Chapter XII: Words.--Spelling.--Pronunciation (2)

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. Abbreviated words, rule against. Abbreviations, punctuation of (§102); use of, in letters. _Accept_, for _except_, Glossary. Active voice and passive voice, explained; forms of. Adjectives, defined; capitalization of proper; confused with adverbs; distinguished from adverbs; errors in comparison of; improper forms of; list of irregular; placing of; adjective pronouns; punctuation of two or more adjectives modifying same noun (§106); singular and plural. _Admire_, for _like_, Glossary. Adverbs, defined; comparison of; conjunctive; confusion with adjectives; distinguished from adjectives; double negative; errors in comparison; list of irregularly compared; omission of; punctuation of (§116), (§121). _Æsop's Fables_, quotation from. _Affect_, for _effect_, Glossary. _Aggravate_, for _irritate_, Glossary. Agreement, of adjective and noun; of pronoun and antecedent; of verb and subject; of verb in clauses. Ain't, Glossary. _Allow_, for _assert_ or _intend_, Glossary. _Allude_, for _refer_, Glossary. _Also_, without _and_. _Among_, for _between_, Glossary. _An_, use of article. _And_, use of. Antecedents, of pronouns, defined; agreement of pronouns and; clearness of; compound; indefinite; of relative pronouns. _Any_, for _at all_, Glossary. Apostrophe, general use of; with plural nouns; with possessive nouns; with possessive pronouns. Apposition, explained. Appositives, punctuation of (§108). _Argue_, for _augur_. _Arise_. Articles, explained; use of. _As_, as conjunction or adverb; as a relative pronoun, Glossary; for _like_; for _since_, Glossary; punctuation of (§122). _At_, for _in_, Glossary. _Attackted_, mispronunciation of _attacked_, Glossary. Attribute complement, explained; case of (note 2). Auxiliary verbs, explained; _shall_ and _will_; _should_ and _would_; _may, can, might_, and _could_. _Avocation_, for _vocation_. _Awake_, for _wake_, Glossary. _Awful_, for _awfully_, Glossary.

_Bad_, for _badly_, Glossary. Balanced sentence. Barbarisms, defined; rules for avoidance of; when proper. Beginning of the composition. _Beside_, for _besides_, Glossary. _Best_, for _better_, Glossary. _Between_, for _among_, Glossary. _Bible_, capitalization of (§100). _Blowed_, for _blew_, Glossary. Body, of the letter. Books for reading, list of. _Bound_, for _determined_, Glossary. Brackets, use of. _But_, as a relative pronoun; with a negative; with a dependent clause; to introduce two succeeding statements. _But that_, for _but what_.

_Calculate_, for _intend_. _Can_, use of; model conjugation of. "Cant expressions," in letters. Capitalization, rules for. Cases, classified and defined; case forms of pronouns; case of word in apposition; case forms of relative pronouns; outline for use of case forms; rules for forming possessive. _Character_, for _reputation_, Glossary. _Character of Napoleon Bonaparte_, by Channing, quotation from. Choice of words, rules to aid in. _Christmas_, by Washington Irving, quotation from. _Claim_, for _assert_. Clauses, defined; adjective; adverbial; agreement, of verb in; principal or independent; subordinate or dependent; substantive; _when_ and _where_ clauses. Climax in sentences. Clipped words, rule against. Close of letter. _Clum_, for _climbed_, Glossary. "_In care of_," misuse of _c|o_ for. Coherence, of paragraph; how to gain in paragraph; illustrations of in paragraph; of sentence; of whole composition; words of. Colon. "Comma blunder". Comma. Common gender, defined, of nouns and pronouns. Comparative degree; misuse of, in reference to more than two things. Comparison, degrees of; irregular forms in; errors in; manner of comparing. _Complected_, for _complexioned_, Glossary. Complex sentence. Complimentary close, in letters. Compound nouns, explained; rules for forming plurals of. Compound pronouns, personal; relative. Compound sentence. Compound subject; agreement of verb with. Compound words, use of hyphen with (§140). _Concluded_, for _to form an opinion_, Glossary. Conditional clauses, punctuation of (§114). Confusion of adjectives and adverbs. Conjunctions, defined; misuses of; correlatives. _Considerable_, for _considerably_, Glossary. _Consul_, for _council_, or _counsel_. Contractions of _not_, use of, in formal composition. Co-ordinate clauses, punctuation of (§§112, 113), (§§118, 119, 120). Copulative verb. Correctly written letters. Correlatives, placing of. _Could_, use of; model conjugations of. _Council, counsel_ and _consul_ confused. _Cranford_, by Mrs. Gaskell, selection from. _Cute_, for _pretty, clever_, etc., Glossary.

Dash, use of. _Decease_, Glossary. Definition, by a _when_ or _where_ clause. Degrees in comparison, classified. _Demand_, Glossary. Dependent and conditional clauses, punctuation of (§114), (§§119, 120). Dictionary, value of its use. _Different_, with _than_, Glossary. _Directly_, misused as a conjunction. _Disease_, Glossary. Division of words at ends of lines (§139). _Don't_, Glossary. Double negatives. _Down_, misuse as a verb, Glossary. _Drownded_, mispronunciation of _drowned_, Glossary.

_East_, capitalization of (§100). _Each other_, misuse with more than two objects, Glossary. _Effect_, for _affect_, Glossary. _Either_, misuse with more than two objects, Glossary. _Either-or_. Elements of the sentence: Principal elements, subject; predicate. Subordinate elements: attribute complement; adjective modifier; adverbial modifier; object complement. _Emigration_, for _immigration_, Glossary. Emphasis, in paragraphs; in sentence. Ending of whole composition. _Enough_, Glossary. _Euthuse_, Glossary. Enumerations, punctuation before, (§§122, 123). _Esq._, misuse after Mr.. _Etc._, misspelling of, Glossary. Euphony, in sentences. _Everybody_, followed by a plural form, Glossary. _Everywheres_, for _everywhere_. Examples, of beginning of whole composition; of correctly written letters; of ending of whole composition; of outline of whole composition. Exclamation point, use of. _Except_, for _accept_, Glossary. Explanatory relative clauses, punctuation of (§111). Expletives. _Expect_, for _suppose_.

_Fall_, for _fell_. _Father_, capitalization of (§99). _Fell_, for _fall_. Feminine gender, defined; of nouns and pronouns. Final words, in letters. "Fine-writing". _Fine_, Glossary. _Firstly_, Glossary. _First-rate_, Glossary. _For_, used to introduce two succeeding clauses. Foreign words. _Former_, Glossary. Form of letters. From, Glossary. _Funny_, for _singular_, Glossary.

Gender, defined and classified formation of feminine from masculine; gender of pronouns. General terms, use of. _Gent_, Glossary. _Gentleman_, Glossary. Geographical names, punctuation of (§108). Gerunds, explanation of; confusion with participle; with noun or pronoun modifier; placing of gerund phrase. Gettysburg speech, by Lincoln. _Good_, for _well_. Good use of words; offenses against. _Got_, Glossary. _Grand_, Glossary. Grave forms of personal pronouns, use of. _Guess_, for _think_, Glossary.

Hackneyed expressions, general rule against; in letters. _Had, ought_, Glossary. _Hain't_, Glossary. _Hanged_, confused with _hung_, Glossary. _Hardly_, placing of; with a negative, Glossary. _Have_, misuse after _had_, Glossary. Heading, of letters. _Heighth_, for _height_, Glossary. _Here_, misuse with demonstratives, Glossary. _Her'n_. _Him_, misuse with gerund. _Hisself_. _His'n_. _Home_, confused with _house_; for _at home_, Glossary. _Humbug_, Glossary. _Hung_, confused with _hanged_, Glossary. Hyphen, use of.

_I_, capitalization of (§100). Order of. In the letter. Idioms. _i. e._, punctuation of (§122). _Illy_, Glossary. _Immigration_, confused with _emigration_, Glossary. Imperative mode. Improving one's vocabulary, rules for. Improprieties. Indentation, of paragraph; of paragraph, in letters. Infinitives, explanation of; forms of; cases used with; rules for sequence of infinitive tenses; split. Inflection, defined. _In_, confused with _into_, Glossary. Inside address of letters. Interjection. Interrogation point, use of. Interrogative pronouns. Intransitive verbs, see _Transitive_. Introductory words or phrases, punctuation of (§107).

_Kind_, with plural modifiers, Glossary. _Kind of a_.

_Lady_, Glossary. _Latter_, confused with _last_, Glossary. _Lay_, confused with lie. _Learn_, for _teach_, Glossary. _Leave_, for _let_, Glossary. _Lend_, confused with _loan_. Length, of paragraphs; of sentences. Letter writing; body of letter; close; heading; illustrations of correctly written letters; inside address; miscellaneous directions; notes in third person; outside address; salutation. _Liable_, for _likely_. _Lie_, confused with _lay_. _Lightning_, Glossary. _Like_, misuse as a conjunction. _Lit on_, Glossary. _Loan_, confused with _lend_. Loose sentences. _Lot_ for _a great deal_, Glossary.

_Mad_, for _angry_. Masculine gender, defined; of pronouns. _May_; model conjugation of. _Messrs._, use of. _Might_; model conjugations of. Mode, definition of; indicative; infinitive; imperative; obligative, footnote; participal; potential, of; subjunctive. Modifiers, placing of. _Most_ for _almost_. _Mother_, capitalization of (§99). _Mrs._, Glossary. _Much_, for _many_. _Muchly_. _Mutual_, confused with _common_, Glossary.

Name, form of verb. _Namely_, punctuation of (§122). _Near_, confused with _nearly_. _Neither_, misuse with more than two objects, Glossary. _Neither-nor_. _Nerve_, Glossary. Neuter gender, defined; of nouns and pronouns. Newly coined expressions, rule against. _Newsy_, Glossary. Nominative case, defined; when used, note. _No place_, Glossary. _No_, punctuation of (§102). _No good_, for _worthless_. _North_, capitalization of (§100). _Not muchly_. Notes in the third person. _Not only--but also_. _Notorious_, confused with _noted_, Glossary. Nouns, common; proper; case of; gender of; number of. _Nowhere near_, for _not nearly_, Glossary. Number, defined; agreement of verb and subject in number; singular; plural; of relative pronouns; of pronouns; of pronouns with compounded antecedent; rules for forming plurals of nouns. _Number_, sign #, used for.

_O_ and _oh_, capitalization of (§100). Object complement, explained. Objective case, defined; when used. Obligative mode (footnote). _Observance_, confused with _observation_. Obsolete words. _Of_, Glossary. Omission, of adverb _much_; of important words; of prepositions; punctuation in case of (§117); (§138); of verbs. _One another_, use of. _Only_, placing of; with a negative, Glossary. Order of heading in letters. _Other_, use of in comparison. _Ought_. Outline, for composition; illustration of. Outside address, of letters. _Outside of_, Glossary. Over-statement of facts, rule against. _Over with_, Glossary.

_Pants_, Glossary. Paragraphing of letters. Paragraphs; coherence in; emphasis in; indentation of; in letters; length of; unity in. Parenthesis marks, use of; too frequent use of. Parts of speech, classified. Passive voice and active voice explained; forms of. Past participle, explanation and use of. Past tense, explanation and use of. Participles, explanation of; confusion with gerunds; dangling; at beginning of sentence; preceded by _thus_. Period, use of. Periodic sentence. Personal pronouns, defined; classified; compound personal pronouns; use of common and of grave forms of; unnecessary use of. _Piece_, Glossary. _Photo_, Glossary. Phrases, defined; prepositional; verb; punctuation of adverbial phrases (§116), (§121). _Place_, Glossary. Placing of adjectives and adverbs. _Plenty_, Glossary. Plural number, explained; rules for forming plurals of nouns. Point of view, in paragraph; in sentence; in whole composition. _Poorly_, for _ill_, Glossary. Positive degree. Position, in letters, of complimentary close; of heading; of inside address; of salutation; of outside address. Possessive case, defined; rules for forming possessives of nouns; when used. Potential mode, explanation and forms of. Predicate of the sentence; defined; compound, predicate, explained. Prepositional phrase. Prepositions, defined; omission of; proper use of; unnecessary use of; used as conjunctions. _Principal_, confused with _principle_, Glossary. Principal parts of verbs, explained; classified; list of; rules for use of. Principal verbs, explained. Professional words. Pronouns, defined; adjective; antecedent of, defined; agreement with antecedent; case forms of; compound personal; compound relative; gender of; interrogative; number of; outline of, use of case forms of; relative; rules determining gender of; with compound antecedents. Pronunciation, lists of frequently mispronounced words; words given wrong sounds; words given wrong accent; words of foreign pronunciation; words of similar spelling. Proper adjectives, capitalization of (§95). Proper nouns, defined; capitalization of (§95). _Propose_, for _intend_, Glossary. _Providing_, for _if_, Glossary. Provincialisms, definition and rule against use of. Punctuation, rules for; in letters, body; heading; inside address; outside address; salutation.

Qualities, essential: Of sentences, unity; emphasis; euphony. Of paragraphs, unity; coherence; emphasis. Of whole composition, unity; coherence. _Quite_, for _very_. Quotation marks, use of. Quotations, punctuation of (§115), (§123), (§131), (§§132-137).

_Raise_, confused with _rise_, Glossary. _Recommend_, confused with _recommendation_, Glossary. Relative causes, cases in; explanatory or non-restrictive; introduction of successive; punctuation of (§111); use of _when_ or _where_ clause. Relative pronouns, defined and explained; agreement of verb with; case and number of; compound; explanatory or non-restrictive; restrictive; use of, with different antecedents. Repetition of similar words or syllables. _Reputation_, confused with _character_, Glossary. _Respectfully_, confused with _respectively_. _Rev._. _Right away_, Glossary. _Right off_, Glossary. _Rise_, confused with _raise_, Glossary.

Salutation, in letters. _Some_, misuse as a pronoun, Glossary. _Say_, for _order_ or _command_, Glossary. _Scarcely_, placing of; with a negative, Glossary. Scriptures, capitalization, of (§100). _Seldom ever_, Glossary. Semi-colon, use of. Sentence elements out of natural order, (§109). Sentences: defined; declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory; essential qualities of; loose, periodic, balanced; simple, complex, compound; length of; slipshod construction of. Sequence of tenses, infinitive; in clauses. Series of words, punctuation of. _Set_, confused with _sit_, Glossary. S-form of verb. _Shut of_, for _rid of_, Glossary. _Sight_, for _many_, Glossary. Signature of writer, in letters. Simple sentence, defined. Simple words, use of. Similar expressions of similar thoughts. Singular form of verb, explanation and use of, after you and they. Singular number, explained. _Sit_, confused with _set_, Glossary. _Shall_ and _will_, use of, in dependent clauses; in principal clauses; in questions; model conjugations of; past tenses of. _Should_ and _would_, model conjugations of; use of. Slang. _So_, use of. Solecisms. _Some_, misuse as an adverb, Glossary. _Somebody else's_. _Sort_, with plurals, Glossary. _Sort of a_, Glossary. _South_, capitalization of, (§100). Speech, paragraphing of. Specific terms, use of. Spelling, lists of words frequently misspelled; rules for; of words of similar sound. "Squinting construction." _Street_, omission of in letters. Subject of sentence or clause, defined; agreement of verb and subject; compound; relative pronoun as, of whole composition; statement of, in composition. Subject matter of letters. Subjunctive mode. _Such_, Glossary. Summarizing word, use of; punctuation of, (§127). Superlative degree; misuse in comparing only two things. _Suspect_, for _expect_. Syllables, division of words into, (§139). Synonyoms, value of.

_Tasty_, for _tasteful_, Glossary. Technical words. "Telegraph style," in letters. Tense, explained; sequence of. _Than_, use of. _That_, with what antecedents used; as a restrictive relative; misuse of, Glossary. _That is_, punctuation of, (§122). _The_, use of article. _Their'n, theirself, theirselves_. _Them_, for _those_. _Then_, use of. _There_, improper use of after demonstratives, Glossary. _They_, indefinite use of; with singular verb. Third person, notes in the. _Those kind_, and _these sort_. _Three first_, Glossary. _Thusly_. Title of whole composition. Titles, abbreviations of; capitalization of, (§§ 96, 97). _To-day, to-morrow, to-night_, hyphens with, (§140). _Too_, misuse of, Glossary. Transition, in whole composition. Transitive and intransitive verbs, confusion of; explanation of. _Transpire_, for _happen_. _Try and_, Glossary. _Two first_, Glossary.

_Unbeknown_, for _unknown_. Unity: Of paragraph; how to gain; illustrations of. Of sentence. Of whole composition. Unnecessary words, use of.

Verb phrase, explained. Verbs, defined; agreement of verb and subject; agreement of verb in clauses; auxiliary; gerunds; infinitives; mode; model conjugations of _to-be_ and _to see_; omission of verbs or parts of; participles; principal; principal parts; principal parts, list of; transitive and intransitive; use of auxiliaries; voice. _Very_. _viz._, punctuation of, (§122). Vocabulary, rules for improvement of. _Vocation_, confused with _avocation_. Vulgarisms.

_Wake_, confused with _awake_, Glossary. _Wait on_, confused with _wait for_, Glossary. _Ways_, Glossary. Weak beginnings and endings of sentences. _Well_, confused with _good_. _West_, capitalization of, (§100). _What_, with what antecedents. _When_. _Where_. _Which_, with clause or phrase as antecedent; with what antecedents used. _Who_, with what antecedents used. Whole composition; beginning of, ending of; paragraph composition or paragraph theme. _Will_, use of, see _shall_. _Without_, misuse as a conjunction. Words, choice of; clipped or abbreviated; division of at ends of lines, (§139); foreign; good use of; how to improve vocabulary of, idioms; in place of figures in letters; newly-coined; of coherence; professional; pronunciation of, provincialisms; simple English; slang; spelling of; technical words; vulgarisms. _Would_, see _should_.

_Yes_, punctuation of, (102). _You_, indefinite use of; with singular verb. _Yours truly_ and _yours respectfully_, wrong abbreviation of. _Your'n_.

End of Project Gutenberg's Practical Grammar and Composition, by Thomas Wood