, I take out my paper. On the paper I then make a rough outline." +This abuse of transition causes an overlapping of thought, like shingles +laid three inches to the weather. An abrupt transition is better than +wordiness. + + Exercise: + + 1. The shore looked far off. Then we reached it. + + 2. A light snow was falling last night. This is a good day for + hunting rabbits. + + 3. A dollar is often a large sum. I sold newspapers when I was + a boy. + + 4. Many English words still preserve their old meanings. There + is the teller in the bank. + + 5. We had to walk half a mile across the pastures in the fresh + morning air. Exercise indoors does not arouse much zest or + enthusiasm. + + +=9.= EXERCISE IN COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Fragments Misused as Sentences= + +Rewrite the following statements in sentences each of which expresses a +complete thought. + + 1. He gave me a flower. Which was wilted. + + 2. The gasoline flows through the supply tube to the + carburetor. Where it should vaporize and enter the cylinders. + + 3. People of all ages were there. Old men, young women, and + even children. + + 4. He told us that you had a good standing among business men. + That you always met your bills promptly. + + 5. Excuse Everett Smith from school this morning. He having the + measles. + + 6. The internal combustion engine may be either one of two + types. The two cycle or the four cycle. + + 7. The young men and women acted like children. Who should have + known better. + + 8. There was a cross cow in the pasture. Which had long horns. + + 9. Bacteria are microscopic organisms. Especially found where + milk or some other substance decomposes. + + 10. We pass on down the street. The buildings rising two or + three stories high on either side. + + 11. The Y. M. C. A. enables you to keep your religious + interests alive. As well as to associate with clean young men. + + 12. She wasted her time on foolish clothes. While her mother + took in washing. + + 13. He was dressed in a ridiculous fashion. Wearing, for + instance, an orange necktie. + + 14. The point is similar to that of the ordinary steel pen, + except that it is made of gold. Gold being used on account of + its greater smoothness and durability. + + 15. Tire troubles have been made less formidable by the + invention of a compact, efficient little vulcanizer. A factory + for making which is now being built. + +=B. Incomplete Constructions= + +Improve the following statements. Supply missing words. Make sure that +each construction and each sentence is complete. + + 1. When one year old, my mother died. + + 2. Yours received, and in reply would say your order has been + filled. + + 3. While in there a man came in and bought a quarter's worth of + soap. + + 4. War is largely dependent upon the engineers to design new + machinery. + + 5. When you talk to a man look at him, not the floor or + ceiling. + + 6. In writing a book, an author's first one is usually not very + good. + + 7. Every summer while in high school, our family has gone to + our cottage on Lake Michigan. + + 8. When a boy, Mary was my best friend. + + 9. There is, however, another reason a person should know how + to swim. + + 10. I think more of her than anyone else. + + 11. Corrupt laws are often the means rich people obtain the + earnings of others. + + 12. A hundred dollars invested in a warning signal, future + accidents would be prevented. + + 13. Electric transmission is sometimes used on automobiles more + of an experiment than anything else. + + 14. Was delighted to hear from you. Glad to hear you entered + the wholesale business. Wish you success. + + 15. As a rule people eat too much. This point should be + noticed, and not overwork the digestive organs. + +=C. Incomplete Logic= + +The following sentences are inadequate statements of cause, comparison, +etc. Complete the thought. + + 1. His neck is as long as a giraffe. + + 2. His name was David Meek, from New Hampshire. + + 3. The Pacific Ocean is larger than any ocean. + + 4. Because he never worked led to his failure. + + 5. A monitor is where a heavily armored boat of light draft can + go near the shore. + + 6. Democracy is when people, through representatives, govern + themselves. + + 7. The story of _Huckleberry Finn_ is in reality Mark Twain + himself. + + 8. Because a man has money is no reason why he should be lazy. + + 9. The character of Sydney Carton is the real hero of this + novel. + + 10. A forester leads an interesting life is the reason I want + to be one. + + 11. Tact is where a man anticipates the criticism of others, + and acts with discretion. + + 12. The comfort of a modern house is much greater than the + old-time house. + + 13. Free trade is when no revenue is collected on imports, + beyond enough to run the government. + + 14. The cost of room, board, and tuition is low at this school, + compared to the more fashionable schools. + + 15. The theme of this novel tells how a peasant, Jean Valjean, + from a convict comes to be a respected citizen. + +=D. Undeveloped Thought and Transitions= + +Complete the thought of the following sentences, and secure a smooth +transition between parts. + + 1. As you enter this room, to the left is an interesting + painting of the Canterbury Pilgrims. + + 2. Poe delights in fantastic plots. A pirate's treasure chest + was discovered in _The Gold Bug_. + + 3. I got up and ate a bite of breakfast. A few of my friends + came over. We went to play golf. + + 4. All the loose material on the trail is carried off by the + rush of the water. The last time I was on it was in early + summer, and I found it in this rough condition. + + 5. I managed to find the softest board in the floor and went to + sleep. Some of the boys found pleasure in arousing me with a + shower of cold water. + + 6. Under guise of friendly escort the Indians accompanied the + inhabitants of the fort a few miles. Only three escaped the + massacre. + + 7. Many people say that in civil engineering it depends on the + prosperity of the country; in hard times they do not build and + in good times they do build. + + 8. Canada has more forests than minerals. Canada has made only + a start in the lumber industry. The minerals are found, for the + most part, in the mountain district near Lake Superior. + + 9. Thanksgiving day, as we are told, is a day on which our + Puritan forefathers gathered round the roast turkey and gave + thanks to God for his goodness. Last Thanksgiving I was at + home. + + 10. The old method was to dig the holes by hand, and drop two + or three kernels in each hole. Corn has become a staple crop. + Machinery is used. The preparing of a field for corn has become + a science. + + + +UNITY OF THOUGHT + +Unity means oneness. A sentence should contain one thought. It may +contain two or more statements only when these are closely related parts +of a larger thought or impression. A writer should make certain, first, +that his thought has unity; and second, that this unity will be obvious +to the reader. + + +=Unrelated Ideas in One Sentence= + +=10. Do not combine ideas which have no obvious relation to each other. +Place the ideas in separate sentences. Or, write the ideas as one +sentence, making their relation obvious.= + + Wrong: The Spartans did not care for literature, and lived in + the southern part of Greece. + + Wrong: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, and the + most important work in preparing coffee for the market is the + roasting of the green berries. + +The simplest method of correction is to divide the sentence. + + Right: The Spartans lived in the southern part of Greece. They + did not care for literature. + + Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn. The most + important work in preparing the coffee for the market is the + roasting of the green berries. + +Another method of correction is to subordinate one idea to the other, or +to change the wording until the relation between the ideas is obvious. + + Right: The Spartans, who lived in the southern part of Greece, + did not care for literature. + + Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, since the + only important work in preparing the coffee for the market is + the roasting of the green berries. + + Exercise: + + 1. Franklin is often regarded as the typical American, and + wrote an interesting autobiography. + + 2. Coal miners wear little oil lamps in their caps, and they + seldom receive very good wages. + + 3. My neighbor, Mr. Houghton, was always a very good friend of + mine, and died last night. + + 4. I dropped the clock and injured the works, but the jeweler + told me it would be cheaper for me to buy a new clock. + + 5. The next thing the camper should do is to make a bed, and + the branches of the spruce are the best. + + +=Excessive Detail= + +=11. Do not encumber the main idea of a sentence with superfluous +details. Place some of the details in another sentence, or omit them.= + + Faulty: In the town in which I live there are several large + churches, and about six o'clock one morning, in a violent + storm, one of these churches was struck by lightning. + + Right: In my home town there are several large churches. One + morning about six o'clock, in a violent storm, one of these + churches was struck by lightning. + + Wrong: In 1836, in Baltimore, Poe married Virginia Clemm, his + cousin, who was hardly more than a child, being then fourteen + years old, while Poe himself was twenty-eight, and to her he + wrote much of his best verse. + + Right: In 1836 Poe married Virginia Clemm. Poe was then + twenty-eight, and Virginia was only fourteen. To this girl Poe + wrote much of his best verse. + + Exercise: + + 1. The house with the red tile roof is the finest in the city, + and is owned by Mr. Saunders, who made his money speculating in + land. + + 2. Then the engine tilted and fell over on one side, and the + boiler exploded and added to the frightful scene. + + 3. The deer whose antlers you see over the fireplace as you + enter the room was shot by my Uncle Will, who is now in South + America on a hunting expedition. + + 4. The seeds, which have previously been soaked in water over + night, are now planted carefully, not too deep, in straight + rows sixteen inches apart, the best time being in April, when + the ground is soft and has been thoroughly spaded. + + 5. One day last week my employer, Mr. Conway, a jolly, peculiar + man, raised my salary, first telling me I was about to be + discharged, and laughing at me when I looked so surprised. + +=Stringy Sentences to be Broken up= + +=12. Avoid stringy compound sentences. The crude, rambling style which +results from their use may be corrected by separating the material into +shorter sentences, or by subordinating lesser ideas to the main thought.= + + Faulty: The second speaker had sat quietly waiting, and he was + a man of a different type, and he began calmly, yet from the + very first words he showed great earnestness. + + Right: The second speaker, who had sat quietly waiting, was a + man of a different type. He began calmly, yet from his very + first words he showed great earnestness. + + Faulty: There are many stops on the organ which control the + tones of the different pipes and one has to learn how and when + to use these and this takes time and practice. + + Right: On the organ are many stops which control the tones of + the different pipes. To learn how and when to use these takes + time and practice. + + Faulty: He published prose fiction, and this was then the + accepted literary form, and the drama was neglected. + + Better: He published prose fiction, which was then the accepted + literary form, the drama being neglected. [This sentence makes + three statements in a diminishing series. The important idea is + expressed in a main clause; a less important explanation is + fitted into a relative clause; and a still less important + comment takes a parenthetical phrase at the end.] + +Note.--One of the crying faults of the immature writer is that by +excessive coördination he obscures the fine shades of meaning. When two +clauses are joined, the meaning will very often be more exact if one is +subordinated to the other. For a list of subordinating connectives, see +36. + + Exercise: + + 1. He went down town, and it began to rain, and so he decided + to go to the city library. + + 2. There is an old saying which I have often heard and I + believe in it to a certain extent, and it runs as follows: The + more you live at your wit's end, the more the wit's end grows. + + 3. Our salesman, Mr. Powers, has spoken very favorably of your + firm, and we feel that our relations will be most pleasant, and + the report of the commercial agencies is sufficient evidence of + your good financial standing. + + 4. There was no escaping from this churn, so one of the frogs, + after a brief struggle thought that he might just as well die + one time as another, and so he gave up and sank to the bottom. + + 5. Socrates did no writing himself, and the only information we + have of him we get from the writings of his pupils and from + later writers, and our most reliable knowledge comes from two + of these writers, Plato and Xenophon. + + +=Choppy Sentences to be Combined= + +=13. Do not use two or three short sentences to express ideas which will +make a more unified impression in one sentence. Place subordinate ideas +in subordinate grammatical constructions.= + + Excessive predication: Excavating is the first operation in + street paving. The excavating is usually done by means of a + steam shovel. The shovel scoops up the dirt and loads it + directly into wagons. + + Right: Excavating, the first operation in street paving, is + usually done by a steam shovel which loads the dirt directly + into wagons. + + Monotonous: The doe is wading along the shore. She is nibbling + the lily pads as she goes. Now she moves slowly around the + point. She has a little spotted fawn with her. The fawn frolics + along at the heels of his mother. + + Better: Wading along the shore, the doe nibbles the lily pads + by the way, and moves slowly around the point. A spotted fawn + frolics at her heels. + + Primer style: Rooms are marked on the floor. These rooms are + about fourteen feet square. + + Better: The floor is marked off into rooms about fourteen feet + square. + +Note.--An occasional short sentence is permissible, even desirable. +Successive short sentences may be used to express rapid action, or +emphatic assertion, or deliberate simplicity. Otherwise, avoid them. + + Exercise. + + 1. Decatur has wide streets. The streets are paved with brick, + asphalt, and creosote blocks. + + 2. Sixteen posts are set in a row. All of these are at equal + intervals. + + 3. The boat approaches the leeward side of the ship. This side + is the side protected from the wind. + + 4. The _Scientific American_ reports the progress of science. + It explains new inventions. It makes practical applications of + scientific principles. + + 5. The beans are usually harvested about the middle of + September. They are cut when the plants turn color at the roots + and the beans turn white. They are cut by a bean-cutter which + takes two rows at a time. + + +=Excessive Coördination= + +In structure a sentence may be + + A. Simple: The rain fell. + + B. Compound: The rain continued and the stream rose. + + C. Complex: When the rain ceased, the flood came. + +In B, the clauses are of almost equal importance, and the first is +coördinated with the second. In C, the clauses are not of equal +importance, and the first is subordinated to the second. _And_ is a +coördinating conjunction. _When_ is a subordinating conjunction. For a +list of connectives see 36. + +=14. Do not use coördination when subordination will secure a more clear +and emphatic unit of thought. Especially do not coördinate a main idea +with an explanatory detail.= The speech of children connects all ideas, +important and unimportant, with _and_. Discriminating writers place +minor ideas in subordinate clauses, consign still less important ideas +to participial or prepositional phrases, and omit trivial details +altogether. + + Childish: I went down town and saw a crowd standing in the + street, and wanted to know what was the matter, and so I went + up and asked a man. + + Right: When I went down town, I saw a crowd standing in the + street, and since I wanted to know what was the matter, I asked + a man. [Two clauses are subordinated by the use of _when_ and + _since_. This change abolishes two _ands_. The words _went up + and_ are struck out. One _and_ remains, and deserves to remain, + for it joins two ideas which are truly coördinate.] + + Main idea not emphasized: I talked with an old man and his name + was Ned. + + Better: I talked with an old man named Ned. [A participial + phrase replaces a clause. The name is now subordinated.] + + Main idea not emphasized: Developing is the next step in + preparing the film, and it is very important. + + Better: Developing, the next step in preparing the film, is + very important. [An appositional phrase replaces the first + predicate.] + + Main idea not emphasized: They began their perilous journey, + and they had four horses. + + Right [emphasizing _perilous journey_]: With four horses they + began their perilous journey. [A prepositional phrase replaces + a clause.] + + Right [emphasizing _having the horses_]: When they began their + perilous journey, they had four horses. [A subordinate clause + replaces a main clause.] + + Capable of greater unity: The frog is a stupid animal, and may + be caught with a hook baited with red flannel. [Is the writer + trying to tell us _how to catch frogs_, or merely that _frogs + are stupid_? Coördination makes the two ideas appear equally + important.] + + Right [emphasizing _frogs are stupid_]: The fact that the frog + can be caught with a hook baited with red flannel proves his + stupidity. + + Right [emphasizing _how to catch frogs_]: The frog, being + stupid, will bite at a piece of red flannel. + + Exercise. + + 1. Men were sent to Panama and could not live in such + unsanitary conditions. + + 2. When a letter came and it bore a familiar handwriting, I + always opened it eagerly. + + 3. West Hickory is the name of the place where the tannery is + situated, and it is a laboring man's town. + + 4. She wore a dress and it was silk, and cost her father a lot + of money. + + 5. Every race horse has a care taker or groom, and this man + spends all his time and makes the horse comfortable. + + +=Faulty Subordination of the Main Thought= + +=15. Do not put the principal statement of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase.= This violation of unity is sometimes called +"upside-down subordination". + + Faulty: I was going down the street, when I heard an explosion. + [If _hearing the explosion_ is the main thought, it should be + placed in the main clause.] + + Right: When I was going down the street, I heard an explosion. + + Faulty: Longstreet received orders to attack the Federal right + wing, which he did immediately. + + Right: As soon as Longstreet received orders, he attacked the + Federal right wing. + + Faulty: I suspected that it would rain, although I did not take + an umbrella. + + Right: Although I suspected that it would rain, I did not take + an umbrella. + + Exercise: + + 1. An old man used to work for us, who died yesterday. + + 2. He became angry, saying he positively refused to go. + + 3. He is a bright boy, although I should not want to trust him + with my pocketbook. + + 4. He had an ambition which was to become the best lawyer in + the state by the time he was forty years old. + + 5. The cable breaks and the elevator starts to drop, when the + safety device always operates at once to prevent an accident. + + +=Subordination Thwarted by _and_= + +=16. Do not attach to a main clause by means of _and_, a word, phrase, or +clause which you intend shall be subordinate. The presence of _and_ +thwarts subordination.= + + Wrong: Major went to bed, and leaving the work unfinished. + + Right: Major went to bed, leaving the work unfinished. + + Wrong: He ran home and with coat tails flying. + + Right: He ran home with coat tails flying. + + Exercise: + + 1. They denied my request, and giving no reason for the + refusal. + + 2. He gave me his answer and in few words. + + 3. The girl stood on the edge of the cliff, and thus showing + that she was not afraid. + + 4. A telegraph line is leased by the Associated Press, and thus + giving the newspapers quick service. + + 5. When the summer passed, the fisherman returned home for the + winter, and where he renewed his acquaintance with the + villagers. + + +=The _and which_ construction= + +=17. Use _and which_ (or _but which_), _and who_ (or _but who_) only +between relative clauses similar in form. Between a main clause and a +relative clause, _and_ or _but_ thwarts subordination.= + + Wrong: This is an important problem, and which we shall not + find easy to solve. + + Right: This problem is an important problem, which we shall not + find easy to solve. + + Right: This problem is one _which_ is important, _and which_ we + cannot easily solve. + + Wrong: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest and which + everybody should read. + + Right: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest, and one + which everybody should read. + + Wrong: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, + but who is now less popular than he was. + + Right: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, + who is now less popular than he was. + +Note.--Rule 17 is sometimes briefly stated: "Do not use _and which_ +unless you have already used _which_ in the sentence." This statement is +generally true, but an exception must be made for sentences like the +following: Right: "He told me what countries he had visited, and which +ones he liked most." + + Exercise: + + 1. Just outside is a small porch looking out over the street, + and which can be used for sleeping purposes. + + 2. She is a woman of pleasing personality, and who can converse + intelligently. + + 3. It is a difficult task, but which can be accomplished in + time. + + 4. He is a good-looking man, but who is very snobbish. + + 5. The rule made by the conference of college professors in + 1896, and which has been followed ever since, applies to the + case we are considering. + + +=Unity Thwarted by Punctuation= + +=The Comma Splice= + +=18. Do not splice two independent statements by means of a comma. Write +two sentences. Or, if the two statements together form a unit of +thought, combine them (1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a +semicolon, or (3) by reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a +subordinate clause.= + + Wrong: The town has two railroads, it was founded when oil was + discovered. + + Right: The town has two railroads. It was founded when oil was + discovered. + + Wrong: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was, + this was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. [Here are + three commas. The reader cannot quickly discover which one + marks the great division of thought.] + + Right: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was. + This was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. + + Wrong: The winters were long and cold, nothing could live + without shelter. + + Right: The winters were long and cold. Nothing could live + without shelter. + + Right: The winters were long and cold, and nothing could live + without shelter [For the use of the comma, see 91a]. + + Right: The winters were long and cold; nothing could live + without shelter [For the use of the semicolon see 92]. + + Right: The winters were so long and cold that nothing could + live without shelter. + +Exception.--Short coördinate clauses which are parallel in structure and +leave a unified impression, may be joined by commas, even though the +conjunctions be omitted. + + Right: All was excitement. The ducks quacked, the pigs + squealed, the dogs barked. [The general idea _excitement_ gives + the three clauses a certain unity.] + + Exercise: + + 1. The key is turned to the right, this unlocks the door. + + 2. The author keeps one guessing, there is no hint how the + story will end. + + 3. The farmer is independent, he has no task-master. + + 4. There has been a change of government, in fact there has + been a revolution. + + 5. Lamb had failed in poetry, in the drama, and in the novel, + in the essay, at last, he succeeded. + + +=19.= EXERCISE IN UNITY OF THOUGHT + +=A. The Comma Splice= + +Rewrite the following material in sentences each of which is a unit of +thought. Most of the statements should be summarily cut apart. If you +decide that others taken together have unity of thought, combine them +(1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a semicolon, or (3) by +reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a subordinate clause. + + 1. The canoe is long and narrow, it is made of birch bark. + + 2. I decided to serve tea, of course cream and sugar would be + needed. + + 3. Some men hunt rabbits for market purposes only, they are the + sportsman's enemies. + + 4. This city furnished many boats for the siege of Calais, when + these boats returned they brought the plague with them. + + 5. The bottom of the box is then put in, it is nailed to the + sides. + + 6. It is not easy to become a good musician, one must practice + continually. + + 7. The Northern and Southern states could not be separate + nations, there was no natural boundary between them. + + 8. The telephone is a great invention, it is very useful to the + farmer. + + 9. Why would no one come to help me, my feet ached and I was + thirsty. + + 10. I know a girl who has a cynical disposition, she is always + criticizing. + + 11. I went into the office hopeless, a dime stood between me + and starvation. + + 12. The construction of the bridge has much to do with the tone + of a violin, it should be lower on the side nearest the E + string. + + 13. A private expense account does not require much labor or + time, just one hour a week will suffice to keep tract of all + expenditures. + + 14. We offer you sixty dollars a month to start, this is all we + can afford to pay at present. + + 15. He wanted personal success but would not shirk a duty or + harm any one in any way to gain that success, at all times he + forgot his own personal importance and was ready to do any task + set before him. + +=B. One Thought in a Sentence= + +By dividing, subordinating, or logically combining the following +statements, secure unity of thought. + + 1. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 30, 1902, + where she has lived ever since and is now well known. + + 2. Franklin was kindly, shrewd, and capable, and was the + representative of the United States in France. + + 3. She said that Mrs. Brown was ill and that she was just + caring for the baby, she loved babies anyway, she said. + + 4. One Sunday afternoon there was an excursion to Beaver and + several of us decided to go and take our lunches and return on + the eight o'clock car. + + 5. He gave me the dimensions of the room. The dimensions were + ten by twelve feet. + + 6. Good grades may be obtained in two ways: by honest work, and + by cheating; however any one who cheats is doing himself more + harm than good. + + 7. The wall studding is made of two-by-fours. These + two-by-fours are placed sixteen inches apart. + + 8. The returning Crusaders brought with them oriental learning, + and found the peasantry impoverished. + + 9. The articles in this magazine are of high quality. The + articles are well written and attractively illustrated. + + 10. A Japanese woman going abroad at night must carry a lighted + lamp and must not speak to any one, women do not have much + freedom in Japan. + + 11. The sugar beets are irrigated by river water. They are + irrigated by means of furrows. The furrows run between the rows + of beets. The beets are irrigated once a week. + + 12. The referee asked each captain if his men were ready, after + which he blew the whistle, and the game was on, and within five + minutes our team scored a touchdown. + + 13. The ground should be harrowed as soon as possible after it + is plowed. It is a good plan to harrow the ground on the same + day that it is plowed, or on the day following. + + 14. Choose the middle of the prepared ground, which is about + eighty-five by fifty feet, as your starting point, measure + twenty-four feet east and west and set the net posts; then, + after marking off the different courts with tape, you are ready + for a good game of tennis. + + 15. There are two places on the island suitable for plays: one + in the bungalow and the other down on the sandy point; the + latter lends itself to the purpose readily, there are two trees + which make a splendid support for wires on which to hang the + curtain, and just east of these the ground slopes enough to + make a natural amphitheater. + +=C. Excessive Coördination= + +The ideas in the following sentences are loosely strung together with +coördinating conjunctions. Place the important idea in the main clause. +Subordinate other ideas by reducing each to a dependent clause, or a +phrase, or a word. + + 1. Chris has a new coat and it is double-breasted. + + 2. I had a dog, and his name was Scratcher. + + 3. He gave a laugh but it was forced. + + 4. The woodcock is so foolish and deliberately walks into a + trap. + + 5. The engineers fastened rafts to the piles, and which were + pulled up when the tide rose. + + 6. Students often sit all doubled up, and raising their feet + high on the table. + + 7. Dunlap is carrying a palette, but without any paint on it. + + 8. The government has been successful in its suit, and the + tobacco trust was dissolved. + + 9. The British troops had no protection against poisonous gas + and the use of gas by the enemy was unexpected. + + 10. I make it a rule to study one thing at least an hour and no + long rest between. + + 11. The concrete is spread in a layer, and this is about nine + inches thick, and the width being ten feet. + + 12. Rockwell is our postmaster, and is accommodating, but he + has a disposition to be curious. + + 13. At the Gatun Dam there are concrete locks, and the purpose + of these is to lift vessels into the lake. + + 14. They say to tourists that objects are historic but which + are not historic at all. + + 15. I was lying quietly in the hammock, and I happened to look + up in the tree, and there was a green bird and eating a cherry. + + 16. They disputed for a time, and afterward the officer became + angry, and whipped out his sword. + + 17. A mirage is an illusion and the traveler thinks he sees + water when there really is none. + +=D. Upside-down Subordination= + +In the following sentences the important idea is buried in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Rescue this main idea, express it in the main clause, +and if possible subordinate the rest of the sentence to it. + + 1. I spoke to her on the street, when she did not answer. + + 2. She thanked me for my assistance, also asking me to come and + visit her the following Sunday. + + 3. The water froze in the buckets, although they did not burst. + + 4. The crows cawed angrily and circling around in one place. + + 5. He is threatened with tuberculosis, although he will not + sleep in the open air. + + 6. We had hacked the bark, the tree dying after a few months. + + 7. One of the contestants was from Wendover College, who + received the prize. + + 8. You ask a person what a spiral staircase is, when he will go + to showing you by motions of his hand. + + 9. It was about three o'clock, and we decided to return home, + which we did. + + 10. The plumber came, stopping the leak as soon as he arrived. + + 11. Benton sold stamps, in which business he grew rich. + + 12. The sun's heat beats down upon the brick tenements, which + is terrible. + + 13. The chemist tested the purity of the water, but which he + found unfit to drink. + + 14. Montaigne wrote an essay on "Solitude," where he pointed + out the disadvantages of travel. + + 15. The house is set close to the edge of the bluff, + overlooking a wide bend of the Alleghany River. + + 16. Things had been going from bad to worse among the Indians, + and some Sioux were entertaining a few Chippewas, and murdered + them, when the government took a hand in the affair. + + 17. The slight knowledge of metals and wide-awake observation + of an inexperienced miner discovered gold in Arizona. + + + +CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +Clearness is fundamental. The writer should be content, not when his +meaning may be understood, but only when his meaning cannot be +misunderstood. He may attain this entire clearness by giving attention +to five matters: + + Reference (20-23) + Coherence (24-28) + Parallel Structure (30-31) + Consistency (32-35) + Use of Connectives (36-38) + + +REFERENCE + +By the use of pronouns, participles, and other dependent words, language +becomes flexible and free. But each dependent part must refer without +confusion to a word which is reasonably near, and properly expressed. +Ordinarily a reader expects a pronoun or a participle to refer to the +nearest noun (or pronoun) or to an emphatic noun. + + +=Divided Reference= + +=20. A pronoun should be placed near the word to which it refers, and +separated from words to which it might falsely seem to refer. If this +method does not secure clearness, discard the pronoun and change the +sentence structure.= + + Uncertain reference of _which_: He dropped the bundle in the + mud which he was carrying to his mother. [The reader for a + moment refers the pronoun to the wrong noun. Bring _which_ + nearer to its proper antecedent _bundle_.] + + Right: He dropped in the mud the bundle which he was carrying + to his mother. + + Vague reference of _this_: My failure in mathematics was + serious. My grades in English, history, and Latin were good + enough. But this brought down my average. [_This?_ What _this_? + Five nouns intrude between the pronoun _this_ and its proper + antecedent _failure_.] + + Right: In English, history, and Latin I received fairly good + grades. But in mathematics I received a failure. This brought + down my average. + + Remote reference of _it_: If you want to make a good speech, + take your hands out of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and + throw yourself into it. + + Right: If you want to make a good speech, take your hands out + of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into + what you are saying. [Or, better] Take your hands out of your + pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into the + speech. + + Ambiguous reference of _he_: John spoke to the stranger, and he + was very surly. + + Right: John spoke to the stranger, who was very surly. [Or] + John spoke in a surly manner to the stranger. + +Note.--The reference of relative and demonstrative pronouns is largely +dependent upon their position. The reference of a personal pronoun +(_he_, _she_, _they_, etc.) is not so much dependent upon its position, +the main consideration being that the antecedent shall be emphatic (See +the next article.) + + Exercise: + + 1. He was driving an old mule attached to a cart that was blind + in one eye. + + 2. There is a grimy streak on the wall over the radiator which + can be removed only with great difficulty. + + 3. The feet of Chinese girls were bandaged so tightly when they + were babies that they could not grow. + + 4. He gave me a receipt for the money which he told me to keep. + + 5. After the pictures have been taken and the film has been + removed, they are sent to the developing room where it is + developed and dried. + + +=Weak Reference= + +=21. Do not allow a pronoun to refer to a word not likely to be central +in the reader's thought; a word, for example, in the possessive case, or +in a parenthetical expression, or in a compound, or not expressed at +all. Make the pronoun refer to an emphatic word.= + + Wrong: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull + House, she always gave help. [_Poor woman_ and _Hull House_ are + the emphatic words, to which any pronoun used later is + instinctively referred by the reader.] + + Right: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull + House, she always received help. [Or] When a poor woman came to + Hull House, Jane Addams always gave help. + + Wrong: In biology, which is the study of plants and animals we + find that they are made up of unitary structures called cells. + [Since the words _plants and animals_ occur only in a + parenthetical clause, the reader is surprised to find them used + as an antecedent.] + + Right: In the study of biology we find that plants and animals + are made up of unitary structures called cells. + + Wrong: This old scissors-grinder sharpens them for the whole + neighborhood. [The center of interest in the reader's mind is a + man, not scissors.] + + Right: This old scissors-grinder sharpens scissors for the + whole neighborhood. + + Wrong: I always liked engineers, and I have chosen that as my + profession. + + Right: I always liked engineering, and I have chosen it as my + profession. + + Absurd: When the baby is through drinking milk, it should be + disconnected and put in boiling water. [The central idea in the + reader's mind is _baby_, not _milk-bottle_. The writer may have + been thinking about the _bottle_, but he did not make the word + emphatic; in fact, he did not express it at all.] + + Right: When the baby is through drinking milk, the bottle + should be taken apart and put in boiling water. + +Note.--Ordinarily, do not refer to the title in the first line of a +theme. The reader expects you to assert something, and face forward, not +to turn back to what you have said in the title. + + Faulty: Color Photography + + I am interested in this new development of science. For + a long time I ... + + Right: Color Photography + + Taking pictures in color has long appealed to me as an interesting + possibility ... + + Exercise: + + 1. In Shakespeare's play _Othello_ he makes Iago a fiend. + + 2. The noodle-cutter is a kitchen device which saves time in + making this troublesome dish. + + 3. The life of a forester is interesting, and I intend to + follow that profession. + + 4. He took down his great-grandfather's old sword, who had + carried it at Bunker Hill. + + 5. I was always making experiments in science, and I naturally + acquired a liking for periodicals of that nature. + + +=Broad Reference= + +=22. Do not use a pronoun to refer broadly to a general idea. Supply a +definite antecedent or abandon the pronoun.= + + Wrong: The tapper strikes the gong, which continues as long as + the push button is pressed. [The writer intends that _which_ + shall refer to the entire preceding clause, but the reference + is intercepted by the word _gong_.] + + Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: The tapper strikes the + gong, a process which continues as long as the push button is + pressed. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] The tapper strikes the + gong as long as the push button is pressed. + + Wrong: Read the directions which are printed on the bottle and + it may save you from making a mistake. + + Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: Read the directions + which are printed on the bottle. This precaution may save you + from making a mistake. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] Reading the + directions on the bottle may prevent a mistake. + + Wrong: The managers told him they would increase his salary if + he would represent them in South America. He refused that. + + Right: The managers told him they would increase his salary if + he would represent them in South America. He refused the offer. + +Exception.--It cannot be maintained that a pronoun must _always_ have +one definite word for its antecedent. Many of the best English authors +occasionally use a pronoun to refer to a clause. But the reference must +always be clear. + +Note.--Impersonal constructions must be used with caution. "It is +raining" is correct, although _it_ has no antecedent. We desire that the +antecedent shall be vague, impersonal. But unnecessary use of the +indefinite _it_, _you_, or _they_ should be avoided. + + Faulty: It says in our history that Columbus was an Italian. + + Right: Our history says that Columbus was an Italian. + + Not complimentary to the reader: You aren't hanged nowadays for + stealing. + + Right: No one is hanged nowadays for stealing. + + Faulty: They are noted for their tact in France. + + Right: The French are noted for their tact. + + Exercise: + + 1. You use little slang in your paper which is commendable. + + 2. They had no reinforcements which caused them to lose the + battle. + + 3. The carbon must be removed from pig iron to make pure steel, + and that is done by terrific heat. + + 4. Our stenographer spends most of her spare time at a cheap + movie theater, which is in itself an index of her character. + + 5. It says in the new rules that you aren't allowed in the + building on Sunday. + + +=Dangling Participle or Gerund= + +=23. A participle, being dependent, must refer to a noun or pronoun. The +noun or pronoun should be within the sentence which contains the +participle, and should be so conspicuous that the participle will be +associated with it instantly and without confusion.= + + Wrong: Coming in on the train, the high school building is + seen. [Is the building coming in? If not, who is?] + + Right: Coming in on the train, one sees the high school + building. + +A sentence containing a dangling participle may be corrected (1) by +giving the word to which the participle refers a conspicuous position in +the sentence, or (2) by replacing the participial phrase by some other +construction. + + Wrong: Having taken our seats, the umpire announced the + batteries. + + Right: Having taken our seats, we heard the umpire announce + the batteries. [Or] When we had taken our seats, the umpire + announced the batteries. + + Wrong: She was for a long time sick, caused by overwork. [The + participle _caused_ should not modify _sick_. A participle is + used as an adjective, and should therefore modify a noun.] + + Right--using an adjectival modifier: + + She had a long sickness, {caused by} overwork. + {due to } + + Right--using an adverbial modifier: + + {because of } + She was for a long time sick {owing to } overwork. + {on account of} + +=When a gerund phrase (_in passing_, _while speaking_ etc.) implies the +action of a special agent, indicate what the agent is. Otherwise the +phrase will be dangling.= + + Faulty: In talking to Mr. Brown the other day, he told me that + you intend to buy a car. + + Better: In talking to Mr. Brown the other day, I learned that + you intend to buy a car. + + Faulty: The address was concluded by reciting a passage from + Wordsworth. + + Better: The speaker concluded his address by reciting a passage + from Wordsworth. [Or] The address was concluded by the + recitation of a passage from Wordsworth. + +Note.--Two other kinds of dangling modifier, treated elsewhere in this +book, may be briefly mentioned here. A phrase beginning with the +adjective _due_ should refer to a noun; otherwise the phrase is left +dangling (See 5 Note). An elliptical sentence (one from which words are +omitted) is faulty when one of the elements is left dangling (See 3). + + Faulty: I was late _due_ to carelessness [Use _because of_]. + + Ludicrous: My shoestring always breaks when hurrying to the + office at eight o'clock [Say _when I am hurrying_]. + + Exercise: + + 1. Coming out of the house, a street car is seen. + + 2. While engaged in conversation with my host and hostess, my + maid placed upon the table a steaming leg of lamb. + + 3. A small quantity of gold is thoroughly mixed with a few + drops of turpentine, using the spatula to work it smooth. + + 4. After being in the oven twenty minutes, open the door. When + fully baked, you are ready to put the sauce on the pudding. + + 5. Entering the store, a soda fountain is observed. Passing + down the aisle, a candy counter comes into view. The rear of + the store is bright and pleasant, caused by a skylight. + + +COHERENCE + +The verb _cohere_ means to stick or hold firmly together. And the noun +_coherence_ as applied to writing means a close and natural sequence of +parts. Order is essential to clearness. + + +=General Incoherence= + +=24. Every part of a sentence must have a clear and natural connection +with the adjoining part. Like or related parts should normally be placed +together.= + + Bring related ideas together: Little Helen stood beside the + horse wearing white stockings and slippers. + + Right: Little Helen, in white stockings and slippers, stood + beside the horse. + + Keep unlike ideas apart: The colors of purple and green are + pleasing to the eye as found in the thistle. + + Right: The purple and green colors of the thistle are + pleasing. + + Distribute unrelated modifiers, instead of bunching them: I + found a heap of snow on my bed in the morning + which had drifted in through the window. [Subject + verb--object--place--time--explanation.] + + Right: In the morning I found on my bed + a heap of snow which had drifted in through the window. + [Time--subject verb--place--object--explanation.] + + Bring related modifiers together: When he has prepared his + lessons, he will come, as soon as he can put on his old + clothes. [Condition--main clause--condition.] + + Right: When he has prepared his lessons and put on his old + clothes, he will come. [Condition and condition--main clause.] + + Exercise: + + 1. He was gazing at the landscape which he had painted with a + smiling face. + + 2. She turned the steak with a fork which she was cooking for + dinner every few minutes. + + 3. Dickens puts the various experiences he had in the form of a + novel when he was a boy. + + 4. If the roads are made of dirt, the farmer has to wait, if + the weather is rainy, till they dry. + + 5. We received practically very little or none at all + experience in writing themes. + + +=Logical Sequence= + +=25. Place first in the sentence the idea which naturally comes first in +thought or in the order of time.= + + Faulty: We went to the station from the house after bidding all + goodby. + + Right: We said goodby to all, and went from the house to the + station. + +=Do not begin one idea, abandon it for a second, and then return to the +first. Complete one idea at a time.= + + Faulty: She looked up as he approached and smoothed her hair. + [The writer begins a main clause, changes to a subordinate + clause, and then attempts to add more to the main clause. + Unfortunately the last two verbs appear to be coördinate.] + + Right: She looked up and smoothed her hair as he approached. + [Or] As he approached she looked up, and smoothed her hair. + +=Ordinarily, let a second thought begin where the first leaves off.= + + Faulty: An orange grove requires plenty of water. The young + trees will die if they do not have plenty of water. [The order + of ideas is: "Grove ... water. Trees ... water." Reverse the + order of the second sentence.] + + Right: An orange grove requires plenty of water. For without + water the young trees will die. [Now the order of ideas is: + "Grove ... water. Water ... trees."] + + Exercise: + + 1. I boarded the train, after buying a ticket. + + 2. I dropped my pen when the whistle blew and sighed. + + 3. Unless the bank clerk has ability he will never be + successful unless he works faithfully and hard. + + 4. I remember the days when Rover was a pup. Now he is not half + so interesting as he was then. + + 5. A chessboard is divided into sixty-four squares, and there + is plenty of room between the opposing armies for a terrific + battle, since each army occupies only sixteen squares. + + +=Squinting Modifier= + +=26. Avoid the squinting construction. That is, do not place between two +parts of a sentence a modifier that may attach itself to either. Place +the modifier where it cannot be misunderstood.= + + Confusing: I told him when the time came I would do it. [_When + the time came_ is said to "squint" because the reader cannot + tell whether it looks forward to the end of the sentence, or + backward to the beginning.] + + Right: When the time came, I told him I would do it. [Or] I + told him I would do it when the time came. + + Confusing: Some friends I knew would enjoy the play. [_I knew_ + squints.] + + Right: Some friends would enjoy the play, I knew. + + Confusing: The orator whom every one was calling for + enthusiastically hurried to the platform. [_Enthusiastically_ + squints.] + + Clear: The orator whom every one was enthusiastically calling + for hurried to the platform. + + Exercise: + + 1. The man who laughs half the time does not understand the + joke. + + 2. Playing football in many ways improves the mind. + + 3. When she reached home much to her disgust the door was + locked. + + 4. When the lightning struck for the first time in my life I + was afraid. + + 5. The landlord wrote that he would if the rent were not paid + in thirty days eject the tenant. + + +=Misplaced Word= + +=27. Such an adverb as _only_, _ever_, _almost_, should be placed near +the word it modifies, and separated from words which it might falsely +seem to modify. Such a conjunction as _nevertheless_, if required with a +clause, should usually be placed near the beginning.= + + Illogical: I only need a few dollars. + + Right: I need only a few dollars. + + Illogical: I don't ever intend to go there again. + + Right: I don't intend ever to go there again. [Or] I intend + never to go there again. + + Illogical: She has the sweetest voice I nearly ever heard. + + Right: She has nearly [or _almost_] the sweetest voice I ever + heard. + + Tardy use of conjunction: I intend to try. I do not expect to + accomplish much, however. + + Right: I intend to try. I do not, however, expect to accomplish + much. + + Exercise: + + 1. Students are only admitted to one lecture. + + 2. This is the smallest book I almost ever saw. + + 3. He is so poor he hasn't any food, scarcely. + + 4. She had one dress that she never expected to wear. + + 5. The difficulties were tremendous. He said that he would do + his best, nevertheless. + + +=Split Construction= + +=28. Elements that have a close grammatical connection should not be +separated awkwardly or carelessly. These elements are: (a) subject and +verb, or verb and object; (b) the parts of a compound verb; and (c) the +parts of an infinitive.= + + Awkward: One in the struggle for efficiency should not become a + machine. + + Better: In the struggle for efficiency one should not become a + machine. + + Awkward: What use of an education could a girl who married a + penniless rogue and afterwards knew + nothing but hard labor, make? + + Better: What use of an education could a girl make who married + a penniless rogue and afterward knew nothing but hard labor? + + Crude: He was unable to even so much as stir a foot. + + Better: He was unable even to stir a foot. + +Note.--It is often desirable to separate the forms enumerated under (a) +and (b) above, either for emphasis (See 40) or to avoid a bunching of +modifiers at the end of a sentence (See 24). The whole point of rule 28 +is not to depart from a natural order needlessly. + + Exercise: + + 1. One thing the beginner must remember is to not get excited. + + 2. Ralph, when he heard the news, came flying out of the house. + + 3. The president called together, for the need was urgent, his + cabinet. + + 4. Bryce said that it is more patriotic to judiciously vote + than to frantically wave the American flag. + + 5. About the time Florence Nightingale had to give up her + plans, a war between Turkey, England, and France on one side + and Russia on the other, broke out. + + +=29.= EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Reference of Pronouns= + +In the following sentences make the reference of pronouns exact and +unmistakable. + + 1. Brown wrote to Roberts that he had made a mistake. + + 2. We heard a voice through the door which told us to enter. + + 3. There is a walk leading from the street to the house which + is made of thin slabs of stone. + + 4. A milking stool was beside the cow on which he was + accustomed to sit. + + 5. Should a community, such as a small village, spend the money + they do on roads? + + 6. This magazine prints many special articles on politics and + social reforms that are always instructive. + + 7. I wish I could do something for the protection of birds in + our country which is neglected. + + 8. After a man has failed in one business, it is no sign he + will fail in every other. + + 9. Sometimes cane syrup is mixed with the maple syrup, which + reduces the value of the product. + + 10. It means hard and diligent work to study Latin, but it + strengthens our brain or at least it gives it good exercise. + + 11. In the class room the students become acquainted, which may + develop into lifelong friendships. + + 12. He was delighted with a ride on horseback, which animal he + had been familiar with in his childhood on the farm. + + 13. It says in our history that the battle of New Orleans was + fought after the treaty of peace had been signed. + + 14. Sparks flew about in the air, and it reminded me of a huge + Fourth of July celebration. + + 15. The doctor gave me medicine to stop the dull pain in my + head. This made me feel much better. + +=B. Dangling Modifiers= + +Remembering that a participle is used as an adjective and must therefore +refer to a noun or pronoun, correct the following sentences. Gerund +phrases and a few elliptical sentences are included in the list. + + 1. Having planned the basement, the next thing considered was + the first floor. + + 2. Glancing around the room, the ugly wall paper at once + confronted me. + + 3. After ringing the bell, and waiting a few moments, a maid + came to the door. + + 4. When selecting a site for an orchard, it should be well + drained. + + 5. Not being a skilled dancer, my feet moved awkwardly. + + 6. Having no watch, the clock must be consulted. + + 7. He was sick, caused by eating too much dessert. + + 8. Radium is very difficult to get, making it the most valuable + metal. + + 9. One man goes home and beats his wife, resulting in internal + injuries. + + 10. Over the paper and kindling a few small chunks of coal are + scattered, taking care not to choke the draft. + + 11. In speaking of character, it does not mean to be a governor + or a general. + + 12. This town draws trade for a radius of twenty miles, thus + accounting for the large volume of business. + + 13. While talking to Ralph yesterday, he spoke about his recent + success in the hardware business. + + 14. The bus holds fifteen people, and when full, the bus man + shuts the door. + + 15. If bright and pleasant, the rabbit will be found sitting at + the entrance of his burrow. + +=C. Coherence= + +Secure a clear, smooth, natural order for the following sentences. + + 1. I have a lot for sale near the city limits. + + 2. Many men can only speak their native tongue. + + 3. I saw yesterday, crossing the street, a beautiful woman. + + 4. They entered the room, and sitting on the floor they saw a + baby. + + 5. I put down my book when the clock struck and yawned. + + 6. She dropped the money on the sidewalk which she was carrying + home. + + 7. The horse did not notice that the gate was open for several + minutes. + + 8. It was worth the trouble. I do not wish to have the + experience again, however. + + 9. My first trip away from home, of any distance, was made on a + steamboat from St. Louis to New Orleans. + + 10. He gazed at a young man who was waving his hands violently, + called a cheer leader. + + 11. Any soil will grow some variety of strawberry, except sand + and clay. + + 12. I turned triumphantly to Will, who was still gazing at the + place where the muskrat sank with a beaming face. + + 13. Only the interest, the principal being kept intact, is + spent. + + 14. A student should see that external conditions are favorable + for study, such as light, temperature, and clothing. + + 15. Draw a heavy line using a ruler to connect New York and San + Francisco across the map. + + +PARALLEL STRUCTURE + +When the structure of a sentence is simple and uniform, the important +words strike the eye at once. Compare the following: + + Parallel: Beggars must not be choosers. + + Confusing: Beggars must not be the one who choose. + +A reader gives attention partly to the structure of a sentence, and +partly to the thought. The less we puzzle him with our structure, the +more we shall impress him with our thought. + + Parallel: Seeing is believing. [Attention goes to the thought.] + + Confusing: Seeing is to believe. [Attention is diverted to + _structure_.] + +The reader's expectation is that uniform structure shall accompany +uniform ideas, and that a departure from uniformity shall indicate a +change of thought. + + +=Parallel Structure for Parallel Thoughts= + +=30. Give parallel structure to those parts of a sentence which are +parallel in thought. Do not needlessly interchange an infinitive with a +participle, a phrase with a clause, a single word with a phrase or +clause, a main clause with a dependent clause, one voice or mode of the +verb with another, etc.= + + Faulty: Riding is sometimes better exercise than to walk. + + Right: Riding is sometimes better exercise than walking. [Or] + To ride is sometimes better exercise than to walk. + + Faulty: He had two desires, of which the first was for money; + in the second place, he wanted fame. + + Right: He had two desires, of which the first was for money and + the second for fame. [Or] He had two desires: in the first + place, he wanted money; in the second, fame. + + Faulty: His rival handled cigars of better quality and having a + higher selling price. + + Right: His rival handled cigars of better quality and higher + price. + + Faulty: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, + and after a little practice you will be a good driver. + + Right: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, + and had a little practice, you will be a good driver. [Or] + After you master the gears and have a little practice, you will + be a good driver. + + Faulty. These are the duties of the president of a literary + society: + + (a) To preside at regular meetings, + (b) He calls special meetings, + (c) Appointment of committees. + + Right: These are the duties of the president of a literary + society: + + (a) To preside at regular meetings, + (b) To call special meetings, + (c) To appoint committees. + + Faulty: She was actively connected with the club, church, and + with several organized charities. [Here parallelism is obscured + by the omission from the second phrase of both the preposition + and the article.] + + Right: She was actively connected with the club, with the + church, and with several organized charities. + + Faulty: He was red-faced, awkward, and had a disposition to eat + everything on the table. [The third element is like the others + in thought, and should have similar form.] + + Right: He had a red face, an awkward manner, and a disposition + to eat everything on the table. [Or] He was red-faced, awkward, + and voracious. + +Note.--Avoid misleading parallelism. For ideas _different_ in kind, do +_not_ use parallel structure. + + Wrong: He was hot, puffing, and evidently had run very hard. + [The third element is unlike the others in thought; hence the + _and_ is misleading.] + + Right: He was hot and puffing; evidently he had run very hard. + + Confusing: He was admired for his knowledge of science, and for + his taste for art, and for this I too honor him. [The last + _for_ gives a false parallelism to unlike thoughts.] + + Better: He was admired for his scientific knowledge and for his + artistic taste. I honor him for both these qualities. + + Exercise: + + 1. The duties of the secretary are to answer correspondence, + and keeping the minutes of the meetings. + + 2. This process is the most difficult; it costs the most; and + is most important. + + 3. I make it a rule to be orderly, spend no money foolishly, + and keep still when I have nothing to say. + + 4. The cotton is put up in bales about five feet in length and + three feet wide and four thick, and one of them weighing about + five hundred pounds. + + 5. Considerations of economy that one should bear in mind when + planning a house are: first, a rectangular ground-plan; second, + a one-chimney plan; third, to have only one stairway; fourth, + eliminate as many doors as possible; fifth, the bathroom should + be above the kitchen so as to reduce the cost of plumbing; and + lastly, the rooms should be few and large rather than small and + many of them. + + +=Correlatives= + +Conjunctions that are used in pairs are called correlatives; for +example, _not only_ ... _but also_ ..., _both_ ... _and_ +..., _either_ ... _or_ ..., _neither_ ... _nor_ ..., _not_ ... _or_ ..., +_whether_ ... _or_ .... + +=31. Correlatives should usually be followed by elements parallel in +form; if a predicate follows one, a predicate should follow the other; +if a prepositional phrase follows one, a prepositional phrase should +follow the other; and so on.= + + Faulty: He was not only courteous to rich customers but also to + poor ones. [Here the phrases intended to be balanced against + each other are _to rich customer's_ and _to poor ones_. As the + sentence stands, it is the word _courteous_ that is balanced + against _to poor ones_.] + + Right: He was courteous not only to rich customers but also to + poor ones. + + Faulty: She could neither make up her mind to go nor could she + decide to stay. + + Right: She could neither make up her mind to go nor decide to + stay. [Or] She could not make up her mind either to go or to + stay. + + Faulty: I talked both with Brown and Miller. [Here one + conjunction is followed by a preposition and the other by a + noun.] + + Right: I talked with both Brown and Miller. [Or] I talked both + with Brown and with Miller. + + Exercise: + + 1. He was courteous to both friends and his enemies. + + 2. Such conduct is not only dangerous to society but becomes a + national disgrace as well. + + 3. She had neither affectation of manners nor was she + sharp-tongued. + + 4. After reading Thoreau's _Walden_ I appreciate not only the + style but also I am inclined to believe in his ideas. + + 5. The good that the delegates derive from the convention not + only helps them, but they tell others what happened. + + +CONSISTENCY + +=Shift in Subject or Voice= + +=32. Do not needlessly shift the subject, voice, or mode in the middle of +a sentence. Keep one point of view, until there is a reason for +changing.= + + Faulty: In the stream which the road led over, fish were + plentiful. [Here the first mental picture is of a stream. Then + the thought is jerked away to the road above. Then it returns + to the fish in the stream.] + + Right: In the stream which flowed under the roadway, fish were + plentiful. + + Faulty: Mark Twain was born in the West, but the East was his + home in later years. [The change of subject is uncalled for.] + + Right: Mark Twain was born in the West, but lived in the East + in his later years. [Or] The West was the birthplace of Mark + Twain, and the East was his home in his later years. + + Faulty: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of + gasoline, and at the same time very little lubricating oil is + used. [The shift from active to passive voice is awkward and + confusing.] + + Right: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of + gasoline, and at the same time use very little lubricating oil. + + Faulty: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when we wish + to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of + mathematics is indispensable. + + Right: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when certain + formulas are to be calculated, a knowledge of mathematics is + indispensable. [Or] When we face a problem in chemistry, or + wish to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of + mathematics is indispensable. + + Faulty: Next the ground should be harrowed. Then you sow the + wheat. [The subject changes from _ground_ to _you_. One verb + explains what _should_ be done, the other what somebody + _does_.] + + {is } + Right: Next the ground { } harrowed. Then it + {should be} + {is } + { } sown to wheat. [Or] Next you should harrow + {should be} + the ground. Then you should sow the wheat. + + Exercise: + + 1. One end of a camera carries the film, and the lens and + shutter are in the other end. + + 2. When an athlete is in training, good healthful food should + be eaten. + + 3. An engineer's time is not devoted to one branch of science, + but should include many. + + 4. By having only five men in charge of our city government, + they would have more power, and we could then fix + responsibility. + + 5. There are two main classes of cake, sponge and butter. We + are taught to make both in cooking school. I like the sponge + cake. The butter cake is preferred by most persons. + + +=Shift in Number, Person, or Tense= + +=33. Avoid an inconsistent change in number, person, or tense.= + + Faulty change in number: One should save their money. + + Right: People should save their money. [Or] A man should save + his money. + + Faulty change in person: Place the seeds in water, and in a few + days a person can see that they have started to grow. + + Right: Place the seeds in water, and in a few days you will see + that they have started to grow. + + Faulty change in number: Take your umbrella with you. They will + be needed today. + + Right: Take your umbrella with you. You will need it today. + + Faulty change in tense: Freedom means that a man may conduct + his affairs as he pleases so long as he did not injure anybody + else. + + Right: Freedom means that a man may conduct his affairs as he + pleases so long as he does not injure anybody else. + + Faulty change in tense: When he heard the news, he hurries down + town and buys a paper. + + Right: When he heard the news, he hurried down town and bought + a paper. + +Note.--A change of tense within a sentence is desirable and necessary in +certain instances, for which see 55. + +Sometimes, for the sake of vividness, past events are described in the +present tense, as if they were taking place before our eyes. This usage +is called the _historical present_. A shift to the historical present +should not be made abruptly, or frequently, or for any subject except an +important crisis. + + Exercise: + + 1. A person should be careful of their conduct. + + 2. Sentences should be so formed that the reader feels it to be + a unit. + + 3. One should make the best of their surroundings and their + possessions, provided they cannot better them. + + 4. When he sees me coming, he looked the other way. + + 5. Silas Marner lost many of his habits of solitude, and goes + out among his neighbors. + + +=Mixed Constructions= + +=34. Do not make a compromise between two constructions.= + + Faulty: I cannot help but go. + + Right: I cannot help going. [Or] I cannot but go. [Or] I can + but go. + + Faulty: They are as following: + + Right: They are as follows: [Or] They are the following: + + Faulty: He tried, but of no avail. + + Right: He tried, but to no avail. [Or] He tried, but his effort + was of no avail. + + Faulty: There is no honor to be on this committee. + + Right: It is no honor to be on this committee. [Or] There is no + honor in being on this committee. + + Faulty: Sparks from the chimney caught the house on fire. + + Right: Sparks from the chimney set the house on fire. [Or] The + house caught fire from the sparks from the chimney. + +Note.--The double negative and kindred expressions (_not hardly_, _not +scarcely_, etc.) are an especially gross form of mixed construction. + + Wrong: He isn't no better now than he was then. [Logically, not + no better means _better_. The two negatives cancel each other + and leave an affirmative.] + + Right: He isn't any better now than he was then. [Or] He is no + better now than he was then. + + Wrong: She couldn't see her friend nowhere. + + Right: She couldn't see her friend anywhere. [Or] She could see + her friend nowhere. + + Wrong: We couldn't hardly see through the mist. + + Right: We could hardly see through the mist. [Or] We couldn't + see well through the mist. + + Exercise: + + 1. He doesn't come here no more. + + 2. I cannot help but make this error. + + 3. I remember scarcely nothing of the occurrence. + + 4. I would not remain there only a few days. + + 5. John would not do this under no circumstances. + + +=Mixed Imagery= + +=35. Avoid phrases which may call up conflicting mental images. When +using metaphor, simile, etc., carry one figure of speech through, +instead of shifting to another, or dropping suddenly back into literal +speech.= + + Crude: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the heart of + the cotton belt. + + Right: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the South. + + Crude: He traveled a rough road and climbed with his burden the + ladder of success, where he is a glowing example and guide to + other men. [The suggestion which a reader with a sense of humor + may get is, that a man starts out as a traveler, suddenly + becomes a hod-carrier, and is then transformed into a bonfire + or a lighthouse.] + + Right: He traveled a rough road, but found success. Other men + followed in his steps. + + Incongruous: Spring came scattering flowers, and there was rain + a great per cent of the time. [This sentence mingles the + language of poetry with the language of science. It should be + fanciful, or else literal, throughout.] + + Right: Spring came scattering flowers and rain. [Or] Spring + came with much rain and many flowers. + + Inconsistent use of irony: The phonograph was shrieking, "Waltz + me around again, Willie." I am sure I love that beautiful song. + The taste of the people who attend these cheap theaters is + deplorable. [The three sentences should be ironical throughout, + or not ironical at all.] + + Exercise: + + 1. We should meet the future from the optimistic point of view. + + 2. General Wolfe put every ounce of his life into the capture + of Quebec. + + 3. A key-note of sincerity should be the mainspring of a + well-built speech. + + 4. He went drifting down the sands of time on flowery beds of + ease. + + 5. The blank in my mind crystallized into action. + + +USE OF CONNECTIVES + +=The Exact Connective= + +=36. Use a connective which expresses the exact relation between two +clauses. Distinguish between time and cause, concession and condition, +etc. Do not overwork _and_, _so_, or _while_.= + + Misleading: _While_ he is sick, he is able to walk. [Use + _though_.] + + Misleading: Miss Brown sang, _while_ her sister spoke a piece. + [Use _but_.] + + Faulty. Work hard _when_ you want to succeed. [Use _if_.] + + Faulty: They will be sorry _without_ they do this. [Use + _unless_.] + + Faulty: Little poetry is read, _only_ at times when it is + compulsory. [Use _except_.] + + Faulty. The early morning and evening are the best times to + find ducks, _and_ we did not see many flying. [Use _and for + that reason_.] + + Faulty: Corbin says: "In America sportsmanship is almost a + passion," _and_ in England "the player very seldom forgets that + he is a man first and an athlete afterward." [Use _whereas_.] + +Note.--_So_ is an elastic word that covers a multitude of vague +meanings. Language has need of such a word, and in many instances +(especially when the relation between clauses is obvious and does not +need to be pointed out) _so_ serves well enough. Use it, but not as a +substitute for more exact connectives. Beware of falling into the +"_so_-habit." + + Abuse of _so_ as a vague coördinating connective: So I went to + call on Mrs. Woods, and so she told me about Mrs. White's new + gown; so then I missed the car, and so of course our supper is + late. [Strike out every _so_.] + + Abuse of _so_ as a subordinating connective: You may go, _so_ + you keep still. [Use _provided_.] _So_ you do only that, I + shall be satisfied. [Use _though_.] + + Permissible: I was excited, so I missed the target. + +_So_ may sometimes be used to express result. But when a clause of +result is important and needs emphasis, it is perhaps better to strike +out _so_ and subordinate the preceding clause. + + Right: In my excitement I missed the target. + + Right: Because I was excited, I missed the target. + + Right: Being excited, I missed the target. + + +=List of Connectives= + +=A. With Coördinate Clauses, expressing= + + =1. Addition:= and, besides, furthermore, again, in addition, in + like manner, likewise, moreover, then too, and finally. + + =2. Contrast:= but, and yet, however, in spite of, in contrast to + this, nevertheless, notwithstanding, nor, on the contrary, for + all that, rather still, but unhappily, yet unfortunately, + whereas. + + =3. Alternative:= or, nor, else, otherwise, neither, nor, or on + the other hand. + + =4. Consequence:= therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, in + this way, it follows that, the consequence is, and under such + circumstances, wherefore, thus, as a result, as a consequence. + + =5. Explanation:= for example, for instance, in particular, more + specifically, for, because. + + =6. Repetition for emphasis:= in other words, that is to say, and + assuredly, certainly, in fact, and in truth, indeed it is + certain, undoubtedly, for example, in the same way, as I have + said. + +=B. With Subordinate Adverb Clauses, expressing= + + =1. Time:= when, then, before, while, after, until at last, as + long as, now that, upon which, until, whenever, whereupon, + meanwhile. + + =2. Place:= where, whence, whither, wherever. + + =3. Degree or Comparison:= as, more than, rather than, than, to + the degree in which. + + =4. Manner:= as, as if, as though. + + =5. Cause:= because, for, as, inasmuch as, since, owing to the + fact that, seeing that, in that. + + =6. Purpose:= that, so that, in order that, lest. + + =7. Result:= that is, so that, but that. + + =8. Condition:= if, provided that, in case that, on condition + that, supposing that, unless. + + =9. Concession:= though, although, assuming that, admitting that, + granting that, even if, no matter how, notwithstanding, of + course. + +=C. With Adjective Clauses.= Adjective or relative clauses are introduced +by who, which, that, or an equivalent compound. + + Exercise: + + Insert within the parentheses all the connectives that might + conceivably be used, and underscore the one which you consider + to be most exact: + + 1. He is not a broad-minded man; ( ) he has many prejudices. + + 2. A number of friends came in, bringing refreshments, ( ) + we spent a delightful evening. + + 3. We ought to return now, for it is growing dark; ( ) I + told Mary we would be home at six o'clock. + + 4. I do not believe that climate is responsible for many of the + differences between races, ( ) Taine says that it is. + + 5. She took the letter from me and read it slowly, ( ) her + eyes filled with tears. + + + +=Repetition of Connective with a Gain in Clearness= + +=37. Connectives that accompany a parallel series should be repeated when +clearness requires.= + + Preposition to be repeated: He was regarded as a hero by all + who had known him at school, and especially his old school + mates. + + Right: He was regarded as a hero _by_ all who had known him at + school, and especially _by_ his old school mates. + + Sign of the infinitive to be repeated: He wishes to join with + those who love freedom and justice, and end needless suffering. + + Right: He wishes _to_ join with those who love freedom and + justice, and _to_ end needless suffering. + + Conjunction to be repeated: Since he was known to have + succeeded in earlier enterprises, though confronted by + difficulties that would have taxed the ability of older men, + and his powers were now acknowledged to be mature, he was put + in charge of the undertaking. + + Right: _Since_ he was known to have succeeded in earlier + enterprises, though confronted by difficulties that would have + taxed the ability of older men, and _since_ his powers were now + acknowledged to be mature, he was put in charge of the + undertaking. + + Conjunction to be repeated: He explained that the strikers + asked only a fair hearing, since their contentions were + misunderstood; were by no means in favor of the violent + measures to which the public had grown accustomed; and had no + desire to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property. + + Right: He explained _that_ the strikers asked only a fair + hearing, since their contentions were misunderstood; _that_ + they were by no means in favor of the violent measures to which + the public had grown accustomed; and _that_ they had no desire + to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property. + + Exercise: + + 1. The place is often visited by fishermen who catch some + strange varieties of fish and especially summer tourists. + + 2. The worth of a man depends upon his character, not his + possessions. 3. He was delighted with that part of the city + which overlooked the harbor and bay, and especially the citadel + on the highest point. + + 4. Although he was so youthful in appearance that the + recruiting officer must have known he was under twenty-one, and + had not yet become a fully naturalized citizen, his effort to + enlist met with immediate success. + + 5. In the course of his speech he said that he was a foreigner, + he came to this country when he was fourteen years old, landing + in New York with his only possessions tied in a handkerchief, + went to work in an iron foundry, and after many years of toil + he found himself at the head of a great industry. + + +=Repetition of Connective with a Loss in Clearness= + +=38. Do not complicate thought by persistent repetition of elements +beginning with _that_, _which_, _of_, _for_, or _but_, and NOT parallel +in structure.= + + Complicated repetition of _that_: He gave a quarter to the boy + that brought the paper that printed the news that the war was + ended. [_That_, _which_, and _who_ are often used carelessly to + form a chain of subordinate clauses. Three successive + subordinations are all that a reader can possibly keep + straight; ordinarily a writer should not exceed two. But in + parallel structure (See 30 and 37) the number of _that_, + _which_, or _who_ clauses does not matter; a writer may + fill a page with them and not confuse the reader at all.] + + Right: He gave the boy a quarter for bringing him the paper + with the news that the war was ended. + + Complicated repetition of _of_: The East Side Civics Club is an + organization of helpers of the helpless of the lower classes of + the city. + + Right: The East Side Civics Club is organized to help the + helpless poor of the city. + + Complicated repetition of _for_: The general was dismayed, for + he had not expected resistance, for he had thought the power of + the enemy was shattered. + + Right: The general was dismayed; he had not expected + resistance, for he had thought the power of the enemy was + shattered. + + Complicated repetition of _but_: He was undoubtedly a brave + man, but now he was somewhat alarmed, but he would not turn + back. + + Right: He was undoubtedly a brave man; though now somewhat + alarmed, he would not turn back. [Or] He was undoubtedly a + brave man. He was now somewhat alarmed, but he would not turn + back. + +Note.--Guard against the _but_-habit. Frequent recurrence of _but_ makes +the reader's thought "tack" or change its course too often. There are +ways to avoid an excessive use of _but_ and _however_. When one wishes +to write about two things, A and B, which are opposed, he need not rush +back and forth from one idea to the other. Let him first say all he +wants to say about A. Then let him deliberately use the adversative +_but_, and proceed to the discussion of B. In the following paragraph on +"Whipping Children" the writer tries to be on both sides of the fence at +once. + + Confusing: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed, than + to explain and argue. _But_ the gentler method is better. _Yet_ + we all admit that the birch must be used sometimes. _However_, + if it is used only for serious trangressions, the child will + have a sense of proportion regarding what offenses are grave. + _But_ for ordinary small misdemeanors I think we need a new + motto: Spoil the rod and spare the child. + + Right: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed than to + explain and argue. And of course we all admit that the birch + must be used sometimes. _But_ if it is used only for serious + transgressions, the child will have a sense of proportion + regarding what offenses are grave. For ordinary small + misdemeanors I think we need a new motto: Spoil the rod and + spare the child. + + Exercise: + + 1. He did not agree at first, but hesitated for a time, but + finally said that he would go along. + + 2. Push down on the foot lever, which closes a switch which + starts an electric motor which turns the flywheel so that the + gasoline engine starts. + + 3. Apple dumplings are good, but they must be properly baked, + but fortunately this is not difficult to do. + + 4. The work of the course consists partly of the study of the + principles of grammar and of rhetoric, partly of the writing of + themes, partly of oral composition, and partly of the reading + and study of models of English prose. + + 5. The landscape which lay before me was one which was + different from any which I had ever seen before. There was one + thing which impressed me, and that was the miles and miles of + grass which stretched and undulated away from the hill on which + I stood. + + +=39.= EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Parallel Structure= + +Give parallel structure to elements which are parallel in thought. + + 1. Baskets are of practical value as well as being used for + ornaments. + + 2. The Book of Job ought to be interesting to a student, or for + anybody. + + 3. The important considerations are whether the soil is sandy, + and if it is well drained, and that it shall be easily + cultivated. + + 4. A flower garden is a source of profit--profit not measured + in money but in pleasure. + + 5. He was successful in business, and also attained success in + the political world. + + 6. Whether his object was writing for pastime, or to please a + friend, or money, we do not know. + + 7. Always praise your enemy, because if you whip him your glory + is increased, and if he whips you it lets you down easy. + + 8. Either the ship will sink in the rough sea or go to pieces + on the shore. + + 9. An athlete must possess strength, nerve, and be able to + think quickly. + + 10. We were interested in buying some dry-goods, and at the + same time see the sights of the great city. + + 11. Some people talk foolishness, and others on serious + subjects, and some keep still. + + 12. Not only she noticed my condition, but commented on it. + + 13. He abides by neither the laws of God nor man. He spoke both + to Harry and Tom. + + 14. It is good for the health of one's mind to get new ideas + every day, and expressing them clearly in writing. + + 15. Everyone who is capable of understanding the tax laws + should know them and how they are abused. + + 16. I began by making applications at federal, state, and city + employment bureaus for a position as cost accountant, salesman, + or clerical work. + + 17. The damage to the trunk was caused by rough handling and + not from faults in construction. + + 18. Pope, Swift, Addison, and Defoe were four satirists, but + differing greatly in their work. + + 19. The occupants of these buildings are engaged in various + kinds of business, namely: shoe-shining, shoe repair shops, + cleaning and pressing clothes, confectionery stores, and + restaurants. + + 20. I sing of geese: of the Biblical goose, that blew his bugle + from the roof of Noah's Ark; the classical goose that picked + his livelihood along the shores of the Ægean; of the + historical goose, that squawked to save old Rome; the mercenary + goose, laying the golden egg; and, finally, of the roast goose. + +=B. Shift in Subject or Voice= + +Rewrite the following sentences, avoiding all unnecessary shift in +construction. + + 1. After you decide on the plan of the house, your attention is + turned to the materials of construction. + + 2. Editors are careful to use words that are exact, yet simple, + and the use of technical terms is not generally considered to + be good. + + 3. Bank accounts should be balanced once a month in order that + you may know your exact standing. + + 4. We should have our athletic contest between the weakest + students, and in that way they will become physically strong. + + 5. When one is making a long-distance run, several cautions + should be borne in mind by him. + + 6. In melody the poem is good, but the author's ideas are + eccentric. + + 7. Lincoln's sentences are plain, blunt, and to the point. He + lacks the ornate eloquence of Jefferson. + + 8. The operator places a large shovelful of concrete in the + mold, and the mixture is made solid by tamping. + + 9. He might become angry, but it was over in a few minutes. + + 10. The pauper chanced to gain entrance to the royal palace, + and while there the young prince is met by him. + + 11. When the weather is hot, plowing is accomplished very + slowly with horses, while on the tractor the heat has no + effect. + + 12. First, one should mix one-half cup of corn syrup and one + cup of brown sugar; then one cup of cream and the flavoring are + added. + + 13. In the college situated in a small town there are + dormitories for the student, but in the cities they usually + room where they please. + + 14. An education should enable us to tell the valuable from + the cheap book, and by it we should be able to tell the true + from the counterfeit man. + + 15. Moisten the sand thoroughly and set the box in a warm + place, and in about a week's time it can readily be seen by the + way the grains have sprouted which ears of seed corn have + greatest vitality. + +=C. Shift in Number, Person, or Tense= + +Rewrite the following sentences, removing all inconsistency in +grammatical form. + + 1. Every one has a right to their own opinion. + + 2. Bryant rushed to the window and shouts at the postman. + + 3. The life of the honey bee has been studied, and their + activities found to be remarkable. + + 4. He says to me, "Are you ready?" And I answered, "No." + + 5. When a person keeps a store, you should remember the names + and faces of your customers. + + 6. An automobile is expensive, and they are liable to become an + elephant on your hands. + + 7. If one studies the market, he would find that prices rise + every year. + + 8. If one went to Europe, he will find everything different. + + 9. Since these tires were different in construction, the method + of repairing will vary. + + 10. Contentment is a state of mind in which one is satisfied + with themselves and their surroundings. + + 11. It is easy to catch 'possums if you can find the rascal. + + 12. The writer of a theme should not waste time on a long + introduction, and get to the facts of your subject as quickly + as possible. + + 13. Shakespeare's comedies are great fun. I prefer it to + tragedy. + + 14. Often a man will knock at the door, and finds no one at + home. + + 15. Too much attention will spoil a child. They should not be + entertained every minute. + +=D. The Exact Connective= + +Each of the following sentences contains an idea which is, or may be, +subordinate to another idea. (1) Decide what kind of subordinate +relation should exist between the ideas. (2) Determine what connective +best expresses this relation. (Consult 36 for a list of connectives.) +(3) Write the sentence as it should be. + + 1. Wealth is a good thing, while honest wealth is better. + + 2. Spend an hour in the open air every day when you want to + keep your health. + + 3. The rattlesnake gives warning and it is only afterward that + he strikes. + + 4. South Americans are our national neighbors, and we as a + nation should understand them. + + 5. The city man knows nothing about a cow, only that it has + horns. + + 6. He got up early in order that he might be able to see the + sunrise. + + 7. The tenderfoot saw the funnel-shaped cloud when he made for + a cyclone cellar. + + 8. Men fear what they do not understand, and a coward is one + who is ignorant. + + 9. Hinting did not influence her; then he tried scolding. + + 10. The valet spilled the wine, and the duke started up with an + oath. + + 11. While he writhed on the ground, he was not really hurt. + + 12. He will not cash the check without you indorse it. + + 13. We want this work done by the first of April, so please + send an estimate soon. + + 14. He had traveled everywhere, and he had a vivid recollection + of only three scenes: Niagara Falls, the Jungfrau, and Lake + Como. + + 15. I never hear him talk but he makes me angry. + + 16. Animals have some of the same feelings as human beings + have. + + 17. It was four o'clock and we decided to return and be home + for supper. + +=E. Repetition of Connectives= + +In the following sentences determine whether repetition is desirable or +undesirable, and change the sentences accordingly. + + 1. With the coming of meal time, the potatoes are removed from + the fire with a fork with a long handle. + + 2. His clothes were brushed and neat, but patched and + repatched. But still he could be bright and cheery. + + 3. To no other magazine do I look forward to the arrival of its + new issue, more than I do to the _World's Work_. + + 4. At the time the book was written, I believe Forster was + considered to be almost the best biographer living at that + time. + + 5. The freshman has no spirit until the sophomores have + provoked him until he resists until he finds that he has + spirit. + + 6. Some socialists are against the present system of + initiative, referendum, and recall, but advocate a system much + like it but applied in a different way. + + 7. The gun with which the Germans bombarded Paris with had a + range of seventy-five miles. + + 8. Basketball is a game that I have played for years, and I am + greatly interested in. + + 9. This is the lever which throws the switch which directs the + train that takes the track that goes to Boston. + + 10. Short talks were made by the captain, the coach, and by the + faculty. + + 11. At this school one can study to be a doctor, dentist, + farmer, a lawyer, or an engineer. + + 12. I like to cross the harbor on the ferry, to dodge in and + out among the ships, see the gulls dart among the waves, smell + the sharp tang of salty air, and to feel the rocking motion of + the boat. + + 13. In the sultry autumn, and when the winter's storms came, + and when in spring the winds whistled, and in the summer's + heat, he always wore the same old coat. + + 14. He knew that if he did not ignite the piece of wet bark + this time, that he could not dry his clothing or broil the + bacon. + + 15. The next speaker said that the need was critical, the + schools must be enlarged, and that the paving now begun must be + completed, and a new board of health should be created, that + the interest on past debts had to be paid, and the city + treasury was at this moment out of funds. + + + + +EMPHASIS + + +=Emphasis by Position= + +=40. Reserve the emphatic positions in a sentence for important words or +ideas. (The emphatic positions are the beginning and the end--especially +the end.)= + + Weak ending: Then like a flash a vivid memory of my uncle's + death came to me. + + Weak: I demand the release of the prisoners, in the first + place. + + Weak: This principle is one we cannot afford to accept, if my + understanding of the question is correct. + +Place the important idea at the end. Secure, if possible, an emphatic +beginning. "Tuck in" unimportant modifiers. + + Emphatic: Like a flash came to me a vivid memory of my uncle's + death. + + Emphatic: I demand, in the first place, the release of the + prisoners. + + Emphatic: This principle, if my understanding of the question + is correct, is one we cannot afford to accept. + + Exercise: + + 1. "War is inevitable," he said. + + 2. The cat had been poisoned to all appearances. + + 3. There are several methods of learning to swim, as everyone + knows. + + 4. A liar is as bad as a thief, in my estimation. + + 5. He saw a fight below him in the street, happening to look + out of the window. + + +=Emphasis by Separation= + +=41. An idea which needs much emphasis may be detached, and allowed to +stand in a sentence by itself.= + + Faulty: The flames were by this time beyond control, and the + walls collapsed, and several firemen were hurt. [The ideas here + are too important to be run together in one sentence.] + + Right: By this time the flames were beyond control, and the + walls collapsed. Several firemen were hurt. + +A quotation gains emphasis when it is separated from what follows. + + + Faulty: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men + Gang aft a-gley," + + are some lines from Burns which McDonald was always quoting. + + Right: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men + Gang aft a-gley." + + McDonald was always quoting these lines from Burns. + +Direct discourse is more emphatic when it is separated from explanatory +phrases, particularly from those which follow. + + Faulty: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted defiantly, "I + will never consent to that!" and he looked as if he meant what + he said. + + Right: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted his defiance: "I + will never agree to that!" And he looked as if he meant what he + said. + + Exercise: + + 1. After the tents are pitched, the beds made, and the fires + started, the first meal is cooked and served, and this meal is + the beginning of camp-life joy. + + 2. He tried to make his wife vote for his own, the Citizen's + Party, but she firmly refused. + + 3. At the word of command the dog rushed forward; the covey + rose with a mighty whir, and the hunter fired both barrels, and + the dog looked in vain for a dead bird, and then returned + disconsolate. + + 4. I sat and gazed at the motto, "Aim high, and believe + yourself capable of great things," which my mother had placed + there for me. + + 5. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, + A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, and Thou + Beside me singing in the Wilderness." + + were the four things Omar Khayyam wanted to make him happy. + + +=Emphasis by Subordination= + +=42. Do not place the important idea of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Make the important idea grammatically independent. If +possible, subordinate the rest of the sentence to it.= + + Faulty: He had a manner which made me angry. + + Faulty: The fire spread to the third story, when the house was + doomed. + + Faulty: For years the Indians molested the white people, + thereby causing the settlers to want revenge. + +The important idea should not be placed in a _which_ clause, or a _when_ +clause, or a participial phrase. + + Right: His manner made me angry. + + Right: When the fire spread to the third story, the house was + doomed. + + Right: Years of molestation by the Indians made the white men + want revenge. + + Exercise: + + 1. I was riding on the train, when suddenly there was an + accident. + + 2. There are two windows in each bedroom, thus insuring good + ventilation. + + 3. Yonder is the house which is my home. + + 4. He saw that argument was useless, so he let her talk. + + 5. His clothes were very old, making him look like a tramp. + + +=The Periodic Sentence= + +A sentence is periodic when the completion of the main thought is +delayed until the end. This delay creates a feeling of suspense. A +periodic sentence is doubly emphatic: it has emphasis by position +because the important idea comes at the end; it has emphasis by +subordination because all ideas except the last one are grammatically +dependent. + + +=43. To give emphasis to a loosely constructed sentence, turn it into +periodic form.= + + Loose: I saw two men fight a duel, many years ago, on a moonlit + summer night, in a little village in northern France. [What is + most important, the time? the place? or the actual duel? Place + the important idea last.] + + Periodic: Many years ago, on a moonlit summer night, in a + little village in northern France, I saw two men fight a duel. + + Loose: We left Yellowstone Gateway for the ride of our lives in + a six-horse tally-ho. [Place the important idea last, _and make + all other ideas grammatically subordinate_.] + + Periodic: Leaving Yellowstone Gateway in a six-horse tally-ho, + we had the ride of our lives. + + Loose: The river was swollen with incessant rain, and it swept + away the dam. [Which is the important idea? Why not make it + appear more important by subordinating everything to it?] + + Periodic: The river, swollen with incessant rain, swept away + the dam. + + Loose: War means to have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness + rudely broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, + to saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national + hatred. + + Periodic: To have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness rudely + broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, to + saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national + hatred--this is war. + + Exercise: + + 1. I am happy when the spring comes, when the sun is warm, when + the fields revive. + + 2. He cares nothing for culture, for justice, for progress. + + 3. As the boat gathered speed, the golden sun was setting far + across the harbor. + + 4. He amassed a great fortune, standing there behind his dingy + counter, discounting bills, pinching coins, buying cheap and + selling dear. + + 5. The shattered aqueducts, pier beyond pier, melt into the + darkness, from the plains to the mountains. + + +=Order of Climax= + +=44. In a series of words, phrases, or clauses of noticeable difference +in strength, use the order of climax.= + + Wrong order: He was insolent and lazy. + + Weak ending: Literature has expanded into a sea, where before + it was only a small stream. + + Weak ending: As we listened to his story we felt the sordid + misery and the peril and fear of war. + + Emphatic: He was lazy and insolent. + + Emphatic: The stream of literature has swollen into a torrent, + expanded into a sea. + + Emphatic: As we listened to his story we felt the fear, the + peril, the sordid misery of war. + + Exercise: + + 1. We boarded the train, after having bought our tickets and + checked our baggage. + + 2. War brings famine, death, disease after it. + + 3. They have broken up our homes, enslaved our children, and + stolen our property. + + 4. In the old story, the drunken man, carried into the duke's + palace, sees himself surrounded with luxury, and imagines + himself a true prince, after waking up. + + 5. The becalmed mariners were famished, hungry. + + +=The Balanced Sentence= + +=45. Two ideas similar or opposite in thought gain in emphasis when set +off, one against the other, in similar constructions.= + + Weak and straggling: This paper, like many others, has many bad + features, but in some ways it is very good. The news articles + are far better than the editorials, which are feeble. + + Balanced structure: This paper is in some respects good; in + other respects very poor. The news articles are impressive, the + editorials are feeble. + + Weak and complicated: From the East a man who lives in the West + can learn a great deal, and an Easterner ought to be able to + understand the West. + + Balanced: A Westerner can learn much from the East, and an + Easterner needs to understand the West. + + Weak: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger writers. + Mill taught some of them to reason, but many more of them + learned from Macaulay only a superficial eloquence. + + Balanced: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger + writers. If Mill taught some of them to reason, Macaulay + tempted many more of them to declaim. + +Note.--Although excessive use of balance is artificial, occasional use +of it is powerful. It can give to writing either dignity (as in an +oration) or point (as in an epigram). Observe how many proverbs are in +balanced structure. "Seeing is believing.--Nothing venture, nothing +have.--For every grain of wit there is a grain of folly.--You cannot do +wrong without suffering wrong.--An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." +Note the effective use of balance in Emerson's _Essays_, particularly in +_Compensation_; and in the Old Testament, particularly in _Psalms_ and +_Proverbs_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Machinery is of course labor-saving, but countless men are + thrown out of work. + + 2. There is a difference between success in business and in + acquiring culture. + + 3. I attend concerts for the pleasure of it, and to get an + understanding of music. + + 4. The stag in the fable admired his horns and blamed his feet; + but when the hunter came, his feet saved him, and afterward, + caught in the thicket, he was destroyed by his horns. + + 5. We do not see the stars at evening, sometimes because there + are clouds intervening, but oftener because there are + glimmerings of light; thus many truths escape us from the + obscurity we stand in, and many more from the state of mind + which induces us to sit down satisfied with our imaginations + and of our knowledge unsuspicious. [This sentence is correctly + balanced, except at the end.] + + +=The Weak Effect of the Passive Voice= + +=46. Use the active voice unless there is a reason for doing otherwise. +The passive voice is, as the name implies, not emphatic.= + + Weak: Your gift is appreciated by me. + + Better: I appreciate your gift. + + Weak and vague: His step on the porch was heard. + + Better: His step sounded on the porch. [Or] I heard his step on + the porch. + +The passive voice is especially objectionable when by failing to +indicate the agent of the verb it unnecessarily mystifies the reader. + + Vague: The train was seen speeding toward us. + + Better: We saw the train speeding toward us. + + Exercise: + + 1. Their minds were changed frequently as to what profession + should be taken up by them. + + 2. A gun should be examined and oiled well before a hunter + starts. + + 3. Finally the serenaders were recognized. + + 4. In athletics a man is developed physically. + + 5. If a man uses slang constantly, a good impression is not + made. + + +=Effective Repetition= + +=47a. The simplest and most natural way to emphasize a word or an idea is +to repeat it.= The Bible is the best standard of simplicity and dignity +in our language, and the Bible uses repetition constantly. A word or +idea that is repeated must, of course, be important enough to deserve +emphasis. + + Fairly emphatic: He works and toils and labors, but he seems + never to get anywhere. + + Very emphatic: Work, work, work, all he does is work, and still + he seems never to get anywhere. + + Fairly emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He + withdrew before it! + + Very emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He + withdrew! He retreated! He ran away! + + Homely but emphatic: "I went under," said the old salt; "bows, + gunnels, and starn--all under." + + Deliberately too emphatic: Everywhere we hear of + efficiency--efficiency experts, efficiency bureaus, efficiency + methods, in the office, in the school, in the home--until one + longs to fly to some savage island beyond the reach of inhuman + modern science. + +=b. Not only words, but an entire grammatical structure may be repeated +on a large scale for emphasis.= + + Weak: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good + condition, and that you will favor us with other orders in the + future, which will be given prompt and courteous attention. + [This sentence is flimsy and spineless because the writer had a + timid reluctance to repeat.] + + Strong: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good + condition. We believe that the quality of our goods will induce + you to send us a second order. We assure you that such an order + will receive prompt and courteous attention. [Note the emphasis + derived from the resolute march of the expressions _We hope_, + _We believe_, _We assure_.] + + Emphatic: Through the patience, the courage, the high character + of Alfred the country was saved--saved from the rapacities of + fortune, saved from the malignancy of its enemies, saved from + the sluggish despair of the people of England themselves. + + Emphatic and natural: This corner of the garden was my first + playground. Here I made my first toddling effort to walk. Here + on the soft grass I learned the delight of out-of-doors. Here I + became acquainted with the bull-frog, and the bumble-bee, and + the neighbor's dog. + + Emphatic and delightful: He maketh me to lie down in green + pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth + my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his + name's sake. + + Exercise: + + 1. He kept digging away for gold through long years. + + 2. Breaking against the shore, came innumerable waves. + + 3. Sand, sagebrush, shimmering flat horizon. I could not endure + the barren monotony of the desert. + + 4. We want you to come and visit us, and bring along a good + appetite and your customary high spirits. Plan to stay a long + time. + + 5. 'Twas bitter cold outside. The cat meowed until I had to let + her in. + + +=Offensive Repetition= + +Careless repetition attracts attention to words that do not need +emphasis. It is extremely annoying to the reader. + +=48a. Unless a word or phrase is repeated deliberately to gain force or +clearness, its repetition is a blunder. Get rid of recurring expressions +in one of three ways: (1) by substituting equivalent expressions, (2) by +using pronouns more liberally, (3) by rearranging the sentence so as to +say once what has awkwardly been said twice.= Each of these schemes is +illustrated below. + +=1.= Repetition cured by the use of equivalent expressions (synonyms). + + Bad: _Just_ as we were half way down the lake, _just_ off + Milwaukee, we _began_ to feel a slight motion of the ship and + the _wind began_ to freshen. The _wind began_ to blow more + fiercely from the south and the waves _began_ to leap high. The + boat _began_ to pitch and roll. + + Right: _Just_ as we were half way down the lake, _opposite_ + Milwaukee, we began to feel a slight motion of the ship, for + the wind _had_ freshened. Before long _a gale_, _blowing_ from + the south, _kicked up a heavy sea and caused_ the boat to pitch + and roll. [Notice how combining the last two sentences helps to + solve the problem of the last _began_, besides giving firmer + texture to the construction.] + +=2.= Repetition cured by the use of pronouns. (In using this method, one +should take care that the reference of the pronouns is clear.) + + Bad: The _Law Building_, the _Commerce Building_, and the + _Science Building_ are close together. The _Commerce Building_ + is south of the _Law Building_, and the _Science Building_ is + south of the _Commerce Building_. The _Law Building_ is old and + dilapidated. The _Commerce Building_ is a red brick _building_, + trimmed in terra-cotta. The _Science Building_ resembles the + _Commerce Building_. + + Right: The Law, Commerce, and Science Buildings are close + together in a row. _The first of these_ is old and dilapidated. + South of it stands the Commerce Building, _which_, because of + _its_ red brick and terra-cotta trimmings, somewhat resembles + the Science Building. + +=3.= Repetition cured by rearranging and condensing. + + Bad: The _autumn_ is my favorite of all the _seasons_. While + _autumn_ in the _city_ is not such a pleasant _season_ as + _autumn_ in the country, yet even in the _city_ my preference + will always be for the _autumn_. + + Right: My favorite season is autumn. I like it best in the + country, but even in the city it is the best time of the year. + +=b. Avoid a monotonous repetition of sentence structure. To give variety +to successive sentences: (1) vary the length, (2) vary the beginnings, +(3) avoid a series of similar compound sentences, (4) interchange loose +with periodic structure, (5) use rhetorical question, exclamation, +direct discourse, (6) avoid an excessive use of participles or +adjectives.= + +=1.= Vary the length of sentences. + + Bad: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his arms. She + was wet from head to toe. Damp curls clung to her pale face. + Water dripped from her clothes. One hand hung loosely over + Walter's arm. The other held a live duckling. She had saved + the little duck from drowning. This was Betty's first day in + the country. + + Right: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his + arms--little Betty who was spending her first day in the + country. She was wet from head to toe; damp curls clung to her + pale face, and water dripped from her clothes. In one hand she + held a live duckling. Her face lighted with courage as she told + how she jumped into the pond and saved the little duck from + drowning. + +=2.= Vary the beginnings of sentences. Do not allow too many sentences to +begin with the subject, or with a time clause, or with a participle, or +with _so_. When you have finished a composition, rapidly read over the +opening words of each sentence, to see if there is sufficient variety. + + Bad [too many sentences begin directly with the subject]: Our + way is circuitous. A sharp turn brings us round a rocky point. + The road drops suddenly into a little valley. The roof of a + house appears in a grove of trees below. A cottage is there and + a flower garden. An old-fashioned well is near the door. + + Right: Presently, on our circuitous way, we make a sharp turn + round a rocky point. Before us the road drops suddenly into a + little valley. In a grove of trees below appears the roof of a + house, and as we draw nearer we see a cottage surrounded by + flowers. Nothing could be more attractive to a weary traveler + than the old-fashioned well near the door. + +=3.= Avoid a series of similar compound sentences, especially those of two +parts of equal length, joined by _and_ or _but_. + + Bad: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his + master. One day there came a deep snow, and the flock did not + return. They found the herder frozen stiff, and the dog + shivering beside him. + + Right: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his + master. One day there came a deep snow. When the flock failed + to return, the men became uneasy, and began to search. They + found the herder frozen stiff, with the dog shivering beside + him. + +=4.= Change occasionally from loose to periodic or balanced structure (See +43 and 45). + + Monotonous: I stood at the foot of Tunbridge hill. I saw on the + horizon a dense wood, which, in the evening sunlight, was + veiled in purple haze [Loose]. On the left was the village, the + houses appearing like specks in the distance [Loose]. Nearer on + the right was the creek, winding through the willows [Loose]. + The creek approached nearer until it reached the dam, over + which it rushed tumultuously [Loose]. Near by was a thicket of + tall trees, through which I could see the white tents of my + fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires [Loose]. + + Right: Far south from Tunbridge hill, on the dim horizon, I + saw, veiled in the evening haze, a dense wood [Periodic, long, + conveying the idea of distance better than a loose sentence]. + On my left stood the village, the houses like specks; on my + right wound the creek, nearer and nearer through the willows + [Balanced]. The creek advanced by slow sinuous turns, until, + reaching the dam, it plunged over tumultuously [Loose]. Through + a thicket of tall trees, near at hand, I could see the white + tents of my fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires + [Periodic through the middle of the sentence; then loose]. + +=5.= Use question, exclamation, direct quotation. + + Somewhat flat: He asked me the road to Camden. I did not know. + I told him to ask Thurber, who knew the country well. + + Better: He asked me the road to Camden. The road to Camden? How + should I know? "Ask Thurber," I said impatiently; "he knows + this country. I'm a stranger." + +=6.= Avoid an excessive use of participles. Do not pile adjectives around +every noun. Above all, do not form a habit of using adjectives in pairs +or triplets. + + Bad: Sitting by the window, I saw a sharp, dazzling flash of + lightning, and heard a loud rumbling crash of heavy thunder, + warning me of the coming of the storm. Darting across the gray, + leaden sky, the quick, jagged lightning flashed incessantly. + The tall stately poplar trees thrashed around in the boisterous + wind. Then across the window, like a great white curtain, swept + the streaming, blinding rain. + + Right: I sat by the window. Suddenly a sharp flash of lightning + and a roll of thunder gave warning of the approach of a storm. + Soon lightning zig-zagged across the sky incessantly. The wind + huddled the poplar trees. Then like a white curtain across the + window streamed the rain. + + Exercise: + + 1. The parts of the tables are not put together at the factory, + but the different parts are shipped in different shipments. + + 2. In order to convince the reader that the present management + of farms is inefficient, I shall give some examples of + efficiency in the farm management on some farms with which I am + acquainted. + + 3. When one wishes to learn how to swim one must first become + accustomed to the water. The best way to become accustomed to + the water is to go into it frequently. After one has become + accustomed to the water he may begin to learn the strokes. + + 4. _The Life of Sir Walter Scott_, written by J. G. Lockhart, + is an interesting biography of this great writer. It consists + of a short biography by Scott himself, and also consists of a + continuation of this biography by his son-in-law, J. G. + Lockhart. + + 5. If a piece of steel is kept hot for several seconds, it will + lose some of its hardness. If kept hot longer, it will lose + more of its hardness. Along with losing its hardness it will + lose its brittleness. If the piece of steel is heated + continually it will lose nearly all its hardness and + brittleness. In other words, it will lose its "temper." + + +=49.= EXERCISE IN EMPHASIS + +=A. Lack of Emphasis in General= + +Make the following sentences emphatic. + + 1. The man is a thief who fails in business but continues to + live in luxury. + + 2. The plant was withered and dry, not having been watered for + over a week. + + 3. Much time is saved in Chicago by taking the elevated cars, + if you have a great distance to travel. + + 4. The clock struck eleven, when he immediately seized his hat + and left. + + 5. These liberal terms should be taken advantage of by us. + + 6. The study of biology has proved very interesting, as far as + I have gone. + + 7. Who is this that comes to the foot of the guillotine, + crouching, trembling? + + 8. They must pay the penalty. Their death is necessary. They + have caused harm enough. + + 9. I intend to get up fifteen minutes earlier, thereby giving + myself time to eat a good breakfast. + + 10. The book was reread several times, for I never grew tired + of it. + + 11. "What is the aim of a university education?" the speaker + asked. + + 12. A bicycle is sometimes ridden when a tire contains no air, + total ruin resulting from the weight of the rim upon the flat + tire. + + 13. He sprang forward the instant the pistol cracked, since the + start of a sprint is very important, and one cannot overdo the + practicing of it. + + 14. Sometimes the fuses fail to burn, or burn too fast, causing + an explosion before the workmen are prepared for it. + + 15. How father made soap was always a mystery to me. Cracklings + saved from butchering time, lye, and water went into the kettle + on a warm spring day and came out in the form of soap a few + hours later, to my great astonishment. + +=B. Loose or Unemphatic Structure= + +Make the following sentences more emphatic by throwing them into +periodic form. + + 1. It was Tom, as I had expected. + + 2. I will not tell, no matter how you beg. + + 3. The supremacy of the old river steamboat is gone forever, + unless conditions should be utterly changed. + + 4. Across the desert he traveled alone, and over strange seas, + and through quaint foreign villages. + + 5. The hot water dissolves the glue in the muresco, making the + mixture more easily applied. + + 6. Visions of rich meadows and harvest-laden fields now pass + before my eyes, as I sit by the fire. + + 7. Some of the women were weeping bitterly, thinking they would + never see their homes again. + + 8. I splashed along on foot for three miles after night in a + driving rain. + + 9. Very high rent is demanded, thus keeping the peasants + constantly in debt. + + 10. Roderigo was in despair because he had been rejected by + Desdemona, and was ready to end his life, by the time Iago + entered. + + 11. Through storm and cold the open boat was brought to the + shore at last, after toil and suffering, with great difficulty. + + 12. The car came to a violent stop against a rock pile, after + it demolished two fences, upset a hen-house, and scared a pig + out of his wits. + + 13. The Panama Canal is the fulfilment of the dreams of old + Spanish adventurers, the desires of later merchant princes, + and the demand of modern nations for free traffic on the seas. + + 14. The fiddle yelled, and the feet of the dancers beat the + floor, and the spectators applauded, and the room fairly rang. + + 15. The man with the best character, not the man with most + money, will come out on top in the end. + +=C. Faulty Repetition= + +Repetition in the following sentences is objectionable, because it +attracts attention to words or constructions that do not need to be +emphasized. Improve the sentences, avoiding unnecessary repetition. + + 1. He is a great friend of boys, and views things from the + boys' point of view. + + 2. In the case of the strike at Lawrence, Massachusetts, the + real cause was low wages caused by immigration and child labor. + + 3. First, a subject must be chosen, and in choosing a subject, + choose one that you know something about. + + 4. There are great opportunities in the field of science, and a + scientist who makes a mark in the world of science makes a mark + for himself everywhere. + + 5. While the practical man is learning skill in the practical + world, the college man is attaining a development of mentality + that will surpass that of the practical man when the college + man learns the skill of the practical man. + + 6. The field is dragged and rolled. Dragging and rolling leaves + the ground smooth and ready for planting. + + 7. A great number and variety of articles appears in every + issue. There is a complete review of each subject. It is + treated in a short, but thorough manner. + + 8. They gave me a hearty welcome. They stood back and looked at + me. They wanted to see if three months in the city had made any + changes in me. But they said it had not. + + 9. Engineering is looked upon by many students as an easy and + uninteresting study, but to my knowledge it is not + uninteresting and easy. Engineering is probably one of the + hardest courses in college. To me it is also the most + interesting. + + 10. A duck hunter should have a place to hunt where ducks are + frequently found in duck season. Ducks often light in the + backwater along a river, and in ponds. They are often found in + small lakes. Corn fields are common feeding places for ducks. + Ducks make regular trips to cornfields within reach of a body + of water such as a river or lake. It is their nature to spend + the night in the water, and in the morning and in the evening + they go out to the fields to feed. + + + + +GRAMMAR + + +=Case= + +=50a. The subject of a verb is in the nominative case, even when the verb +is remote, or understood (not expressed).= + + Wrong: They are as old as us. + + Right: They are as old as we [are]. + + Wrong: He is taller than her. + + Right: He is taller than she [is]. + +Note.--_Than_ and _as_ are conjunctions, not prepositions. When they are +followed by a pronoun merely, this pronoun is not their object, but part +of a clause the rest of which may be understood. The case of this +pronoun is determined by its relation to the rest of the unexpressed +clause. Sometimes the understood clause calls for the objective: "I like +his brother better than [I like] him." _Than whom_, though +ungrammatical, is sanctioned by usage. + +=b. Guard against the improper attraction of _who_ into the objective +case by intervening expressions like _he says_.= + + Wrong: The man whom they believed was the cause of the trouble + left the country. [_They believed_ is parenthetical, and the + subject of _was_ is _who_.] + + Right: The man who they believed was the cause of the trouble + left the country. + + Wrong: Whom do you suppose made us a visit? + + Right: Who do you suppose made us a visit? + +=Guard against the improper attraction of _who_ or _whoever_ into the +objective case by a preceding verb or preposition.= + + Wrong: Punish whomever is guilty. [The pronoun is the subject + of _is_. The object of _punish_ is the entire clause _whoever + is guilty_.] + + Right: Punish whoever is guilty. + + Wrong: The mystery as to whom had rendered him this service + remained. [The pronoun is the subject of _had rendered_. The + object of the preposition is the entire clause _who had + rendered him this service_.] + + Right: The mystery as to who had rendered him this service + remained. + +=c. The predicate complement of the verb _to be_ (in any of its forms, +_is_, _was_, _were_, _be_, etc.) is in the nominative case.= _To be_ +never takes an object, because it does not express action. + + Wrong: Was it her? Was it them? It is me. + + Right: Was it she? Was it they? Is it I. + + Wrong: The happiest people there were him and his mother. + + Right: The happiest people there were he and his mother. + +=d. The object of a preposition or a verb is in the objective case.= + + Wrong: Some of we fellows went fishing. + + Right: Some of us fellows went fishing. + + Wrong: That seems incredible to you and I. + + Right: That seems incredible to you and me. + + Wrong: Who did they detect? + + Right: Whom did they detect? + +=e. The "assumed" subject of an infinitive is in the objective case.= + + Right: I wanted him to go. [_Him to go_ is the group object of + the verb _wanted_. _To go_, being an infinitive, cannot assert + an action, and consequently cannot take a subject. But _to go_ + implies that something is at least capable of action. _Him_ is + the latent or assumed subject of the action implied in _to + go_.] + + Right: _Whom_ do you wish _to be_ your leader? [_Whom_ is the + assumed subject of the infinitive _to be_.] + +=f. A noun or pronoun used to express possession is in the possessive +case.= Do not omit the apostrophe (See 97) from nouns, or from the +pronouns _one's_ and _other's_. Most of the other possessive +pronouns do not require an apostrophe. + + Right: The man's hair is gray. + + Right: The machine does its work well. [_It's_ would mean _it + is_.] + + Right: One should do one's duty. + +=g. A noun or pronoun linked with a gerund should be in the possessive +case whenever the use of the objective case might cause confusion.= + + Faulty: Is there any criticism of Arthur going? + + Right: Is there any criticism of Arthur's going? + + Right: I had not heard of his being sick. + + Right, but slightly less desirable: I had not heard of him + being sick. + +Note.--In other instances than those in which clearness is involved many +good writers use the objective case with the gerund. But even in these +instances most writers prefer the possessive case. + +=h. It is usually awkward and slightly illogical to attribute possession +to inanimate objects.= + + Awkward: The farm's management. + + Better: The management of the farm. + + Awkward: The stomach's lining. + + Better: The lining of the stomach. + +Note.--Usage justifies many exceptions, particularly (1) expressions +that involve time or measure, _a day's work_, _a hair's breadth_, _a +year's salary_, _a week's vacation_, _a cable's length_; and (2) +expressions that involve personification, explicit or implied, _Reason's +voice_, _the law's delay_, _for mercy's sake_, _the heart's desire_, +_the tempest's breath_. + +=i. A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person, gender, and number, +but not in case.= + + Right: _I, who am_ older, know better. + + Right: Tell _me, who am_ older, your trouble. + + Right: Many a man has saved _himself_ by counsel. + + Exercise: + + 1. I am as old as (he, him). They may be pluckier than (we, + us). Nobody is less conceited than (she, her). + + 2. He gave help to (whoever, whomever) wanted it. The girls + (who, whom) they say have the worst taste are on a committee to + select the class pin. + + 3. Four of (we, us) boys were left without a cent. That is a + good investment for her cousin and (she, her). + + 4. It was (he, him). It is (they, them). The sole occupants of + the car were his chum and (he, him). + + 5. I had not heard of (his, him) being sick. She does not + approve of (our, us) being late to dinner. (They, them) who + labor now the Master will reward. + + +=Number= + +=51a. _Each_, _every_, _every one_, _everybody_, _anybody_, _either_, +_neither_, _no one_, _nobody_, and similar words are singular.= + + Wrong: Everybody did their best. + + Right: Everybody did his best. + + Wrong: Each of my three friends were there. + + Right: Each of my three friends was there. + + Wrong: Either of the candidates are capable of making a good + officer. + + Right: Either of the candidates is capable of making a good + officer. + +=b. Do not let _this_ or _that_ when modifying _kind_ or _sort_ be +attracted into the plural by a following noun.= + + Wrong: He knew nothing of those kind of activities. + + Right: He knew nothing of that kind of activities. + + Wrong: I never did like these sort of post cards. + + Right: I never did like this sort of post cards. + +=c. Collective nouns may be regarded as singular or plural, according to +the meaning intended.= + + Right: The crowd is waiting. + + Right: The crowd are not agreed. + + Right: Webster maintained that the United States is an + inseparable union; Hayne that the United States are a separable + union. + + English usage: The government were considering a new bill + regarding labor. + + American usage: The government was glad to place our troops at + the disposal of General Foch. + +=d. Do not use _don't_ in the third person singular. Use _doesn't_. +_Don't_ is contraction of _do not_.= + + Wrong: He don't get up early on Sunday morning. + + Right: He doesn't get up early on Sunday morning. + + Exercise: + + 1. She said not to buy those sort of carpet tacks. These kind + of apples won't keep. I don't care for these boasting kind of + travelers. + + 2. Neither of us were in condition to run the race. Every one + assured Mrs. Merton they had spent a pleasant evening. + + 3. He don't suffer much now. I don't care if she don't come + today. + + 4. Each of us in that dismal waiting room were angry with the + agent for telling us the train was not late. + + 5. No one of the girls will tell their age. It don't matter. + + +=Agreement= + +=52a. A verb agrees in number with the subject, not with a noun which +intervenes between it and the subject.= + + Wrong: The size of the plantations vary. + + Right: The size of the plantations varies. + + Wrong: The increasing use of luxuries are a menace to the + country. + + Right: The increasing use of luxuries is a menace to the + country. + + Wrong: The prices of grain fluctuates in response to the + demand. + + Right: The prices of grain fluctuate in response to the demand. + [Or] The price of grain fluctuates in response to the demand. + +=b. The number of the verb is not affected by the addition to the subject +of words introduced by _with_, _together with_, _no less than_, _as well +as_, and the like.= + + Wrong: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, have + investigated the charges. + + Right: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, has + investigated the charges. + +=c. Singular subjects joined by _or_ or _nor_ take a singular verb.= + + Wrong: Either the second or the third of the plans they have + devised are acceptable. + + Right: Either the second or the third of the plans they have + devised is acceptable. + +=d. A subject consisting of two or more nouns joined by _and_ takes a +plural verb.= + + Right: The hunting and fishing are good. + +=e. A verb should agree in number with the subject, not with a predicate +noun.= + + Wrong: The weak point in the team were the fielders. + + Right: The weak point in the team was the fielders. + + Wrong: Laziness and dissipation is the cause of his failure. + + Right: Laziness and dissipation are the cause of his failure. + +=f. In _There is_ and _There are_ sentences the verb should agree in +number with the noun that follows it.= + + Wrong: There is very good grounds for such a decision. + + Right: There are very good grounds for such a decision. + + Wrong: There was present a man, two women, and a child. + + Right: There were present a man, two women, and a child. + + Exercise: + + 1. The sound of falling acorns (is, are) one of the delights of + an autumn evening. Eye strain through ill-fit glasses (is, are) + injurious to the general health, but reading without glasses + (is, are) often more harmful still. + + 2. Neither the baritone nor the tenor (has, have) as good a + voice as the soprano. The guitar or the mandolin (is, are) + always out of tune. + + 3. The Amazon with its tributaries (affords, afford) access to + sea. The conductor of the freight train, along with the + engineer and fireman of the passenger, (was, were) injured. + + 4. Ghost stories late at night (is, are) a crime against + children. My reason for knowing that it is six o'clock (is, + are) the factory whistles. + + 5. There (was, were) in the same coach a dozen singing + freshmen. Years of experience in buying clothes (gives, give) + me confidence in my judgment. + + +=_Shall_ and _Will_, _Should_ and _Would_= + +Although there is a tendency to disregard subtle distinctions between +_shall_ and _will_ in ordinary speech, it is desirable to preserve the +more important distinctions in written discourse. + +=53. To express simple futurity or mere expectation, use _shall_ with the +first person (both singular and plural) and _will_ with the second and +third.= + + I shall go. We shall walk. + You will play. You will hear. + He will sing. They will reply. + +=To express resolution or emphatic assurance, reverse the usage; that is, +use _will_ with the first person (both singular and plural), and _shall_ +with the second and third.= + + I will; I tell you, I will. We will not be excluded. + You shall do what I bid. You shall not delay us. + He shall obey me. They shall pay the tribute. + +In asking questions, use the form expected in the answer. + + "Shall I go?" I asked myself musingly. "Shall we take a walk?" + "You promise. But will you pay?" "Will it rain tomorrow?" + +_Should_ and _would_ follow the rules given for _shall_ and _will_. + + Mere statement of a fact: + I [or We] should like to go. + You [or He or They] would of course accept the offer. + + Resolution or emphatic assurance: + I [or We] would never go under terms so degrading. + You [or He or They] should decline; honor demands it. + +_Should_ has also a special use in the subjunctive (in all persons) to +express a condition; and _would_ has a special use (in all persons) to +express a wish, or customary action. + + If it should rain, I shall not go. + + If I should remain, it would probably clear off. + + Would that I could swim! + + He [I, We, You, They] would often sit there by the hour. + + Exercise: + + 1. I (shall, will) probably do as he says. I'm determined; I + (shall, will) go! We (shall, will) see what tomorrow (shall, + will) bring forth. + + 2. The train (shall, will) whistle at this crossing, I suppose. + When the log is nearly severed, it (shall, will) begin to pinch + the saw. The weather (shall, will) be warmer tomorrow. + + 3. Johnny, you (shall, will) not go near those strawberries! He + (shall, will) not leave us in this predicament. I repeat it, he + (shall, will) not! We (shall, will) never sell this good old + horse. + + 4. (Shall, will) this calico fade? (Shall, will) you give the + organ grinder some money? (Shall, will) I raise the window? + (Should, would) I ask his permission? + + 5. If you (should, would) visit his laboratory, you (should, + would) learn how a starfish preserved in alcohol smells. You + (shall, will) all die some day, my friends. (Shall, will) I + ever forget this? Time (shall, will) tell. + + +=Principal Parts= + +=54. Use the correct form of the past tense and past participle.= Avoid +_come_, _done_, _bursted_, _knowed_, _says_ for the past tense; and +[_had_] _eat_, [_had_] _froze_, [_have_] _ran_, [_has_] _went_, [_has_] +_wrote_, [_are_] _suppose_ for the past participle. Memorize the +principal parts of difficult verbs. The principal parts are the present +tense, the past tense, and the past participle. A good way to recall +these is to repeat the formula: Today I _sing_; yesterday I _sang_; +often in the past I have _sung_. The principal parts of _sing_ are +_sing_, _sang_, _sung_. A list of difficult verbs is given below. + + bear bore borne + born + begin began begun + bend bent bent + bid bid bid + bade bidden + bite bit bit + bitten + bleed bled bled + blow blew blown + break broke broken + burn burnt burnt + burned burned + burst burst burst + catch caught caught + choose chose chosen + come came come + deal dealt dealt + dive dived dived + do did done + drag dragged dragged + draw drew drawn + dream dreamt dreamt + dreamed dreamed + drink drank drunk + drive drove driven + drown drowned drowned + dwell dwelt dwelt + dwelled dwelled + eat ate eaten + fall fell fallen + fight fought fought + flee fled fled + fly flew flown + flow flowed flowed + freeze froze frozen + get got got + go went gone + grow grew grown + hang hung hung + hang hanged hanged + hold held held + kneel knelt knelt + know knew known + lay laid laid + lead led led + lend lent lent + lie lay lain + lie lied lied + loose loosed loosed + lose lost lost + mean meant meant + pay paid paid + prove proved proved + read read read + rid rid rid + ride rode ridden + ring rang rung + rise rose risen + run ran run + say said said + see saw seen + set set set + shake shook shaken + shine shone shone + show showed shown + shrink shrank shrunk + sing sang sung + sit sat sat + slink slunk slunk + speak spoke spoken + spend spent spent + spit spit spit + spat spat + steal stole stolen + swear swore sworn + sweep swept swept + swim swam swum + take took taken + tear tore torn + throw threw thrown + thrust thrust thrust + tread trod trod + trodden + wake woke waked + waked + wear wore worn + weave wove woven + weep wept wept + write wrote written + + Exercise: + + 1. Adams ---- (past tense of _draw_) another glass of cider and + ---- (past tense of _drink_) it. When those squashes once ---- + (past tense of _begin_), they ---- (past tense of _grow_) like + mad. + + 2. The thermometer had ---- (past participle of _fall_) twenty + degrees, and three water pipes had ---- (past participle of + _freeze_). Afterward one ---- (past tense of _burst_). + + 3. Annie had ---- (past participle of _speak_) a piece, and + Nancy had ---- (past participle of _write_) a poem, and Isabel + had nearly ---- (past participle of _burst_) with envy. + + 4. He ---- (past tense of _do_) a brave deed; he ---- (past + tense of _swim_) straight for the whirlpool. I had ---- (past + participle of _know_) him before, and had ---- (past participle + of _shake_) hands with him. + + 5. He ---- (past tense of _come_) home late, and has ---- (past + participle of _eat_) his dinner. Now he has ---- (past + participle of _go_) down town. He has ---- (past participle of + _ride_) before. I ---- (past tense of _see_) him. He ---- (past + tense of _run_) swiftly. + + +=Tense, Mode, Auxiliaries= + +=55a. In dependent clauses and infinitives, the tense is to be considered +in relation to the time expressed in the principal verb.= + + Wrong: I intended to have gone. [The principal verb _intended_ + indicates a past time. In that past time I intended to do + something. What? Did I intend _to go_, or _to have gone_?] + + Right: I intended to go. + + Wrong: We hoped that you would have come to the party. [The + principal verb _hoped_ indicates a past time. In that past time + our hope was that you _would_ come, not that you _would have + come_.] + + Right: We hoped that you would come. + +=b. When narration in the past tense is interrupted for reference to a +preceding occurrence, the past perfect tense is used.= + + Wrong: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals + which he shot. + + Right: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals + which he had shot. + +=c. General statements equally true in the past and in the present are +usually expressed in the present tense.= + + Faulty: He said that Venus was a planet. + + Right: He said that Venus is a planet. + +=d. The subjunctive mode of the verb _to be_ is used to express a +condition contrary to fact, or a wish.= + + Faulty: If he was here, I should be happy. + + Right: If he were here, I should be happy. + + Faulty: I wish that I was a man. + + Right: I wish that I were a man. + +=e. Use the correct auxiliary. Make sure that the tense, mode, or aspect +of successive verbs is not altered without reason.= + + Wrong: By giving strict obedience to commands, a soldier + _learns_ discipline, and consequently _would have_ steady + nerves in time of war. [_Learns_ should be followed by _will + have_.] + + Wrong: An automobile _should be_ kept in good working order so + that its life _is_ lengthened. [_Should be_ is properly + followed by _may be_.] + + Exercise: + + 1. Every one hoped that you would have spoken. + + 2. I saw it in the window. It was the very book I wanted so + long. + + 3. If I was sick, I should go home. + + 4. They expected to have won the game. + + 5. The Masons never invite men to join their lodge, but if a + person expresses a desire to join, his friends would probably + be able to secure membership for him. + + +=Adjective and Adverb= + +=56a. Do not use an adjective to modify a verb.= + + Crude: He spoke slow and careful. + + Right: He spoke slowly and carefully. + + Crude: He sure did good in his classes. + + Right: He surely did well in his classes. + +=b. In such sentences as _He stood firm_ and _The cry rang clear_ the +modifier should be an adjective if it refers to the subject, an adverb +if it refers to the verb.= + + Right: The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home. [Here the + thought is that the sun which shines is bright.] + + Right: He worked diligently. [Here the modifier refers to the + manner of working rather than to the person who works. It + should therefore be an adverb.] + + Right: It stood immovable. The shot rang loud. He becomes + angry. The weeds grow thick. They remain obstinate. He seems + intelligent. + +=c. After a verb pertaining to the senses, _look_, _sound_, _taste_, +_smell_, _feel_, an adjective is used to denote a quality pertaining to +the subject.= (An adverb is used only when the reference is clearly to +the verb.) + + She looks _beautiful_. [Not _beautifully_.] + + The dinner bell sounds _good_. [Not _well_.] + + My food tastes _bad_. [Not _badly_.] + + That flower smells _bad_. [Not _badly_.] + + I feel good [_in good spirits_.] + + I feel well [_in good health_. An adjectival use of _well_.] + + I feel bad [_in bad health or spirits_. "I feel badly" would + mean "My sense of touch is impaired."] + + Exercise: + + 1. They fought ---- (heroic, heroically). Dave stumbled + ----(awkward, awkwardly). + + 2. Margaret ---- (sure, surely) worked ---- (faithful, + faithfully) in economics. + + 3. At this reply the teacher grew ---- (wrathful, wrathfully). + I hear you ---- (plain, plainly). + + 4. I feel ---- (giddy, giddily). Your rose looks ---- (sweet, + sweetly). No perfume smells so ---- (dainty, daintily). + + 5. That salad tastes ---- (good, well). I feel ---- (bad, + badly) today. Your voice sounds ---- (good, well) and + ----(familiar, familiarly). + + +=A Word in a Double Capacity= + +=57. Do not use a verb, conjunction, preposition, or noun in a double +capacity when one of the uses is ungrammatical.= + + Wrong [verb]: An opera house was built in one part of town, and + two churches in another. + + Right: An opera house was built in one part of town, and two + churches were built in another. + + Wrong [verb]: He always has and will do it. + + Right: He always has done it, and always will do it. + + Wrong [conjunction]: He was as old, if not older, than any + other man in the community. + + Right: He was as old as any other man in the community, if not + older. + + Wrong [preposition]: He was fond and diligent in work. + + Right: He was fond of work and diligent in it. + + Wrong [noun]: He is one of the most skilful, if not the most + skilful, tennis players in the state. + + Right: He is one of the most skilful tennis players in the + state, if not the most skilful. + + Exercise: + + 1. He is as old, if not older, than she is. + + 2. Two boats were in the water, and one on the shore. + + 3. From childhood he has, and to old age he will, have many + hobbies. + + 4. A visit to a ten cent store is better, or at least as good, + as a visit to a circus. You see as many or more queer things + than in any show. + + 5. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, secrets in keeping + our health, is to keep our teeth in good condition. A famous + physician said that one of the next, if not the very next, + marked advance in medical science will be through discoveries + in the realm of dentistry. + + + +Parts of Speech, Other Grammatical Terms, Conjugation + +The Parts of Speech and Their Uses + + =Noun.= A noun is a name. It may be =proper= (_Philip Watkins_), or + =common=. Common nouns may be =concrete= (_man_, _windmill_), or + =abstract= (_gratitude_, _nearness_). =A= noun applied to a group + is said to be =collective= (_family_, _race_). The uses of a noun + =are=: to serve as the subject of a verb, to serve as the object + of a verb or a preposition, to be in apposition with another + noun (Jenkins, our _coach_), to indicate possession (_Joseph's_ + coat of many colors); and less frequently, to serve as an + adjective (the _brick_ sidewalk) or adverb (John went _home_), + and to indicate direct address (_Jehovah_, help us!). + + =Pronoun.= A pronoun is a word which takes the place of a noun. + It may be =personal= (_I_, _thou_, _you_, _he_, _she_, _it_, + _we_, _they_), =relative= (_who_, _which_, _what_, _that_, _as_, + and compounds _whoever_, _whichsoever_, etc.), =interrogative= + (_who_, _which_, _what_), =demonstrative= (_this_, _that_, + _these_, _those_), or =indefinite= (_some_, _any_, _one_, _each_, + _either_, _neither_, _none_, _few_, _all_, _both_, etc.). + Strictly speaking, the last two groups, demonstratives and + indefinites, are adjectives used as pronouns. Certain pronouns + are also used as adjectives, notably the =possessives= (_my_, + _his_, _their_, etc.) and the relative or interrogative _which_ + and _what_. The addition of _-self_ to a personal pronoun forms + a =reflexive pronoun= or =intensive= (I blamed _myself_. You + _yourself_ are at fault). A noun for which the pronoun stands + is called the =antecedent=. The uses of pronouns are in general + the same as those of nouns. In addition, relatives serve as + connectives (the man _who_ spoke), interrogatives ask questions + (_what_ man?), and demonstratives point out (_that_ man). + + =Verb.= A verb is a word or word-group which makes an assertion + about the subject. It may express either action or mere + existence. It may be =transitive= (_trans_ meaning "across"; + hence action carried across, requiring a receiver of the act; + Brutus _stabbed_ Cæsar; Cæsar is _stabbed_) or =intransitive= + (not requiring a receiver of the act: Montgomery _fell_). Its + meaning is dependent upon its voice, mode, and tense. Voice + shows the relationship between the subject and the assertion + made by the verb. The =active voice= shows the subject as actor + (They _elected_ Washington); the =passive voice=, as acted upon + (Washington _was elected_). (A transitive verb may be active or + passive, but an intransitive verb has no voice.) Mode indicates + the manner of predicating an action, whether as assertion, + condition, command, etc. There are three modes in English. The + =indicative mode= affirms or denies (He _went_. She _did not + dance_.) The =subjunctive= expresses condition or wish (If he + _were_ older, he would be wiser. Would that I _were_ there!). + The =imperative= expresses command or exhortation (_Remain_ + there. _Go!_ _Let_ us pray). =Modal auxiliaries= with these three + modes form =modal aspects= of the verb. There are as many + different aspects as there are auxiliaries. Aspects are + sometimes spoken of as separate modes or called collectively + the "potential mode." Tense expresses the time of the action or + existence. The tenses are the =present=, the =past=, the =future= + (employing the auxiliaries _shall_ and _will_), the =perfect= + (employing _have_), the =past perfect= (employing _had_), and the + =future perfect= (employing _shall have_ and _will have_). + =Verbals= are certain forms of the verb used as other parts of + speech (noun, adjective, adverb). For the verbal forms, + infinitive, gerund, and participle, see the separate headings. + + =Adjective.= An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or + pronoun. An adjective may be =attributive= (_bright_ sun, + _cool-headed_ adventurers) or =predicate= (The field is _broad_. + The meat tastes _bad_. I want this _ready_ by Christmas). + Adjectives assume three forms known as degrees of comparison. + The =positive degree= indicates the simple quality of the object + without reference to any other. The =comparative degree= + indicates that two objects are compared (Stanley is the _older_ + brother). The =superlative degree= indicates that three or more + objects are compared (Stanley is the _oldest_ child in the + family) or that the speaker feels great interest or emotion (A + _most excellent_ record). Ordinarily _er_ or _r_ is added to + the positive to form the comparative, and _est_ or _st_ to the + positive to form the superlative (brave, braver, bravest). But + some adjectives (sometimes those of two, and always those of + more than two, syllables) prefix _more_ (or _less_) to the + positive to form the comparative, and _most_ (or _least_) to + the positive to form the superlative (beautiful, more + beautiful, most beautiful). Some adjectives express qualities + that do not permit comparison (_dead_, _four-sided_, _unique_). + + =Adverb.= An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an + adjective, another adverb (She played _well_; _unusually_ + handsome; _very_ sternly); or, more rarely, a verbal noun + (Walking _fast_ is good for the health), a preposition (The + ship drifted _almost_ upon the breakers), or a conjunction (It + came _just_ when we wished). Certain adverbs (_fatally_, + _entirely_) do not logically admit of comparison. Those that do + are compared like adjectives of more than two syllables + (_slowly_, _more_ or _less slowly_, _most_ or _least slowly_). + + =Preposition.= A preposition is a connective _placed before_ a + substantive (called its object) in order to subordinate the + substantive to some other word in a sentence (The boast _of_ + heraldry, the pomp _of_ power. He ran _toward_ the enemy + _without_ fear). + + =Conjunction.= A conjunction is a word used to _join together_ + words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. A =coördinate conjunction= + connects elements of equal rank (See 36). =Correlative + conjunctions= are conjunctions used in pairs (See 31). A + =subordinate conjunction= is one that connects elements unequal + in rank (See 36). When a conjunction, in addition to its + function as a connective, indicates a relation of time, place, + or cause, it is often called a =conjunctive adverb= or =relative + adverb=. + + =Interjection.= An interjection is a word _thrown into_ speech to + express emotion. It has no grammatical connection with other + words. (_Oh_, is that it? _Well_, I'll do it. _Hark!_) + +=Other Grammatical Terms= + + =Absolute expression.= An expression (usually composed of a + substantive and a participle, perhaps with modifiers) which, + though not formally and grammatically joined, is in thought + related to the remainder of the sentence. (_The relief party + having arrived_, we went home. _This disposed of_, the council + proceeded to other matters. _Defeated_, he was not dismayed.) + + =Antecedent.= A substantive to which a pronoun or participle + refers. Literally, _antecedent_ means _that which goes + before_; but sometimes the antecedent follows the dependent + word. (The _man_ who hesitates is lost. Entering the store, + _we_ saw a barrel of apples.) _Man_ is the antecedent of the + pronoun _who_, and _we_ is the antecedent of the participle + _entering_. + + =Auxiliary.= _Be_, _have_, _do_, _shall_, _will_, _ought_, _may_, + _can_, _must_, _might_, _could_, _would_, _should_, etc., when + used with participles and infinitives of other verbs, are + called auxiliary verbs. + + =Case.= The relation of a substantive to other words in the + sentence as shown by inflectional form or position. The subject + of a verb, or the predicate of the verb _to be_, is in the + nominative case. The object of a verb or preposition, or the + "assumed subject" of an infinitive, is in the objective case. A + noun or pronoun which denotes possession is in the possessive + case. + + =Clause.= A portion of a sentence which contains a subject and a + verb, perhaps with modifiers. The following sentence contains + one dependent (subordinate) and one independent (principal) + clause: _When the storm ceased, the grove was a ruin_. + + =Conjugation.= The inflectional changes in the verb to indicate + person, number, tense, voice, mode, and modal aspect. + + =Declension.= The changes in a noun, pronoun, or adjective to + indicate person, number, or case. + + =Ellipsis, elliptical expression.= An expression partially + incomplete, so that words have to be understood to complete the + meaning. An idea or relation corresponding to the omitted words + is present, at least vaguely, in the mind of the speaker. + Elliptical sentences are usually justifiable except when the + reader cannot instantly supply the understood words. Examples + of proper ellipses: You are as tall as I [am tall]. Is your + sister coming? I think [my sister is] not [coming]. I will go + if you will [go]. [I give you] Thanks for your advice. + + =Gerund.= A verbal in _-ing_ used as a noun. (I do not object to + your _telling_. His _having deserted_ us makes little + difference.) The gerund may be regarded as a special form of + the infinitive. + + =Infinitive.= A verbal ordinarily introduced by _to_ and used as + a noun (_To err_ is human). In such sentences as "The road to + follow is the river road," _follow_ may be regarded as the noun + of a phrase (compare _the road to Mandalay_), or the entire + phrase may be regarded as an adjective. Similarly, in "He + hastened to comply," _comply_ may be regarded as a noun or _to + comply_ as an adverb. After certain verbs (_bid_, _dare_, + _help_, _make_, _need_, etc.) the _to_ is omitted from the + infinitive group. (He bids me _go_. I need not _hesitate_.) + + =Inflection.= Change in the form of a word to show a modification + or shade of meaning. At a very early period in our language + there was a separate form for practically every modification. + Although separate forms are now less numerous, _inflection_ is + still a convenient term in grammar. Its scope is general: it + includes the declension of nouns, the comparison of adjectives + and adverbs, and the conjugation of verbs. + + =Modify.= To be grammatically dependent upon and to limit or + alter the quality of. In the expression "The very old man," + _the_ and _old_ modify _man_, and _very_ modifies _old_. + + =Participle.= A verbal used as an adjective, or as an adjective + with adverbial qualities. In the sentence "Mary, being oldest, + is also the best liked," _being oldest_ refers exclusively, or + almost exclusively, to the subject and is therefore adjectival. + In such sentences as "He fell back, exhausted" and "Running + down the street, I collided with a baby carriage," the + participle refers in part to the verb and is therefore + adverbial as well as adjectival. + + =Phrase.= A group of words forming a subordinate part of a + sentence and not containing a subject and its verb. Examples: + _With a whistle and a roar_ the train arrived [prepositional + phrase]. _Bowing his head_, the prisoner listened to the + verdict of the jury [participial phrase]. In a loose, + untechnical sense _phrase_ may refer to any short group of + words, even if the group includes a subject and its verb. + + =Predicate.= The word or word-group in a sentence which makes an + assertion about the subject. It consists of a finite verb with + or without objects or modifiers. + + =Predicate adjective.= An adjective in the predicate, usually + linked with the subject by some form of the verb _to be_ (_is_, + _was_, _were_, etc.). (John is _lazy_. The soldiers were very + _eager_.) + + =Predicate noun.= A noun linked with the subject by some form of + the verb _to be_. (John is _halfback._ They were our + _neighbors._) + + =Sentence.= A sentence is a group of words containing (1) a + subject (with or without modifiers) and a predicate (with or + without modifiers) and not grammatically dependent on any words + outside of itself; or (2) two or more such expressions related + in thought. Sentences of type 1 are simple or complex; + sentences of type 2 are compound. A =simple sentence= contains + one independent clause (The dog barks angrily). A =complex + sentence= contains one independent clause and one or more + subordinate clauses (The dog barks when the thief appears). A + =compound sentence= contains two or more independent clauses (The + dog barks, and the thief runs). + + =Substantive.= A noun or a word standing in place of a noun. (The + _king_ summoned _parliament_. The _bravest_ are the + _tenderest_. _She_ was inconsolable.) A =substantive phrase= is a + phrase used as a noun. (_From Dan to Beersheba_ is a term for + the whole of Israel.) A =substantive clause= is a clause used as + a noun. (_That he owed the money_ is certain.) + + =Syntax.= Construction; the grammatical relation between the + words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. + + =Verbal.= Any form of the verb used as another part of speech. + Infinitives, gerunds, and participles are verbals. They are + used to express action without asserting it, and cannot, + therefore, have subjects or be used as predicate verbs. + +=Abridged Conjugation of the verb _to take_= + + =Tense= =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + + =Indicative Mode= + + =Present= I take I am taken + =Past= I took I was taken + =Future= I shall (will) take I shall (will) be taken + =Perfect= I have taken I have been taken + =Past Perfect= I had taken I had been taken + =Future Perfect= I shall (will) have taken I shall (will) have been taken + + =Subjunctive Mode= + + =Present= If I take If I be taken + =Past= If I took If I were taken + =Perfect= If I have taken If I have been taken + =Past Perfect= If I had taken If I had been taken + + =Imperative Mode= + + =Present= Take + +=Modal Aspects= + +(Modal aspects, formed by combining auxiliaries with the main verb, give +special meanings--emphatic, progressive, etc.--to the primary modes. +Since there are almost as many aspects as there are auxiliaries, only a +few can be enumerated here.) + + =Tense= =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + + { =Emphatic:= I do take + { =Progressive:= I am taking I am being taken + =Present= { =Contingent:= I may take I may be taken + =Indicative= { =Potential:= I can take I can be taken + { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken + { =Etc.= + + { =Emphatic:= I did take + { =Progressive:= I was taking I was being taken + =Past= { =Contingent:= I might take I might be taken + =Indicative= { =Potential:= I could take I could be taken + { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken + { =Etc.= + + { =Emphatic:= If I do take + { =Progressive:= If I be taking + =Present= { =Contingent:= If I might take + =Subjunctive= { =Potential:= If I could take + { =Obligative:= If I must take + { =Etc.= + + =Present= { =Emphatic:= Do take + =Imperative= { =Progressive:= Be taking + + + =Verbals= + + =Infinitive= + + =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + =Present:= To take To be taken + =Perfect:= To have taken To have been taken + + =Gerund= + + =Present:= Taking Being taken + =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken + + =Participle= + + =Present:= Taking Being taken + =Past:= Taken + =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken + + Exercise: + + Copy a page of good prose from any book, leaving wide spaces + between the lines. Indicate the part of speech of every word. + This may be done by abbreviations placed beneath the words. For + example: + + "Von Arden, having fallen into a very unquiet + _noun_ _part._ _prep._ _art._ _adv._ _adj._ + + slumber, dreamed that he was an aged man + _noun_ _verb_ _conj._ _pers pro._ _verb_ _art._ _adj._ _noun_ + + who stood beside a window." + _rel. pro._ _verb_ _prep._ _art._ _noun_ + + + +=59.= EXERCISE IN GRAMMAR + +=A. Case of Pronouns= + +Determine the correct form of the pronoun. + + 1. It is (I, me). + + 2. No one knows better than (she, her). + + 3. Then came the whistle for Gerald and (I, me). + + 4. It was (they, them). + + 5. Alice can drive a car as well as (he, him). + + 6. It was (she, her) (who, whom) you saw on the car. + + 7. John, you may go with Dan and (I, me). + + 8. If I were (she, her), I could not think of accepting the + questionable honor. + + 9. One evening four of (we, us) girls decided to go to the + theater. + + 10. Others are older than (we, us). + + 11. (Who, Whom) do you imagine will be our next president? + + 12. He does not approve of (our, us) walking on the grass. + + 13. Counsel will be given to (they, them) who ask for it. + + 14. That seems strange to you and (I, me). + + 15. Her mother has more regular features than (she, her). + + 16. Women (who, whom) some people would call "quiet" are often + the wisest. + + 17. Between you and (I, me), I'm hungry. + + 18. The thought of (it, its) coming by parcel post never + entered my mind. + + 19. He never discovered (who, whom) his enemy was. + + 20. In case of a fumble, the ball is given to (whoever, + whomever) recovers it. + +=B. Agreement= + +Determine the correct form of the verb. + + 1. He (don't, doesn't) care for music. + + 2. The swimming, boating, and fishing (is, are) good. + + 3. Each one of the two hands of the clock (is, are) made of + gold. + + 4. The ore is sorted and the cars having good ore (is, are) + hauled to the smelter. + + 5. A deck of ordinary playing cards consisting of fifty-two + cards (is, are) used. + + 6. It is safe to say that only one out of every ten of the + great number of students (realizes, realize) the value of + economy. + + 7. In spite of all obstacles, the construction of the three + hundred trestles and the twenty scaffolds (was, were) + completed. + + 8. Some nights may seem still, yet there (is, are) always + noises. + + 9. The exact meaning of such words as _inspiration_, + _prophecy_, and _orthodox_ (puzzles, puzzle) laymen. + + 10. Hard roads (is, are) an important matter to all country + people. + + 11. There (has, have) been many lives lost in Arctic + exploration. + + 12. Personal gifts inspired by good will and directed by + careful thought (is, are) the very best kind of charity. + + 13. In Lincoln's replies to Douglas there (is, are) no flights + or oratory. + + 14. The conciseness of these lines (is, are) to be admired. + + 15. A constant stream of wagons and horses (was, were) passing + as the circus was unloaded. + + 16. Nevertheless there (exists, exist) a certain class of + students who are socially submerged. + + 17. She (doesn't, don't) care for olives. + + 18. "Current Events" (is, are) a very useful department of this + magazine. + + 19. No people (lives, live) in that house. + + 20. The corporal, together with two other members of the + patrol, (was, were) captured by the enemy. + +=C. _Shall_ and _Will_, _Should_ and _Would_= + +Determine the correct form of the verb. + + 1. Perhaps I (shall, will) be able to go. + + 2. I tell you, I (shall will) not allow that dog in the car. + + 3. It is odd what a person (shall, will) do in a time of + excitement. + + 4. They have never seen anything like it, and probably they + never (shall, will). + + 5. "Johnny, you (shall, will) not go!" Johnny knew that further + begging was useless. + + 6. As we (shall, will) find by investigation, our coast + fortifications are few. + + 7. I (shouldn't, wouldn't) do that for anything. + + 8. I (should, would) think you (should, would) enjoy your + bicycle. + + 9. (Shall, will) you go driving with us? + + 10. Do you think it (shall, will) rain? + + 11. Where (shall, will) I hang my hat? + + 12. (Should, would) you go if I (should, would) ask you? + + 13. Rover (should, would) stay in the house all the time, if we + (should, would) let him. + + 14. I promised that I (should, would) be at the station early, + lest we (should, would) miss the train. + + 15. You (shall, will) have much trouble with that cold, I'm + afraid. + +=D. _Lie_, _lay_; _sit_, _set_; _rise_, _raise_= + + Fix in mind the following principal parts: + + I lie I lay I have lain + I lay I laid I have laid + I sit I sat I have sat + I set I set I have set + I rise I rose I have risen + I raise I raised I have raised + + _Lie_, _sit_, _rise_ are used intransitively; _lay_, _set_, + _raise_ are used transitively. _Lay_, _set_, _raise_ are + causatives; that is, _to lay_ means _to cause to lie_, etc. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _lie_ or _lay_: + + 1. I ---- here and watch the clouds. My dog is ----ing at my + feet. + + 2. In the evening I ---- aside all cares. I ---- down on the + couch and read. Yesterday I ---- there an hour. + + 3. The children have ---- in bed until seven o'clock. John has + ---- his coat on a chair. He ---- there asleep now. + + 4. ---- the shovel down. The garden is now ---- out in rows. + ---- down and take a little rest. + + 5. Smoke ---- along the horizon. Snow was ----ing here + yesterday. He is ----ing plans for the future. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _sit_ or _set_: + + 6. Jerome ---- the box on the floor. Then he ---- on the box. + + 7. Four people are ----ing at the table. Who ---- the lamp + there? + + 8. I had ---- there an hour. They had ---- the pitcher outside + the door. + + 9. I often ---- up late. Last night I ---- up late. I must + ----the alarm clock. + + 10. ---- the package down. ---- down and rest. While we are + ----ing there the gardener is ----ing out the plants. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _rise_ or _raise_: + + 11. ---- up and speak! ---- the window. + + 12. He quickly ---- his head. The cork had gone under, but now + it ---- again to the surface. + + 13. During the night the bread ---- to the top of the pan. + + 14. The invalid slowly ---- himself in his bed. + + 15. The river has already ---- and overflowed its banks. + +=E. Principal Parts of Verbs= + +In the following sentences supply the correct form of the verb. + + 1. He ---- (past tense of _come_) to this country in 1887. + + 2. He has ---- (past participle of _eat_) breakfast and ---- + (past participle of _go_) to the office. + + 3. Have you ---- (past participle of _ride_) far? I have + ----(past participle of _drive_) ten miles. + + 4. I am sure it was Henry who ---- (past tense of _do_) it, for + I ---- (past tense of _see_) him running away as fast as he + could go. + + 5. The wind has ---- (past participle of _tear_) down the + chimney and ---- (past participle of _blow_) down the tree. + + 6. After he ---- (past tense of _lie_) down, he remembered he + had left his books ---- (present participle of _lie_) in the + orchard. + + 7. He ---- (past tense of _throw_) the ball so hard that the + window was ---- (past participle of _break_) into a hundred + pieces. + + 8. The man ---- (past tense of _give_) warning before we had + ---- (past participle of _go_) too far. + + 9. After we had ---- (past participle of _ride_) about ten + miles we ---- (past tense of _come_) upon a stretch of hard + road. + + 10. Where ---- (past tense of _be_) you? You ----n't (past + tense of _be_) at home when I ---- (past tense of _ring_) the + bell. + + 11. The harness was ---- (past participle of _break_ or + _burst_) beyond repair. Who ---- (past tense of _break_) it? + + 12. I ---- (past tense of _take_) four shots at the rabbit, but + every shot ---- (past tense of _go_) wild. + + 13. He has ---- (past participle of _swim_) across the harbor, + and has ---- (past participle of _break_) the record. + + 14. I had ---- (past participle of _drink_) buttermilk for + several weeks. I ---- (past tense of _begin_) to gain weight. + + 15. When we had ---- (past participle of _sit_) there an hour + and ---- (past participle of _eat_) all we wanted, Jim ---- + (past tense of _draw_) out his purse and ---- (past tense of + _give_) the waiter a dollar. + + +=F. General= + +Improve the grammar of the following sentences. + + 1. Those kind of lamps are ugly. + + 2. It don't interest me any more. + + 3. Nobody may enter the hall tonight without their admittance + cards. + + 4. One does not need to strain their ears while at the movies. + + 5. Nearly all people eat too much, too fast, and too irregular. + + 6. Don't take this letter too serious. + + 7. He done the best he could with these kind of tools. + + 8. Every person with a cold was blowing their nose. + + 9. It would help considerable if you would speak to the manager + about existing conditions. + + 10. If I were the mayor, I could not do as good as he does. + + 11. Talk polite to your customers. + + 12. It is important that a salesman has a good memory. + + 13. Each tube must be capable of withstanding a pressure of + five hundred pounds per square inch before they are lowered + into place. + + 14. She is as tall, if not taller, than he is. + + 15. He always has and always will say that. + + 16. He is one of the worst, if not the very worst, player on + the team. + + 17. Final examinations require time and study that would not + otherwise be done. + + 18. I feel badly. He talks rude. It smells fragrantly. + + + + +DICTION + + +=Wordiness= + +=60. Avoid wordiness. Strike out words not essential to the thought.= + + Roundabout impersonal construction: There are many interesting + things which may be seen in New York. [12 words.] + + Better: Many interesting things may be seen in New York. [9 + words.] + + Clause to be reduced to a phrase: The skeleton which stood in + the office of Dr. Willard was terrifying to little Cecil. [15 + words.] + + Right: The skeleton in Dr. Willard's office was terrifying to + little Cecil. [11 words.] + + Clause and phrase each to be reduced to a word: Men who cared + only for their individual interests were now in a state of + discouragement. [15 words.] + + Right: Selfish men were now discouraged. [5 words.] + + Separate predication in excess: That day I was shocking wheat + behind the binder. Shocking wheat behind the binder was my + usual job in harvest. That day while I was working at this job, + I found a nest full of partridge eggs. [37 words.] + + Right: That day, while shocking wheat behind the binder, my + usual job in harvest, I found a nest full of partridge eggs. + [21 words.] + + Ponderous scientific terms for simple ideas: Since, according + to the physicists, the per cent of efficiency of a machine is + equal to the amount of energy put in, divided by the amount of + useful work performed, it naturally follows that in all human + activities, unnecessary friction, since it lowers the amount of + nervous energy, is going to lower the per cent of efficiency. + While we may never reach an astonishing degree of efficiency by + economizing nervous energy, nevertheless, if we consistently + and perseveringly try to spare ourselves all unnecessary labor + and exertion, we shall have an abundant supply of energy to + direct into channels of usefulness. [100 words.] + + Right: If we economize our strength, we can make our actions + more efficient and useful. [14 words.] + + Inflated writing: She was supreme in beauty among the daughters + of Eve whom his ravished eyes had hitherto beheld. [17 words.] + + Right: She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. [10 + words.] + +Note.--A special form of wordiness is tautology--the useless repetition +of an idea in different words. + + Gross tautology: He had an entire monopoly of the whole fruit + trade. [This is like saying "black blackbird."] + + Right: He had a monopoly of the fruit trade. + + Tautological expressions: + + this here + where at + return back + ascend up + repeat again + biography of his life + good benefits + fellow playmates + Hallowe'en evening + important essentials + indorse on the back + connect up + meet up with + combined together + perfectly all right + utter absence of + quite round + absolutely annihilated + still continue to + absolutely new creation + necessary requisite + total effect of all this + + Exercise: + + 1. The people who act the parts in a play want the people who + witness the performance to applaud them. + + 2. There is an oily grass which is found on the prairie, and + which is called mesquite grass, and it covers the prairie. + + 3. You wish to call the operator. You take the receiver from + the hook. By taking the receiver from the hook you call the + operator. + + 4. At last the employer of the men, and those who were employed + by him, having compromised their difficulties, effected a + settlement, and reached an amicable understanding agreeable to + both parties. + + 5. The two merchants joined up their forces together in order + to secure a monopoly of the entire trade of the village. There + was one absolutely essential preliminary which they thought + must necessarily precede everything else. It was that they + should take all the old shop-worn articles and dispose of them + by selling them as bargains at a reduced rate. + + +=Triteness= + +=61. Avoid trite or hackneyed expressions.= Such expressions may be tags +from everyday speech (_the worse for wear_, _had the time of my life_); +or stale phrases from newspapers (_taken into custody_, _the officiating +clergyman_); or humorous substitutions (_ferocious canine_, _paternal +ancestor_); or forced synonyms (_gridiron heroes_, _the Hoosier +metropolis_); or conventional fine writing (_reigns supreme_, _wind +kissed the tree-tops_); or oft-repeated euphemisms (_limb_ for _leg_, +_pass away_ for _die_); or overworked quotations from literature +(_monarch of all I survey_, _footprints on the sands of time_). + + List of trite expressions: + + along these lines + meets the eye + feathered songsters + a long-felt want + the last sad rites + launched into eternity + last but not least + doomed to disappointment + at one fell swoop + sadder but wiser + did justice to a dinner + a goodly number + budding genius + beggars description + a dull thud + silence broken only by + wended their way + abreast of the times + trees stood like sentinels + method in his madness + sun-kissed meadows + tired but happy + hoping you are the same + nipped in the bud + the happy pair + seething mass of humanity + specimen of humanity + with bated breath + green with envy + the proud possessor + too full for utterance + a pugilistic encounter + conspicuous by its absence + with whom they come in contact + exception proves the rule + favor with a selection + as luck would have it + more easily imagined than described + where ignorance is bliss + + Exercise: + + 1. Halleck returned from his trip considerably the worse for + wear. + + 2. The baby whom she had promised to keep quiet proved to be a + foeman worthy of her steel. + + 3. I first saw the light of day in New Orleans. It was in the + Crescent City also that my dear mother passed away. + + 4. Americans come off second best in a vocalizing encounter + with umlauted _u_, while Germans and Frenchmen wage sanguinary + battles with our _th_. + + 5. The daily scramble for dear life to get aboard a trolley was + like taking arms against a sea of troubles. Even standing room + was conspicuous by its absence. Sheridan began to think along + the line of getting to the office in some other way. + + +=The Exact Word= + +=62. Find the exact word. Do not be content with a loose meaning. Seek +the verb, the noun, the adjective, the adverb, or the phrase which +expresses your thought with precision.= Such words as _said_, +_proposition_, and _nice_ are often used too loosely. Observe the +possible gain in definiteness by substitution. + + For _said_ (verb): _declared_, _related_, _insisted_, + _exclaimed_, _added_, _repeated_, _replied_, _admitted_, + _commented_, _corrected_, _protested_, _explained_, + _besought_, _interrupted_, _inquired_, _stammered_, _sighed_, + _murmured_, or _thundered_. + + For _proposition_ (noun): _transaction_, _undertaking_, + _venture_, _recourse_, _suggestion_, _overture_, _proposal_, + _proffer_, _convenience_, _difficulty_, _thesis_, or + _doctrine_. + + For _nice_ (adjective): _discriminating_, _precise_, + _fastidious_, _dainty_, _neat_, _pretty_, _pleasant_, + _fragrant_, _delicious_, _well-behaved_, _good_, or _moral_. + + Inexact verb: He had not sufficiently _regarded_ the + difficulties of the task [Use _considered_]. + + Inexact noun: Promptness is an _item_ which a manager should + possess [Use _quality_]. + + Inexact adjective: He looked _awfully funny_ when I told him he + had made a mistake [Use _surprised_]. + + Inexact phrasing throughout: Health is first in every line of + activity. A man who has it does not hold it with enough + respect, and make efforts enough to keep it. + + Right: Health is indispensable to success in any work. Even + those who have it do not realize its value. + + Exercise: + + 1. He was proud of the honorable record he had gained. + + 2. He resolved that some day he would be a banker, and I shall + tell you how he tried to do so. + + 3. Isn't the sunset grand? Isn't it nice to be out of doors? + + 4. The mystery as to which ones of the piano keys to play was + hard for him to acquire. + + 5. If the package comes by freight, you must negotiate the + proposition of getting it home; but if it comes by express, the + delivery is done free. + + +=Concreteness= + +=63. Concrete words are often more effective than vague, general, or +abstract words.= + + Not specific: She held herself aloof from her brothers' games + and amusements. + + Concrete: She never played soldier or sailed paper boats with + her brothers. + + No appeal to the senses: I liked to watch the servant girl as + she moved about the kitchen, preparing our morning repast. + + Concrete: I liked to watch Norah as she fried our crisp + breakfast bacon and browned our buckwheat cakes. + + Flat, not readily visualized: The first inhabitants overcame + the barriers to settlement about a century ago. + + Concrete: Rough backwoodsmen broke through the underbrush and + swamp-land a century ago. + + Exercise: + + 1. The scientist discovered a bird in a tree. + + 2. Our hostess set before us many good things to eat. + + 3. The sailor was carving queer figures on a piece of soft + wood. + + 4. The night watchman heard something that made him suspicious. + + 5. I stood at the door of the shop to watch the astonishing + things the blacksmith was doing. + + +=Sound= + +=64. Avoid the frequent repetition of a sound, especially if it be harsh +or unpleasant.= + + Bad: He is an exceedingly orderly secretary. + + Better: As a secretary he is very systematic. [Or] The + secretary is very systematic. + + Bad: Immediately the squirrel hid himself behind the hickory + tree. + + Better: Immediately the squirrel dodged behind the hickory + tree. + + Unfortunate rime: Bert did not dare to go home with wet hair. + + Better: Bert did not dare to go home with his hair wet. [Or] + Bert was afraid to go home with wet hair. + + Exercise: + + 1. That Christmas happened to be unusually happy. + + 2. I fear we must sit near the rear of the room. + + 3. The Jackies went clambering and scurrying up the rigging. + + 4. The ship slips anchor while the idlers sip tea on the deck. + + 5. The third treasure-seeker heard a thud. His pick had struck + an obstruction. + + +=Subtle Violations of Good Use: Faulty Idioms, Colloquialisms= + +=65. Avoid subtle violations of good use, particularly (a) faulty idioms +and (b) colloquialisms.= + +=a. Make your expression conform to English idiom.= A faulty idiom is an +expression which, though correct in grammar and general meaning, +combines words in a manner contrary to usage. Idioms are established by +custom, and cannot be explained by logical rules. "I enjoy to read" is +wrong, not because the words offend logic or grammar, but merely because +people do not instinctively make that combination of words. "I like to +read" and "I enjoy reading" are good idioms. + + =Faulty Idioms= =Correct Idioms= + + in the city Toledo in the city of Toledo + in the year of 1920 in the year 1920 + I hope you a good time I wish you a good time + the Rev. Hopkins the Reverend Mr. Hopkins + possessed with ability possessed of ability + stay to home stay at home + different than different from + independent from independent of + in search for in search of + +Observe that many idioms are concerned with prepositions. Make sure that +a verb or adjective is accompanied by the right preposition. Study the +following list of correct idioms: + + accused of (a theft) + accused by (a person) + accord with (a person) + agree with (a person) + agree to (a proposal) + agreeable to + angry at (things or persons) + angry with (a person) + careful about (an affair) + careful of (one's money) + comply with + convenient to (a person) + convenient for (a purpose) + correspond to (things) + correspond with (persons) + dissent from + enamored of + entrust to + free from + listen to + part from (a person) + part with (a thing) + pleased with + resolve on + sympathize with + take exception to + +=b. Do not carry the standards of conversation into formal writing.= +Colloquial usage is more free than literary usage. The colloquial +sentence _That's the man I talked with_ becomes in writing _That is the +man with whom I talked._ The colloquial sentence _It was a cold day but +there wasn't any wind blowing_ is a loose string of words. Written +discourse requires greater tension and more care in subordinating minor +ideas: _The day, though cold, was still._ Contractions are proper in +conversation, and in personal or informal writing. In formal writing +they are not appropriate. And do not let such expressions as _He +doesn't_, _We aren't_, _It's proved_, used in talk by careful speakers, +mislead you into expressions like _He don't_, _We ain't_, _It's proven_, +which violate even colloquial good use. + + Exercise: + + 1. He confessed of his inability to comply to the demand. + + 2. Is he from Irish descent? Is humor characteristic with the + Irish? + + 3. She was not to home, but I was reluctant against leaving. + + 4. He dissented to the opinion of the committee's majority, for + his ideas were utterly different than theirs. + + 5. He got a few jobs as a carpenter that summer, but they + didn't pay him much, and so he went to loafing around, and he's + been at it ever since. + + +=Gross Violations of Good Use: Barbarisms, Improprieties, Slang= + +=66. Avoid gross violations of good use, particularly (a) barbarisms, (b) +improprieties, and (c) slang.= + +=a. Barbarisms are distortions of words in good use, or coinages for +which there is no need.= Examples: _to concertize_, _to burgle_ or +_burglarize_, _to jell_, _alright_, _a-plenty_, _most_ (for _almost_), +_performess_, _fake_, _pep_, _tasty_, _illy_, _complected_, +_undoubtably_, _nowheres_, _soph_, _lab_, _gents_. + +=b. Improprieties are words wrenched from one part of speech to another, +or made to perform an unnatural service.= Examples: _to suspicion_, _to +gesture_, _to suicide_, _a steal_, _a try_, _a go_, _an invite_, _the +eats_, _humans_, _some_ or _real_ or _swell_ (as adverbs), _like_ (as a +conjunction). + +=c. Slang is speech consisting either of uncouth expressions of +illiterate origin, or of legitimate expressions used in grotesque or +irregular senses.= Though sometimes (witness eighteenth century _mob_, +and nineteenth century _buncombe_) it satisfies a real need and becomes +established in the language, in most instances it is short-lived +(witness the thieves' talk in _Oliver Twist_, or passages from any comic +opera song popular five years ago). Vicious types of slang are: + + Expressions of vulgar origin (from criminal classes, the prize + ring, the vaudeville circuit, etc.): _get pinched_, _down and + out_, _took the count_, _bum hunch_, _nix on the comedy + stuff_, _get across_. + + Language strained or distorted for novel effect: _performed the + feed act at a bang-up gastronomic emporium_, _bingled a tall + drive that made the horsehide ramble out into center garden_. + + Blanket expressions used as substitutes for thinking: + _corking_, _stunning_, _ain't it fierce?_, _can you beat it?_, + _going some_, _just so I get by with it_. + +The use of the last-named type is most to be regretted. It leads to a +mental habit of phonographic repetition, with no resort to independent +thinking. If a man really desires to use slang, let him invent new +expressions every day, and make them fit the specific occasion. + + Exercise: + + 1. I disremember what sort of an outfit he wore. + + 2. Helen's as light-complected a girl as you'll run across, I + calculate. + + 3. His ad brought a first-rate gent to hold down the job. + + 4. Thompson hasn't stability, or it seems like it. He ain't got + no gumption. He's too easy enthused. + + 5. The grub was to of cost us two bits, but we didn't have the + dough. We gets outside the food, and when the cashier ain't + lookin', we runs out the door and beats it. + + +=Words Often Confused in Meaning= + +=67. Do not confuse or interchange the meanings of the following words:= + + =_Accept_ and _except_.= _Accept_ means _to receive_; _except_ as + a verb means _to exclude_ and as a preposition means _with the + exception of_. + + =_Affect_ and _effect_.= _Affect_ is not used as a noun; _effect_ + as a noun means _result_. As verbs, _affect_ means _to + influence in part_; _effect_ means _to accomplish totally_. + "His story affected me deeply." "The Russians effected a + revolution." _Affect_ also has a special meaning _to feign_. + "She had an affected manner." + + =_Allusion_ and _illusion_.= _Allusion_ means _a reference_; + _illusion_ means a _deceptive appearance_. "A Biblical + allusion." "An optical illusion." + + =_Already_ and _all ready_.= _Already_ means _by this time_ or + _beforehand_; _all ready_ means _wholly ready_. "I have already + invited him." "Dinner is all ready." "We are all ready for + dinner." + + =_Altogether_ and _all together_.= _Altogether_ means _wholly_, + _entirely_; _all together_ means _collectively, in a group_. + "He is altogether honest." "The King sent the people all + together into exile." + + =_Can_ and _may_.= _Can_ means _to be able_; _may_ means _to have + permission_. _Can_ for _may_ has a certain colloquial standing, + but is condemned by literary usage. + + =_Emigrate_ and _immigrate_.= _Emigrate_ means _to go out from a + country_; _immigrate_ means _to enter into a country_. The same + man may be an _emigrant_ when he leaves Europe, and an + _immigrant_ when he enters America. + + =_Healthy_ and _healthful_.= _Healthy_ means _having health_; + _healthful_ means _giving health_. "Milk is healthful." "The + climate of Colorado is healthful." "The boy is healthy." + + =_Hanged_ and _hung_.= _Hanged_ is the correct past tense of + _hang_ in the sense _put to death, hanged on the gallows_; + _hung_ is the correct past tense for the general meaning + _suspended_. + + =_Hygienic_ and _sanitary_.= Both words mean _pertaining to + health_. _Hygienic_ is used when the condition is a matter of + personal habits or rules; _sanitary_ is used when the condition + is a matter of surroundings (water supply, food supply, sewage + disposal, etc.) or the relations of numbers of people. + + =_Instants_ and _instance_.= _Instants_ means _small portions of + time_; _instance_ means _an example_. + + =_Later_ and _latter_.= _Later_ means _more late_; _latter_ means + _the second in a series of two_. "The latter" is used in + conjunction with the phrase "the former." + + =_Lead_ and _led_.= _Led_ is the past tense of the verb _to + lead_. _Lead_ is the present tense. + + =_Learn_ and _teach_.= _Learn_ means _to get knowledge of_; + _teach_ means _to give knowledge of_ or _to_. "The instructor + _teaches_ (not _learns_) me physics." "He learns his lessons + easily." + + =_Leave_ and _let_.= _Leave_ means _to abandon_; _let_ means _to + permit_. + + =_Less_ and _fewer_.= _Less_ refers to quantity; _fewer_ refers + to number. "He has _fewer_ (not _less_) horses than he needs." + + =_Liable_, _likely_, and _apt_.= _Likely_ merely predicts; + _liable_ conveys the additional idea of harm or responsibility. + _Apt_ applies usually to persons, in the sense of _having + natural capability_, and sometimes to things, in the sense of + _fitting_, _appropriate_. "It is likely to be a pleasant day." + "I fear it is liable to rain." "He is liable for damages." "He + is an apt lad at his books." "That is an apt phrase." + + =_Lie_ and _lay_.= _Lay_, a transitive verb, means _to cause to + lie_. "I lay the book on the table and it lies there." "Now I + lay me down to sleep." A source of confusion between the two + words is that the past tense of _lie_ is _lay_: + + I lie down to sleep. I lay the book on the table. + I lay there yesterday. I laid it there yesterday. + I have lain here for hours. I have laid it there many times. + + =_Like_ and _as_ or _as if_.= _Like_ is in good use as a + preposition, and may be followed by a noun; _as_ is in good use + as a conjunction, and may be followed by a clause. "He is tall + like his father." "He is tall, as his father is." "It looks _as + if_ (not _like_) it were going to rain." + + =_Lose_ and _loose_.= _Lose_ means _to cease having_; _loose_ as + a verb means _to set free_, and as an adjective, _free, not + bound_. + + =_Majority_ and _plurality_.= In a loose sense, _majority_ means + the _greater part_. More strictly, it means the number by which + votes cast for one candidate exceed those of the opposition. A + _plurality_ is the excess of votes received by one candidate + over his nearest competitor. In an election A receives 500 + votes; B, 400 votes; and C, 300 votes. A has a plurality of + 100, but no majority. + + =_Practical_ and _practicable_.= _Practical_ means _not + theoretical_; _practicable_ means _capable of being put into + practice_. "A practical man." "The arrangement is + practicable." + + =_Principal_ and _principle_.= _Principal_ as an adjective means + _chief_ or _leading_; _principle_ as a noun means a _general + truth_. _Principal_ as a noun means a _sum of money_, or the + _chief official of a school_. + + =_Proof_ and _evidence_.= In a law court, _proof_ is _evidence + sufficient to establish a fact_; _evidence_ is _whatever is + brought forward in an attempt to establish a fact_. "The + evidence against the prisoner was extensive, but hardly proof + of his guilt." In ordinary speech, _proof_ is sometimes loosely + used as a synonym for _evidence_. + + =_Pseudo-_ and _quasi-_.= As a prefix, _pseudo-_ means _false_; + _quasi-_ means literally _as if_, hence _seeming_, _so-called_. + "Phrenology is a pseudo-science." "A quasi-evolutionary + doctrine." + + =_Quiet_ and _quite_.= _Quiet_ is an adjective meaning _calm_, + _not noisy_; _quite_ is an adverb meaning _entirely_. + + =_Respectfully_ and _respectively_.= _Respectfully_ means _in a + courteous manner_; _respectively_ means _in a way proper to + each_. "Yours _respectfully_" (not _respectively_). "He handed + the commissions to Gray and Hodgins respectively." + + =_Rise_ and _raise_.= _Rise_ is an intransitive verb; _raise_ is + a transitive verb. "I rise to go home." "I raise vegetables." + "I raise the stone from the ground." + + =_Sit_ and _set_.= _Set_, a transitive verb, means _to cause to + sit_. "He sets it in the corner and it sits there." The past + tense of _sit_ is _sat_. + + I sit down. I always set it in its place. + He sat in this very chair. I set it in its place yesterday. + He has sat there an hour. I have always set it just here. + + =_Stationary_ and _stationery_.= _Stationary_ is an adjective + meaning _fixed_; _stationery_ is a noun meaning _writing + material_. + + =_Statue_, _stature_, and _statute_.= _Statue_ means a _carved_ + or _moulded figure_; _stature_ means _height_; _statute_ means + a _law_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Insert _affect_ or _effect_: Noise does not ---- my + studying. It has little ---- on me. By the exercise of will + power I was able to ---- a change. + + 2. Insert _healthy_ or _healthful_: New Mexico has a ---- + climate, Graham bread is ----. You will be ---- if you take + exercise. + + 3. Insert _later_ or _latter_: I will see you ----. Here are + two plans: the former is complex; the ---- is simple. Sooner or + ---- you will learn the rule. + + 4. Insert _less_ or _fewer_: They have ---- money than we; we + have ---- pleasures than they. It seems to me there are ---- + accidents. + + 5. Insert _principal_ or _principle_: The ---- part of a clock + is the pendulum, which swings regularly, according to a ---- of + science. My ---- reason for trusting him is that he is a man of + ----. He is the ---- of the high school. The widow spends the + interest on the money, but keeps the ---- intact. + + +=Glossary of Faulty Diction= + +=68. Avoid faulty diction.= + + =_Ad_= (for _advertisement_). Avoid in formal writing and + speaking. + + =_Ain't_.= Never correct. Say _I'm not_, _you_ [_we_, _they_] + _aren't_, _he_ [_she_, _it_] _isn't_. + + =_All the farther_, _all the faster_.= Crude. Use _as far as_, + _as fast as_, in such sentences as "This is all the farther I + can go." + + =_As_.= (a) Incorrect in the sense of _that_ or _whether_. "I + don't know _whether_ (not _as_) I can tell you." "Not _that_ + (not _as_) I know." (b) _As ... as_ are correlatives. _Than_ + must not replace the second _as_. Right: "As good as or better + than his neighbors." "As good as his neighbors, or better [than + they]." See 57. + + =_Auto_.= An abbreviation not desirable in formal writing. + + =_Awful_.= Means _filling with awe_ or _filled with awe_. Do not + use in the sense of _uncivil_, _serious_, or _ludicrous_, or + (in the adverbial form) in the sense of _very_, _extremely_. + + =_Balance_.= Incorrect when used in the sense of _remainder_. + + =_Because_.= Not to be used for _the fact that_. "_The fact that_ + (not _because_) he is absent is no reason why we should not + proceed." See 5. + + =_Between_.= Used of two persons or things. Not to be confused + with _among_, which is used of more than two. + + =_Blame on_.= A crudity for _put the blame on_ or _blame_. + Faulty: "Don't blame it on me." Better: "Don't blame me." + + =_Borned_.= A monstrosity for _born_. "I was _born_ (not + _borned_) in 1899." + + =_Bursted_.= The past tense of _burst_ is the same as the + present. + + =_Bust_ or _busted_.= Vulgar for _burst_. Right: "The balloon + burst." "The bank failed." + + =_But what_.= _That_ is often preferable. "I do not doubt _that_ + (not _but what_) he is honest." + + =_Canine_.= An adjective. Not in good use as a noun. + + =_Cannot help but_.= A confusion of _can but_ and _cannot help_. + "I can but believe you"; or "I cannot help believing you"; not + "I cannot help but believe you." See 34. + + =_Caused by_.= To be used only when it refers definitely to a + noun. Wrong: "He was disappointed, caused by the lateness of + the train." The noun _disappointment_ should be used instead of + the verb _disappointed_. Then caused will have a definite + reference. Right: "His disappointment was caused by the + lateness of the train." See 23. + + =_Claim_.= Means _to demand as a right_. Incorrect for _maintain_ + or _assert_. + + =_Considerable_.= An adjective, not an adverb. "He talked + _considerably_ (not _considerable_) about it." + + =_Could of_.= An illiterate form arising from slovenly + pronunciation. Use _could have_. Avoid also _may of_, _must + of_, _would of_, etc. + + =_Data_.= Plural. The singular (seldom used) is _datum_. Compare + _stratum_, _strata_; _erratum_, _errata_. + + =_Demean_.= Means _to conduct oneself_, not _to lower_ or _to + degrade_. + + =_Different than_.= _Different from_ is to be preferred. _Than_ + is a conjunction. The idea of separation implied in _different_ + calls for a preposition, rather than a word of comparison. + + =_Disremember_.= Not in good use. + + =_Done_.= A gross error when used as the past tense of _do_, or + as an adverb meaning _already_. "_I did it_ (not _I done it_)." + "I've _already_ (not _done_) got my lessons." + + =_Don't_.= A contraction for _do not_; never to be used for _does + not_. The contraction of _does not_ is _doesn't_. See 51d. + + =_Drownded_.= Vulgar for _drowned_. + + =_Due to_.= To be used only when it refers definitely to a noun. + Faulty: "He refused the offer, due to his father's opposition." + Right: "His refusal of the offer was due to his father's + opposition." The noun _refusal_ should be used instead of the + verb _refused_. Then _due_ will have a definite reference. See + 5. + + =_Enthuse_.= Not in good use. + + =_Etc._= An abbreviation for the Latin _et cetera_, meaning _and + other_ [things]. _Et_ means _and_. _And etc._ is therefore + grossly incorrect. Do not write _ect._ + + =_Expect_.= Means _to look forward to_. Hardly correct in the + sense of _suppose_. + + =_Fine_.= Use cautiously as an adjective, and not at all as an + adverb. Seek the exact word. See 62. + + =_Former_.= Means the first or first named of two. Not to be used + when more than two have been named. The corresponding word is + _latter_. + + =_For to_.= Incorrect for _to_. "I want _you_ (not _for you_) to + listen carefully." "He made up his mind _to_ (not _for to_) + accept." + + =_Gent_.= A vulgar abbreviation of _gentleman_. + + =_Good_.= An adjective, not an adverb. Wrong: "He did good in + mathematics." Right: "He did well in mathematics." "He did good + work in mathematics." + + =_Gotten_.= An old form now usually replaced by _got_ except in + such expressions as _ill-gotten gains_. + + =_Guess_.= Expresses conjecture. Not to be used in formal + composition for _think_, _suppose_, or _expect_. + + =_Had of_.= Illiterate. "I wish I _had known_ (not _had of + known_) about it." + + =_Had ought_.= A vulgarism. "He _ought_ (not _had ought_) to have + resigned." "We _oughtn't_ (not _hadn't ought_) to make this + error." + + =_Hardly_.= Not to be used with a negative. See 34. + + =_Home_.= Do not use when you mean simply _house_. + + =_Human_ or _humans_.= Not in good use as a noun. Say _human + being_. Right: "The house was not fit for _human beings_ (not + _humans_) to live in." + + =_If_.= Do not use for _whether_. "I can't say _whether_ (not + _if_) the laundry will be finished today." + + =_In_.= Often misused for _into_. "He jumped _into_ (not _in_) + the pond." + + =_It's_.= Means _it is_; not to be written for the possessive + _its_. + + =_Kind of_.= (a) Should not modify adjectives or verbs. "He was + _somewhat_ (not _kind of_) lean." "_She partly suspected_ (not + _She kind of suspected_) what was going on." (b) When using + with a noun, do not follow by _a_. "That kind of man"; not + "That kind of a man." + + =_Like_.= To be followed by a substantive; never by a substantive + and a verb. "He ran like a deer." "Do _as_ (not _like_) I do." + "She felt _as if_ (not _like_) she was going to faint." _Like_ + is a preposition; _as_ is a conjunction. + + =_Literally_.= Do not use where you plainly do not mean it, as in + the sentence, "I was literally tickled to death." + + =_Loan_.= _Lend_ is in better use as a verb. + + =_Locate_.= Do not use for _settle_ or _establish oneself_. + + =_Lose out_.= Not used in formal writing. Say _lose_. + + =_Lots of_.= A mercantile term which has a dubious colloquial + standing. Not in good literary use for _many_ or _much_. + + =_Might of_.= A vulgarism for _might have_. + + =_Most_.= Do not use for _almost_. "_Almost_ (not _most_) all." + + =_Myself_.= Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the simple + personal pronoun would suffice. "I saw them myself." "Some + friends and _I_ (not _myself_) went walking." + + =_Neither_.= Used with _nor_, and not with _or_. "Neither the man + whom his associates had suspected _nor_ (not _or_) the one whom + the police had arrested was the criminal." "She could neither + paint a good picture _nor_ (not _or_) play the violin well." + + =_Nice_.= Means _delicate_ or _precise_. _Nice_ is used in a + loose colloquial way to indicate general approval, but should + not be so used in formal writing. Right: "He displayed nice + judgment." "We had a _pleasant_ (not _nice_) time." See 62. + + =_Nowhere near_.= Vulgar for _not nearly_. + + =_Nowheres_.= Vulgar. + + =_O_ and _Oh_.= _O_ is used with a noun in direct address; it is + not separated from the noun by any marks of punctuation. _Oh_ + is used as an interjection; it is followed by a comma or an + exclamation point. "Hear, O king, what thy servants would say." + "Oh, dear!" + + =_Of_.= Do not use for _have_ in such combinations as _should + have_, _may have_, _ought to have_. + + =_Off of_.= _On_, _upon_, or some equivalent expression is + usually preferable. + + =_Ought to of_.= A vulgarism for _ought to have_. + + =_Over with_.= Crude for _over_. + + =_Pants_.= _Trousers_ is the approved term in literary usage. + _Pants_ (from _pantaloons_) has found some degree of colloquial + and commercial acceptance. + + =_Party_.= Not to be used for _person_, except in legal phrases. + + =_Phone_.= A contraction not employed in formal writing. Say + _telephone_. + + =_Plenty_.= A noun; not in good use as an adjective or an adverb. + "He had _plenty of_ (not _plenty_) resources." "He had + _resources in plenty_ (not _resources plenty_)." + + =_Proposition_.= Means a _thing proposed_. Do not use loosely, as + in the sentence: "A berth on a Pullman is a good proposition + during a railway journey at night." See 62. + + =_Proven_.= Prefer _proved_. + + =_Providing_.= Prefer _provided_ in such expressions as "I will + vote for him _provided_ (not _providing_) he is a candidate." + + =_Quite a_.= Colloquial in such expressions as _quite a while_, + _quite a few_, _quite a number_. + + =_Raise_.= _Rear_ or _bring up_ is preferable in speaking of + children. "She _reared_ (not _raised_) seven children." + + =_Rarely ever_.= Crude for _rarely_, _hardly ever_. + + =_Real_.= Crude for _very_ or _really_. "She was _very_ (not + _real_) intelligent." "He was _really_ (not _real_) brave." + + =_Remember of_.= Not to be used for _remember_. + + =_Right smart_ and _Right smart of_.= Extremely vulgar. + + =_Same_.= No longer used as a pronoun except in legal documents. + "He saw her drop the purse and restored _it_ (not _the same_) + to her." + + =_Scarcely_.= Not to be used with a negative. See 34. + + =_Seldom ever_.= Crude for _seldom_, _hardly ever_. + + =_Shall_.= Do not confuse with _will_. See 53. + + =_Sight_.= _A sight_ or _a sight of_ is very crude for _many_, + _much_, _a great deal of_. "_A great many_ (not _a sight_) of + them." + + =_So_.= Not incorrect, but loose, vague, and often unnecessary. + (a) As an intensive, the frequent use of _so_ has been + christened "the feminine demonstrative." Hackneyed: "I was so + surprised." Better: "I was much surprised." Or, "I was + surprised." (b) As a connective, the frequent use of _so_ is a + mark of amateurishness. See 36 Note. + + =_Some_.= Not to be used as an adverb. "She was _somewhat_ (not + _some_) better the next day." Wrong: "He studied some that + night." Right: "He did some studying that night." + + =_Somewheres_.= Very crude. Use _somewhere_. + + =_Species_.= Has the same form in singular and plural. "He + discovered a new _species_ (not _specie_) of sunflower." + + =_Such_.= (a) To be completed by _that_, rather than by _so + that_, when a result clause follows. "There was such a crowd + _that_ (not _so that_) he did not find his friends." (b) To be + completed by _as_, rather than by _that_, _who_, or _which_, + when a relative clause follows. "I will accept such + arrangements _as_ (not _that_) may be made." "He called upon + such soldiers _as_ (not _who_) would volunteer for this service + to step forward." + + =_Superior than_.= Not in good use for _superior to_. + + =_Sure_.= Avoid the crude adverbial use. "It _surely_ (not + _sure_) was pleasant." In answer to the question, "Will you + go?" either _sure_ or _surely_ is correct, though _surely_ is + preferred. "[To be] sure." "[You may be] sure." "[I will] + surely [go]." + + =_Suspicion_.= A noun. Never to be used as a verb. + + =_Take and_.= Often unnecessary, sometimes crude. Redundant: "He + took the ax and sharpened it." Better: "He sharpened the ax." + Crude: "He took and nailed up the box." Better: "He nailed up + the box." + + =_Tend_.= In the sense _to look after_, takes a direct object + without an interposed _to_. _Attend_, however, is followed by + _to_. "The milliner's assistant _tends_ (not _tends to_) the + shop." "I shall _attend to your wants in a moment_." + + =_That there_.= Do not use for _that_. "I want _that_ (not _that + there_) box of berries." + + =_Them_.= Not to be used as an adjective. "_Those_ (not _them_) + boys." + + =_There were_ or _There was_.= Avoid the unnecessary use. Crude: + "There were seventeen senators voted for the bill." Better: + "Seventeen senators voted for the bill." + + =_These sort_, _These kind_.= Ungrammatical. See 51b. + + =_This here_.= Do not use for _this_. + + =_Those_.= Do not carelessly omit a relative clause after + _those_. Faulty: "He is one of those talebearers." Better: "He + is a talebearer." [Or] "He is one of those talebearers whom + everybody dislikes." + + =_Those kind_, _those sort_.= Ungrammatical. See 51b. + + =_Till_.= Do not carelessly misuse for _when_: "I had scarcely + strapped on my skates _when_ (not _till_) Henry fell through an + air hole." + + =_Transpire_.= Means _to give forth_ or _to become known_, not + _to occur_. "The secret _transpired_." "The sale of the + property _occurred_ (not _transpired_) last Thursday." + + =_Try_.= A verb, not a noun. + + =_Unique_.= Means _alone of its kind_, not _odd_ or _unusual_. + + =_United States_.= Ordinarily preceded by _the_. "The United + States raised a large army." (Not "United States raised a large + army.") + + =_Up_.= Do not needlessly insert after such verbs as _end_, + _rest_, _settle_. + + =_Used to could_.= Very crude. Say _used to be able_ or _once + could_. + + =_Very_.= Accompanied by _much_ when used with the past + participle. "He was _very much_ (not _very_) pleased with his + reception." + + =_Want to_.= Not to be used in the sense of _should_, _had + better_. "You _should_ (not _You want to_) keep in good + physical condition." + + =_Way_.= Not to be used for _away_. "Away (not _way_) down the + street." + + =_Ways_.= Not to be used for _way_ in referring to distance. "A + little _way_ (not _ways_)." + + =_When_.= (a) Not to be used for _that_ in such a sentence as "It + was in the afternoon that the races began." (b) A _when_ clause + is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6. + + =_Where_.= (a) Not to be used for _that_ in such a sentence as "I + see in the paper that our team lost the game." (b) A _where_ + clause is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6. + + =_Where at_.= Vulgar. "Where is he? (not _Where is he at_?)" + + =_Which_.= Do not use for _who_ or _that_ in referring to + persons. "The friends _who_ (not _which_) had loved him in his + boyhood were still faithful to him." + + =_Who_.= Do not use unnecessarily for _which_ or _that_ in + referring to animals. Do not use the possessive form _whose_ + for _of which_ unless the sentence is so turned as practically + to require the substitution. + + =_Will_.= Do not confuse with _shall_. See 53. + + =_Win out_.= Not used in formal writing or speaking. + + =_Woods_.= Not ordinarily to be used as singular. "_A wood_ (not + _A woods_)." + + =_Would have_.= Do not use for _had_ in if clauses. "If you _had_ + (not _would have_) spoken boldly, he would have granted your + request." + + =_Would of_.= A vulgarism for _would have_. + + =_You was_.= Use _You were_ in both singular and plural. + + =_Yourself_.= Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the + personal pronoun would suffice. "_You_ (not _Yourself_) and + your family must come." + + Exercise: + + 1. Be sure the gun works alright. I was already when you came. + + 2. He talked considerable, but I couldn't scarcely remember + what all he said. + + 3. I never suspicioned that John could of been guilty of + forging his father's note. It don't seem hardly possible. + + 4. The island was not inhabited by humans. It was different + than any place I ever remember of. One sailor and myself + climbed a sand hill, but we couldn't see any signs of life + anywheres. + + 5. Hawkeye walked a ways into a woods. He was a right smart at + ease, for he had Kildeer with him. + + +=69.= EXERCISE IN DICTION + +=A. Wordiness= + +Strike out all that is superfluous, and make the following sentences +simple and exact. + + 1. Some students lack the ability of being able to spell. + + 2. He seems to enjoy the universal esteem of all men. + + 3. The mind rebels against the enforced discipline imposed upon + it by others. + + 4. This is the house that was constructed and erected by a + young fellow who went by the common name of Jack. + + 5. There are invariably people in the world who always want to + get something for nothing. I saw some today crowding round a + soap man who was giving away free samples gratis. + + 6. Strawberries which grow in the woods or anywhere like that + have a flavor that is better than that of those which grow in + gardens. + + 7. The people showed Jackson the greatest honor it is within + their power to bestow by electing him president. + + 8. It was an old man of about sixty years, and he carried a + cane to support himself with when he took a walk. He pulled out + his watch to see what time it was every few minutes. + + 9. My favorite magazine is the one called _Popular Mechanics_. + I like it because it appeals to me. + + 10. There is a bird, and that bird is the cuckoo, that seems to + think it unnecessary to build its own nest, and so it occupies + any nest that it happens to find. + + 11. It is a good plan to follow if one would like to be able to + develop his memory to make it a rule to learn at least a few + lines of poetry every night before going to bed. + + 12. In the annals of history there is no historical character + more unselfish than the character of Robert E. Lee. + + 13. There are quite a few hotels in Estes Park, which is in + Colorado, but the one that is the most picturesque and striking + so that you remember it a long time on account of its unusual + surroundings is Long's Peak Inn. + + 14. It is often, but not always, a good sign that when one + person is quick to suspect another person of disloyalty or + dishonesty that he himself is disloyal or dishonest. + + 15. The canine quadruped was under suspicion of having + obliterated by a process of mastication that article of + sustenance which the butcher deposits at our posterior portal. + +=B. The Exact Word= + +Substitute, for inaccurate words and phrases, expressions which carry an +exact and reasonable meaning. + + 1. Ostrich eggs made into omelets are a funny experience. + + 2. A small back porch can be built which will enter directly + into the kitchen. + + 3. Ruskin uses a great deal of unfamiliar words. + + 4. Reading will broaden the point of view of a student. + + 5. To visit the plant in operation is indeed a spectacular + sight. + + 6. My plants grew and looked nicer than any I ever saw. + + 7. I place little truth in that article, since it appeared in a + strong partisan paper. + + 8. The manufacturing of automobiles has gained to quite an + extent. + + 9. Emerson has some real clever thoughts in his essays. + + 10. I do not mean to degrade our local street car system, for + indeed, it is good along some lines. + + 11. I want to attain a greater per cent of efficiency in my + study. + + 12. Imagination is an important part in the successful writing + of themes. + + 13. His employer praised him for the preparation he had done. + + 14. I used water-wings as a sort of a "safety first" until I + learned how to swim. + + 15. In order to prevent infection from disease, two big things + are necessary. + + 16. The pastor delivered the announcements and after the + collection had been obtained, he presented the sermon of the + morning. + + 17. Another factor in my career that winter was that I became a + part of the orchestra. + + 18. It was a mighty nice party that Mrs. Jones gave and + everybody seemed to have an awfully nice time. + + 19. The more general word socialism might be divided into three + distinct classes, namely: the political party, the theoretical + socialist, and last what might be called a general tendency. + + 20. Starting with the pioneer days and up to the present time + every energy was set forth to lay low the forests and to get + homes from the wilderness. + +=C. Words Sometimes Confused in Meaning= + +Use the word which accurately expresses the thought. + + 1. The climate of California is very (healthful, healthy). + + 2. (Leave, let) me have the book. + + 3. He is afraid that he will (loose, lose) his position. + + 4. The (principal, principle) speaker of the day was Colonel + Walker. + + 5. I cannot run (as, like) he can. + + 6. An hour ago he (laid, lay) down to sleep. + + 7. I fear we are (liable, likely) to be punished. + + 8. The scolding did not much (affect, effect) him. + + 9. The light roller presses down the bricks so that the steam + roller will break (fewer, less) of them. + + 10. Whittier makes many (allusions, illusions) to the Bible. + + 11. Bread will (raise, rise) much more quickly in a warm place + than in a place where there is a draft. + + 12. It hardly seems (credible, creditable) that a small child + could walk ten miles. + + 13. I can't write a letter on this (stationary, stationery). + + 14. He (sets, sits) at the head of the table. + + 15. He spoke to the stranger (respectfully, respectively). + + 16. Did the president (affect, effect) a settlement of the + strike? + + 17. I cannot (accept, except) help from anyone. + + 18. Are the guests (already, all ready) for dinner? + + 19. Is the train moving or (stationary, stationery)? + + 20. It is (apt, likely, liable) to be pleasant tomorrow. + +=D. Colloquialism, Slang, Faulty Idiom, etc.= + +The diction of the following sentences is incorrect or inappropriate for +written discourse. Improve the sentences. + + 1. I was kind of tired this morning, but now I feel alright. + + 2. I should of known better. + + 3. A young lady and myself went walking. + + 4. He is out of town for a couple days. + + 5. I feel some better now. + + 6. He will benefit greatly from the results. + + 7. The Puritans were a very odd acting people. + + 8. I like camping because of many reasons. + + 9. Cook your meal, and after you are finished eating, wash the + dishes. + + 10. He is a regular genius of a bookkeeper. + + 11. It is hard to see how humans can live in such tenements. + + 12. The soldiers destroyed property without the least regard of + who owned it. + + 13. She was crazy for an invite to the hop. + + 14. It was up to me to get out before there was something + doing. + + 15. The Gettysburg Address is very simple of understanding + though very strong of meaning. + + 16. When we become located in a desirable locality, we intend + to pay off some of our social indebtedness. + + 17. Have some local glass dealer to mend the broken door, and + send us the bill for the same. + + 18. The first part of Franklin's _Autobiography_ is different + than the latter part, which he wrote after the Revolutionary + War. + + 19. In 1771 a fellow by the name of Arkwright established a + mill in which spinning machines were run by water power. + + 20. Each day has brought closer to home the truth that the + condition of mankind in one part of the world is certain to + effect the equilibrium of mankind in most all other parts of + the world. + + + + +SPELLING + + +No one is able to spell all unusual words on demand. But every one must +spell correctly even unusual words in formal writing. The writer has +time or must take time to consult a dictionary. The best dictionaries +are _Webster's New International Dictionary_, the _Standard Dictionary_ +(less conservative than Webster's), the _Century Dictionary and +Cyclopedia_ (Volume 2 of the _Century_ is the best place to look for +proper names), and _Murray's New English Dictionary_ (very thorough, +each word being illustrated with numerous quotations to show historical +development). An abridged edition of one of these (the price is one to +three dollars) should be accessible to each student who cannot buy the +larger volumes. The best are: _Webster's Secondary School Dictionary_, +_Funk and Wagnalls Desk Standard Dictionary_, the _Oxford Concise +Dictionary_, and _Webster's Collegiate Dictionary_. + +But the student will be spared constant recourse to the dictionary, and +will save himself much time and many humiliations, if he will employ the +rules and principles which follow. + + +=Recording Errors= + +=70. Keep a list of all the words you misspell, copying them several +times in correct form.= Concentrate your effort upon a few words at a +time--upon those words which you yourself actually misspell. The list +will be shorter than you think. It may comprise not more than twenty or +thirty words. Unless you are extraordinarily deficient, it will +certainly not comprise more than a hundred or a hundred and fifty. Find +where your weakness lies; then master it. You can accomplish the +difficult part of the task in a single afternoon. An occasional review, +and constant care when you write, will make your mastery permanent. + +After this, and only after this, begin slowly to learn the spelling of +words which you do not yourself use often, but which are a desirable +equipment for all educated men. See the list under 79. _Concentrate your +efforts upon a few words at a time._ It is better to know a few exactly +than a large number hazily. Form the mental habit of being always right +with a small group of words, and extend this group gradually. + + Exercise: + + Prepare for your instructor a corrected list of words which you + have misspelled in your papers to the present time. + + +=Pronouncing Accurately= + +=71. Avoid slovenly pronunciation.= Careful articulation makes for +correctness in spelling. + +Watch the vowels of unaccented syllables; give them distinct (not +exaggerated) utterance, at least until you are familiar with the +spelling. Examples: _sep=a=rate_, _opp=o=rtunity_, _ever=y=body_, +_soph=o=more_, _d=i=vine_. + +Sound accurately all the consonants between syllables, and do not sound +a single consonant twice. Examples: _can=d=idate_, _gover=n=ment_, +_su=r=prise_ (not _supp=r=ise_), _o=m=i=ss=ion_ (compare _o=cc=a=s=ion_), +_de=f=er_ (compare _di=ff=er_). + +Sound the _g_ in final _-ing_. Examples: _eating_, _running_. + +Pronounce the _-al_ of adverbs derived from adjectives in _-ic_ or +_-al_. Examples: _tragically_, _occasionally_, _generally_, +_ungrammatically_. + +Do not transpose letters; place each letter where it belongs. Examples: +_p=er=spiration_ (not _p=re=spiration_), _tra=g=edy_ (not _tra=d=e=g=y_). + +Note.--The principle of phonetic spelling as stated above applies to +many words, but by no means to all. The Simplified Spelling Board would +extend this principle by changing the spelling of words to correspond +with their actual sounds. It recommends such forms as _tho_, _thru_, +_enuf_, _quartet_, _catalog_, _program_. If the student employs these +forms, he must use them consistently. Many writers oppose simplified +spelling; many advocate it; many compromise. Others desire to supplant +our present alphabet with one more nearly phonetic, and prefer, until +this fundamental reform takes place, to preserve our present spelling as +it is. + + Exercise: + + Copy the following words slowly, pronouncing the syllables as + you write: _accidentally_, _accommodate_, _accurately_, + _artistically_, _athletics_ (not _atheletics_), _boundary_, + _candidate_, _cavalry_, _commission_, _curiosity_, _defer_, + _definite_, _description_, _despair_, _different_, _dining + room_, _dinned_, _disappoint_, _divide_, _divine_, + _emphatically_, _eighth_, _everybody_, _February_, _finally_, + _goddess_, _government_, _hundred_, _hurrying_, _instinct_, + _laboratory_, _library_, _lightning_, _might have_ (not _might + of_), _naturally_, _necessary_, _occasionally_, _omission_, + _opinion_, _opportunity_, _optimist_, _partner_, _perform_, + _perhaps_, _perspiration_, _prescription_, _primitive_, + _privilege_, _probably_, _quantity_, _really_, _recognise_, + _recommend_, _reverence_, _separate_, _should have_ (not + _should of_), _sophomore_, _strictly_, _superintendent_, + _surprise_, _temperance_, _tragedy_, _usually_, _whether_. + + +=Logical Kinship in Words= + +=72. Get help in spelling a difficult word by thinking of related words.= +To think of _ridiculous_ will prevent your writing _a_ for the second +_i_ of _ridicule_; to think of _ridicule_ will prevent your writing +_rediculous_. To think of _prepare_ will prevent your writing +_preperation_; to think of _preparation_ will forestall _preparitory_. +To think of _busy_ will save you from the monstrosity _buisness._ To +think of the prefixes _re-_ (meaning _again_) and _dis-_ (meaning +_not_), and the verbs _commend_ and _appoint_, will prevent your writing +_recommend_ or _disappoint_ with a double _c_ or _s_. + +Note.--The relationship between words is not always a safe guide to +spelling. Observe _four_, _forty_; _nine_, _ninth_; _maintain_, +_maintenance_; _please_, _pleasant_; _speak_, _speech_; _prevail_, +_prevalent_. Do not confuse the following prefixes, which have no +logical connection: + + _ante-_ (before) _anti-_ (against, opposite) + _de-_ (from, about) _dis-_ (apart, away, not) + _per-_ (through, entirely) _pre-_ (before) + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the nouns corresponding to the following verbs: + _prepare_, _allude_, _govern_, _represent_, _degrade_. + + 2. Write the adjectives corresponding to the following nouns + and the nouns corresponding to the following adjectives: + _desperation_, _academy_, _origin_, _ridiculous_, _miraculous_, + _grammatical_, _arithmetical_, _busy_. + + 3. Write the adverbs corresponding to the following adjectives: + _real_, _sure_, _actual_, _hurried_, _accidental_, + _incidental_, _grammatical_. + + 4. Copy the following pairs of related words or related forms + of words: _labor, laboratory_; _debate, debater_; _base, + based_; _deal, dealt_; _chose, chosen_; _mean, meant_. + + 5. Write each of the following words with a hyphen between the + prefix and the body of the word: _describe_, _description_, + _disappoint_, _disappear_, _disease_, _dissatisfy_, _dissever_, + _permit_, _perspire_, _prescription_, _preconceive_, + _recommend_, _recollect_, _reconsider_, _antedate_, + _antecedent_, _anticlimax_, _antitoxin_. + + +=Superficial Resemblances between Words= + +=73. Guard against misspelling a word because it bears a superficial +resemblance, in sound or appearance, to some other word.= Most of the +words in the following list have no logical connection; the resemblance +is one of form only (_angel_, _angle_). But a few words are included +which are different in spelling in spite of a logical relation +(_breath_, _breathe_). + + accept (to receive) + except (to exclude, with exclusion of) + + advice (noun) + advise (verb) + + affect (to influence in part) + effect (to bring to pass totally) + + allusion (a reference) + illusion (a deceiving appearance) + + all right + almost + already + + altogether + always + + alley (a back street) + ally (a confederate) + + altar (a structure used in worship) + alter (to make otherwise) + + angel (a celestial being) + angle (the meeting place of two lines) + + baring (making bare) + barring (obstructing) + bearing (carrying) + born (brought into being) + borne (carried) + + breath (noun) + breathe (verb) + + capital (a city) + capitol (a building) + + canvas (a cloth) + canvass (to solicit) + + clothes (garments) + cloths (pieces of cloth) + + coarse (not fine) + course (route, method of behavior) + + conscious (aware) + conscience (an inner moral sense) + + dairy + diary + + device (noun) + devise (verb) + + desert (a barren country) + dessert (food) + + dining room + dinning + + disappear + disappoint + + disavowal + dissatisfaction + dissimilar + dissipate + dissuade + + decent (adjective) + descent (downward slope or motion) + dissent (a disagreement) + + dual (adjective) + duel (noun) + + formally (in a formal way) + formerly (in time past) + + forth + forty + four + fourth + + freshman + freshmen (not used as adjective) + + gambling (wagering money on games of chance) + gamboling (frisking or leaping with joy) + + guard + regard + + hear + here + + hinder + hindrance + + holly (a tree) + holy (hallowed, sacred) + wholly (altogether) + + hoping (from _hope_) + hopping + + instance (an example) + instants (periods of time) + + isle (an island) + aisle (a narrow passage) + + its (possessive pronoun) + it's (contraction of _it is_) + + Johnson, Samuel + Jonson, Ben + + later (comparative of _late_) + latter (the second) + + lead (present tense) + led (past tense) + + lessen (verb) + lesson (noun) + + liable (expresses responsibility or disagreeable probability) + likely (expresses probability) + + loose (free, not bound) + lose (to suffer the loss of) + + maintain + maintenance + + nineteenth + ninetieth + ninety + ninth + + past (adjective, adverb, preposition) + passed (verb, past tense) + + peace (a state of calm) + piece (a fragment) + + perceive + perform + persevere + persuade + purchase + pursue + + personal (private, individual) + personnel (the body of persons engaged in some activity) + + Philippines + Filipino + + plain (clear; adjective) + plain (flat region; noun) + plane (flat; adjective) + plane (geometrical term; noun) + + planed (past tense of _plane_) + planned (past tense of _plan_) + + pleasant + please + + precede + proceed } + succeed } these three are the + exceed } "double _e_ group" + concede + intercede + recede + supersede + + pre cé dence (act or right of preceding) + préc e dents (things said or done before, now used as authority + or model) + + presence (state of being present) + presents (gifts) + + prevail + prevalent + + principal (chief, leading, the leading official of a school, a + sum of money) + principle (a general truth) + + quiet (still) + quite (completely) + + rain + reign (rule of a monarch) + rein (part of a harness) + + respectfully ("Yours respectfully") + respectively (in a way proper to each--should never be used + to close a letter) + + right + rite (ceremony) + write + + shone (past tense of _shine_) + shown (past tense of _show_) + + seize + siege + + sight (view, spectacle) + site (situation, a plot of ground reserved for some use) + cite (to bring forward as evidence) + + speak + speech + + Spencer, Herbert (scientist) + Spenser, Edmund (poet) + + stationary (not moving) + stationery (writing materials) + + statue (a sculptured likeness) + stature (height, figure) + statute (a law) + + steal (to take by theft) + steel (a variety of iron) + + than + then + + their (belonging to them) + there (in that place) + they're (they are) + + therefor (to that end, for that thing) + therefore (for that reason) + + till + until + + to + too + two + + track (an imprint, or a road) + tract (an area of land) + tract (a treatise on religion) + + village + villain + + wandering + wondering + + weak (not strong) + week (seven days) + + weather + whether + + whole (entire) + hole (an opening) + + who's (who is) + whose (the possessive of _who_) + + your (indicates possession) + you're (contraction of _you are_) + + Exercise: + + 1. Insert _to_, _too_, or _two_: He is ---- tired ---- walk the + ----miles ---- the town. Then ----, it is ---- late ---- catch + a car. It is ---- minutes of ----. It is ---- bad. + + 2. Insert _lose_ or _loose_: You will ---- your money if you + carry it ---- in your pocket. We are ----ing time. The sailor + ----ens the rope. Did you ---- your ticket? + + 3. Insert _speak or speech_: I was ----ing with our congressman + about his recent ----. I ---- from experience. + + 4. Insert _plan_ or _plane_: The architect's ---- was accepted. + The carpenter's ---- cuts a long shaving. The carpenter does + not ---- the house. + + 5. Insert _quite_ or _quiet_: The baby is ----ly sleeping. She + is ---- well now, but last night she was ---- sick. Be ----. + Walk ----ly when you go. + + +=Words in _ei_ or _ie_= + + =74. Write _i_ before _e_ + When sounded as _ee_ + Except after _c_.= + +Examples: _believe_, _grief_, _chief_; but _receive_, _deceive_, +_ceiling_. + +Exceptions: _Neither financier seized either species of weird leisure._ +(Also a few uncommon words, like _seignior_, _inveigle_, _plebeian_.) + +Rules based on a key-word, lice, Alice, Celia (_i_ follows _l_ and _e_ +follows _c_) apply after two consonants only, and do not help one to +spell a word like _grief_. Rule 74 applies after all consonants. + +Note.--The words in which the sound is _ee_ are the words really +difficult to spell. When the sound is any other than _ee_ (especially +when it is _a_), _i_ usually follows _e_. + +Examples: _veil_, _weigh_, _freight_, _neighbor_, _height_, _sleight_, +_heir_, _heifer_, _counterfeit_, _foreign_, etc. + +Exceptions: _ancient_, _friend_, _sieve_, _mischief_, _fiery_, _tries_, +etc. + + Exercise: + + Write the following words, supplying _ei_ or _ie_: _conc--t_, + _retr--ve_, _dec--tful_, _n--ce_, _y--ld_, _p--ce_, _s--ge_, + _s--ze_, _rec--pt_, _n--ther_, _w--rd_, _rel--ve_, _l--sure_, + _f--ld_, _v--n_, _r--gn_, _sover--gn_, _sl--gh_, _br--f_, + _dec--ve_, _r--n_, _f--nt_, _perc--ve_, _w--ld_, _gr--vous_, + _--ther_. + + +=Doubling a Final Consonant= + +=75. Monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable, if they end +in one consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant before +a suffix beginning with a vowel.= + +Examples: (a) Words derived from monosyllables: _plan-ned_, _clan-nish_, +_get-ting_, _hot-test_, _bag-gage_, (b) Words derived from words +accented on the final syllable: _begin-ning_, _repel-lent_, +_unregret-ted_. + +Note 1.--There are four distinct steps in the application of this rule. +(1) The primary word must be found. To decide whether _begging_ contains +two _g's_, we must first think of _beg_. (2) The primary word must be a +monosyllable or a word accented on the final syllable. _Hit_ and _allot_ +meet this test; _open_ does not. _Deferred_ and _differed_, _preferred_ +and _proffered_, _committed_ (or _committee_) and _prohibited_ double or +refrain from doubling the final consonant of the primary word according +to the position of the accent. The seeming discrepancy between +_preferred_ and _preferable_, between _conferred_ and _conference_, is +due to a shifting of the accent to the first syllable in the case of +_preferable_ and _conference_. (3) The primary word must end in one +consonant. _Trace_, _oppose_, _interfere_, _help_, _reach_, and +_perform_ fail to meet this test, and therefore in derivatives do not +double the last consonant. _Assurance_ has one _r_, as it should have; +_occurrence_ has two _r's_, as it should have. (4) The final consonant +of the primary word must be preceded by a single vowel. This principle +excludes the extra consonant from _needy_, _daubed_, and _proceeding_, +and gives it to _running_. + +Note 2.--After _q_, _u_ has the force of _w_. Hence _quitting_, +_quizzes_, _squatter_, _acquitted_, _equipped_, and similar words are +not really exceptions to the rule. + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the present participle (in _-ing_) of _din_ (not + _dine_), _begin_, _sin_ (compare _shine_), _stop_, _prefer_, + _rob_, _drop_, _occur_, _omit_, _swim_, _get_, _commit_. + + 2. Write the past tense (in _-ed_) of _plan_ (not _plane_), + _star_ (compare _stare_), _stop_ (compare _slope_), _lop_ (not + _lope_), _hop_ (not _hope_), _fit_, _benefit_, _occur_ (compare + _cure_), _offer_, _confer_, _bat_ (compare _abate_). + + +=Final _e_ before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel= + +=76. Words that end in silent _e_ usually drop the _e_ in derivatives or +before a suffix beginning with a vowel.= + +Examples: _bride_, _bridal_; _guide_, _guidance_; _please_, _pleasure_; +_fleece_, _fleecy_; _force_, _forcible_; _argue_, _arguing_; _arrive_, +_arrival_; _conceive_, _conceivable_; _college_, _collegiate_; _write_, +_writing_; _use_, _using_; _change_, _changing_; _judge_, _judging_; +_believe_, _believing_. + +Note 1.--Of the exceptions some retain the _e_ to prevent confusion with +other words. Exceptions: _dyeing_, _singeing_, _mileage_, _acreage_, +_hoeing_, _shoeing_, _agreeing_, _eyeing_. The exceptions cause +comparatively little trouble. One rarely sees _hoing_ or _shoing_; he +often sees _hopeing_ and _inviteing_. + +Note 2.--After _c_ or _g_ and before a suffix beginning with _a_ or _o_ +the _e_ is retained. The purpose of this retention is to preserve the +soft sound of the _c_ or _g_. (Observe that _c_ and _g_ have the hard +sound in _cable_, _gable_, _cold_, _go_.) + +Examples: _peaceable_, _changeable_, _noticeable_, _serviceable_, +_outrageous_, _courageous_, _advantageous_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the present participle of the following words: _use_, + _love_, _change_, _judge_, _shake_, _hope_, _shine_, _have_, + _seize_, _slope_, _strike_, _dine_, _come_, _place_, _argue_, + _achieve_, _emerge_, _arrange_, _abide_, _oblige_, _subdue_. + + 2. Write the present participle of the following words: + _singe_, _tinge_, _dye_, _agree_, _eye_. + + 3. Write the _-ous_ or _-able_ form of the following words: + _trace_, _love_, _blame_, _move_, _conceive_, _courage_, + _service_, _advantage_, _umbrage_. + + 4. Write the adjectives which correspond to the following + nouns: _force_, _sphere_, _vice_, _sense_, _fleece_, _college_, + _hygiene_. + + 5. Write the nouns which correspond to the following verbs: + _please_, _guide_, _grieve_, _arrive_, _oblige_, _prepare_, + _inspire_. + + +=Plurals= + +=77a. Most nouns add _s_ or _es_ to form the plural.= Examples: _word_, +_words_; _fire_, _fires_, _negro_, _negroes_; _Eskimo_, _Eskimos_; +_leaf_, _leaves_ (_f_ changes to _v_ for the sake of euphony); knife, +knives. + +=b. Nouns ending in _y_ preceded by a consonant (or by _u_ as _w_) change +the _y_ to _i_ and add _es_ to form the plural.= + +Examples: _sky_, _skies_; _lady_, _ladies_; _colloquy_, _colloquies_; +_soliloquy_, _soliloquies_. + +=Other nouns ending in _y_ form the plural in the usual way.= Examples: +_day_, _days_; _boy_, _boys_; _monkey_, _monkeys_; _valley_, _valleys_. + +=c. Compound nouns usually form the plural by adding _s_ or _es_ to the +principal word.= Examples: _sons-in-law_, _passers-by_; but _stand-bys_, +_hat-boxes_, _writing-desks_. + +=d. Letters, signs, and sometimes figures, add _'s_ to form the plural.= +Examples: Cross your t's and dot your i's; ?'s; $'s; 3's or 3s. + +=e. A few nouns adhere to old declensions.= Examples: _ox_, _oxen_; +_child_, _children_; _goose_, _geese_; _foot_, _feet_; _mouse_, _mice_; +_man_, _men_; _woman_, _women_; _sheep_, _sheep_; _deer_, _deer_; +_swine_, _swine_. + +=f. Words adopted from foreign languages sometimes retain the foreign +plural.= Examples: _alumnus_, _alumni_; _alumna_, _alumnæ_; _fungus_, +_fungi_; _focus_, _foci_; _radius_, _radii_; _datum_, _data_; _medium_, +_media_; _phenomenon_, _phenomena_; _stratum_, _strata_; _analysis_, +_analyses_; _antithesis_, _antitheses_; _basis_, _bases_; _crisis_, +_crises_; _oasis_, _oases_; _hypothesis_, _hypotheses_; _parenthesis_, +_parentheses_; _thesis_, _theses_; _beau_, _beaux_; _tableau_, +_tableaux_; _Mr._, _Messrs._ (_Messieurs_); _Mrs._, _Mmes._ +(_Mesdames_). + + Exercise: + + Write the singular and plural of the following words: _day_, + _sky_, _lady_, _wife_, _leaf_, _loaf_, _negro_, _potato_, + _tomato_, _pass_, _glass_, _boat_, _beet_, _flash_, _crash_, + _bead_, _box_, _passenger_, _messenger_, _son-in-law_, _Smith_, + _Jones_, _jack-o'-lantern_, _hanger-on_, _stratum_, _datum_, + _phenomenon_, _crisis_, _basis_, _thesis_, _analysis_. + + +=Compounds= + +=78a. Use a hyphen between two or more words which serve as a single +adjective before a noun:= _iron-bound bucket_, _well-kept lawn_, +_twelve-inch main_, _normal-school teacher_, _up-to-date methods_, +_twentieth-century ideas_, _devil-may-care expression_, _a +twenty-dollar-a-week clerk_. + +=But when the words follow the noun, the hyphen is omitted.= _The lawn is +well kept. Methods up to date in every way_. + +=Also adverbs ending in _-ly_ are not ordinarily made into compound +modifiers:= _nicely kept lawn_, _securely guarded treasure_. + +=b. Use a hyphen between members of a compound noun when the second +member is a preposition, or when the writing of two nouns solid or +separately might confuse the meaning:= _runner-up_, _kick-off_; +_letting-down of effort_, _son-in-law_, _jack-o'-lantern_, _Pedro was a +bull-fighter_, _a woman-hater_, _Did you ever see a shoe-polish like +this?_ + +=c. Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, and +in fractions according to the following examples:= + +_Twenty-three_, _eighty-nine_; but _one hundred and one_. +_Twenty-third_, _one-hundred-and-first man_. _Three-fourths_, _four and +two-thirds_, _thirty-hundredths_, _thirty-one hundredths_. + +But omit the hyphen in simple fractions when loosely used: _Three +quarters of my life are spent._ _One third of his fortune._ + +=d. A hyphen is not used in the following common words:= _airship_, +_altogether_, _anybody_, _baseball_, _basketball_, _everybody_, +_football_, _goodby_, _herself_, _handbook_, _himself_, _inasmuch_, +_itself_, _midnight_, _myself_, _nevertheless_, _nobody_, _nothing_ (but +_no one_), _nowadays_, _railroad_, _themselves_, _together_, +_typewritten_, _wherever_, _without_, _workshop_, _yourself_, +_newspaper_, _sunset_. + +=e. For words that do not come within the scope of rules, consult an +up-to-date dictionary.= Compounds tend, with the passing of time, to grow +together. Once men wrote _steam boat_, later _steam-boat_, and finally +_steamboat_. New-coined words are usually hyphenated; old words are +often written solid. The degree of intimacy between the parts of a +compound word affects usage; thus we write _sun-motor_, but _sunbeam_; +_birth-rate_, but _birthday_; _cooling-room_, but _bedroom_; +_non-conductor_, but _nonsense_. The ease with which a vowel blends with +the consonant of a syllable adjoining it affects usage; thus +_self-evident_, but _selfsame_; _non-existent_, but _nondescript_; +_un-American_, but _unwise_. Many compounds, however, are still +uncontrolled by usage; whether they should be written as two words or +one, whether with or without the hyphen, the dictionaries themselves do +not agree. + + Exercise: + + Copy the following expressions, inserting hyphens where they + are necessary: _twenty two years old_, _twenty two dollar + bills_ _make forty dollars_, _twenty seven eighths inch + boards_, _a normal school graduate_, _two handled boxes_, _a + cloth covered basket_, _blood red sun_, _water tight + compartment_, _sixty horse power motor_, _seven dollar bathing + suits_, _a happy go lucky fellow_, _germ destroying powder_, + _he had a son in law_, _passers by on the street_, _the kick + off is at three o'clock_, _dark complexioned woman_, _silver + tongued orator_, _a dish like valley_, _a rope like tail_, _a + fish shaped cloud_, _a touch me not expression_, _will o' the + wisp_, _well to do merchant_, _rough and tumble existence_. + + +=79.= SPELLING LIST + +The English language comprises about 450,000 words. Of these a student +uses about 4000 (although he may understand more than twice that number +when he encounters them in sentences). Of these, in turn, not more than +four or five hundred are frequently misspelled. The following list +includes nearly all of the words which give serious trouble. Certain +American colleges using this list require of freshmen an accuracy of +ninety per cent. + + absurd + academy + =accept= + =accidentally= + =accommodate= + accumulate + accustom + acquainted + acquitted + =across= + addressed + =adviser= + aeroplane + =affects= + aggravate + alley + allotted + =all right= + ally + already + altar + alter + =altogether= + alumnus + =always= + =amateur= + =among= + analogous + analysis + =angel= + angle + annual + anxiety + apparatus + =appearance= + appropriate + arctic + =argument= + =arising= + =arithmetic= + arrange + arrival + ascend + asks + =athletic= + audience + auxiliary + awkward + + balance + barbarous + baring + barring + baseball + =based= + bearing + =becoming= + before + beggar + =begging= + =beginning= + =believing= + =benefited= + =biscuit= + boundaries + brilliant + =Britain= + =Britannica= + buoyant + bureau + =business= + =busy= + + =calendar= + =candidate= + =can't= + cemetery + =certain= + =changeable= + =changing= + characteristic + chauffeur + =choose= + chose + chosen + =clothes= + =coarse= + column + =coming= + commission + =committee= + comparative + =compel= + compelled + competent + concede + conceivable + =conferred= + conquer + conqueror + conscience + conscientious + considered + continuous + control + =controlled= + coöperate + country + =course= + =courteous= + courtesy + cruelty + cylinder + + =dealt= + debater + deceitful + decide + decision + deferred + =definite= + descend + =describe= + =description= + derived + =despair= + =desperate= + destroy + device + devise + dictionary + difference + digging + dilemma + =dining room= + dinning + =disappear= + =disappoint= + disavowal + discipline + disease + =dissatisfied= + dissipate + distinction + distribute + =divide= + =divine= + =doctor= + =don't= + dormitories + drudgery + dying + + ecstasy + =effects= + =eighth= + eliminate + =embarrass= + eminent + encouraging + =enemy= + =equipped= + especially + =etc.= + everybody + exaggerate + exceed + excellent + except + exceptional + exhaust + exhilarate + =existence= + expense + experience + explanation + + familiar + fascinate + =February= + fiery + fifth + =finally= + financier + forfeit + formally + =formerly= + forth + =forty= + =fourth= + frantically + fraternity + =freshman= (adj.) + =friend= + fulfil + furniture + + gallant + gambling + =generally= + goddess + =government= + governor + =grammar= + grandeur + =grievous= + guard + guess + guidance + + harass + haul + =having= + height + hesitancy + =holy= + =hoping= + huge + =humorous= + =hurriedly= + hundredths + hygienic + + =imaginary= + imitative + immediately + immigration + impromptu + imminent + incidentally + incidents + incredulous + =independence= + indispensable + induce + influence + =infinite= + =instance= + instant + =intellectual= + intelligence + =intentionally= + intercede + irresistible + =its= + it's + itself + invitation + + =judgment= + + =knowledge= + + laboratory + =ladies= + =laid= + =later= + =latter= + =lead= + =led= + liable + library + =lightning= + likely + literature + loneliness + =loose= + =lose= + =losing= + lying + + maintain + =maintenance= + manual + manufacturer + =many= + marriage + Massachusetts + material + =mathematics= + mattress + =meant= + messenger + =miniature= + minutes + =mischievous= + Mississippi + misspelled + momentous + month + murmur + muscle + mysterious + + =necessary= + =negroes= + =neither= + nickel + nineteenth + ninetieth + =ninety= + ninth + =noticeable= + =nowadays= + + oblige + obstacle + =occasion= + occasionally + occur + =occurred= + =occurrence= + occurring + =o'clock= + officers + =omitted= + =omission= + =opinion= + opportunity + =optimistic= + =original= + outrageous + overrun + + paid + pantomime + =parallel= + =parliament= + particularly + =partner= + =pastime= + peaceable + =perceive= + perception + peremptory + =perform= + =perhaps= + =permissible= + perseverance + pérsonal + personnél + =perspiration= + persuade + pertain + pervade + physical + picnic + picnicking + =planned= + =pleasant= + politics + politician + =possession= + possible + practically + =prairie= + =precede= + precédent + précedents + =preference= + =preferred= + prejudice + =preparation= + =primitive= + =principal= + =principle= + prisoner + =privilege= + =probably= + =proceed= + prodigy + profession + =professor= + proffered + prohibition + promissory + =prove= + purchase + pursue + putting + + quantity + =quiet= + =quite= + quizzes + + rapid + =ready= + =really= + recede + =receive= + recognize + =recommend= + =reference= + =referred= + =regard= + region + =religion= + =religious= + repetition + replies + representative + =restaurant= + rheumatism + ridiculous + + sacrilegious + safety + =sandwich= + schedule + science + scream + screech + =seems= + =seize= + sense + =sentence= + =separate= + sergeant + several + shiftless + =shining= + shone + shown + =shriek= + =siege= + similar + =since= + smooth + soliloquy + =sophomore= + speak + specimen + =speech= + statement + =stationary= + =stationery= + statue + stature + statute + steal + steel + stops + =stopped= + =stopping= + =stories= + stretch + =strictly= + succeeds + successful + summarize + =superintendent= + supersede + =sure= + =surprise= + syllable + symmetrical + + =temperament= + =tendency= + than + =their= + there + therefore + =they're= + thorough + thousandths + till + to + =too= + =together= + =tragedy= + track + =tract= + transferred + tranquillity + translate + treacherous + treasurer + =tries= + =trouble= + =truly= + =Tuesday= + two + typical + tyranny + + universally + =until= + =using= + =usually= + + vacancy + vengeance + vigilance + village + =villain= + + weak + =wear= + weather + =Wednesday= + week + =weird= + welfare + where + wherever + =whether= + which + whole + =wholly= + =who's= + whose + wintry + wiry + within + without + =women= + world + =writing= + written + + your + =you're= + +Note 1.--The following words have more than one correct form, the one +given here being preferred. + + abridgement + acknowledgment + analyze + ax + boulder + caliber + catalog + center + check + criticize + develop + development + dulness + endorse + envelop + esthetic + gaiety + gild + gipsy + glamor + goodby + gray + inquire + medieval + meter + mold + mustache + odor + program + prolog + skilful + theater + +Note 2.--In a few groups of words American spelling and English spelling +differ. American spelling gives preference to _favor_, _honor_, _labor_, +_rumor_; English spelling gives preference to _favour_, _honour_, +_labour_, _rumour_. American spelling gives preference to _civilize_, +_apprize_; _defense_, _pretense_; _traveler_, _woolen_; etc. English +spelling gives preference to _civilise_, _apprise_; _defence_, +_pretence_; _traveller_, _woollen_; etc. + + + + +MISCELLANEOUS + + +=Manuscript= + +=80a. Titles.= Center a title on the page. Capitalize important words. It +is unnecessary to place a period after a title, but a question mark or +exclamation point should be used when one is appropriate. Do not +underscore the title, or unnecessarily place it in quotation marks. +Leave a blank line under the title, before beginning the body of the +writing. + +=b. Spacing.= Careful spacing is as necessary as punctuation. Place +writing on a page as you would frame a picture, crowding it toward +neither the top nor the bottom. Leave liberal margins. Write verse as +verse; do not give it equal indention or length of line with prose. +Connect all the letters of a word. Leave a space after a word, and a +double space after a sentence. Leave room between successive lines, and +do not let the loops of letters run into the lines above or below. + +=c. Handwriting.= Write a clear, legible hand. Form _a_, _o_, _u_, _n_, +_e_, _i_, properly. Write out _and_ horizontally. Avoid unnecessary +flourishes in capitals, and curlicues at the end of words. Dot your +_i's_ and cross your _t's_; not with circles or long eccentric strokes, +but simply and accurately. Let your originality express itself not in +ornate penmanship, or unusual stationery, or literary affectations, but +in the force and keenness of your ideas. + + +=Capitals= + +=81a. Begin with a capital a sentence, a line of poetry, or a quoted +sentence. But if only a fragment of a sentence is quoted, the capital +should be omitted.= + + Right: He said, "The time has come." + + Right: The question is, Shall the bill pass? + + Right: They said they would "not take no for an answer." + + Right: + + "The good die first, + And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust + Burn to the socket."--Wordsworth. + + + +=b. Begin proper names, and all important words used as or in proper +names, with capitals.= Words not so used should not begin with capitals. + + Right: Mr. George K. Rogers, the Principal of the Urbana High + School, a college president, the President of the Senior Class, + a senior, the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, + three battalions of infantry, the Fourth of July, on the tenth + of June, the House of Representatives, an assembly of + delegates, a Presbyterian church, the separation of church and + state, the Baptist Church, the Society for the Prevention of + Cruelty to Animals, a creek known as Black Oak Creek, the + Republican Party, a party that advocates high tariff, Rocky + Mountains, The Bible, God, The Christian Era, Wednesday, in the + summer, living in the South, turning south after taking a few + steps to the east, one morning, O dark-haired Evening! italic + type, watt, pasteurize, herculean effort. + +=c. Begin an adjective which designates a language or a race with a +capital.= + + Right: A Norwegian peasant, Indian arrowheads, English + literature, the study of French. + +=d. In the titles of books or themes capitalize the first word and all +other important words.= Prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are +usually not important. + + Right: _The English Novel in the Time of Scott_, _War and + Peace_, _Travels with a Donkey_, _When I Slept under the + Stars_. + +=e. Miscellaneous uses. Capitalize the pronoun _I_, the interjection _O_, +titles that accompany a name, and abbreviations of proper names.= + + Right: Battery F, 150 F. A.; Mobile, Ala.; Dr. Stebbins. + + Exercise: + + 1. the teacher said, "let me read you a famous soliloquy." he + began: "to be, or not to be: that is the question." + + 2. the chinese laundry man does not write out his lists in + english. + + 3. the _la fayette tribune_ says that a Principal of a School + has been elected to congress. + + 4. mr. woodson, the lecturer, said that "the title of a book + may be a poem." he mentioned _christmas eve on lonesome_ by + john fox, jr. + + 5. i like architecture. as i approached the british museum, i + noticed the ionic colonnade that runs along the front. the + first room i visited was the one filled with marbles which lord + elgin brought from the parthenon at athens. + + +=Italics= + +In manuscript, a horizontal line drawn under a letter or word is a sign +for the printer to use italic type. + +=82a. Quoted titles of books, periodicals, and manuscripts are usually +italicized.= + + Right: I admire Shakespeare's _Hamlet_. [The italics make the + reader know that the writer means, _Hamlet_ the play, not + Hamlet the man.] + + Right: John Galsworthy's novel, _The Patrician_, appeared in + serial form in the _Atlantic Monthly_. + +Note 1.--When the title of a book begins with an article (_a_, _an_, or +_the_), the article is italicized. But _the_ before the title of a +periodical is usually not italicized. + +Note 2.--It is correct, but not the best practice, to indicate the +titles of books by quotation marks. The best method is to use italics +for the title of a book, and quotation marks for chapters or +subdivisions of the same book. Example: See _Encyclopedia Britannica_, +Vol. II, p. 427, "Modern Architecture". + +=b. Words from a foreign language, unless they have been anglicized by +frequent use, are italicized.= + + Right: A great noise announced the coming of the _enfant + terrible_. + + Right: A play always begins _in medias res_. + +=c. The names of ships are usually italicized.= + + Right: The _Saxonia_ will sail at four o'clock. + +=d. Words taken out of their context and made the subject of discussion +are italicized or placed in quotation marks.= + + Right: _So_ is a word faded and colorless from constant use. + + Right: The _t_ in the word _often_ is not pronounced. + +=e. A word or passage requiring great emphasis is italicized.= This device +should not be used to excess. The proper way to secure emphasis is to +have good ideas, and to use emphatic sentence structure in expressing +them. + + Exercise: + + 1. In Vanity Fair Thackeray heads one chapter How to Live Well + on Nothing a Year. + + 2. Auf wiedersehen was his parting word. He had informed me, + sub rosa of course, that he was going to Bremen. + + 3. The battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac + revolutionized naval warfare. How far back it seems to the days + when Decatur set fire to the old Philadelphia! + + 4. Her They say's are as plenteous as rabbits in Australia. + + 5. A writer in the Century Magazine says the public may know + better than an author what the title of his book should be. + Dickens, for example, called one of his works The Posthumous + Papers of the Pickwick Club. + + +=Abbreviations= + +=83a. In ordinary writing avoid abbreviations. The following, however, +are always correct: Mr., Messrs., Dr., or St. (Saint), before proper +names; B. C. or A. D., when necessary to avoid confusion, after a date; +and No. or $ when followed by numerals.= + +In ordinary writing spell out + + All titles, except those listed above. + + Names of months, states, countries. + + Christian names, unless initials are used instead. + + Names of weights and measures, except in statistics. + + Street, Avenue, Road, Railroad, Park, Fort, Mountain, Company, + Brothers, Manufacturing, etc. + +In ordinary writing, instead of _&_ write _and_; for _viz._ write +_namely_; for _i. e._, write _that is_; for _e. g._ write _for example_; +for _a. m._ and _p. m._ write _in the morning_, _this afternoon_, +_tomorrow evening_, _Saturday night_. Do not use _etc._ (_et cetera_) +when it can be avoided. + +=b. In business correspondence, technical writing, tabulations, +footnotes, and bibliographies, or wherever brevity is essential, other +abbreviations may be used.= Even here, short words should not be +abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Samoa, Utah, +March, April, May, June, July. + + Exercise: + + 1. Mr. Gregg & Dr. Appleton were rivals. + + 2. Harris lacked but one of having a grade of one hundred; _i. + e._, he had the two O's already. + + 3. His inheritance tax was three thousand $. In Apr. he moved + from Portland, Me., to Sandusky, O. + + 4. Prof. Kellogg came down Beech St. at a quarter before eight + every a. m. + + 5. A No. of old friends visited them on special occasions; _e. + g._, on their wedding anniversaries. + + +=Numbers= + +=84a. It is customary to use figures for dates, for the street numbers in +addresses, for reference to the pages of a book, and for statistics.= + +Right: June 16, 1920. 804 Chalmers Street. See Chapter 4, especially +page 79. + +Note.--It is desirable not to write _st_, _nd_, or _th_ after the day of +the month if the year is designated also. Right: March 3, 1919 (not +March 3rd, 1919). + +=b. Figures are used for numbers which cannot be expressed in a few +words. The dollar sign and figures are used with complicated sums of +money.= + +Right: The farm comprised 3260 acres. The population of Kansas City, +Missouri, was 248,381 in 1910. He earned $437 while attending school. +The cost of the improvement was $1,940.25. + +=c. In other instances than those specified in _a_ and _b_ numbers as a +rule should be written out.= (This rule applies to numbers and to sums of +money which can be expressed in a few words, to sums of money less than +one dollar, and to ages and time of day.) + +Right: The box weighs two hundred pounds. Xerxes had an army of three +million men. I enclose seventy-five cents. He owed twelve hundred +dollars. Grandfather Toland is eighty-seven years old. The train is due +at a quarter past three. + + Exercise: + + 1. For 70 pounds of excess baggage I had to pay $1.00. + + 2. At 2 o'clock Rice gave him the 2nd capsule. + + 3. The letter was sent from twenty-one Warner St. November the + eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen. + + 4. Knox earned $5 a day he said; but they paid him only $0.75. + + 5. At 40 he owned a 2,000 acre farm and had an income of + $10,000 a year. + + +=Syllabication= + +=85a. When a word is broken at the end of a line, use a hyphen there. Do +not place a hyphen at the beginning of the second line.= + +=b. Words are divided only between syllables:= _depart-ment_, +_dis-charge_, _ab-surd_, _univer-sity_, _pro-fessor_ (not _depa-rtment_, +_disc-harge_, _abs-urd_, _unive-rsity_, _prof-essor_). + +=c. Monosyllabic words are never divided:= _which_, _through_, _dipped_, +_speak_ (not _wh-ich_, _thr-ough_, _dip-ped_, _spe-ak_). + +=d. A consonant at the junction of two syllables usually goes with the +second:= _recipro-cate_, _ordi-nance_, _inti-mate_ (not _reciproc-ate_, +_ordin-ance_, _intim-ate_). Sometimes two consonants are equivalent to a +single letter: _falli-ble_, _photo-graph_ (not _fallib-le_, +_photog-raph_). + +=e. Two or more consonants at the junction of syllables are themselves +divided:= _en-ter-prise_, _com-mis-sary_, _in-car-nate_ (not +_ent-erpr-ise_, _comm-iss-ary_, _inc-arn-ate_). + +=f. A prefix or a suffix is usually set off from the rest of the word +regardless of the rule for consonants between syllables:= _ex-empt_, +_dis-appoint_, _sing-ing_, _pro-gress-ive_. But when a final consonant +is doubled before a suffix the additional consonant goes with the +suffix: _trip-ping_, _permit-ted_, _omis-sion_. + +=g. The best usage avoids separating one or two letters (unless in +prefixes like _un_ or suffixes like _ly_) from the rest of the word:= +_achieve-ment_, _enor-mous_, _remem-bered_, _dyspep-sia_ (not +_a-chievement_, _e-normous_, remember-ed, dyspepsi-a). + +=h. The first part of a divided word should not be ludicrous or +misleading:= _dogma-tize_, _croco-dile_, _de-cadence_, _metri-cal_, +_goril-la_ (not _dog-matize_, _croc-odile_, _deca-dence_, _met-rical_, +_go-rilla_). + + Exercise: + + Place a hyphen between each pair of syllables in each word of + more than one syllable: _thoughtful_, _burrowing_, _thorough_, + _chimney_, _brought_, _helped_, _harshnesses_, _which_, + _murmur_, _superstition_, _ground_, _symmetry_, _ripped_, + _compartment_, _disallow_, _obey_, _opinion_, _opportune_, + _aggressive_, _intellectually_, _complicated_, _encyclopedia_, + _wrought_, _electricity_, _abstraction_, _syllabication_, + _punctuation_, _frustrate_, _except_, _substituting_, + _distressful_. + + +=Outlines= + +Three kinds of outlines are illustrated in this article: (a) the Topic +Outline, (b) the Sentence Outline, and (c) the Paragraph Outline. + +=86a. A topic outline consists of headings (nouns or phrases containing +nouns) which indicate the important ideas in a composition, and their +relation to each other. Conform to the following model:= + + =The Lumber Problem= + + Theme: The decline of our lumber supply requires that we shall + take steps toward reforesting, conservation, and the use of + substitutes for wood. + + I The Depletion of our forests + A Former abundance + B Present scarcity (especially walnut, white pine, oak) + + II The Causes of the depletion + A Great demand + 1 For building + 2 For industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.) + 3 For fuel, and other minor uses + B Wasteful methods of forestry + + III The Remedy + A Reforestation + 1 Planting by individuals + 2 Planting by the states + 3 Extension of the present National Forest Reserves + + B The prevention of waste + 1 In fires, by insects, etc. + 2 In cutting and sawing + 3 In by-products (sawing, odd lengths, etc.) + + C The use of substitutes for wood (concrete, steel, brick, + stone, etc.) + + +=b. A sentence outline is expressed in complete sentences. Conform to the +following model:= + + =The Lumber Problem= + + I The depletion of our forests is evident when one compares + A the former abundance, with + B the present scarcity (of walnut, white pine, and oak, + especially). + + II The causes of the depletion are: + A the great demand + 1 for building, + 2 for industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.), + 3 for fuel and other minor uses; and + B wasteful methods of forestry. + + III The remedies for the depletion are: + A reforestation + 1 by individuals, + 2 by the states, + 3 by extension of the present National Forest + Reserves; + B the prevention of waste + 1 in fires, by insects, etc., + 2 in cutting and sawing, + 3 in by-products (sawdust, odd lengths, etc.); + and + C the use of substitutes, for wood (concrete, steel, + brick, stone, etc.) + + +=c. A paragraph outline is a series of sentences summarizing the thought +of successive paragraphs in a composition. Conform to the following +model:= + + =The Disagreeable Optimist= + + 1. The present age may be called an era of efficiency, + prosperity, and optimism, since efficiency has produced + prosperity, and this in turn has produced "optimism"--a word + recurrent in common literature and conversation. + + 2. The optimist is often not natural or sincere, because his + thoughts are centered on keeping up an appearance of being + happy. + + 3. He is intrusive, for he thrusts comfort upon those who wish + to mourn, and repeats irritating epigrams and poems about + cheer. + + 4. He is undiscriminating, in that he prescribes the same + remedy, "good cheer," for everybody and for every condition. + + 5. He is sometimes harmful, because he tells us that the world + is going well, when conditions need changing, and need changing + badly. + +=d. Mechanical details.= Indent headings that are coördinate (that is, of +equal value) an equal distance from the margin. One inch to the right is +a good distance for successive subordinate headings. Use Roman numerals, +capital letters, Arabic numerals, and small letters to indicate the +comparative rank of ideas. When a heading runs over one line, use +hanging indention; that is, do not allow the second line to run back to +the left-hand margin, but indent it. Make the numerals and letters (_1_, +_A_, etc.) stand out prominently. The title of a theme should not be +given a numeral or letter. + + Faulty indention: + + + Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal + supply is exhausted are + + I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain + districts + II The tides + III The heat of the sun + + + Correct hanging indention: + + Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal supply + is exhausted are + + I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain + districts + II The tides + III The heat of the sun + + +=e. Ideas parallel in thought should be expressed in parallel form.= Nouns +and phrases including nouns are ordinarily used. + + Faulty parallelism: + Advantages of a garden: + 1 Profitable + 2 It affords good exercise + 3 Gives pleasure + + Right: + Advantages of a garden: + 1 Profit + 2 Exercise + 3 Pleasure + +=f. Avoid faulty coördination (giving two ideas equal rank, when one +should be subordinated to the other) and _vice versa_, avoid faulty +subordination.= + + Faulty coördination: + + How Seeds Scatter + + I By Wind + II Some Seeds provided with parachutes + III Others light, and easily blown about + IV By Water + V By Animals + + Right: + + =How Seeds Scatter= + + I By Wind + A Some seeds provided with parachutes + B Others light, and easily blown about + + II By Water + + III By Animals + + +=g. Avoid detailed subordination. Especially avoid a single subheading +when it can be joined to the preceding line, or omitted.= + + Too detailed: + + A The McClellan Orchard + 1 Situation + a On a northern slope + 2 Nature of soil + a Sandy + 3 Kind of fruit + a Apple + b Cherry + + Right: + + A The McClellan Orchard + 1. Situation: a northern slope + 2. Nature of soil: sandy + 3. Kind of fruit: apple and cherry + + Exercise: + + 1. Give a title to an outline which shall include the following + topics. Group the topics under two main headings, and give the + headings names. + + Uses of the grape + The Vine + The Fruit Itself + How Marketed + How Cultivated + + 2. Place in order the sentences of the following outline on + "Why Keep a Diary?" Subordinate some of the headings to others. + + A diary affords great satisfaction in future years. + + We sometimes record in a diary information which proves useful. + + A few lines a day will suffice. + + A diary is not hard to keep. + + We may find time for writing in our diary if we do not waste + time at the table or on newspapers. + + We may write in our diary just before we go to bed. + + A diary will bring back the past. + + We all have some moments to kill. + + A diary gives us pleasure even in the present. + + 3. Place in order the headings of the following outline on + "Ulysses S. Grant." Subordinate some of the headings to others. + + Obscurity in 1861 + Prominence in 1865 + Patience + President + General + Perseverance and Resolution + Character + The Turning Point in His Career + + +=Letters= + +The parts of a letter are the heading, the inside address, the greeting, +the body, the close, and the signature. For these parts good use +prescribes definite forms, which we may sometimes ignore in personal +letters, but must rigidly observe in formal or business letters. + +=87a. The heading of a letter should give the full address of the writer +and the date of writing. Do not abbreviate short words, or omit Street +or Avenue.= + + Objectionable: #15 Hickory, Omaha. + + Right: 15 Hickory Street, Omaha, Nebraska. + + Objectionable: 4/12/19; 10-28-'16; May 2nd, 1910. + + Right: April 12, 1919; October 28, 1916; May 2, 1910. + + The following headings are correct: + + 106 East Race Street, + Red Oak, Iowa, + August 4, 1916. + + 423 Michigan Avenue + Chicago, Illinois + May 20, 1918 + + Prescott, Arizona, June 1, 1920. + + +Note.--In personal letters the heading may be transferred to the end, +below the signature, at the left-hand side. But it must not be so +divided that the street address will appear in one place and the town +and state in another. + +The "closed" form of punctuation (the use of punctuation at the ends of +the lines) is best until the student learns what is correct. Afterward, +the adoption of the "open" form becomes purely a matter of individual +taste and not a matter of carelessness or ignorance. + +=b. An inside address and a greeting are required in business letters.= +Personal letters contain the greeting, but may omit the inside address, +or may supply it at the end of the letter. + + + The Jeffrey Chemical Works, + 510 Marion Street, + Norfolk, Virginia. + + Gentlemen: + + + Mr. Joseph N. Kellogg + 1411 Lake Street + Cleveland, Ohio + + Dear Mr. Kellogg: + + + Secretary of Rice Institute, Houston, Texas. + + My dear Sir: + + Greetings used in business letters are: + + My dear Sir: + My dear Madam: + My dear Mr. Fisher: + Dear Sir: + Sir: + Sirs: + Gentlemen: + Ladies: + + Greetings used in personal letters are: + + My dear Miss Brown: + Dear Professor Ward: + Dear Jones, + Dear Mrs. Vincent, + Dear Robert, + Dear Olive, + +"My dear Miss Brown" is more ceremonious than "Dear Miss Brown". As a +rule, the more familiar the letter, the shorter the greeting. + +A colon follows the greeting if the letter is formal or long; a comma, +if the letter is familiar or in the nature of a note. + +Both inside address and greeting begin at the left-hand margin. The body +of the letter begins on the line below the greeting, and is indented as +much as an ordinary paragraph (about an inch). + +=c. The body of a letter should be written in correct style.= + +=1.= Do not omit pronouns, or write a "telegraphic style". + + Wrong: Just received yours of the 21st, and in reply would say + your order has been filled and shipped. + + Right: I have your letter of March twenty-first. Your order was + promptly filled and shipped. + +=2.= The idea that it is immodest to use _I_ is a superstition. Undue +repetition of _I_ is of course awkward; but entire avoidance of it is +silly. + +=3.= Use simple language. Say "your letter"; not "your kind favor", or +"yours duly received", or "yours of the 21st is at hand". + +=4.= Avoid "begging" expressions which you obviously do not mean, +especially the hackneyed "beg to advise". + + Wrong: Received yours of the 3rd instant, and beg to advise we + are out of stock. + + Right: We received your order of March 3. We find that we have + no more dining-room chairs B 2-4-6 in stock. + + Wrong: I beg to enclose a booklet. + + Right: I enclose a booklet. + + Wrong: Permit us to say that prices have been advanced. + + Right: The prices on our goods have been advanced. + +=5.= Avoid the formula "please find enclosed". The reader will find what +is enclosed; if you use "please", let it refer to what the reader shall +do with what is enclosed. + + Wrong: Enclosed please find 10 cents, for which send me + Bulletin 58. + + Right: I enclose ten cents, for which please send me Bulletin + 58. + +=6.= Avoid unnecessary commercial slang: _On the job_, _A-1 service_, +_O.K._, _your ad_, _popular-priced line_, _this party_, _as per +schedule_. + +=7.= Get to the important idea quickly. In applying for a position, do not +beat around the bush, or say you "wish to apply" or "would apply". +Begin, "I make application for ...", "kindly consider my application for +...", or "I apply ..." + +=8.= Group your ideas logically. Do not scatter information. A letter +applying for a position might consist of three paragraphs: Personal +qualifications (age, health, education, etc.); Experience (nature of +positions, dates, etc.); References (names, business or profession, +exact street address). Finish one group of ideas before passing to the +next. + +=9.= Do not monotonously close all letters with a sentence beginning with +a participle: _Hoping to hear from you ..._, _Asking your coöperation +..._, _Awaiting your further favors ..._, _Trusting this will be +satisfactory ..._, _Wishing you ..._, _Thanking you ..._. The +independent form of the verb is more emphatic (see 42); _I hope to hear +from you ..._, _We await further orders ..._, _We ask coöperation ..._. + +=d. The close= should be consistent in tone with the greeting. It is +written on a separate line, beginning near the middle of the page, and +is followed by a comma. Only the first word is capitalized. Preceding +expressions like "I am", "I remain", "As ever", (if they are used at +all) belong in the body of the letter. + + Right: I thank you for your courtesy, and remain + + Yours sincerely, + Robert Blair + + Right: I shall be grateful for any further information you can + give me. + + Yours truly, + Florence Mitchell + + In business letters the following forms are used: + + Yours truly, + Very truly yours, + Yours respectfully, + + In personal letters the following are used: + + Yours truly, + Yours sincerely, + Sincerely yours, + Cordially yours, + +=e. The outside address should follow one of the forms given below:= + + +---------------------------------------------------+ + | R. E. Stearns | + | 512 Chapel Hill St. | + | Durham, N. C. | + | | + | | + | Mr. Donald Kemp | + | 3314 Salem Street | + | Baltimore | + | Maryland | + +---------------------------------------------------+ + + +---------------------------------------------------+ + | Bentley Davis | + | 906 Park Street | + | Ogden, Utah | + | | + | | + | Rogers, Mead, and Company | + | 2401 Eighth Avenue | + | Los Angeles | + | California | + +---------------------------------------------------+ + +Note.--An abbreviation in an address is followed by a period. +Punctuation is also correct, but not necessary, after every line (a +period after the last line, and a comma after the others). + +A married woman is ordinarily addressed thus: Mrs. George H. Turner. But +a title belonging to the husband should not be transferred to the wife. +Wrong: Mrs. Dr. Jenkins, Mrs. Professor Ward. Right: Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. +Ward. Reverend Mr. Beecher is a correct address for a minister; not +"Rev. Beecher". If a title of respect is placed before a name +(Professor, Dr., Honorable), it is undesirable to place another title +after the name (Secretary, M.D., Ph.D., Principal, Esq.). + +=f. Miscellaneous directions.= Writing should be centered on the page, not +crowded against the top, or against one side. Letter paper so folded +that each sheet is a little book of four pages is best for personal +correspondence. Both sides of such paper may be written on. The pages +may be written on in any order which will be convenient to the reader. +An order like that of the pages in a printed book (1, 2, 3, 4) is best. + +Business letters are usually written on one side only of flat sheets +8-1/2 by 11 inches in size. The sheet is folded once horizontally in the +middle, and twice in the other direction, for insertion in the envelope. + +=g. A business letter should have, in general, the following form:= + + 1516 South Garrison Avenue. + Carthage, Missouri, + May 14, 1918. + + J. E. Pratt, General Superintendent, + The Southwest Missouri Railroad Company, + 1012 North Madison Street, + Webb City, Missouri. + + Dear Sir: + + I apply for a position as mechanic's assistant in the + electrical department of your shops. I am nineteen years old, + and in good physical condition. On June 6 I shall graduate from + Carthage High School, and after that date I can begin work + immediately. + + I have had no practical experience in electrical work. But I + have for two years made a special study of physics, in and out + of school. I worked last summer in the local garage of Mr. R. + S. Bryant. In addition, I have become familiar with tools in my + workshop at home, so that I both know and like machinery. + + For statements as to my character and ability, I refer you to + R. S. Bryant, Manager Bryant's Garage; Mr. Frank Darrow + (lawyer), 602 Ninth Street; W. C. Barnes, Superintendent of + Schools; and C. W. Oldham, Principal of the High School--all of + this city. + + Respectfully yours, + Howard Rolfe + +=h. Formal notes and replies are written in the third person (avoiding +_I_, _my_, _me_, _you_, _your_) and permit no abbreviations except +_Mr._, _Mrs._, _Dr._ = + + Mrs. Clarence King requests the company of + Mr. Charles Eliot at dinner on Friday, + April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock. + + 102 Pearl Street, + April the seventeenth. + +In accepting an invitation, the writer should repeat the day and hour +mentioned, in order to avoid a misunderstanding; in declining an +invitation, only the day need be mentioned. The verb used in the reply +should be in the present tense; not "will be pleased to accept", or +"regrets that he will be unable to accept"; but "is pleased to accept", +or "regrets that circumstances prevent his accepting". + + Mr. Charles Eliot gladly accepts the invitation of Mrs. King to + dinner on Friday, April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock. + + 514 Poplar Avenue, + April the eighteenth. + + +=Paragraphs= + +=88a. The first lines of paragraphs are uniformly indented, in +manuscript, about an inch; in print, somewhat less. After a sentence, +the remainder of a line should not be left blank, except at the end of a +paragraph.= + +=b. The length of a paragraph is ordinarily from fifty to three hundred +words, depending on the importance or complexity of the thought.= In +exposition, the paragraphs should be long enough to develop every idea +thoroughly. Scrappy expository paragraphs arouse the suspicion that the +writer is incoherent, or that he has not given sufficient thought to the +subject. Short paragraphs are permissible, and even desirable, in the +following cases: + +1. In a formal introduction to the main body of a discourse, or in the +formal conclusion. (In some instances the paragraph may consist of a +single sentence.) + +2. In the body of a composition, when a brief logical transition between +two longer paragraphs is necessary. + +3. In short compositions on complex subjects, where space forbids the +development of each thought on a proper scale. (But, as a rule, the +student should limit his subject to a few simple ideas, each of which +can be developed fully.) + +4. In newspapers, where brevity and emphasis are required. (But the +student should not take the journalistic style as a model.) + +5. In description or narration meant to be vivid, vigorous, or rapid. + +6. In dialogue. + +=c. In representing dialogue, each speech, no matter how short, is placed +in a separate paragraph.= + + Right: + + "Listen!" he said. "There was a noise + outside. Didn't you hear it?" + + "No," I whispered. It was dark in the room, except for a faint + light at the window, and I felt my way cautiously to his side. + "What is it? Burglars?" + + "I believe it is." + + "I can't hear anything." + + "Listen! There it is again." + + "Pshaw!" I had to laugh aloud. "Thompson's cow has got into the + garden again." + +Note that a slight amount of descriptive matter may be included in a +paragraph with the direct discourse, the only requirement being that a +change of speaker shall be indicated by a new paragraph. + +When special emphasis is desired, a quotation may be detached from a +preceding introductory statement. + + Right: The speaker turned gravely about, and facing the front + row, he said slowly and solemnly: + + "Small boys should be seen and not heard." + +In exceptional cases a long, rapid-fire dialogue may, for purposes of +compression, be placed in one paragraph. Dashes should then be used +before successive quotations to indicate a change of speaker. + +Omissions from a dialogue (as when only one side of a telephone +conversation is reported), long pauses, and the unfinished part of +interrupted statements, may be represented by a short row of dots. + + Exercise: + + Arrange in paragraphs, and insert quotation marks: + + 1. Help! I cried, rolling over in the narrow crevasse, and + wondering dazedly how far I had fallen through the snow. A + muffled voice came from above: We'll have a rope down to you in + a minute. Tie that bottle of brandy on the end of it, I + suggested, and it'll come faster. [The student will here insert + a sentence of his own to complete the dialogue.] + + 2. Good morning, James, said the deacon, suspiciously. How are + you? and where are you going? I'm all right, answered the boy, + and I'm goin' down to the creek. As he spoke, he tried to hide + something bulky underneath his coat. You oughtn't to go fishing + on Sunday. [Add another sentence to finish the dialogue.] + + +=89.= MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISE + +The following sentences illustrate errors in the use of capitals, +italics, numbers, abbreviations, etc. Make necessary changes. + + 1. I met him at kansas city at a dinner of the commercial club. + + 2. The senate and the house of representatives are the two + branches of congress. + + 3. In today's chicago herald the union pacific railroad + advertises reduced rates to yellowstone park and the northwest. + + 4. There are 30 men in each section in chemistry, but only 25 + in each section in french. + + 5. Early in pres. wilson's administration troops crossed the + rio grande river. Pres. Carranza protested. + + 6. In nineteen ten the population of new york city (including + suburbs) was 4,766,883. + + 7. Send the moving van to thirty walnut street at eight + o'clock. + + 8. I like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice better than George + Eliot's Adam Bede. + + 9. May I call for you about 7:30 p. m., Miss Reynolds? + + 10. The note draws 6 per cent interest, and is payable Jan. + 1st, 1921. + + 11. He will remain in town until Apr. 20th, and will then go + away for the Summer. He is going abroad to study the spanish + and italian languages. + + 12. Grays elegy in a country churchyard is perhaps the best + known poem in english literature. + + 13. Enclosed please find $4, for which send me the New Republic + for one year. + + 14. In reply to yours of 3-7-18 wish to advise that we are out + of stock. + + 15. I enclose $0.10 for a copy of bulletin #314 of the dept. of + Agriculture. Thanking you, I remain ... yours Respectively.... + + + + +PUNCTUATION + + +Punctuation is not used for its own sake. It is used in writing as +gestures, pauses, and changes of voice are used in speaking--to add +force or to reveal the precise relationship of thoughts. The tendency at +present is against the lavish use of punctuation. This does not mean, +however, that one may do as he pleases. In minor details of punctuation +there is room for individual preference, but in essential principles all +trustworthy writers agree. + + +=The Period= + +=90a. Place a period after a complete declarative or imperative sentence.= + +=b. Do not separate part of a sentence from the rest of the sentence by +means of a period. (See 1.)= + + Wrong: He denied the accusation. As every one expected him to + do. + + Right: He denied the accusation, as every one expected him to + do. + + Wrong: Anderson wrote good editorials. The best that appeared + in any paper in the city. + + Right: Anderson wrote good editorials, the best that appeared + in any paper in the city. [Or] Anderson wrote good + editorials--the best that appeared in any paper in the city. + +Exception.--Condensed or elliptical phrases established by long and +frequent use may be written as separate sentences. They should be +followed by appropriate punctuation--usually by a period. + + Examples: Yes. Of course. Really? By all means! + +Note.--The student should distinguish clearly between a subordinate +clause and a main clause. A subordinate clause is introduced by a +subordinate conjunction (_when_, _while_, _if_, _as_, _since_, +_although_, _that_, _lest_, _because_, _in order that_, etc.), or by a +relative pronoun (_who_, _which_, _that_, etc.). Since a subordinate +clause does not express a complete thought, it cannot stand alone, but +must be joined to a main clause to form a sentence. + +=c. Place a period after an abbreviation.= + + Bros. Mr. e. g. Ph.D. LL.D. etc. + +If an abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence, one period may serve +two functions. + + Exercise: + + 1. The hen clucks to her chickens. When she scratches up a + worm. + + 2. Before my brother could forewarn me. I had touched my tongue + against the cold iron. On which it stuck. + + 3. The commission had the services of two men of international + reputation. Charles Newman, Esq. and Gifford Bailey, + Ph D. + + 4. Since Hugh had fished only in creeks. He was surprised that + the lines were let down a hundred feet or more. The right + distance for codfish. + + 5. Between 1775 and 1825 Virginia furnished the nation its + leaders. Such as the author of the Declaration of Independence. + The orator of the Revolution. The leader of the Revolutionary + army. The chief maker of the Constitution. Four of our first + five Presidents. And our greatest Chief Justice of the Supreme + Court. + + +=The Comma= + +There are five principal uses of the comma: + + to separate clauses (a-d) + to set off a parenthetical element (e) + to mark a series (f-g) + to introduce a quotation (h) + to compel a pause for the sake of clearness (i) + +=91a. A comma is used between clauses joined by _but_, _for_, _and_, or +any other coördinating conjunction.= + + Right: The hour arrived, but Forbes did not appear. [The comma + emphasizes the contrast.] + + Right: She was glad she had looked, for a man was approaching + the house. [The comma prevents the combination _looked for a + man_.] + + Right: He gave the money to Burke, and Reynolds received + nothing. [The comma prevents confusion.] + +Exception.--If the clauses are short and closely linked in thought, the +comma may be omitted (She came and she was gone in a moment. McCoy +talked and the rest of us listened.) If the clauses are long and +complicated, a semicolon may be used (See 92b). + +Note.--No comma should follow the conjunction. Wrong: He was +enthusiastic but, inexperienced. Wrong: They went before the committee +but, not one of them would answer a question. + +=b. Do _not_ use a comma between independent clauses which are _not_ +joined by a conjunction. Use a period or a semicolon.= (This error, the +"comma splice," betrays ignorance of what constitutes a unified +sentence. See 18.) + + Wrong: The circus had just come to town, every one wanted to + see it. + + Right: The circus had just come to town. Every one wanted to + see it. + + Wrong: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan, his + mother desired to make an angel of him. + + Right: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan. His + mother desired to make an angel of him. + + Wrong: My courses required very hard study, did yours? + + Right: My courses required very hard study. Did yours? [Or] My + courses required very hard study; did yours? + + Wrong: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation, + indeed he will do so with alacrity. + + Right: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation. + Indeed he will do so with alacrity. [Or] He will assist you + without the slightest hesitation; indeed he will do so with + alacrity. + +Exception.--Short coördinate clauses which are not joined by +conjunctions, but which are parallel in structure and leave a unified +impression, may be joined by commas. + + Right: He sowed, he reaped, he repented. + +=c. An adverbial clause which precedes a main clause is usually set off +by a comma.= + +When long: + + Right: While I have much confidence in his sincerity, I cannot + approve his decision. [The comma marks the meeting point of + clauses too long to be easily read together. Brief clauses do + not require the comma. Right: Where thou goest I will go.] + +When ending in words that link themselves with words in the main +clause: + + Right: If Jacob finds time to plow, the garden can be planted + tomorrow. [The comma prevents _plow the garden_ from being read + as verb and object.] + +When not closely connected with the main clause in meaning: + + Right: Although they were few, they were resolute. [Here the + comma reveals the distinctness of the two stages of thought. In + the sentence _If it freezes the skating will be good_ the + distinctness of the two thoughts is less emphatic, and the + comma may be omitted.] + +Note.--The comma is usually omitted when the adverbial clause follows +the main clause. + + Right: The score stood twelve to twelve when the first half + ended. [The adverbial clause is linked closely with the element + it modifies, the predicate; punctuation is unnecessary. If the + _when_ clause were placed before the element it does not + modify, the subject, a comma should be inserted.] + +=d. Restrictive clauses should not be set off by commas; non-restrictive +clauses should be set off by commas.= (A restrictive clause is one +inseparably connected with the noun or pronoun it modifies; to omit it +would change the thought of the main clause. A non-restrictive clause is +less vitally connected with the noun or pronoun; to omit it would not +affect the thought of the main clause.) + + Right: Men who are industrious will succeed. [The relative + clause restricts the meaning; it is inseparably connected with + the noun it modifies, and to omit it would change the thought + of the main clause.] + + Right: Thomas Carlyle, who wrote forty volumes, was of peasant + origin. [The relative clause is non-restrictive; it is not + inseparably connected with the noun it modifies, and to omit + it would not change the thought of the main clause. Thus: + Thomas Carlyle was of peasant origin.] + + Right: Where is the house that Jack built? [Restrictive.] + + Right: I went to Jack's house, which is across the street. + [Non-restrictive.] + + Wrong: Students, who are lazy, do not deserve to pass. [The + sentence as it stands says that all students are lazy, and that + none of them deserve to pass. Without the commas, the sentence + would mean that such students as are lazy do not deserve to + pass.] + + Right: Students who are lazy do not deserve to pass. + +=The rule stated above for clauses applies also to phrases.= + + Right. She, hearing the voice, turned quickly. [_Hearing the + voice_ is non-restrictive. It does not identify _she_, and the + thought of the main clause is complete without it.] + + Right: Books pertaining to aeronautics are in demand. + [_Pertaining to aeronautics_ is restrictive. It explains what + books are referred to, and without it the meaning of the main + thought is changed.] + + Right: Our country, made up as it is of democratic people, + lacks the centralized power of a monarchy. [Non-restrictive.] + + Right: A country made up of democratic people must be lacking + in centralized power. [Restrictive. _Made up of democratic + people_ explains _country_ and is essential to the thought of + the sentence.] + +=e. Slightly parenthetical elements are set off by commas:= + +Direct address or explanation: + + Write soon, Henry, and tell all the news. + + They intend, as you know, to build a great dam across the + river. + + His father, they say, was frugal and industrious. + + I, on my part, however, am unalterably opposed to the + expenditure. + + He was, according to such reports as have reached me, + altogether in the right. + +Mild interjections: + + Well, we shall see. + + Come now, let's talk it over. + + But alas, the cupboard was bare. + + The custom is, oh, very old. + +Absolute phrases: + + This being admitted, I shall proceed to my other evidence. + +Geographical names which explain other names and dates which explain +other dates: + + The convention met at Madison, Wisconsin, on March 24, 1916. + +Words in apposition: + + We arrived at Austin, the capital of Texas. + + It was Archie, my best friend in boyhood. + + Exception.--The comma is omitted (1) When the appositive is + part of a proper name. Right: William the Silent, Alexander the + Great. (2) When there is unusually close connection between the + appositive and the noun it modifies. Right: My one confidant + was my brother Robert. (3) When the appositive is a word or + phrase to which attention is called by italics or some other + device which sets it apart. Right: The word _sequent_ is + derived from Latin. Right: The expression "That's fine" is one + which I use indiscriminately. + +Note.--When the parenthetical element occurs in the middle of a +sentence, "set off by commas" means _punctuate before and after_. + + Wrong: I was, madam at home yesterday. + + Right: I was, madam, at home yesterday. + + Wrong: I am to say the least, provoked. + + Right: I am, to say the least, provoked. + +=f. Consecutive adjectives that modify the same noun are separated from +each other by commas. If, however, the last adjective is closely linked +in meaning with the noun, no comma is used before it.= + + Right: A short, slight, pitiable figure. + + Right: A shrewd professional man. [_Shrewd_ modifies, not _man_ + alone, but _professional man_.] + + Right: A bedraggled old rooster. [_Old rooster_ has almost the + force of a compound word. _Bedraggled_ modifies the general + idea _old rooster_.] + +Note.--The commas in a series of adjectives are used to separate the +adjectives from each other. No comma should intervene between the final +adjective and the noun. Wrong: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened, +youngster. Right: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened youngster. + +=g. Words or phrases in series are separated by commas.= + +When the series takes the form _a, b, and c_, a comma precedes the +_and_. + + Confusing: The railroads in question are the New York Central, + Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio. [The reader might surmise + that the words _Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio_ represent + a single line or even three different lines.] + + Right: The railroads in question are the New York Central, + Pennsylvania, and Chesapeake and Ohio. + + Confusing: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs and honey. + [Omission of the comma after _eggs_ suggests a mixture.] + + Right: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey. + +=h. A comma should follow an expression like _he said_ which introduces a +short quotation.= (For longer or more formal quotations use a colon.) + + Right: He shouted, "Come on! I dare you!" + + Right: Our captain replied, "We're ready." + +But for indirect quotations, a caution is necessary. Do not place a +comma between a verb and a _that_ or _how_ clause which the verb +introduces. + + Wrong: He explained, how the accident occurred. + + Right: He explained how the accident occurred. + + Wrong: The chauffeur told us, that the gasoline tank was empty. + + Right: The chauffeur told us that the gasoline tank was empty. + +=i. A comma is used to separate parts of a sentence which might +erroneously be read together.= + + Confusing: Long before she had received a letter. + + Better: Long before, she had received a letter. + + Confusing: We turned the corner and the horse stopped throwing + us off. + + Better: We turned the corner and the horse stopped, throwing us + off. + + Confusing: Through the alumni gathered there went a thrill of + dismay. + + Better: Through the alumni gathered there, went a thrill of + dismay. + + Wrong: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie or cake and ice + cream. + + Right: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie, or cake and + ice cream. + + Right: The man whom everybody had for years regarded as a crank + and a weakling, is now praised for his sagacity and his + strength. + + Right: In a situation so critical as to require the utmost + coolness of mind, he lost his wits completely. [Here the + confusion might not be serious if the comma were omitted, but + separation of the long introduction from the main clause is + desirable.] + +=j. Do not use superfluous commas:= + +=1.= To mark a trivial pause: + + Needless use of comma: In the road, stood a wagon. + + Needless use of commas: The taking of notes, is a guarantee, + against inattention, in class. + +Slight pauses in a sentence are taken care of by the good sense of the +reader. Do not sprinkle commas when the sentence is moving along freely +with no complication in the thought. + + Right: In the road stood a wagon. + + Right: The taking of notes is a guarantee against inattention + in class. + +=2.= To separate an adjective from its noun: + + Wrong: A tall, solemn, antique, clock stood in the hallway. + [The first two commas separate the adjectives from each other. + There is no reason why _antique_ should be separated from the + noun.] + + Right: A tall, solemn, antique clock stood in the hallway. + +=3.= Before the first word or phrase in a series unless the comma would be +employed if the word or phrase stood alone: + + Wrong: He made a study of, gymnastics, medicine, and surgery. + + Right: He made a study of gymnastics, medicine, and surgery. + + Wrong: He had learned, to be prompt, to think clearly, and to + write correctly. + + Right: He had learned to be prompt, to think clearly, and to + write correctly. + + Exercise: + + 1. Before the workmen finished eating the tunnel caved in. + Three Italian laborers were crushed, the others with the + foreman escaped. + + 2. Sneed the new chairman proposed that the convention should + meet at Cheyenne Wyoming. The suggestion however was according + to reports not adopted. + + 3. He had a pen and an ink bottle was in the cupboard. By + washing poor widows can earn but scant living. + + 4. Saunders asked, how I liked the Overland car as compared + with the Chalmers, the Hudson and the Buick. I started to reply + but at that moment we were interrupted. + + 5. People, who steal watermelons, say the stolen melons are + sweetest. Farragut who was born in Tennessee was the North's + ablest naval commander. The developer is a chemical, which + reduces the silver salt. + + +=The Semicolon= + +The semicolon represents a division in thought somewhat greater than +that represented by a comma, and somewhat smaller than that represented +by a period. It may represent grammatical separation and logical +connection at the same time; that is, it may indicate that two +statements are separate units in grammar, and are yet to be taken +together to form a larger unit of logic or thought. + +=92a. The semicolon is used between coördinate clauses which are not +joined by a conjunction.= (For a possible exception see 91b.). + + Wrong: He was alarmed in fact he was terrified. + + Right: He was alarmed; in fact he was terrified. + + Right: He drew up at the curb; he leaped from the car. + +Note.--Very often the writer may choose freely between the semicolon and +the period; in such instances the use of the semicolon implies greater +logical unity between the clauses than the use of the period would show. +Unless this logical unity is distinct, the period is to be preferred. + +=b. The semicolon is sometimes used between coördinate clauses which are +joined by a conjunction if the clauses are long, or if the clauses have +commas within themselves, or if obscurity would result were the +semicolon not used.= (Otherwise, see 91a.) + + Right: Very slowly the glow in the heavens deepened and + extended itself along the eastern horizon; but at last the + bright-red rim of the sun showed above the crest of the hill. + + Right: He arrived, so they tell me, after nightfall; and + immediately going to a hotel, called for a room. + + Confusing: She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the + music, and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a + delight to her. + + Better. She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the + music; and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a + delight to her. + +=c. The semicolon is used between coördinate clauses which are joined by +a formal conjunctive adverb (_hence_, _thus_, _then_, _therefore_, +_accordingly_, _consequently_, _besides_, _still_, _nevertheless_, or +the like).= + + Wrong: We have failed in this therefore let us try something + else. + + Right: We have failed in this; therefore let us try something + else. + + Wrong: He was tattered and muddy, besides he ate like a + cormorant. + + Right: He was tattered and muddy; besides he ate like a + cormorant. + +Note 1.--If a simple conjunction like _and_ is used in the sentences +above, a comma will suffice. But a comma is not sufficient before a +conjunctive adverb like _therefore_. Conjunctive adverbs may be clearly +distinguished from simple conjunctions (See 91a). They cannot always be +easily distinguished from subordinating conjunctions (see 90b, Note), +but the distinction, when it can be made with certainty, is an aid to +clear thinking. + +Note 2.--Good usage sometimes permits a comma to be used before a +conjunctive adverb in short sentences where the break in the thought is +not formal or emphatic. For instance, when the conjunctive adverb _so_ +is used as a formal or emphatic connective, a semicolon is desirable (I +won't go; so that's settled). But in the sentence, "I was excited, so I +missed the target", a comma is sufficient. For the use of _so_ is here +informal, and probably expresses degree as well as result. (Compare "I +was so excited that I missed the target"). + +=d. The semicolon is not used before quotations, or after the "Dear Sir" +in letters. Use a comma or a colon.= (See 91h, 93a, and 87b.) + + Wrong: Mother said; "Let me get my needle." + + Right: Mother said, "Let me get my needle." + + Exercise: + + 1. The eggs tasted musty, they were cold storage eggs. + + 2. You should have seen that old, formally kept house, you + should have sat in that stuffy and immaculate parlor. + + 3. I objected to the plan however since he insisted upon it I + yielded. + + 4. I suppose I must go if I don't he will be anxious. + + 5. Although the note is due on March 19, you have three days of + grace, consequently you may pay it on March 22. + + +=The Colon= + +=93a. The colon is used to introduce formally a word, a list, a statement +or question, a series of statements or questions, or a long quotation.= + + Right: Only one man stood between Burr and the presidency: + Jefferson. + + Right: My favorite novels are the following: _Ivanhoe_, _Henry + Esmond_, and _The Mill on the Floss_. + + Right: The difficulty is this: Where is the money to come from? + + Right: The measure must be considered from several standpoints: + Is it timely? Is it expedient? Is it just? Is it superior to + the other measures proposed? + + Right: I shall do three things next year: study hard, take care + of my health, and enter into various student activities. + + Right: Webster concluded with the following peroration: "When + my eyes shall be turned for the last time to behold the sun in + heaven," etc., etc. + +=b. The colon may be used before concrete illustrations of a general +statement.= + + Right: The colors were various: blue, purple, emerald, and + orange. + + Right: The day was propitious: the sun shone, the birds sang, + the flowers sent forth their fragrance. + + Exercise: + + 1. The city must have these improvements paved streets more + schools better sanitation and a park. + + 2. A guild comprised men of a single class tailors, + fishmongers, or goldsmiths. + + 3. Everything was favorable, it was a wheat-raising district, + there were no rival mills, the means of transportation were + excellent. + + 4. The personal adornments of the eighteenth century "blood" + were elaborate, wigs, cocked hat, colored breeches, red-heeled + shoes, cane, and muff. + + 5. The chief of the engineers reported "The route, taken as a + whole, is practicable enough, but near Clifton, where the yards + must be placed, it leads through a rocky defile." + + +=The Dash= + +=94a. The dash may be used instead of the marks of parenthesis, +especially where informality is desired.= + + Right: She fell asleep--would you believe it?--in the middle of + the lecture. + + Right: That fellow actually--of course this is between you and + me--stole money from his father. + +=b. Insert a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.= + + Right: The next morning--let's see, what happened the next + morning? + +=c. The dash may be used near the end of a sentence, before a summarizing +statement or an afterthought.= + + Right: When you have carried in the wood and the water, and + milked the cows, and fed all the stock and the poultry, and + mended the harness--when you have done these things, you may + consider the rest of the evening your own. + + Right: Barnes played a mischievous trick one day--in fact, + Barnes was always into mischief. + +=d. The use of the dash to end sentences is childish.= + + Childish: At dawn I went on deck--far off to the left was a + cloud, I thought, on the edge of the water--it grew more + distinct as we angled toward it--it was land--before noon we + had sailed into harbor. + + Right: At dawn I went on deck. Far off to the left was a cloud, + I thought, on the edge of the water. It grew more distinct as + we angled toward it. It was land. Before noon we had sailed + into harbor. + +=e. A dash should be made about three times as long as a hyphen; +otherwise it may be mistaken as the sign of a compound word.= + + Exercise: + + 1. The boy left the package on the where did that boy leave the + package? + + 2. She was haughty independent as a queen in fact and she told + him no. + + 3. The clatter of the other typewriters, the relentless + movement of the hands of the clock, the calls from the press + room for more copy, these made Sears write like mad. + + 4. He made her acquaintance what do you think of this by + scribbling his name and address on some eggs he sold to a + grocer. + + 5. He obtained a position in a big department store--his good + taste was quickly recognized--within a month he was dressing + the windows. + + +=Parenthesis Marks and Brackets= + +=95a.= Parenthesis marks may be used to enclose matter foreign to the main +thought of the sentence. (But see also 94a and 91e.) + + Right: His testimony is conclusive (unless, to be sure, we find + that he has perjured himself). + +=b. A comma or a semicolon used at the end of a parenthesis should as a +rule follow the mark of parenthesis rather than precede it.= + + Right: If there is snow on the ground (and I am sure there will + be), we shall have plenty of sleighing. + +=c. When confirmatory symbols or figures are enclosed within parenthesis +marks, they should follow rather than precede the words they confirm.= + + Wrong: They earn (3) dollars a day. + + Right: They earn three (3) dollars a day. [Or] They earn three + dollars ($3) a day. + +=d. Do not use parenthesis marks to cancel a word or passage.= Draw a +horizontal line through whatever is to be omitted. + +=e. Brackets are used to insert explanatory matter in a quotation which +one gives from another writer.= Explanatory matter inserted by the +original writer is enclosed within parenthesis marks. + + Right: "Bunyan's masterpiece (_The Pilgrim's Progress_)," + declared the lecturer, "is out of harmony with the spirit of the + age that produced it [the age of the Restoration]." (Here the + explanatory words _the age of the Restoration_ are inserted + by the person who is quoting the lecturer.) + + Exercise: + + 1. The supremacy of the horse-drawn vehicle is unless a miracle + happens now gone forever. + + 2. My count shows (41) forty-one bales of cotton in the mill + yard. + + 3. [Insert _the Marne_ as your explanation]: "It was this + battle," said the lecturer, "that made the name of Joffre + immortal." + + 4. [Insert _Florida_ as the explanation of the person you are + quoting]: "In that state oranges are plentiful." + + 5. It was the opinion of Bailey and events proved him right + that the government must assume control of the railroads. + + +=Quotation Marks= + +=96a. Quotation marks should be used to enclose a direct, but not an +indirect, quotation.= + + Right: "I am thirsty," he said. + + Wrong: He said "that he was thirsty." + + Right: He said that he was thirsty. + +=b. A quotation of several paragraphs should have quotation marks at the +beginning of each paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph.= + +=c. In narrative each separate speech, however short, should be enclosed +within quotation marks=; but a single speech of several sentences should +have only one set of quotation marks. + + Wrong: "Will you come? she pleaded. + + Certainly." + + Right: "Will you come," she pleaded. + + "Certainly." + + Wrong: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did + this." "There were others whom I had to consider." "I can + mention no names." + + Right: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did this. + There were others whom I had to consider. I can mention no + names." + +=d. Quotation marks may be used with technical terms, with slang +introduced into formal writing, or with nicknames=; but not with merely +elevated diction, with good English that resembles slang, with nicknames +that have practically become proper names, or with fictitious names from +literature. + + Permissible: The rime is called a "feminine rime". He is really + "a corker". Their name for my friend was "Sissy". + + Better without the quotation marks: He was awed by "the + grandeur of the mountains". "A humbug". "Fetch". "Stonewall" + Jackson. He was a true "Rip Van Winkle". + +=e. Either quotation marks or italics may be used with words to which +special attention is called.= (See the examples under 91e, Exception, 3.) +Quotation marks are used with the titles of articles, of chapters in +books, of individual short poems, and the like. Italics are used with +the titles of books or of periodicals, with the names of ships, and with +foreign words which are still felt to be emphatically foreign. + +=f. A quotation within a quotation should be enclosed in single quotation +marks; a quotation within that, in double marks.= + + Right: "It required courage," the speaker said, "for a man to + affirm in those days: 'I endorse every word of Patrick Henry's + sentiment, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"'" + +=g. When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and a question mark +or an exclamation point, the question mark or the exclamation point +should come first if it applies to the quotation; last, if it applies to +the main sentence.= + + Wrong: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet"! + + Right: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet!" + + Wrong: Did Savonarola say, "I recant?" + + Right: Did Savonarola say, "I recant"? + +Note.--Regarding the position of a comma, semicolon, or period at the +end of a quotation, usage differs. Printers ordinarily place commas and +periods inside the quotation marks, and semicolons outside, from +considerations of spacing. But logic, not spacing, should determine the +order, and all three marks should be treated alike. They should be +placed within the quotation marks if they were a part of the original +quotation; otherwise outside. In quoting manuscript, the quotation marks +should enclose exactly what is in the original. In quoting oral +discourse, a certain liberty is necessarily allowed. + + Correct: He said calmly, "It is I." + + Also correct, but not commonly used: He said calmly, "It is I". + + Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: He began, + "Our Father which art in heaven." [The period should follow the + quotation mark, since there is no period in the original + quotation.] + + Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: Can you + tell me the difference between "apt," "likely," and "liable"; + between "noted" and "notorious"? + + Also correct: Can you tell me the difference between "apt", + "likely", and "liable"; between "noted" and "notorious"? + +=h. When a quotation is interrupted by such an expression as _he said,_= + +=1. An extra set of quotation marks is employed, and the interpolated +words are normally set off by commas.= + + Wrong: "I rise said he to second the motion." + + Right: "I rise," said he, "to second the motion." + +=2. A question mark or exclamation point should precede the interpolated +expression if it would be used were the expression omitted.= + + Right: "'May I go?'" complained father, "is all that boy can + ask." + + Right: "Merciful heavens!" he cried, "we are lost." + +=3. The expression should be followed by a semicolon if the semicolon +would follow the preceding words in case the expression were omitted.= + + Right: "I admit it", he said; "it is true." + +=4. Neither the expression nor the words following it should begin with a +capital.= + + Wrong: "We must be quiet", Said the old man, "If we expect to + catch sight of a squirrel." + + Right: "We must be quiet", said the old man, "if we expect to + catch sight of a squirrel." + +=i. An omission from a quotation is indicated by dots.= + + Right: "When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and + ... an exclamation point, ... the exclamation point should come + ... last, if it applies to the main sentence." [Abridged + citation of g above.] + +=j. Do not use superfluous quotation marks:= + +1. Around the title at the head of a theme (unless it is a quoted +title); + +2. As a label for humor or irony. + + Superfluous: The "abstemious" Mr. Crew ate an enormous dinner. + + Better: The abstemious Mr. Crew ate an enormous dinner. + + Exercise: + + 1. Carew says, "that the profit comes from selling + knickknacks." + + 2. What's the matter with that horse? asked Williams. He's as + frisky as if he had been shut up a week. + + 3. "Who's your favorite character in the play?, persisted + Laura. Is it "Brutus"? No, answered Howard; I admire his wife + "Portia". + + 4. "It's amazing, said Mrs. Phelps, how children love + playthings. Helen Locke said yesterday, Hughie always tells me + when I am putting him to bed, I want my Teddy bear". + + 5. "You see, said Daugherty, the two offices across the + corridor from each ether." "One is the county clerk's." "The + other is the county collector's." + + +=The Apostrophe= + +=97a. In contracted words place the apostrophe where letters are omitted, +and do not place it elsewhere.= + + Wrong: does'nt, theyr'e, oclock. + + Right: doesn't, they're, o'clock. + +=b. To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that does not +end in _s_, add '_s_.= + + Right: A hunter's gun, children's games, the cannon's mouth. + +=c. To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that ends in +_s_, place an apostrophe after (not before) the _s_ if there is no new +syllable in pronunciation. If there is a new syllable in pronunciation, +add _'s_.= + + Wrong: Moses's mandates, Keat's poems, Dicken's novels, those + hunter's guns. + + Right: Moses' mandates, Keats's poems (or Keats' poems), + Dickens' (or Dickens's) novels, those hunters' guns. + +=d. Do not use an apostrophe with the possessive adjectives _its_, _his_, +_hers_, _ours_, _yours_, and _theirs_. But _one's_, _other's_, +_either's_ take the apostrophe.= + +=e. Add _'s_ to form the plural of letters of the alphabet, of words +spoken of as words, and sometimes numbers.= But do not form the regular +plural of a word by adding _'s_ (See 77). + + Right: His _B's_, _8's_ (or _8s_), and _it's_ look much alike. + + Wrong: The Jones's, the Smith's, and the Brown's. + + Right: The Joneses, the Smiths, and the Browns. + + Exercise: + + 1. We don't know theyr'e dishonest. + + 2. The soldier's heads showed above the trenches. + + 3. Five 8es, three 7es, and two 12es make 85. + + 4. Pierce told the Keslers that Jones hogs were fatter than + their's. + + 5. Its three oclock by his watch; five minutes past three by + her's. + + +=The Question Mark and the Exclamation Point= + +=98a. Place a question mark after a direct question, but not after an +indirect question.= + + Wrong: What of it. What does it matter. + + Right: What of it? What does it matter? + + Wrong: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club? + + Right: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club. + +Note.--When the main sentence which introduces an indirect question is +itself interrogatory, a question mark follows. + + Right: Did she inquire whether you had met her aunt? + +=b. A question mark is often used within a sentence, but should not be +followed by a comma, semicolon, or period.= + + Wrong: "What shall I do?," he asked. + + Right: "What shall I do?" he asked. + + Wrong: But where are the stocks?, the bonds?, the evidences of + prosperity? + + Right: But where are the stocks? the bonds? the evidences of + prosperity? + +=c. A question mark within parentheses may be used to express uncertainty +as to the correctness of an assertion.= + + Right: Shakespeare was born April 23 (?), 1564. + + Right: In 1340 (?) was born Geoffrey Chaucer. + +=d. The use of a question mark as a label for humor or irony is childish.= + + Superfluous: Immediately the social lion (?) rose to his feet. + + Better: Immediately the social lion rose to his feet. + +=e. The exclamation point is used after words, expressions, or sentences +to show strong emotion.= + + Right: Hark! I hear horses. Give us a light there, ho! + +Note.--The lavish use of the exclamation point is not in good taste. +Unless the emotion to be conveyed is strong, a comma will suffice. See +91e. + + Exercise: + + 1. What is my temperature, doctor. + + 2. "Shall we go by the old mill?", asked Newcomb? + + 3. Did Wu Ting Fang say, "The Chinese Republic will survive." + + 4. He inquired whether Lorado Taft is the greatest living + American sculptor. + + 5. Farewell. Othello's occupation's gone. + + +=99.= EXERCISE IN PUNCTUATION + +=A.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. Why its ten oclock + + 2. It was a rainy foggy morning + + 3. Arthurs cousin said Lets go + + 4. I begged her to stay but she refused + + 5. His parents you know were wealthy + + 6. Near by the children were playing house + + 7. Ever since John has driven carefully + + 8. I smell something burning Etta + + 9. Well Harry are you ready for a tramp + + 10. I well remember a trip which I once took + + 11. When the day has ended the twilight comes + + 12. She was a poor lonely defenseless old woman + + 13. Trout bass and pickerel are often caught there + + 14. Lees army was defeated at Gettysburg Pennsylvania on July 3 + 1863 + + 15. Students who are poor appreciate the value of an education + + 16. Clem Rogers who is poor as Jobs turkey has bought a + phonograph + + 17. He had no resentment against the man who had injured him + + 18. He spoke to his father who sat on the veranda + + 19. The rifle which he used on this trip was the best he had + + 20. His long beard sticking out at an angle from his chin and + his tall silk hat looked ridiculous + +=B.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. I found the work difficult did you find it so + + 2. If they had agreed to buy things would have been different + but they didn't + + 3. I could satisfy myself if need be with dreams and imaginary + delights she must have realities + + 4. Well Im not disappointed its just what I expected + + 5. Hard roads are not only an advantage they are almost + indispensable + + 6. The man who hesitates is lost the woman who hesitates is won + + 7. The nihilists accept no principle or creed they reject + government and religion and all institutions which cramp the + individuals desires + + 8. No longer are women considered weaklings although not so + strong as man physically they are now assumed to have will and + courage of their own + + 9. The Pilgrims wished to thank God so they prepared a feast + + 10. Our country roads are full of chuck holes consequently one + must drive with caution + + 11. The first player advances ten paces the second eight the + third six and so on + + 12. I told her it was her own fault she was too reticent and + held herself aloof + + 13. He had complained of weariness therefore we left him in + camp + + 14. The Panama Canal consists of four sections the Atlantic + Level the Lake the Cut and the Pacific Level + + 15. There are three reasons why I do not like Ford cars first + they rattle second they bump and third they never wear out + + 16. Protoplasm has been found to contain four elements carbon + hydrogen oxygen and nitrogen but by no artificial combination + can these be made into the living substance + + 17. Phlox mignonette sweet peas cannas all these yield flowers + until late in the fall. + + 18. He asked for hot water the mollycoddle as if this were a + hotel + + 19. Is this seat occupied sir asked Brown who stood in the + aisle + + 20. There are two types of democracy 1 a pure democracy and 2 a + representative democracy + + +=C.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. And Harvey waiting all this time mind you sprang for the + door + + 2. I want to go to Memphis Tennessee to the old house if it is + still standing where I was born + + 3. My bill amounted to exactly counting the car fare nine + dollars and ninety five cents + + 4. I do not believe it he cried then turning to the others in + the group he asked nervously do you + + 5. Which is better to borrow money for ones school expenses or + to work ones way + + 6. He swore swore like a pirate and lashed the horses + + 7. Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit is satirical + + 8. But what of the Dakotas of Minnesota of Wisconsin are they + to give us no political support + + 9. The grain is then run into a bin called the weighing bin + from this it is let down on to the scales + + 10. Lincoln showed very plainly what the phrase All men are + created equal means and what its application was to the + anti-slavery movement. + + 11. His name was lets see what was the fellows name. + + 12. He looks sharply for little points passed over by the + average person are important to him + + 13. How uncomfortable I feel in a room whose windows are not + covered by curtains I cannot describe + + 14. Some time ago he moved away I was sorry because he was a + fine young man + + 15. I went to the lawyers office to hear the reading of my + uncles will + + 16. Well well I havent seen you for years But youre the same + stub nosed freckle faced good natured Tom + + 17. I did not stop long to consider the football togs were + nearest at hand so in they went cleated shoes trousers sweater + pads headgear and the rest + + 18. Today I shall outline explain and argue the subject which + has already been announced to you namely The Distribution of + Taxes in Illinois + + 19. His piping voice his long crooked nose his white hair + falling over the shoulders of his faded blue coat his shuffling + shambling gait as he hobbled up to Carletons Grocery with his + basket all this I shall remember as long as I live + + 20. We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are + created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with + certain inalienable rights that among these rights are life + liberty and the pursuit of happiness + + +100. GENERAL EXERCISE + +Improve the following sentences, making as many changes as are necessary +to express the thought clearly and accurately. + +=A.= + + 1. It don't sound right. + + 2. Us fellows hadn't ought to complain. + + 3. The decision effects my brother and I alike. + + 4. Following his breakfast he went up to the office. + + 5. One finds that beginning on a pipe organ is much more + complicated than the piano. + + 6. She married before she was eighteen, she had never taken + much interest in school work + + 7. New Year's Eve, a young lady who I was calling upon, and + myself decided to fool the old folks. + + 8. Williams drove across town at full speed, this was against + the ordinances. + + 9. Mr. Black, who had been laying on the sofa, rose and set + down by myself. + + 10. The agricultural course is a study which every person + should have a great deal of knowledge along that line. + + 11. Swinging around the curve, the open switch was seen in + time, and directly the train stopped we rushed off of the cars. + + 12. I can say a little in regard to my expectations in + connection with the next four years of my life, however. + Expectations of work, pleasure, and perhaps a little sorrow. + + 13. An interesting experience of mine was a collection of + insects made when I studied biology. + + 14. A man can talk to an animal, and he learns to obey him by + repeating certain commands. + + 15. The life of a princess as well as a hermit are made happy + by a little child, as illustrated in the stories of Pharaoh's + daughter and Silas Marner. + + +=B.= + + 1. Every one in the office were busy invoicing. + + 2. Their unconscious pranks and laughter is very amusing. + + 3. The tiger is a beautiful animal, it is also very ferocious. + + 4. Either he or she are good companions for you. + + 5. Again, take a student who has been forced to make his own + way, the question may be harder to decide. + + 6. As for the proposition which is before you, if it was me, I + would not even consider it. + + 7. The fly is the insect that causes more fatal deaths in a + year than any other insect. + + 8. The success of a sponge cake depends upon two things. The + beating of the eggs and the mixing of the flour in lightly. + + 9. James, a youth of such energy, and who is attractive in many + ways, failed in his exams. + + 10. Fish are only found in the deep holes, and they are hard to + get at. + + 11. Besides cigarettes, there are other forms of using tobacco, + such as cigars, and in pipes, and chewing tobacco, making the + total consumption very great. + + 12. I am endeavoring to secure for this position a man not only + with ability as a manager, but one who is capable of + understanding and sympathizing with rural community conditions. + + 13. Any one having any question to ask or who has trouble with + their camera, may write to this department. + + 14. When I hear oatmeal it nauseates me. I can see a mental + picture of the breakfast table where I sat nearly all last + summer. + + 15. In ones second year in high school the books to be read are + Burns poems, Miltons paradise Lost; Bunyans Pilgrims Progress, + and several of Shakespeares plays. + +=C.= + + 1. He promised to on no consideration delay. + + 2. I heard a voice at the door which was familiar. + + 3. The most important part of a book is often to read the + preface. + + 4. Observing carefully, a number of errors are seen to exist. + + 5. Unless one is very wealthy they cannot afford to own a car. + + 6. These kind of fellows usually make good athletes. + + 7. It was the custom of we campers to ride into town and back + on freight cars, when in need of supplies. + + 8. As I was sitting near a radiator so I moved as I decided it + was too warm there. + + 9. To thine own self be true is the advice Polonius gave to his + son. + + 10. In order that Otto should not regain his political power + back again, Sarphina put him in jail. + + 11. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction is + the idea which Emerson's essay on compensation begins. + + 12. To consult a Bible encyclopedia and read it concerning + Easter, one learns quite a little about that religious holiday. + + 13. Never try to shoot a rabbit or any animal when they are not + moving, for among hunters it is very poor sportsmanship to kill + any animal before they have had a chance to get away. + + 14. We find that many of Whittier's poems were concerned with + slavery, which he considered a very great moral wrong, and + determined to do all in his power to eradicate this evil. + + 15. Rhetoric is required in order that a person may learn how + to express their thoughts so as to be readily understood, and + the ability to do this greatly increases the value of your + knowledge. + + +=D.= + + 1. Socialism is different than anarchy. + + 2. He ate the lunch instead of his sister. + + 3. The Volga is the longest of any river in Europe. + + 4. I come over to see if you will leave Tilly go on a picnic + with us tomorrow. + + 5. The value of the birds are studied and the good results + taught to the older children. + + 6. Despotism is where a ruler is not responsible to those under + his authority. + + 7. When a boy or girl enters a high school they think they are + very important. + + 8. I was anxious to begin eating, so no time was wasted by me. + + 9. They run out of ammunition, which caused them to loose the + battle. + + 10. The mind is not only developed, but also the body. + + 11. He built a reservoir varying from 75 to 150 ft. in diameter + and from 8 to 15 ft. high. + + 12. The most principal reason for going to college is so as to + prepare myself for teaching. + + 13. While the room was not very large, yet it had a good-sized + closet in which to put a trunk would be easy and lighted by a + small window. + + 14. A college education is supposed to be general and thorough + by training a man not only into something definite, but give + him a wider scope from which to choose from. + + 15. Motion pictures give actual battle scenes showing just how + the different countries carry on warfare, in taking care of the + wounded, making ammunition, and how they discharge the + artillery, and advance or retreat. + + +=E.= + + 1. He acted like the rest did. + + 2. He don't see anything attractive about her. + + 3. Neither Admiral Beatty nor Admiral Sims are afraid to take + chances. + + 4. The Girl's Campfire Organization was organized when the Boy + Scouts organization was proved such a success. + + 5. Coal is found likely 15 ft. from the waters edge, extending + horizontally under the cliff. + + 6. It is no sure sign that just because a student has took a + course in literature, that he really enjoys the best reading. + + 7. One of the most noticeable characteristics about Lowell's + letters were that they are brief, to the point, and emphatic. + + 8. On the license there will be found the laws regarding + hunting and on the back of it tells when the different seasons + are open. + + 9. The St. Louis Republic is a partisan democratic newspaper + and thus it can be guessed as to what their editorials are like + concerning political questions. + + 10. If the public in general is well posted on the subject and + finds that the charity workers are in earnest, they are much + more apt to donate. + + 11. Some were laughing, some acted serious, others like myself + were merely looking on. + + 12. Entering the campus, the Library is seen, which is a + building nicer than all the others. + + 13. The Ideal Starter starts the engine perfectly without + leaving the driver's seat. + + 14. The fly feeds on decayed vegetable matter, and also the + decayed animal. + + 15. It is true that some people keep a fire extinguisher. It is + of minor importance when considering organized fire protection. + It is organized fire protection with which we are chiefly + concerned, so let us dismiss the former and proceed to the + latter subject. + + +=F.= + + 1. In olden days the curfew rung everywheres at 9 o'clock. + + 2. If a person was to become a charity worker, it would + necessitate him giving time and effort. + + 3. I think most any person can appreciate a good joke when it + is not on them. + + 4. Your clothing for the hunt should be warm and of goods that + will not tear easy. + + 5. Life can be classified in four general stages. Infancy, + Youth, Maturity, and Old Age. + + 6. At the sound of the summons I had to arise from my downy cot + and hurry to the morning repast. + + 7. He was surprised at the way people lived in the city. + Especially the dirt and misery of the slums. + + 8. The house is battered and dingy, being built twenty years + ago by Mr. Robinson, and needs paint badly. + + 9. We hadn't scarcely more than begun the work when one of the + engines got broke and we had to stop until it could be fixed. + + 10. Neither self-denial nor self-sacrifice are to be admired, + or even pardoned, at the cost of happiness, Stevenson says. + + 11. The thing that took my eye most of all were the walls. + Pennants, pictures, and souvenirs were hanging everywhere. + + 12. Grandmother had put the spectacles in the Bible which she + had lost. + + 13. In the summer time the weather is warm but some people are + complaining of the hot weather and who wish the weather would + turn cooler but is it not this kind of weather that makes the + plants grow, which in turn furnish us food? + + 14. Until athletics are demanded from the weaker students, the + training will go to the one who does not need it, and the ones + who do need it are sitting up on the bleachers exercising their + lungs. + + 15. The people of olden times used pumps, but did not know why + they worked, they thought it worked because "nature abhors a + vacuum." + + +=G.= + + 1. Each one of these three books are interesting. + + 2. You may put this hat in any desired shape you like. + + 3. We motored over to Bloomington which was much more pleasant + than the train. + + 4. Every one of his statements are so clear that they cannot be + misconstrued what they mean. + + 5. Analysis is when things are resolved into elements or parts. + + 6. She dropped the doll on the pavement, of which she was very + fond. + + 7. He was offered money to keep still, but would not, thus + showing his good character. + + 8. The first training center for training police dogs was in + Hildesheim, Prussia, and was in the year 1896. + + 9. The draining of land not only increases the yield, and it + greatly lengthens the season that the land may be worked. + + 10. He next stated the number of the founders of the + Constitution, which were 39 in no. + + 11. The life of Doctor Kingsley is a good example of a man who + has succeeded. + + 12. The fortunes of our country are now standing at the + cannon's mouth, and one vote may stem the tide of disaster. + + 13. There was little scenery on an Elizabethan stage. While the + parts intended for women were performed by men. + + 14. The cave which Tom Sawyer was lost in really existed. It + was the cave just outside Hannibal, Missouri, it was near the + Mississippi. Here was the place where Mark Twain was a boy. + + 15. Yes, and the buildings werent what they are now, do you + remember how we used to go to the old log meeting house, that + was up on stilts, and the pigs crawled under the floor and + raised such a disturbance that the preacher had to stop and + have the pigs chased out before he could continue the sermon? + + + + +INDEX + +_The numbers refer to articles._ + + + Abbreviations, 83, 90c + + Absolute expressions + Defined, 58 + Punctuation of, 91e + + _Accept_ and _except_, 67 + + _Ad_, 68 + + Addresses, 87b, 87e + + Adjectives + Classes of, 58 + Comparison of, 58 + Distinguished from adverbs, 56 + In a series, 91f, 91j2 + + Adverbs, + Classes of, 58 + Comparison of, 58 + Distinguished from adjectives, 56 + + _Affect_ and _effect_, 67 + + _Aggravate_, 68 + + Agreement + Of verbs, 52 + Of pronouns, 51, 50i + + _Ain't_, 68 + + _All right_, 68 + + _Almost_, Position of, 27 + + _Allusion and illusion_, 67 + + _Already_ and _all ready_, 67 + + _And_ before a subordinate phrase or clause, 16, 17 + + _And_ used to excess, 14 + + _And which_ construction, 17 + + Antecedent + Defined, 58 + Faulty reference to, 20-23 + + _Anybody_, Number of, 51a + + Apostrophe + In contractions, 97 + With possessive, 97, 50f + + Application for a position, 87g + + Articles, Omission of, 3 + + _As_, Incorrect use of, 50a, 68 + + Aspect of the verb, 58 + + Auxiliary + Defined, 58 + Use of, 55e + + _Awful_, Abuse of, 68 + + + Balanced sentence, 45 + + Balanced structure, 30, 45 + + Barbarisms, 66 + + _Because_ clauses, 5 + + _Because of_ phrases, 5 Note + + _Be_, Nominative with, 50c + + _Both ... and_, 31 + + Brackets, 95e + + Brevity for emphasis, 41, 60 + + Business letters, 87c + + _Bust_ or _busted_, 68 + + _But_ used to excess, 38 Note + + + _Can_ and _may_, 67 + + _Cannot help but_, 34 + + Capitals, 81 + + Case + Defined, 58 + Use of, 50 + + Cause, Inaccurate statement of, 5 + + _Caused by_, 5 Note, 23, 68 + + Change in number or person, 33 + + Change in subject or voice, 32 + + Change in tense, 33, 55 + + Choppy sentences, 13 + + _Claim_, 68 + + Clauses + Cause, 5 + Coördinated loosely, 14, 12 + Defined, 58 + House-that-Jack-built, 38 + Misplaced, 24 + Misused as sentences, 1, 90b + Restrictive and non-r., 91d + Subordinate. Not to be used as complete sentences, 1 + Subordination faulty, 15 + To be reduced to phrases, 60 + _When_ or _where_ clauses, 6 + + Clearness, 20-39 + + Climax, 44 + + Coherence, 24-29 + + Colon, 93 + + Collective nouns, Number of, 51c + + Colloquialisms, 65 + + Comma, 91, 92c Notes 1 and 2, 95b + After quotation, 96 Note + "Comma splice" or "comma fault," 18 + Not used after question mark, 98b + + Comparison of adjectives and adverbs, 58 + + Comparisons, Inaccurate, 4 + + Compound sentence structure in excess, 12, 14 + + Compound words, 78 + + Concreteness, 63 + + Conjugation, 58 + + Conjunctions + Defined, 58 + List of, 36 + Omitted, 37 + Repeated carelessly, 38 + + Conjunctive adverbs + Defined, 58 + Punctuation with, 92c + + Connectives, 8, 36, 37, 38 + + Consonants + Between syllables, 71, 85 + Final (in spelling), 75 + + Construction + Incomplete, 2 + Mixed, 34 + Split, 28 + + Contractions + Apostrophe with, 97 + When proper, 65b + + Coördination, Excessive, 12, 14 + + Correlatives, 31 + + _Could of_, 68 + + + Dangling gerund, 23 + + Dangling participle, 23 + + Dash, 94 + + Dates, Writing of, 84, 91e + + Declension, 58 + + Definition, 6 Note + + Dialogue + Paragraphing, 88c + Punctuation before, 91h, 93a + Punctuation in, 96 + + Diction, Faulty (list), 68 + + _Different than_, 68 + + Divided reference, 20 + + _Don't_, 51d + + Double capacity, Words in, 57 + + Double negative, 34 Note + + _Drownded_, 68 + + _Due to_, Proper use of, 5 Note, 23 Note, 68 + + + _Each_, Number of, 51a + + _ei_ or _ie_, 74 + + _Either_, Number of, 51a + + _Either ... or_, 31 + + Ellipsis + Defined, 58 + Misuse of, 3, 23 Note + + _Emigrate_ and _immigrate_, 67 + + Emphasis + By brevity, 41 + By position, 40 + By repetition, 47 + By separation, 41 + By subordination, 42, 14 + By variety, 48 + + _Enthuse_, 68 + + _Etc._, Use of, 68 + + Euphemism, 61 + + _Ever_, Position of, 27 + + _Every_, _every one_, _everybody_, Number of, 51a + + Exclamation point, 98e + + Exact connective, 36 + + Exact word, 62 + + + Figures, Use of, 84 + + Figures of speech, Mixed, 35 + + Final consonant (in spelling), 75 + + Final _e_ before a suffix, 76 + + _Fine_, Abuse of, 68 + + Fine writing, 61 + + Flowery language, 61 + + Formal invitations, 87h + + _Former_, 68 + + + _Gent_, 68 + + Geographical names, 91e + + Gerund + Dangling, 23 + Defined, 58 + With possessive, 50g + + Good use, 65, 66 + + _Gotten_, 68 + + Grammar, 50-59 + + Grammatical terms, 58 + + _Guess_, 68 + + + Hackneyed expressions, 61 + + _Had ought_, 68 + + Handwriting, 80c + + _Hanged_ and _hung_, 67 + + _Healthy_ and _healthful_, 67 + + Historical present, 33 Note + + _However_, Position of, 27 + + _Human_, _humans_, 68 + + _Hygienic_ and _sanitary_, 67 + + Hyphen + Between syllables, 85 + In compound words, 78 + + + Idioms, 65 + + Illogical thought, 4, 5, 6, 7 + + Imagery mixed, 35 + + Impersonal construction, Needless use of, 60 + + Improprieties, 66 + + Incomplete construction, 2 + + Indefinite _it_, _you_, _they_, 22 Note + + Indention of paragraphs, 88 + + Inflection, 58 + + Infinitive + Case with, 50e + Defined, 58 + Sign of, to be repeated, 37 + Split, 28 + Tense of, 55 + + _Instants_ and _instance_, 67 + + Interjections + Defined, 58 + Punctuation of, 91c, 98e + + Invitations, Formal, 87h + + _Is when_ clauses, 6 + + _Is where_ clauses, 6 + + Italics, 82, 96e + + Its (possessive adjective), without apostrophe, 50f, 97d + + + _Kind of_, 68 + + + _Later_ and _latter_, 67 + + _Lead_ and _led_, 67 + + _Learn_ and _teach_, 67 + + _Leave_ and _let_, 67 + + Length of paragraph, 88b + + Length of sentences, 12, 13, 48b + + _Less_ and _fewer_, 67 + + Letters, 87 + + _Liable_ and _likely_, 67 + + _Lie_ and _lay_, 59D, 67 + + _Like_ (for _as_), 67, 68 + + List + Of connectives, 36 + Of principal parts, 54 + Of grammatical terms, 58 + Of words confused in meaning, 67 + Of words incorrectly used, 68 + Of words logically akin, 72 + Of words confused in spelling, 73 + For spelling, 79 + + _Loan_, 68 + + _Locate_, 68 + + Logic, 4, 5, 6, 7 + + Logical Agreement, 4, 5, 6 + + Logical Sequence, 25 + + _Lose_ and loose, 67 + + _Lots of_, 68 + + + _Majority_ and _plurality_, 67 + + Manuscript, 80 + + _Might of_, 68 + + Misplaced word, 27 + + Mixed constructions, 34 + + Mixed imagery, 35 + + Modal aspects, 58 + + Mode + Definition of, 58 + Use of subjunctive, 55d + + Modifiers + Grouping of, 24, 25 + Needless separation of, 24, 27 + Squinting, 26 + Wrongly used as sentences, 1, 90b + + Money, 84c + + _Most_ (for _almost_), 66, 68 + + _Myself_, Needlessly used for _I_ or _me_, 68 + + + Negative, Double, 34 Note + + _Neither_, Number of, 51a + + _Neither ... nor_, 31 + + _Nice_, Inaccurate use of, 62, 68 + + Nicknames, Quotations with, 96d + + _Not only ... but also_, 31 + + Nouns, Classes of, 58 + + Number + Shift in, 33 + _These kind_, etc., 51b + _Each_, _Every_, etc., 51a + Collective nouns, 51c + Of verbs, 52 + + Numbers, Use of, 84 + Formation of plural, 77d, 97e + + + _O_ and _Oh_, 68 + + Objective case, 50d, 50e + + _Off of_, 68 + + Omission + Of words, 3 + From quotations, 96i + + _Only_, Position of, 27 + + Outlines, 86 + + Overlapping thought, 8 Note + + _Owing to_, Proper use of, 5 Note + + + Paragraphs, 88 + + Parallel structure, 30, 31, 45 + + Parenthesis and parenthetical elements, 91e, 94a, 95 + + Participle + Dangling, 23 + Definition of, 58 + + Parts of speech, 58 + + _Party_, Abuse of, 68 + + Passive voice, not emphatic, 46 + + Past tense, Wrong forms of, 54 + + Past perfect tense, 55 + + Period, 90, 91b, 92a Note + After quotation, 96g Note + Not used after question mark, 98b + "Period blunder," 1, 90b + + Periodic sentence, 43 + + Person, Change in, 33 + + Phonetic spelling, 71 Note + + Phrases + Defined, 58 + Not to be used as sentences, 1 Note + Absolute, 91e + + Plurals, Spelling of, 77 + + Poetry to be separated from prose, 41, 80b + + Point of view, Shift in, 32 + + Ponderous language, 60 + + Possessive + With gerund, 50g + Apostrophe with, 50f, 97 + Inanimate objects in, 50h + + _Practical and practicable_, 67 + + Predicate adjective, 58 + + Predicate noun, 58 + + Prefixes, 72 + + Prepositions + Defined, 58 + Omitted, 3, 37 + Repeated carelessly, 38 + + Principal parts, 54 + + _Principal_ and _principle_, 67 + + Pronouns + Agreement with antecedent, 50i + Case of, 50 + Kinds of, 58 + Reference of, 20, 21, 22 + Wrong use of _myself_, _yourself_, for _I_, _me_, _you_, 68 + + Pronunciation as a guide to spelling, 71 + + _Proof_ and _evidence_, 67 + + _Proposition_, Synonyms for, 62 + + _Proven_, 68 + + _Pseudo-_ and _quasi-_, 67 + + + _Quiet_ and _quite_, 67 + + Question mark, 98 + + Quotation marks _vs._ italics, 82a + Note 2, 96e + + Quotations + Punctuation before, 91h, 92d, 93a + Punctuation of, 96 + + + Reason, Statement of, to be completed by a _that_ clause, 5 + + Redundance, 60 + + Reference + Ambiguous, 20 + Broad, 22 + Divided, 20 + Impersonal, 22 Note + Remote, 20 + To a clause, 22 + To a title, 21 Note + To an unemphatic word, 21 + Weak, 21 + + Reflexive wrongly used for the simple pronoun, 68 + + Repetition + Of connectives, good, 37; + bad, 38 + Of structure, good 47b; + bad 48b + Of words, good, 47a; + bad, 48a + + _Respectfully_ and _respectively_, 67 + + Restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, 91d + + _Right smart_, 68 + + _Rise_ and _raise_, 59D, 67 + + + _Said_, Synonyms for, 62 + + _Same_, Abuse of, 68 + + Scrappy sentences, 13 + + Semicolon, 91b, 92, 95b + After quotation, 96g Note + Not used after question mark, 98b + + Sequence of tense, 55 + + Sequence of thought, 25 + + Series, Punctuation of, 91f, 91g, 91j 3 + + _Shall_ and _will_, 53 + + Shift in number, person, or tense, 33 + + Shift in subject or voice, 32 + + _Should_ and _would_, 53 + + _Sit_ and _set_, 59D, 67 + + Slang, 66 + Quotations with, 96d + + _So_, 36 Note, 68 + + _Some_, Abuse of, 68 + + _Somewheres_, 68 + + Sound, 64 + + Spacing, 80b + + Specific words, 63 + + Spelling, 70-79 + + Split construction, 28 + + Split infinitive, 28 + + Squinting, 26 + + _Stationary_ and _stationery_, 67 + + _Statue_, _stature_, and _statute_, 67 + + Stringy sentences, 12, 14 + + Subject in nominative case, 50a + + Subjunctive mode + Defined, 58 + Use of, 55d + + Subordinating conjunctions + Defined, 58 + Enumerated, 36 + + Subordination + Necessary, 12, 13, 14 + Faulty, 15, 16, 17, 42 + _And which_, 17 + + Substantive defined, 58 + + _Such_, 68 + + Suffixes, 75, 76 + + Superlative degree in comparisons, 4, 58 + + _Sure_ and _surely_, 68 + + _Suspicion_, 68 + + Syllabication, 85 + + Syntax defined, 58 + + + Tautology, 60 Note + + Technical terms, Quotations with, 96d + + Tense + In dependent clauses, 55a + In general statements, 55c + Past Perfect, 55b + Sequence of, 55 + Shift in, 33 + + _Than_ or _as_, Case of pronouns after, 50a + + _That there_, 68 + + _Them_ (misused as adjective), 68 + + _These kind_, 51b + + _Those_, Omission of relative clause after, 2, 68 + + Thought undeveloped, 7 + + Title + Capitals in, 81 + Reference to, 21 Note + Spacing, etc., 80a, 96j + Quoted (books, periodicals, etc.), 82a, 96e + + Transitions, 8, 36 + + _Transpire_, 68 + + Triteness, 61 + + + Undeveloped thought, 7 + + Unity, 10-19 + + Upside-down subordination, 15 + + Usage, Good, 65, 66 + + + Verbals, 58 + + Verb, Forms of the, 58 + + + _Ways_, 68 + + Weak reference, 21 + + _Where at_, 68 + + _While_, Abuse of, 36 + + _Win out_, 68 + + _Who_, _whoever_, 50b + + _Woods_, 68 + + _Would of_, 68 + + Wordiness, 60 + + Words + Confused in meaning, 67 + Confused in spelling, 73 + Double capacity of, 57 + Misused, 68 + Omission of, 3 + + + _Yourself_ wrongly used for _you_, 68 + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + + Article 7, Missing period added (Many passages are powerful, + especially the grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?].) + + Article 13, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 14, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 24, Added missing article "a" (In the morning I found on + my bed a heap of snow...) + + Article 25, Changed "them" to "then" (Do not begin one idea, + abandon it for a second, and then return to the first.) + + Article 31, Added missing comma (not only ... but also ..., + both ... and ...) + + Article 38, Changed "men to "man" (He was undoubtedly a brave + man...) + + Article 38, Changed "trangressions" to "transgressions" + (However, if it is used only for serious transgressions...) + + Article 39, Added missing parenthesis ((Consult 36 for a list + of connectives.)) + + Article 54, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 58, Changed "I was being taken" to "I must be taken" + in the conjugation table for the verb "to take" as Present + Indicative Obligative in Passive voice + + Article 65, Changed "idoms" to "idioms" (Study the following + list of correct idioms) + + Article 65, Added missing commas (ain't it fierce?, can you + beat it?, going some) + + Article 68, Added missing quotation mark ("We oughtn't (not + hadn't ought) to make this error.") + + Article 68, Changed "Verb" to "Very" (Very. Accompanied by + much when used with the past participle.) + + Article 71, Removed italic style for the word "compare" + (compare occasion) + + Article 86, Corrected numbering in a list changing "2." to + "3." (3. Place in order the headings of the following outline) + + Article 88, Added missing parenthesis ((In some instances the + paragraph may consist of a single sentence.)) + + Article 88, Changed comma to period (We'll have a rope down to + you in a minute.) + + Article 91, Added missing parenthesis ((She came and she was + gone in a moment. McCoy talked and the rest of us listened.)) + + Article 91, Changed period to colon (Right: For breakfast we + had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey.) + + Article 92, Changed period to colon (Better: She enjoyed the + dinners, and the dancing, and the music) + + Article 94, Changed "d." to "b.", and "b." to "d." (b. Insert + a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.; d. The use of + the dash to end sentences is childish.) + + Article 95, Changed "dedeclared" to "declared" ("Bunyan's + masterpiece (The Pilgrim's Progress)," declared the lecturer) + + INDEX, Changed period to comma (Impersonal construction, + Needless use of) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Century Handbook of Writing, by +Garland Greever and Easley S. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/old/30294-8.zip b/old/old/30294-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e90ac29 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/30294-8.zip diff --git a/old/old/30294.txt b/old/old/30294.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eb2be2d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/30294.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12035 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Century Handbook of Writing, by +Garland Greever and Easley S. Jones + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Century Handbook of Writing + +Author: Garland Greever + Easley S. Jones + +Release Date: October 20, 2009 [EBook #30294] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes, Karina +Aleksandrova, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: + + 1. Italic text is rendered with underscores _like this_, and bold with +equal signs =like this=. + + 2. Misprints and punctuation errors were corrected. A list of +corrections can be found at the end of the text.] + + + + + THE + CENTURY HANDBOOK OF + WRITING + + BY + GARLAND GREEVER + _AND_ + EASLEY S. JONES + + NEW YORK + THE CENTURY CO. + 1927 + + + Copyright, 1918, by + THE CENTURY CO. + + PRINTED IN U.S.A. + + + + +PREFACE + + +This handbook treats essential matters of grammar, diction, spelling, +mechanics; and develops with thoroughness the principles of sentence +structure. Larger units of composition it leaves to the texts in formal +rhetoric. + +The book is built on a decimal plan, the material being simplified and +reduced to one hundred articles. Headings of these articles are +summarized on two opposite pages by a chart. Here the student can see at +a glance the resources of the volume, and the instructor can find +immediately the number he wishes to write in the margin of a theme. The +chart and the decimal scheme together make the rules accessible for +instant reference. + +By a device equally efficient, the book throws upon the student the +responsibility of teaching himself. Each article begins with a concise +rule, which is illustrated by examples; then follows a short "parallel +exercise" which the instructor may assign by adding an _x_ to the number +he writes in the margin of a theme. While correcting this exercise, the +student will give attention to the rule, and will acquire theory and +practice at the same time. Moreover, every group of ten articles is +followed by mixed exercises; these may be used for review, or imposed in +the margin of a theme as a penalty for flagrant or repeated error. Thus +friendly counsel is backed by discipline, and the instructor has the +means of compelling the student to make rapid progress toward good +English. + +Although a handbook of this nature is in some ways arbitrary, the +arbitrariness is always in the interest of simplicity. The book does +have simplicity, permits instant reference, and provides an adequate +drill which may be assigned at the stroke of a pen. + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + SENTENCE STRUCTURE + + COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + + 1. Fragments wrongly used as sentences + 2. Incomplete constructions + 3. Necessary words omitted + 4. Comparisons not logically completed + 5. Cause and reason + 6. _Is when_ and _is where_ clauses + 7. Undeveloped thought + 8. Transitions + 9. EXERCISE + A. Incomplete sentences + B. Incomplete constructions + C. Incomplete logic + D. Undeveloped thought and transitions + + + UNITY OF THOUGHT + + 10. Unrelated ideas in one sentence + 11. Excessive detail + 12. Stringy sentences to be broken up + 13. Choppy sentences to be combined + 14. Excessive coordination + 15. Faulty subordination of the main thought + 16. Subordination thwarted by _and_ + 17. The _and which_ construction + 18. The comma splice + 19. EXERCISE + A. The comma splice + B. One thought in a sentence + C. Excessive coordination + D. Upside-down subordination + + + CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + + REFERENCE + 20. Divided reference + 21. Weak reference + 22. Broad reference + 23. Dangling participle or gerund + + COHERENCE + 24. General incoherence + 25. Logical sequence + 26. Squinting modifier + 27. Misplaced word + 28. Split construction + 29. EXERCISE + A. Reference of pronouns + B. Dangling modifiers + C. Coherence + + PARALLEL STRUCTURE + 30. Parallel structure for parallel thoughts + 31. Correlatives + + CONSISTENCY + 32. Shift in subject or voice + 33. Shift in number, person, or tense + 34. Mixed constructions + 35. Mixed imagery + + USE OF CONNECTIVES + 36. The exact connective + 37. Repetition of connective with gain in clearness + 38. Repetition of connective with loss in clearness + 39. EXERCISE + A. Parallel structure + B. Shift in subject or voice + C. Shift in number, person, or tense + D. The exact connective + E. Repetition of connectives + + + + EMPHASIS + + 40. Emphasis by position + 41. Emphasis by separation + 42. Emphasis by subordination + 43. The periodic sentence + 44. Order of climax + 45. The balanced sentence + 46. Weak effect of the passive voice + 47. Repetition effective: a Words; b Structure + 48. Repetition offensive: a Words; b Structure + 49. EXERCISE + A. Lack of emphasis in general + B. Loose structure + C. Repetition + + + + GRAMMAR + + 50. Case: a Nominative, especially after _than_ or _as_; + b Nominative _who_ and _whoever_; c Predicate nominative; + d Objective; e Objective with infinitive; f Possessive; + g Possessive with gerund; h Possession by inanimate + objects; i Agreement of pronouns + 51. Number: a _Each_, _every one_, etc.; b _Those kind_, etc.; + c Collective nouns; d _Don't_ + 52. Agreement--not to be thwarted by: a Intervening nouns; + b _Together with_ phrases; c _Or_ or _nor_ after subject; + d _And_ in the subject; e A predicate noun; + f An introductory _there_ + 53. _Shall_ and _will_ + 54. Principal parts. List + 55. Tense, mode, auxiliaries: a Tense in dependent clauses + or infinitives; b The past perfect; c Present tense for a + general statement; d Mode; e Auxiliaries + 56. Adjective and adverb: a Adjective misused for adverb; + b Ambiguous cases; c After verbs pertaining to the + senses + 57. A word in a double capacity + 58. List of the terms of grammar + 59. EXERCISE + A. Case of pronouns + B. Agreement + C. _Shall_ and _will_ + D. _Lie, lay; sit, set; rise, raise_ + E. Principal parts of verbs + F. General + + + + DICTION + + 60. Wordiness + 61. Triteness + 62. The exact word + 63. Concreteness + 64. Sound + 65. Subtle violations of good use: a Faulty idiom; b Colloquialism + 66. Gross violations of good use: a Barbarisms; b Improprieties; + c Slang + 67. Words often confused in meaning. List + 68. Glossary of faulty diction + 69. EXERCISE + A. Wordiness + B. The exact word + C. Words sometimes confused in meaning + D. Colloquialisms, slang, faulty idioms + + + + SPELLING + + 70. Recording errors + 71. Pronouncing accurately + 72. Logical kinship in words + 73. Superficial resemblances. List + 74. Words in _ei_ and _ie_ + 75. Doubling a final consonant + 76. Dropping final _e_ + 77. Plurals: a Plurals in _s_ or _es_; b Nouns ending in _y_; + c Compound nouns; d Letters, figures, and signs; + e Old plurals; f Foreign plurals + 78. Compounds: a Compound adjectives; b Compound nouns; + c Numbers; d Words written solid; e General principle + 79. SPELLING LIST (500 words, 200 in bold-face type) + + + + MISCELLANEOUS + + 80. Manuscript: a Titles; b Spacing; c Handwriting + 81. Capitals: a To begin a sentence or a quotation; b Proper + names; c Proper adjectives; d In titles of books or + themes; e Miscellaneous uses + 82. Italics: a Titles of books; b Foreign words; c Names of + ships; d Words taken out of context; e For emphasis + 83. Abbreviations: a In ordinary writing; b In business + writing + 84. Numbers: a Dates and street numbers; b Long figures; + Sums of money, etc. + 85. Syllabication: a Position of hyphen; b Division between + syllables; c Monosyllabic words not divided; d One consonant + between syllables; e Two consonants between + syllables; f Prefixes and suffixes; g Short words; h Misleading + division + 86. Outlines: a Topic Outline; b Sentence Outline; c Paragraph + Outline; d Indention; e Parallel form; f Faulty + coordination; g Too detailed subordination + 87. Letters: a Heading; b Inside address and greeting; + c Body, Language; d Close; e Outside address; + f Miscellaneous directions; g Model business letter; + h Formal notes + 88. Paragraphs: a Indention; b Length; c Dialogue + 89. EXERCISE + Capitals, numbers, abbreviations, etc. + + + + PUNCTUATION + + 90. The Period: a After sentences; b But not after fragments + of sentences; c After abbreviations + 91. The Comma: a Between clauses joined by _but_, _for_, _and_; + b But NOT to splice clauses not joined by a conjunction; + c After a subordinate clause preceding a main clause; + d To set off non-restrictive clauses and phrases; e To + set off parenthetical elements; f Between adjectives; + g Between words in a series; h Before a quotation; + i To compel a pause for clearness; j Superfluous uses + 92. The Semicolon: a Between coordinate clauses not joined + by a conjunction; b Between long coordinate clauses; + c Before a formal conjunctive adverb; d But not before + a quotation + 93. The Colon: a To introduce a formal series or quotation; + b Before concrete illustrations of a previous general + statement + 94. The Dash: a To enclose a parenthetical statement; b To + mark a breaking-off in thought; c Before a summarizing + statement; d But not to be used in place of a period; + e Not to be confused with the hyphen + 95. Parenthesis Marks: a Uses; b With other marks; c Confirmatory + symbols; d Not used to cancel words; + e Brackets + 96. Quotation Marks: a With quotations; b With paragraphs; + c In dialogue; d With slang, etc.; e With words + set apart; f Quotation within a quotation; g Together + with other marks; h Quotation interrupted by _he said_; + i Omission from a quotation; j Unnecessary in the title + of a theme, or as a label for humor or irony + 97. The Apostrophe: a In contractions; b To form the possessive; + c To form the possessive of nouns ending in _s_; + d Not used with personal possessive pronouns; e To + form the plural of certain signs and letters + 98. The Question Mark: a After a direct question; b Not + followed by a comma within a sentence; c In parentheses + to express uncertainty; d Not used to label irony; e The + Exclamation Point + 99. EXERCISE + 100. GENERAL EXERCISE + + + + +TO THE STUDENT + + +When a number is written in the margin of your theme, you are to turn to +the article which corresponds to the number. Read the rule (printed in +bold-face type), and study the examples. When an _r_ follows the number +on your theme, you are, in addition, to copy the rule. When an _x_ +follows the number, you are, besides acquainting yourself with the rule, +to write the exercise of five sentences, to correct your own faulty +sentence, and to hand in the six on theme paper. If the number ends in 9 +(9, 19, 29, etc.), you will find, not a rule, but a long exercise which +you are to write and hand in on theme paper. In the absence of special +instructions from your teacher, you are invariably to proceed as this +paragraph requires. + +Try to grasp the principle which underlies the rule. In many places in +this book the reason for the existence of the rule is clearly stated. +Thus under 20, the reason for the rule on parallel structure is +explained in a prologue. In other instances, as in the rule on divided +reference (20), the reason becomes clear the moment you read the +examples. In certain other instances the rule may appear arbitrary and +without a basis in reason. But there is a basis in reason, as you will +observe in the following illustration. + +Suppose you write, "He is twenty one years old." The instructor asks you +to put a hyphen in _twenty-one_, and refers you to 78. You cannot see +why a hyphen is necessary, since the meaning is clear without it. But +tomorrow you may write. "I will send you twenty five dollar bills." The +reader cannot tell whether you mean twenty five-dollar bills or +twenty-five dollar bills. In the first sentence the use of the hyphen in +_twenty-one_ did not make much difference. In the second sentence the +hyphen makes seventy-five dollars' worth of difference. Thus the +instructor, in asking you to write, "He is twenty-one years old," is +helping you to form a habit that will save you from serious error in +other sentences. Whenever you cannot understand the reason for a rule, +ask yourself whether the usage of many clear-thinking men for long years +past may not be protecting you from difficulties which you do not +foresee. Instructors and writers of text books (impressive as is the +evidence to the contrary) are human, and do not invent rules to puzzle +you. They do not, in fact, invent rules at all, but only make convenient +applications of principles which generations of writers have found to be +wisest and best. + + + + +THE CENTURY HANDBOOK OF WRITING SENTENCE STRUCTURE + +COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + + +The first thing to make certain is that the thought of a sentence is +complete. A fragment which has no meaning when read alone, or a sentence +from which is omitted a necessary word, phrase, or idea, violates an +elementary principle of writing. + + +=Fragments Wrongly Used as Sentences= + +=1. Do not write a subordinate part of a sentence as if it were a +complete sentence.= + + Wrong: He stopped short. Hearing some one approach. + + Right: He stopped short, hearing some one approach. [Or] + Hearing some one approach, he stopped short. + + Wrong: The winters are cold. Although the summers are pleasant. + + Right: Although the summers are pleasant, the winters are cold. + + Wrong: The hunter tried to move the stone. Which he found very + heavy. + + Right: The hunter tried to move the stone, which he found very + heavy. [Or] The hunter tried to move the stone. He found it + very heavy. + +Note.--A sentence must in itself express a complete thought. Phrases or +subordinate clauses, if used alone, carry only an incomplete meaning. +They must therefore be attached to a sentence, or restated in +independent form. Elliptical expressions used in conversation may be +regarded as exceptions: Where? At what time? Ten o'clock. By no means. +Certainly. Go. + + Exercise: + + 1. My next experience was in a grain elevator. Where I worked + for two summers. + + 2. The parts of a fountain pen are: first, the point. This is + gold. Second, the body. + + 3. The form is set rigidly. So that it will not be displaced + when the concrete is thrown in. + + 4. There are several reasons to account for the swarming of + bees. One of these having already been mentioned. + + 5. Since June the company has increased its trade three per + cent. Since August, five per cent. + + +=Incomplete Constructions= + +=2. Do not leave uncompleted a construction which you have begun.= + + Wrong: You remember that in his speech in which he said he + would oppose the bill. + + Right: You remember that in his speech he said he would oppose + the bill. [Or] You remember the speech in which he said he + would oppose the bill. + + Wrong: He was a young man who, coming from the country, with + ignorance of city ways, but with plenty of determination to + succeed. + + Right: He was a young man who, coming from the country, was + ignorant of city ways, but had plenty of determination to + succeed. + + Wrong: From the window of the train I perceived one of those + unsightly structures. + + Right: From the window of the train I perceived one of those + unsightly structures which are always to be seen near a + station. + + Exercise: + + 1. As far as his having been deceived, there is a difference of + opinion on that matter. + + 2. The fact that he was always in trouble, his parents wondered + whether he should remain in school or not. + + 3. People who go back to the scenes of their childhood + everything looks strangely small. + + 4. It was the custom that whenever a political party came into + office, for the incoming men to discharge all employees of the + opposite party. + + 5. Although the average man, if asked whether he could shoot a + rabbit, would answer in the affirmative, even though he had + never hunted rabbits, would find himself badly mistaken. + + +=Necessary Words Omitted= + +=3. Do not omit a word or a phrase which is necessary to an immediate +understanding of a sentence.= + + Ambiguous: I consulted the secretary and president. [Did the + speaker consult one man or two?] + + Right: I consulted the secretary and the president. [Or] I + consulted the man who was president and secretary. + + Ambiguous: Water passes through the cement as well as the + bricks. + + Right: Water passes through the cement as well as through the + bricks. + + Wrong: I have had experience in every phase of the automobile. + + Right: I have had experience in every phase of automobile + driving and repairing. + + Wrong: About him were men whom he could not tell whether they + were friends or foes. + + Right: About him were men regarding whom he could not tell + whether they were friends or foes. [Or, better] About him were + men who might have been either friends or foes. + + Exercise: + + 1. When still a small boy, my family moved to Centerville. + + 2. Constantly in conversation with some one broadens our ideas + and our vocabulary. + + 3. It was a trick which opposing teams were sure to be + baffled. + + 4. They departed for the battle front with the knowledge they + might never return. + + 5. At the banquet were all classes of people; I met a banker + and plumber. + + +=Comparisons= + +=4. Comparisons must be completed logically.= + + Wrong: His speed was equal to a racehorse. + + Wrong: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer. + + Wrong: The shells which are used in quail hunting are different + than in rabbit hunting. + +Compare a thing with another thing, an abstraction with another +abstraction. Do not carelessly compare a thing with a part or quality of +another thing. Always ask yourself: What is compared with what? + + Right: His speed was equal to that of a racehorse. + + Right: Of course my opinion is worth less than a lawyer's. + + Right: The shells used in quail hunting are different from + those used in rabbit hunting. + + Self-contradictory: Chicago is larger than any city in + Illinois. + + Right: Chicago is larger than any other city in Illinois. + + Impossible: Chicago is the largest of any other city in + Illinois. + + Right: Chicago is the largest of all the cities in Illinois. + [Or] Chicago is the largest city in Illinois. + +Note.--After a comparative, the subject of the comparison should be +excluded from the class with which it is compared; after a superlative, +the subject of the comparison should be included within the class. + + Wrong: {taller of all the girls. + {tallest of any girl. + + Right: {taller than any other girl [comparative]. + {tallest of all the girls [superlative]. + + Exercise: + + 1. The climate of America helps her athletes to become superior + to other countries. + + 2. This tobacco is the best of any other on the market. + + 3. You men are paid three dollars more than any other factory + in the city. + + 4. I thought I was best fitted for an engineering course than + any other. + + 5. Care should be taken not to turn in more cattle than the + grass in the pasture. + + +=Cause and Reason= + +=5. A simple statement of fact may be completed by a _because_ clause.= + + Right: I am late because I was sick. + +=But a statement containing _the reason is_ must be completed by a _that_ +clause.= + + Wrong: The reason I am late is because I was sick. [The + "reason" is not a "because"; the "reason" is the fact of + sickness.] + + Right: The reason I am late is that I was sick. + +=_Because_, the conjunction, may introduce an adverbial clause only.= + + Wrong: Because a man wears old clothes is no proof that he is + poor. [A _because_ clause cannot be the subject of _is_.] + + Right: The fact that a man wears old clothes is no proof that + he is poor. [Or] The wearing of old clothes is not proof that a + man is poor. + +Note.--_Because of_, _owing to_, _on account of_, introduce adverbial +phrases only. _Due to_ and _caused by_ introduce adjectival phrases +only. + + Wrong: He failed, due to weak eyes. [Due is an adjective; + it cannot modify a verb.] + + Right: His failure was {due to } weak eyes + {caused by} + + {because of } + Right: He failed {owing to } weak eyes. + {on account of} + + Exercise: + + 1. The reason why I would not buy a Ford car is because it is + too light. + + 2. My second reason for coming here is because of social + advantages. + + 3. Because John is rich does not make him happier than I. + + 4. Because I like farming is the reason I chose it. + + 5. The only reason why vegetation does not grow here is because + of the lack of water. + + +=_is when_ or _is where_ Clauses= + +=6. Do not use a _when_ or _where_ clause as a predicate noun. Do not +define a word by saying it is a "when" or a "where". Define a noun by +another noun, a verb by another verb, etc.= + + Wrong: The great event is when the train arrives. + + Right: The great event is the arrival of the train. + + Wrong: Immigration is where foreigners come into a country. + + Right: Immigration is the entering of foreigners into a + country. + + Wrong: A simile is when one object is compared with another. + + Right: A simile is a figure of speech in which one object is + compared with another. + +Note.--A definition of a term is a statement which (1) names the class +to which the term belongs, and (2) distinguishes it from other members +of the class. Example. A quadrilateral is a plane figure having four +sides and four angles. To test a definition ask whether it separates the +term defined from all other things. If the definition does not do this, +it is incomplete. Define _California_ (so as to exclude other states), +_window_ (so as to exclude _door_), _star_ (exclude _moon_), _night_, +_rain_, _circle_, _Bible_, _metal_, _mile_, _rectangle_. + + Exercise: + + 1. The pistol shot is when the race begins. + + 2. A snob is when a man treats others as inferior socially. + + 3. The wireless telegraph is where messages are sent a long + distance through the air. + + 4. The definition of usury is where one charges interest higher + than the legal rate. + + 5. Biology is when one studies plant and animal life. + + +=Undeveloped Thought= + +=7. Do not halfway express an idea. If the idea is important, develop it. +If it is not important, omit it.= + + Incomplete: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, + and Jack said he had a business engagement that night. + + Better: We were now quite sure that we had lost our way, a fact + which was all the more annoying as Jack said he had a business + engagement that night. + + Puzzling: Since McAndrew had inherited money, his suitcase was + plastered with labels. + + Right: Since McAndrew had inherited money, he had traveled + extensively. His suitcase was plastered with the labels of + foreign hotels. + + Careless: In looking for gasoline troubles, we forgot to see + whether the tank was supplied. + + Right: In looking for the cause of the trouble, we forgot to + see whether the tank was supplied with gasoline. + +Note.--In giving information about books, do not confuse the title with +the contents or some part of the contents. Be accurate in referring to +the time, scene, action, plot, or characters. + + Loose thinking: Shakespeare's _Hamlet_ occurs in Denmark [The + scene is laid?]. Many passages are powerful, especially the + grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?]. The character of + Horatio is a noble fellow [conception], and the same is true of + Ophelia [Ophelia a fellow?]. The drama takes place over several + weeks. [The action covers a period of several weeks.] + + Exercise: + + 1. The victrola brings to the home the world's musical ability. + + 2. The user of Dietzgen instruments is not vexed by numerous + troubles that accompany the inferior makes. + + 3. To the picnicker rainy weather is bad weather, while the + farmer raises a big crop. + + 4. Some diseases can be checked by preventives, and in many + cases can be of great use to an army. + + 5. This idea of breaking all records held for eating is + naturally harmful to the digestion, and these important organs + may thank their stars that Christmas does not come very often. + + +=Transitions= + +The state of mind of a writer is not the state of mind of his reader. +The writer knows his ideas, and has spent much time with them. The +reader meets these ideas for the first time, and must gather them in at +a glance. The relation between two ideas may be clear to the writer, and +not at all clear to the reader. Therefore, + +=8. In passing from one thought to another, make the connection clear. If +necessary, insert a word, a phrase, or even a sentence, to carry the +reader safely across.= + + Space transition needed: We were surprised to see a house in + the distance, but we went to the door and knocked. [This + sentence does not give a reader the effect of distance.] + + Better: We were surprised to see a house in the distance. _But + we hastened toward it with thoughts of a warm meal and a good + lodging. We entered the yard_, and went up to the door, and + knocked. + + Exterior-interior transition needed: We noticed that the house + was built of cobblestones. There was a broad window from which + we could look out upon the small stream that dashed down the + rocky hillside. + + Better: We noticed that the house was built of cobblestones. + _We went inside, and found that the living room was large and + airy._ There was a broad window from which we could look out + upon the small stream that dashed down the rocky hillside. + + Cause transition lacking: The Romans were great road-builders. + They wished to maintain their empire. + + Better: The Romans were great road-builders, _because means of + moving troops quickly were necessary_ to the maintenance of + their empire. + + General-to-particular transition needed: Modern machinery often + makes men its slaves. Last summer I worked for the Chandler + Company. [This gap in thought occurs oftenest between the first + two sentences of a paragraph or theme.] + + Better: Modern machinery often makes men its slaves. _This + truth is well illustrated by my own experience._ Last summer I + worked for the Chandler Company. + + Transition to be improved by changing order: A careless trainer + may spoil a good colt. A good horse can never be made of a + vicious colt. [Here the order of ideas is: "Trainer ... colt. + Horse ... colt." Turn the last sentence end for end.] + + Better: A careless trainer may spoil a good colt. And a vicious + colt can never be made a good horse. [Now the order of ideas is + "Trainer ... colt. Colt ... horse."] + + Transition to be improved by removal of a disturbing element: + Our class in physics last week visited a pumping station in + which the Corliss type of steam engine is used. _The engines + are manufactured by the Allis-Chalmers Company of Milwaukee, + Wisconsin._ This type of engine is used because it has several + advantages. [The italicized sentence should be omitted here, + and used later in the theme.] + +Note.--The divisions of thought within a paragraph may likewise be +indicated by connectives: _however_, _on the other hand_, _equally +important_, _another interesting problem is_, _for this reason_, _the +remedy for this_, _so much for_, _it remains to mention_, _of course I +admit_, _finally_. (For a longer list see 36.) Such phrases are also +useful in linking one paragraph to another. + +When a student first learns the art, he is likely to use transition +phrases in excess, and produce something like the following: "When I +have to write a theme, I first think of my subject. As soon as I have my +subject, I take out my paper. On the paper I then make a rough outline." +This abuse of transition causes an overlapping of thought, like shingles +laid three inches to the weather. An abrupt transition is better than +wordiness. + + Exercise: + + 1. The shore looked far off. Then we reached it. + + 2. A light snow was falling last night. This is a good day for + hunting rabbits. + + 3. A dollar is often a large sum. I sold newspapers when I was + a boy. + + 4. Many English words still preserve their old meanings. There + is the teller in the bank. + + 5. We had to walk half a mile across the pastures in the fresh + morning air. Exercise indoors does not arouse much zest or + enthusiasm. + + +=9.= EXERCISE IN COMPLETENESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Fragments Misused as Sentences= + +Rewrite the following statements in sentences each of which expresses a +complete thought. + + 1. He gave me a flower. Which was wilted. + + 2. The gasoline flows through the supply tube to the + carburetor. Where it should vaporize and enter the cylinders. + + 3. People of all ages were there. Old men, young women, and + even children. + + 4. He told us that you had a good standing among business men. + That you always met your bills promptly. + + 5. Excuse Everett Smith from school this morning. He having the + measles. + + 6. The internal combustion engine may be either one of two + types. The two cycle or the four cycle. + + 7. The young men and women acted like children. Who should have + known better. + + 8. There was a cross cow in the pasture. Which had long horns. + + 9. Bacteria are microscopic organisms. Especially found where + milk or some other substance decomposes. + + 10. We pass on down the street. The buildings rising two or + three stories high on either side. + + 11. The Y. M. C. A. enables you to keep your religious + interests alive. As well as to associate with clean young men. + + 12. She wasted her time on foolish clothes. While her mother + took in washing. + + 13. He was dressed in a ridiculous fashion. Wearing, for + instance, an orange necktie. + + 14. The point is similar to that of the ordinary steel pen, + except that it is made of gold. Gold being used on account of + its greater smoothness and durability. + + 15. Tire troubles have been made less formidable by the + invention of a compact, efficient little vulcanizer. A factory + for making which is now being built. + +=B. Incomplete Constructions= + +Improve the following statements. Supply missing words. Make sure that +each construction and each sentence is complete. + + 1. When one year old, my mother died. + + 2. Yours received, and in reply would say your order has been + filled. + + 3. While in there a man came in and bought a quarter's worth of + soap. + + 4. War is largely dependent upon the engineers to design new + machinery. + + 5. When you talk to a man look at him, not the floor or + ceiling. + + 6. In writing a book, an author's first one is usually not very + good. + + 7. Every summer while in high school, our family has gone to + our cottage on Lake Michigan. + + 8. When a boy, Mary was my best friend. + + 9. There is, however, another reason a person should know how + to swim. + + 10. I think more of her than anyone else. + + 11. Corrupt laws are often the means rich people obtain the + earnings of others. + + 12. A hundred dollars invested in a warning signal, future + accidents would be prevented. + + 13. Electric transmission is sometimes used on automobiles more + of an experiment than anything else. + + 14. Was delighted to hear from you. Glad to hear you entered + the wholesale business. Wish you success. + + 15. As a rule people eat too much. This point should be + noticed, and not overwork the digestive organs. + +=C. Incomplete Logic= + +The following sentences are inadequate statements of cause, comparison, +etc. Complete the thought. + + 1. His neck is as long as a giraffe. + + 2. His name was David Meek, from New Hampshire. + + 3. The Pacific Ocean is larger than any ocean. + + 4. Because he never worked led to his failure. + + 5. A monitor is where a heavily armored boat of light draft can + go near the shore. + + 6. Democracy is when people, through representatives, govern + themselves. + + 7. The story of _Huckleberry Finn_ is in reality Mark Twain + himself. + + 8. Because a man has money is no reason why he should be lazy. + + 9. The character of Sydney Carton is the real hero of this + novel. + + 10. A forester leads an interesting life is the reason I want + to be one. + + 11. Tact is where a man anticipates the criticism of others, + and acts with discretion. + + 12. The comfort of a modern house is much greater than the + old-time house. + + 13. Free trade is when no revenue is collected on imports, + beyond enough to run the government. + + 14. The cost of room, board, and tuition is low at this school, + compared to the more fashionable schools. + + 15. The theme of this novel tells how a peasant, Jean Valjean, + from a convict comes to be a respected citizen. + +=D. Undeveloped Thought and Transitions= + +Complete the thought of the following sentences, and secure a smooth +transition between parts. + + 1. As you enter this room, to the left is an interesting + painting of the Canterbury Pilgrims. + + 2. Poe delights in fantastic plots. A pirate's treasure chest + was discovered in _The Gold Bug_. + + 3. I got up and ate a bite of breakfast. A few of my friends + came over. We went to play golf. + + 4. All the loose material on the trail is carried off by the + rush of the water. The last time I was on it was in early + summer, and I found it in this rough condition. + + 5. I managed to find the softest board in the floor and went to + sleep. Some of the boys found pleasure in arousing me with a + shower of cold water. + + 6. Under guise of friendly escort the Indians accompanied the + inhabitants of the fort a few miles. Only three escaped the + massacre. + + 7. Many people say that in civil engineering it depends on the + prosperity of the country; in hard times they do not build and + in good times they do build. + + 8. Canada has more forests than minerals. Canada has made only + a start in the lumber industry. The minerals are found, for the + most part, in the mountain district near Lake Superior. + + 9. Thanksgiving day, as we are told, is a day on which our + Puritan forefathers gathered round the roast turkey and gave + thanks to God for his goodness. Last Thanksgiving I was at + home. + + 10. The old method was to dig the holes by hand, and drop two + or three kernels in each hole. Corn has become a staple crop. + Machinery is used. The preparing of a field for corn has become + a science. + + + +UNITY OF THOUGHT + +Unity means oneness. A sentence should contain one thought. It may +contain two or more statements only when these are closely related parts +of a larger thought or impression. A writer should make certain, first, +that his thought has unity; and second, that this unity will be obvious +to the reader. + + +=Unrelated Ideas in One Sentence= + +=10. Do not combine ideas which have no obvious relation to each other. +Place the ideas in separate sentences. Or, write the ideas as one +sentence, making their relation obvious.= + + Wrong: The Spartans did not care for literature, and lived in + the southern part of Greece. + + Wrong: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, and the + most important work in preparing coffee for the market is the + roasting of the green berries. + +The simplest method of correction is to divide the sentence. + + Right: The Spartans lived in the southern part of Greece. They + did not care for literature. + + Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn. The most + important work in preparing the coffee for the market is the + roasting of the green berries. + +Another method of correction is to subordinate one idea to the other, or +to change the wording until the relation between the ideas is obvious. + + Right: The Spartans, who lived in the southern part of Greece, + did not care for literature. + + Right: The coffee business is not difficult to learn, since the + only important work in preparing the coffee for the market is + the roasting of the green berries. + + Exercise: + + 1. Franklin is often regarded as the typical American, and + wrote an interesting autobiography. + + 2. Coal miners wear little oil lamps in their caps, and they + seldom receive very good wages. + + 3. My neighbor, Mr. Houghton, was always a very good friend of + mine, and died last night. + + 4. I dropped the clock and injured the works, but the jeweler + told me it would be cheaper for me to buy a new clock. + + 5. The next thing the camper should do is to make a bed, and + the branches of the spruce are the best. + + +=Excessive Detail= + +=11. Do not encumber the main idea of a sentence with superfluous +details. Place some of the details in another sentence, or omit them.= + + Faulty: In the town in which I live there are several large + churches, and about six o'clock one morning, in a violent + storm, one of these churches was struck by lightning. + + Right: In my home town there are several large churches. One + morning about six o'clock, in a violent storm, one of these + churches was struck by lightning. + + Wrong: In 1836, in Baltimore, Poe married Virginia Clemm, his + cousin, who was hardly more than a child, being then fourteen + years old, while Poe himself was twenty-eight, and to her he + wrote much of his best verse. + + Right: In 1836 Poe married Virginia Clemm. Poe was then + twenty-eight, and Virginia was only fourteen. To this girl Poe + wrote much of his best verse. + + Exercise: + + 1. The house with the red tile roof is the finest in the city, + and is owned by Mr. Saunders, who made his money speculating in + land. + + 2. Then the engine tilted and fell over on one side, and the + boiler exploded and added to the frightful scene. + + 3. The deer whose antlers you see over the fireplace as you + enter the room was shot by my Uncle Will, who is now in South + America on a hunting expedition. + + 4. The seeds, which have previously been soaked in water over + night, are now planted carefully, not too deep, in straight + rows sixteen inches apart, the best time being in April, when + the ground is soft and has been thoroughly spaded. + + 5. One day last week my employer, Mr. Conway, a jolly, peculiar + man, raised my salary, first telling me I was about to be + discharged, and laughing at me when I looked so surprised. + +=Stringy Sentences to be Broken up= + +=12. Avoid stringy compound sentences. The crude, rambling style which +results from their use may be corrected by separating the material into +shorter sentences, or by subordinating lesser ideas to the main thought.= + + Faulty: The second speaker had sat quietly waiting, and he was + a man of a different type, and he began calmly, yet from the + very first words he showed great earnestness. + + Right: The second speaker, who had sat quietly waiting, was a + man of a different type. He began calmly, yet from his very + first words he showed great earnestness. + + Faulty: There are many stops on the organ which control the + tones of the different pipes and one has to learn how and when + to use these and this takes time and practice. + + Right: On the organ are many stops which control the tones of + the different pipes. To learn how and when to use these takes + time and practice. + + Faulty: He published prose fiction, and this was then the + accepted literary form, and the drama was neglected. + + Better: He published prose fiction, which was then the accepted + literary form, the drama being neglected. [This sentence makes + three statements in a diminishing series. The important idea is + expressed in a main clause; a less important explanation is + fitted into a relative clause; and a still less important + comment takes a parenthetical phrase at the end.] + +Note.--One of the crying faults of the immature writer is that by +excessive coordination he obscures the fine shades of meaning. When two +clauses are joined, the meaning will very often be more exact if one is +subordinated to the other. For a list of subordinating connectives, see +36. + + Exercise: + + 1. He went down town, and it began to rain, and so he decided + to go to the city library. + + 2. There is an old saying which I have often heard and I + believe in it to a certain extent, and it runs as follows: The + more you live at your wit's end, the more the wit's end grows. + + 3. Our salesman, Mr. Powers, has spoken very favorably of your + firm, and we feel that our relations will be most pleasant, and + the report of the commercial agencies is sufficient evidence of + your good financial standing. + + 4. There was no escaping from this churn, so one of the frogs, + after a brief struggle thought that he might just as well die + one time as another, and so he gave up and sank to the bottom. + + 5. Socrates did no writing himself, and the only information we + have of him we get from the writings of his pupils and from + later writers, and our most reliable knowledge comes from two + of these writers, Plato and Xenophon. + + +=Choppy Sentences to be Combined= + +=13. Do not use two or three short sentences to express ideas which will +make a more unified impression in one sentence. Place subordinate ideas +in subordinate grammatical constructions.= + + Excessive predication: Excavating is the first operation in + street paving. The excavating is usually done by means of a + steam shovel. The shovel scoops up the dirt and loads it + directly into wagons. + + Right: Excavating, the first operation in street paving, is + usually done by a steam shovel which loads the dirt directly + into wagons. + + Monotonous: The doe is wading along the shore. She is nibbling + the lily pads as she goes. Now she moves slowly around the + point. She has a little spotted fawn with her. The fawn frolics + along at the heels of his mother. + + Better: Wading along the shore, the doe nibbles the lily pads + by the way, and moves slowly around the point. A spotted fawn + frolics at her heels. + + Primer style: Rooms are marked on the floor. These rooms are + about fourteen feet square. + + Better: The floor is marked off into rooms about fourteen feet + square. + +Note.--An occasional short sentence is permissible, even desirable. +Successive short sentences may be used to express rapid action, or +emphatic assertion, or deliberate simplicity. Otherwise, avoid them. + + Exercise. + + 1. Decatur has wide streets. The streets are paved with brick, + asphalt, and creosote blocks. + + 2. Sixteen posts are set in a row. All of these are at equal + intervals. + + 3. The boat approaches the leeward side of the ship. This side + is the side protected from the wind. + + 4. The _Scientific American_ reports the progress of science. + It explains new inventions. It makes practical applications of + scientific principles. + + 5. The beans are usually harvested about the middle of + September. They are cut when the plants turn color at the roots + and the beans turn white. They are cut by a bean-cutter which + takes two rows at a time. + + +=Excessive Coordination= + +In structure a sentence may be + + A. Simple: The rain fell. + + B. Compound: The rain continued and the stream rose. + + C. Complex: When the rain ceased, the flood came. + +In B, the clauses are of almost equal importance, and the first is +coordinated with the second. In C, the clauses are not of equal +importance, and the first is subordinated to the second. _And_ is a +coordinating conjunction. _When_ is a subordinating conjunction. For a +list of connectives see 36. + +=14. Do not use coordination when subordination will secure a more clear +and emphatic unit of thought. Especially do not coordinate a main idea +with an explanatory detail.= The speech of children connects all ideas, +important and unimportant, with _and_. Discriminating writers place +minor ideas in subordinate clauses, consign still less important ideas +to participial or prepositional phrases, and omit trivial details +altogether. + + Childish: I went down town and saw a crowd standing in the + street, and wanted to know what was the matter, and so I went + up and asked a man. + + Right: When I went down town, I saw a crowd standing in the + street, and since I wanted to know what was the matter, I asked + a man. [Two clauses are subordinated by the use of _when_ and + _since_. This change abolishes two _ands_. The words _went up + and_ are struck out. One _and_ remains, and deserves to remain, + for it joins two ideas which are truly coordinate.] + + Main idea not emphasized: I talked with an old man and his name + was Ned. + + Better: I talked with an old man named Ned. [A participial + phrase replaces a clause. The name is now subordinated.] + + Main idea not emphasized: Developing is the next step in + preparing the film, and it is very important. + + Better: Developing, the next step in preparing the film, is + very important. [An appositional phrase replaces the first + predicate.] + + Main idea not emphasized: They began their perilous journey, + and they had four horses. + + Right [emphasizing _perilous journey_]: With four horses they + began their perilous journey. [A prepositional phrase replaces + a clause.] + + Right [emphasizing _having the horses_]: When they began their + perilous journey, they had four horses. [A subordinate clause + replaces a main clause.] + + Capable of greater unity: The frog is a stupid animal, and may + be caught with a hook baited with red flannel. [Is the writer + trying to tell us _how to catch frogs_, or merely that _frogs + are stupid_? Coordination makes the two ideas appear equally + important.] + + Right [emphasizing _frogs are stupid_]: The fact that the frog + can be caught with a hook baited with red flannel proves his + stupidity. + + Right [emphasizing _how to catch frogs_]: The frog, being + stupid, will bite at a piece of red flannel. + + Exercise. + + 1. Men were sent to Panama and could not live in such + unsanitary conditions. + + 2. When a letter came and it bore a familiar handwriting, I + always opened it eagerly. + + 3. West Hickory is the name of the place where the tannery is + situated, and it is a laboring man's town. + + 4. She wore a dress and it was silk, and cost her father a lot + of money. + + 5. Every race horse has a care taker or groom, and this man + spends all his time and makes the horse comfortable. + + +=Faulty Subordination of the Main Thought= + +=15. Do not put the principal statement of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase.= This violation of unity is sometimes called +"upside-down subordination". + + Faulty: I was going down the street, when I heard an explosion. + [If _hearing the explosion_ is the main thought, it should be + placed in the main clause.] + + Right: When I was going down the street, I heard an explosion. + + Faulty: Longstreet received orders to attack the Federal right + wing, which he did immediately. + + Right: As soon as Longstreet received orders, he attacked the + Federal right wing. + + Faulty: I suspected that it would rain, although I did not take + an umbrella. + + Right: Although I suspected that it would rain, I did not take + an umbrella. + + Exercise: + + 1. An old man used to work for us, who died yesterday. + + 2. He became angry, saying he positively refused to go. + + 3. He is a bright boy, although I should not want to trust him + with my pocketbook. + + 4. He had an ambition which was to become the best lawyer in + the state by the time he was forty years old. + + 5. The cable breaks and the elevator starts to drop, when the + safety device always operates at once to prevent an accident. + + +=Subordination Thwarted by _and_= + +=16. Do not attach to a main clause by means of _and_, a word, phrase, or +clause which you intend shall be subordinate. The presence of _and_ +thwarts subordination.= + + Wrong: Major went to bed, and leaving the work unfinished. + + Right: Major went to bed, leaving the work unfinished. + + Wrong: He ran home and with coat tails flying. + + Right: He ran home with coat tails flying. + + Exercise: + + 1. They denied my request, and giving no reason for the + refusal. + + 2. He gave me his answer and in few words. + + 3. The girl stood on the edge of the cliff, and thus showing + that she was not afraid. + + 4. A telegraph line is leased by the Associated Press, and thus + giving the newspapers quick service. + + 5. When the summer passed, the fisherman returned home for the + winter, and where he renewed his acquaintance with the + villagers. + + +=The _and which_ construction= + +=17. Use _and which_ (or _but which_), _and who_ (or _but who_) only +between relative clauses similar in form. Between a main clause and a +relative clause, _and_ or _but_ thwarts subordination.= + + Wrong: This is an important problem, and which we shall not + find easy to solve. + + Right: This problem is an important problem, which we shall not + find easy to solve. + + Right: This problem is one _which_ is important, _and which_ we + cannot easily solve. + + Wrong: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest and which + everybody should read. + + Right: _Les Miserables_ is a novel of great interest, and one + which everybody should read. + + Wrong: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, + but who is now less popular than he was. + + Right: Their chief opponent was Winter, a shrewd politician, + who is now less popular than he was. + +Note.--Rule 17 is sometimes briefly stated: "Do not use _and which_ +unless you have already used _which_ in the sentence." This statement is +generally true, but an exception must be made for sentences like the +following: Right: "He told me what countries he had visited, and which +ones he liked most." + + Exercise: + + 1. Just outside is a small porch looking out over the street, + and which can be used for sleeping purposes. + + 2. She is a woman of pleasing personality, and who can converse + intelligently. + + 3. It is a difficult task, but which can be accomplished in + time. + + 4. He is a good-looking man, but who is very snobbish. + + 5. The rule made by the conference of college professors in + 1896, and which has been followed ever since, applies to the + case we are considering. + + +=Unity Thwarted by Punctuation= + +=The Comma Splice= + +=18. Do not splice two independent statements by means of a comma. Write +two sentences. Or, if the two statements together form a unit of +thought, combine them (1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a +semicolon, or (3) by reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a +subordinate clause.= + + Wrong: The town has two railroads, it was founded when oil was + discovered. + + Right: The town has two railroads. It was founded when oil was + discovered. + + Wrong: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was, + this was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. [Here are + three commas. The reader cannot quickly discover which one + marks the great division of thought.] + + Right: The speed of the car seemed slower than it really was. + This was due, no doubt, to the absence of all noise. + + Wrong: The winters were long and cold, nothing could live + without shelter. + + Right: The winters were long and cold. Nothing could live + without shelter. + + Right: The winters were long and cold, and nothing could live + without shelter [For the use of the comma, see 91a]. + + Right: The winters were long and cold; nothing could live + without shelter [For the use of the semicolon see 92]. + + Right: The winters were so long and cold that nothing could + live without shelter. + +Exception.--Short coordinate clauses which are parallel in structure and +leave a unified impression, may be joined by commas, even though the +conjunctions be omitted. + + Right: All was excitement. The ducks quacked, the pigs + squealed, the dogs barked. [The general idea _excitement_ gives + the three clauses a certain unity.] + + Exercise: + + 1. The key is turned to the right, this unlocks the door. + + 2. The author keeps one guessing, there is no hint how the + story will end. + + 3. The farmer is independent, he has no task-master. + + 4. There has been a change of government, in fact there has + been a revolution. + + 5. Lamb had failed in poetry, in the drama, and in the novel, + in the essay, at last, he succeeded. + + +=19.= EXERCISE IN UNITY OF THOUGHT + +=A. The Comma Splice= + +Rewrite the following material in sentences each of which is a unit of +thought. Most of the statements should be summarily cut apart. If you +decide that others taken together have unity of thought, combine them +(1) by a comma plus a conjunction, (2) by a semicolon, or (3) by +reducing one of the statements to a phrase or a subordinate clause. + + 1. The canoe is long and narrow, it is made of birch bark. + + 2. I decided to serve tea, of course cream and sugar would be + needed. + + 3. Some men hunt rabbits for market purposes only, they are the + sportsman's enemies. + + 4. This city furnished many boats for the siege of Calais, when + these boats returned they brought the plague with them. + + 5. The bottom of the box is then put in, it is nailed to the + sides. + + 6. It is not easy to become a good musician, one must practice + continually. + + 7. The Northern and Southern states could not be separate + nations, there was no natural boundary between them. + + 8. The telephone is a great invention, it is very useful to the + farmer. + + 9. Why would no one come to help me, my feet ached and I was + thirsty. + + 10. I know a girl who has a cynical disposition, she is always + criticizing. + + 11. I went into the office hopeless, a dime stood between me + and starvation. + + 12. The construction of the bridge has much to do with the tone + of a violin, it should be lower on the side nearest the E + string. + + 13. A private expense account does not require much labor or + time, just one hour a week will suffice to keep tract of all + expenditures. + + 14. We offer you sixty dollars a month to start, this is all we + can afford to pay at present. + + 15. He wanted personal success but would not shirk a duty or + harm any one in any way to gain that success, at all times he + forgot his own personal importance and was ready to do any task + set before him. + +=B. One Thought in a Sentence= + +By dividing, subordinating, or logically combining the following +statements, secure unity of thought. + + 1. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 30, 1902, + where she has lived ever since and is now well known. + + 2. Franklin was kindly, shrewd, and capable, and was the + representative of the United States in France. + + 3. She said that Mrs. Brown was ill and that she was just + caring for the baby, she loved babies anyway, she said. + + 4. One Sunday afternoon there was an excursion to Beaver and + several of us decided to go and take our lunches and return on + the eight o'clock car. + + 5. He gave me the dimensions of the room. The dimensions were + ten by twelve feet. + + 6. Good grades may be obtained in two ways: by honest work, and + by cheating; however any one who cheats is doing himself more + harm than good. + + 7. The wall studding is made of two-by-fours. These + two-by-fours are placed sixteen inches apart. + + 8. The returning Crusaders brought with them oriental learning, + and found the peasantry impoverished. + + 9. The articles in this magazine are of high quality. The + articles are well written and attractively illustrated. + + 10. A Japanese woman going abroad at night must carry a lighted + lamp and must not speak to any one, women do not have much + freedom in Japan. + + 11. The sugar beets are irrigated by river water. They are + irrigated by means of furrows. The furrows run between the rows + of beets. The beets are irrigated once a week. + + 12. The referee asked each captain if his men were ready, after + which he blew the whistle, and the game was on, and within five + minutes our team scored a touchdown. + + 13. The ground should be harrowed as soon as possible after it + is plowed. It is a good plan to harrow the ground on the same + day that it is plowed, or on the day following. + + 14. Choose the middle of the prepared ground, which is about + eighty-five by fifty feet, as your starting point, measure + twenty-four feet east and west and set the net posts; then, + after marking off the different courts with tape, you are ready + for a good game of tennis. + + 15. There are two places on the island suitable for plays: one + in the bungalow and the other down on the sandy point; the + latter lends itself to the purpose readily, there are two trees + which make a splendid support for wires on which to hang the + curtain, and just east of these the ground slopes enough to + make a natural amphitheater. + +=C. Excessive Coordination= + +The ideas in the following sentences are loosely strung together with +coordinating conjunctions. Place the important idea in the main clause. +Subordinate other ideas by reducing each to a dependent clause, or a +phrase, or a word. + + 1. Chris has a new coat and it is double-breasted. + + 2. I had a dog, and his name was Scratcher. + + 3. He gave a laugh but it was forced. + + 4. The woodcock is so foolish and deliberately walks into a + trap. + + 5. The engineers fastened rafts to the piles, and which were + pulled up when the tide rose. + + 6. Students often sit all doubled up, and raising their feet + high on the table. + + 7. Dunlap is carrying a palette, but without any paint on it. + + 8. The government has been successful in its suit, and the + tobacco trust was dissolved. + + 9. The British troops had no protection against poisonous gas + and the use of gas by the enemy was unexpected. + + 10. I make it a rule to study one thing at least an hour and no + long rest between. + + 11. The concrete is spread in a layer, and this is about nine + inches thick, and the width being ten feet. + + 12. Rockwell is our postmaster, and is accommodating, but he + has a disposition to be curious. + + 13. At the Gatun Dam there are concrete locks, and the purpose + of these is to lift vessels into the lake. + + 14. They say to tourists that objects are historic but which + are not historic at all. + + 15. I was lying quietly in the hammock, and I happened to look + up in the tree, and there was a green bird and eating a cherry. + + 16. They disputed for a time, and afterward the officer became + angry, and whipped out his sword. + + 17. A mirage is an illusion and the traveler thinks he sees + water when there really is none. + +=D. Upside-down Subordination= + +In the following sentences the important idea is buried in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Rescue this main idea, express it in the main clause, +and if possible subordinate the rest of the sentence to it. + + 1. I spoke to her on the street, when she did not answer. + + 2. She thanked me for my assistance, also asking me to come and + visit her the following Sunday. + + 3. The water froze in the buckets, although they did not burst. + + 4. The crows cawed angrily and circling around in one place. + + 5. He is threatened with tuberculosis, although he will not + sleep in the open air. + + 6. We had hacked the bark, the tree dying after a few months. + + 7. One of the contestants was from Wendover College, who + received the prize. + + 8. You ask a person what a spiral staircase is, when he will go + to showing you by motions of his hand. + + 9. It was about three o'clock, and we decided to return home, + which we did. + + 10. The plumber came, stopping the leak as soon as he arrived. + + 11. Benton sold stamps, in which business he grew rich. + + 12. The sun's heat beats down upon the brick tenements, which + is terrible. + + 13. The chemist tested the purity of the water, but which he + found unfit to drink. + + 14. Montaigne wrote an essay on "Solitude," where he pointed + out the disadvantages of travel. + + 15. The house is set close to the edge of the bluff, + overlooking a wide bend of the Alleghany River. + + 16. Things had been going from bad to worse among the Indians, + and some Sioux were entertaining a few Chippewas, and murdered + them, when the government took a hand in the affair. + + 17. The slight knowledge of metals and wide-awake observation + of an inexperienced miner discovered gold in Arizona. + + + +CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +Clearness is fundamental. The writer should be content, not when his +meaning may be understood, but only when his meaning cannot be +misunderstood. He may attain this entire clearness by giving attention +to five matters: + + Reference (20-23) + Coherence (24-28) + Parallel Structure (30-31) + Consistency (32-35) + Use of Connectives (36-38) + + +REFERENCE + +By the use of pronouns, participles, and other dependent words, language +becomes flexible and free. But each dependent part must refer without +confusion to a word which is reasonably near, and properly expressed. +Ordinarily a reader expects a pronoun or a participle to refer to the +nearest noun (or pronoun) or to an emphatic noun. + + +=Divided Reference= + +=20. A pronoun should be placed near the word to which it refers, and +separated from words to which it might falsely seem to refer. If this +method does not secure clearness, discard the pronoun and change the +sentence structure.= + + Uncertain reference of _which_: He dropped the bundle in the + mud which he was carrying to his mother. [The reader for a + moment refers the pronoun to the wrong noun. Bring _which_ + nearer to its proper antecedent _bundle_.] + + Right: He dropped in the mud the bundle which he was carrying + to his mother. + + Vague reference of _this_: My failure in mathematics was + serious. My grades in English, history, and Latin were good + enough. But this brought down my average. [_This?_ What _this_? + Five nouns intrude between the pronoun _this_ and its proper + antecedent _failure_.] + + Right: In English, history, and Latin I received fairly good + grades. But in mathematics I received a failure. This brought + down my average. + + Remote reference of _it_: If you want to make a good speech, + take your hands out of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and + throw yourself into it. + + Right: If you want to make a good speech, take your hands out + of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into + what you are saying. [Or, better] Take your hands out of your + pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into the + speech. + + Ambiguous reference of _he_: John spoke to the stranger, and he + was very surly. + + Right: John spoke to the stranger, who was very surly. [Or] + John spoke in a surly manner to the stranger. + +Note.--The reference of relative and demonstrative pronouns is largely +dependent upon their position. The reference of a personal pronoun +(_he_, _she_, _they_, etc.) is not so much dependent upon its position, +the main consideration being that the antecedent shall be emphatic (See +the next article.) + + Exercise: + + 1. He was driving an old mule attached to a cart that was blind + in one eye. + + 2. There is a grimy streak on the wall over the radiator which + can be removed only with great difficulty. + + 3. The feet of Chinese girls were bandaged so tightly when they + were babies that they could not grow. + + 4. He gave me a receipt for the money which he told me to keep. + + 5. After the pictures have been taken and the film has been + removed, they are sent to the developing room where it is + developed and dried. + + +=Weak Reference= + +=21. Do not allow a pronoun to refer to a word not likely to be central +in the reader's thought; a word, for example, in the possessive case, or +in a parenthetical expression, or in a compound, or not expressed at +all. Make the pronoun refer to an emphatic word.= + + Wrong: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull + House, she always gave help. [_Poor woman_ and _Hull House_ are + the emphatic words, to which any pronoun used later is + instinctively referred by the reader.] + + Right: When a poor woman came to Jane Addams' famous Hull + House, she always received help. [Or] When a poor woman came to + Hull House, Jane Addams always gave help. + + Wrong: In biology, which is the study of plants and animals we + find that they are made up of unitary structures called cells. + [Since the words _plants and animals_ occur only in a + parenthetical clause, the reader is surprised to find them used + as an antecedent.] + + Right: In the study of biology we find that plants and animals + are made up of unitary structures called cells. + + Wrong: This old scissors-grinder sharpens them for the whole + neighborhood. [The center of interest in the reader's mind is a + man, not scissors.] + + Right: This old scissors-grinder sharpens scissors for the + whole neighborhood. + + Wrong: I always liked engineers, and I have chosen that as my + profession. + + Right: I always liked engineering, and I have chosen it as my + profession. + + Absurd: When the baby is through drinking milk, it should be + disconnected and put in boiling water. [The central idea in the + reader's mind is _baby_, not _milk-bottle_. The writer may have + been thinking about the _bottle_, but he did not make the word + emphatic; in fact, he did not express it at all.] + + Right: When the baby is through drinking milk, the bottle + should be taken apart and put in boiling water. + +Note.--Ordinarily, do not refer to the title in the first line of a +theme. The reader expects you to assert something, and face forward, not +to turn back to what you have said in the title. + + Faulty: Color Photography + + I am interested in this new development of science. For + a long time I ... + + Right: Color Photography + + Taking pictures in color has long appealed to me as an interesting + possibility ... + + Exercise: + + 1. In Shakespeare's play _Othello_ he makes Iago a fiend. + + 2. The noodle-cutter is a kitchen device which saves time in + making this troublesome dish. + + 3. The life of a forester is interesting, and I intend to + follow that profession. + + 4. He took down his great-grandfather's old sword, who had + carried it at Bunker Hill. + + 5. I was always making experiments in science, and I naturally + acquired a liking for periodicals of that nature. + + +=Broad Reference= + +=22. Do not use a pronoun to refer broadly to a general idea. Supply a +definite antecedent or abandon the pronoun.= + + Wrong: The tapper strikes the gong, which continues as long as + the push button is pressed. [The writer intends that _which_ + shall refer to the entire preceding clause, but the reference + is intercepted by the word _gong_.] + + Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: The tapper strikes the + gong, a process which continues as long as the push button is + pressed. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] The tapper strikes the + gong as long as the push button is pressed. + + Wrong: Read the directions which are printed on the bottle and + it may save you from making a mistake. + + Right [supplying a definite antecedent]: Read the directions + which are printed on the bottle. This precaution may save you + from making a mistake. [Or, abandoning the pronoun] Reading the + directions on the bottle may prevent a mistake. + + Wrong: The managers told him they would increase his salary if + he would represent them in South America. He refused that. + + Right: The managers told him they would increase his salary if + he would represent them in South America. He refused the offer. + +Exception.--It cannot be maintained that a pronoun must _always_ have +one definite word for its antecedent. Many of the best English authors +occasionally use a pronoun to refer to a clause. But the reference must +always be clear. + +Note.--Impersonal constructions must be used with caution. "It is +raining" is correct, although _it_ has no antecedent. We desire that the +antecedent shall be vague, impersonal. But unnecessary use of the +indefinite _it_, _you_, or _they_ should be avoided. + + Faulty: It says in our history that Columbus was an Italian. + + Right: Our history says that Columbus was an Italian. + + Not complimentary to the reader: You aren't hanged nowadays for + stealing. + + Right: No one is hanged nowadays for stealing. + + Faulty: They are noted for their tact in France. + + Right: The French are noted for their tact. + + Exercise: + + 1. You use little slang in your paper which is commendable. + + 2. They had no reinforcements which caused them to lose the + battle. + + 3. The carbon must be removed from pig iron to make pure steel, + and that is done by terrific heat. + + 4. Our stenographer spends most of her spare time at a cheap + movie theater, which is in itself an index of her character. + + 5. It says in the new rules that you aren't allowed in the + building on Sunday. + + +=Dangling Participle or Gerund= + +=23. A participle, being dependent, must refer to a noun or pronoun. The +noun or pronoun should be within the sentence which contains the +participle, and should be so conspicuous that the participle will be +associated with it instantly and without confusion.= + + Wrong: Coming in on the train, the high school building is + seen. [Is the building coming in? If not, who is?] + + Right: Coming in on the train, one sees the high school + building. + +A sentence containing a dangling participle may be corrected (1) by +giving the word to which the participle refers a conspicuous position in +the sentence, or (2) by replacing the participial phrase by some other +construction. + + Wrong: Having taken our seats, the umpire announced the + batteries. + + Right: Having taken our seats, we heard the umpire announce + the batteries. [Or] When we had taken our seats, the umpire + announced the batteries. + + Wrong: She was for a long time sick, caused by overwork. [The + participle _caused_ should not modify _sick_. A participle is + used as an adjective, and should therefore modify a noun.] + + Right--using an adjectival modifier: + + She had a long sickness, {caused by} overwork. + {due to } + + Right--using an adverbial modifier: + + {because of } + She was for a long time sick {owing to } overwork. + {on account of} + +=When a gerund phrase (_in passing_, _while speaking_ etc.) implies the +action of a special agent, indicate what the agent is. Otherwise the +phrase will be dangling.= + + Faulty: In talking to Mr. Brown the other day, he told me that + you intend to buy a car. + + Better: In talking to Mr. Brown the other day, I learned that + you intend to buy a car. + + Faulty: The address was concluded by reciting a passage from + Wordsworth. + + Better: The speaker concluded his address by reciting a passage + from Wordsworth. [Or] The address was concluded by the + recitation of a passage from Wordsworth. + +Note.--Two other kinds of dangling modifier, treated elsewhere in this +book, may be briefly mentioned here. A phrase beginning with the +adjective _due_ should refer to a noun; otherwise the phrase is left +dangling (See 5 Note). An elliptical sentence (one from which words are +omitted) is faulty when one of the elements is left dangling (See 3). + + Faulty: I was late _due_ to carelessness [Use _because of_]. + + Ludicrous: My shoestring always breaks when hurrying to the + office at eight o'clock [Say _when I am hurrying_]. + + Exercise: + + 1. Coming out of the house, a street car is seen. + + 2. While engaged in conversation with my host and hostess, my + maid placed upon the table a steaming leg of lamb. + + 3. A small quantity of gold is thoroughly mixed with a few + drops of turpentine, using the spatula to work it smooth. + + 4. After being in the oven twenty minutes, open the door. When + fully baked, you are ready to put the sauce on the pudding. + + 5. Entering the store, a soda fountain is observed. Passing + down the aisle, a candy counter comes into view. The rear of + the store is bright and pleasant, caused by a skylight. + + +COHERENCE + +The verb _cohere_ means to stick or hold firmly together. And the noun +_coherence_ as applied to writing means a close and natural sequence of +parts. Order is essential to clearness. + + +=General Incoherence= + +=24. Every part of a sentence must have a clear and natural connection +with the adjoining part. Like or related parts should normally be placed +together.= + + Bring related ideas together: Little Helen stood beside the + horse wearing white stockings and slippers. + + Right: Little Helen, in white stockings and slippers, stood + beside the horse. + + Keep unlike ideas apart: The colors of purple and green are + pleasing to the eye as found in the thistle. + + Right: The purple and green colors of the thistle are + pleasing. + + Distribute unrelated modifiers, instead of bunching them: I + found a heap of snow on my bed in the morning + which had drifted in through the window. [Subject + verb--object--place--time--explanation.] + + Right: In the morning I found on my bed + a heap of snow which had drifted in through the window. + [Time--subject verb--place--object--explanation.] + + Bring related modifiers together: When he has prepared his + lessons, he will come, as soon as he can put on his old + clothes. [Condition--main clause--condition.] + + Right: When he has prepared his lessons and put on his old + clothes, he will come. [Condition and condition--main clause.] + + Exercise: + + 1. He was gazing at the landscape which he had painted with a + smiling face. + + 2. She turned the steak with a fork which she was cooking for + dinner every few minutes. + + 3. Dickens puts the various experiences he had in the form of a + novel when he was a boy. + + 4. If the roads are made of dirt, the farmer has to wait, if + the weather is rainy, till they dry. + + 5. We received practically very little or none at all + experience in writing themes. + + +=Logical Sequence= + +=25. Place first in the sentence the idea which naturally comes first in +thought or in the order of time.= + + Faulty: We went to the station from the house after bidding all + goodby. + + Right: We said goodby to all, and went from the house to the + station. + +=Do not begin one idea, abandon it for a second, and then return to the +first. Complete one idea at a time.= + + Faulty: She looked up as he approached and smoothed her hair. + [The writer begins a main clause, changes to a subordinate + clause, and then attempts to add more to the main clause. + Unfortunately the last two verbs appear to be coordinate.] + + Right: She looked up and smoothed her hair as he approached. + [Or] As he approached she looked up, and smoothed her hair. + +=Ordinarily, let a second thought begin where the first leaves off.= + + Faulty: An orange grove requires plenty of water. The young + trees will die if they do not have plenty of water. [The order + of ideas is: "Grove ... water. Trees ... water." Reverse the + order of the second sentence.] + + Right: An orange grove requires plenty of water. For without + water the young trees will die. [Now the order of ideas is: + "Grove ... water. Water ... trees."] + + Exercise: + + 1. I boarded the train, after buying a ticket. + + 2. I dropped my pen when the whistle blew and sighed. + + 3. Unless the bank clerk has ability he will never be + successful unless he works faithfully and hard. + + 4. I remember the days when Rover was a pup. Now he is not half + so interesting as he was then. + + 5. A chessboard is divided into sixty-four squares, and there + is plenty of room between the opposing armies for a terrific + battle, since each army occupies only sixteen squares. + + +=Squinting Modifier= + +=26. Avoid the squinting construction. That is, do not place between two +parts of a sentence a modifier that may attach itself to either. Place +the modifier where it cannot be misunderstood.= + + Confusing: I told him when the time came I would do it. [_When + the time came_ is said to "squint" because the reader cannot + tell whether it looks forward to the end of the sentence, or + backward to the beginning.] + + Right: When the time came, I told him I would do it. [Or] I + told him I would do it when the time came. + + Confusing: Some friends I knew would enjoy the play. [_I knew_ + squints.] + + Right: Some friends would enjoy the play, I knew. + + Confusing: The orator whom every one was calling for + enthusiastically hurried to the platform. [_Enthusiastically_ + squints.] + + Clear: The orator whom every one was enthusiastically calling + for hurried to the platform. + + Exercise: + + 1. The man who laughs half the time does not understand the + joke. + + 2. Playing football in many ways improves the mind. + + 3. When she reached home much to her disgust the door was + locked. + + 4. When the lightning struck for the first time in my life I + was afraid. + + 5. The landlord wrote that he would if the rent were not paid + in thirty days eject the tenant. + + +=Misplaced Word= + +=27. Such an adverb as _only_, _ever_, _almost_, should be placed near +the word it modifies, and separated from words which it might falsely +seem to modify. Such a conjunction as _nevertheless_, if required with a +clause, should usually be placed near the beginning.= + + Illogical: I only need a few dollars. + + Right: I need only a few dollars. + + Illogical: I don't ever intend to go there again. + + Right: I don't intend ever to go there again. [Or] I intend + never to go there again. + + Illogical: She has the sweetest voice I nearly ever heard. + + Right: She has nearly [or _almost_] the sweetest voice I ever + heard. + + Tardy use of conjunction: I intend to try. I do not expect to + accomplish much, however. + + Right: I intend to try. I do not, however, expect to accomplish + much. + + Exercise: + + 1. Students are only admitted to one lecture. + + 2. This is the smallest book I almost ever saw. + + 3. He is so poor he hasn't any food, scarcely. + + 4. She had one dress that she never expected to wear. + + 5. The difficulties were tremendous. He said that he would do + his best, nevertheless. + + +=Split Construction= + +=28. Elements that have a close grammatical connection should not be +separated awkwardly or carelessly. These elements are: (a) subject and +verb, or verb and object; (b) the parts of a compound verb; and (c) the +parts of an infinitive.= + + Awkward: One in the struggle for efficiency should not become a + machine. + + Better: In the struggle for efficiency one should not become a + machine. + + Awkward: What use of an education could a girl who married a + penniless rogue and afterwards knew + nothing but hard labor, make? + + Better: What use of an education could a girl make who married + a penniless rogue and afterward knew nothing but hard labor? + + Crude: He was unable to even so much as stir a foot. + + Better: He was unable even to stir a foot. + +Note.--It is often desirable to separate the forms enumerated under (a) +and (b) above, either for emphasis (See 40) or to avoid a bunching of +modifiers at the end of a sentence (See 24). The whole point of rule 28 +is not to depart from a natural order needlessly. + + Exercise: + + 1. One thing the beginner must remember is to not get excited. + + 2. Ralph, when he heard the news, came flying out of the house. + + 3. The president called together, for the need was urgent, his + cabinet. + + 4. Bryce said that it is more patriotic to judiciously vote + than to frantically wave the American flag. + + 5. About the time Florence Nightingale had to give up her + plans, a war between Turkey, England, and France on one side + and Russia on the other, broke out. + + +=29.= EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Reference of Pronouns= + +In the following sentences make the reference of pronouns exact and +unmistakable. + + 1. Brown wrote to Roberts that he had made a mistake. + + 2. We heard a voice through the door which told us to enter. + + 3. There is a walk leading from the street to the house which + is made of thin slabs of stone. + + 4. A milking stool was beside the cow on which he was + accustomed to sit. + + 5. Should a community, such as a small village, spend the money + they do on roads? + + 6. This magazine prints many special articles on politics and + social reforms that are always instructive. + + 7. I wish I could do something for the protection of birds in + our country which is neglected. + + 8. After a man has failed in one business, it is no sign he + will fail in every other. + + 9. Sometimes cane syrup is mixed with the maple syrup, which + reduces the value of the product. + + 10. It means hard and diligent work to study Latin, but it + strengthens our brain or at least it gives it good exercise. + + 11. In the class room the students become acquainted, which may + develop into lifelong friendships. + + 12. He was delighted with a ride on horseback, which animal he + had been familiar with in his childhood on the farm. + + 13. It says in our history that the battle of New Orleans was + fought after the treaty of peace had been signed. + + 14. Sparks flew about in the air, and it reminded me of a huge + Fourth of July celebration. + + 15. The doctor gave me medicine to stop the dull pain in my + head. This made me feel much better. + +=B. Dangling Modifiers= + +Remembering that a participle is used as an adjective and must therefore +refer to a noun or pronoun, correct the following sentences. Gerund +phrases and a few elliptical sentences are included in the list. + + 1. Having planned the basement, the next thing considered was + the first floor. + + 2. Glancing around the room, the ugly wall paper at once + confronted me. + + 3. After ringing the bell, and waiting a few moments, a maid + came to the door. + + 4. When selecting a site for an orchard, it should be well + drained. + + 5. Not being a skilled dancer, my feet moved awkwardly. + + 6. Having no watch, the clock must be consulted. + + 7. He was sick, caused by eating too much dessert. + + 8. Radium is very difficult to get, making it the most valuable + metal. + + 9. One man goes home and beats his wife, resulting in internal + injuries. + + 10. Over the paper and kindling a few small chunks of coal are + scattered, taking care not to choke the draft. + + 11. In speaking of character, it does not mean to be a governor + or a general. + + 12. This town draws trade for a radius of twenty miles, thus + accounting for the large volume of business. + + 13. While talking to Ralph yesterday, he spoke about his recent + success in the hardware business. + + 14. The bus holds fifteen people, and when full, the bus man + shuts the door. + + 15. If bright and pleasant, the rabbit will be found sitting at + the entrance of his burrow. + +=C. Coherence= + +Secure a clear, smooth, natural order for the following sentences. + + 1. I have a lot for sale near the city limits. + + 2. Many men can only speak their native tongue. + + 3. I saw yesterday, crossing the street, a beautiful woman. + + 4. They entered the room, and sitting on the floor they saw a + baby. + + 5. I put down my book when the clock struck and yawned. + + 6. She dropped the money on the sidewalk which she was carrying + home. + + 7. The horse did not notice that the gate was open for several + minutes. + + 8. It was worth the trouble. I do not wish to have the + experience again, however. + + 9. My first trip away from home, of any distance, was made on a + steamboat from St. Louis to New Orleans. + + 10. He gazed at a young man who was waving his hands violently, + called a cheer leader. + + 11. Any soil will grow some variety of strawberry, except sand + and clay. + + 12. I turned triumphantly to Will, who was still gazing at the + place where the muskrat sank with a beaming face. + + 13. Only the interest, the principal being kept intact, is + spent. + + 14. A student should see that external conditions are favorable + for study, such as light, temperature, and clothing. + + 15. Draw a heavy line using a ruler to connect New York and San + Francisco across the map. + + +PARALLEL STRUCTURE + +When the structure of a sentence is simple and uniform, the important +words strike the eye at once. Compare the following: + + Parallel: Beggars must not be choosers. + + Confusing: Beggars must not be the one who choose. + +A reader gives attention partly to the structure of a sentence, and +partly to the thought. The less we puzzle him with our structure, the +more we shall impress him with our thought. + + Parallel: Seeing is believing. [Attention goes to the thought.] + + Confusing: Seeing is to believe. [Attention is diverted to + _structure_.] + +The reader's expectation is that uniform structure shall accompany +uniform ideas, and that a departure from uniformity shall indicate a +change of thought. + + +=Parallel Structure for Parallel Thoughts= + +=30. Give parallel structure to those parts of a sentence which are +parallel in thought. Do not needlessly interchange an infinitive with a +participle, a phrase with a clause, a single word with a phrase or +clause, a main clause with a dependent clause, one voice or mode of the +verb with another, etc.= + + Faulty: Riding is sometimes better exercise than to walk. + + Right: Riding is sometimes better exercise than walking. [Or] + To ride is sometimes better exercise than to walk. + + Faulty: He had two desires, of which the first was for money; + in the second place, he wanted fame. + + Right: He had two desires, of which the first was for money and + the second for fame. [Or] He had two desires: in the first + place, he wanted money; in the second, fame. + + Faulty: His rival handled cigars of better quality and having a + higher selling price. + + Right: His rival handled cigars of better quality and higher + price. + + Faulty: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, + and after a little practice you will be a good driver. + + Right: When you have mastered the operation of shifting gears, + and had a little practice, you will be a good driver. [Or] + After you master the gears and have a little practice, you will + be a good driver. + + Faulty. These are the duties of the president of a literary + society: + + (a) To preside at regular meetings, + (b) He calls special meetings, + (c) Appointment of committees. + + Right: These are the duties of the president of a literary + society: + + (a) To preside at regular meetings, + (b) To call special meetings, + (c) To appoint committees. + + Faulty: She was actively connected with the club, church, and + with several organized charities. [Here parallelism is obscured + by the omission from the second phrase of both the preposition + and the article.] + + Right: She was actively connected with the club, with the + church, and with several organized charities. + + Faulty: He was red-faced, awkward, and had a disposition to eat + everything on the table. [The third element is like the others + in thought, and should have similar form.] + + Right: He had a red face, an awkward manner, and a disposition + to eat everything on the table. [Or] He was red-faced, awkward, + and voracious. + +Note.--Avoid misleading parallelism. For ideas _different_ in kind, do +_not_ use parallel structure. + + Wrong: He was hot, puffing, and evidently had run very hard. + [The third element is unlike the others in thought; hence the + _and_ is misleading.] + + Right: He was hot and puffing; evidently he had run very hard. + + Confusing: He was admired for his knowledge of science, and for + his taste for art, and for this I too honor him. [The last + _for_ gives a false parallelism to unlike thoughts.] + + Better: He was admired for his scientific knowledge and for his + artistic taste. I honor him for both these qualities. + + Exercise: + + 1. The duties of the secretary are to answer correspondence, + and keeping the minutes of the meetings. + + 2. This process is the most difficult; it costs the most; and + is most important. + + 3. I make it a rule to be orderly, spend no money foolishly, + and keep still when I have nothing to say. + + 4. The cotton is put up in bales about five feet in length and + three feet wide and four thick, and one of them weighing about + five hundred pounds. + + 5. Considerations of economy that one should bear in mind when + planning a house are: first, a rectangular ground-plan; second, + a one-chimney plan; third, to have only one stairway; fourth, + eliminate as many doors as possible; fifth, the bathroom should + be above the kitchen so as to reduce the cost of plumbing; and + lastly, the rooms should be few and large rather than small and + many of them. + + +=Correlatives= + +Conjunctions that are used in pairs are called correlatives; for +example, _not only_ ... _but also_ ..., _both_ ... _and_ +..., _either_ ... _or_ ..., _neither_ ... _nor_ ..., _not_ ... _or_ ..., +_whether_ ... _or_ .... + +=31. Correlatives should usually be followed by elements parallel in +form; if a predicate follows one, a predicate should follow the other; +if a prepositional phrase follows one, a prepositional phrase should +follow the other; and so on.= + + Faulty: He was not only courteous to rich customers but also to + poor ones. [Here the phrases intended to be balanced against + each other are _to rich customer's_ and _to poor ones_. As the + sentence stands, it is the word _courteous_ that is balanced + against _to poor ones_.] + + Right: He was courteous not only to rich customers but also to + poor ones. + + Faulty: She could neither make up her mind to go nor could she + decide to stay. + + Right: She could neither make up her mind to go nor decide to + stay. [Or] She could not make up her mind either to go or to + stay. + + Faulty: I talked both with Brown and Miller. [Here one + conjunction is followed by a preposition and the other by a + noun.] + + Right: I talked with both Brown and Miller. [Or] I talked both + with Brown and with Miller. + + Exercise: + + 1. He was courteous to both friends and his enemies. + + 2. Such conduct is not only dangerous to society but becomes a + national disgrace as well. + + 3. She had neither affectation of manners nor was she + sharp-tongued. + + 4. After reading Thoreau's _Walden_ I appreciate not only the + style but also I am inclined to believe in his ideas. + + 5. The good that the delegates derive from the convention not + only helps them, but they tell others what happened. + + +CONSISTENCY + +=Shift in Subject or Voice= + +=32. Do not needlessly shift the subject, voice, or mode in the middle of +a sentence. Keep one point of view, until there is a reason for +changing.= + + Faulty: In the stream which the road led over, fish were + plentiful. [Here the first mental picture is of a stream. Then + the thought is jerked away to the road above. Then it returns + to the fish in the stream.] + + Right: In the stream which flowed under the roadway, fish were + plentiful. + + Faulty: Mark Twain was born in the West, but the East was his + home in later years. [The change of subject is uncalled for.] + + Right: Mark Twain was born in the West, but lived in the East + in his later years. [Or] The West was the birthplace of Mark + Twain, and the East was his home in his later years. + + Faulty: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of + gasoline, and at the same time very little lubricating oil is + used. [The shift from active to passive voice is awkward and + confusing.] + + Right: A careful driver can go fifteen miles on a gallon of + gasoline, and at the same time use very little lubricating oil. + + Faulty: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when we wish + to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of + mathematics is indispensable. + + Right: When a problem in chemistry is given, or when certain + formulas are to be calculated, a knowledge of mathematics is + indispensable. [Or] When we face a problem in chemistry, or + wish to calculate certain formulas, we find that a knowledge of + mathematics is indispensable. + + Faulty: Next the ground should be harrowed. Then you sow the + wheat. [The subject changes from _ground_ to _you_. One verb + explains what _should_ be done, the other what somebody + _does_.] + + {is } + Right: Next the ground { } harrowed. Then it + {should be} + {is } + { } sown to wheat. [Or] Next you should harrow + {should be} + the ground. Then you should sow the wheat. + + Exercise: + + 1. One end of a camera carries the film, and the lens and + shutter are in the other end. + + 2. When an athlete is in training, good healthful food should + be eaten. + + 3. An engineer's time is not devoted to one branch of science, + but should include many. + + 4. By having only five men in charge of our city government, + they would have more power, and we could then fix + responsibility. + + 5. There are two main classes of cake, sponge and butter. We + are taught to make both in cooking school. I like the sponge + cake. The butter cake is preferred by most persons. + + +=Shift in Number, Person, or Tense= + +=33. Avoid an inconsistent change in number, person, or tense.= + + Faulty change in number: One should save their money. + + Right: People should save their money. [Or] A man should save + his money. + + Faulty change in person: Place the seeds in water, and in a few + days a person can see that they have started to grow. + + Right: Place the seeds in water, and in a few days you will see + that they have started to grow. + + Faulty change in number: Take your umbrella with you. They will + be needed today. + + Right: Take your umbrella with you. You will need it today. + + Faulty change in tense: Freedom means that a man may conduct + his affairs as he pleases so long as he did not injure anybody + else. + + Right: Freedom means that a man may conduct his affairs as he + pleases so long as he does not injure anybody else. + + Faulty change in tense: When he heard the news, he hurries down + town and buys a paper. + + Right: When he heard the news, he hurried down town and bought + a paper. + +Note.--A change of tense within a sentence is desirable and necessary in +certain instances, for which see 55. + +Sometimes, for the sake of vividness, past events are described in the +present tense, as if they were taking place before our eyes. This usage +is called the _historical present_. A shift to the historical present +should not be made abruptly, or frequently, or for any subject except an +important crisis. + + Exercise: + + 1. A person should be careful of their conduct. + + 2. Sentences should be so formed that the reader feels it to be + a unit. + + 3. One should make the best of their surroundings and their + possessions, provided they cannot better them. + + 4. When he sees me coming, he looked the other way. + + 5. Silas Marner lost many of his habits of solitude, and goes + out among his neighbors. + + +=Mixed Constructions= + +=34. Do not make a compromise between two constructions.= + + Faulty: I cannot help but go. + + Right: I cannot help going. [Or] I cannot but go. [Or] I can + but go. + + Faulty: They are as following: + + Right: They are as follows: [Or] They are the following: + + Faulty: He tried, but of no avail. + + Right: He tried, but to no avail. [Or] He tried, but his effort + was of no avail. + + Faulty: There is no honor to be on this committee. + + Right: It is no honor to be on this committee. [Or] There is no + honor in being on this committee. + + Faulty: Sparks from the chimney caught the house on fire. + + Right: Sparks from the chimney set the house on fire. [Or] The + house caught fire from the sparks from the chimney. + +Note.--The double negative and kindred expressions (_not hardly_, _not +scarcely_, etc.) are an especially gross form of mixed construction. + + Wrong: He isn't no better now than he was then. [Logically, not + no better means _better_. The two negatives cancel each other + and leave an affirmative.] + + Right: He isn't any better now than he was then. [Or] He is no + better now than he was then. + + Wrong: She couldn't see her friend nowhere. + + Right: She couldn't see her friend anywhere. [Or] She could see + her friend nowhere. + + Wrong: We couldn't hardly see through the mist. + + Right: We could hardly see through the mist. [Or] We couldn't + see well through the mist. + + Exercise: + + 1. He doesn't come here no more. + + 2. I cannot help but make this error. + + 3. I remember scarcely nothing of the occurrence. + + 4. I would not remain there only a few days. + + 5. John would not do this under no circumstances. + + +=Mixed Imagery= + +=35. Avoid phrases which may call up conflicting mental images. When +using metaphor, simile, etc., carry one figure of speech through, +instead of shifting to another, or dropping suddenly back into literal +speech.= + + Crude: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the heart of + the cotton belt. + + Right: The Republicans have gained a foothold in the South. + + Crude: He traveled a rough road and climbed with his burden the + ladder of success, where he is a glowing example and guide to + other men. [The suggestion which a reader with a sense of humor + may get is, that a man starts out as a traveler, suddenly + becomes a hod-carrier, and is then transformed into a bonfire + or a lighthouse.] + + Right: He traveled a rough road, but found success. Other men + followed in his steps. + + Incongruous: Spring came scattering flowers, and there was rain + a great per cent of the time. [This sentence mingles the + language of poetry with the language of science. It should be + fanciful, or else literal, throughout.] + + Right: Spring came scattering flowers and rain. [Or] Spring + came with much rain and many flowers. + + Inconsistent use of irony: The phonograph was shrieking, "Waltz + me around again, Willie." I am sure I love that beautiful song. + The taste of the people who attend these cheap theaters is + deplorable. [The three sentences should be ironical throughout, + or not ironical at all.] + + Exercise: + + 1. We should meet the future from the optimistic point of view. + + 2. General Wolfe put every ounce of his life into the capture + of Quebec. + + 3. A key-note of sincerity should be the mainspring of a + well-built speech. + + 4. He went drifting down the sands of time on flowery beds of + ease. + + 5. The blank in my mind crystallized into action. + + +USE OF CONNECTIVES + +=The Exact Connective= + +=36. Use a connective which expresses the exact relation between two +clauses. Distinguish between time and cause, concession and condition, +etc. Do not overwork _and_, _so_, or _while_.= + + Misleading: _While_ he is sick, he is able to walk. [Use + _though_.] + + Misleading: Miss Brown sang, _while_ her sister spoke a piece. + [Use _but_.] + + Faulty. Work hard _when_ you want to succeed. [Use _if_.] + + Faulty: They will be sorry _without_ they do this. [Use + _unless_.] + + Faulty: Little poetry is read, _only_ at times when it is + compulsory. [Use _except_.] + + Faulty. The early morning and evening are the best times to + find ducks, _and_ we did not see many flying. [Use _and for + that reason_.] + + Faulty: Corbin says: "In America sportsmanship is almost a + passion," _and_ in England "the player very seldom forgets that + he is a man first and an athlete afterward." [Use _whereas_.] + +Note.--_So_ is an elastic word that covers a multitude of vague +meanings. Language has need of such a word, and in many instances +(especially when the relation between clauses is obvious and does not +need to be pointed out) _so_ serves well enough. Use it, but not as a +substitute for more exact connectives. Beware of falling into the +"_so_-habit." + + Abuse of _so_ as a vague coordinating connective: So I went to + call on Mrs. Woods, and so she told me about Mrs. White's new + gown; so then I missed the car, and so of course our supper is + late. [Strike out every _so_.] + + Abuse of _so_ as a subordinating connective: You may go, _so_ + you keep still. [Use _provided_.] _So_ you do only that, I + shall be satisfied. [Use _though_.] + + Permissible: I was excited, so I missed the target. + +_So_ may sometimes be used to express result. But when a clause of +result is important and needs emphasis, it is perhaps better to strike +out _so_ and subordinate the preceding clause. + + Right: In my excitement I missed the target. + + Right: Because I was excited, I missed the target. + + Right: Being excited, I missed the target. + + +=List of Connectives= + +=A. With Coordinate Clauses, expressing= + + =1. Addition:= and, besides, furthermore, again, in addition, in + like manner, likewise, moreover, then too, and finally. + + =2. Contrast:= but, and yet, however, in spite of, in contrast to + this, nevertheless, notwithstanding, nor, on the contrary, for + all that, rather still, but unhappily, yet unfortunately, + whereas. + + =3. Alternative:= or, nor, else, otherwise, neither, nor, or on + the other hand. + + =4. Consequence:= therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, in + this way, it follows that, the consequence is, and under such + circumstances, wherefore, thus, as a result, as a consequence. + + =5. Explanation:= for example, for instance, in particular, more + specifically, for, because. + + =6. Repetition for emphasis:= in other words, that is to say, and + assuredly, certainly, in fact, and in truth, indeed it is + certain, undoubtedly, for example, in the same way, as I have + said. + +=B. With Subordinate Adverb Clauses, expressing= + + =1. Time:= when, then, before, while, after, until at last, as + long as, now that, upon which, until, whenever, whereupon, + meanwhile. + + =2. Place:= where, whence, whither, wherever. + + =3. Degree or Comparison:= as, more than, rather than, than, to + the degree in which. + + =4. Manner:= as, as if, as though. + + =5. Cause:= because, for, as, inasmuch as, since, owing to the + fact that, seeing that, in that. + + =6. Purpose:= that, so that, in order that, lest. + + =7. Result:= that is, so that, but that. + + =8. Condition:= if, provided that, in case that, on condition + that, supposing that, unless. + + =9. Concession:= though, although, assuming that, admitting that, + granting that, even if, no matter how, notwithstanding, of + course. + +=C. With Adjective Clauses.= Adjective or relative clauses are introduced +by who, which, that, or an equivalent compound. + + Exercise: + + Insert within the parentheses all the connectives that might + conceivably be used, and underscore the one which you consider + to be most exact: + + 1. He is not a broad-minded man; ( ) he has many prejudices. + + 2. A number of friends came in, bringing refreshments, ( ) + we spent a delightful evening. + + 3. We ought to return now, for it is growing dark; ( ) I + told Mary we would be home at six o'clock. + + 4. I do not believe that climate is responsible for many of the + differences between races, ( ) Taine says that it is. + + 5. She took the letter from me and read it slowly, ( ) her + eyes filled with tears. + + + +=Repetition of Connective with a Gain in Clearness= + +=37. Connectives that accompany a parallel series should be repeated when +clearness requires.= + + Preposition to be repeated: He was regarded as a hero by all + who had known him at school, and especially his old school + mates. + + Right: He was regarded as a hero _by_ all who had known him at + school, and especially _by_ his old school mates. + + Sign of the infinitive to be repeated: He wishes to join with + those who love freedom and justice, and end needless suffering. + + Right: He wishes _to_ join with those who love freedom and + justice, and _to_ end needless suffering. + + Conjunction to be repeated: Since he was known to have + succeeded in earlier enterprises, though confronted by + difficulties that would have taxed the ability of older men, + and his powers were now acknowledged to be mature, he was put + in charge of the undertaking. + + Right: _Since_ he was known to have succeeded in earlier + enterprises, though confronted by difficulties that would have + taxed the ability of older men, and _since_ his powers were now + acknowledged to be mature, he was put in charge of the + undertaking. + + Conjunction to be repeated: He explained that the strikers + asked only a fair hearing, since their contentions were + misunderstood; were by no means in favor of the violent + measures to which the public had grown accustomed; and had no + desire to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property. + + Right: He explained _that_ the strikers asked only a fair + hearing, since their contentions were misunderstood; _that_ + they were by no means in favor of the violent measures to which + the public had grown accustomed; and _that_ they had no desire + to resort to bloodshed and the destruction of property. + + Exercise: + + 1. The place is often visited by fishermen who catch some + strange varieties of fish and especially summer tourists. + + 2. The worth of a man depends upon his character, not his + possessions. 3. He was delighted with that part of the city + which overlooked the harbor and bay, and especially the citadel + on the highest point. + + 4. Although he was so youthful in appearance that the + recruiting officer must have known he was under twenty-one, and + had not yet become a fully naturalized citizen, his effort to + enlist met with immediate success. + + 5. In the course of his speech he said that he was a foreigner, + he came to this country when he was fourteen years old, landing + in New York with his only possessions tied in a handkerchief, + went to work in an iron foundry, and after many years of toil + he found himself at the head of a great industry. + + +=Repetition of Connective with a Loss in Clearness= + +=38. Do not complicate thought by persistent repetition of elements +beginning with _that_, _which_, _of_, _for_, or _but_, and NOT parallel +in structure.= + + Complicated repetition of _that_: He gave a quarter to the boy + that brought the paper that printed the news that the war was + ended. [_That_, _which_, and _who_ are often used carelessly to + form a chain of subordinate clauses. Three successive + subordinations are all that a reader can possibly keep + straight; ordinarily a writer should not exceed two. But in + parallel structure (See 30 and 37) the number of _that_, + _which_, or _who_ clauses does not matter; a writer may + fill a page with them and not confuse the reader at all.] + + Right: He gave the boy a quarter for bringing him the paper + with the news that the war was ended. + + Complicated repetition of _of_: The East Side Civics Club is an + organization of helpers of the helpless of the lower classes of + the city. + + Right: The East Side Civics Club is organized to help the + helpless poor of the city. + + Complicated repetition of _for_: The general was dismayed, for + he had not expected resistance, for he had thought the power of + the enemy was shattered. + + Right: The general was dismayed; he had not expected + resistance, for he had thought the power of the enemy was + shattered. + + Complicated repetition of _but_: He was undoubtedly a brave + man, but now he was somewhat alarmed, but he would not turn + back. + + Right: He was undoubtedly a brave man; though now somewhat + alarmed, he would not turn back. [Or] He was undoubtedly a + brave man. He was now somewhat alarmed, but he would not turn + back. + +Note.--Guard against the _but_-habit. Frequent recurrence of _but_ makes +the reader's thought "tack" or change its course too often. There are +ways to avoid an excessive use of _but_ and _however_. When one wishes +to write about two things, A and B, which are opposed, he need not rush +back and forth from one idea to the other. Let him first say all he +wants to say about A. Then let him deliberately use the adversative +_but_, and proceed to the discussion of B. In the following paragraph on +"Whipping Children" the writer tries to be on both sides of the fence at +once. + + Confusing: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed, than + to explain and argue. _But_ the gentler method is better. _Yet_ + we all admit that the birch must be used sometimes. _However_, + if it is used only for serious trangressions, the child will + have a sense of proportion regarding what offenses are grave. + _But_ for ordinary small misdemeanors I think we need a new + motto: Spoil the rod and spare the child. + + Right: It is easier to punish a child for a misdeed than to + explain and argue. And of course we all admit that the birch + must be used sometimes. _But_ if it is used only for serious + transgressions, the child will have a sense of proportion + regarding what offenses are grave. For ordinary small + misdemeanors I think we need a new motto: Spoil the rod and + spare the child. + + Exercise: + + 1. He did not agree at first, but hesitated for a time, but + finally said that he would go along. + + 2. Push down on the foot lever, which closes a switch which + starts an electric motor which turns the flywheel so that the + gasoline engine starts. + + 3. Apple dumplings are good, but they must be properly baked, + but fortunately this is not difficult to do. + + 4. The work of the course consists partly of the study of the + principles of grammar and of rhetoric, partly of the writing of + themes, partly of oral composition, and partly of the reading + and study of models of English prose. + + 5. The landscape which lay before me was one which was + different from any which I had ever seen before. There was one + thing which impressed me, and that was the miles and miles of + grass which stretched and undulated away from the hill on which + I stood. + + +=39.= EXERCISE IN CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT + +=A. Parallel Structure= + +Give parallel structure to elements which are parallel in thought. + + 1. Baskets are of practical value as well as being used for + ornaments. + + 2. The Book of Job ought to be interesting to a student, or for + anybody. + + 3. The important considerations are whether the soil is sandy, + and if it is well drained, and that it shall be easily + cultivated. + + 4. A flower garden is a source of profit--profit not measured + in money but in pleasure. + + 5. He was successful in business, and also attained success in + the political world. + + 6. Whether his object was writing for pastime, or to please a + friend, or money, we do not know. + + 7. Always praise your enemy, because if you whip him your glory + is increased, and if he whips you it lets you down easy. + + 8. Either the ship will sink in the rough sea or go to pieces + on the shore. + + 9. An athlete must possess strength, nerve, and be able to + think quickly. + + 10. We were interested in buying some dry-goods, and at the + same time see the sights of the great city. + + 11. Some people talk foolishness, and others on serious + subjects, and some keep still. + + 12. Not only she noticed my condition, but commented on it. + + 13. He abides by neither the laws of God nor man. He spoke both + to Harry and Tom. + + 14. It is good for the health of one's mind to get new ideas + every day, and expressing them clearly in writing. + + 15. Everyone who is capable of understanding the tax laws + should know them and how they are abused. + + 16. I began by making applications at federal, state, and city + employment bureaus for a position as cost accountant, salesman, + or clerical work. + + 17. The damage to the trunk was caused by rough handling and + not from faults in construction. + + 18. Pope, Swift, Addison, and Defoe were four satirists, but + differing greatly in their work. + + 19. The occupants of these buildings are engaged in various + kinds of business, namely: shoe-shining, shoe repair shops, + cleaning and pressing clothes, confectionery stores, and + restaurants. + + 20. I sing of geese: of the Biblical goose, that blew his bugle + from the roof of Noah's Ark; the classical goose that picked + his livelihood along the shores of the AEgean; of the + historical goose, that squawked to save old Rome; the mercenary + goose, laying the golden egg; and, finally, of the roast goose. + +=B. Shift in Subject or Voice= + +Rewrite the following sentences, avoiding all unnecessary shift in +construction. + + 1. After you decide on the plan of the house, your attention is + turned to the materials of construction. + + 2. Editors are careful to use words that are exact, yet simple, + and the use of technical terms is not generally considered to + be good. + + 3. Bank accounts should be balanced once a month in order that + you may know your exact standing. + + 4. We should have our athletic contest between the weakest + students, and in that way they will become physically strong. + + 5. When one is making a long-distance run, several cautions + should be borne in mind by him. + + 6. In melody the poem is good, but the author's ideas are + eccentric. + + 7. Lincoln's sentences are plain, blunt, and to the point. He + lacks the ornate eloquence of Jefferson. + + 8. The operator places a large shovelful of concrete in the + mold, and the mixture is made solid by tamping. + + 9. He might become angry, but it was over in a few minutes. + + 10. The pauper chanced to gain entrance to the royal palace, + and while there the young prince is met by him. + + 11. When the weather is hot, plowing is accomplished very + slowly with horses, while on the tractor the heat has no + effect. + + 12. First, one should mix one-half cup of corn syrup and one + cup of brown sugar; then one cup of cream and the flavoring are + added. + + 13. In the college situated in a small town there are + dormitories for the student, but in the cities they usually + room where they please. + + 14. An education should enable us to tell the valuable from + the cheap book, and by it we should be able to tell the true + from the counterfeit man. + + 15. Moisten the sand thoroughly and set the box in a warm + place, and in about a week's time it can readily be seen by the + way the grains have sprouted which ears of seed corn have + greatest vitality. + +=C. Shift in Number, Person, or Tense= + +Rewrite the following sentences, removing all inconsistency in +grammatical form. + + 1. Every one has a right to their own opinion. + + 2. Bryant rushed to the window and shouts at the postman. + + 3. The life of the honey bee has been studied, and their + activities found to be remarkable. + + 4. He says to me, "Are you ready?" And I answered, "No." + + 5. When a person keeps a store, you should remember the names + and faces of your customers. + + 6. An automobile is expensive, and they are liable to become an + elephant on your hands. + + 7. If one studies the market, he would find that prices rise + every year. + + 8. If one went to Europe, he will find everything different. + + 9. Since these tires were different in construction, the method + of repairing will vary. + + 10. Contentment is a state of mind in which one is satisfied + with themselves and their surroundings. + + 11. It is easy to catch 'possums if you can find the rascal. + + 12. The writer of a theme should not waste time on a long + introduction, and get to the facts of your subject as quickly + as possible. + + 13. Shakespeare's comedies are great fun. I prefer it to + tragedy. + + 14. Often a man will knock at the door, and finds no one at + home. + + 15. Too much attention will spoil a child. They should not be + entertained every minute. + +=D. The Exact Connective= + +Each of the following sentences contains an idea which is, or may be, +subordinate to another idea. (1) Decide what kind of subordinate +relation should exist between the ideas. (2) Determine what connective +best expresses this relation. (Consult 36 for a list of connectives.) +(3) Write the sentence as it should be. + + 1. Wealth is a good thing, while honest wealth is better. + + 2. Spend an hour in the open air every day when you want to + keep your health. + + 3. The rattlesnake gives warning and it is only afterward that + he strikes. + + 4. South Americans are our national neighbors, and we as a + nation should understand them. + + 5. The city man knows nothing about a cow, only that it has + horns. + + 6. He got up early in order that he might be able to see the + sunrise. + + 7. The tenderfoot saw the funnel-shaped cloud when he made for + a cyclone cellar. + + 8. Men fear what they do not understand, and a coward is one + who is ignorant. + + 9. Hinting did not influence her; then he tried scolding. + + 10. The valet spilled the wine, and the duke started up with an + oath. + + 11. While he writhed on the ground, he was not really hurt. + + 12. He will not cash the check without you indorse it. + + 13. We want this work done by the first of April, so please + send an estimate soon. + + 14. He had traveled everywhere, and he had a vivid recollection + of only three scenes: Niagara Falls, the Jungfrau, and Lake + Como. + + 15. I never hear him talk but he makes me angry. + + 16. Animals have some of the same feelings as human beings + have. + + 17. It was four o'clock and we decided to return and be home + for supper. + +=E. Repetition of Connectives= + +In the following sentences determine whether repetition is desirable or +undesirable, and change the sentences accordingly. + + 1. With the coming of meal time, the potatoes are removed from + the fire with a fork with a long handle. + + 2. His clothes were brushed and neat, but patched and + repatched. But still he could be bright and cheery. + + 3. To no other magazine do I look forward to the arrival of its + new issue, more than I do to the _World's Work_. + + 4. At the time the book was written, I believe Forster was + considered to be almost the best biographer living at that + time. + + 5. The freshman has no spirit until the sophomores have + provoked him until he resists until he finds that he has + spirit. + + 6. Some socialists are against the present system of + initiative, referendum, and recall, but advocate a system much + like it but applied in a different way. + + 7. The gun with which the Germans bombarded Paris with had a + range of seventy-five miles. + + 8. Basketball is a game that I have played for years, and I am + greatly interested in. + + 9. This is the lever which throws the switch which directs the + train that takes the track that goes to Boston. + + 10. Short talks were made by the captain, the coach, and by the + faculty. + + 11. At this school one can study to be a doctor, dentist, + farmer, a lawyer, or an engineer. + + 12. I like to cross the harbor on the ferry, to dodge in and + out among the ships, see the gulls dart among the waves, smell + the sharp tang of salty air, and to feel the rocking motion of + the boat. + + 13. In the sultry autumn, and when the winter's storms came, + and when in spring the winds whistled, and in the summer's + heat, he always wore the same old coat. + + 14. He knew that if he did not ignite the piece of wet bark + this time, that he could not dry his clothing or broil the + bacon. + + 15. The next speaker said that the need was critical, the + schools must be enlarged, and that the paving now begun must be + completed, and a new board of health should be created, that + the interest on past debts had to be paid, and the city + treasury was at this moment out of funds. + + + + +EMPHASIS + + +=Emphasis by Position= + +=40. Reserve the emphatic positions in a sentence for important words or +ideas. (The emphatic positions are the beginning and the end--especially +the end.)= + + Weak ending: Then like a flash a vivid memory of my uncle's + death came to me. + + Weak: I demand the release of the prisoners, in the first + place. + + Weak: This principle is one we cannot afford to accept, if my + understanding of the question is correct. + +Place the important idea at the end. Secure, if possible, an emphatic +beginning. "Tuck in" unimportant modifiers. + + Emphatic: Like a flash came to me a vivid memory of my uncle's + death. + + Emphatic: I demand, in the first place, the release of the + prisoners. + + Emphatic: This principle, if my understanding of the question + is correct, is one we cannot afford to accept. + + Exercise: + + 1. "War is inevitable," he said. + + 2. The cat had been poisoned to all appearances. + + 3. There are several methods of learning to swim, as everyone + knows. + + 4. A liar is as bad as a thief, in my estimation. + + 5. He saw a fight below him in the street, happening to look + out of the window. + + +=Emphasis by Separation= + +=41. An idea which needs much emphasis may be detached, and allowed to +stand in a sentence by itself.= + + Faulty: The flames were by this time beyond control, and the + walls collapsed, and several firemen were hurt. [The ideas here + are too important to be run together in one sentence.] + + Right: By this time the flames were beyond control, and the + walls collapsed. Several firemen were hurt. + +A quotation gains emphasis when it is separated from what follows. + + + Faulty: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men + Gang aft a-gley," + + are some lines from Burns which McDonald was always quoting. + + Right: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men + Gang aft a-gley." + + McDonald was always quoting these lines from Burns. + +Direct discourse is more emphatic when it is separated from explanatory +phrases, particularly from those which follow. + + Faulty: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted defiantly, "I + will never consent to that!" and he looked as if he meant what + he said. + + Right: Mosher leaped to the stage and shouted his defiance: "I + will never agree to that!" And he looked as if he meant what he + said. + + Exercise: + + 1. After the tents are pitched, the beds made, and the fires + started, the first meal is cooked and served, and this meal is + the beginning of camp-life joy. + + 2. He tried to make his wife vote for his own, the Citizen's + Party, but she firmly refused. + + 3. At the word of command the dog rushed forward; the covey + rose with a mighty whir, and the hunter fired both barrels, and + the dog looked in vain for a dead bird, and then returned + disconsolate. + + 4. I sat and gazed at the motto, "Aim high, and believe + yourself capable of great things," which my mother had placed + there for me. + + 5. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, + A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, and Thou + Beside me singing in the Wilderness." + + were the four things Omar Khayyam wanted to make him happy. + + +=Emphasis by Subordination= + +=42. Do not place the important idea of a sentence in a subordinate +clause or phrase. Make the important idea grammatically independent. If +possible, subordinate the rest of the sentence to it.= + + Faulty: He had a manner which made me angry. + + Faulty: The fire spread to the third story, when the house was + doomed. + + Faulty: For years the Indians molested the white people, + thereby causing the settlers to want revenge. + +The important idea should not be placed in a _which_ clause, or a _when_ +clause, or a participial phrase. + + Right: His manner made me angry. + + Right: When the fire spread to the third story, the house was + doomed. + + Right: Years of molestation by the Indians made the white men + want revenge. + + Exercise: + + 1. I was riding on the train, when suddenly there was an + accident. + + 2. There are two windows in each bedroom, thus insuring good + ventilation. + + 3. Yonder is the house which is my home. + + 4. He saw that argument was useless, so he let her talk. + + 5. His clothes were very old, making him look like a tramp. + + +=The Periodic Sentence= + +A sentence is periodic when the completion of the main thought is +delayed until the end. This delay creates a feeling of suspense. A +periodic sentence is doubly emphatic: it has emphasis by position +because the important idea comes at the end; it has emphasis by +subordination because all ideas except the last one are grammatically +dependent. + + +=43. To give emphasis to a loosely constructed sentence, turn it into +periodic form.= + + Loose: I saw two men fight a duel, many years ago, on a moonlit + summer night, in a little village in northern France. [What is + most important, the time? the place? or the actual duel? Place + the important idea last.] + + Periodic: Many years ago, on a moonlit summer night, in a + little village in northern France, I saw two men fight a duel. + + Loose: We left Yellowstone Gateway for the ride of our lives in + a six-horse tally-ho. [Place the important idea last, _and make + all other ideas grammatically subordinate_.] + + Periodic: Leaving Yellowstone Gateway in a six-horse tally-ho, + we had the ride of our lives. + + Loose: The river was swollen with incessant rain, and it swept + away the dam. [Which is the important idea? Why not make it + appear more important by subordinating everything to it?] + + Periodic: The river, swollen with incessant rain, swept away + the dam. + + Loose: War means to have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness + rudely broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, + to saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national + hatred. + + Periodic: To have our pursuit of knowledge and happiness rudely + broken off, to feel the sting of death and bereavement, to + saddle future generations with a burden of debt and national + hatred--this is war. + + Exercise: + + 1. I am happy when the spring comes, when the sun is warm, when + the fields revive. + + 2. He cares nothing for culture, for justice, for progress. + + 3. As the boat gathered speed, the golden sun was setting far + across the harbor. + + 4. He amassed a great fortune, standing there behind his dingy + counter, discounting bills, pinching coins, buying cheap and + selling dear. + + 5. The shattered aqueducts, pier beyond pier, melt into the + darkness, from the plains to the mountains. + + +=Order of Climax= + +=44. In a series of words, phrases, or clauses of noticeable difference +in strength, use the order of climax.= + + Wrong order: He was insolent and lazy. + + Weak ending: Literature has expanded into a sea, where before + it was only a small stream. + + Weak ending: As we listened to his story we felt the sordid + misery and the peril and fear of war. + + Emphatic: He was lazy and insolent. + + Emphatic: The stream of literature has swollen into a torrent, + expanded into a sea. + + Emphatic: As we listened to his story we felt the fear, the + peril, the sordid misery of war. + + Exercise: + + 1. We boarded the train, after having bought our tickets and + checked our baggage. + + 2. War brings famine, death, disease after it. + + 3. They have broken up our homes, enslaved our children, and + stolen our property. + + 4. In the old story, the drunken man, carried into the duke's + palace, sees himself surrounded with luxury, and imagines + himself a true prince, after waking up. + + 5. The becalmed mariners were famished, hungry. + + +=The Balanced Sentence= + +=45. Two ideas similar or opposite in thought gain in emphasis when set +off, one against the other, in similar constructions.= + + Weak and straggling: This paper, like many others, has many bad + features, but in some ways it is very good. The news articles + are far better than the editorials, which are feeble. + + Balanced structure: This paper is in some respects good; in + other respects very poor. The news articles are impressive, the + editorials are feeble. + + Weak and complicated: From the East a man who lives in the West + can learn a great deal, and an Easterner ought to be able to + understand the West. + + Balanced: A Westerner can learn much from the East, and an + Easterner needs to understand the West. + + Weak: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger writers. + Mill taught some of them to reason, but many more of them + learned from Macaulay only a superficial eloquence. + + Balanced: Both Mill and Macaulay influenced the younger + writers. If Mill taught some of them to reason, Macaulay + tempted many more of them to declaim. + +Note.--Although excessive use of balance is artificial, occasional use +of it is powerful. It can give to writing either dignity (as in an +oration) or point (as in an epigram). Observe how many proverbs are in +balanced structure. "Seeing is believing.--Nothing venture, nothing +have.--For every grain of wit there is a grain of folly.--You cannot do +wrong without suffering wrong.--An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." +Note the effective use of balance in Emerson's _Essays_, particularly in +_Compensation_; and in the Old Testament, particularly in _Psalms_ and +_Proverbs_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Machinery is of course labor-saving, but countless men are + thrown out of work. + + 2. There is a difference between success in business and in + acquiring culture. + + 3. I attend concerts for the pleasure of it, and to get an + understanding of music. + + 4. The stag in the fable admired his horns and blamed his feet; + but when the hunter came, his feet saved him, and afterward, + caught in the thicket, he was destroyed by his horns. + + 5. We do not see the stars at evening, sometimes because there + are clouds intervening, but oftener because there are + glimmerings of light; thus many truths escape us from the + obscurity we stand in, and many more from the state of mind + which induces us to sit down satisfied with our imaginations + and of our knowledge unsuspicious. [This sentence is correctly + balanced, except at the end.] + + +=The Weak Effect of the Passive Voice= + +=46. Use the active voice unless there is a reason for doing otherwise. +The passive voice is, as the name implies, not emphatic.= + + Weak: Your gift is appreciated by me. + + Better: I appreciate your gift. + + Weak and vague: His step on the porch was heard. + + Better: His step sounded on the porch. [Or] I heard his step on + the porch. + +The passive voice is especially objectionable when by failing to +indicate the agent of the verb it unnecessarily mystifies the reader. + + Vague: The train was seen speeding toward us. + + Better: We saw the train speeding toward us. + + Exercise: + + 1. Their minds were changed frequently as to what profession + should be taken up by them. + + 2. A gun should be examined and oiled well before a hunter + starts. + + 3. Finally the serenaders were recognized. + + 4. In athletics a man is developed physically. + + 5. If a man uses slang constantly, a good impression is not + made. + + +=Effective Repetition= + +=47a. The simplest and most natural way to emphasize a word or an idea is +to repeat it.= The Bible is the best standard of simplicity and dignity +in our language, and the Bible uses repetition constantly. A word or +idea that is repeated must, of course, be important enough to deserve +emphasis. + + Fairly emphatic: He works and toils and labors, but he seems + never to get anywhere. + + Very emphatic: Work, work, work, all he does is work, and still + he seems never to get anywhere. + + Fairly emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He + withdrew before it! + + Very emphatic: How did the general meet this new menace? He + withdrew! He retreated! He ran away! + + Homely but emphatic: "I went under," said the old salt; "bows, + gunnels, and starn--all under." + + Deliberately too emphatic: Everywhere we hear of + efficiency--efficiency experts, efficiency bureaus, efficiency + methods, in the office, in the school, in the home--until one + longs to fly to some savage island beyond the reach of inhuman + modern science. + +=b. Not only words, but an entire grammatical structure may be repeated +on a large scale for emphasis.= + + Weak: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good + condition, and that you will favor us with other orders in the + future, which will be given prompt and courteous attention. + [This sentence is flimsy and spineless because the writer had a + timid reluctance to repeat.] + + Strong: We hope that this shipment will reach you in good + condition. We believe that the quality of our goods will induce + you to send us a second order. We assure you that such an order + will receive prompt and courteous attention. [Note the emphasis + derived from the resolute march of the expressions _We hope_, + _We believe_, _We assure_.] + + Emphatic: Through the patience, the courage, the high character + of Alfred the country was saved--saved from the rapacities of + fortune, saved from the malignancy of its enemies, saved from + the sluggish despair of the people of England themselves. + + Emphatic and natural: This corner of the garden was my first + playground. Here I made my first toddling effort to walk. Here + on the soft grass I learned the delight of out-of-doors. Here I + became acquainted with the bull-frog, and the bumble-bee, and + the neighbor's dog. + + Emphatic and delightful: He maketh me to lie down in green + pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth + my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his + name's sake. + + Exercise: + + 1. He kept digging away for gold through long years. + + 2. Breaking against the shore, came innumerable waves. + + 3. Sand, sagebrush, shimmering flat horizon. I could not endure + the barren monotony of the desert. + + 4. We want you to come and visit us, and bring along a good + appetite and your customary high spirits. Plan to stay a long + time. + + 5. 'Twas bitter cold outside. The cat meowed until I had to let + her in. + + +=Offensive Repetition= + +Careless repetition attracts attention to words that do not need +emphasis. It is extremely annoying to the reader. + +=48a. Unless a word or phrase is repeated deliberately to gain force or +clearness, its repetition is a blunder. Get rid of recurring expressions +in one of three ways: (1) by substituting equivalent expressions, (2) by +using pronouns more liberally, (3) by rearranging the sentence so as to +say once what has awkwardly been said twice.= Each of these schemes is +illustrated below. + +=1.= Repetition cured by the use of equivalent expressions (synonyms). + + Bad: _Just_ as we were half way down the lake, _just_ off + Milwaukee, we _began_ to feel a slight motion of the ship and + the _wind began_ to freshen. The _wind began_ to blow more + fiercely from the south and the waves _began_ to leap high. The + boat _began_ to pitch and roll. + + Right: _Just_ as we were half way down the lake, _opposite_ + Milwaukee, we began to feel a slight motion of the ship, for + the wind _had_ freshened. Before long _a gale_, _blowing_ from + the south, _kicked up a heavy sea and caused_ the boat to pitch + and roll. [Notice how combining the last two sentences helps to + solve the problem of the last _began_, besides giving firmer + texture to the construction.] + +=2.= Repetition cured by the use of pronouns. (In using this method, one +should take care that the reference of the pronouns is clear.) + + Bad: The _Law Building_, the _Commerce Building_, and the + _Science Building_ are close together. The _Commerce Building_ + is south of the _Law Building_, and the _Science Building_ is + south of the _Commerce Building_. The _Law Building_ is old and + dilapidated. The _Commerce Building_ is a red brick _building_, + trimmed in terra-cotta. The _Science Building_ resembles the + _Commerce Building_. + + Right: The Law, Commerce, and Science Buildings are close + together in a row. _The first of these_ is old and dilapidated. + South of it stands the Commerce Building, _which_, because of + _its_ red brick and terra-cotta trimmings, somewhat resembles + the Science Building. + +=3.= Repetition cured by rearranging and condensing. + + Bad: The _autumn_ is my favorite of all the _seasons_. While + _autumn_ in the _city_ is not such a pleasant _season_ as + _autumn_ in the country, yet even in the _city_ my preference + will always be for the _autumn_. + + Right: My favorite season is autumn. I like it best in the + country, but even in the city it is the best time of the year. + +=b. Avoid a monotonous repetition of sentence structure. To give variety +to successive sentences: (1) vary the length, (2) vary the beginnings, +(3) avoid a series of similar compound sentences, (4) interchange loose +with periodic structure, (5) use rhetorical question, exclamation, +direct discourse, (6) avoid an excessive use of participles or +adjectives.= + +=1.= Vary the length of sentences. + + Bad: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his arms. She + was wet from head to toe. Damp curls clung to her pale face. + Water dripped from her clothes. One hand hung loosely over + Walter's arm. The other held a live duckling. She had saved + the little duck from drowning. This was Betty's first day in + the country. + + Right: Walter came up the path carrying Betty in his + arms--little Betty who was spending her first day in the + country. She was wet from head to toe; damp curls clung to her + pale face, and water dripped from her clothes. In one hand she + held a live duckling. Her face lighted with courage as she told + how she jumped into the pond and saved the little duck from + drowning. + +=2.= Vary the beginnings of sentences. Do not allow too many sentences to +begin with the subject, or with a time clause, or with a participle, or +with _so_. When you have finished a composition, rapidly read over the +opening words of each sentence, to see if there is sufficient variety. + + Bad [too many sentences begin directly with the subject]: Our + way is circuitous. A sharp turn brings us round a rocky point. + The road drops suddenly into a little valley. The roof of a + house appears in a grove of trees below. A cottage is there and + a flower garden. An old-fashioned well is near the door. + + Right: Presently, on our circuitous way, we make a sharp turn + round a rocky point. Before us the road drops suddenly into a + little valley. In a grove of trees below appears the roof of a + house, and as we draw nearer we see a cottage surrounded by + flowers. Nothing could be more attractive to a weary traveler + than the old-fashioned well near the door. + +=3.= Avoid a series of similar compound sentences, especially those of two +parts of equal length, joined by _and_ or _but_. + + Bad: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his + master. One day there came a deep snow, and the flock did not + return. They found the herder frozen stiff, and the dog + shivering beside him. + + Right: Ring was a sheep dog, and tended the flock with his + master. One day there came a deep snow. When the flock failed + to return, the men became uneasy, and began to search. They + found the herder frozen stiff, with the dog shivering beside + him. + +=4.= Change occasionally from loose to periodic or balanced structure (See +43 and 45). + + Monotonous: I stood at the foot of Tunbridge hill. I saw on the + horizon a dense wood, which, in the evening sunlight, was + veiled in purple haze [Loose]. On the left was the village, the + houses appearing like specks in the distance [Loose]. Nearer on + the right was the creek, winding through the willows [Loose]. + The creek approached nearer until it reached the dam, over + which it rushed tumultuously [Loose]. Near by was a thicket of + tall trees, through which I could see the white tents of my + fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires [Loose]. + + Right: Far south from Tunbridge hill, on the dim horizon, I + saw, veiled in the evening haze, a dense wood [Periodic, long, + conveying the idea of distance better than a loose sentence]. + On my left stood the village, the houses like specks; on my + right wound the creek, nearer and nearer through the willows + [Balanced]. The creek advanced by slow sinuous turns, until, + reaching the dam, it plunged over tumultuously [Loose]. Through + a thicket of tall trees, near at hand, I could see the white + tents of my fellow campers, and their glowing camp fires + [Periodic through the middle of the sentence; then loose]. + +=5.= Use question, exclamation, direct quotation. + + Somewhat flat: He asked me the road to Camden. I did not know. + I told him to ask Thurber, who knew the country well. + + Better: He asked me the road to Camden. The road to Camden? How + should I know? "Ask Thurber," I said impatiently; "he knows + this country. I'm a stranger." + +=6.= Avoid an excessive use of participles. Do not pile adjectives around +every noun. Above all, do not form a habit of using adjectives in pairs +or triplets. + + Bad: Sitting by the window, I saw a sharp, dazzling flash of + lightning, and heard a loud rumbling crash of heavy thunder, + warning me of the coming of the storm. Darting across the gray, + leaden sky, the quick, jagged lightning flashed incessantly. + The tall stately poplar trees thrashed around in the boisterous + wind. Then across the window, like a great white curtain, swept + the streaming, blinding rain. + + Right: I sat by the window. Suddenly a sharp flash of lightning + and a roll of thunder gave warning of the approach of a storm. + Soon lightning zig-zagged across the sky incessantly. The wind + huddled the poplar trees. Then like a white curtain across the + window streamed the rain. + + Exercise: + + 1. The parts of the tables are not put together at the factory, + but the different parts are shipped in different shipments. + + 2. In order to convince the reader that the present management + of farms is inefficient, I shall give some examples of + efficiency in the farm management on some farms with which I am + acquainted. + + 3. When one wishes to learn how to swim one must first become + accustomed to the water. The best way to become accustomed to + the water is to go into it frequently. After one has become + accustomed to the water he may begin to learn the strokes. + + 4. _The Life of Sir Walter Scott_, written by J. G. Lockhart, + is an interesting biography of this great writer. It consists + of a short biography by Scott himself, and also consists of a + continuation of this biography by his son-in-law, J. G. + Lockhart. + + 5. If a piece of steel is kept hot for several seconds, it will + lose some of its hardness. If kept hot longer, it will lose + more of its hardness. Along with losing its hardness it will + lose its brittleness. If the piece of steel is heated + continually it will lose nearly all its hardness and + brittleness. In other words, it will lose its "temper." + + +=49.= EXERCISE IN EMPHASIS + +=A. Lack of Emphasis in General= + +Make the following sentences emphatic. + + 1. The man is a thief who fails in business but continues to + live in luxury. + + 2. The plant was withered and dry, not having been watered for + over a week. + + 3. Much time is saved in Chicago by taking the elevated cars, + if you have a great distance to travel. + + 4. The clock struck eleven, when he immediately seized his hat + and left. + + 5. These liberal terms should be taken advantage of by us. + + 6. The study of biology has proved very interesting, as far as + I have gone. + + 7. Who is this that comes to the foot of the guillotine, + crouching, trembling? + + 8. They must pay the penalty. Their death is necessary. They + have caused harm enough. + + 9. I intend to get up fifteen minutes earlier, thereby giving + myself time to eat a good breakfast. + + 10. The book was reread several times, for I never grew tired + of it. + + 11. "What is the aim of a university education?" the speaker + asked. + + 12. A bicycle is sometimes ridden when a tire contains no air, + total ruin resulting from the weight of the rim upon the flat + tire. + + 13. He sprang forward the instant the pistol cracked, since the + start of a sprint is very important, and one cannot overdo the + practicing of it. + + 14. Sometimes the fuses fail to burn, or burn too fast, causing + an explosion before the workmen are prepared for it. + + 15. How father made soap was always a mystery to me. Cracklings + saved from butchering time, lye, and water went into the kettle + on a warm spring day and came out in the form of soap a few + hours later, to my great astonishment. + +=B. Loose or Unemphatic Structure= + +Make the following sentences more emphatic by throwing them into +periodic form. + + 1. It was Tom, as I had expected. + + 2. I will not tell, no matter how you beg. + + 3. The supremacy of the old river steamboat is gone forever, + unless conditions should be utterly changed. + + 4. Across the desert he traveled alone, and over strange seas, + and through quaint foreign villages. + + 5. The hot water dissolves the glue in the muresco, making the + mixture more easily applied. + + 6. Visions of rich meadows and harvest-laden fields now pass + before my eyes, as I sit by the fire. + + 7. Some of the women were weeping bitterly, thinking they would + never see their homes again. + + 8. I splashed along on foot for three miles after night in a + driving rain. + + 9. Very high rent is demanded, thus keeping the peasants + constantly in debt. + + 10. Roderigo was in despair because he had been rejected by + Desdemona, and was ready to end his life, by the time Iago + entered. + + 11. Through storm and cold the open boat was brought to the + shore at last, after toil and suffering, with great difficulty. + + 12. The car came to a violent stop against a rock pile, after + it demolished two fences, upset a hen-house, and scared a pig + out of his wits. + + 13. The Panama Canal is the fulfilment of the dreams of old + Spanish adventurers, the desires of later merchant princes, + and the demand of modern nations for free traffic on the seas. + + 14. The fiddle yelled, and the feet of the dancers beat the + floor, and the spectators applauded, and the room fairly rang. + + 15. The man with the best character, not the man with most + money, will come out on top in the end. + +=C. Faulty Repetition= + +Repetition in the following sentences is objectionable, because it +attracts attention to words or constructions that do not need to be +emphasized. Improve the sentences, avoiding unnecessary repetition. + + 1. He is a great friend of boys, and views things from the + boys' point of view. + + 2. In the case of the strike at Lawrence, Massachusetts, the + real cause was low wages caused by immigration and child labor. + + 3. First, a subject must be chosen, and in choosing a subject, + choose one that you know something about. + + 4. There are great opportunities in the field of science, and a + scientist who makes a mark in the world of science makes a mark + for himself everywhere. + + 5. While the practical man is learning skill in the practical + world, the college man is attaining a development of mentality + that will surpass that of the practical man when the college + man learns the skill of the practical man. + + 6. The field is dragged and rolled. Dragging and rolling leaves + the ground smooth and ready for planting. + + 7. A great number and variety of articles appears in every + issue. There is a complete review of each subject. It is + treated in a short, but thorough manner. + + 8. They gave me a hearty welcome. They stood back and looked at + me. They wanted to see if three months in the city had made any + changes in me. But they said it had not. + + 9. Engineering is looked upon by many students as an easy and + uninteresting study, but to my knowledge it is not + uninteresting and easy. Engineering is probably one of the + hardest courses in college. To me it is also the most + interesting. + + 10. A duck hunter should have a place to hunt where ducks are + frequently found in duck season. Ducks often light in the + backwater along a river, and in ponds. They are often found in + small lakes. Corn fields are common feeding places for ducks. + Ducks make regular trips to cornfields within reach of a body + of water such as a river or lake. It is their nature to spend + the night in the water, and in the morning and in the evening + they go out to the fields to feed. + + + + +GRAMMAR + + +=Case= + +=50a. The subject of a verb is in the nominative case, even when the verb +is remote, or understood (not expressed).= + + Wrong: They are as old as us. + + Right: They are as old as we [are]. + + Wrong: He is taller than her. + + Right: He is taller than she [is]. + +Note.--_Than_ and _as_ are conjunctions, not prepositions. When they are +followed by a pronoun merely, this pronoun is not their object, but part +of a clause the rest of which may be understood. The case of this +pronoun is determined by its relation to the rest of the unexpressed +clause. Sometimes the understood clause calls for the objective: "I like +his brother better than [I like] him." _Than whom_, though +ungrammatical, is sanctioned by usage. + +=b. Guard against the improper attraction of _who_ into the objective +case by intervening expressions like _he says_.= + + Wrong: The man whom they believed was the cause of the trouble + left the country. [_They believed_ is parenthetical, and the + subject of _was_ is _who_.] + + Right: The man who they believed was the cause of the trouble + left the country. + + Wrong: Whom do you suppose made us a visit? + + Right: Who do you suppose made us a visit? + +=Guard against the improper attraction of _who_ or _whoever_ into the +objective case by a preceding verb or preposition.= + + Wrong: Punish whomever is guilty. [The pronoun is the subject + of _is_. The object of _punish_ is the entire clause _whoever + is guilty_.] + + Right: Punish whoever is guilty. + + Wrong: The mystery as to whom had rendered him this service + remained. [The pronoun is the subject of _had rendered_. The + object of the preposition is the entire clause _who had + rendered him this service_.] + + Right: The mystery as to who had rendered him this service + remained. + +=c. The predicate complement of the verb _to be_ (in any of its forms, +_is_, _was_, _were_, _be_, etc.) is in the nominative case.= _To be_ +never takes an object, because it does not express action. + + Wrong: Was it her? Was it them? It is me. + + Right: Was it she? Was it they? Is it I. + + Wrong: The happiest people there were him and his mother. + + Right: The happiest people there were he and his mother. + +=d. The object of a preposition or a verb is in the objective case.= + + Wrong: Some of we fellows went fishing. + + Right: Some of us fellows went fishing. + + Wrong: That seems incredible to you and I. + + Right: That seems incredible to you and me. + + Wrong: Who did they detect? + + Right: Whom did they detect? + +=e. The "assumed" subject of an infinitive is in the objective case.= + + Right: I wanted him to go. [_Him to go_ is the group object of + the verb _wanted_. _To go_, being an infinitive, cannot assert + an action, and consequently cannot take a subject. But _to go_ + implies that something is at least capable of action. _Him_ is + the latent or assumed subject of the action implied in _to + go_.] + + Right: _Whom_ do you wish _to be_ your leader? [_Whom_ is the + assumed subject of the infinitive _to be_.] + +=f. A noun or pronoun used to express possession is in the possessive +case.= Do not omit the apostrophe (See 97) from nouns, or from the +pronouns _one's_ and _other's_. Most of the other possessive +pronouns do not require an apostrophe. + + Right: The man's hair is gray. + + Right: The machine does its work well. [_It's_ would mean _it + is_.] + + Right: One should do one's duty. + +=g. A noun or pronoun linked with a gerund should be in the possessive +case whenever the use of the objective case might cause confusion.= + + Faulty: Is there any criticism of Arthur going? + + Right: Is there any criticism of Arthur's going? + + Right: I had not heard of his being sick. + + Right, but slightly less desirable: I had not heard of him + being sick. + +Note.--In other instances than those in which clearness is involved many +good writers use the objective case with the gerund. But even in these +instances most writers prefer the possessive case. + +=h. It is usually awkward and slightly illogical to attribute possession +to inanimate objects.= + + Awkward: The farm's management. + + Better: The management of the farm. + + Awkward: The stomach's lining. + + Better: The lining of the stomach. + +Note.--Usage justifies many exceptions, particularly (1) expressions +that involve time or measure, _a day's work_, _a hair's breadth_, _a +year's salary_, _a week's vacation_, _a cable's length_; and (2) +expressions that involve personification, explicit or implied, _Reason's +voice_, _the law's delay_, _for mercy's sake_, _the heart's desire_, +_the tempest's breath_. + +=i. A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person, gender, and number, +but not in case.= + + Right: _I, who am_ older, know better. + + Right: Tell _me, who am_ older, your trouble. + + Right: Many a man has saved _himself_ by counsel. + + Exercise: + + 1. I am as old as (he, him). They may be pluckier than (we, + us). Nobody is less conceited than (she, her). + + 2. He gave help to (whoever, whomever) wanted it. The girls + (who, whom) they say have the worst taste are on a committee to + select the class pin. + + 3. Four of (we, us) boys were left without a cent. That is a + good investment for her cousin and (she, her). + + 4. It was (he, him). It is (they, them). The sole occupants of + the car were his chum and (he, him). + + 5. I had not heard of (his, him) being sick. She does not + approve of (our, us) being late to dinner. (They, them) who + labor now the Master will reward. + + +=Number= + +=51a. _Each_, _every_, _every one_, _everybody_, _anybody_, _either_, +_neither_, _no one_, _nobody_, and similar words are singular.= + + Wrong: Everybody did their best. + + Right: Everybody did his best. + + Wrong: Each of my three friends were there. + + Right: Each of my three friends was there. + + Wrong: Either of the candidates are capable of making a good + officer. + + Right: Either of the candidates is capable of making a good + officer. + +=b. Do not let _this_ or _that_ when modifying _kind_ or _sort_ be +attracted into the plural by a following noun.= + + Wrong: He knew nothing of those kind of activities. + + Right: He knew nothing of that kind of activities. + + Wrong: I never did like these sort of post cards. + + Right: I never did like this sort of post cards. + +=c. Collective nouns may be regarded as singular or plural, according to +the meaning intended.= + + Right: The crowd is waiting. + + Right: The crowd are not agreed. + + Right: Webster maintained that the United States is an + inseparable union; Hayne that the United States are a separable + union. + + English usage: The government were considering a new bill + regarding labor. + + American usage: The government was glad to place our troops at + the disposal of General Foch. + +=d. Do not use _don't_ in the third person singular. Use _doesn't_. +_Don't_ is contraction of _do not_.= + + Wrong: He don't get up early on Sunday morning. + + Right: He doesn't get up early on Sunday morning. + + Exercise: + + 1. She said not to buy those sort of carpet tacks. These kind + of apples won't keep. I don't care for these boasting kind of + travelers. + + 2. Neither of us were in condition to run the race. Every one + assured Mrs. Merton they had spent a pleasant evening. + + 3. He don't suffer much now. I don't care if she don't come + today. + + 4. Each of us in that dismal waiting room were angry with the + agent for telling us the train was not late. + + 5. No one of the girls will tell their age. It don't matter. + + +=Agreement= + +=52a. A verb agrees in number with the subject, not with a noun which +intervenes between it and the subject.= + + Wrong: The size of the plantations vary. + + Right: The size of the plantations varies. + + Wrong: The increasing use of luxuries are a menace to the + country. + + Right: The increasing use of luxuries is a menace to the + country. + + Wrong: The prices of grain fluctuates in response to the + demand. + + Right: The prices of grain fluctuate in response to the demand. + [Or] The price of grain fluctuates in response to the demand. + +=b. The number of the verb is not affected by the addition to the subject +of words introduced by _with_, _together with_, _no less than_, _as well +as_, and the like.= + + Wrong: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, have + investigated the charges. + + Right: The mayor of the city, as well as several aldermen, has + investigated the charges. + +=c. Singular subjects joined by _or_ or _nor_ take a singular verb.= + + Wrong: Either the second or the third of the plans they have + devised are acceptable. + + Right: Either the second or the third of the plans they have + devised is acceptable. + +=d. A subject consisting of two or more nouns joined by _and_ takes a +plural verb.= + + Right: The hunting and fishing are good. + +=e. A verb should agree in number with the subject, not with a predicate +noun.= + + Wrong: The weak point in the team were the fielders. + + Right: The weak point in the team was the fielders. + + Wrong: Laziness and dissipation is the cause of his failure. + + Right: Laziness and dissipation are the cause of his failure. + +=f. In _There is_ and _There are_ sentences the verb should agree in +number with the noun that follows it.= + + Wrong: There is very good grounds for such a decision. + + Right: There are very good grounds for such a decision. + + Wrong: There was present a man, two women, and a child. + + Right: There were present a man, two women, and a child. + + Exercise: + + 1. The sound of falling acorns (is, are) one of the delights of + an autumn evening. Eye strain through ill-fit glasses (is, are) + injurious to the general health, but reading without glasses + (is, are) often more harmful still. + + 2. Neither the baritone nor the tenor (has, have) as good a + voice as the soprano. The guitar or the mandolin (is, are) + always out of tune. + + 3. The Amazon with its tributaries (affords, afford) access to + sea. The conductor of the freight train, along with the + engineer and fireman of the passenger, (was, were) injured. + + 4. Ghost stories late at night (is, are) a crime against + children. My reason for knowing that it is six o'clock (is, + are) the factory whistles. + + 5. There (was, were) in the same coach a dozen singing + freshmen. Years of experience in buying clothes (gives, give) + me confidence in my judgment. + + +=_Shall_ and _Will_, _Should_ and _Would_= + +Although there is a tendency to disregard subtle distinctions between +_shall_ and _will_ in ordinary speech, it is desirable to preserve the +more important distinctions in written discourse. + +=53. To express simple futurity or mere expectation, use _shall_ with the +first person (both singular and plural) and _will_ with the second and +third.= + + I shall go. We shall walk. + You will play. You will hear. + He will sing. They will reply. + +=To express resolution or emphatic assurance, reverse the usage; that is, +use _will_ with the first person (both singular and plural), and _shall_ +with the second and third.= + + I will; I tell you, I will. We will not be excluded. + You shall do what I bid. You shall not delay us. + He shall obey me. They shall pay the tribute. + +In asking questions, use the form expected in the answer. + + "Shall I go?" I asked myself musingly. "Shall we take a walk?" + "You promise. But will you pay?" "Will it rain tomorrow?" + +_Should_ and _would_ follow the rules given for _shall_ and _will_. + + Mere statement of a fact: + I [or We] should like to go. + You [or He or They] would of course accept the offer. + + Resolution or emphatic assurance: + I [or We] would never go under terms so degrading. + You [or He or They] should decline; honor demands it. + +_Should_ has also a special use in the subjunctive (in all persons) to +express a condition; and _would_ has a special use (in all persons) to +express a wish, or customary action. + + If it should rain, I shall not go. + + If I should remain, it would probably clear off. + + Would that I could swim! + + He [I, We, You, They] would often sit there by the hour. + + Exercise: + + 1. I (shall, will) probably do as he says. I'm determined; I + (shall, will) go! We (shall, will) see what tomorrow (shall, + will) bring forth. + + 2. The train (shall, will) whistle at this crossing, I suppose. + When the log is nearly severed, it (shall, will) begin to pinch + the saw. The weather (shall, will) be warmer tomorrow. + + 3. Johnny, you (shall, will) not go near those strawberries! He + (shall, will) not leave us in this predicament. I repeat it, he + (shall, will) not! We (shall, will) never sell this good old + horse. + + 4. (Shall, will) this calico fade? (Shall, will) you give the + organ grinder some money? (Shall, will) I raise the window? + (Should, would) I ask his permission? + + 5. If you (should, would) visit his laboratory, you (should, + would) learn how a starfish preserved in alcohol smells. You + (shall, will) all die some day, my friends. (Shall, will) I + ever forget this? Time (shall, will) tell. + + +=Principal Parts= + +=54. Use the correct form of the past tense and past participle.= Avoid +_come_, _done_, _bursted_, _knowed_, _says_ for the past tense; and +[_had_] _eat_, [_had_] _froze_, [_have_] _ran_, [_has_] _went_, [_has_] +_wrote_, [_are_] _suppose_ for the past participle. Memorize the +principal parts of difficult verbs. The principal parts are the present +tense, the past tense, and the past participle. A good way to recall +these is to repeat the formula: Today I _sing_; yesterday I _sang_; +often in the past I have _sung_. The principal parts of _sing_ are +_sing_, _sang_, _sung_. A list of difficult verbs is given below. + + bear bore borne + born + begin began begun + bend bent bent + bid bid bid + bade bidden + bite bit bit + bitten + bleed bled bled + blow blew blown + break broke broken + burn burnt burnt + burned burned + burst burst burst + catch caught caught + choose chose chosen + come came come + deal dealt dealt + dive dived dived + do did done + drag dragged dragged + draw drew drawn + dream dreamt dreamt + dreamed dreamed + drink drank drunk + drive drove driven + drown drowned drowned + dwell dwelt dwelt + dwelled dwelled + eat ate eaten + fall fell fallen + fight fought fought + flee fled fled + fly flew flown + flow flowed flowed + freeze froze frozen + get got got + go went gone + grow grew grown + hang hung hung + hang hanged hanged + hold held held + kneel knelt knelt + know knew known + lay laid laid + lead led led + lend lent lent + lie lay lain + lie lied lied + loose loosed loosed + lose lost lost + mean meant meant + pay paid paid + prove proved proved + read read read + rid rid rid + ride rode ridden + ring rang rung + rise rose risen + run ran run + say said said + see saw seen + set set set + shake shook shaken + shine shone shone + show showed shown + shrink shrank shrunk + sing sang sung + sit sat sat + slink slunk slunk + speak spoke spoken + spend spent spent + spit spit spit + spat spat + steal stole stolen + swear swore sworn + sweep swept swept + swim swam swum + take took taken + tear tore torn + throw threw thrown + thrust thrust thrust + tread trod trod + trodden + wake woke waked + waked + wear wore worn + weave wove woven + weep wept wept + write wrote written + + Exercise: + + 1. Adams ---- (past tense of _draw_) another glass of cider and + ---- (past tense of _drink_) it. When those squashes once ---- + (past tense of _begin_), they ---- (past tense of _grow_) like + mad. + + 2. The thermometer had ---- (past participle of _fall_) twenty + degrees, and three water pipes had ---- (past participle of + _freeze_). Afterward one ---- (past tense of _burst_). + + 3. Annie had ---- (past participle of _speak_) a piece, and + Nancy had ---- (past participle of _write_) a poem, and Isabel + had nearly ---- (past participle of _burst_) with envy. + + 4. He ---- (past tense of _do_) a brave deed; he ---- (past + tense of _swim_) straight for the whirlpool. I had ---- (past + participle of _know_) him before, and had ---- (past participle + of _shake_) hands with him. + + 5. He ---- (past tense of _come_) home late, and has ---- (past + participle of _eat_) his dinner. Now he has ---- (past + participle of _go_) down town. He has ---- (past participle of + _ride_) before. I ---- (past tense of _see_) him. He ---- (past + tense of _run_) swiftly. + + +=Tense, Mode, Auxiliaries= + +=55a. In dependent clauses and infinitives, the tense is to be considered +in relation to the time expressed in the principal verb.= + + Wrong: I intended to have gone. [The principal verb _intended_ + indicates a past time. In that past time I intended to do + something. What? Did I intend _to go_, or _to have gone_?] + + Right: I intended to go. + + Wrong: We hoped that you would have come to the party. [The + principal verb _hoped_ indicates a past time. In that past time + our hope was that you _would_ come, not that you _would have + come_.] + + Right: We hoped that you would come. + +=b. When narration in the past tense is interrupted for reference to a +preceding occurrence, the past perfect tense is used.= + + Wrong: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals + which he shot. + + Right: In the parlor my cousin kept a collection of animals + which he had shot. + +=c. General statements equally true in the past and in the present are +usually expressed in the present tense.= + + Faulty: He said that Venus was a planet. + + Right: He said that Venus is a planet. + +=d. The subjunctive mode of the verb _to be_ is used to express a +condition contrary to fact, or a wish.= + + Faulty: If he was here, I should be happy. + + Right: If he were here, I should be happy. + + Faulty: I wish that I was a man. + + Right: I wish that I were a man. + +=e. Use the correct auxiliary. Make sure that the tense, mode, or aspect +of successive verbs is not altered without reason.= + + Wrong: By giving strict obedience to commands, a soldier + _learns_ discipline, and consequently _would have_ steady + nerves in time of war. [_Learns_ should be followed by _will + have_.] + + Wrong: An automobile _should be_ kept in good working order so + that its life _is_ lengthened. [_Should be_ is properly + followed by _may be_.] + + Exercise: + + 1. Every one hoped that you would have spoken. + + 2. I saw it in the window. It was the very book I wanted so + long. + + 3. If I was sick, I should go home. + + 4. They expected to have won the game. + + 5. The Masons never invite men to join their lodge, but if a + person expresses a desire to join, his friends would probably + be able to secure membership for him. + + +=Adjective and Adverb= + +=56a. Do not use an adjective to modify a verb.= + + Crude: He spoke slow and careful. + + Right: He spoke slowly and carefully. + + Crude: He sure did good in his classes. + + Right: He surely did well in his classes. + +=b. In such sentences as _He stood firm_ and _The cry rang clear_ the +modifier should be an adjective if it refers to the subject, an adverb +if it refers to the verb.= + + Right: The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home. [Here the + thought is that the sun which shines is bright.] + + Right: He worked diligently. [Here the modifier refers to the + manner of working rather than to the person who works. It + should therefore be an adverb.] + + Right: It stood immovable. The shot rang loud. He becomes + angry. The weeds grow thick. They remain obstinate. He seems + intelligent. + +=c. After a verb pertaining to the senses, _look_, _sound_, _taste_, +_smell_, _feel_, an adjective is used to denote a quality pertaining to +the subject.= (An adverb is used only when the reference is clearly to +the verb.) + + She looks _beautiful_. [Not _beautifully_.] + + The dinner bell sounds _good_. [Not _well_.] + + My food tastes _bad_. [Not _badly_.] + + That flower smells _bad_. [Not _badly_.] + + I feel good [_in good spirits_.] + + I feel well [_in good health_. An adjectival use of _well_.] + + I feel bad [_in bad health or spirits_. "I feel badly" would + mean "My sense of touch is impaired."] + + Exercise: + + 1. They fought ---- (heroic, heroically). Dave stumbled + ----(awkward, awkwardly). + + 2. Margaret ---- (sure, surely) worked ---- (faithful, + faithfully) in economics. + + 3. At this reply the teacher grew ---- (wrathful, wrathfully). + I hear you ---- (plain, plainly). + + 4. I feel ---- (giddy, giddily). Your rose looks ---- (sweet, + sweetly). No perfume smells so ---- (dainty, daintily). + + 5. That salad tastes ---- (good, well). I feel ---- (bad, + badly) today. Your voice sounds ---- (good, well) and + ----(familiar, familiarly). + + +=A Word in a Double Capacity= + +=57. Do not use a verb, conjunction, preposition, or noun in a double +capacity when one of the uses is ungrammatical.= + + Wrong [verb]: An opera house was built in one part of town, and + two churches in another. + + Right: An opera house was built in one part of town, and two + churches were built in another. + + Wrong [verb]: He always has and will do it. + + Right: He always has done it, and always will do it. + + Wrong [conjunction]: He was as old, if not older, than any + other man in the community. + + Right: He was as old as any other man in the community, if not + older. + + Wrong [preposition]: He was fond and diligent in work. + + Right: He was fond of work and diligent in it. + + Wrong [noun]: He is one of the most skilful, if not the most + skilful, tennis players in the state. + + Right: He is one of the most skilful tennis players in the + state, if not the most skilful. + + Exercise: + + 1. He is as old, if not older, than she is. + + 2. Two boats were in the water, and one on the shore. + + 3. From childhood he has, and to old age he will, have many + hobbies. + + 4. A visit to a ten cent store is better, or at least as good, + as a visit to a circus. You see as many or more queer things + than in any show. + + 5. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, secrets in keeping + our health, is to keep our teeth in good condition. A famous + physician said that one of the next, if not the very next, + marked advance in medical science will be through discoveries + in the realm of dentistry. + + + +Parts of Speech, Other Grammatical Terms, Conjugation + +The Parts of Speech and Their Uses + + =Noun.= A noun is a name. It may be =proper= (_Philip Watkins_), or + =common=. Common nouns may be =concrete= (_man_, _windmill_), or + =abstract= (_gratitude_, _nearness_). =A= noun applied to a group + is said to be =collective= (_family_, _race_). The uses of a noun + =are=: to serve as the subject of a verb, to serve as the object + of a verb or a preposition, to be in apposition with another + noun (Jenkins, our _coach_), to indicate possession (_Joseph's_ + coat of many colors); and less frequently, to serve as an + adjective (the _brick_ sidewalk) or adverb (John went _home_), + and to indicate direct address (_Jehovah_, help us!). + + =Pronoun.= A pronoun is a word which takes the place of a noun. + It may be =personal= (_I_, _thou_, _you_, _he_, _she_, _it_, + _we_, _they_), =relative= (_who_, _which_, _what_, _that_, _as_, + and compounds _whoever_, _whichsoever_, etc.), =interrogative= + (_who_, _which_, _what_), =demonstrative= (_this_, _that_, + _these_, _those_), or =indefinite= (_some_, _any_, _one_, _each_, + _either_, _neither_, _none_, _few_, _all_, _both_, etc.). + Strictly speaking, the last two groups, demonstratives and + indefinites, are adjectives used as pronouns. Certain pronouns + are also used as adjectives, notably the =possessives= (_my_, + _his_, _their_, etc.) and the relative or interrogative _which_ + and _what_. The addition of _-self_ to a personal pronoun forms + a =reflexive pronoun= or =intensive= (I blamed _myself_. You + _yourself_ are at fault). A noun for which the pronoun stands + is called the =antecedent=. The uses of pronouns are in general + the same as those of nouns. In addition, relatives serve as + connectives (the man _who_ spoke), interrogatives ask questions + (_what_ man?), and demonstratives point out (_that_ man). + + =Verb.= A verb is a word or word-group which makes an assertion + about the subject. It may express either action or mere + existence. It may be =transitive= (_trans_ meaning "across"; + hence action carried across, requiring a receiver of the act; + Brutus _stabbed_ Caesar; Caesar is _stabbed_) or =intransitive= + (not requiring a receiver of the act: Montgomery _fell_). Its + meaning is dependent upon its voice, mode, and tense. Voice + shows the relationship between the subject and the assertion + made by the verb. The =active voice= shows the subject as actor + (They _elected_ Washington); the =passive voice=, as acted upon + (Washington _was elected_). (A transitive verb may be active or + passive, but an intransitive verb has no voice.) Mode indicates + the manner of predicating an action, whether as assertion, + condition, command, etc. There are three modes in English. The + =indicative mode= affirms or denies (He _went_. She _did not + dance_.) The =subjunctive= expresses condition or wish (If he + _were_ older, he would be wiser. Would that I _were_ there!). + The =imperative= expresses command or exhortation (_Remain_ + there. _Go!_ _Let_ us pray). =Modal auxiliaries= with these three + modes form =modal aspects= of the verb. There are as many + different aspects as there are auxiliaries. Aspects are + sometimes spoken of as separate modes or called collectively + the "potential mode." Tense expresses the time of the action or + existence. The tenses are the =present=, the =past=, the =future= + (employing the auxiliaries _shall_ and _will_), the =perfect= + (employing _have_), the =past perfect= (employing _had_), and the + =future perfect= (employing _shall have_ and _will have_). + =Verbals= are certain forms of the verb used as other parts of + speech (noun, adjective, adverb). For the verbal forms, + infinitive, gerund, and participle, see the separate headings. + + =Adjective.= An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or + pronoun. An adjective may be =attributive= (_bright_ sun, + _cool-headed_ adventurers) or =predicate= (The field is _broad_. + The meat tastes _bad_. I want this _ready_ by Christmas). + Adjectives assume three forms known as degrees of comparison. + The =positive degree= indicates the simple quality of the object + without reference to any other. The =comparative degree= + indicates that two objects are compared (Stanley is the _older_ + brother). The =superlative degree= indicates that three or more + objects are compared (Stanley is the _oldest_ child in the + family) or that the speaker feels great interest or emotion (A + _most excellent_ record). Ordinarily _er_ or _r_ is added to + the positive to form the comparative, and _est_ or _st_ to the + positive to form the superlative (brave, braver, bravest). But + some adjectives (sometimes those of two, and always those of + more than two, syllables) prefix _more_ (or _less_) to the + positive to form the comparative, and _most_ (or _least_) to + the positive to form the superlative (beautiful, more + beautiful, most beautiful). Some adjectives express qualities + that do not permit comparison (_dead_, _four-sided_, _unique_). + + =Adverb.= An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an + adjective, another adverb (She played _well_; _unusually_ + handsome; _very_ sternly); or, more rarely, a verbal noun + (Walking _fast_ is good for the health), a preposition (The + ship drifted _almost_ upon the breakers), or a conjunction (It + came _just_ when we wished). Certain adverbs (_fatally_, + _entirely_) do not logically admit of comparison. Those that do + are compared like adjectives of more than two syllables + (_slowly_, _more_ or _less slowly_, _most_ or _least slowly_). + + =Preposition.= A preposition is a connective _placed before_ a + substantive (called its object) in order to subordinate the + substantive to some other word in a sentence (The boast _of_ + heraldry, the pomp _of_ power. He ran _toward_ the enemy + _without_ fear). + + =Conjunction.= A conjunction is a word used to _join together_ + words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. A =coordinate conjunction= + connects elements of equal rank (See 36). =Correlative + conjunctions= are conjunctions used in pairs (See 31). A + =subordinate conjunction= is one that connects elements unequal + in rank (See 36). When a conjunction, in addition to its + function as a connective, indicates a relation of time, place, + or cause, it is often called a =conjunctive adverb= or =relative + adverb=. + + =Interjection.= An interjection is a word _thrown into_ speech to + express emotion. It has no grammatical connection with other + words. (_Oh_, is that it? _Well_, I'll do it. _Hark!_) + +=Other Grammatical Terms= + + =Absolute expression.= An expression (usually composed of a + substantive and a participle, perhaps with modifiers) which, + though not formally and grammatically joined, is in thought + related to the remainder of the sentence. (_The relief party + having arrived_, we went home. _This disposed of_, the council + proceeded to other matters. _Defeated_, he was not dismayed.) + + =Antecedent.= A substantive to which a pronoun or participle + refers. Literally, _antecedent_ means _that which goes + before_; but sometimes the antecedent follows the dependent + word. (The _man_ who hesitates is lost. Entering the store, + _we_ saw a barrel of apples.) _Man_ is the antecedent of the + pronoun _who_, and _we_ is the antecedent of the participle + _entering_. + + =Auxiliary.= _Be_, _have_, _do_, _shall_, _will_, _ought_, _may_, + _can_, _must_, _might_, _could_, _would_, _should_, etc., when + used with participles and infinitives of other verbs, are + called auxiliary verbs. + + =Case.= The relation of a substantive to other words in the + sentence as shown by inflectional form or position. The subject + of a verb, or the predicate of the verb _to be_, is in the + nominative case. The object of a verb or preposition, or the + "assumed subject" of an infinitive, is in the objective case. A + noun or pronoun which denotes possession is in the possessive + case. + + =Clause.= A portion of a sentence which contains a subject and a + verb, perhaps with modifiers. The following sentence contains + one dependent (subordinate) and one independent (principal) + clause: _When the storm ceased, the grove was a ruin_. + + =Conjugation.= The inflectional changes in the verb to indicate + person, number, tense, voice, mode, and modal aspect. + + =Declension.= The changes in a noun, pronoun, or adjective to + indicate person, number, or case. + + =Ellipsis, elliptical expression.= An expression partially + incomplete, so that words have to be understood to complete the + meaning. An idea or relation corresponding to the omitted words + is present, at least vaguely, in the mind of the speaker. + Elliptical sentences are usually justifiable except when the + reader cannot instantly supply the understood words. Examples + of proper ellipses: You are as tall as I [am tall]. Is your + sister coming? I think [my sister is] not [coming]. I will go + if you will [go]. [I give you] Thanks for your advice. + + =Gerund.= A verbal in _-ing_ used as a noun. (I do not object to + your _telling_. His _having deserted_ us makes little + difference.) The gerund may be regarded as a special form of + the infinitive. + + =Infinitive.= A verbal ordinarily introduced by _to_ and used as + a noun (_To err_ is human). In such sentences as "The road to + follow is the river road," _follow_ may be regarded as the noun + of a phrase (compare _the road to Mandalay_), or the entire + phrase may be regarded as an adjective. Similarly, in "He + hastened to comply," _comply_ may be regarded as a noun or _to + comply_ as an adverb. After certain verbs (_bid_, _dare_, + _help_, _make_, _need_, etc.) the _to_ is omitted from the + infinitive group. (He bids me _go_. I need not _hesitate_.) + + =Inflection.= Change in the form of a word to show a modification + or shade of meaning. At a very early period in our language + there was a separate form for practically every modification. + Although separate forms are now less numerous, _inflection_ is + still a convenient term in grammar. Its scope is general: it + includes the declension of nouns, the comparison of adjectives + and adverbs, and the conjugation of verbs. + + =Modify.= To be grammatically dependent upon and to limit or + alter the quality of. In the expression "The very old man," + _the_ and _old_ modify _man_, and _very_ modifies _old_. + + =Participle.= A verbal used as an adjective, or as an adjective + with adverbial qualities. In the sentence "Mary, being oldest, + is also the best liked," _being oldest_ refers exclusively, or + almost exclusively, to the subject and is therefore adjectival. + In such sentences as "He fell back, exhausted" and "Running + down the street, I collided with a baby carriage," the + participle refers in part to the verb and is therefore + adverbial as well as adjectival. + + =Phrase.= A group of words forming a subordinate part of a + sentence and not containing a subject and its verb. Examples: + _With a whistle and a roar_ the train arrived [prepositional + phrase]. _Bowing his head_, the prisoner listened to the + verdict of the jury [participial phrase]. In a loose, + untechnical sense _phrase_ may refer to any short group of + words, even if the group includes a subject and its verb. + + =Predicate.= The word or word-group in a sentence which makes an + assertion about the subject. It consists of a finite verb with + or without objects or modifiers. + + =Predicate adjective.= An adjective in the predicate, usually + linked with the subject by some form of the verb _to be_ (_is_, + _was_, _were_, etc.). (John is _lazy_. The soldiers were very + _eager_.) + + =Predicate noun.= A noun linked with the subject by some form of + the verb _to be_. (John is _halfback._ They were our + _neighbors._) + + =Sentence.= A sentence is a group of words containing (1) a + subject (with or without modifiers) and a predicate (with or + without modifiers) and not grammatically dependent on any words + outside of itself; or (2) two or more such expressions related + in thought. Sentences of type 1 are simple or complex; + sentences of type 2 are compound. A =simple sentence= contains + one independent clause (The dog barks angrily). A =complex + sentence= contains one independent clause and one or more + subordinate clauses (The dog barks when the thief appears). A + =compound sentence= contains two or more independent clauses (The + dog barks, and the thief runs). + + =Substantive.= A noun or a word standing in place of a noun. (The + _king_ summoned _parliament_. The _bravest_ are the + _tenderest_. _She_ was inconsolable.) A =substantive phrase= is a + phrase used as a noun. (_From Dan to Beersheba_ is a term for + the whole of Israel.) A =substantive clause= is a clause used as + a noun. (_That he owed the money_ is certain.) + + =Syntax.= Construction; the grammatical relation between the + words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. + + =Verbal.= Any form of the verb used as another part of speech. + Infinitives, gerunds, and participles are verbals. They are + used to express action without asserting it, and cannot, + therefore, have subjects or be used as predicate verbs. + +=Abridged Conjugation of the verb _to take_= + + =Tense= =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + + =Indicative Mode= + + =Present= I take I am taken + =Past= I took I was taken + =Future= I shall (will) take I shall (will) be taken + =Perfect= I have taken I have been taken + =Past Perfect= I had taken I had been taken + =Future Perfect= I shall (will) have taken I shall (will) have been taken + + =Subjunctive Mode= + + =Present= If I take If I be taken + =Past= If I took If I were taken + =Perfect= If I have taken If I have been taken + =Past Perfect= If I had taken If I had been taken + + =Imperative Mode= + + =Present= Take + +=Modal Aspects= + +(Modal aspects, formed by combining auxiliaries with the main verb, give +special meanings--emphatic, progressive, etc.--to the primary modes. +Since there are almost as many aspects as there are auxiliaries, only a +few can be enumerated here.) + + =Tense= =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + + { =Emphatic:= I do take + { =Progressive:= I am taking I am being taken + =Present= { =Contingent:= I may take I may be taken + =Indicative= { =Potential:= I can take I can be taken + { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken + { =Etc.= + + { =Emphatic:= I did take + { =Progressive:= I was taking I was being taken + =Past= { =Contingent:= I might take I might be taken + =Indicative= { =Potential:= I could take I could be taken + { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken + { =Etc.= + + { =Emphatic:= If I do take + { =Progressive:= If I be taking + =Present= { =Contingent:= If I might take + =Subjunctive= { =Potential:= If I could take + { =Obligative:= If I must take + { =Etc.= + + =Present= { =Emphatic:= Do take + =Imperative= { =Progressive:= Be taking + + + =Verbals= + + =Infinitive= + + =Active Voice= =Passive Voice= + =Present:= To take To be taken + =Perfect:= To have taken To have been taken + + =Gerund= + + =Present:= Taking Being taken + =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken + + =Participle= + + =Present:= Taking Being taken + =Past:= Taken + =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken + + Exercise: + + Copy a page of good prose from any book, leaving wide spaces + between the lines. Indicate the part of speech of every word. + This may be done by abbreviations placed beneath the words. For + example: + + "Von Arden, having fallen into a very unquiet + _noun_ _part._ _prep._ _art._ _adv._ _adj._ + + slumber, dreamed that he was an aged man + _noun_ _verb_ _conj._ _pers pro._ _verb_ _art._ _adj._ _noun_ + + who stood beside a window." + _rel. pro._ _verb_ _prep._ _art._ _noun_ + + + +=59.= EXERCISE IN GRAMMAR + +=A. Case of Pronouns= + +Determine the correct form of the pronoun. + + 1. It is (I, me). + + 2. No one knows better than (she, her). + + 3. Then came the whistle for Gerald and (I, me). + + 4. It was (they, them). + + 5. Alice can drive a car as well as (he, him). + + 6. It was (she, her) (who, whom) you saw on the car. + + 7. John, you may go with Dan and (I, me). + + 8. If I were (she, her), I could not think of accepting the + questionable honor. + + 9. One evening four of (we, us) girls decided to go to the + theater. + + 10. Others are older than (we, us). + + 11. (Who, Whom) do you imagine will be our next president? + + 12. He does not approve of (our, us) walking on the grass. + + 13. Counsel will be given to (they, them) who ask for it. + + 14. That seems strange to you and (I, me). + + 15. Her mother has more regular features than (she, her). + + 16. Women (who, whom) some people would call "quiet" are often + the wisest. + + 17. Between you and (I, me), I'm hungry. + + 18. The thought of (it, its) coming by parcel post never + entered my mind. + + 19. He never discovered (who, whom) his enemy was. + + 20. In case of a fumble, the ball is given to (whoever, + whomever) recovers it. + +=B. Agreement= + +Determine the correct form of the verb. + + 1. He (don't, doesn't) care for music. + + 2. The swimming, boating, and fishing (is, are) good. + + 3. Each one of the two hands of the clock (is, are) made of + gold. + + 4. The ore is sorted and the cars having good ore (is, are) + hauled to the smelter. + + 5. A deck of ordinary playing cards consisting of fifty-two + cards (is, are) used. + + 6. It is safe to say that only one out of every ten of the + great number of students (realizes, realize) the value of + economy. + + 7. In spite of all obstacles, the construction of the three + hundred trestles and the twenty scaffolds (was, were) + completed. + + 8. Some nights may seem still, yet there (is, are) always + noises. + + 9. The exact meaning of such words as _inspiration_, + _prophecy_, and _orthodox_ (puzzles, puzzle) laymen. + + 10. Hard roads (is, are) an important matter to all country + people. + + 11. There (has, have) been many lives lost in Arctic + exploration. + + 12. Personal gifts inspired by good will and directed by + careful thought (is, are) the very best kind of charity. + + 13. In Lincoln's replies to Douglas there (is, are) no flights + or oratory. + + 14. The conciseness of these lines (is, are) to be admired. + + 15. A constant stream of wagons and horses (was, were) passing + as the circus was unloaded. + + 16. Nevertheless there (exists, exist) a certain class of + students who are socially submerged. + + 17. She (doesn't, don't) care for olives. + + 18. "Current Events" (is, are) a very useful department of this + magazine. + + 19. No people (lives, live) in that house. + + 20. The corporal, together with two other members of the + patrol, (was, were) captured by the enemy. + +=C. _Shall_ and _Will_, _Should_ and _Would_= + +Determine the correct form of the verb. + + 1. Perhaps I (shall, will) be able to go. + + 2. I tell you, I (shall will) not allow that dog in the car. + + 3. It is odd what a person (shall, will) do in a time of + excitement. + + 4. They have never seen anything like it, and probably they + never (shall, will). + + 5. "Johnny, you (shall, will) not go!" Johnny knew that further + begging was useless. + + 6. As we (shall, will) find by investigation, our coast + fortifications are few. + + 7. I (shouldn't, wouldn't) do that for anything. + + 8. I (should, would) think you (should, would) enjoy your + bicycle. + + 9. (Shall, will) you go driving with us? + + 10. Do you think it (shall, will) rain? + + 11. Where (shall, will) I hang my hat? + + 12. (Should, would) you go if I (should, would) ask you? + + 13. Rover (should, would) stay in the house all the time, if we + (should, would) let him. + + 14. I promised that I (should, would) be at the station early, + lest we (should, would) miss the train. + + 15. You (shall, will) have much trouble with that cold, I'm + afraid. + +=D. _Lie_, _lay_; _sit_, _set_; _rise_, _raise_= + + Fix in mind the following principal parts: + + I lie I lay I have lain + I lay I laid I have laid + I sit I sat I have sat + I set I set I have set + I rise I rose I have risen + I raise I raised I have raised + + _Lie_, _sit_, _rise_ are used intransitively; _lay_, _set_, + _raise_ are used transitively. _Lay_, _set_, _raise_ are + causatives; that is, _to lay_ means _to cause to lie_, etc. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _lie_ or _lay_: + + 1. I ---- here and watch the clouds. My dog is ----ing at my + feet. + + 2. In the evening I ---- aside all cares. I ---- down on the + couch and read. Yesterday I ---- there an hour. + + 3. The children have ---- in bed until seven o'clock. John has + ---- his coat on a chair. He ---- there asleep now. + + 4. ---- the shovel down. The garden is now ---- out in rows. + ---- down and take a little rest. + + 5. Smoke ---- along the horizon. Snow was ----ing here + yesterday. He is ----ing plans for the future. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _sit_ or _set_: + + 6. Jerome ---- the box on the floor. Then he ---- on the box. + + 7. Four people are ----ing at the table. Who ---- the lamp + there? + + 8. I had ---- there an hour. They had ---- the pitcher outside + the door. + + 9. I often ---- up late. Last night I ---- up late. I must + ----the alarm clock. + + 10. ---- the package down. ---- down and rest. While we are + ----ing there the gardener is ----ing out the plants. + +Insert a correct form of the verb _rise_ or _raise_: + + 11. ---- up and speak! ---- the window. + + 12. He quickly ---- his head. The cork had gone under, but now + it ---- again to the surface. + + 13. During the night the bread ---- to the top of the pan. + + 14. The invalid slowly ---- himself in his bed. + + 15. The river has already ---- and overflowed its banks. + +=E. Principal Parts of Verbs= + +In the following sentences supply the correct form of the verb. + + 1. He ---- (past tense of _come_) to this country in 1887. + + 2. He has ---- (past participle of _eat_) breakfast and ---- + (past participle of _go_) to the office. + + 3. Have you ---- (past participle of _ride_) far? I have + ----(past participle of _drive_) ten miles. + + 4. I am sure it was Henry who ---- (past tense of _do_) it, for + I ---- (past tense of _see_) him running away as fast as he + could go. + + 5. The wind has ---- (past participle of _tear_) down the + chimney and ---- (past participle of _blow_) down the tree. + + 6. After he ---- (past tense of _lie_) down, he remembered he + had left his books ---- (present participle of _lie_) in the + orchard. + + 7. He ---- (past tense of _throw_) the ball so hard that the + window was ---- (past participle of _break_) into a hundred + pieces. + + 8. The man ---- (past tense of _give_) warning before we had + ---- (past participle of _go_) too far. + + 9. After we had ---- (past participle of _ride_) about ten + miles we ---- (past tense of _come_) upon a stretch of hard + road. + + 10. Where ---- (past tense of _be_) you? You ----n't (past + tense of _be_) at home when I ---- (past tense of _ring_) the + bell. + + 11. The harness was ---- (past participle of _break_ or + _burst_) beyond repair. Who ---- (past tense of _break_) it? + + 12. I ---- (past tense of _take_) four shots at the rabbit, but + every shot ---- (past tense of _go_) wild. + + 13. He has ---- (past participle of _swim_) across the harbor, + and has ---- (past participle of _break_) the record. + + 14. I had ---- (past participle of _drink_) buttermilk for + several weeks. I ---- (past tense of _begin_) to gain weight. + + 15. When we had ---- (past participle of _sit_) there an hour + and ---- (past participle of _eat_) all we wanted, Jim ---- + (past tense of _draw_) out his purse and ---- (past tense of + _give_) the waiter a dollar. + + +=F. General= + +Improve the grammar of the following sentences. + + 1. Those kind of lamps are ugly. + + 2. It don't interest me any more. + + 3. Nobody may enter the hall tonight without their admittance + cards. + + 4. One does not need to strain their ears while at the movies. + + 5. Nearly all people eat too much, too fast, and too irregular. + + 6. Don't take this letter too serious. + + 7. He done the best he could with these kind of tools. + + 8. Every person with a cold was blowing their nose. + + 9. It would help considerable if you would speak to the manager + about existing conditions. + + 10. If I were the mayor, I could not do as good as he does. + + 11. Talk polite to your customers. + + 12. It is important that a salesman has a good memory. + + 13. Each tube must be capable of withstanding a pressure of + five hundred pounds per square inch before they are lowered + into place. + + 14. She is as tall, if not taller, than he is. + + 15. He always has and always will say that. + + 16. He is one of the worst, if not the very worst, player on + the team. + + 17. Final examinations require time and study that would not + otherwise be done. + + 18. I feel badly. He talks rude. It smells fragrantly. + + + + +DICTION + + +=Wordiness= + +=60. Avoid wordiness. Strike out words not essential to the thought.= + + Roundabout impersonal construction: There are many interesting + things which may be seen in New York. [12 words.] + + Better: Many interesting things may be seen in New York. [9 + words.] + + Clause to be reduced to a phrase: The skeleton which stood in + the office of Dr. Willard was terrifying to little Cecil. [15 + words.] + + Right: The skeleton in Dr. Willard's office was terrifying to + little Cecil. [11 words.] + + Clause and phrase each to be reduced to a word: Men who cared + only for their individual interests were now in a state of + discouragement. [15 words.] + + Right: Selfish men were now discouraged. [5 words.] + + Separate predication in excess: That day I was shocking wheat + behind the binder. Shocking wheat behind the binder was my + usual job in harvest. That day while I was working at this job, + I found a nest full of partridge eggs. [37 words.] + + Right: That day, while shocking wheat behind the binder, my + usual job in harvest, I found a nest full of partridge eggs. + [21 words.] + + Ponderous scientific terms for simple ideas: Since, according + to the physicists, the per cent of efficiency of a machine is + equal to the amount of energy put in, divided by the amount of + useful work performed, it naturally follows that in all human + activities, unnecessary friction, since it lowers the amount of + nervous energy, is going to lower the per cent of efficiency. + While we may never reach an astonishing degree of efficiency by + economizing nervous energy, nevertheless, if we consistently + and perseveringly try to spare ourselves all unnecessary labor + and exertion, we shall have an abundant supply of energy to + direct into channels of usefulness. [100 words.] + + Right: If we economize our strength, we can make our actions + more efficient and useful. [14 words.] + + Inflated writing: She was supreme in beauty among the daughters + of Eve whom his ravished eyes had hitherto beheld. [17 words.] + + Right: She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. [10 + words.] + +Note.--A special form of wordiness is tautology--the useless repetition +of an idea in different words. + + Gross tautology: He had an entire monopoly of the whole fruit + trade. [This is like saying "black blackbird."] + + Right: He had a monopoly of the fruit trade. + + Tautological expressions: + + this here + where at + return back + ascend up + repeat again + biography of his life + good benefits + fellow playmates + Hallowe'en evening + important essentials + indorse on the back + connect up + meet up with + combined together + perfectly all right + utter absence of + quite round + absolutely annihilated + still continue to + absolutely new creation + necessary requisite + total effect of all this + + Exercise: + + 1. The people who act the parts in a play want the people who + witness the performance to applaud them. + + 2. There is an oily grass which is found on the prairie, and + which is called mesquite grass, and it covers the prairie. + + 3. You wish to call the operator. You take the receiver from + the hook. By taking the receiver from the hook you call the + operator. + + 4. At last the employer of the men, and those who were employed + by him, having compromised their difficulties, effected a + settlement, and reached an amicable understanding agreeable to + both parties. + + 5. The two merchants joined up their forces together in order + to secure a monopoly of the entire trade of the village. There + was one absolutely essential preliminary which they thought + must necessarily precede everything else. It was that they + should take all the old shop-worn articles and dispose of them + by selling them as bargains at a reduced rate. + + +=Triteness= + +=61. Avoid trite or hackneyed expressions.= Such expressions may be tags +from everyday speech (_the worse for wear_, _had the time of my life_); +or stale phrases from newspapers (_taken into custody_, _the officiating +clergyman_); or humorous substitutions (_ferocious canine_, _paternal +ancestor_); or forced synonyms (_gridiron heroes_, _the Hoosier +metropolis_); or conventional fine writing (_reigns supreme_, _wind +kissed the tree-tops_); or oft-repeated euphemisms (_limb_ for _leg_, +_pass away_ for _die_); or overworked quotations from literature +(_monarch of all I survey_, _footprints on the sands of time_). + + List of trite expressions: + + along these lines + meets the eye + feathered songsters + a long-felt want + the last sad rites + launched into eternity + last but not least + doomed to disappointment + at one fell swoop + sadder but wiser + did justice to a dinner + a goodly number + budding genius + beggars description + a dull thud + silence broken only by + wended their way + abreast of the times + trees stood like sentinels + method in his madness + sun-kissed meadows + tired but happy + hoping you are the same + nipped in the bud + the happy pair + seething mass of humanity + specimen of humanity + with bated breath + green with envy + the proud possessor + too full for utterance + a pugilistic encounter + conspicuous by its absence + with whom they come in contact + exception proves the rule + favor with a selection + as luck would have it + more easily imagined than described + where ignorance is bliss + + Exercise: + + 1. Halleck returned from his trip considerably the worse for + wear. + + 2. The baby whom she had promised to keep quiet proved to be a + foeman worthy of her steel. + + 3. I first saw the light of day in New Orleans. It was in the + Crescent City also that my dear mother passed away. + + 4. Americans come off second best in a vocalizing encounter + with umlauted _u_, while Germans and Frenchmen wage sanguinary + battles with our _th_. + + 5. The daily scramble for dear life to get aboard a trolley was + like taking arms against a sea of troubles. Even standing room + was conspicuous by its absence. Sheridan began to think along + the line of getting to the office in some other way. + + +=The Exact Word= + +=62. Find the exact word. Do not be content with a loose meaning. Seek +the verb, the noun, the adjective, the adverb, or the phrase which +expresses your thought with precision.= Such words as _said_, +_proposition_, and _nice_ are often used too loosely. Observe the +possible gain in definiteness by substitution. + + For _said_ (verb): _declared_, _related_, _insisted_, + _exclaimed_, _added_, _repeated_, _replied_, _admitted_, + _commented_, _corrected_, _protested_, _explained_, + _besought_, _interrupted_, _inquired_, _stammered_, _sighed_, + _murmured_, or _thundered_. + + For _proposition_ (noun): _transaction_, _undertaking_, + _venture_, _recourse_, _suggestion_, _overture_, _proposal_, + _proffer_, _convenience_, _difficulty_, _thesis_, or + _doctrine_. + + For _nice_ (adjective): _discriminating_, _precise_, + _fastidious_, _dainty_, _neat_, _pretty_, _pleasant_, + _fragrant_, _delicious_, _well-behaved_, _good_, or _moral_. + + Inexact verb: He had not sufficiently _regarded_ the + difficulties of the task [Use _considered_]. + + Inexact noun: Promptness is an _item_ which a manager should + possess [Use _quality_]. + + Inexact adjective: He looked _awfully funny_ when I told him he + had made a mistake [Use _surprised_]. + + Inexact phrasing throughout: Health is first in every line of + activity. A man who has it does not hold it with enough + respect, and make efforts enough to keep it. + + Right: Health is indispensable to success in any work. Even + those who have it do not realize its value. + + Exercise: + + 1. He was proud of the honorable record he had gained. + + 2. He resolved that some day he would be a banker, and I shall + tell you how he tried to do so. + + 3. Isn't the sunset grand? Isn't it nice to be out of doors? + + 4. The mystery as to which ones of the piano keys to play was + hard for him to acquire. + + 5. If the package comes by freight, you must negotiate the + proposition of getting it home; but if it comes by express, the + delivery is done free. + + +=Concreteness= + +=63. Concrete words are often more effective than vague, general, or +abstract words.= + + Not specific: She held herself aloof from her brothers' games + and amusements. + + Concrete: She never played soldier or sailed paper boats with + her brothers. + + No appeal to the senses: I liked to watch the servant girl as + she moved about the kitchen, preparing our morning repast. + + Concrete: I liked to watch Norah as she fried our crisp + breakfast bacon and browned our buckwheat cakes. + + Flat, not readily visualized: The first inhabitants overcame + the barriers to settlement about a century ago. + + Concrete: Rough backwoodsmen broke through the underbrush and + swamp-land a century ago. + + Exercise: + + 1. The scientist discovered a bird in a tree. + + 2. Our hostess set before us many good things to eat. + + 3. The sailor was carving queer figures on a piece of soft + wood. + + 4. The night watchman heard something that made him suspicious. + + 5. I stood at the door of the shop to watch the astonishing + things the blacksmith was doing. + + +=Sound= + +=64. Avoid the frequent repetition of a sound, especially if it be harsh +or unpleasant.= + + Bad: He is an exceedingly orderly secretary. + + Better: As a secretary he is very systematic. [Or] The + secretary is very systematic. + + Bad: Immediately the squirrel hid himself behind the hickory + tree. + + Better: Immediately the squirrel dodged behind the hickory + tree. + + Unfortunate rime: Bert did not dare to go home with wet hair. + + Better: Bert did not dare to go home with his hair wet. [Or] + Bert was afraid to go home with wet hair. + + Exercise: + + 1. That Christmas happened to be unusually happy. + + 2. I fear we must sit near the rear of the room. + + 3. The Jackies went clambering and scurrying up the rigging. + + 4. The ship slips anchor while the idlers sip tea on the deck. + + 5. The third treasure-seeker heard a thud. His pick had struck + an obstruction. + + +=Subtle Violations of Good Use: Faulty Idioms, Colloquialisms= + +=65. Avoid subtle violations of good use, particularly (a) faulty idioms +and (b) colloquialisms.= + +=a. Make your expression conform to English idiom.= A faulty idiom is an +expression which, though correct in grammar and general meaning, +combines words in a manner contrary to usage. Idioms are established by +custom, and cannot be explained by logical rules. "I enjoy to read" is +wrong, not because the words offend logic or grammar, but merely because +people do not instinctively make that combination of words. "I like to +read" and "I enjoy reading" are good idioms. + + =Faulty Idioms= =Correct Idioms= + + in the city Toledo in the city of Toledo + in the year of 1920 in the year 1920 + I hope you a good time I wish you a good time + the Rev. Hopkins the Reverend Mr. Hopkins + possessed with ability possessed of ability + stay to home stay at home + different than different from + independent from independent of + in search for in search of + +Observe that many idioms are concerned with prepositions. Make sure that +a verb or adjective is accompanied by the right preposition. Study the +following list of correct idioms: + + accused of (a theft) + accused by (a person) + accord with (a person) + agree with (a person) + agree to (a proposal) + agreeable to + angry at (things or persons) + angry with (a person) + careful about (an affair) + careful of (one's money) + comply with + convenient to (a person) + convenient for (a purpose) + correspond to (things) + correspond with (persons) + dissent from + enamored of + entrust to + free from + listen to + part from (a person) + part with (a thing) + pleased with + resolve on + sympathize with + take exception to + +=b. Do not carry the standards of conversation into formal writing.= +Colloquial usage is more free than literary usage. The colloquial +sentence _That's the man I talked with_ becomes in writing _That is the +man with whom I talked._ The colloquial sentence _It was a cold day but +there wasn't any wind blowing_ is a loose string of words. Written +discourse requires greater tension and more care in subordinating minor +ideas: _The day, though cold, was still._ Contractions are proper in +conversation, and in personal or informal writing. In formal writing +they are not appropriate. And do not let such expressions as _He +doesn't_, _We aren't_, _It's proved_, used in talk by careful speakers, +mislead you into expressions like _He don't_, _We ain't_, _It's proven_, +which violate even colloquial good use. + + Exercise: + + 1. He confessed of his inability to comply to the demand. + + 2. Is he from Irish descent? Is humor characteristic with the + Irish? + + 3. She was not to home, but I was reluctant against leaving. + + 4. He dissented to the opinion of the committee's majority, for + his ideas were utterly different than theirs. + + 5. He got a few jobs as a carpenter that summer, but they + didn't pay him much, and so he went to loafing around, and he's + been at it ever since. + + +=Gross Violations of Good Use: Barbarisms, Improprieties, Slang= + +=66. Avoid gross violations of good use, particularly (a) barbarisms, (b) +improprieties, and (c) slang.= + +=a. Barbarisms are distortions of words in good use, or coinages for +which there is no need.= Examples: _to concertize_, _to burgle_ or +_burglarize_, _to jell_, _alright_, _a-plenty_, _most_ (for _almost_), +_performess_, _fake_, _pep_, _tasty_, _illy_, _complected_, +_undoubtably_, _nowheres_, _soph_, _lab_, _gents_. + +=b. Improprieties are words wrenched from one part of speech to another, +or made to perform an unnatural service.= Examples: _to suspicion_, _to +gesture_, _to suicide_, _a steal_, _a try_, _a go_, _an invite_, _the +eats_, _humans_, _some_ or _real_ or _swell_ (as adverbs), _like_ (as a +conjunction). + +=c. Slang is speech consisting either of uncouth expressions of +illiterate origin, or of legitimate expressions used in grotesque or +irregular senses.= Though sometimes (witness eighteenth century _mob_, +and nineteenth century _buncombe_) it satisfies a real need and becomes +established in the language, in most instances it is short-lived +(witness the thieves' talk in _Oliver Twist_, or passages from any comic +opera song popular five years ago). Vicious types of slang are: + + Expressions of vulgar origin (from criminal classes, the prize + ring, the vaudeville circuit, etc.): _get pinched_, _down and + out_, _took the count_, _bum hunch_, _nix on the comedy + stuff_, _get across_. + + Language strained or distorted for novel effect: _performed the + feed act at a bang-up gastronomic emporium_, _bingled a tall + drive that made the horsehide ramble out into center garden_. + + Blanket expressions used as substitutes for thinking: + _corking_, _stunning_, _ain't it fierce?_, _can you beat it?_, + _going some_, _just so I get by with it_. + +The use of the last-named type is most to be regretted. It leads to a +mental habit of phonographic repetition, with no resort to independent +thinking. If a man really desires to use slang, let him invent new +expressions every day, and make them fit the specific occasion. + + Exercise: + + 1. I disremember what sort of an outfit he wore. + + 2. Helen's as light-complected a girl as you'll run across, I + calculate. + + 3. His ad brought a first-rate gent to hold down the job. + + 4. Thompson hasn't stability, or it seems like it. He ain't got + no gumption. He's too easy enthused. + + 5. The grub was to of cost us two bits, but we didn't have the + dough. We gets outside the food, and when the cashier ain't + lookin', we runs out the door and beats it. + + +=Words Often Confused in Meaning= + +=67. Do not confuse or interchange the meanings of the following words:= + + =_Accept_ and _except_.= _Accept_ means _to receive_; _except_ as + a verb means _to exclude_ and as a preposition means _with the + exception of_. + + =_Affect_ and _effect_.= _Affect_ is not used as a noun; _effect_ + as a noun means _result_. As verbs, _affect_ means _to + influence in part_; _effect_ means _to accomplish totally_. + "His story affected me deeply." "The Russians effected a + revolution." _Affect_ also has a special meaning _to feign_. + "She had an affected manner." + + =_Allusion_ and _illusion_.= _Allusion_ means _a reference_; + _illusion_ means a _deceptive appearance_. "A Biblical + allusion." "An optical illusion." + + =_Already_ and _all ready_.= _Already_ means _by this time_ or + _beforehand_; _all ready_ means _wholly ready_. "I have already + invited him." "Dinner is all ready." "We are all ready for + dinner." + + =_Altogether_ and _all together_.= _Altogether_ means _wholly_, + _entirely_; _all together_ means _collectively, in a group_. + "He is altogether honest." "The King sent the people all + together into exile." + + =_Can_ and _may_.= _Can_ means _to be able_; _may_ means _to have + permission_. _Can_ for _may_ has a certain colloquial standing, + but is condemned by literary usage. + + =_Emigrate_ and _immigrate_.= _Emigrate_ means _to go out from a + country_; _immigrate_ means _to enter into a country_. The same + man may be an _emigrant_ when he leaves Europe, and an + _immigrant_ when he enters America. + + =_Healthy_ and _healthful_.= _Healthy_ means _having health_; + _healthful_ means _giving health_. "Milk is healthful." "The + climate of Colorado is healthful." "The boy is healthy." + + =_Hanged_ and _hung_.= _Hanged_ is the correct past tense of + _hang_ in the sense _put to death, hanged on the gallows_; + _hung_ is the correct past tense for the general meaning + _suspended_. + + =_Hygienic_ and _sanitary_.= Both words mean _pertaining to + health_. _Hygienic_ is used when the condition is a matter of + personal habits or rules; _sanitary_ is used when the condition + is a matter of surroundings (water supply, food supply, sewage + disposal, etc.) or the relations of numbers of people. + + =_Instants_ and _instance_.= _Instants_ means _small portions of + time_; _instance_ means _an example_. + + =_Later_ and _latter_.= _Later_ means _more late_; _latter_ means + _the second in a series of two_. "The latter" is used in + conjunction with the phrase "the former." + + =_Lead_ and _led_.= _Led_ is the past tense of the verb _to + lead_. _Lead_ is the present tense. + + =_Learn_ and _teach_.= _Learn_ means _to get knowledge of_; + _teach_ means _to give knowledge of_ or _to_. "The instructor + _teaches_ (not _learns_) me physics." "He learns his lessons + easily." + + =_Leave_ and _let_.= _Leave_ means _to abandon_; _let_ means _to + permit_. + + =_Less_ and _fewer_.= _Less_ refers to quantity; _fewer_ refers + to number. "He has _fewer_ (not _less_) horses than he needs." + + =_Liable_, _likely_, and _apt_.= _Likely_ merely predicts; + _liable_ conveys the additional idea of harm or responsibility. + _Apt_ applies usually to persons, in the sense of _having + natural capability_, and sometimes to things, in the sense of + _fitting_, _appropriate_. "It is likely to be a pleasant day." + "I fear it is liable to rain." "He is liable for damages." "He + is an apt lad at his books." "That is an apt phrase." + + =_Lie_ and _lay_.= _Lay_, a transitive verb, means _to cause to + lie_. "I lay the book on the table and it lies there." "Now I + lay me down to sleep." A source of confusion between the two + words is that the past tense of _lie_ is _lay_: + + I lie down to sleep. I lay the book on the table. + I lay there yesterday. I laid it there yesterday. + I have lain here for hours. I have laid it there many times. + + =_Like_ and _as_ or _as if_.= _Like_ is in good use as a + preposition, and may be followed by a noun; _as_ is in good use + as a conjunction, and may be followed by a clause. "He is tall + like his father." "He is tall, as his father is." "It looks _as + if_ (not _like_) it were going to rain." + + =_Lose_ and _loose_.= _Lose_ means _to cease having_; _loose_ as + a verb means _to set free_, and as an adjective, _free, not + bound_. + + =_Majority_ and _plurality_.= In a loose sense, _majority_ means + the _greater part_. More strictly, it means the number by which + votes cast for one candidate exceed those of the opposition. A + _plurality_ is the excess of votes received by one candidate + over his nearest competitor. In an election A receives 500 + votes; B, 400 votes; and C, 300 votes. A has a plurality of + 100, but no majority. + + =_Practical_ and _practicable_.= _Practical_ means _not + theoretical_; _practicable_ means _capable of being put into + practice_. "A practical man." "The arrangement is + practicable." + + =_Principal_ and _principle_.= _Principal_ as an adjective means + _chief_ or _leading_; _principle_ as a noun means a _general + truth_. _Principal_ as a noun means a _sum of money_, or the + _chief official of a school_. + + =_Proof_ and _evidence_.= In a law court, _proof_ is _evidence + sufficient to establish a fact_; _evidence_ is _whatever is + brought forward in an attempt to establish a fact_. "The + evidence against the prisoner was extensive, but hardly proof + of his guilt." In ordinary speech, _proof_ is sometimes loosely + used as a synonym for _evidence_. + + =_Pseudo-_ and _quasi-_.= As a prefix, _pseudo-_ means _false_; + _quasi-_ means literally _as if_, hence _seeming_, _so-called_. + "Phrenology is a pseudo-science." "A quasi-evolutionary + doctrine." + + =_Quiet_ and _quite_.= _Quiet_ is an adjective meaning _calm_, + _not noisy_; _quite_ is an adverb meaning _entirely_. + + =_Respectfully_ and _respectively_.= _Respectfully_ means _in a + courteous manner_; _respectively_ means _in a way proper to + each_. "Yours _respectfully_" (not _respectively_). "He handed + the commissions to Gray and Hodgins respectively." + + =_Rise_ and _raise_.= _Rise_ is an intransitive verb; _raise_ is + a transitive verb. "I rise to go home." "I raise vegetables." + "I raise the stone from the ground." + + =_Sit_ and _set_.= _Set_, a transitive verb, means _to cause to + sit_. "He sets it in the corner and it sits there." The past + tense of _sit_ is _sat_. + + I sit down. I always set it in its place. + He sat in this very chair. I set it in its place yesterday. + He has sat there an hour. I have always set it just here. + + =_Stationary_ and _stationery_.= _Stationary_ is an adjective + meaning _fixed_; _stationery_ is a noun meaning _writing + material_. + + =_Statue_, _stature_, and _statute_.= _Statue_ means a _carved_ + or _moulded figure_; _stature_ means _height_; _statute_ means + a _law_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Insert _affect_ or _effect_: Noise does not ---- my + studying. It has little ---- on me. By the exercise of will + power I was able to ---- a change. + + 2. Insert _healthy_ or _healthful_: New Mexico has a ---- + climate, Graham bread is ----. You will be ---- if you take + exercise. + + 3. Insert _later_ or _latter_: I will see you ----. Here are + two plans: the former is complex; the ---- is simple. Sooner or + ---- you will learn the rule. + + 4. Insert _less_ or _fewer_: They have ---- money than we; we + have ---- pleasures than they. It seems to me there are ---- + accidents. + + 5. Insert _principal_ or _principle_: The ---- part of a clock + is the pendulum, which swings regularly, according to a ---- of + science. My ---- reason for trusting him is that he is a man of + ----. He is the ---- of the high school. The widow spends the + interest on the money, but keeps the ---- intact. + + +=Glossary of Faulty Diction= + +=68. Avoid faulty diction.= + + =_Ad_= (for _advertisement_). Avoid in formal writing and + speaking. + + =_Ain't_.= Never correct. Say _I'm not_, _you_ [_we_, _they_] + _aren't_, _he_ [_she_, _it_] _isn't_. + + =_All the farther_, _all the faster_.= Crude. Use _as far as_, + _as fast as_, in such sentences as "This is all the farther I + can go." + + =_As_.= (a) Incorrect in the sense of _that_ or _whether_. "I + don't know _whether_ (not _as_) I can tell you." "Not _that_ + (not _as_) I know." (b) _As ... as_ are correlatives. _Than_ + must not replace the second _as_. Right: "As good as or better + than his neighbors." "As good as his neighbors, or better [than + they]." See 57. + + =_Auto_.= An abbreviation not desirable in formal writing. + + =_Awful_.= Means _filling with awe_ or _filled with awe_. Do not + use in the sense of _uncivil_, _serious_, or _ludicrous_, or + (in the adverbial form) in the sense of _very_, _extremely_. + + =_Balance_.= Incorrect when used in the sense of _remainder_. + + =_Because_.= Not to be used for _the fact that_. "_The fact that_ + (not _because_) he is absent is no reason why we should not + proceed." See 5. + + =_Between_.= Used of two persons or things. Not to be confused + with _among_, which is used of more than two. + + =_Blame on_.= A crudity for _put the blame on_ or _blame_. + Faulty: "Don't blame it on me." Better: "Don't blame me." + + =_Borned_.= A monstrosity for _born_. "I was _born_ (not + _borned_) in 1899." + + =_Bursted_.= The past tense of _burst_ is the same as the + present. + + =_Bust_ or _busted_.= Vulgar for _burst_. Right: "The balloon + burst." "The bank failed." + + =_But what_.= _That_ is often preferable. "I do not doubt _that_ + (not _but what_) he is honest." + + =_Canine_.= An adjective. Not in good use as a noun. + + =_Cannot help but_.= A confusion of _can but_ and _cannot help_. + "I can but believe you"; or "I cannot help believing you"; not + "I cannot help but believe you." See 34. + + =_Caused by_.= To be used only when it refers definitely to a + noun. Wrong: "He was disappointed, caused by the lateness of + the train." The noun _disappointment_ should be used instead of + the verb _disappointed_. Then caused will have a definite + reference. Right: "His disappointment was caused by the + lateness of the train." See 23. + + =_Claim_.= Means _to demand as a right_. Incorrect for _maintain_ + or _assert_. + + =_Considerable_.= An adjective, not an adverb. "He talked + _considerably_ (not _considerable_) about it." + + =_Could of_.= An illiterate form arising from slovenly + pronunciation. Use _could have_. Avoid also _may of_, _must + of_, _would of_, etc. + + =_Data_.= Plural. The singular (seldom used) is _datum_. Compare + _stratum_, _strata_; _erratum_, _errata_. + + =_Demean_.= Means _to conduct oneself_, not _to lower_ or _to + degrade_. + + =_Different than_.= _Different from_ is to be preferred. _Than_ + is a conjunction. The idea of separation implied in _different_ + calls for a preposition, rather than a word of comparison. + + =_Disremember_.= Not in good use. + + =_Done_.= A gross error when used as the past tense of _do_, or + as an adverb meaning _already_. "_I did it_ (not _I done it_)." + "I've _already_ (not _done_) got my lessons." + + =_Don't_.= A contraction for _do not_; never to be used for _does + not_. The contraction of _does not_ is _doesn't_. See 51d. + + =_Drownded_.= Vulgar for _drowned_. + + =_Due to_.= To be used only when it refers definitely to a noun. + Faulty: "He refused the offer, due to his father's opposition." + Right: "His refusal of the offer was due to his father's + opposition." The noun _refusal_ should be used instead of the + verb _refused_. Then _due_ will have a definite reference. See + 5. + + =_Enthuse_.= Not in good use. + + =_Etc._= An abbreviation for the Latin _et cetera_, meaning _and + other_ [things]. _Et_ means _and_. _And etc._ is therefore + grossly incorrect. Do not write _ect._ + + =_Expect_.= Means _to look forward to_. Hardly correct in the + sense of _suppose_. + + =_Fine_.= Use cautiously as an adjective, and not at all as an + adverb. Seek the exact word. See 62. + + =_Former_.= Means the first or first named of two. Not to be used + when more than two have been named. The corresponding word is + _latter_. + + =_For to_.= Incorrect for _to_. "I want _you_ (not _for you_) to + listen carefully." "He made up his mind _to_ (not _for to_) + accept." + + =_Gent_.= A vulgar abbreviation of _gentleman_. + + =_Good_.= An adjective, not an adverb. Wrong: "He did good in + mathematics." Right: "He did well in mathematics." "He did good + work in mathematics." + + =_Gotten_.= An old form now usually replaced by _got_ except in + such expressions as _ill-gotten gains_. + + =_Guess_.= Expresses conjecture. Not to be used in formal + composition for _think_, _suppose_, or _expect_. + + =_Had of_.= Illiterate. "I wish I _had known_ (not _had of + known_) about it." + + =_Had ought_.= A vulgarism. "He _ought_ (not _had ought_) to have + resigned." "We _oughtn't_ (not _hadn't ought_) to make this + error." + + =_Hardly_.= Not to be used with a negative. See 34. + + =_Home_.= Do not use when you mean simply _house_. + + =_Human_ or _humans_.= Not in good use as a noun. Say _human + being_. Right: "The house was not fit for _human beings_ (not + _humans_) to live in." + + =_If_.= Do not use for _whether_. "I can't say _whether_ (not + _if_) the laundry will be finished today." + + =_In_.= Often misused for _into_. "He jumped _into_ (not _in_) + the pond." + + =_It's_.= Means _it is_; not to be written for the possessive + _its_. + + =_Kind of_.= (a) Should not modify adjectives or verbs. "He was + _somewhat_ (not _kind of_) lean." "_She partly suspected_ (not + _She kind of suspected_) what was going on." (b) When using + with a noun, do not follow by _a_. "That kind of man"; not + "That kind of a man." + + =_Like_.= To be followed by a substantive; never by a substantive + and a verb. "He ran like a deer." "Do _as_ (not _like_) I do." + "She felt _as if_ (not _like_) she was going to faint." _Like_ + is a preposition; _as_ is a conjunction. + + =_Literally_.= Do not use where you plainly do not mean it, as in + the sentence, "I was literally tickled to death." + + =_Loan_.= _Lend_ is in better use as a verb. + + =_Locate_.= Do not use for _settle_ or _establish oneself_. + + =_Lose out_.= Not used in formal writing. Say _lose_. + + =_Lots of_.= A mercantile term which has a dubious colloquial + standing. Not in good literary use for _many_ or _much_. + + =_Might of_.= A vulgarism for _might have_. + + =_Most_.= Do not use for _almost_. "_Almost_ (not _most_) all." + + =_Myself_.= Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the simple + personal pronoun would suffice. "I saw them myself." "Some + friends and _I_ (not _myself_) went walking." + + =_Neither_.= Used with _nor_, and not with _or_. "Neither the man + whom his associates had suspected _nor_ (not _or_) the one whom + the police had arrested was the criminal." "She could neither + paint a good picture _nor_ (not _or_) play the violin well." + + =_Nice_.= Means _delicate_ or _precise_. _Nice_ is used in a + loose colloquial way to indicate general approval, but should + not be so used in formal writing. Right: "He displayed nice + judgment." "We had a _pleasant_ (not _nice_) time." See 62. + + =_Nowhere near_.= Vulgar for _not nearly_. + + =_Nowheres_.= Vulgar. + + =_O_ and _Oh_.= _O_ is used with a noun in direct address; it is + not separated from the noun by any marks of punctuation. _Oh_ + is used as an interjection; it is followed by a comma or an + exclamation point. "Hear, O king, what thy servants would say." + "Oh, dear!" + + =_Of_.= Do not use for _have_ in such combinations as _should + have_, _may have_, _ought to have_. + + =_Off of_.= _On_, _upon_, or some equivalent expression is + usually preferable. + + =_Ought to of_.= A vulgarism for _ought to have_. + + =_Over with_.= Crude for _over_. + + =_Pants_.= _Trousers_ is the approved term in literary usage. + _Pants_ (from _pantaloons_) has found some degree of colloquial + and commercial acceptance. + + =_Party_.= Not to be used for _person_, except in legal phrases. + + =_Phone_.= A contraction not employed in formal writing. Say + _telephone_. + + =_Plenty_.= A noun; not in good use as an adjective or an adverb. + "He had _plenty of_ (not _plenty_) resources." "He had + _resources in plenty_ (not _resources plenty_)." + + =_Proposition_.= Means a _thing proposed_. Do not use loosely, as + in the sentence: "A berth on a Pullman is a good proposition + during a railway journey at night." See 62. + + =_Proven_.= Prefer _proved_. + + =_Providing_.= Prefer _provided_ in such expressions as "I will + vote for him _provided_ (not _providing_) he is a candidate." + + =_Quite a_.= Colloquial in such expressions as _quite a while_, + _quite a few_, _quite a number_. + + =_Raise_.= _Rear_ or _bring up_ is preferable in speaking of + children. "She _reared_ (not _raised_) seven children." + + =_Rarely ever_.= Crude for _rarely_, _hardly ever_. + + =_Real_.= Crude for _very_ or _really_. "She was _very_ (not + _real_) intelligent." "He was _really_ (not _real_) brave." + + =_Remember of_.= Not to be used for _remember_. + + =_Right smart_ and _Right smart of_.= Extremely vulgar. + + =_Same_.= No longer used as a pronoun except in legal documents. + "He saw her drop the purse and restored _it_ (not _the same_) + to her." + + =_Scarcely_.= Not to be used with a negative. See 34. + + =_Seldom ever_.= Crude for _seldom_, _hardly ever_. + + =_Shall_.= Do not confuse with _will_. See 53. + + =_Sight_.= _A sight_ or _a sight of_ is very crude for _many_, + _much_, _a great deal of_. "_A great many_ (not _a sight_) of + them." + + =_So_.= Not incorrect, but loose, vague, and often unnecessary. + (a) As an intensive, the frequent use of _so_ has been + christened "the feminine demonstrative." Hackneyed: "I was so + surprised." Better: "I was much surprised." Or, "I was + surprised." (b) As a connective, the frequent use of _so_ is a + mark of amateurishness. See 36 Note. + + =_Some_.= Not to be used as an adverb. "She was _somewhat_ (not + _some_) better the next day." Wrong: "He studied some that + night." Right: "He did some studying that night." + + =_Somewheres_.= Very crude. Use _somewhere_. + + =_Species_.= Has the same form in singular and plural. "He + discovered a new _species_ (not _specie_) of sunflower." + + =_Such_.= (a) To be completed by _that_, rather than by _so + that_, when a result clause follows. "There was such a crowd + _that_ (not _so that_) he did not find his friends." (b) To be + completed by _as_, rather than by _that_, _who_, or _which_, + when a relative clause follows. "I will accept such + arrangements _as_ (not _that_) may be made." "He called upon + such soldiers _as_ (not _who_) would volunteer for this service + to step forward." + + =_Superior than_.= Not in good use for _superior to_. + + =_Sure_.= Avoid the crude adverbial use. "It _surely_ (not + _sure_) was pleasant." In answer to the question, "Will you + go?" either _sure_ or _surely_ is correct, though _surely_ is + preferred. "[To be] sure." "[You may be] sure." "[I will] + surely [go]." + + =_Suspicion_.= A noun. Never to be used as a verb. + + =_Take and_.= Often unnecessary, sometimes crude. Redundant: "He + took the ax and sharpened it." Better: "He sharpened the ax." + Crude: "He took and nailed up the box." Better: "He nailed up + the box." + + =_Tend_.= In the sense _to look after_, takes a direct object + without an interposed _to_. _Attend_, however, is followed by + _to_. "The milliner's assistant _tends_ (not _tends to_) the + shop." "I shall _attend to your wants in a moment_." + + =_That there_.= Do not use for _that_. "I want _that_ (not _that + there_) box of berries." + + =_Them_.= Not to be used as an adjective. "_Those_ (not _them_) + boys." + + =_There were_ or _There was_.= Avoid the unnecessary use. Crude: + "There were seventeen senators voted for the bill." Better: + "Seventeen senators voted for the bill." + + =_These sort_, _These kind_.= Ungrammatical. See 51b. + + =_This here_.= Do not use for _this_. + + =_Those_.= Do not carelessly omit a relative clause after + _those_. Faulty: "He is one of those talebearers." Better: "He + is a talebearer." [Or] "He is one of those talebearers whom + everybody dislikes." + + =_Those kind_, _those sort_.= Ungrammatical. See 51b. + + =_Till_.= Do not carelessly misuse for _when_: "I had scarcely + strapped on my skates _when_ (not _till_) Henry fell through an + air hole." + + =_Transpire_.= Means _to give forth_ or _to become known_, not + _to occur_. "The secret _transpired_." "The sale of the + property _occurred_ (not _transpired_) last Thursday." + + =_Try_.= A verb, not a noun. + + =_Unique_.= Means _alone of its kind_, not _odd_ or _unusual_. + + =_United States_.= Ordinarily preceded by _the_. "The United + States raised a large army." (Not "United States raised a large + army.") + + =_Up_.= Do not needlessly insert after such verbs as _end_, + _rest_, _settle_. + + =_Used to could_.= Very crude. Say _used to be able_ or _once + could_. + + =_Very_.= Accompanied by _much_ when used with the past + participle. "He was _very much_ (not _very_) pleased with his + reception." + + =_Want to_.= Not to be used in the sense of _should_, _had + better_. "You _should_ (not _You want to_) keep in good + physical condition." + + =_Way_.= Not to be used for _away_. "Away (not _way_) down the + street." + + =_Ways_.= Not to be used for _way_ in referring to distance. "A + little _way_ (not _ways_)." + + =_When_.= (a) Not to be used for _that_ in such a sentence as "It + was in the afternoon that the races began." (b) A _when_ clause + is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6. + + =_Where_.= (a) Not to be used for _that_ in such a sentence as "I + see in the paper that our team lost the game." (b) A _where_ + clause is not to be used as a predicate noun. See 6. + + =_Where at_.= Vulgar. "Where is he? (not _Where is he at_?)" + + =_Which_.= Do not use for _who_ or _that_ in referring to + persons. "The friends _who_ (not _which_) had loved him in his + boyhood were still faithful to him." + + =_Who_.= Do not use unnecessarily for _which_ or _that_ in + referring to animals. Do not use the possessive form _whose_ + for _of which_ unless the sentence is so turned as practically + to require the substitution. + + =_Will_.= Do not confuse with _shall_. See 53. + + =_Win out_.= Not used in formal writing or speaking. + + =_Woods_.= Not ordinarily to be used as singular. "_A wood_ (not + _A woods_)." + + =_Would have_.= Do not use for _had_ in if clauses. "If you _had_ + (not _would have_) spoken boldly, he would have granted your + request." + + =_Would of_.= A vulgarism for _would have_. + + =_You was_.= Use _You were_ in both singular and plural. + + =_Yourself_.= Intensive or reflexive; do not use when the + personal pronoun would suffice. "_You_ (not _Yourself_) and + your family must come." + + Exercise: + + 1. Be sure the gun works alright. I was already when you came. + + 2. He talked considerable, but I couldn't scarcely remember + what all he said. + + 3. I never suspicioned that John could of been guilty of + forging his father's note. It don't seem hardly possible. + + 4. The island was not inhabited by humans. It was different + than any place I ever remember of. One sailor and myself + climbed a sand hill, but we couldn't see any signs of life + anywheres. + + 5. Hawkeye walked a ways into a woods. He was a right smart at + ease, for he had Kildeer with him. + + +=69.= EXERCISE IN DICTION + +=A. Wordiness= + +Strike out all that is superfluous, and make the following sentences +simple and exact. + + 1. Some students lack the ability of being able to spell. + + 2. He seems to enjoy the universal esteem of all men. + + 3. The mind rebels against the enforced discipline imposed upon + it by others. + + 4. This is the house that was constructed and erected by a + young fellow who went by the common name of Jack. + + 5. There are invariably people in the world who always want to + get something for nothing. I saw some today crowding round a + soap man who was giving away free samples gratis. + + 6. Strawberries which grow in the woods or anywhere like that + have a flavor that is better than that of those which grow in + gardens. + + 7. The people showed Jackson the greatest honor it is within + their power to bestow by electing him president. + + 8. It was an old man of about sixty years, and he carried a + cane to support himself with when he took a walk. He pulled out + his watch to see what time it was every few minutes. + + 9. My favorite magazine is the one called _Popular Mechanics_. + I like it because it appeals to me. + + 10. There is a bird, and that bird is the cuckoo, that seems to + think it unnecessary to build its own nest, and so it occupies + any nest that it happens to find. + + 11. It is a good plan to follow if one would like to be able to + develop his memory to make it a rule to learn at least a few + lines of poetry every night before going to bed. + + 12. In the annals of history there is no historical character + more unselfish than the character of Robert E. Lee. + + 13. There are quite a few hotels in Estes Park, which is in + Colorado, but the one that is the most picturesque and striking + so that you remember it a long time on account of its unusual + surroundings is Long's Peak Inn. + + 14. It is often, but not always, a good sign that when one + person is quick to suspect another person of disloyalty or + dishonesty that he himself is disloyal or dishonest. + + 15. The canine quadruped was under suspicion of having + obliterated by a process of mastication that article of + sustenance which the butcher deposits at our posterior portal. + +=B. The Exact Word= + +Substitute, for inaccurate words and phrases, expressions which carry an +exact and reasonable meaning. + + 1. Ostrich eggs made into omelets are a funny experience. + + 2. A small back porch can be built which will enter directly + into the kitchen. + + 3. Ruskin uses a great deal of unfamiliar words. + + 4. Reading will broaden the point of view of a student. + + 5. To visit the plant in operation is indeed a spectacular + sight. + + 6. My plants grew and looked nicer than any I ever saw. + + 7. I place little truth in that article, since it appeared in a + strong partisan paper. + + 8. The manufacturing of automobiles has gained to quite an + extent. + + 9. Emerson has some real clever thoughts in his essays. + + 10. I do not mean to degrade our local street car system, for + indeed, it is good along some lines. + + 11. I want to attain a greater per cent of efficiency in my + study. + + 12. Imagination is an important part in the successful writing + of themes. + + 13. His employer praised him for the preparation he had done. + + 14. I used water-wings as a sort of a "safety first" until I + learned how to swim. + + 15. In order to prevent infection from disease, two big things + are necessary. + + 16. The pastor delivered the announcements and after the + collection had been obtained, he presented the sermon of the + morning. + + 17. Another factor in my career that winter was that I became a + part of the orchestra. + + 18. It was a mighty nice party that Mrs. Jones gave and + everybody seemed to have an awfully nice time. + + 19. The more general word socialism might be divided into three + distinct classes, namely: the political party, the theoretical + socialist, and last what might be called a general tendency. + + 20. Starting with the pioneer days and up to the present time + every energy was set forth to lay low the forests and to get + homes from the wilderness. + +=C. Words Sometimes Confused in Meaning= + +Use the word which accurately expresses the thought. + + 1. The climate of California is very (healthful, healthy). + + 2. (Leave, let) me have the book. + + 3. He is afraid that he will (loose, lose) his position. + + 4. The (principal, principle) speaker of the day was Colonel + Walker. + + 5. I cannot run (as, like) he can. + + 6. An hour ago he (laid, lay) down to sleep. + + 7. I fear we are (liable, likely) to be punished. + + 8. The scolding did not much (affect, effect) him. + + 9. The light roller presses down the bricks so that the steam + roller will break (fewer, less) of them. + + 10. Whittier makes many (allusions, illusions) to the Bible. + + 11. Bread will (raise, rise) much more quickly in a warm place + than in a place where there is a draft. + + 12. It hardly seems (credible, creditable) that a small child + could walk ten miles. + + 13. I can't write a letter on this (stationary, stationery). + + 14. He (sets, sits) at the head of the table. + + 15. He spoke to the stranger (respectfully, respectively). + + 16. Did the president (affect, effect) a settlement of the + strike? + + 17. I cannot (accept, except) help from anyone. + + 18. Are the guests (already, all ready) for dinner? + + 19. Is the train moving or (stationary, stationery)? + + 20. It is (apt, likely, liable) to be pleasant tomorrow. + +=D. Colloquialism, Slang, Faulty Idiom, etc.= + +The diction of the following sentences is incorrect or inappropriate for +written discourse. Improve the sentences. + + 1. I was kind of tired this morning, but now I feel alright. + + 2. I should of known better. + + 3. A young lady and myself went walking. + + 4. He is out of town for a couple days. + + 5. I feel some better now. + + 6. He will benefit greatly from the results. + + 7. The Puritans were a very odd acting people. + + 8. I like camping because of many reasons. + + 9. Cook your meal, and after you are finished eating, wash the + dishes. + + 10. He is a regular genius of a bookkeeper. + + 11. It is hard to see how humans can live in such tenements. + + 12. The soldiers destroyed property without the least regard of + who owned it. + + 13. She was crazy for an invite to the hop. + + 14. It was up to me to get out before there was something + doing. + + 15. The Gettysburg Address is very simple of understanding + though very strong of meaning. + + 16. When we become located in a desirable locality, we intend + to pay off some of our social indebtedness. + + 17. Have some local glass dealer to mend the broken door, and + send us the bill for the same. + + 18. The first part of Franklin's _Autobiography_ is different + than the latter part, which he wrote after the Revolutionary + War. + + 19. In 1771 a fellow by the name of Arkwright established a + mill in which spinning machines were run by water power. + + 20. Each day has brought closer to home the truth that the + condition of mankind in one part of the world is certain to + effect the equilibrium of mankind in most all other parts of + the world. + + + + +SPELLING + + +No one is able to spell all unusual words on demand. But every one must +spell correctly even unusual words in formal writing. The writer has +time or must take time to consult a dictionary. The best dictionaries +are _Webster's New International Dictionary_, the _Standard Dictionary_ +(less conservative than Webster's), the _Century Dictionary and +Cyclopedia_ (Volume 2 of the _Century_ is the best place to look for +proper names), and _Murray's New English Dictionary_ (very thorough, +each word being illustrated with numerous quotations to show historical +development). An abridged edition of one of these (the price is one to +three dollars) should be accessible to each student who cannot buy the +larger volumes. The best are: _Webster's Secondary School Dictionary_, +_Funk and Wagnalls Desk Standard Dictionary_, the _Oxford Concise +Dictionary_, and _Webster's Collegiate Dictionary_. + +But the student will be spared constant recourse to the dictionary, and +will save himself much time and many humiliations, if he will employ the +rules and principles which follow. + + +=Recording Errors= + +=70. Keep a list of all the words you misspell, copying them several +times in correct form.= Concentrate your effort upon a few words at a +time--upon those words which you yourself actually misspell. The list +will be shorter than you think. It may comprise not more than twenty or +thirty words. Unless you are extraordinarily deficient, it will +certainly not comprise more than a hundred or a hundred and fifty. Find +where your weakness lies; then master it. You can accomplish the +difficult part of the task in a single afternoon. An occasional review, +and constant care when you write, will make your mastery permanent. + +After this, and only after this, begin slowly to learn the spelling of +words which you do not yourself use often, but which are a desirable +equipment for all educated men. See the list under 79. _Concentrate your +efforts upon a few words at a time._ It is better to know a few exactly +than a large number hazily. Form the mental habit of being always right +with a small group of words, and extend this group gradually. + + Exercise: + + Prepare for your instructor a corrected list of words which you + have misspelled in your papers to the present time. + + +=Pronouncing Accurately= + +=71. Avoid slovenly pronunciation.= Careful articulation makes for +correctness in spelling. + +Watch the vowels of unaccented syllables; give them distinct (not +exaggerated) utterance, at least until you are familiar with the +spelling. Examples: _sep=a=rate_, _opp=o=rtunity_, _ever=y=body_, +_soph=o=more_, _d=i=vine_. + +Sound accurately all the consonants between syllables, and do not sound +a single consonant twice. Examples: _can=d=idate_, _gover=n=ment_, +_su=r=prise_ (not _supp=r=ise_), _o=m=i=ss=ion_ (compare _o=cc=a=s=ion_), +_de=f=er_ (compare _di=ff=er_). + +Sound the _g_ in final _-ing_. Examples: _eating_, _running_. + +Pronounce the _-al_ of adverbs derived from adjectives in _-ic_ or +_-al_. Examples: _tragically_, _occasionally_, _generally_, +_ungrammatically_. + +Do not transpose letters; place each letter where it belongs. Examples: +_p=er=spiration_ (not _p=re=spiration_), _tra=g=edy_ (not _tra=d=e=g=y_). + +Note.--The principle of phonetic spelling as stated above applies to +many words, but by no means to all. The Simplified Spelling Board would +extend this principle by changing the spelling of words to correspond +with their actual sounds. It recommends such forms as _tho_, _thru_, +_enuf_, _quartet_, _catalog_, _program_. If the student employs these +forms, he must use them consistently. Many writers oppose simplified +spelling; many advocate it; many compromise. Others desire to supplant +our present alphabet with one more nearly phonetic, and prefer, until +this fundamental reform takes place, to preserve our present spelling as +it is. + + Exercise: + + Copy the following words slowly, pronouncing the syllables as + you write: _accidentally_, _accommodate_, _accurately_, + _artistically_, _athletics_ (not _atheletics_), _boundary_, + _candidate_, _cavalry_, _commission_, _curiosity_, _defer_, + _definite_, _description_, _despair_, _different_, _dining + room_, _dinned_, _disappoint_, _divide_, _divine_, + _emphatically_, _eighth_, _everybody_, _February_, _finally_, + _goddess_, _government_, _hundred_, _hurrying_, _instinct_, + _laboratory_, _library_, _lightning_, _might have_ (not _might + of_), _naturally_, _necessary_, _occasionally_, _omission_, + _opinion_, _opportunity_, _optimist_, _partner_, _perform_, + _perhaps_, _perspiration_, _prescription_, _primitive_, + _privilege_, _probably_, _quantity_, _really_, _recognise_, + _recommend_, _reverence_, _separate_, _should have_ (not + _should of_), _sophomore_, _strictly_, _superintendent_, + _surprise_, _temperance_, _tragedy_, _usually_, _whether_. + + +=Logical Kinship in Words= + +=72. Get help in spelling a difficult word by thinking of related words.= +To think of _ridiculous_ will prevent your writing _a_ for the second +_i_ of _ridicule_; to think of _ridicule_ will prevent your writing +_rediculous_. To think of _prepare_ will prevent your writing +_preperation_; to think of _preparation_ will forestall _preparitory_. +To think of _busy_ will save you from the monstrosity _buisness._ To +think of the prefixes _re-_ (meaning _again_) and _dis-_ (meaning +_not_), and the verbs _commend_ and _appoint_, will prevent your writing +_recommend_ or _disappoint_ with a double _c_ or _s_. + +Note.--The relationship between words is not always a safe guide to +spelling. Observe _four_, _forty_; _nine_, _ninth_; _maintain_, +_maintenance_; _please_, _pleasant_; _speak_, _speech_; _prevail_, +_prevalent_. Do not confuse the following prefixes, which have no +logical connection: + + _ante-_ (before) _anti-_ (against, opposite) + _de-_ (from, about) _dis-_ (apart, away, not) + _per-_ (through, entirely) _pre-_ (before) + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the nouns corresponding to the following verbs: + _prepare_, _allude_, _govern_, _represent_, _degrade_. + + 2. Write the adjectives corresponding to the following nouns + and the nouns corresponding to the following adjectives: + _desperation_, _academy_, _origin_, _ridiculous_, _miraculous_, + _grammatical_, _arithmetical_, _busy_. + + 3. Write the adverbs corresponding to the following adjectives: + _real_, _sure_, _actual_, _hurried_, _accidental_, + _incidental_, _grammatical_. + + 4. Copy the following pairs of related words or related forms + of words: _labor, laboratory_; _debate, debater_; _base, + based_; _deal, dealt_; _chose, chosen_; _mean, meant_. + + 5. Write each of the following words with a hyphen between the + prefix and the body of the word: _describe_, _description_, + _disappoint_, _disappear_, _disease_, _dissatisfy_, _dissever_, + _permit_, _perspire_, _prescription_, _preconceive_, + _recommend_, _recollect_, _reconsider_, _antedate_, + _antecedent_, _anticlimax_, _antitoxin_. + + +=Superficial Resemblances between Words= + +=73. Guard against misspelling a word because it bears a superficial +resemblance, in sound or appearance, to some other word.= Most of the +words in the following list have no logical connection; the resemblance +is one of form only (_angel_, _angle_). But a few words are included +which are different in spelling in spite of a logical relation +(_breath_, _breathe_). + + accept (to receive) + except (to exclude, with exclusion of) + + advice (noun) + advise (verb) + + affect (to influence in part) + effect (to bring to pass totally) + + allusion (a reference) + illusion (a deceiving appearance) + + all right + almost + already + + altogether + always + + alley (a back street) + ally (a confederate) + + altar (a structure used in worship) + alter (to make otherwise) + + angel (a celestial being) + angle (the meeting place of two lines) + + baring (making bare) + barring (obstructing) + bearing (carrying) + born (brought into being) + borne (carried) + + breath (noun) + breathe (verb) + + capital (a city) + capitol (a building) + + canvas (a cloth) + canvass (to solicit) + + clothes (garments) + cloths (pieces of cloth) + + coarse (not fine) + course (route, method of behavior) + + conscious (aware) + conscience (an inner moral sense) + + dairy + diary + + device (noun) + devise (verb) + + desert (a barren country) + dessert (food) + + dining room + dinning + + disappear + disappoint + + disavowal + dissatisfaction + dissimilar + dissipate + dissuade + + decent (adjective) + descent (downward slope or motion) + dissent (a disagreement) + + dual (adjective) + duel (noun) + + formally (in a formal way) + formerly (in time past) + + forth + forty + four + fourth + + freshman + freshmen (not used as adjective) + + gambling (wagering money on games of chance) + gamboling (frisking or leaping with joy) + + guard + regard + + hear + here + + hinder + hindrance + + holly (a tree) + holy (hallowed, sacred) + wholly (altogether) + + hoping (from _hope_) + hopping + + instance (an example) + instants (periods of time) + + isle (an island) + aisle (a narrow passage) + + its (possessive pronoun) + it's (contraction of _it is_) + + Johnson, Samuel + Jonson, Ben + + later (comparative of _late_) + latter (the second) + + lead (present tense) + led (past tense) + + lessen (verb) + lesson (noun) + + liable (expresses responsibility or disagreeable probability) + likely (expresses probability) + + loose (free, not bound) + lose (to suffer the loss of) + + maintain + maintenance + + nineteenth + ninetieth + ninety + ninth + + past (adjective, adverb, preposition) + passed (verb, past tense) + + peace (a state of calm) + piece (a fragment) + + perceive + perform + persevere + persuade + purchase + pursue + + personal (private, individual) + personnel (the body of persons engaged in some activity) + + Philippines + Filipino + + plain (clear; adjective) + plain (flat region; noun) + plane (flat; adjective) + plane (geometrical term; noun) + + planed (past tense of _plane_) + planned (past tense of _plan_) + + pleasant + please + + precede + proceed } + succeed } these three are the + exceed } "double _e_ group" + concede + intercede + recede + supersede + + pre ce dence (act or right of preceding) + prec e dents (things said or done before, now used as authority + or model) + + presence (state of being present) + presents (gifts) + + prevail + prevalent + + principal (chief, leading, the leading official of a school, a + sum of money) + principle (a general truth) + + quiet (still) + quite (completely) + + rain + reign (rule of a monarch) + rein (part of a harness) + + respectfully ("Yours respectfully") + respectively (in a way proper to each--should never be used + to close a letter) + + right + rite (ceremony) + write + + shone (past tense of _shine_) + shown (past tense of _show_) + + seize + siege + + sight (view, spectacle) + site (situation, a plot of ground reserved for some use) + cite (to bring forward as evidence) + + speak + speech + + Spencer, Herbert (scientist) + Spenser, Edmund (poet) + + stationary (not moving) + stationery (writing materials) + + statue (a sculptured likeness) + stature (height, figure) + statute (a law) + + steal (to take by theft) + steel (a variety of iron) + + than + then + + their (belonging to them) + there (in that place) + they're (they are) + + therefor (to that end, for that thing) + therefore (for that reason) + + till + until + + to + too + two + + track (an imprint, or a road) + tract (an area of land) + tract (a treatise on religion) + + village + villain + + wandering + wondering + + weak (not strong) + week (seven days) + + weather + whether + + whole (entire) + hole (an opening) + + who's (who is) + whose (the possessive of _who_) + + your (indicates possession) + you're (contraction of _you are_) + + Exercise: + + 1. Insert _to_, _too_, or _two_: He is ---- tired ---- walk the + ----miles ---- the town. Then ----, it is ---- late ---- catch + a car. It is ---- minutes of ----. It is ---- bad. + + 2. Insert _lose_ or _loose_: You will ---- your money if you + carry it ---- in your pocket. We are ----ing time. The sailor + ----ens the rope. Did you ---- your ticket? + + 3. Insert _speak or speech_: I was ----ing with our congressman + about his recent ----. I ---- from experience. + + 4. Insert _plan_ or _plane_: The architect's ---- was accepted. + The carpenter's ---- cuts a long shaving. The carpenter does + not ---- the house. + + 5. Insert _quite_ or _quiet_: The baby is ----ly sleeping. She + is ---- well now, but last night she was ---- sick. Be ----. + Walk ----ly when you go. + + +=Words in _ei_ or _ie_= + + =74. Write _i_ before _e_ + When sounded as _ee_ + Except after _c_.= + +Examples: _believe_, _grief_, _chief_; but _receive_, _deceive_, +_ceiling_. + +Exceptions: _Neither financier seized either species of weird leisure._ +(Also a few uncommon words, like _seignior_, _inveigle_, _plebeian_.) + +Rules based on a key-word, lice, Alice, Celia (_i_ follows _l_ and _e_ +follows _c_) apply after two consonants only, and do not help one to +spell a word like _grief_. Rule 74 applies after all consonants. + +Note.--The words in which the sound is _ee_ are the words really +difficult to spell. When the sound is any other than _ee_ (especially +when it is _a_), _i_ usually follows _e_. + +Examples: _veil_, _weigh_, _freight_, _neighbor_, _height_, _sleight_, +_heir_, _heifer_, _counterfeit_, _foreign_, etc. + +Exceptions: _ancient_, _friend_, _sieve_, _mischief_, _fiery_, _tries_, +etc. + + Exercise: + + Write the following words, supplying _ei_ or _ie_: _conc--t_, + _retr--ve_, _dec--tful_, _n--ce_, _y--ld_, _p--ce_, _s--ge_, + _s--ze_, _rec--pt_, _n--ther_, _w--rd_, _rel--ve_, _l--sure_, + _f--ld_, _v--n_, _r--gn_, _sover--gn_, _sl--gh_, _br--f_, + _dec--ve_, _r--n_, _f--nt_, _perc--ve_, _w--ld_, _gr--vous_, + _--ther_. + + +=Doubling a Final Consonant= + +=75. Monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable, if they end +in one consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant before +a suffix beginning with a vowel.= + +Examples: (a) Words derived from monosyllables: _plan-ned_, _clan-nish_, +_get-ting_, _hot-test_, _bag-gage_, (b) Words derived from words +accented on the final syllable: _begin-ning_, _repel-lent_, +_unregret-ted_. + +Note 1.--There are four distinct steps in the application of this rule. +(1) The primary word must be found. To decide whether _begging_ contains +two _g's_, we must first think of _beg_. (2) The primary word must be a +monosyllable or a word accented on the final syllable. _Hit_ and _allot_ +meet this test; _open_ does not. _Deferred_ and _differed_, _preferred_ +and _proffered_, _committed_ (or _committee_) and _prohibited_ double or +refrain from doubling the final consonant of the primary word according +to the position of the accent. The seeming discrepancy between +_preferred_ and _preferable_, between _conferred_ and _conference_, is +due to a shifting of the accent to the first syllable in the case of +_preferable_ and _conference_. (3) The primary word must end in one +consonant. _Trace_, _oppose_, _interfere_, _help_, _reach_, and +_perform_ fail to meet this test, and therefore in derivatives do not +double the last consonant. _Assurance_ has one _r_, as it should have; +_occurrence_ has two _r's_, as it should have. (4) The final consonant +of the primary word must be preceded by a single vowel. This principle +excludes the extra consonant from _needy_, _daubed_, and _proceeding_, +and gives it to _running_. + +Note 2.--After _q_, _u_ has the force of _w_. Hence _quitting_, +_quizzes_, _squatter_, _acquitted_, _equipped_, and similar words are +not really exceptions to the rule. + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the present participle (in _-ing_) of _din_ (not + _dine_), _begin_, _sin_ (compare _shine_), _stop_, _prefer_, + _rob_, _drop_, _occur_, _omit_, _swim_, _get_, _commit_. + + 2. Write the past tense (in _-ed_) of _plan_ (not _plane_), + _star_ (compare _stare_), _stop_ (compare _slope_), _lop_ (not + _lope_), _hop_ (not _hope_), _fit_, _benefit_, _occur_ (compare + _cure_), _offer_, _confer_, _bat_ (compare _abate_). + + +=Final _e_ before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel= + +=76. Words that end in silent _e_ usually drop the _e_ in derivatives or +before a suffix beginning with a vowel.= + +Examples: _bride_, _bridal_; _guide_, _guidance_; _please_, _pleasure_; +_fleece_, _fleecy_; _force_, _forcible_; _argue_, _arguing_; _arrive_, +_arrival_; _conceive_, _conceivable_; _college_, _collegiate_; _write_, +_writing_; _use_, _using_; _change_, _changing_; _judge_, _judging_; +_believe_, _believing_. + +Note 1.--Of the exceptions some retain the _e_ to prevent confusion with +other words. Exceptions: _dyeing_, _singeing_, _mileage_, _acreage_, +_hoeing_, _shoeing_, _agreeing_, _eyeing_. The exceptions cause +comparatively little trouble. One rarely sees _hoing_ or _shoing_; he +often sees _hopeing_ and _inviteing_. + +Note 2.--After _c_ or _g_ and before a suffix beginning with _a_ or _o_ +the _e_ is retained. The purpose of this retention is to preserve the +soft sound of the _c_ or _g_. (Observe that _c_ and _g_ have the hard +sound in _cable_, _gable_, _cold_, _go_.) + +Examples: _peaceable_, _changeable_, _noticeable_, _serviceable_, +_outrageous_, _courageous_, _advantageous_. + + Exercise: + + 1. Write the present participle of the following words: _use_, + _love_, _change_, _judge_, _shake_, _hope_, _shine_, _have_, + _seize_, _slope_, _strike_, _dine_, _come_, _place_, _argue_, + _achieve_, _emerge_, _arrange_, _abide_, _oblige_, _subdue_. + + 2. Write the present participle of the following words: + _singe_, _tinge_, _dye_, _agree_, _eye_. + + 3. Write the _-ous_ or _-able_ form of the following words: + _trace_, _love_, _blame_, _move_, _conceive_, _courage_, + _service_, _advantage_, _umbrage_. + + 4. Write the adjectives which correspond to the following + nouns: _force_, _sphere_, _vice_, _sense_, _fleece_, _college_, + _hygiene_. + + 5. Write the nouns which correspond to the following verbs: + _please_, _guide_, _grieve_, _arrive_, _oblige_, _prepare_, + _inspire_. + + +=Plurals= + +=77a. Most nouns add _s_ or _es_ to form the plural.= Examples: _word_, +_words_; _fire_, _fires_, _negro_, _negroes_; _Eskimo_, _Eskimos_; +_leaf_, _leaves_ (_f_ changes to _v_ for the sake of euphony); knife, +knives. + +=b. Nouns ending in _y_ preceded by a consonant (or by _u_ as _w_) change +the _y_ to _i_ and add _es_ to form the plural.= + +Examples: _sky_, _skies_; _lady_, _ladies_; _colloquy_, _colloquies_; +_soliloquy_, _soliloquies_. + +=Other nouns ending in _y_ form the plural in the usual way.= Examples: +_day_, _days_; _boy_, _boys_; _monkey_, _monkeys_; _valley_, _valleys_. + +=c. Compound nouns usually form the plural by adding _s_ or _es_ to the +principal word.= Examples: _sons-in-law_, _passers-by_; but _stand-bys_, +_hat-boxes_, _writing-desks_. + +=d. Letters, signs, and sometimes figures, add _'s_ to form the plural.= +Examples: Cross your t's and dot your i's; ?'s; $'s; 3's or 3s. + +=e. A few nouns adhere to old declensions.= Examples: _ox_, _oxen_; +_child_, _children_; _goose_, _geese_; _foot_, _feet_; _mouse_, _mice_; +_man_, _men_; _woman_, _women_; _sheep_, _sheep_; _deer_, _deer_; +_swine_, _swine_. + +=f. Words adopted from foreign languages sometimes retain the foreign +plural.= Examples: _alumnus_, _alumni_; _alumna_, _alumnae_; _fungus_, +_fungi_; _focus_, _foci_; _radius_, _radii_; _datum_, _data_; _medium_, +_media_; _phenomenon_, _phenomena_; _stratum_, _strata_; _analysis_, +_analyses_; _antithesis_, _antitheses_; _basis_, _bases_; _crisis_, +_crises_; _oasis_, _oases_; _hypothesis_, _hypotheses_; _parenthesis_, +_parentheses_; _thesis_, _theses_; _beau_, _beaux_; _tableau_, +_tableaux_; _Mr._, _Messrs._ (_Messieurs_); _Mrs._, _Mmes._ +(_Mesdames_). + + Exercise: + + Write the singular and plural of the following words: _day_, + _sky_, _lady_, _wife_, _leaf_, _loaf_, _negro_, _potato_, + _tomato_, _pass_, _glass_, _boat_, _beet_, _flash_, _crash_, + _bead_, _box_, _passenger_, _messenger_, _son-in-law_, _Smith_, + _Jones_, _jack-o'-lantern_, _hanger-on_, _stratum_, _datum_, + _phenomenon_, _crisis_, _basis_, _thesis_, _analysis_. + + +=Compounds= + +=78a. Use a hyphen between two or more words which serve as a single +adjective before a noun:= _iron-bound bucket_, _well-kept lawn_, +_twelve-inch main_, _normal-school teacher_, _up-to-date methods_, +_twentieth-century ideas_, _devil-may-care expression_, _a +twenty-dollar-a-week clerk_. + +=But when the words follow the noun, the hyphen is omitted.= _The lawn is +well kept. Methods up to date in every way_. + +=Also adverbs ending in _-ly_ are not ordinarily made into compound +modifiers:= _nicely kept lawn_, _securely guarded treasure_. + +=b. Use a hyphen between members of a compound noun when the second +member is a preposition, or when the writing of two nouns solid or +separately might confuse the meaning:= _runner-up_, _kick-off_; +_letting-down of effort_, _son-in-law_, _jack-o'-lantern_, _Pedro was a +bull-fighter_, _a woman-hater_, _Did you ever see a shoe-polish like +this?_ + +=c. Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, and +in fractions according to the following examples:= + +_Twenty-three_, _eighty-nine_; but _one hundred and one_. +_Twenty-third_, _one-hundred-and-first man_. _Three-fourths_, _four and +two-thirds_, _thirty-hundredths_, _thirty-one hundredths_. + +But omit the hyphen in simple fractions when loosely used: _Three +quarters of my life are spent._ _One third of his fortune._ + +=d. A hyphen is not used in the following common words:= _airship_, +_altogether_, _anybody_, _baseball_, _basketball_, _everybody_, +_football_, _goodby_, _herself_, _handbook_, _himself_, _inasmuch_, +_itself_, _midnight_, _myself_, _nevertheless_, _nobody_, _nothing_ (but +_no one_), _nowadays_, _railroad_, _themselves_, _together_, +_typewritten_, _wherever_, _without_, _workshop_, _yourself_, +_newspaper_, _sunset_. + +=e. For words that do not come within the scope of rules, consult an +up-to-date dictionary.= Compounds tend, with the passing of time, to grow +together. Once men wrote _steam boat_, later _steam-boat_, and finally +_steamboat_. New-coined words are usually hyphenated; old words are +often written solid. The degree of intimacy between the parts of a +compound word affects usage; thus we write _sun-motor_, but _sunbeam_; +_birth-rate_, but _birthday_; _cooling-room_, but _bedroom_; +_non-conductor_, but _nonsense_. The ease with which a vowel blends with +the consonant of a syllable adjoining it affects usage; thus +_self-evident_, but _selfsame_; _non-existent_, but _nondescript_; +_un-American_, but _unwise_. Many compounds, however, are still +uncontrolled by usage; whether they should be written as two words or +one, whether with or without the hyphen, the dictionaries themselves do +not agree. + + Exercise: + + Copy the following expressions, inserting hyphens where they + are necessary: _twenty two years old_, _twenty two dollar + bills_ _make forty dollars_, _twenty seven eighths inch + boards_, _a normal school graduate_, _two handled boxes_, _a + cloth covered basket_, _blood red sun_, _water tight + compartment_, _sixty horse power motor_, _seven dollar bathing + suits_, _a happy go lucky fellow_, _germ destroying powder_, + _he had a son in law_, _passers by on the street_, _the kick + off is at three o'clock_, _dark complexioned woman_, _silver + tongued orator_, _a dish like valley_, _a rope like tail_, _a + fish shaped cloud_, _a touch me not expression_, _will o' the + wisp_, _well to do merchant_, _rough and tumble existence_. + + +=79.= SPELLING LIST + +The English language comprises about 450,000 words. Of these a student +uses about 4000 (although he may understand more than twice that number +when he encounters them in sentences). Of these, in turn, not more than +four or five hundred are frequently misspelled. The following list +includes nearly all of the words which give serious trouble. Certain +American colleges using this list require of freshmen an accuracy of +ninety per cent. + + absurd + academy + =accept= + =accidentally= + =accommodate= + accumulate + accustom + acquainted + acquitted + =across= + addressed + =adviser= + aeroplane + =affects= + aggravate + alley + allotted + =all right= + ally + already + altar + alter + =altogether= + alumnus + =always= + =amateur= + =among= + analogous + analysis + =angel= + angle + annual + anxiety + apparatus + =appearance= + appropriate + arctic + =argument= + =arising= + =arithmetic= + arrange + arrival + ascend + asks + =athletic= + audience + auxiliary + awkward + + balance + barbarous + baring + barring + baseball + =based= + bearing + =becoming= + before + beggar + =begging= + =beginning= + =believing= + =benefited= + =biscuit= + boundaries + brilliant + =Britain= + =Britannica= + buoyant + bureau + =business= + =busy= + + =calendar= + =candidate= + =can't= + cemetery + =certain= + =changeable= + =changing= + characteristic + chauffeur + =choose= + chose + chosen + =clothes= + =coarse= + column + =coming= + commission + =committee= + comparative + =compel= + compelled + competent + concede + conceivable + =conferred= + conquer + conqueror + conscience + conscientious + considered + continuous + control + =controlled= + cooperate + country + =course= + =courteous= + courtesy + cruelty + cylinder + + =dealt= + debater + deceitful + decide + decision + deferred + =definite= + descend + =describe= + =description= + derived + =despair= + =desperate= + destroy + device + devise + dictionary + difference + digging + dilemma + =dining room= + dinning + =disappear= + =disappoint= + disavowal + discipline + disease + =dissatisfied= + dissipate + distinction + distribute + =divide= + =divine= + =doctor= + =don't= + dormitories + drudgery + dying + + ecstasy + =effects= + =eighth= + eliminate + =embarrass= + eminent + encouraging + =enemy= + =equipped= + especially + =etc.= + everybody + exaggerate + exceed + excellent + except + exceptional + exhaust + exhilarate + =existence= + expense + experience + explanation + + familiar + fascinate + =February= + fiery + fifth + =finally= + financier + forfeit + formally + =formerly= + forth + =forty= + =fourth= + frantically + fraternity + =freshman= (adj.) + =friend= + fulfil + furniture + + gallant + gambling + =generally= + goddess + =government= + governor + =grammar= + grandeur + =grievous= + guard + guess + guidance + + harass + haul + =having= + height + hesitancy + =holy= + =hoping= + huge + =humorous= + =hurriedly= + hundredths + hygienic + + =imaginary= + imitative + immediately + immigration + impromptu + imminent + incidentally + incidents + incredulous + =independence= + indispensable + induce + influence + =infinite= + =instance= + instant + =intellectual= + intelligence + =intentionally= + intercede + irresistible + =its= + it's + itself + invitation + + =judgment= + + =knowledge= + + laboratory + =ladies= + =laid= + =later= + =latter= + =lead= + =led= + liable + library + =lightning= + likely + literature + loneliness + =loose= + =lose= + =losing= + lying + + maintain + =maintenance= + manual + manufacturer + =many= + marriage + Massachusetts + material + =mathematics= + mattress + =meant= + messenger + =miniature= + minutes + =mischievous= + Mississippi + misspelled + momentous + month + murmur + muscle + mysterious + + =necessary= + =negroes= + =neither= + nickel + nineteenth + ninetieth + =ninety= + ninth + =noticeable= + =nowadays= + + oblige + obstacle + =occasion= + occasionally + occur + =occurred= + =occurrence= + occurring + =o'clock= + officers + =omitted= + =omission= + =opinion= + opportunity + =optimistic= + =original= + outrageous + overrun + + paid + pantomime + =parallel= + =parliament= + particularly + =partner= + =pastime= + peaceable + =perceive= + perception + peremptory + =perform= + =perhaps= + =permissible= + perseverance + personal + personnel + =perspiration= + persuade + pertain + pervade + physical + picnic + picnicking + =planned= + =pleasant= + politics + politician + =possession= + possible + practically + =prairie= + =precede= + precedent + precedents + =preference= + =preferred= + prejudice + =preparation= + =primitive= + =principal= + =principle= + prisoner + =privilege= + =probably= + =proceed= + prodigy + profession + =professor= + proffered + prohibition + promissory + =prove= + purchase + pursue + putting + + quantity + =quiet= + =quite= + quizzes + + rapid + =ready= + =really= + recede + =receive= + recognize + =recommend= + =reference= + =referred= + =regard= + region + =religion= + =religious= + repetition + replies + representative + =restaurant= + rheumatism + ridiculous + + sacrilegious + safety + =sandwich= + schedule + science + scream + screech + =seems= + =seize= + sense + =sentence= + =separate= + sergeant + several + shiftless + =shining= + shone + shown + =shriek= + =siege= + similar + =since= + smooth + soliloquy + =sophomore= + speak + specimen + =speech= + statement + =stationary= + =stationery= + statue + stature + statute + steal + steel + stops + =stopped= + =stopping= + =stories= + stretch + =strictly= + succeeds + successful + summarize + =superintendent= + supersede + =sure= + =surprise= + syllable + symmetrical + + =temperament= + =tendency= + than + =their= + there + therefore + =they're= + thorough + thousandths + till + to + =too= + =together= + =tragedy= + track + =tract= + transferred + tranquillity + translate + treacherous + treasurer + =tries= + =trouble= + =truly= + =Tuesday= + two + typical + tyranny + + universally + =until= + =using= + =usually= + + vacancy + vengeance + vigilance + village + =villain= + + weak + =wear= + weather + =Wednesday= + week + =weird= + welfare + where + wherever + =whether= + which + whole + =wholly= + =who's= + whose + wintry + wiry + within + without + =women= + world + =writing= + written + + your + =you're= + +Note 1.--The following words have more than one correct form, the one +given here being preferred. + + abridgement + acknowledgment + analyze + ax + boulder + caliber + catalog + center + check + criticize + develop + development + dulness + endorse + envelop + esthetic + gaiety + gild + gipsy + glamor + goodby + gray + inquire + medieval + meter + mold + mustache + odor + program + prolog + skilful + theater + +Note 2.--In a few groups of words American spelling and English spelling +differ. American spelling gives preference to _favor_, _honor_, _labor_, +_rumor_; English spelling gives preference to _favour_, _honour_, +_labour_, _rumour_. American spelling gives preference to _civilize_, +_apprize_; _defense_, _pretense_; _traveler_, _woolen_; etc. English +spelling gives preference to _civilise_, _apprise_; _defence_, +_pretence_; _traveller_, _woollen_; etc. + + + + +MISCELLANEOUS + + +=Manuscript= + +=80a. Titles.= Center a title on the page. Capitalize important words. It +is unnecessary to place a period after a title, but a question mark or +exclamation point should be used when one is appropriate. Do not +underscore the title, or unnecessarily place it in quotation marks. +Leave a blank line under the title, before beginning the body of the +writing. + +=b. Spacing.= Careful spacing is as necessary as punctuation. Place +writing on a page as you would frame a picture, crowding it toward +neither the top nor the bottom. Leave liberal margins. Write verse as +verse; do not give it equal indention or length of line with prose. +Connect all the letters of a word. Leave a space after a word, and a +double space after a sentence. Leave room between successive lines, and +do not let the loops of letters run into the lines above or below. + +=c. Handwriting.= Write a clear, legible hand. Form _a_, _o_, _u_, _n_, +_e_, _i_, properly. Write out _and_ horizontally. Avoid unnecessary +flourishes in capitals, and curlicues at the end of words. Dot your +_i's_ and cross your _t's_; not with circles or long eccentric strokes, +but simply and accurately. Let your originality express itself not in +ornate penmanship, or unusual stationery, or literary affectations, but +in the force and keenness of your ideas. + + +=Capitals= + +=81a. Begin with a capital a sentence, a line of poetry, or a quoted +sentence. But if only a fragment of a sentence is quoted, the capital +should be omitted.= + + Right: He said, "The time has come." + + Right: The question is, Shall the bill pass? + + Right: They said they would "not take no for an answer." + + Right: + + "The good die first, + And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust + Burn to the socket."--Wordsworth. + + + +=b. Begin proper names, and all important words used as or in proper +names, with capitals.= Words not so used should not begin with capitals. + + Right: Mr. George K. Rogers, the Principal of the Urbana High + School, a college president, the President of the Senior Class, + a senior, the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, + three battalions of infantry, the Fourth of July, on the tenth + of June, the House of Representatives, an assembly of + delegates, a Presbyterian church, the separation of church and + state, the Baptist Church, the Society for the Prevention of + Cruelty to Animals, a creek known as Black Oak Creek, the + Republican Party, a party that advocates high tariff, Rocky + Mountains, The Bible, God, The Christian Era, Wednesday, in the + summer, living in the South, turning south after taking a few + steps to the east, one morning, O dark-haired Evening! italic + type, watt, pasteurize, herculean effort. + +=c. Begin an adjective which designates a language or a race with a +capital.= + + Right: A Norwegian peasant, Indian arrowheads, English + literature, the study of French. + +=d. In the titles of books or themes capitalize the first word and all +other important words.= Prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are +usually not important. + + Right: _The English Novel in the Time of Scott_, _War and + Peace_, _Travels with a Donkey_, _When I Slept under the + Stars_. + +=e. Miscellaneous uses. Capitalize the pronoun _I_, the interjection _O_, +titles that accompany a name, and abbreviations of proper names.= + + Right: Battery F, 150 F. A.; Mobile, Ala.; Dr. Stebbins. + + Exercise: + + 1. the teacher said, "let me read you a famous soliloquy." he + began: "to be, or not to be: that is the question." + + 2. the chinese laundry man does not write out his lists in + english. + + 3. the _la fayette tribune_ says that a Principal of a School + has been elected to congress. + + 4. mr. woodson, the lecturer, said that "the title of a book + may be a poem." he mentioned _christmas eve on lonesome_ by + john fox, jr. + + 5. i like architecture. as i approached the british museum, i + noticed the ionic colonnade that runs along the front. the + first room i visited was the one filled with marbles which lord + elgin brought from the parthenon at athens. + + +=Italics= + +In manuscript, a horizontal line drawn under a letter or word is a sign +for the printer to use italic type. + +=82a. Quoted titles of books, periodicals, and manuscripts are usually +italicized.= + + Right: I admire Shakespeare's _Hamlet_. [The italics make the + reader know that the writer means, _Hamlet_ the play, not + Hamlet the man.] + + Right: John Galsworthy's novel, _The Patrician_, appeared in + serial form in the _Atlantic Monthly_. + +Note 1.--When the title of a book begins with an article (_a_, _an_, or +_the_), the article is italicized. But _the_ before the title of a +periodical is usually not italicized. + +Note 2.--It is correct, but not the best practice, to indicate the +titles of books by quotation marks. The best method is to use italics +for the title of a book, and quotation marks for chapters or +subdivisions of the same book. Example: See _Encyclopedia Britannica_, +Vol. II, p. 427, "Modern Architecture". + +=b. Words from a foreign language, unless they have been anglicized by +frequent use, are italicized.= + + Right: A great noise announced the coming of the _enfant + terrible_. + + Right: A play always begins _in medias res_. + +=c. The names of ships are usually italicized.= + + Right: The _Saxonia_ will sail at four o'clock. + +=d. Words taken out of their context and made the subject of discussion +are italicized or placed in quotation marks.= + + Right: _So_ is a word faded and colorless from constant use. + + Right: The _t_ in the word _often_ is not pronounced. + +=e. A word or passage requiring great emphasis is italicized.= This device +should not be used to excess. The proper way to secure emphasis is to +have good ideas, and to use emphatic sentence structure in expressing +them. + + Exercise: + + 1. In Vanity Fair Thackeray heads one chapter How to Live Well + on Nothing a Year. + + 2. Auf wiedersehen was his parting word. He had informed me, + sub rosa of course, that he was going to Bremen. + + 3. The battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac + revolutionized naval warfare. How far back it seems to the days + when Decatur set fire to the old Philadelphia! + + 4. Her They say's are as plenteous as rabbits in Australia. + + 5. A writer in the Century Magazine says the public may know + better than an author what the title of his book should be. + Dickens, for example, called one of his works The Posthumous + Papers of the Pickwick Club. + + +=Abbreviations= + +=83a. In ordinary writing avoid abbreviations. The following, however, +are always correct: Mr., Messrs., Dr., or St. (Saint), before proper +names; B. C. or A. D., when necessary to avoid confusion, after a date; +and No. or $ when followed by numerals.= + +In ordinary writing spell out + + All titles, except those listed above. + + Names of months, states, countries. + + Christian names, unless initials are used instead. + + Names of weights and measures, except in statistics. + + Street, Avenue, Road, Railroad, Park, Fort, Mountain, Company, + Brothers, Manufacturing, etc. + +In ordinary writing, instead of _&_ write _and_; for _viz._ write +_namely_; for _i. e._, write _that is_; for _e. g._ write _for example_; +for _a. m._ and _p. m._ write _in the morning_, _this afternoon_, +_tomorrow evening_, _Saturday night_. Do not use _etc._ (_et cetera_) +when it can be avoided. + +=b. In business correspondence, technical writing, tabulations, +footnotes, and bibliographies, or wherever brevity is essential, other +abbreviations may be used.= Even here, short words should not be +abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Samoa, Utah, +March, April, May, June, July. + + Exercise: + + 1. Mr. Gregg & Dr. Appleton were rivals. + + 2. Harris lacked but one of having a grade of one hundred; _i. + e._, he had the two O's already. + + 3. His inheritance tax was three thousand $. In Apr. he moved + from Portland, Me., to Sandusky, O. + + 4. Prof. Kellogg came down Beech St. at a quarter before eight + every a. m. + + 5. A No. of old friends visited them on special occasions; _e. + g._, on their wedding anniversaries. + + +=Numbers= + +=84a. It is customary to use figures for dates, for the street numbers in +addresses, for reference to the pages of a book, and for statistics.= + +Right: June 16, 1920. 804 Chalmers Street. See Chapter 4, especially +page 79. + +Note.--It is desirable not to write _st_, _nd_, or _th_ after the day of +the month if the year is designated also. Right: March 3, 1919 (not +March 3rd, 1919). + +=b. Figures are used for numbers which cannot be expressed in a few +words. The dollar sign and figures are used with complicated sums of +money.= + +Right: The farm comprised 3260 acres. The population of Kansas City, +Missouri, was 248,381 in 1910. He earned $437 while attending school. +The cost of the improvement was $1,940.25. + +=c. In other instances than those specified in _a_ and _b_ numbers as a +rule should be written out.= (This rule applies to numbers and to sums of +money which can be expressed in a few words, to sums of money less than +one dollar, and to ages and time of day.) + +Right: The box weighs two hundred pounds. Xerxes had an army of three +million men. I enclose seventy-five cents. He owed twelve hundred +dollars. Grandfather Toland is eighty-seven years old. The train is due +at a quarter past three. + + Exercise: + + 1. For 70 pounds of excess baggage I had to pay $1.00. + + 2. At 2 o'clock Rice gave him the 2nd capsule. + + 3. The letter was sent from twenty-one Warner St. November the + eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen. + + 4. Knox earned $5 a day he said; but they paid him only $0.75. + + 5. At 40 he owned a 2,000 acre farm and had an income of + $10,000 a year. + + +=Syllabication= + +=85a. When a word is broken at the end of a line, use a hyphen there. Do +not place a hyphen at the beginning of the second line.= + +=b. Words are divided only between syllables:= _depart-ment_, +_dis-charge_, _ab-surd_, _univer-sity_, _pro-fessor_ (not _depa-rtment_, +_disc-harge_, _abs-urd_, _unive-rsity_, _prof-essor_). + +=c. Monosyllabic words are never divided:= _which_, _through_, _dipped_, +_speak_ (not _wh-ich_, _thr-ough_, _dip-ped_, _spe-ak_). + +=d. A consonant at the junction of two syllables usually goes with the +second:= _recipro-cate_, _ordi-nance_, _inti-mate_ (not _reciproc-ate_, +_ordin-ance_, _intim-ate_). Sometimes two consonants are equivalent to a +single letter: _falli-ble_, _photo-graph_ (not _fallib-le_, +_photog-raph_). + +=e. Two or more consonants at the junction of syllables are themselves +divided:= _en-ter-prise_, _com-mis-sary_, _in-car-nate_ (not +_ent-erpr-ise_, _comm-iss-ary_, _inc-arn-ate_). + +=f. A prefix or a suffix is usually set off from the rest of the word +regardless of the rule for consonants between syllables:= _ex-empt_, +_dis-appoint_, _sing-ing_, _pro-gress-ive_. But when a final consonant +is doubled before a suffix the additional consonant goes with the +suffix: _trip-ping_, _permit-ted_, _omis-sion_. + +=g. The best usage avoids separating one or two letters (unless in +prefixes like _un_ or suffixes like _ly_) from the rest of the word:= +_achieve-ment_, _enor-mous_, _remem-bered_, _dyspep-sia_ (not +_a-chievement_, _e-normous_, remember-ed, dyspepsi-a). + +=h. The first part of a divided word should not be ludicrous or +misleading:= _dogma-tize_, _croco-dile_, _de-cadence_, _metri-cal_, +_goril-la_ (not _dog-matize_, _croc-odile_, _deca-dence_, _met-rical_, +_go-rilla_). + + Exercise: + + Place a hyphen between each pair of syllables in each word of + more than one syllable: _thoughtful_, _burrowing_, _thorough_, + _chimney_, _brought_, _helped_, _harshnesses_, _which_, + _murmur_, _superstition_, _ground_, _symmetry_, _ripped_, + _compartment_, _disallow_, _obey_, _opinion_, _opportune_, + _aggressive_, _intellectually_, _complicated_, _encyclopedia_, + _wrought_, _electricity_, _abstraction_, _syllabication_, + _punctuation_, _frustrate_, _except_, _substituting_, + _distressful_. + + +=Outlines= + +Three kinds of outlines are illustrated in this article: (a) the Topic +Outline, (b) the Sentence Outline, and (c) the Paragraph Outline. + +=86a. A topic outline consists of headings (nouns or phrases containing +nouns) which indicate the important ideas in a composition, and their +relation to each other. Conform to the following model:= + + =The Lumber Problem= + + Theme: The decline of our lumber supply requires that we shall + take steps toward reforesting, conservation, and the use of + substitutes for wood. + + I The Depletion of our forests + A Former abundance + B Present scarcity (especially walnut, white pine, oak) + + II The Causes of the depletion + A Great demand + 1 For building + 2 For industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.) + 3 For fuel, and other minor uses + B Wasteful methods of forestry + + III The Remedy + A Reforestation + 1 Planting by individuals + 2 Planting by the states + 3 Extension of the present National Forest Reserves + + B The prevention of waste + 1 In fires, by insects, etc. + 2 In cutting and sawing + 3 In by-products (sawing, odd lengths, etc.) + + C The use of substitutes for wood (concrete, steel, brick, + stone, etc.) + + +=b. A sentence outline is expressed in complete sentences. Conform to the +following model:= + + =The Lumber Problem= + + I The depletion of our forests is evident when one compares + A the former abundance, with + B the present scarcity (of walnut, white pine, and oak, + especially). + + II The causes of the depletion are: + A the great demand + 1 for building, + 2 for industrial expansion (ties, posts, etc.), + 3 for fuel and other minor uses; and + B wasteful methods of forestry. + + III The remedies for the depletion are: + A reforestation + 1 by individuals, + 2 by the states, + 3 by extension of the present National Forest + Reserves; + B the prevention of waste + 1 in fires, by insects, etc., + 2 in cutting and sawing, + 3 in by-products (sawdust, odd lengths, etc.); + and + C the use of substitutes, for wood (concrete, steel, + brick, stone, etc.) + + +=c. A paragraph outline is a series of sentences summarizing the thought +of successive paragraphs in a composition. Conform to the following +model:= + + =The Disagreeable Optimist= + + 1. The present age may be called an era of efficiency, + prosperity, and optimism, since efficiency has produced + prosperity, and this in turn has produced "optimism"--a word + recurrent in common literature and conversation. + + 2. The optimist is often not natural or sincere, because his + thoughts are centered on keeping up an appearance of being + happy. + + 3. He is intrusive, for he thrusts comfort upon those who wish + to mourn, and repeats irritating epigrams and poems about + cheer. + + 4. He is undiscriminating, in that he prescribes the same + remedy, "good cheer," for everybody and for every condition. + + 5. He is sometimes harmful, because he tells us that the world + is going well, when conditions need changing, and need changing + badly. + +=d. Mechanical details.= Indent headings that are coordinate (that is, of +equal value) an equal distance from the margin. One inch to the right is +a good distance for successive subordinate headings. Use Roman numerals, +capital letters, Arabic numerals, and small letters to indicate the +comparative rank of ideas. When a heading runs over one line, use +hanging indention; that is, do not allow the second line to run back to +the left-hand margin, but indent it. Make the numerals and letters (_1_, +_A_, etc.) stand out prominently. The title of a theme should not be +given a numeral or letter. + + Faulty indention: + + + Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal + supply is exhausted are + + I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain + districts + II The tides + III The heat of the sun + + + Correct hanging indention: + + Sources of energy which may be utilized when the coal supply + is exhausted are + + I Rivers and streams, especially in mountain + districts + II The tides + III The heat of the sun + + +=e. Ideas parallel in thought should be expressed in parallel form.= Nouns +and phrases including nouns are ordinarily used. + + Faulty parallelism: + Advantages of a garden: + 1 Profitable + 2 It affords good exercise + 3 Gives pleasure + + Right: + Advantages of a garden: + 1 Profit + 2 Exercise + 3 Pleasure + +=f. Avoid faulty coordination (giving two ideas equal rank, when one +should be subordinated to the other) and _vice versa_, avoid faulty +subordination.= + + Faulty coordination: + + How Seeds Scatter + + I By Wind + II Some Seeds provided with parachutes + III Others light, and easily blown about + IV By Water + V By Animals + + Right: + + =How Seeds Scatter= + + I By Wind + A Some seeds provided with parachutes + B Others light, and easily blown about + + II By Water + + III By Animals + + +=g. Avoid detailed subordination. Especially avoid a single subheading +when it can be joined to the preceding line, or omitted.= + + Too detailed: + + A The McClellan Orchard + 1 Situation + a On a northern slope + 2 Nature of soil + a Sandy + 3 Kind of fruit + a Apple + b Cherry + + Right: + + A The McClellan Orchard + 1. Situation: a northern slope + 2. Nature of soil: sandy + 3. Kind of fruit: apple and cherry + + Exercise: + + 1. Give a title to an outline which shall include the following + topics. Group the topics under two main headings, and give the + headings names. + + Uses of the grape + The Vine + The Fruit Itself + How Marketed + How Cultivated + + 2. Place in order the sentences of the following outline on + "Why Keep a Diary?" Subordinate some of the headings to others. + + A diary affords great satisfaction in future years. + + We sometimes record in a diary information which proves useful. + + A few lines a day will suffice. + + A diary is not hard to keep. + + We may find time for writing in our diary if we do not waste + time at the table or on newspapers. + + We may write in our diary just before we go to bed. + + A diary will bring back the past. + + We all have some moments to kill. + + A diary gives us pleasure even in the present. + + 3. Place in order the headings of the following outline on + "Ulysses S. Grant." Subordinate some of the headings to others. + + Obscurity in 1861 + Prominence in 1865 + Patience + President + General + Perseverance and Resolution + Character + The Turning Point in His Career + + +=Letters= + +The parts of a letter are the heading, the inside address, the greeting, +the body, the close, and the signature. For these parts good use +prescribes definite forms, which we may sometimes ignore in personal +letters, but must rigidly observe in formal or business letters. + +=87a. The heading of a letter should give the full address of the writer +and the date of writing. Do not abbreviate short words, or omit Street +or Avenue.= + + Objectionable: #15 Hickory, Omaha. + + Right: 15 Hickory Street, Omaha, Nebraska. + + Objectionable: 4/12/19; 10-28-'16; May 2nd, 1910. + + Right: April 12, 1919; October 28, 1916; May 2, 1910. + + The following headings are correct: + + 106 East Race Street, + Red Oak, Iowa, + August 4, 1916. + + 423 Michigan Avenue + Chicago, Illinois + May 20, 1918 + + Prescott, Arizona, June 1, 1920. + + +Note.--In personal letters the heading may be transferred to the end, +below the signature, at the left-hand side. But it must not be so +divided that the street address will appear in one place and the town +and state in another. + +The "closed" form of punctuation (the use of punctuation at the ends of +the lines) is best until the student learns what is correct. Afterward, +the adoption of the "open" form becomes purely a matter of individual +taste and not a matter of carelessness or ignorance. + +=b. An inside address and a greeting are required in business letters.= +Personal letters contain the greeting, but may omit the inside address, +or may supply it at the end of the letter. + + + The Jeffrey Chemical Works, + 510 Marion Street, + Norfolk, Virginia. + + Gentlemen: + + + Mr. Joseph N. Kellogg + 1411 Lake Street + Cleveland, Ohio + + Dear Mr. Kellogg: + + + Secretary of Rice Institute, Houston, Texas. + + My dear Sir: + + Greetings used in business letters are: + + My dear Sir: + My dear Madam: + My dear Mr. Fisher: + Dear Sir: + Sir: + Sirs: + Gentlemen: + Ladies: + + Greetings used in personal letters are: + + My dear Miss Brown: + Dear Professor Ward: + Dear Jones, + Dear Mrs. Vincent, + Dear Robert, + Dear Olive, + +"My dear Miss Brown" is more ceremonious than "Dear Miss Brown". As a +rule, the more familiar the letter, the shorter the greeting. + +A colon follows the greeting if the letter is formal or long; a comma, +if the letter is familiar or in the nature of a note. + +Both inside address and greeting begin at the left-hand margin. The body +of the letter begins on the line below the greeting, and is indented as +much as an ordinary paragraph (about an inch). + +=c. The body of a letter should be written in correct style.= + +=1.= Do not omit pronouns, or write a "telegraphic style". + + Wrong: Just received yours of the 21st, and in reply would say + your order has been filled and shipped. + + Right: I have your letter of March twenty-first. Your order was + promptly filled and shipped. + +=2.= The idea that it is immodest to use _I_ is a superstition. Undue +repetition of _I_ is of course awkward; but entire avoidance of it is +silly. + +=3.= Use simple language. Say "your letter"; not "your kind favor", or +"yours duly received", or "yours of the 21st is at hand". + +=4.= Avoid "begging" expressions which you obviously do not mean, +especially the hackneyed "beg to advise". + + Wrong: Received yours of the 3rd instant, and beg to advise we + are out of stock. + + Right: We received your order of March 3. We find that we have + no more dining-room chairs B 2-4-6 in stock. + + Wrong: I beg to enclose a booklet. + + Right: I enclose a booklet. + + Wrong: Permit us to say that prices have been advanced. + + Right: The prices on our goods have been advanced. + +=5.= Avoid the formula "please find enclosed". The reader will find what +is enclosed; if you use "please", let it refer to what the reader shall +do with what is enclosed. + + Wrong: Enclosed please find 10 cents, for which send me + Bulletin 58. + + Right: I enclose ten cents, for which please send me Bulletin + 58. + +=6.= Avoid unnecessary commercial slang: _On the job_, _A-1 service_, +_O.K._, _your ad_, _popular-priced line_, _this party_, _as per +schedule_. + +=7.= Get to the important idea quickly. In applying for a position, do not +beat around the bush, or say you "wish to apply" or "would apply". +Begin, "I make application for ...", "kindly consider my application for +...", or "I apply ..." + +=8.= Group your ideas logically. Do not scatter information. A letter +applying for a position might consist of three paragraphs: Personal +qualifications (age, health, education, etc.); Experience (nature of +positions, dates, etc.); References (names, business or profession, +exact street address). Finish one group of ideas before passing to the +next. + +=9.= Do not monotonously close all letters with a sentence beginning with +a participle: _Hoping to hear from you ..._, _Asking your cooperation +..._, _Awaiting your further favors ..._, _Trusting this will be +satisfactory ..._, _Wishing you ..._, _Thanking you ..._. The +independent form of the verb is more emphatic (see 42); _I hope to hear +from you ..._, _We await further orders ..._, _We ask cooperation ..._. + +=d. The close= should be consistent in tone with the greeting. It is +written on a separate line, beginning near the middle of the page, and +is followed by a comma. Only the first word is capitalized. Preceding +expressions like "I am", "I remain", "As ever", (if they are used at +all) belong in the body of the letter. + + Right: I thank you for your courtesy, and remain + + Yours sincerely, + Robert Blair + + Right: I shall be grateful for any further information you can + give me. + + Yours truly, + Florence Mitchell + + In business letters the following forms are used: + + Yours truly, + Very truly yours, + Yours respectfully, + + In personal letters the following are used: + + Yours truly, + Yours sincerely, + Sincerely yours, + Cordially yours, + +=e. The outside address should follow one of the forms given below:= + + +---------------------------------------------------+ + | R. E. Stearns | + | 512 Chapel Hill St. | + | Durham, N. C. | + | | + | | + | Mr. Donald Kemp | + | 3314 Salem Street | + | Baltimore | + | Maryland | + +---------------------------------------------------+ + + +---------------------------------------------------+ + | Bentley Davis | + | 906 Park Street | + | Ogden, Utah | + | | + | | + | Rogers, Mead, and Company | + | 2401 Eighth Avenue | + | Los Angeles | + | California | + +---------------------------------------------------+ + +Note.--An abbreviation in an address is followed by a period. +Punctuation is also correct, but not necessary, after every line (a +period after the last line, and a comma after the others). + +A married woman is ordinarily addressed thus: Mrs. George H. Turner. But +a title belonging to the husband should not be transferred to the wife. +Wrong: Mrs. Dr. Jenkins, Mrs. Professor Ward. Right: Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. +Ward. Reverend Mr. Beecher is a correct address for a minister; not +"Rev. Beecher". If a title of respect is placed before a name +(Professor, Dr., Honorable), it is undesirable to place another title +after the name (Secretary, M.D., Ph.D., Principal, Esq.). + +=f. Miscellaneous directions.= Writing should be centered on the page, not +crowded against the top, or against one side. Letter paper so folded +that each sheet is a little book of four pages is best for personal +correspondence. Both sides of such paper may be written on. The pages +may be written on in any order which will be convenient to the reader. +An order like that of the pages in a printed book (1, 2, 3, 4) is best. + +Business letters are usually written on one side only of flat sheets +8-1/2 by 11 inches in size. The sheet is folded once horizontally in the +middle, and twice in the other direction, for insertion in the envelope. + +=g. A business letter should have, in general, the following form:= + + 1516 South Garrison Avenue. + Carthage, Missouri, + May 14, 1918. + + J. E. Pratt, General Superintendent, + The Southwest Missouri Railroad Company, + 1012 North Madison Street, + Webb City, Missouri. + + Dear Sir: + + I apply for a position as mechanic's assistant in the + electrical department of your shops. I am nineteen years old, + and in good physical condition. On June 6 I shall graduate from + Carthage High School, and after that date I can begin work + immediately. + + I have had no practical experience in electrical work. But I + have for two years made a special study of physics, in and out + of school. I worked last summer in the local garage of Mr. R. + S. Bryant. In addition, I have become familiar with tools in my + workshop at home, so that I both know and like machinery. + + For statements as to my character and ability, I refer you to + R. S. Bryant, Manager Bryant's Garage; Mr. Frank Darrow + (lawyer), 602 Ninth Street; W. C. Barnes, Superintendent of + Schools; and C. W. Oldham, Principal of the High School--all of + this city. + + Respectfully yours, + Howard Rolfe + +=h. Formal notes and replies are written in the third person (avoiding +_I_, _my_, _me_, _you_, _your_) and permit no abbreviations except +_Mr._, _Mrs._, _Dr._ = + + Mrs. Clarence King requests the company of + Mr. Charles Eliot at dinner on Friday, + April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock. + + 102 Pearl Street, + April the seventeenth. + +In accepting an invitation, the writer should repeat the day and hour +mentioned, in order to avoid a misunderstanding; in declining an +invitation, only the day need be mentioned. The verb used in the reply +should be in the present tense; not "will be pleased to accept", or +"regrets that he will be unable to accept"; but "is pleased to accept", +or "regrets that circumstances prevent his accepting". + + Mr. Charles Eliot gladly accepts the invitation of Mrs. King to + dinner on Friday, April the twenty-fourth, at six o'clock. + + 514 Poplar Avenue, + April the eighteenth. + + +=Paragraphs= + +=88a. The first lines of paragraphs are uniformly indented, in +manuscript, about an inch; in print, somewhat less. After a sentence, +the remainder of a line should not be left blank, except at the end of a +paragraph.= + +=b. The length of a paragraph is ordinarily from fifty to three hundred +words, depending on the importance or complexity of the thought.= In +exposition, the paragraphs should be long enough to develop every idea +thoroughly. Scrappy expository paragraphs arouse the suspicion that the +writer is incoherent, or that he has not given sufficient thought to the +subject. Short paragraphs are permissible, and even desirable, in the +following cases: + +1. In a formal introduction to the main body of a discourse, or in the +formal conclusion. (In some instances the paragraph may consist of a +single sentence.) + +2. In the body of a composition, when a brief logical transition between +two longer paragraphs is necessary. + +3. In short compositions on complex subjects, where space forbids the +development of each thought on a proper scale. (But, as a rule, the +student should limit his subject to a few simple ideas, each of which +can be developed fully.) + +4. In newspapers, where brevity and emphasis are required. (But the +student should not take the journalistic style as a model.) + +5. In description or narration meant to be vivid, vigorous, or rapid. + +6. In dialogue. + +=c. In representing dialogue, each speech, no matter how short, is placed +in a separate paragraph.= + + Right: + + "Listen!" he said. "There was a noise + outside. Didn't you hear it?" + + "No," I whispered. It was dark in the room, except for a faint + light at the window, and I felt my way cautiously to his side. + "What is it? Burglars?" + + "I believe it is." + + "I can't hear anything." + + "Listen! There it is again." + + "Pshaw!" I had to laugh aloud. "Thompson's cow has got into the + garden again." + +Note that a slight amount of descriptive matter may be included in a +paragraph with the direct discourse, the only requirement being that a +change of speaker shall be indicated by a new paragraph. + +When special emphasis is desired, a quotation may be detached from a +preceding introductory statement. + + Right: The speaker turned gravely about, and facing the front + row, he said slowly and solemnly: + + "Small boys should be seen and not heard." + +In exceptional cases a long, rapid-fire dialogue may, for purposes of +compression, be placed in one paragraph. Dashes should then be used +before successive quotations to indicate a change of speaker. + +Omissions from a dialogue (as when only one side of a telephone +conversation is reported), long pauses, and the unfinished part of +interrupted statements, may be represented by a short row of dots. + + Exercise: + + Arrange in paragraphs, and insert quotation marks: + + 1. Help! I cried, rolling over in the narrow crevasse, and + wondering dazedly how far I had fallen through the snow. A + muffled voice came from above: We'll have a rope down to you in + a minute. Tie that bottle of brandy on the end of it, I + suggested, and it'll come faster. [The student will here insert + a sentence of his own to complete the dialogue.] + + 2. Good morning, James, said the deacon, suspiciously. How are + you? and where are you going? I'm all right, answered the boy, + and I'm goin' down to the creek. As he spoke, he tried to hide + something bulky underneath his coat. You oughtn't to go fishing + on Sunday. [Add another sentence to finish the dialogue.] + + +=89.= MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISE + +The following sentences illustrate errors in the use of capitals, +italics, numbers, abbreviations, etc. Make necessary changes. + + 1. I met him at kansas city at a dinner of the commercial club. + + 2. The senate and the house of representatives are the two + branches of congress. + + 3. In today's chicago herald the union pacific railroad + advertises reduced rates to yellowstone park and the northwest. + + 4. There are 30 men in each section in chemistry, but only 25 + in each section in french. + + 5. Early in pres. wilson's administration troops crossed the + rio grande river. Pres. Carranza protested. + + 6. In nineteen ten the population of new york city (including + suburbs) was 4,766,883. + + 7. Send the moving van to thirty walnut street at eight + o'clock. + + 8. I like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice better than George + Eliot's Adam Bede. + + 9. May I call for you about 7:30 p. m., Miss Reynolds? + + 10. The note draws 6 per cent interest, and is payable Jan. + 1st, 1921. + + 11. He will remain in town until Apr. 20th, and will then go + away for the Summer. He is going abroad to study the spanish + and italian languages. + + 12. Grays elegy in a country churchyard is perhaps the best + known poem in english literature. + + 13. Enclosed please find $4, for which send me the New Republic + for one year. + + 14. In reply to yours of 3-7-18 wish to advise that we are out + of stock. + + 15. I enclose $0.10 for a copy of bulletin #314 of the dept. of + Agriculture. Thanking you, I remain ... yours Respectively.... + + + + +PUNCTUATION + + +Punctuation is not used for its own sake. It is used in writing as +gestures, pauses, and changes of voice are used in speaking--to add +force or to reveal the precise relationship of thoughts. The tendency at +present is against the lavish use of punctuation. This does not mean, +however, that one may do as he pleases. In minor details of punctuation +there is room for individual preference, but in essential principles all +trustworthy writers agree. + + +=The Period= + +=90a. Place a period after a complete declarative or imperative sentence.= + +=b. Do not separate part of a sentence from the rest of the sentence by +means of a period. (See 1.)= + + Wrong: He denied the accusation. As every one expected him to + do. + + Right: He denied the accusation, as every one expected him to + do. + + Wrong: Anderson wrote good editorials. The best that appeared + in any paper in the city. + + Right: Anderson wrote good editorials, the best that appeared + in any paper in the city. [Or] Anderson wrote good + editorials--the best that appeared in any paper in the city. + +Exception.--Condensed or elliptical phrases established by long and +frequent use may be written as separate sentences. They should be +followed by appropriate punctuation--usually by a period. + + Examples: Yes. Of course. Really? By all means! + +Note.--The student should distinguish clearly between a subordinate +clause and a main clause. A subordinate clause is introduced by a +subordinate conjunction (_when_, _while_, _if_, _as_, _since_, +_although_, _that_, _lest_, _because_, _in order that_, etc.), or by a +relative pronoun (_who_, _which_, _that_, etc.). Since a subordinate +clause does not express a complete thought, it cannot stand alone, but +must be joined to a main clause to form a sentence. + +=c. Place a period after an abbreviation.= + + Bros. Mr. e. g. Ph.D. LL.D. etc. + +If an abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence, one period may serve +two functions. + + Exercise: + + 1. The hen clucks to her chickens. When she scratches up a + worm. + + 2. Before my brother could forewarn me. I had touched my tongue + against the cold iron. On which it stuck. + + 3. The commission had the services of two men of international + reputation. Charles Newman, Esq. and Gifford Bailey, + Ph D. + + 4. Since Hugh had fished only in creeks. He was surprised that + the lines were let down a hundred feet or more. The right + distance for codfish. + + 5. Between 1775 and 1825 Virginia furnished the nation its + leaders. Such as the author of the Declaration of Independence. + The orator of the Revolution. The leader of the Revolutionary + army. The chief maker of the Constitution. Four of our first + five Presidents. And our greatest Chief Justice of the Supreme + Court. + + +=The Comma= + +There are five principal uses of the comma: + + to separate clauses (a-d) + to set off a parenthetical element (e) + to mark a series (f-g) + to introduce a quotation (h) + to compel a pause for the sake of clearness (i) + +=91a. A comma is used between clauses joined by _but_, _for_, _and_, or +any other coordinating conjunction.= + + Right: The hour arrived, but Forbes did not appear. [The comma + emphasizes the contrast.] + + Right: She was glad she had looked, for a man was approaching + the house. [The comma prevents the combination _looked for a + man_.] + + Right: He gave the money to Burke, and Reynolds received + nothing. [The comma prevents confusion.] + +Exception.--If the clauses are short and closely linked in thought, the +comma may be omitted (She came and she was gone in a moment. McCoy +talked and the rest of us listened.) If the clauses are long and +complicated, a semicolon may be used (See 92b). + +Note.--No comma should follow the conjunction. Wrong: He was +enthusiastic but, inexperienced. Wrong: They went before the committee +but, not one of them would answer a question. + +=b. Do _not_ use a comma between independent clauses which are _not_ +joined by a conjunction. Use a period or a semicolon.= (This error, the +"comma splice," betrays ignorance of what constitutes a unified +sentence. See 18.) + + Wrong: The circus had just come to town, every one wanted to + see it. + + Right: The circus had just come to town. Every one wanted to + see it. + + Wrong: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan, his + mother desired to make an angel of him. + + Right: The story deals with the life of a youth, Don Juan. His + mother desired to make an angel of him. + + Wrong: My courses required very hard study, did yours? + + Right: My courses required very hard study. Did yours? [Or] My + courses required very hard study; did yours? + + Wrong: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation, + indeed he will do so with alacrity. + + Right: He will assist you without the slightest hesitation. + Indeed he will do so with alacrity. [Or] He will assist you + without the slightest hesitation; indeed he will do so with + alacrity. + +Exception.--Short coordinate clauses which are not joined by +conjunctions, but which are parallel in structure and leave a unified +impression, may be joined by commas. + + Right: He sowed, he reaped, he repented. + +=c. An adverbial clause which precedes a main clause is usually set off +by a comma.= + +When long: + + Right: While I have much confidence in his sincerity, I cannot + approve his decision. [The comma marks the meeting point of + clauses too long to be easily read together. Brief clauses do + not require the comma. Right: Where thou goest I will go.] + +When ending in words that link themselves with words in the main +clause: + + Right: If Jacob finds time to plow, the garden can be planted + tomorrow. [The comma prevents _plow the garden_ from being read + as verb and object.] + +When not closely connected with the main clause in meaning: + + Right: Although they were few, they were resolute. [Here the + comma reveals the distinctness of the two stages of thought. In + the sentence _If it freezes the skating will be good_ the + distinctness of the two thoughts is less emphatic, and the + comma may be omitted.] + +Note.--The comma is usually omitted when the adverbial clause follows +the main clause. + + Right: The score stood twelve to twelve when the first half + ended. [The adverbial clause is linked closely with the element + it modifies, the predicate; punctuation is unnecessary. If the + _when_ clause were placed before the element it does not + modify, the subject, a comma should be inserted.] + +=d. Restrictive clauses should not be set off by commas; non-restrictive +clauses should be set off by commas.= (A restrictive clause is one +inseparably connected with the noun or pronoun it modifies; to omit it +would change the thought of the main clause. A non-restrictive clause is +less vitally connected with the noun or pronoun; to omit it would not +affect the thought of the main clause.) + + Right: Men who are industrious will succeed. [The relative + clause restricts the meaning; it is inseparably connected with + the noun it modifies, and to omit it would change the thought + of the main clause.] + + Right: Thomas Carlyle, who wrote forty volumes, was of peasant + origin. [The relative clause is non-restrictive; it is not + inseparably connected with the noun it modifies, and to omit + it would not change the thought of the main clause. Thus: + Thomas Carlyle was of peasant origin.] + + Right: Where is the house that Jack built? [Restrictive.] + + Right: I went to Jack's house, which is across the street. + [Non-restrictive.] + + Wrong: Students, who are lazy, do not deserve to pass. [The + sentence as it stands says that all students are lazy, and that + none of them deserve to pass. Without the commas, the sentence + would mean that such students as are lazy do not deserve to + pass.] + + Right: Students who are lazy do not deserve to pass. + +=The rule stated above for clauses applies also to phrases.= + + Right. She, hearing the voice, turned quickly. [_Hearing the + voice_ is non-restrictive. It does not identify _she_, and the + thought of the main clause is complete without it.] + + Right: Books pertaining to aeronautics are in demand. + [_Pertaining to aeronautics_ is restrictive. It explains what + books are referred to, and without it the meaning of the main + thought is changed.] + + Right: Our country, made up as it is of democratic people, + lacks the centralized power of a monarchy. [Non-restrictive.] + + Right: A country made up of democratic people must be lacking + in centralized power. [Restrictive. _Made up of democratic + people_ explains _country_ and is essential to the thought of + the sentence.] + +=e. Slightly parenthetical elements are set off by commas:= + +Direct address or explanation: + + Write soon, Henry, and tell all the news. + + They intend, as you know, to build a great dam across the + river. + + His father, they say, was frugal and industrious. + + I, on my part, however, am unalterably opposed to the + expenditure. + + He was, according to such reports as have reached me, + altogether in the right. + +Mild interjections: + + Well, we shall see. + + Come now, let's talk it over. + + But alas, the cupboard was bare. + + The custom is, oh, very old. + +Absolute phrases: + + This being admitted, I shall proceed to my other evidence. + +Geographical names which explain other names and dates which explain +other dates: + + The convention met at Madison, Wisconsin, on March 24, 1916. + +Words in apposition: + + We arrived at Austin, the capital of Texas. + + It was Archie, my best friend in boyhood. + + Exception.--The comma is omitted (1) When the appositive is + part of a proper name. Right: William the Silent, Alexander the + Great. (2) When there is unusually close connection between the + appositive and the noun it modifies. Right: My one confidant + was my brother Robert. (3) When the appositive is a word or + phrase to which attention is called by italics or some other + device which sets it apart. Right: The word _sequent_ is + derived from Latin. Right: The expression "That's fine" is one + which I use indiscriminately. + +Note.--When the parenthetical element occurs in the middle of a +sentence, "set off by commas" means _punctuate before and after_. + + Wrong: I was, madam at home yesterday. + + Right: I was, madam, at home yesterday. + + Wrong: I am to say the least, provoked. + + Right: I am, to say the least, provoked. + +=f. Consecutive adjectives that modify the same noun are separated from +each other by commas. If, however, the last adjective is closely linked +in meaning with the noun, no comma is used before it.= + + Right: A short, slight, pitiable figure. + + Right: A shrewd professional man. [_Shrewd_ modifies, not _man_ + alone, but _professional man_.] + + Right: A bedraggled old rooster. [_Old rooster_ has almost the + force of a compound word. _Bedraggled_ modifies the general + idea _old rooster_.] + +Note.--The commas in a series of adjectives are used to separate the +adjectives from each other. No comma should intervene between the final +adjective and the noun. Wrong: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened, +youngster. Right: He was only a frail, unarmed, frightened youngster. + +=g. Words or phrases in series are separated by commas.= + +When the series takes the form _a, b, and c_, a comma precedes the +_and_. + + Confusing: The railroads in question are the New York Central, + Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio. [The reader might surmise + that the words _Pennsylvania and Chesapeake and Ohio_ represent + a single line or even three different lines.] + + Right: The railroads in question are the New York Central, + Pennsylvania, and Chesapeake and Ohio. + + Confusing: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs and honey. + [Omission of the comma after _eggs_ suggests a mixture.] + + Right: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey. + +=h. A comma should follow an expression like _he said_ which introduces a +short quotation.= (For longer or more formal quotations use a colon.) + + Right: He shouted, "Come on! I dare you!" + + Right: Our captain replied, "We're ready." + +But for indirect quotations, a caution is necessary. Do not place a +comma between a verb and a _that_ or _how_ clause which the verb +introduces. + + Wrong: He explained, how the accident occurred. + + Right: He explained how the accident occurred. + + Wrong: The chauffeur told us, that the gasoline tank was empty. + + Right: The chauffeur told us that the gasoline tank was empty. + +=i. A comma is used to separate parts of a sentence which might +erroneously be read together.= + + Confusing: Long before she had received a letter. + + Better: Long before, she had received a letter. + + Confusing: We turned the corner and the horse stopped throwing + us off. + + Better: We turned the corner and the horse stopped, throwing us + off. + + Confusing: Through the alumni gathered there went a thrill of + dismay. + + Better: Through the alumni gathered there, went a thrill of + dismay. + + Wrong: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie or cake and ice + cream. + + Right: For a dime you can buy two pieces of pie, or cake and + ice cream. + + Right: The man whom everybody had for years regarded as a crank + and a weakling, is now praised for his sagacity and his + strength. + + Right: In a situation so critical as to require the utmost + coolness of mind, he lost his wits completely. [Here the + confusion might not be serious if the comma were omitted, but + separation of the long introduction from the main clause is + desirable.] + +=j. Do not use superfluous commas:= + +=1.= To mark a trivial pause: + + Needless use of comma: In the road, stood a wagon. + + Needless use of commas: The taking of notes, is a guarantee, + against inattention, in class. + +Slight pauses in a sentence are taken care of by the good sense of the +reader. Do not sprinkle commas when the sentence is moving along freely +with no complication in the thought. + + Right: In the road stood a wagon. + + Right: The taking of notes is a guarantee against inattention + in class. + +=2.= To separate an adjective from its noun: + + Wrong: A tall, solemn, antique, clock stood in the hallway. + [The first two commas separate the adjectives from each other. + There is no reason why _antique_ should be separated from the + noun.] + + Right: A tall, solemn, antique clock stood in the hallway. + +=3.= Before the first word or phrase in a series unless the comma would be +employed if the word or phrase stood alone: + + Wrong: He made a study of, gymnastics, medicine, and surgery. + + Right: He made a study of gymnastics, medicine, and surgery. + + Wrong: He had learned, to be prompt, to think clearly, and to + write correctly. + + Right: He had learned to be prompt, to think clearly, and to + write correctly. + + Exercise: + + 1. Before the workmen finished eating the tunnel caved in. + Three Italian laborers were crushed, the others with the + foreman escaped. + + 2. Sneed the new chairman proposed that the convention should + meet at Cheyenne Wyoming. The suggestion however was according + to reports not adopted. + + 3. He had a pen and an ink bottle was in the cupboard. By + washing poor widows can earn but scant living. + + 4. Saunders asked, how I liked the Overland car as compared + with the Chalmers, the Hudson and the Buick. I started to reply + but at that moment we were interrupted. + + 5. People, who steal watermelons, say the stolen melons are + sweetest. Farragut who was born in Tennessee was the North's + ablest naval commander. The developer is a chemical, which + reduces the silver salt. + + +=The Semicolon= + +The semicolon represents a division in thought somewhat greater than +that represented by a comma, and somewhat smaller than that represented +by a period. It may represent grammatical separation and logical +connection at the same time; that is, it may indicate that two +statements are separate units in grammar, and are yet to be taken +together to form a larger unit of logic or thought. + +=92a. The semicolon is used between coordinate clauses which are not +joined by a conjunction.= (For a possible exception see 91b.). + + Wrong: He was alarmed in fact he was terrified. + + Right: He was alarmed; in fact he was terrified. + + Right: He drew up at the curb; he leaped from the car. + +Note.--Very often the writer may choose freely between the semicolon and +the period; in such instances the use of the semicolon implies greater +logical unity between the clauses than the use of the period would show. +Unless this logical unity is distinct, the period is to be preferred. + +=b. The semicolon is sometimes used between coordinate clauses which are +joined by a conjunction if the clauses are long, or if the clauses have +commas within themselves, or if obscurity would result were the +semicolon not used.= (Otherwise, see 91a.) + + Right: Very slowly the glow in the heavens deepened and + extended itself along the eastern horizon; but at last the + bright-red rim of the sun showed above the crest of the hill. + + Right: He arrived, so they tell me, after nightfall; and + immediately going to a hotel, called for a room. + + Confusing: She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the + music, and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a + delight to her. + + Better. She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the + music; and the whole gay round of fashionable life was a + delight to her. + +=c. The semicolon is used between coordinate clauses which are joined by +a formal conjunctive adverb (_hence_, _thus_, _then_, _therefore_, +_accordingly_, _consequently_, _besides_, _still_, _nevertheless_, or +the like).= + + Wrong: We have failed in this therefore let us try something + else. + + Right: We have failed in this; therefore let us try something + else. + + Wrong: He was tattered and muddy, besides he ate like a + cormorant. + + Right: He was tattered and muddy; besides he ate like a + cormorant. + +Note 1.--If a simple conjunction like _and_ is used in the sentences +above, a comma will suffice. But a comma is not sufficient before a +conjunctive adverb like _therefore_. Conjunctive adverbs may be clearly +distinguished from simple conjunctions (See 91a). They cannot always be +easily distinguished from subordinating conjunctions (see 90b, Note), +but the distinction, when it can be made with certainty, is an aid to +clear thinking. + +Note 2.--Good usage sometimes permits a comma to be used before a +conjunctive adverb in short sentences where the break in the thought is +not formal or emphatic. For instance, when the conjunctive adverb _so_ +is used as a formal or emphatic connective, a semicolon is desirable (I +won't go; so that's settled). But in the sentence, "I was excited, so I +missed the target", a comma is sufficient. For the use of _so_ is here +informal, and probably expresses degree as well as result. (Compare "I +was so excited that I missed the target"). + +=d. The semicolon is not used before quotations, or after the "Dear Sir" +in letters. Use a comma or a colon.= (See 91h, 93a, and 87b.) + + Wrong: Mother said; "Let me get my needle." + + Right: Mother said, "Let me get my needle." + + Exercise: + + 1. The eggs tasted musty, they were cold storage eggs. + + 2. You should have seen that old, formally kept house, you + should have sat in that stuffy and immaculate parlor. + + 3. I objected to the plan however since he insisted upon it I + yielded. + + 4. I suppose I must go if I don't he will be anxious. + + 5. Although the note is due on March 19, you have three days of + grace, consequently you may pay it on March 22. + + +=The Colon= + +=93a. The colon is used to introduce formally a word, a list, a statement +or question, a series of statements or questions, or a long quotation.= + + Right: Only one man stood between Burr and the presidency: + Jefferson. + + Right: My favorite novels are the following: _Ivanhoe_, _Henry + Esmond_, and _The Mill on the Floss_. + + Right: The difficulty is this: Where is the money to come from? + + Right: The measure must be considered from several standpoints: + Is it timely? Is it expedient? Is it just? Is it superior to + the other measures proposed? + + Right: I shall do three things next year: study hard, take care + of my health, and enter into various student activities. + + Right: Webster concluded with the following peroration: "When + my eyes shall be turned for the last time to behold the sun in + heaven," etc., etc. + +=b. The colon may be used before concrete illustrations of a general +statement.= + + Right: The colors were various: blue, purple, emerald, and + orange. + + Right: The day was propitious: the sun shone, the birds sang, + the flowers sent forth their fragrance. + + Exercise: + + 1. The city must have these improvements paved streets more + schools better sanitation and a park. + + 2. A guild comprised men of a single class tailors, + fishmongers, or goldsmiths. + + 3. Everything was favorable, it was a wheat-raising district, + there were no rival mills, the means of transportation were + excellent. + + 4. The personal adornments of the eighteenth century "blood" + were elaborate, wigs, cocked hat, colored breeches, red-heeled + shoes, cane, and muff. + + 5. The chief of the engineers reported "The route, taken as a + whole, is practicable enough, but near Clifton, where the yards + must be placed, it leads through a rocky defile." + + +=The Dash= + +=94a. The dash may be used instead of the marks of parenthesis, +especially where informality is desired.= + + Right: She fell asleep--would you believe it?--in the middle of + the lecture. + + Right: That fellow actually--of course this is between you and + me--stole money from his father. + +=b. Insert a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.= + + Right: The next morning--let's see, what happened the next + morning? + +=c. The dash may be used near the end of a sentence, before a summarizing +statement or an afterthought.= + + Right: When you have carried in the wood and the water, and + milked the cows, and fed all the stock and the poultry, and + mended the harness--when you have done these things, you may + consider the rest of the evening your own. + + Right: Barnes played a mischievous trick one day--in fact, + Barnes was always into mischief. + +=d. The use of the dash to end sentences is childish.= + + Childish: At dawn I went on deck--far off to the left was a + cloud, I thought, on the edge of the water--it grew more + distinct as we angled toward it--it was land--before noon we + had sailed into harbor. + + Right: At dawn I went on deck. Far off to the left was a cloud, + I thought, on the edge of the water. It grew more distinct as + we angled toward it. It was land. Before noon we had sailed + into harbor. + +=e. A dash should be made about three times as long as a hyphen; +otherwise it may be mistaken as the sign of a compound word.= + + Exercise: + + 1. The boy left the package on the where did that boy leave the + package? + + 2. She was haughty independent as a queen in fact and she told + him no. + + 3. The clatter of the other typewriters, the relentless + movement of the hands of the clock, the calls from the press + room for more copy, these made Sears write like mad. + + 4. He made her acquaintance what do you think of this by + scribbling his name and address on some eggs he sold to a + grocer. + + 5. He obtained a position in a big department store--his good + taste was quickly recognized--within a month he was dressing + the windows. + + +=Parenthesis Marks and Brackets= + +=95a.= Parenthesis marks may be used to enclose matter foreign to the main +thought of the sentence. (But see also 94a and 91e.) + + Right: His testimony is conclusive (unless, to be sure, we find + that he has perjured himself). + +=b. A comma or a semicolon used at the end of a parenthesis should as a +rule follow the mark of parenthesis rather than precede it.= + + Right: If there is snow on the ground (and I am sure there will + be), we shall have plenty of sleighing. + +=c. When confirmatory symbols or figures are enclosed within parenthesis +marks, they should follow rather than precede the words they confirm.= + + Wrong: They earn (3) dollars a day. + + Right: They earn three (3) dollars a day. [Or] They earn three + dollars ($3) a day. + +=d. Do not use parenthesis marks to cancel a word or passage.= Draw a +horizontal line through whatever is to be omitted. + +=e. Brackets are used to insert explanatory matter in a quotation which +one gives from another writer.= Explanatory matter inserted by the +original writer is enclosed within parenthesis marks. + + Right: "Bunyan's masterpiece (_The Pilgrim's Progress_)," + declared the lecturer, "is out of harmony with the spirit of the + age that produced it [the age of the Restoration]." (Here the + explanatory words _the age of the Restoration_ are inserted + by the person who is quoting the lecturer.) + + Exercise: + + 1. The supremacy of the horse-drawn vehicle is unless a miracle + happens now gone forever. + + 2. My count shows (41) forty-one bales of cotton in the mill + yard. + + 3. [Insert _the Marne_ as your explanation]: "It was this + battle," said the lecturer, "that made the name of Joffre + immortal." + + 4. [Insert _Florida_ as the explanation of the person you are + quoting]: "In that state oranges are plentiful." + + 5. It was the opinion of Bailey and events proved him right + that the government must assume control of the railroads. + + +=Quotation Marks= + +=96a. Quotation marks should be used to enclose a direct, but not an +indirect, quotation.= + + Right: "I am thirsty," he said. + + Wrong: He said "that he was thirsty." + + Right: He said that he was thirsty. + +=b. A quotation of several paragraphs should have quotation marks at the +beginning of each paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph.= + +=c. In narrative each separate speech, however short, should be enclosed +within quotation marks=; but a single speech of several sentences should +have only one set of quotation marks. + + Wrong: "Will you come? she pleaded. + + Certainly." + + Right: "Will you come," she pleaded. + + "Certainly." + + Wrong: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did + this." "There were others whom I had to consider." "I can + mention no names." + + Right: He replied, "It was not for my own sake that I did this. + There were others whom I had to consider. I can mention no + names." + +=d. Quotation marks may be used with technical terms, with slang +introduced into formal writing, or with nicknames=; but not with merely +elevated diction, with good English that resembles slang, with nicknames +that have practically become proper names, or with fictitious names from +literature. + + Permissible: The rime is called a "feminine rime". He is really + "a corker". Their name for my friend was "Sissy". + + Better without the quotation marks: He was awed by "the + grandeur of the mountains". "A humbug". "Fetch". "Stonewall" + Jackson. He was a true "Rip Van Winkle". + +=e. Either quotation marks or italics may be used with words to which +special attention is called.= (See the examples under 91e, Exception, 3.) +Quotation marks are used with the titles of articles, of chapters in +books, of individual short poems, and the like. Italics are used with +the titles of books or of periodicals, with the names of ships, and with +foreign words which are still felt to be emphatically foreign. + +=f. A quotation within a quotation should be enclosed in single quotation +marks; a quotation within that, in double marks.= + + Right: "It required courage," the speaker said, "for a man to + affirm in those days: 'I endorse every word of Patrick Henry's + sentiment, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"'" + +=g. When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and a question mark +or an exclamation point, the question mark or the exclamation point +should come first if it applies to the quotation; last, if it applies to +the main sentence.= + + Wrong: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet"! + + Right: He shouted but one command, "Give them the bayonet!" + + Wrong: Did Savonarola say, "I recant?" + + Right: Did Savonarola say, "I recant"? + +Note.--Regarding the position of a comma, semicolon, or period at the +end of a quotation, usage differs. Printers ordinarily place commas and +periods inside the quotation marks, and semicolons outside, from +considerations of spacing. But logic, not spacing, should determine the +order, and all three marks should be treated alike. They should be +placed within the quotation marks if they were a part of the original +quotation; otherwise outside. In quoting manuscript, the quotation marks +should enclose exactly what is in the original. In quoting oral +discourse, a certain liberty is necessarily allowed. + + Correct: He said calmly, "It is I." + + Also correct, but not commonly used: He said calmly, "It is I". + + Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: He began, + "Our Father which art in heaven." [The period should follow the + quotation mark, since there is no period in the original + quotation.] + + Correct, and in common use, but slightly illogical: Can you + tell me the difference between "apt," "likely," and "liable"; + between "noted" and "notorious"? + + Also correct: Can you tell me the difference between "apt", + "likely", and "liable"; between "noted" and "notorious"? + +=h. When a quotation is interrupted by such an expression as _he said,_= + +=1. An extra set of quotation marks is employed, and the interpolated +words are normally set off by commas.= + + Wrong: "I rise said he to second the motion." + + Right: "I rise," said he, "to second the motion." + +=2. A question mark or exclamation point should precede the interpolated +expression if it would be used were the expression omitted.= + + Right: "'May I go?'" complained father, "is all that boy can + ask." + + Right: "Merciful heavens!" he cried, "we are lost." + +=3. The expression should be followed by a semicolon if the semicolon +would follow the preceding words in case the expression were omitted.= + + Right: "I admit it", he said; "it is true." + +=4. Neither the expression nor the words following it should begin with a +capital.= + + Wrong: "We must be quiet", Said the old man, "If we expect to + catch sight of a squirrel." + + Right: "We must be quiet", said the old man, "if we expect to + catch sight of a squirrel." + +=i. An omission from a quotation is indicated by dots.= + + Right: "When a word is followed by both a quotation mark and + ... an exclamation point, ... the exclamation point should come + ... last, if it applies to the main sentence." [Abridged + citation of g above.] + +=j. Do not use superfluous quotation marks:= + +1. Around the title at the head of a theme (unless it is a quoted +title); + +2. As a label for humor or irony. + + Superfluous: The "abstemious" Mr. Crew ate an enormous dinner. + + Better: The abstemious Mr. Crew ate an enormous dinner. + + Exercise: + + 1. Carew says, "that the profit comes from selling + knickknacks." + + 2. What's the matter with that horse? asked Williams. He's as + frisky as if he had been shut up a week. + + 3. "Who's your favorite character in the play?, persisted + Laura. Is it "Brutus"? No, answered Howard; I admire his wife + "Portia". + + 4. "It's amazing, said Mrs. Phelps, how children love + playthings. Helen Locke said yesterday, Hughie always tells me + when I am putting him to bed, I want my Teddy bear". + + 5. "You see, said Daugherty, the two offices across the + corridor from each ether." "One is the county clerk's." "The + other is the county collector's." + + +=The Apostrophe= + +=97a. In contracted words place the apostrophe where letters are omitted, +and do not place it elsewhere.= + + Wrong: does'nt, theyr'e, oclock. + + Right: doesn't, they're, o'clock. + +=b. To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that does not +end in _s_, add '_s_.= + + Right: A hunter's gun, children's games, the cannon's mouth. + +=c. To form the possessive of a noun, singular or plural, that ends in +_s_, place an apostrophe after (not before) the _s_ if there is no new +syllable in pronunciation. If there is a new syllable in pronunciation, +add _'s_.= + + Wrong: Moses's mandates, Keat's poems, Dicken's novels, those + hunter's guns. + + Right: Moses' mandates, Keats's poems (or Keats' poems), + Dickens' (or Dickens's) novels, those hunters' guns. + +=d. Do not use an apostrophe with the possessive adjectives _its_, _his_, +_hers_, _ours_, _yours_, and _theirs_. But _one's_, _other's_, +_either's_ take the apostrophe.= + +=e. Add _'s_ to form the plural of letters of the alphabet, of words +spoken of as words, and sometimes numbers.= But do not form the regular +plural of a word by adding _'s_ (See 77). + + Right: His _B's_, _8's_ (or _8s_), and _it's_ look much alike. + + Wrong: The Jones's, the Smith's, and the Brown's. + + Right: The Joneses, the Smiths, and the Browns. + + Exercise: + + 1. We don't know theyr'e dishonest. + + 2. The soldier's heads showed above the trenches. + + 3. Five 8es, three 7es, and two 12es make 85. + + 4. Pierce told the Keslers that Jones hogs were fatter than + their's. + + 5. Its three oclock by his watch; five minutes past three by + her's. + + +=The Question Mark and the Exclamation Point= + +=98a. Place a question mark after a direct question, but not after an +indirect question.= + + Wrong: What of it. What does it matter. + + Right: What of it? What does it matter? + + Wrong: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club? + + Right: He asked whether I belonged to the glee club. + +Note.--When the main sentence which introduces an indirect question is +itself interrogatory, a question mark follows. + + Right: Did she inquire whether you had met her aunt? + +=b. A question mark is often used within a sentence, but should not be +followed by a comma, semicolon, or period.= + + Wrong: "What shall I do?," he asked. + + Right: "What shall I do?" he asked. + + Wrong: But where are the stocks?, the bonds?, the evidences of + prosperity? + + Right: But where are the stocks? the bonds? the evidences of + prosperity? + +=c. A question mark within parentheses may be used to express uncertainty +as to the correctness of an assertion.= + + Right: Shakespeare was born April 23 (?), 1564. + + Right: In 1340 (?) was born Geoffrey Chaucer. + +=d. The use of a question mark as a label for humor or irony is childish.= + + Superfluous: Immediately the social lion (?) rose to his feet. + + Better: Immediately the social lion rose to his feet. + +=e. The exclamation point is used after words, expressions, or sentences +to show strong emotion.= + + Right: Hark! I hear horses. Give us a light there, ho! + +Note.--The lavish use of the exclamation point is not in good taste. +Unless the emotion to be conveyed is strong, a comma will suffice. See +91e. + + Exercise: + + 1. What is my temperature, doctor. + + 2. "Shall we go by the old mill?", asked Newcomb? + + 3. Did Wu Ting Fang say, "The Chinese Republic will survive." + + 4. He inquired whether Lorado Taft is the greatest living + American sculptor. + + 5. Farewell. Othello's occupation's gone. + + +=99.= EXERCISE IN PUNCTUATION + +=A.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. Why its ten oclock + + 2. It was a rainy foggy morning + + 3. Arthurs cousin said Lets go + + 4. I begged her to stay but she refused + + 5. His parents you know were wealthy + + 6. Near by the children were playing house + + 7. Ever since John has driven carefully + + 8. I smell something burning Etta + + 9. Well Harry are you ready for a tramp + + 10. I well remember a trip which I once took + + 11. When the day has ended the twilight comes + + 12. She was a poor lonely defenseless old woman + + 13. Trout bass and pickerel are often caught there + + 14. Lees army was defeated at Gettysburg Pennsylvania on July 3 + 1863 + + 15. Students who are poor appreciate the value of an education + + 16. Clem Rogers who is poor as Jobs turkey has bought a + phonograph + + 17. He had no resentment against the man who had injured him + + 18. He spoke to his father who sat on the veranda + + 19. The rifle which he used on this trip was the best he had + + 20. His long beard sticking out at an angle from his chin and + his tall silk hat looked ridiculous + +=B.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. I found the work difficult did you find it so + + 2. If they had agreed to buy things would have been different + but they didn't + + 3. I could satisfy myself if need be with dreams and imaginary + delights she must have realities + + 4. Well Im not disappointed its just what I expected + + 5. Hard roads are not only an advantage they are almost + indispensable + + 6. The man who hesitates is lost the woman who hesitates is won + + 7. The nihilists accept no principle or creed they reject + government and religion and all institutions which cramp the + individuals desires + + 8. No longer are women considered weaklings although not so + strong as man physically they are now assumed to have will and + courage of their own + + 9. The Pilgrims wished to thank God so they prepared a feast + + 10. Our country roads are full of chuck holes consequently one + must drive with caution + + 11. The first player advances ten paces the second eight the + third six and so on + + 12. I told her it was her own fault she was too reticent and + held herself aloof + + 13. He had complained of weariness therefore we left him in + camp + + 14. The Panama Canal consists of four sections the Atlantic + Level the Lake the Cut and the Pacific Level + + 15. There are three reasons why I do not like Ford cars first + they rattle second they bump and third they never wear out + + 16. Protoplasm has been found to contain four elements carbon + hydrogen oxygen and nitrogen but by no artificial combination + can these be made into the living substance + + 17. Phlox mignonette sweet peas cannas all these yield flowers + until late in the fall. + + 18. He asked for hot water the mollycoddle as if this were a + hotel + + 19. Is this seat occupied sir asked Brown who stood in the + aisle + + 20. There are two types of democracy 1 a pure democracy and 2 a + representative democracy + + +=C.= + +Punctuate the following sentences: + + 1. And Harvey waiting all this time mind you sprang for the + door + + 2. I want to go to Memphis Tennessee to the old house if it is + still standing where I was born + + 3. My bill amounted to exactly counting the car fare nine + dollars and ninety five cents + + 4. I do not believe it he cried then turning to the others in + the group he asked nervously do you + + 5. Which is better to borrow money for ones school expenses or + to work ones way + + 6. He swore swore like a pirate and lashed the horses + + 7. Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit is satirical + + 8. But what of the Dakotas of Minnesota of Wisconsin are they + to give us no political support + + 9. The grain is then run into a bin called the weighing bin + from this it is let down on to the scales + + 10. Lincoln showed very plainly what the phrase All men are + created equal means and what its application was to the + anti-slavery movement. + + 11. His name was lets see what was the fellows name. + + 12. He looks sharply for little points passed over by the + average person are important to him + + 13. How uncomfortable I feel in a room whose windows are not + covered by curtains I cannot describe + + 14. Some time ago he moved away I was sorry because he was a + fine young man + + 15. I went to the lawyers office to hear the reading of my + uncles will + + 16. Well well I havent seen you for years But youre the same + stub nosed freckle faced good natured Tom + + 17. I did not stop long to consider the football togs were + nearest at hand so in they went cleated shoes trousers sweater + pads headgear and the rest + + 18. Today I shall outline explain and argue the subject which + has already been announced to you namely The Distribution of + Taxes in Illinois + + 19. His piping voice his long crooked nose his white hair + falling over the shoulders of his faded blue coat his shuffling + shambling gait as he hobbled up to Carletons Grocery with his + basket all this I shall remember as long as I live + + 20. We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are + created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with + certain inalienable rights that among these rights are life + liberty and the pursuit of happiness + + +100. GENERAL EXERCISE + +Improve the following sentences, making as many changes as are necessary +to express the thought clearly and accurately. + +=A.= + + 1. It don't sound right. + + 2. Us fellows hadn't ought to complain. + + 3. The decision effects my brother and I alike. + + 4. Following his breakfast he went up to the office. + + 5. One finds that beginning on a pipe organ is much more + complicated than the piano. + + 6. She married before she was eighteen, she had never taken + much interest in school work + + 7. New Year's Eve, a young lady who I was calling upon, and + myself decided to fool the old folks. + + 8. Williams drove across town at full speed, this was against + the ordinances. + + 9. Mr. Black, who had been laying on the sofa, rose and set + down by myself. + + 10. The agricultural course is a study which every person + should have a great deal of knowledge along that line. + + 11. Swinging around the curve, the open switch was seen in + time, and directly the train stopped we rushed off of the cars. + + 12. I can say a little in regard to my expectations in + connection with the next four years of my life, however. + Expectations of work, pleasure, and perhaps a little sorrow. + + 13. An interesting experience of mine was a collection of + insects made when I studied biology. + + 14. A man can talk to an animal, and he learns to obey him by + repeating certain commands. + + 15. The life of a princess as well as a hermit are made happy + by a little child, as illustrated in the stories of Pharaoh's + daughter and Silas Marner. + + +=B.= + + 1. Every one in the office were busy invoicing. + + 2. Their unconscious pranks and laughter is very amusing. + + 3. The tiger is a beautiful animal, it is also very ferocious. + + 4. Either he or she are good companions for you. + + 5. Again, take a student who has been forced to make his own + way, the question may be harder to decide. + + 6. As for the proposition which is before you, if it was me, I + would not even consider it. + + 7. The fly is the insect that causes more fatal deaths in a + year than any other insect. + + 8. The success of a sponge cake depends upon two things. The + beating of the eggs and the mixing of the flour in lightly. + + 9. James, a youth of such energy, and who is attractive in many + ways, failed in his exams. + + 10. Fish are only found in the deep holes, and they are hard to + get at. + + 11. Besides cigarettes, there are other forms of using tobacco, + such as cigars, and in pipes, and chewing tobacco, making the + total consumption very great. + + 12. I am endeavoring to secure for this position a man not only + with ability as a manager, but one who is capable of + understanding and sympathizing with rural community conditions. + + 13. Any one having any question to ask or who has trouble with + their camera, may write to this department. + + 14. When I hear oatmeal it nauseates me. I can see a mental + picture of the breakfast table where I sat nearly all last + summer. + + 15. In ones second year in high school the books to be read are + Burns poems, Miltons paradise Lost; Bunyans Pilgrims Progress, + and several of Shakespeares plays. + +=C.= + + 1. He promised to on no consideration delay. + + 2. I heard a voice at the door which was familiar. + + 3. The most important part of a book is often to read the + preface. + + 4. Observing carefully, a number of errors are seen to exist. + + 5. Unless one is very wealthy they cannot afford to own a car. + + 6. These kind of fellows usually make good athletes. + + 7. It was the custom of we campers to ride into town and back + on freight cars, when in need of supplies. + + 8. As I was sitting near a radiator so I moved as I decided it + was too warm there. + + 9. To thine own self be true is the advice Polonius gave to his + son. + + 10. In order that Otto should not regain his political power + back again, Sarphina put him in jail. + + 11. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction is + the idea which Emerson's essay on compensation begins. + + 12. To consult a Bible encyclopedia and read it concerning + Easter, one learns quite a little about that religious holiday. + + 13. Never try to shoot a rabbit or any animal when they are not + moving, for among hunters it is very poor sportsmanship to kill + any animal before they have had a chance to get away. + + 14. We find that many of Whittier's poems were concerned with + slavery, which he considered a very great moral wrong, and + determined to do all in his power to eradicate this evil. + + 15. Rhetoric is required in order that a person may learn how + to express their thoughts so as to be readily understood, and + the ability to do this greatly increases the value of your + knowledge. + + +=D.= + + 1. Socialism is different than anarchy. + + 2. He ate the lunch instead of his sister. + + 3. The Volga is the longest of any river in Europe. + + 4. I come over to see if you will leave Tilly go on a picnic + with us tomorrow. + + 5. The value of the birds are studied and the good results + taught to the older children. + + 6. Despotism is where a ruler is not responsible to those under + his authority. + + 7. When a boy or girl enters a high school they think they are + very important. + + 8. I was anxious to begin eating, so no time was wasted by me. + + 9. They run out of ammunition, which caused them to loose the + battle. + + 10. The mind is not only developed, but also the body. + + 11. He built a reservoir varying from 75 to 150 ft. in diameter + and from 8 to 15 ft. high. + + 12. The most principal reason for going to college is so as to + prepare myself for teaching. + + 13. While the room was not very large, yet it had a good-sized + closet in which to put a trunk would be easy and lighted by a + small window. + + 14. A college education is supposed to be general and thorough + by training a man not only into something definite, but give + him a wider scope from which to choose from. + + 15. Motion pictures give actual battle scenes showing just how + the different countries carry on warfare, in taking care of the + wounded, making ammunition, and how they discharge the + artillery, and advance or retreat. + + +=E.= + + 1. He acted like the rest did. + + 2. He don't see anything attractive about her. + + 3. Neither Admiral Beatty nor Admiral Sims are afraid to take + chances. + + 4. The Girl's Campfire Organization was organized when the Boy + Scouts organization was proved such a success. + + 5. Coal is found likely 15 ft. from the waters edge, extending + horizontally under the cliff. + + 6. It is no sure sign that just because a student has took a + course in literature, that he really enjoys the best reading. + + 7. One of the most noticeable characteristics about Lowell's + letters were that they are brief, to the point, and emphatic. + + 8. On the license there will be found the laws regarding + hunting and on the back of it tells when the different seasons + are open. + + 9. The St. Louis Republic is a partisan democratic newspaper + and thus it can be guessed as to what their editorials are like + concerning political questions. + + 10. If the public in general is well posted on the subject and + finds that the charity workers are in earnest, they are much + more apt to donate. + + 11. Some were laughing, some acted serious, others like myself + were merely looking on. + + 12. Entering the campus, the Library is seen, which is a + building nicer than all the others. + + 13. The Ideal Starter starts the engine perfectly without + leaving the driver's seat. + + 14. The fly feeds on decayed vegetable matter, and also the + decayed animal. + + 15. It is true that some people keep a fire extinguisher. It is + of minor importance when considering organized fire protection. + It is organized fire protection with which we are chiefly + concerned, so let us dismiss the former and proceed to the + latter subject. + + +=F.= + + 1. In olden days the curfew rung everywheres at 9 o'clock. + + 2. If a person was to become a charity worker, it would + necessitate him giving time and effort. + + 3. I think most any person can appreciate a good joke when it + is not on them. + + 4. Your clothing for the hunt should be warm and of goods that + will not tear easy. + + 5. Life can be classified in four general stages. Infancy, + Youth, Maturity, and Old Age. + + 6. At the sound of the summons I had to arise from my downy cot + and hurry to the morning repast. + + 7. He was surprised at the way people lived in the city. + Especially the dirt and misery of the slums. + + 8. The house is battered and dingy, being built twenty years + ago by Mr. Robinson, and needs paint badly. + + 9. We hadn't scarcely more than begun the work when one of the + engines got broke and we had to stop until it could be fixed. + + 10. Neither self-denial nor self-sacrifice are to be admired, + or even pardoned, at the cost of happiness, Stevenson says. + + 11. The thing that took my eye most of all were the walls. + Pennants, pictures, and souvenirs were hanging everywhere. + + 12. Grandmother had put the spectacles in the Bible which she + had lost. + + 13. In the summer time the weather is warm but some people are + complaining of the hot weather and who wish the weather would + turn cooler but is it not this kind of weather that makes the + plants grow, which in turn furnish us food? + + 14. Until athletics are demanded from the weaker students, the + training will go to the one who does not need it, and the ones + who do need it are sitting up on the bleachers exercising their + lungs. + + 15. The people of olden times used pumps, but did not know why + they worked, they thought it worked because "nature abhors a + vacuum." + + +=G.= + + 1. Each one of these three books are interesting. + + 2. You may put this hat in any desired shape you like. + + 3. We motored over to Bloomington which was much more pleasant + than the train. + + 4. Every one of his statements are so clear that they cannot be + misconstrued what they mean. + + 5. Analysis is when things are resolved into elements or parts. + + 6. She dropped the doll on the pavement, of which she was very + fond. + + 7. He was offered money to keep still, but would not, thus + showing his good character. + + 8. The first training center for training police dogs was in + Hildesheim, Prussia, and was in the year 1896. + + 9. The draining of land not only increases the yield, and it + greatly lengthens the season that the land may be worked. + + 10. He next stated the number of the founders of the + Constitution, which were 39 in no. + + 11. The life of Doctor Kingsley is a good example of a man who + has succeeded. + + 12. The fortunes of our country are now standing at the + cannon's mouth, and one vote may stem the tide of disaster. + + 13. There was little scenery on an Elizabethan stage. While the + parts intended for women were performed by men. + + 14. The cave which Tom Sawyer was lost in really existed. It + was the cave just outside Hannibal, Missouri, it was near the + Mississippi. Here was the place where Mark Twain was a boy. + + 15. Yes, and the buildings werent what they are now, do you + remember how we used to go to the old log meeting house, that + was up on stilts, and the pigs crawled under the floor and + raised such a disturbance that the preacher had to stop and + have the pigs chased out before he could continue the sermon? + + + + +INDEX + +_The numbers refer to articles._ + + + Abbreviations, 83, 90c + + Absolute expressions + Defined, 58 + Punctuation of, 91e + + _Accept_ and _except_, 67 + + _Ad_, 68 + + Addresses, 87b, 87e + + Adjectives + Classes of, 58 + Comparison of, 58 + Distinguished from adverbs, 56 + In a series, 91f, 91j2 + + Adverbs, + Classes of, 58 + Comparison of, 58 + Distinguished from adjectives, 56 + + _Affect_ and _effect_, 67 + + _Aggravate_, 68 + + Agreement + Of verbs, 52 + Of pronouns, 51, 50i + + _Ain't_, 68 + + _All right_, 68 + + _Almost_, Position of, 27 + + _Allusion and illusion_, 67 + + _Already_ and _all ready_, 67 + + _And_ before a subordinate phrase or clause, 16, 17 + + _And_ used to excess, 14 + + _And which_ construction, 17 + + Antecedent + Defined, 58 + Faulty reference to, 20-23 + + _Anybody_, Number of, 51a + + Apostrophe + In contractions, 97 + With possessive, 97, 50f + + Application for a position, 87g + + Articles, Omission of, 3 + + _As_, Incorrect use of, 50a, 68 + + Aspect of the verb, 58 + + Auxiliary + Defined, 58 + Use of, 55e + + _Awful_, Abuse of, 68 + + + Balanced sentence, 45 + + Balanced structure, 30, 45 + + Barbarisms, 66 + + _Because_ clauses, 5 + + _Because of_ phrases, 5 Note + + _Be_, Nominative with, 50c + + _Both ... and_, 31 + + Brackets, 95e + + Brevity for emphasis, 41, 60 + + Business letters, 87c + + _Bust_ or _busted_, 68 + + _But_ used to excess, 38 Note + + + _Can_ and _may_, 67 + + _Cannot help but_, 34 + + Capitals, 81 + + Case + Defined, 58 + Use of, 50 + + Cause, Inaccurate statement of, 5 + + _Caused by_, 5 Note, 23, 68 + + Change in number or person, 33 + + Change in subject or voice, 32 + + Change in tense, 33, 55 + + Choppy sentences, 13 + + _Claim_, 68 + + Clauses + Cause, 5 + Coordinated loosely, 14, 12 + Defined, 58 + House-that-Jack-built, 38 + Misplaced, 24 + Misused as sentences, 1, 90b + Restrictive and non-r., 91d + Subordinate. Not to be used as complete sentences, 1 + Subordination faulty, 15 + To be reduced to phrases, 60 + _When_ or _where_ clauses, 6 + + Clearness, 20-39 + + Climax, 44 + + Coherence, 24-29 + + Colon, 93 + + Collective nouns, Number of, 51c + + Colloquialisms, 65 + + Comma, 91, 92c Notes 1 and 2, 95b + After quotation, 96 Note + "Comma splice" or "comma fault," 18 + Not used after question mark, 98b + + Comparison of adjectives and adverbs, 58 + + Comparisons, Inaccurate, 4 + + Compound sentence structure in excess, 12, 14 + + Compound words, 78 + + Concreteness, 63 + + Conjugation, 58 + + Conjunctions + Defined, 58 + List of, 36 + Omitted, 37 + Repeated carelessly, 38 + + Conjunctive adverbs + Defined, 58 + Punctuation with, 92c + + Connectives, 8, 36, 37, 38 + + Consonants + Between syllables, 71, 85 + Final (in spelling), 75 + + Construction + Incomplete, 2 + Mixed, 34 + Split, 28 + + Contractions + Apostrophe with, 97 + When proper, 65b + + Coordination, Excessive, 12, 14 + + Correlatives, 31 + + _Could of_, 68 + + + Dangling gerund, 23 + + Dangling participle, 23 + + Dash, 94 + + Dates, Writing of, 84, 91e + + Declension, 58 + + Definition, 6 Note + + Dialogue + Paragraphing, 88c + Punctuation before, 91h, 93a + Punctuation in, 96 + + Diction, Faulty (list), 68 + + _Different than_, 68 + + Divided reference, 20 + + _Don't_, 51d + + Double capacity, Words in, 57 + + Double negative, 34 Note + + _Drownded_, 68 + + _Due to_, Proper use of, 5 Note, 23 Note, 68 + + + _Each_, Number of, 51a + + _ei_ or _ie_, 74 + + _Either_, Number of, 51a + + _Either ... or_, 31 + + Ellipsis + Defined, 58 + Misuse of, 3, 23 Note + + _Emigrate_ and _immigrate_, 67 + + Emphasis + By brevity, 41 + By position, 40 + By repetition, 47 + By separation, 41 + By subordination, 42, 14 + By variety, 48 + + _Enthuse_, 68 + + _Etc._, Use of, 68 + + Euphemism, 61 + + _Ever_, Position of, 27 + + _Every_, _every one_, _everybody_, Number of, 51a + + Exclamation point, 98e + + Exact connective, 36 + + Exact word, 62 + + + Figures, Use of, 84 + + Figures of speech, Mixed, 35 + + Final consonant (in spelling), 75 + + Final _e_ before a suffix, 76 + + _Fine_, Abuse of, 68 + + Fine writing, 61 + + Flowery language, 61 + + Formal invitations, 87h + + _Former_, 68 + + + _Gent_, 68 + + Geographical names, 91e + + Gerund + Dangling, 23 + Defined, 58 + With possessive, 50g + + Good use, 65, 66 + + _Gotten_, 68 + + Grammar, 50-59 + + Grammatical terms, 58 + + _Guess_, 68 + + + Hackneyed expressions, 61 + + _Had ought_, 68 + + Handwriting, 80c + + _Hanged_ and _hung_, 67 + + _Healthy_ and _healthful_, 67 + + Historical present, 33 Note + + _However_, Position of, 27 + + _Human_, _humans_, 68 + + _Hygienic_ and _sanitary_, 67 + + Hyphen + Between syllables, 85 + In compound words, 78 + + + Idioms, 65 + + Illogical thought, 4, 5, 6, 7 + + Imagery mixed, 35 + + Impersonal construction, Needless use of, 60 + + Improprieties, 66 + + Incomplete construction, 2 + + Indefinite _it_, _you_, _they_, 22 Note + + Indention of paragraphs, 88 + + Inflection, 58 + + Infinitive + Case with, 50e + Defined, 58 + Sign of, to be repeated, 37 + Split, 28 + Tense of, 55 + + _Instants_ and _instance_, 67 + + Interjections + Defined, 58 + Punctuation of, 91c, 98e + + Invitations, Formal, 87h + + _Is when_ clauses, 6 + + _Is where_ clauses, 6 + + Italics, 82, 96e + + Its (possessive adjective), without apostrophe, 50f, 97d + + + _Kind of_, 68 + + + _Later_ and _latter_, 67 + + _Lead_ and _led_, 67 + + _Learn_ and _teach_, 67 + + _Leave_ and _let_, 67 + + Length of paragraph, 88b + + Length of sentences, 12, 13, 48b + + _Less_ and _fewer_, 67 + + Letters, 87 + + _Liable_ and _likely_, 67 + + _Lie_ and _lay_, 59D, 67 + + _Like_ (for _as_), 67, 68 + + List + Of connectives, 36 + Of principal parts, 54 + Of grammatical terms, 58 + Of words confused in meaning, 67 + Of words incorrectly used, 68 + Of words logically akin, 72 + Of words confused in spelling, 73 + For spelling, 79 + + _Loan_, 68 + + _Locate_, 68 + + Logic, 4, 5, 6, 7 + + Logical Agreement, 4, 5, 6 + + Logical Sequence, 25 + + _Lose_ and loose, 67 + + _Lots of_, 68 + + + _Majority_ and _plurality_, 67 + + Manuscript, 80 + + _Might of_, 68 + + Misplaced word, 27 + + Mixed constructions, 34 + + Mixed imagery, 35 + + Modal aspects, 58 + + Mode + Definition of, 58 + Use of subjunctive, 55d + + Modifiers + Grouping of, 24, 25 + Needless separation of, 24, 27 + Squinting, 26 + Wrongly used as sentences, 1, 90b + + Money, 84c + + _Most_ (for _almost_), 66, 68 + + _Myself_, Needlessly used for _I_ or _me_, 68 + + + Negative, Double, 34 Note + + _Neither_, Number of, 51a + + _Neither ... nor_, 31 + + _Nice_, Inaccurate use of, 62, 68 + + Nicknames, Quotations with, 96d + + _Not only ... but also_, 31 + + Nouns, Classes of, 58 + + Number + Shift in, 33 + _These kind_, etc., 51b + _Each_, _Every_, etc., 51a + Collective nouns, 51c + Of verbs, 52 + + Numbers, Use of, 84 + Formation of plural, 77d, 97e + + + _O_ and _Oh_, 68 + + Objective case, 50d, 50e + + _Off of_, 68 + + Omission + Of words, 3 + From quotations, 96i + + _Only_, Position of, 27 + + Outlines, 86 + + Overlapping thought, 8 Note + + _Owing to_, Proper use of, 5 Note + + + Paragraphs, 88 + + Parallel structure, 30, 31, 45 + + Parenthesis and parenthetical elements, 91e, 94a, 95 + + Participle + Dangling, 23 + Definition of, 58 + + Parts of speech, 58 + + _Party_, Abuse of, 68 + + Passive voice, not emphatic, 46 + + Past tense, Wrong forms of, 54 + + Past perfect tense, 55 + + Period, 90, 91b, 92a Note + After quotation, 96g Note + Not used after question mark, 98b + "Period blunder," 1, 90b + + Periodic sentence, 43 + + Person, Change in, 33 + + Phonetic spelling, 71 Note + + Phrases + Defined, 58 + Not to be used as sentences, 1 Note + Absolute, 91e + + Plurals, Spelling of, 77 + + Poetry to be separated from prose, 41, 80b + + Point of view, Shift in, 32 + + Ponderous language, 60 + + Possessive + With gerund, 50g + Apostrophe with, 50f, 97 + Inanimate objects in, 50h + + _Practical and practicable_, 67 + + Predicate adjective, 58 + + Predicate noun, 58 + + Prefixes, 72 + + Prepositions + Defined, 58 + Omitted, 3, 37 + Repeated carelessly, 38 + + Principal parts, 54 + + _Principal_ and _principle_, 67 + + Pronouns + Agreement with antecedent, 50i + Case of, 50 + Kinds of, 58 + Reference of, 20, 21, 22 + Wrong use of _myself_, _yourself_, for _I_, _me_, _you_, 68 + + Pronunciation as a guide to spelling, 71 + + _Proof_ and _evidence_, 67 + + _Proposition_, Synonyms for, 62 + + _Proven_, 68 + + _Pseudo-_ and _quasi-_, 67 + + + _Quiet_ and _quite_, 67 + + Question mark, 98 + + Quotation marks _vs._ italics, 82a + Note 2, 96e + + Quotations + Punctuation before, 91h, 92d, 93a + Punctuation of, 96 + + + Reason, Statement of, to be completed by a _that_ clause, 5 + + Redundance, 60 + + Reference + Ambiguous, 20 + Broad, 22 + Divided, 20 + Impersonal, 22 Note + Remote, 20 + To a clause, 22 + To a title, 21 Note + To an unemphatic word, 21 + Weak, 21 + + Reflexive wrongly used for the simple pronoun, 68 + + Repetition + Of connectives, good, 37; + bad, 38 + Of structure, good 47b; + bad 48b + Of words, good, 47a; + bad, 48a + + _Respectfully_ and _respectively_, 67 + + Restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, 91d + + _Right smart_, 68 + + _Rise_ and _raise_, 59D, 67 + + + _Said_, Synonyms for, 62 + + _Same_, Abuse of, 68 + + Scrappy sentences, 13 + + Semicolon, 91b, 92, 95b + After quotation, 96g Note + Not used after question mark, 98b + + Sequence of tense, 55 + + Sequence of thought, 25 + + Series, Punctuation of, 91f, 91g, 91j 3 + + _Shall_ and _will_, 53 + + Shift in number, person, or tense, 33 + + Shift in subject or voice, 32 + + _Should_ and _would_, 53 + + _Sit_ and _set_, 59D, 67 + + Slang, 66 + Quotations with, 96d + + _So_, 36 Note, 68 + + _Some_, Abuse of, 68 + + _Somewheres_, 68 + + Sound, 64 + + Spacing, 80b + + Specific words, 63 + + Spelling, 70-79 + + Split construction, 28 + + Split infinitive, 28 + + Squinting, 26 + + _Stationary_ and _stationery_, 67 + + _Statue_, _stature_, and _statute_, 67 + + Stringy sentences, 12, 14 + + Subject in nominative case, 50a + + Subjunctive mode + Defined, 58 + Use of, 55d + + Subordinating conjunctions + Defined, 58 + Enumerated, 36 + + Subordination + Necessary, 12, 13, 14 + Faulty, 15, 16, 17, 42 + _And which_, 17 + + Substantive defined, 58 + + _Such_, 68 + + Suffixes, 75, 76 + + Superlative degree in comparisons, 4, 58 + + _Sure_ and _surely_, 68 + + _Suspicion_, 68 + + Syllabication, 85 + + Syntax defined, 58 + + + Tautology, 60 Note + + Technical terms, Quotations with, 96d + + Tense + In dependent clauses, 55a + In general statements, 55c + Past Perfect, 55b + Sequence of, 55 + Shift in, 33 + + _Than_ or _as_, Case of pronouns after, 50a + + _That there_, 68 + + _Them_ (misused as adjective), 68 + + _These kind_, 51b + + _Those_, Omission of relative clause after, 2, 68 + + Thought undeveloped, 7 + + Title + Capitals in, 81 + Reference to, 21 Note + Spacing, etc., 80a, 96j + Quoted (books, periodicals, etc.), 82a, 96e + + Transitions, 8, 36 + + _Transpire_, 68 + + Triteness, 61 + + + Undeveloped thought, 7 + + Unity, 10-19 + + Upside-down subordination, 15 + + Usage, Good, 65, 66 + + + Verbals, 58 + + Verb, Forms of the, 58 + + + _Ways_, 68 + + Weak reference, 21 + + _Where at_, 68 + + _While_, Abuse of, 36 + + _Win out_, 68 + + _Who_, _whoever_, 50b + + _Woods_, 68 + + _Would of_, 68 + + Wordiness, 60 + + Words + Confused in meaning, 67 + Confused in spelling, 73 + Double capacity of, 57 + Misused, 68 + Omission of, 3 + + + _Yourself_ wrongly used for _you_, 68 + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + + Article 7, Missing period added (Many passages are powerful, + especially the grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?].) + + Article 13, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 14, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 24, Added missing article "a" (In the morning I found on + my bed a heap of snow...) + + Article 25, Changed "them" to "then" (Do not begin one idea, + abandon it for a second, and then return to the first.) + + Article 31, Added missing comma (not only ... but also ..., + both ... and ...) + + Article 38, Changed "men to "man" (He was undoubtedly a brave + man...) + + Article 38, Changed "trangressions" to "transgressions" + (However, if it is used only for serious transgressions...) + + Article 39, Added missing parenthesis ((Consult 36 for a list + of connectives.)) + + Article 54, Changed period to colon (Exercise:) + + Article 58, Changed "I was being taken" to "I must be taken" + in the conjugation table for the verb "to take" as Present + Indicative Obligative in Passive voice + + Article 65, Changed "idoms" to "idioms" (Study the following + list of correct idioms) + + Article 65, Added missing commas (ain't it fierce?, can you + beat it?, going some) + + Article 68, Added missing quotation mark ("We oughtn't (not + hadn't ought) to make this error.") + + Article 68, Changed "Verb" to "Very" (Very. Accompanied by + much when used with the past participle.) + + Article 71, Removed italic style for the word "compare" + (compare occasion) + + Article 86, Corrected numbering in a list changing "2." to + "3." (3. Place in order the headings of the following outline) + + Article 88, Added missing parenthesis ((In some instances the + paragraph may consist of a single sentence.)) + + Article 88, Changed comma to period (We'll have a rope down to + you in a minute.) + + Article 91, Added missing parenthesis ((She came and she was + gone in a moment. McCoy talked and the rest of us listened.)) + + Article 91, Changed period to colon (Right: For breakfast we + had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey.) + + Article 92, Changed period to colon (Better: She enjoyed the + dinners, and the dancing, and the music) + + Article 94, Changed "d." to "b.", and "b." to "d." (b. Insert + a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.; d. The use of + the dash to end sentences is childish.) + + Article 95, Changed "dedeclared" to "declared" ("Bunyan's + masterpiece (The Pilgrim's Progress)," declared the lecturer) + + INDEX, Changed period to comma (Impersonal construction, + Needless use of) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Century Handbook of Writing, by +Garland Greever and Easley S. 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Jones. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- +table {margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; text-align: center;} +table td {vertical-align: top;} +table th {font-weight: normal; font-variant: small-caps; font-size: larger;} +.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} +div.notes {background-color: #e6e6fa; color: #000000; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; padding: 0.5em;} +hr { margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 65%; } + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + +<div class="notes"> +<p>Transcriber's Note</p> +<p>A chart summarizing the table of contents found inside the front and back covers is presented below as an illustration and in tabular format.</p> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<div class="center"> + <a href="images/table1.png"> + <img src="images/table1-th.png" + width="705" height="493" + alt="Chart summarizing table of contents, linked to a larger version" + title="" /> + </a> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="1px" summary="Table of contents presented visually, breaking the different parts into rows"> +<tr> +<th rowspan="4"><small style="text-transform: lowercase;">Sentence structure</small></th> +<th colspan="2">Completeness <small>of thought</small></th> +<td>1<br />Fragments misused as sentences</td> +<td>2<br />Incomplete constructions</td> +<td>3<br />Necessary words omitted</td> +<td>4<br />Comparisons not complete in thought</td> +<td>5<br />Cause and reason</td> +<td>6<br /><i>is when</i> or <i>is where</i> clauses</td> +<td>7<br />Undeveloped thought</td> +<td>8<br />Transitions</td> +<td>9<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th>Unity <small>of thought</small></th> +<td>10<br />Unrelated ideas</td> +<td>11<br />Excessive detail</td> +<td>12<br />Stringy sentences to be broken up</td> +<td>13<br />Choppy sentences to be combined</td> +<td>14<br />Excessive coördination</td> +<td>15<br />Subordination of the main thought</td> +<td>16<br />Subordination thwarted by <i>and</i></td> +<td>17<br /><i>and which</i> constructions</td> +<td>18<br />The comma splice</td> +<td>19<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Clearness <span style="font-size: smaller;">of thought</span></th> +<td>20<br />Divided reference</td> +<td>21<br />Weak reference</td> +<td>22<br />Broad reference</td> +<td>23<br />Dangling participle or gerund</td> +<td>24<br />General incoherence</td> +<td>25<br />Logical sequence</td> +<td>26<br />Squinting modifier</td> +<td>27<br />Misplaced word</td> +<td>28<br />Split construction</td> +<td>29<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>30<br />Parallel structure</td> +<td>31<br />Correlatives</td> +<td>32<br />Shift in subject or voice</td> +<td>33<br />Shift in number, person or tense</td> +<td>34<br />Mixed constructions</td> +<td>35<br />Mixed imagery</td> +<td>36<br />The exact connective</td> +<td>37<br />Connective to be repeated</td> +<td>38<br />Connective not to be repeated</td> +<td>39<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Emphasis</th> +<td>40<br />Emphasis by position</td> +<td>41<br />Emphasis by separation</td> +<td>42<br />Emphasis by subordination</td> +<td>43<br />Periodic sentence</td> +<td>44<br />Order of climax</td> +<td>45<br />Balanced sentence</td> +<td>46<br />The weak passive voice</td> +<td>47<br />Repetition effective</td> +<td>48<br />Repetition offensive</td> +<td>49<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Grammar</th> +<td>50<br />Case</td> +<td>51<br />Number</td> +<td>52<br />Agreement</td> +<td>53<br /><i>Shall</i> and <i>will</i></td> +<td>54<br />Principal parts</td> +<td>55<br />Tense mode auxiliary</td> +<td>56<br />Adjective and adverb</td> +<td>57<br />Word in a double capacity</td> +<td>58<br />List of the terms of grammar</td> +<td>59<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Diction</th> +<td>60<br />Wordiness</td> +<td>61<br />Triteness</td> +<td>62<br />The exact word</td> +<td>63<br />Concreteness</td> +<td>64<br />Sound</td> +<td>65<br />Idioms Colloquialisms</td> +<td>66<br />Barbarisms Slang</td> +<td>67<br />Words often confused in meaning</td> +<td>68<br />Glossary of faulty diction</td> +<td>69<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Spelling</th> +<td>70<br />Recording errors</td> +<td>71<br />Pronouncing accurately</td> +<td>72<br />Logical kinship</td> +<td>73<br />Superficial resemblances List</td> +<td>74<br /><i>ei</i> and <i>ie</i></td> +<td>75<br />Doubling a final consonant</td> +<td>76<br />Dropping final <i>e</i></td> +<td>77<br />Plurals</td> +<td>78<br />Compounds</td> +<td>79<br />Spelling list</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Miscellaneous</th> +<td>80<br />Manuscript</td> +<td>81<br />Capitals</td> +<td>82<br />Italics</td> +<td>83<br />Abbreviations</td> +<td>84<br />Numbers</td> +<td>85<br />Syllabication</td> +<td>86<br />Outlines</td> +<td>87<br />Letters</td> +<td>88<br />Paragraphs</td> +<td>89<br />Exercise</td> +</tr><tr><th colspan="2">Punctuation</th> +<td>90<br />Period</td> +<td>91<br />Comma</td> +<td>92<br />Semicolon</td> +<td>93<br />Colon</td> +<td>94<br />Dash</td> +<td>95<br />Parenthesis Brackets</td> +<td>96<br />Quotation marks</td> +<td>97<br />Apostrophe</td> +<td>98<br />Question and exclamation marks</td> +<td>99<br />Exercise</td> +</tr></table> + +</body> +</html>
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