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rect use of may, might, can, could, shall, should, will, and would.

After discussing these in class, copy the best instances you have upon the pages provided in your wordbooks, giving also the name of the writer of each phrase or sentence, as in the last three instances under Exercise I.

Josiah Gilbert Holland.

*Reprinted by permission of the publishers, Charles Scribner's Sons.

EVERYDAY ERRORS AND THEIR CAUSE

There are many expressions used daily without much thought, where a careful habit would have directed the use of better ones. The wrong habit in using language grows in about the same way that a snowball increases in size as it is rolled along, adding only a little to its bulk at the first few turns, but an enormous amount at the last ones.

A habit of correct speech is To make this perfectly clear habits of speech formed in

In this lesson, I wish to point out to you some of the most glaring errors in careless everyday speech. No one of you, probably, makes all, or even many, of these mistakes; but if you are at all doubtful in any case as to which form is correct, you may be pretty sure that your usage has been wrong in that one case. Or, if the form given here as correct causes you the least surprise, you may be sure that you are not out of danger of using the wrong form. the only safeguard from error. to you, let me explain that the youth will follow you thruout life. A poor boy worked his way thru college and became superintendent of city schools. He hardly ever made a short address before his high school without little slips in accuracy or in good taste. He realized that he did this, but said that in the haste and excitement of public speech, he could not overcome the habits of childhood. He knew perfectly well what was correct: his careless habit of speech had become too fixed to be wholly overcome.

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Of course you can not correct errors in your speech, unless these are brought to your attention. Hence, in order to suggest to you certain blunders that you may not have noticed, I shall give you here a good many exercises for study,― closer study perhaps than you may at first judge necessary. I shall not put incorrect sentences before your eyes and I hope that minds as you read correct ones. none may rise in

your

While it is true that errors creep into the speech of even cultivated persons, it is well for us always to be cautious in saying of any remark that it is incorrect.

We must be sure, first We must be speaker meant. Every

of all, that we know just what the great writer or speaker uses language in new ways to suit his own need. Thus it follows that usually we may select one of several correct forms, rather than merely reject one form that is incorrect. All words are good and useful if only they are put into the right place. Please to study carefully this list of have the better expressions pictured popular blunders, until in your mind so clearly that they can not easily be driven out. Do not use :

above affect

aggravate

among

any
as

you

for more than; say "He has more than twenty horses."
for effect; say "He effected this by means of a strategem;'
"A happy manner affects us all pleasantly."
for exasperate, irritate, annoy, or provoke. Aggravate
means to increase or make worse.
not let it exasperate me;""Be not easily pro-
voked; "His illness was aggravated by the bad

Say

"I must

"Between the two;"

for at all; say "She can not sing at all."

for that; say

"Not that I have heard."

as lives as tho

attacted

aught, or ought,

for as if; say "She looks as if she would consent."
for attacked; say “The army was attacked at daybreak.”
for naught; say "The symbol called naught is usually in-
cluded among the ten digits;""It is true, for aught
[anything] that I know;" "You ought to go."

NOTE: Naught comes from ne and aught, and hence means not anything.

bad off beautifully

between each

between every

claim

come

for carelessly; say "This is done carelessly."
for sick or ill; say "He looks very sick."

for badly off; say "I fear he is badly off."

for beautiful; say "She looks beautiful and dresses beautifully."

for after each; say "After each lesson."

for before every; say "Before every lesson.”

for assert, declare; say "I assert that he knows the facts."

"His "He is

cute or cunning for little, tiny, pretty, winsome, amusing, attractive, lovely, charming; say "She is a pretty child; pain and his pleasure were both acute; a cunning dog and has sly tricks."

deny but that

different than done

doubt but that

drownded

except

except

expect

female flown

for deny that; say "I don't deny that he did."
for different from; say "Mine is different from yours.'
for did; say "I did it."

for doubt that; say "I don't doubt that he did.”
for drowned; say "The horse was drowned."
for accept; say "She accepted the flowers gladly."
for unless; say "I can't go unless Nell goes too."
for suspect or suppose; say "I suspect she has heard the
93
news; "I suppose you go home often.”

for woman; say "I saw an elderly woman."

for flowed or fled; say "The river has flowed for many

years in this course; "The thief has fled the country;" "The bird has flown away."

140

funny

good

had ought

have got hurry up

in

It is me lady

learn

for strange, odd, unusual, quaint, unexpected; say

strange that was!

"How

for well or carefully; say "You have done this well."
for ought; say "He ought to have gone last night."
"You have a dime and I have a nickel."
for have; say
for hurry; say "Hurry, Tom, hurry!" "The troops
the hill."
hurried up

for into; say

"I jumped into the pond and swam about in the water."

for It is I; say " It is I [he, she, we, they].”

for woman, or madam; say "What can I do for you,
"Ask this saleswoman."
madam?"

for teach; say

"He teaches me music."

NOTE: Learn for teach was formerly good English, and to be found in
See the poem given later in this chapter.

Shakspere.

leave

less

like

like

lightning

love

mad

most

much
mutual

nice

"He sang as if he loved to sing." for lighten; say "It thundered and lightened." "I love my mother." "I like arithmetic ; for like; say for angry, cross; say "Nell was angry and the rest were cross at the failure of the mad scheme." "We are almost home; most of the hard for almost; say places are past."

"The

"As many as a hundred sheep." for many; say for common; say "We have a common friend; affection between Nell and Alice is mutual." for pleasing, satisfactory, charming, good, kind; say "This "She has a charming manis a pleasing story; "This work requires the nicest care;