Latter. Do not use latter to refer to more than two objects. Use last. See §41.
Lay. Do not confuse lay and lie. See §57.
Learn. Do not confuse learn and teach. Learn means to acquire knowledge. Teach means to impart knowledge.
| Wrong: He can learn you as much as any one can. |
| Right: He can teach you as much as any one can. |
Leave. Do not confuse leave and let. Leave means to let remain. Let means to give permission.
| Wrong: Will your mother leave you go? |
| Right: Will your mother let you go? |
| Right: I shall leave my trunk in my room. |
Liable. Do not use liable for likely.
| Wrong: It is liable to rain to-day. |
| Right: It is likely to rain to-day. |
| Right: He is liable for all that he has agreed to pay. |
Lightning. Do not use lightning as a verb in place of lightens.
| Wrong: During the storm, it lightnings frequently. |
| Right: During the storm, it lightens frequently. |
Like. Do not use like for as. Like is a preposition. As is a conjunction.
| Wrong: He doesn't talk like he did yesterday. |
| Right: He doesn't talk as he did yesterday. |
| Right: It looks like a mahogany chair. |
Lit on. Do not use lit on in the sense of met with or discovered.
Wrong: I at last lit on this plan.
Lot. Do not use lot in the sense of a great number or a great deal.
Wrong: A lot of people were there, She talks a lot.
Most. Do not use most for almost.
| Wrong: I have most completed the book. |
| Right: I have almost completed the book. |
| Right: He has done the most of the work. |
Mrs. Do not use Mrs. before titles; as, Mrs. President, Mrs. Professor, Mrs. Doctor.
Much. Do not use much for many. Much refers to quantity. Many refers to number.
| Wrong: As much as five hundred people were present. |
| Right: As many as five hundred people were present. |
Mutual. Do not confuse mutual and common. Mutual means interchanged.
| Wrong: John and William had a mutual liking for Mary. |
| Right: John and William had a common liking for Mary. |
| Right: John and William had a mutual liking for each other. |
Near. Do not use near for nearly.
| Wrong: He ran near all the way to the station. I came nearly making the same mistake. |
| Right: He ran nearly all the way to the station. I came near making the same mistake. |
Nerve. Do not use nerve in the sense of impudence.
Newsy. Do not use newsy in the sense of full of news.
Neither. Do not use neither with reference to more than two objects, nor follow it by a plural verb.
| Wrong: Neither of the three could come. Neither of the two are here. |
| Right: No one of the three could come. Neither of the two is here. |
No good. Do not use no good in the sense of worthless or not good.
Wrong: The book is no good.
No place. Do not use no place after a negative. See §46.
| Wrong: I am not going no place. |
| Right: I am not going anywhere. I am going nowhere. |
Notorious. Do not use notorious in the sense of famous or noted. Notorious means of evil reputation.
| Wrong: Gladstone was a notorious statesman of England. |
| Right: Several notorious thieves were arrested. |
Nowhere near. Do not use nowhere near for not nearly. See §40.
| Wrong: Nowhere near so many people came as were expected. |
| Right: Not nearly so many people came as were expected. |
| Right: James was nowhere near the scene of the fire. |
Of. Do not use of for have in such expressions as could, have, might have, should have, etc.
| Wrong: If I could of been there. |
| Right: If I could have been there. |
Only. Guard against the improper use of only after a negative. See §46.
| Wrong: There are not only four books on that subject. |
| Right: There are only four books on that subject. |
Outside of. Do not use outside of for aside from.
| Wrong: Outside of James, all had a good time. |
| Right: Aside from James, all had a good time. |
Over with. Do not use over with for over.
Wrong: I must write the letter and have it over with.
Pants. Do not use the word pants for trousers.
Photo. Do not use photo for photograph.
Piece. Do not use piece in the sense of way or distance.
| Wrong: I shall walk a little piece with you. |
| Right: I shall walk a little way with you. |
Place. Do not use place after any, every, no, etc., in the sense of anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, etc.
| Wrong: I can not find it any place. |
| Right: I can not find it anywhere. |
Plenty. Do not use plenty as an adjective or an adverb.
| Wrong: Money is plenty. He is plenty able to do it. |
| Right: Money is plentiful. He is quite able to do it. |
Poorly. Do not use poorly for ill or bad.
Wrong: He feels very poorly.
Principle, principal. Do not confuse principle and principal. Principle means a rule or truth. Principal means leader, chief, the most important.
Propose. Do not use propose in the sense of intend.
| Wrong: I propose to tell all I know. |
| Right: I intend to tell all I know. |
Providing. Do not use providing for if or on the condition.
Wrong: I will go providing you can get tickets for three.
Right: I will go on the condition that you get the tickets.
Raise, rise. Do not confuse raise with rise. See §57.
Recommend, recommendation. Do not use recommend as a noun. Recommendation is the noun.
| Wrong: Her employer gave her a good recommend. |
| Right: Her employer gave her a good recommendation. |
Right away, right off. Do not use right away or right off in the sense of immediately.
| Wrong: After the play we will come right off. |
| Right: After the play we will come at once. |
Same. Do not use same as a pronoun.
| Wrong: I will write the letter and mail same at once. |
| Right: I will write the letter and mail it at once. |
Say. Do not use say in the sense of order or command.
| Wrong: Your mother said for you to come home at once. |
| Right: Your mother said that you should come home at once. |
Scarcely. Do not use scarcely after a negative. See §46.
| Wrong: There was not scarcely a pound of meat for us all. |
| Right: There was scarcely a pound of meat for us all. |
Seldom ever. Do not use seldom with ever. Say instead seldom or seldom, if ever.
| Wrong: Fires seldom ever occur. |
| Right: Fires seldom occur. Fires seldom, if ever occur. |
Shut of. Do not use shut of in the sense of rid of.
Wrong: We are shut of him at last.
Sight. Do not use sight in the sense of many or much.
| Wrong: A great sight of people flocked to hear him. |
| Right: A great many people flocked to hear him. |
Sit, set. Do not confuse these two words. See §57.
So. Do not use so alone as a conjunction. Say so that.
| Wrong: He spoke in the open air, so more could see and hear him. |
| Right: He spoke in the open air, so that more could see and hear him. |
Some. Do not use some as an adverb in the sense of somewhat or a little.
| Wrong: He plays the violin some. |
| Right: He plays the violin a little. |
Sort of a. Do not use a after sort of. See Kind of a.
Sort. Do not precede sort by these or those. See Kind.
Such. Do not follow such by who, which, or that as relatives.
| Wrong: All such persons who think so will soon see their mistake. |
| Right: All such persons as think so will soon see their mistake. |
| Right: He spoke with such force that we were compelled to listen. (That is not a relative here.) |
Tasty. Do not use tasty in the sense of tasteful.
That. Do not use that as an adverb.
| Wrong: I did not think the book was that small. |
| Right: I did not think that the book was so small. |
That there, this here, these here, those there. There and here, in all these expressions are worse than unnecessary.
Them there. Do not use them there for those.
| Wrong: Bring me them there books. |
| Right: Bring me those books. |
Three first, two first, etc. Do not say three first, but first three. There can be only one first.
Too. Do not use too alone before a verb or a participle.
| Wrong: He is too excited to listen to you. |
| Right: He is too much excited to listen to you. |
Very. Do not use very alone before a verb or a participle.
| Wrong: You are very mistaken. |
| Right: You are very much mistaken. |
Wait on, wait for. Do not confuse these two expressions. Wait on means to serve. Wait for means to await.
| Wrong: Do not wait on me if I do not come at noon. |
| Right: Do not wait for me if I do not come at noon. |
Wake, awake. Do not confuse wake and awake. See §57.
INDEX
References are to pages. Sections or subdivisions on the pages are sometimes indicated in parenthesis after the page numbers.
Since the EXERCISES follow throughout the subjects treated, exercises on any subject may be found by looking up that subject in this text index.
A, use of article, 44.
Abbreviated words, rule against, 187.
Abbreviations, punctuation of, 137 (§102); use of, in letters, 156, 158, 159, 160, 162, 163, 165, 171.
Accept, for except, 190, Glossary.
Active voice and passive voice, explained, 56; forms of, 92-100.
Adjectives, defined, 2, 32; capitalization of proper, 136 (95); confused with adverbs, 32-33; distinguished from adverbs, 32-33; errors in comparison of, 36-37; improper forms of, 36; list of irregular, 33; placing of, 41; adjective pronouns, 28; punctuation of two or more adjectives modifying same noun, 138 (§106); singular and plural, 39-40.
Admire, for like, Glossary.
Adverbs, defined, 2, 32; comparison of, 32; conjunctive, 103-104; confusion with adjectives, 33; distinguished from adjectives, 32-33; double negative, 42; errors in comparison, 36-37; list of irregularly compared, 33; omission of, 45; punctuation of, 140 (§116), 141 (§121).
Æsop's Fables, quotation from, 152-153.
Affect, for effect, 190, Glossary.
Aggravate, for irritate, 190, Glossary.
Agreement, of adjective and noun, 39-40; of pronoun and antecedent, 13, 101-102; of verb and subject, 64-65, 67, 69; of verb in clauses, 86.
Ain't, 69 (5), Glossary.
Allow, for assert or intend, Glossary.
Allude, for refer, 191, Glossary.
Also, without and, 104.
Among, for between, Glossary.
An, use of article, 44.
And, use of, 105.
Antecedents, of pronouns, defined, 13; agreement of pronouns and, 13; clearness of, 126 (2); compound, 15; indefinite, 29 (4); of relative pronouns, 69 (4).
Any, for at all, Glossary.
Apostrophe, general use of, 143; with plural nouns, 8 (6); with possessive nouns, 10; with possessive pronouns, 29 (10).
Apposition, explained, 22.
Appositives, punctuation of, 138 (§108).
Argue, for augur, 191.
Arise, 56
Articles, explained, 2, 43; use of, 44.
As, as conjunction or adverb, 105; as a relative pronoun, 18, Glossary; for like, 194; for since, Glossary; punctuation of, 141 (§122).
At, for in, Glossary.
Attackted, mispronunciation of attacked, Glossary.
Attribute complement, explained, 3; case of, 21, 22 (4) (note 2).
Auxiliary verbs, explained, 46; shall and will, 71-73; should and would, 76-77; may, can, might, and could, 79.
Avocation, for vocation, 191.
Awake, for wake, 56, Glossary.
Awful, for awfully, Glossary.
Bad, for badly, 33, Glossary.
Balanced sentence, 117.
Barbarisms, defined, 185; rules for avoidance of, 185-188; when proper, 187. Beginning of the composition, 177.
Beside, for besides, 191, Glossary.
Best, for better, Glossary.
Between, for among, Glossary.
Bible, capitalization of, 137 (§100).
Blowed, for blew, Glossary.
Body, of the letter, 161-162.
Books for reading, list of, 183-184.
Bound, for determined, Glossary.
Brackets, use of, 142.
But, as a relative pronoun, 18; with a negative, 42; with a dependent clause, 105; to introduce two succeeding statements, 105.
But that, for but what, 29 (6).
Calculate, for intend, 191.
Can, use of, 69; model conjugation of, 90-91, 97-98.
"Cant expressions," in letters, 162.
Capitalization, rules for, 136-137.
Cases, classified and defined, 9; case forms of pronouns, 20; case of word in apposition, 22; case forms of relative pronouns, 20, 101-102; outline for use of case forms, 21-22; rules for forming possessive, 10.
Character, for reputation, 192, Glossary.
Character of Napoleon Bonaparte, by Channing, quotation from, 150-151.
Choice of words, rules to aid in, 200-201.
Christmas, by Washington Irving, quotation from, 151.
Claim, for assert, 192.
Clauses, defined, 4; adjective, 4; adverbial, 4; agreement, of verb in, 87; principal or independent, 4, 101; subordinate or dependent, 4, 101; substantive, 4; when and where clauses, 103-104.
Climax in sentences, 131 (3).
Clipped words, rule against, 187.
Close of letter, 163-164.
Clum, for climbed, Glossary.
"In care of," misuse of c|o for, 161.
Coherence, of paragraph, 151-153; how to gain in paragraph, 152; illustrations of in paragraph, 152, 153; of sentence, 126-128; of whole composition, 178; words of 152, 180.
Colon, 141.
"Comma blunder," 121.
Comma, 137-140.
Common gender, defined, 14, of nouns and pronouns, 13-14.
Comparative degree, 32; misuse of, in reference to more than two things, 37.
Comparison, degrees of, 32; irregular forms in, 33; errors in, 36-37; manner of comparing, 32.
Complected, for complexioned, 36, Glossary.
Complex sentence, 5.
Complimentary close, in letters, 163.
Compound nouns, explained, 8; rules for forming plurals of, 8.
Compound pronouns, personal, 26; relative, 27-28.
Compound sentence, 5.
Compound subject, 5; agreement of verb with, 67.
Compound words, use of hyphen with, 144 (§140).
Concluded, for to form an opinion, Glossary.
Conditional clauses, punctuation of, 139 (§114).
Confusion of adjectives and adverbs, 33.
Conjunctions, defined, 2; misuses of, 105-106; correlatives, 105-106, 127 (4).
Considerable, for considerably, Glossary.
Consul, for council, or counsel, 192.
Contractions of not, use of, in formal composition, 69 (5).
Co-ordinate clauses, punctuation of, 139 (§§112, 113), 140 (§§118, 119, 120).
Copulative verb, 3.
Correctly written letters, 166-171.
Correlatives, placing of, 105, 106, 127 (4).
Could, use of, 69; model conjugations of, 90-91, 97-98.
Council, counsel and consul confused, 192.
Cranford, by Mrs. Gaskell, selection from, 182-183.
Cute, for pretty, clever, etc., Glossary.
Dash, use of, 141-142.
Decease, Glossary.
Definition, by a when or where clause, 103-104.
Degrees in comparison, classified, 32.
Demand, Glossary.
Dependent and conditional clauses, punctuation of, 139 (§114), 140 (§§119, 120).
Dictionary, value of its use, 203.
Different, with than, Glossary.
Directly, misused as a conjunction, 106.
Disease, Glossary.
Division of words at ends of lines, 144 (§139).
Double negatives, 42.
Down, misuse as a verb, Glossary.
Drownded, mispronunciation of drowned, Glossary.
East, capitalization of, 137 (§100).
Each other, misuse with more than two objects, 46, Glossary.
Effect, for affect, 190, Glossary.
Either, misuse with more than two objects, 40, Glossary.
Either-or, 105-106.
Elements of the sentence, 2, 3: Principal elements, subject, 2; predicate, 2. Subordinate elements: attribute complement, 3; adjective modifier, 4; adverbial modifier, 4; object complement, 4.
Emigration, for immigration, 192, Glossary.
Emphasis, in paragraphs, 153; in sentence, 131.
Ending of whole composition, 180.
Enough, Glossary.
Euthuse, Glossary.
Enumerations, punctuation before, 141, (§§122, 123).
Esq., misuse after Mr., 158.
Etc., misspelling of, Glossary.
Euphony, in sentences, 132, 133.
Everybody, followed by a plural form, Glossary.
Everywheres, for everywhere, 36.
Examples, of beginning of whole composition, 177; of correctly written letters, 166-171; of ending of whole composition, 180; of outline of whole composition, 175.
Exclamation point, use of, 137.
Except, for accept, 106, 190, Glossary.
Explanatory relative clauses, punctuation of, 139 (§111).
Expletives, 2.
Expect, for suppose, 196.
Fall, for fell, 56.
Father, capitalization of, 136 (§99).
Fell, for fall, 56.
Feminine gender, defined, 12; of nouns and pronouns, 14.
Final words, in letters, 163.
"Fine-writing," 200.
Fine, Glossary.
Firstly, 36, Glossary.
First-rate, Glossary.
For, used to introduce two succeeding clauses, 105.
Foreign words, 186.
Former, Glossary.
Form of letters, 161, 164, 166-171.
From, Glossary.
Funny, for singular, Glossary.
Gender, defined and classified, 12, 14; formation of feminine from masculine, 12; gender of pronouns, 13-14.
General terms, use of, 201.
Gent, Glossary.
Gentleman, Glossary.
Geographical names, punctuation of, 138 (§108).
Gerunds, explanation of, 80; confusion with participle, 80; with noun or pronoun modifier, 81; placing of gerund phrase, 81-82.
Gettysburg speech, by Lincoln, 181-182.
Good, for well, 193.
Good use of words, 185; offenses against, 185-190.
Got, Glossary.
Grand, Glossary.
Grave forms of personal pronouns, use of, 29 (2).
Guess, for think, Glossary.
Hackneyed expressions, general rule against, 201; in letters, 162.
Had, ought, 50, Glossary.
Hain't, 69 (5), Glossary.
Hanged, confused with hung, Glossary.
Hardly, placing of, 41; with a negative, 42, Glossary.
Have, misuse after had, Glossary.
Heading, of letters, 155-157.
Heighth, for height, Glossary.
Here, misuse with demonstratives, Glossary.
Her'n, 26.
Him, misuse with gerund, 81.
Hisself, 26.
His'n, 26.
Home, confused with house, 193; for at home, Glossary.
Humbug, Glossary.
Hung, confused with hanged, Glossary.
Hyphen, use of, 144.
I, capitalization of, 29 (1), 137 (§100). Order of, 29 (1).
In the letter, 162.
Idioms, 198-199.
i. e., punctuation of, 141 (§122).
Illy, 36, Glossary.
Immigration, confused with emigration, 192, Glossary.
Improving one's vocabulary, rules for, 203-204.
Improprieties, 190.
Indentation, of paragraph, 149; of paragraph, in letters, 157, 161, 164.
Infinitives, explanation of, 83-84; forms of 83, 91, 99; cases used with, 21-22; rules for sequence of infinitive tenses, 84; split, 85.
Inflection, defined, 7.
In, confused with into, Glossary.
Inside address of letters, 157-159.
Interjection, 2.
Interrogation point, use of, 137.
Interrogative pronouns, 19, 102.
Intransitive verbs, see Transitive.
Introductory words or phrases, punctuation of, 138 (§107).
Kind, with plural modifiers, Glossary.
Kind of a, 44.
Lady, Glossary.
Latter, confused with last, Glossary.
Lay, confused with lie, 56-57.
Learn, for teach, 196, Glossary.
Leave, for let, 193, Glossary.
Lend, confused with loan, 194.
Length, of paragraphs, 148; of sentences, 117-118, 122 (2-b).
Letter writing, 155-171; body of letter, 161-163; close, 163-164; heading, 155-157; illustrations of correctly written letters, 166-171; inside address, 157-159; miscellaneous directions, 164; notes in third person, 171; outside address, 164-166; salutation, 159-161.
Liable, for likely, 194.
Lie, confused with lay, 56-57.
Lightning, Glossary.
Like, misuse as a conjunction, 106, 194.
Lit on, Glossary.
Loan, confused with lend, 194.
Loose sentences, 117.
Lot for a great deal, Glossary.
Mad, for angry, 194.