Five Hundred Mistakes of Daily Occurrence in Speaking, Pronouncing, and Writing the English Language, Corrected, Walton Burgess [short novels to read txt] 📗

not only a blemish but a blunder. Its importance may be seen by comparing the meaning of “glass house” with “glass-house;” the former may mean the Crystal Palace, while the latter is a manufactory of glass-ware.

Adjectives are often improperly used for adverbs: as, “extreme bad weather,” for “extremely bad weather.”

It is sometimes difficult to choose between such phrases as “the first three,” and “the three first.” To say first three when there is no second three is inelegant, because superfluous; and three first is absurd, because impossible. The most successful pupil in each of two classes at school would not improperly be called “the two first boys;” while propriety would require that the first and second boys of the same class should be called “the first two boys.” As a general rule, and easy to be recollected, let “first” be first.

The use of some for about is by many writers thought to be awkward: as, “Some fifty years ago,” instead of “About Fifty years.”

An ambiguity occasionally arises in employing the adjective no. Thus, “No money is better than gold,” may mean either that gold is the best kind of money, or that gold is not so good as no money at all!

After numerals, the words couple, pair, dozen, score, hundred, thousand, and a few others, need not take the plural form: thus, custom first, and finally grammar, have sanctioned such uses as, “three pair of shoes,” “nine dozen bushels,” “four couple of students;” also, “forty sail of vessels,” “seventy head of cattle.”

The article (a or an) renders an important service in such expressions as, “A few followed their leader throughout the long struggle.” To say, “Few followed him,” would imply, unlike the former phrase, that he was almost deserted.

“A black and a white horse,” suggests the idea of two horses; while “a black and white horse,” refers to but one—as if written “a black-and-white horse.”

“The red and white dahlias were most admired,” properly means the dahlias in which both these colors were blended. “The red and the white dahlias,” implies two species.

The grammatical number of a verb should agree with that of its subject, and not of its predicate. Thus, the sentences, “Death is the wages of sin,” and “The wages of sin are death,” are properly written.

In changing from a past tense to the present, when the same nominative remains, the form of the verb should continue unaltered. Thus, instead of saying “He was traveling and travels,” say “He was traveling and is traveling.”

When a verb has both a singular and a plural nominative, separated by or, its number agrees with that of the nearer: as, “the cup or his billiards were his ruin;” or, “his billiards or the cup was his ruin.”

Custom—which, when crystallized, becomes grammar—allows expressions like “The linen tears,” and “The meadow plows well,” although they should not be frequently employed, and should be more seldom coined.

A fruitful source of mistakes in language, is in the linking together of two or more inappropriate tenses, or in the misuse of one. Many among the learned and refined commit blunders of these kinds. A few corrected examples of such are here given:

“His text was, that God was love;” the sentence should be written, “His text was, that God is love.”

“The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away;” say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.”

“They arrived before we left the city:” say, “they had arrived.”

“All the brothers have been greatly indebted to their father:” say, “are indebted.”

“This painting was preserved and exhibited for the last century:” say, “has been preserved and exhibited.”

“It was the last act he intended to have performed.” say, “to perform.”

“He drinks wine at dinner,” means that such is his habit; “he is drinking wine at dinner,” refers to one particular time and occasion.

Adverbs are often inelegantly used instead of adjectives; as, “the then ministry,” for “the ministry of that time.”

Of the phrases “never so good,” or, “ever so good,” as to whether one is preferable to the other, authority is divided. Modern usage inclines to the latter, while ancient preferred the former, as in the Scriptural expression, “charm he never so wisely.”

Yea and nay are not equivalent to yes and no; the latter are directly affirmative and negative, while the former are variously employed.

Of prepositions, it has been frequently said, that no words in the language are so liable to be incorrectly used. For example, “The love of God,” may mean either “His love to us,” or, “our love to Him.”

Many more of these particles are inelegantly, if not ambiguously used. Instead of “the natives were a different race to what they are now,” say, “different from.”

“He was made much on in the country:” say, “made much of.”

“In compliance of your request:” say, “in compliance with.”

“He doubts if his friend will come,” is not so elegant and accurate as, “He doubts whether his friend will come.”

More instances might be given, setting forth other frequent errors of speaking and writing, at the risk, however, of destroying the due proportion which should exist between the size of a work and the length of the Introduction. But a good heed to what has been said in the few preceding paragraphs, will enable a person who carefully reads this work to mend his modes of expression, to no inconsiderable degree. It is well known that there is no “royal road to learning,” but if there were, it could hardly be expected that such a little book as this would afford a passport to the end of the course. About two hundred years ago, a small volume was put forth by one “John Peters, learned scholar and author,” which had the following long-winded title: “A New Way to make Latin Verses, whereby any one of ordinary capacity, that only knows the A, B, C and can count nine, though he understands not one word of Latin, or what a verse means, may be plainly taught to make thousands of Hexameter and Pentameter Verses, which shall be true Latin, true Verse, and Good Sense!” The present volume must not be expected to accomplish so great a result as this—not having so comprehensive an aim, nor possessing so great a secret of success. But it is hoped that it may incite some who are unfortunately deficient in education, to seek so much additional knowledge as shall enable them at least to converse in a dialect which is within the compass of the language of their country, and free them from the imputation of belonging to another tribe of men, speaking another tongue.

A Welshman, residing near Caermarthon, who was seldom seen at the only church in the parish of his residence, was one day accosted by the worthy clergyman with the question, “My friend—to what church do you belong?” He responded, “To the Church of England.” “Ah,” replied the pastor, “I was sure that it must be some church out of Wales!” There are not a few persons who speak the English language about as truly as the Caermarthon Welshman attended the English Church!

FIVE HUNDRED MISTAKES CORRECTED.

1. “The business would suit any one who enjoys bad health.” [From an advertisement in a daily newspaper of New-York.] Few persons who have bad health can be said to enjoy it. Use some other form of expression: as, one in delicate health, or, one whose health is bad.

2. “We have no corporeal punishment here,” said a schoolmaster. Corporeal is opposed to spiritual. Say, corporal punishment. Corporeal means having a body.

3. “She is a notable woman,” as was said of the wife of the Shepherd of Salisbury Plain,—meaning careful, and pronounced as though divided not-able. This word is no longer current, with this pronunciation or signification, except to a slight extent in England. It has become obsolete, and its use now is in bad taste.

4. “Insert the advertisement in the Weekly.” Emphasize vert, and not ise.

5. “He rose up, and left the room:” leave out up, as it is absurd to say rise down. The Irishman who was hoisted down the coal pit, did not observe this rule.

6. “Set down and rest yourself:” say sit down; setting is said of the sun in the west, but cannot be properly applied to a person taking a seat. “Sit down” is not improper, though “rise up” (as in No. 5) should never be used. Sitting down expresses the act of appropriating a chair, while sitting up means sitting erect. Sitting up also refers to watching during the night with the sick.

7. “You have sown it very neatly,” said a seamstress to her apprentice: say sewed, and pronounce so as to rhyme with road. The pronunciation of sew, meaning “to use the needle,” violates its spelling; it is the same as that of sow, meaning “to scatter seed.”

8. “This is a secret between you and I:” say, you and me. The construction requires the objective case in place of I, which is in the nominative. It is in still better taste to say, “This is a secret with you and me.”

9. “Let you and I take a walk:” say, Let you and me, or, Let us. Who would think of saying, Let I go? The expression “Let I and you” is frequently heard, which contains the additional impropriety of putting the first person before the second.

10. “He is going to learn his brother Alfred how to knit nets:” say, teach. The act of communicating instruction is expressed by “teaching,” the act of receiving it by “learning.” The distinction between these words was made as early as the time of Shakespeare, and cannot be violated without incurring censure.

11. “John and Henry both read well, but John is the best reader:” say, the better reader, as best can be properly used only when three or more persons, or objects, are compared.

12. “Thompson was there among the rest.” This mode of expression, which is very common, literally declares an impossibility. The signification of “the rest” is, those in addition to Thompson, and of which Thompson formed no part; he could not therefore be among them. A more correct form would be, “Thompson was there with the rest.”

13. “The two first cows are the fattest,” said a farmer at an agricultural fair. He should have said, “the first two;” there can be only one that is first—the other must necessarily be second.

14. “It is an error; you are mistaken:” say, you mistake. Mistaken means misapprehended; “you mistake,” means “you misapprehend.”

15. “Have you lit the fire, Bridget?” say, lighted; lit is now obsolete.

16. “To be is an auxiliary verb:” pronounce auxiliary as though spelled awg-zil-ya-re, and not in five syllables.

17. February: this word is often incorrectly spelled by omitting the r.

18. The “Miscellany” was an interesting publication: pronounce miscellany with the accent on mis, and not on cel.

19. “Celery is a pleasant vegetable:” pronounce celery as it is written, and not salary.

20. “Are you at leisure?” pronounce lei in leisure the same as lee. The word should not rhyme with measure.

21. “John is my oldest brother:” say, eldest. Elder and eldest are applied to persons—older and oldest to things. Usage, however, does not make these distinctions imperative.

22. “The cloth was wove in a very short time:” say, woven.

23. “I prefer the yolk of an egg to the white:” the more common word is yelk, with the l sounded; but if yolk be used, it should be pronounced like yoke.

24. Sparrowgrass: it is only the grossest ignorance which confounds this word with asparagus. The same is the case with ing-uns for onions. A man in an obscure section of New Jersey, inquiring at a country store for onions, was told that there were none in the place. On his going out, the storekeeper turned to half a dozen idlers