=A and An.=--_a_ is used before a consonant sound; _an_, before a vowel
sound; as, “_a_ boy;” “_an_ eye;” when a vowel has a consonant sound, as
in the word _eulogy_, _a_, and not _an_, is required. In the case of
words beginning with _h_, _an_ is always required when _h_ is silent;
as, “_an_ heir;” when _h_ is aspirated, _a_ is required, unless the
accent is on the second syllable, when _an_ is used; as, “_a_ history;”
“_an_ historian.”
=Abbreviations.=--Such abbreviations or contractions as _e’er_, _ne’er_,
_o’er_, _e’en_, _’tis_, _’mid_, and _’neath_, are legitimate in verse,
but should not be used in prose.
=Ability for capacity.=--_Ability_ is the power of doing; _capacity_ the
faculty of receiving. “The _ability_ is in me to do him good.” “Man’s
_capacities_ have never been measured.”
=Abortive.=--That is _abortive_ which is premature, not brought to
completion. A plan may be _abortive_ but not an act. We may speak of an
_abortive_ effort.
=About.=--Not to be used as _almost_. “The day is _almost_ gone,” not
“The day is _about_ gone.”
=Above= is an adverb, not an adjective. Say “The address given _above_,”
not “The _above_ address;” the “foregoing section,” not the “_above_
section.”
=Accept of.=--Never use the preposition after this verb. We _accept_
invitations, presents, hospitality, and the like.
=Accept and Except.=--_Accept_ means to take when offered; _except_
means to leave out, to exclude. I _accepted_ the gift. All _except_ two
will go.
=Accord.=--To _accord_ means to render or bestow upon another, as honor:
therefore one should never say, “The information he desired was
_accorded_ him.”
=Administer.=--The man died from blows _administered_ by the policeman.
Oaths, medicine, affairs of state are _administered_. Blows are _dealt_.
=Affect, Effect.=--To _affect_ means to influence or to pretend. To
_effect_ means to bring about. “He _affected_ intoxication.” “He
_affected_ the audience strongly.” “I shall _effect_ a reform.”
=Afraid.=--The adjective _afraid_ should not be used for the verb
_fear_; thus: we say, “I am _afraid_ of fire,” but “I _fear_ I cannot
go,” not “I am _afraid_ I cannot go.”
=Aggravate= means to heighten, intensify, or make worse. Do not use it
for _annoy_ or _provoke_.
=Ain’t.=--This is illiterately employed as a contraction for _are not_,
_am not_, _is not_. Even as a contraction of _am not_ it is censured by
many critics, the form _I’m not_ being universally preferred. “Am I
not?” is required in interrogative sentences.
=Allow.=--This word is frequently misused for _think_, as “I _allow_
that I shall go to town.” Say, “I _think_ that,” etc.
=Allude= means to refer to indirectly, and not the same as _mention_.
“By _mentioning_ his lifelong companion he _alluded_ to his wife.”
=Almost.=--Careless speakers sometimes err in saying _most_ for
_almost_, as, for example, “I have read _most_ all the books in the
library,” for “_almost_ all.”
=Among and Between.=--_Among_ is distributive, and may apply to any
number more than two; _between_ is used of only two persons or things;
as, “They discussed this _among_ themselves;” “This is _between_ us
two.”
=Among One Another.=--“_Among one another_” is censured by critics,
“_with_ one another,” or “among themselves” being suggested as
preferable.
=And= should not be used instead of _to_ in such sentences as “I’m going
to go and get it,” for “I’m going to get it”; “Try and do it,” for “Try
to do it.”
=Angry At and Angry With.=--“Angry _at_” is used when expressing anger
for an animal or an inanimate object; “Angry _with_,” for a human being;
as, “He is _angry at_ his dog;” “He is _angry with_ his brother.”
=Anybody else’s, Anybody’s else.=--The predominance of usage seems to be
in favor of the first form, which is correct according to analogy of
similar cases, which “throw” the apostrophe and s to the last word of
the unified expression, generally nouns in apposition.
=Any One, One,= _anybody_, _each_, _any one_, _everybody_, _either_,
_neither_, _one_, _some one_, _somebody_, should be followed by singular
pronouns, or verbs.
_Any one_, _anybody_, _each_, _every one_, _everybody_, _either_,
_neither_, _nobody_, _some one_, _somebody_, may be followed by _he_ or
_his_.
“_Any one_ of these patterns _is_ suitable.” “_Every one_ of the ladies
_is_ here.” “_Each one_ of the soldiers _has_ a new uniform.” “_If any
one wishes_ to make a suggestion, I wish _he_ (or she, or he or she)
would make it.” “_Anybody_ in _his_ senses would have done it.”
_One_ should be followed, by _one_ or _one’s_. “_One_ dislikes to be
told of _one’s_ errors.”
=Appreciate= means to estimate justly. “I appreciate his ill-will.”
means “I am fully aware of the extent and intensity of his ill-will.”
=Apt, Likely, Liable.=--_Apt_ means _quick_ or _skillful_. “He is apt to
learn,” means that he learns readily. “He is likely to learn,” means
that he will probably learn. “He is liable to learn,” is incorrect.
_Liable for_ means responsible for; _liable to_ means subject to. “He is
liable for the entire sum, and liable to imprisonment if he does not
pay.”
=Apprehend and Comprehend.=--_Apprehend_ means to _perceive_; as, “I
_apprehend_ danger.” _Comprehend_ means to _understand_; as, “I
_comprehend_ your meaning.”
=As= should not be used for _that_ in such constructions as, “I do not
know _that_ I do.”
=As--As, So--As.=--Use the former in affirmative and the latter in
negative propositions. “We are _as_ wise _as_ our teachers.” “I am not
_so_ young _as_ I used to be.”
=As If It Was.=--_Were_, and not _was_, is required after _as if_, for
the reason that the supposition is not known; thus: “It looks _as if it
were_ all right,” not “it looks _as if it was_ all right.”
=As though= is often used for _as if_. In the sentence “He walked _as
though_ he were lame,” if the ellipsis is supplied the error will be
evident. “He walked _as_ (he would walk) _though_ he were lame.” _As
though_ is seldom correct.
=At, At and To, At All.=--The presence of _at_ improves such
constructions as “He is _at_ home,” instead of “He is home.” _At_ and
_to_ are superfluous in such sentences as, “Where is he?” and “Where has
he gone?” hence, their use should be avoided. _At all_ is superfluous in
such sentences as, “There is no use in your going;” “I do not know him.”
=Authoress, Actress.=--The terms “author_ess_,” “doctr_ess_,”
“editr_ess_,” “poet_ess_,” “lectur_ess_,” are no longer used, _author_,
_doctor_, etc., being correct for both sexes. Act_ress_, not _actor_,
however, is the required form for the feminine gender.
=Avocation, Vocation.=--_Avocation_ should not be used for _vocation_.
_Vocation_ is one’s employment; _avocation_, one’s diversion from that
employment.
=Awful, Awfully.=--Do not use these words as intensives or for supposed
force. _Awful_ should mean that which inspires awe. “The _awful_
mysteries of the world unseen.”
=Bad, Badly.=--_Bad_ is not to be used for severe, as “I have a _bad_
headache.” _Badly_ is also inelegantly used for very much, as “I need
money _badly_.”
=Character.=--It is in general wrong to speak of a person as a
_character_. _Character_ is justly applied to the ideal personages
delineated by novelists. Possessing no real personality, they are
_characters_ and nothing more.
=Character, Reputation.=--One’s _character_ is what one really is; one’s
_reputation_ is what people think of one. We may have a good _character_
and a poor _reputation_, and _vice versa_.
=Choose, Chosen.=--“She has chose the blue silk.” Say “has chosen.” But
say, in the imperfect, “she chose him in preference to the others.”
=Combine together.=--“He combined them together.” Omit _together_.
=Commence, Begin.=--_Begin_, when followed by a verb, takes _to_ and the
infinitive after it. _Commence_ should take the present participle. We
“begin to do,” we “commence working.” _Begin_ may take the participle,
but _commence_ should take the infinitive.
=Consonant.=--“It is _consonant to_ our nature,” is a more usual
expression than “it is _consonant with_.” But _consonant with_ is not
improper.
=Contractions=, while not permissible in dignified utterance or in
formal writing, are in accordance with the conversational employment of
the language. The following is the list:
_I’m not_, _you’re not_, _he’s not_, _we’re not_, _they’re not_ are used
in the declarative form, and _isn’t he_ (_she_, or _it_), _aren’t you_
(_we_, _they_) in the interrogative. In the declarative form, _You’re
not_, _he’s not_, etc., are preferable to _you aren’t_, _he isn’t_, etc.
_Am I not_ is not contracted, _ain’t_ being regarded as objectionable
for _am I not_, and as a vulgarism for _isn’t_. [See _ain’t_.]
“He (she or it) _don’t_” for He (she or it) _doesn’t_ is always
incorrect. _I don’t_, _you don’t_, _he doesn’t_, _we don’t_, _you
don’t_, _they don’t_, are in accordance with the conversational
employment of the language.
_Mayn’t I_ (or _may I not_) is correct in the interrogative form; _you
can’t_ (or _you can not_) in the declarative form. In this connection
note that _may_ is used when asking and granting permission, and that
_can_, which ordinarily expresses ability, is used in the declarative
form when denying permission; thus: “_May_ I go.” “No, you _can not_.”
The contractions _shan’t_ and _won’t_ are in accordance with
conversational usage.
=Conversant.=--We are conversant _with_ men and _in_ things. _Conversant
about things_ is improper.
=Converse together.=--“They conversed together for more than an hour.”
Omit _together_.
=Copy.=--We copy _after_ a person; we copy _after_ actions. We copy
_from_ things, as from a picture, or from a statue. In such case, a copy
_from_ the work is also said to be a copy _after_ the artist.
=Correspond.=--_Correspond_, meaning to hold intercourse by means of
letters, is followed by _with_. “I have corresponded with him for
several years.” _With_ is also used with _correspond_, to signify
_consistent with_. _Correspond_ is frequently followed by _to_, when it
expresses adaptability or appropriateness. “His style of living
corresponded to his means.”
=Cover over.=--“He covered it over.” Say “he covered it.”
=Dead corpses.=--“Evil spirits are not occupied about the dead corpses
of bad men.” Omit _dead_; it is implied in _corpses_.
=Dependent.=--“He is dependent _of_ his father.” Say “dependent _on_.”
But with independent say _of_.
=Derogate.=--Say derogate _from_, derogatory _to_, “derogation _from_,”
or _to_.
=Depot, Station.=--A _depot_ is properly a place where goods or stores
are kept. The place where a railway train stops for passengers may
better be called a _station_.
=Did, Done.=--“Who done it?” Say “who did it?” “who has done it?”
=Differ.=--We differ _with_ a person in opinion. One differs _from_
another in other respects. The English barbarism of _differ to_,
_different to_, is intolerable, and reverses the meaning of the word
_to_.
=Direct, Address.=--We _address_ a letter to a person. We _direct_ it to
his post office, to the point at which, or to the person through whom,
he will receive it. A letter _addressed_ to the president may be
_directed_ to his secretary.
=Disappointed, Agreeably Disappointed.=--It is better to say _agreeably
surprised_. The meaning most closely associated with _disappointment_ is
that it is not agreeable.
=Dissent.=--We dissent _from_, not _with_.
=Distinct, Distinctly.=--“The girl speaks distinct.” Say “speaks
distinctly.”
=Divide.=--We divide things _between_ two, _among_ many.
=Drank, Drunk.=--“He was very thirsty, and drunk eagerly.” Say “drank.”
“He has drank three glasses of soda water.” Say “has drunk.” “Drunken,”
the ancient form of the participle, is not now used.
=Drove, Driven.=--“They have drove very fast.” Say “they have driven.”
But, using the imperfect, say “They drove the people out, and locked the
gates.”
=Dry.=--“I am dry, let me have a glass of water.” Say “I am thirsty.”
Using _dry_ in this sense suggests the dramshop.
=Each, Either.=--“A row of trees stood on either side of the river.” The
use of _either_ in such cases is disapproved by some writers, but it is
sanctioned by long and unexceptional usage, and by the deliberate
judgment of well-informed critics. The use of _each_--“a row of trees
stood on each side of the river” is indisputably correct.
=Each=, =Every=, =Either= are singular, and take the verb in the
singular number. Such errors as the following should be guarded against:
“Each of the daughters take an equal share.” Say “takes.” “Every leaf,
every twig, every blade, every drop of water, teem with life.” Say
“teems.” Also, instead of “one of those houses have been sold,” say “has
been sold.”
=Eat, Ate, Eaten.=--Say “I ate my breakfast at five o’clock this
morning,” not “I eat it,” or “I et it.” “I have eaten my dinner,” not “I
have ate it,” or “I have et it.”
=Either= is followed by _or_. “I shall either send it or bring it
myself.”
=Either and Neither= are used when two objects are mentioned, or two
assertions are made; when there are more than two objects or assertions,
they need not be employed. In such case, instead of _either_, no pronoun
or conjunction need be used; instead of _neither_, _no_ or _not_ may be
employed. When two persons are mentioned, “Either you or I must go.” In
case of three persons, “You or I or John must go.” With two assertions,
negative, “He will neither do it himself nor let any one else do it.”
With three negative assertions, “He will not publish the accounts of his
office, or allow the public access to them, or permit them to be
examined by competent, impartial parties.” Usage on the last point is
not uniform. Very many good writers use _neither_, _nor_, _nor_, with
three or more negative assertions.
=Emigrant, Immigrant.=--An _emigrant_ is a person who goes out from a
country or a state to reside in another; an _immigrant_ is one who comes
into the state to live, from abroad.
=Equally as.=--_As_ should not be used after _equally_. Say _equally
high_, _equally dear_, _equally handsome_, etc.; not _equally as high_,
_equally as dear_, _equally as handsome_.
=Equally as well as.=--“I can do it equally as well as he.” Omit
_equally_; it is implied in the words _as well as_.
=Equally the same.=--“It is equally the same.” Say “it is the same.”
=Everybody, Anybody.=--Refers to male and female.
For want of a pronoun of common gender, use the masculine--he, his,
him--unless the other sex is specified. “They” is plural and must not be
used.