Five Hundred Mistakes of Daily Occurrence in Speaking, Pronouncing, and Writing the English Language Part 11

"The sun has long been set, The stars are out by _twos and threes_; The little birds are piping yet Among the bushes and the trees."

442. "_How's yourself_, this morning?" an exceedingly common, but very objectionable expression: say, "_How are you_;" &c.

443. "Wanted, two apprentices, who will be treated as _one_ of the family:" great practical difficulty would be found in realizing such treatment! Say, "as _members_ of the family."

444. The following lines afford an instance of the ingenious uses to which the English language may be put:

"You _sigh for_ a _cipher_, but _I sigh for you;_ Oh, _sigh for no cipher_, but oh, _sigh for me;_ Oh, let not my _sigh for_ a _cipher_ go, But give _sigh for sigh, for I sigh_ for you so!"

The above is more briefly expressed in the following manner:

"U O a O, but I O u, Oh, O no O, but oh, O me; Oh, let not my O a O go, But give O O I O u so!"

445. Sometimes _but_ is incorrectly subst.i.tuted for _that_: as, "I have no doubt _but_ he will be here to-night." Sometimes for the conjunction _if_, as, "I shouldn't wonder _but_ that was the case." And sometimes _two_ conjunctions are used instead of one, as, "_If that_ I have offended him,"

"_After that_ he had seen the parties," &c. All this is very awkward and should be avoided.

446. "My hands are _chopped_:" say, _chapped_.

447. "This will serve as a _preventative_:" say, _preventive_.

448. "A _nishe_ young man," "What _makesh_ you laugh?" "If he _offendsh_ you, don't speak to him," "_Ash_ you please," "Not _jush_ yet," "We always _pa.s.sh_ your house in going to call on _Missh Yatesh_." This is decided, unmitigated _c.o.c.kneyism_, having its parallel in nothing except the broken English of the sons of Abraham, and to adopt it in conversation is certainly "not speaking like a Christian."

449. Never say, "Cut it in _half_," for this you cannot do unless you could _annihilate one_ half. You may "cut it in two," or "cut it in halves," or "cut it through," or "divide it," but no human ability will enable you _to cut it in half_.

451. _To lay and to lie._--_To lay_ is an active or transitive verb, and must always have an object, expressed or understood. _To lie_ (not meaning _to tell a falsehood_) is a neuter or intransitive, and therefore does not admit of an object. The only real difficulty arises from the fact, that the past tense of "lie," when used without an auxiliary, is the same as the present of "lay." But a little attention will obviate this. Nothing can be more erroneous than to say, "I shall go and lay down." The question which naturally arises in the mind of the discriminating hearer is, "_What_ are you going to lay down--money, carpets, plans, or what?" for, as a transitive verb is used, an object is wanted to complete the sense.

The speaker means, that he himself is going to _lie down_. "My brother _lays_ ill of a fever," should be, "My brother _lies_," &c.

VERB ACTIVE. VERB NEUTER.

_To lay._ _To lie._

Present Tense. Present Tense.

I lay } I lie } Thou layest } money, Thou liest } down, He lays } carpets, He lies } too long, We lay } plans, We lie } on a sofa, You lay } --any _thing_. You lie } --any _where_.

They lay } They lie }

Imperfect Tense. Imperfect Tense.

I laid } I lay } Thou laidest } money, Thou layest } down, He laid } carpets, He lays } too long, We laid } plans, We lay } on a sofa, You laid } --any _thing_. You lay } --any _where_.

They laid } They lay }

Present Participle, Laying. Present Participle, Lying.

Perfect Participle, Laid. Perfect Participle, Lain.

452. Many people have an odd way of saying, "I expect," when they mean only "I think," or "I conclude;" as, "I expect my brother went to Richmond to-day," "I expect those books were sent to Paris last year." _Expect_ can relate only to _future_ time, and must be followed by a future tense, or a verb in the infinitive mood; as, "I expect my brother _will go_ to Richmond to-day," "I expect _to find_ those books were sent to Paris last year."

453. "A _summer's_ morning," should be, A _summer_ morning.

454. The vulgar speaker uses adjectives instead of adverbs, and says, "This letter is written _shocking_;" the genteel speaker uses adverbs instead of adjectives, and says, "This writing looks _shockingly_."

455. "_n.o.body else_ but him," should be, _n.o.body_ but him.

456. "That _ain't_ just," should be, That _is not_ just.

457. "He was killed _by_ a cannon-ball," should be, He was killed _with_ a cannon-ball. He was killed _by_ the cannoneer.

458. "A _new pair_ of gloves," should be, A _pair of new_ gloves.

459. "_Before_ I do that, I must _first_ be paid," should be, Before I do that, I must be paid.

460. A grammatical play upon the word THAT:

"Now _that_ is a word which may often be joined, For _that that_ may be doubled is clear to the mind; And _that that that_ is right, is as plain to the view, As _that that that that_ we use is rightly used too; And _that that that that that_ line has in it, is right-- In accordance with grammar, is plain in our sight."

461. "He will go _from thence_ to-morrow." The preposition "from" is included in these adverbs, therefore it becomes tautology in sense when prefixed to them.

462. "Equally as well," is a very common expression, and a very incorrect one; the adverb of comparison, "as," has no right in the sentence.

"Equally well," "Equally high," "Equally dear," should be the construction; and if a complement be necessary in the phrase, it should be preceded by the preposition "with," as, "The wall was equally high with the former one," "The goods at Smith's are equally dear with those sold at the shop next door," &c. "Equally the same" is tautology.

463. Some persons talk of "_continuing on_:" in what other direction would it be possible to _continue_?

464. "The satin measured twelve yards before I cut this piece _off of_ it." "The fruit was gathered _off of_ that tree." Omit _of_; or, omitting _off of,_ insert _from_.

465. "He left his horse, and got _on to_ a stage-coach," "He jumped _on to_ the floor," "She laid it _on to_ a dish," "I threw it _on to_ the fire." Why use two prepositions where one would be quite as explicit, and far more elegant? n.o.body would think of saying, "He came to New-York, _for_ to go to the exhibition."

466. "No other resource _but_ this was allowed him:" say, "No other resource _than_ this," &c.

467. "I don't know but _what_ I shall go to White Plains to-morrow:" say, "I don't know but _that_," &c.

468. "One of those houses _were_ sold last week," "Each of the daughters _are_ to have a separate share," "Every tree in those plantations _have_ been injured by the storm," "Either of the children _are_ at liberty to claim it." Here it will be perceived that the p.r.o.nouns "one," "each,"

"every," "either," are the true nominatives to the verbs; but the intervening noun in the plural number, in each sentence, deludes the ear; and the speaker, without reflection, renders the verb in the plural instead of the singular number.

469. "Many still die annually _from_ the plague:" say, _of_ the plague.

470. "He spoke _contemptibly_ of him," should be, He spoke _contemptuously_ of him.

471. "_Was_ you?" should be, _Were_ you?

472. "This is the more _perfect_ of the two:" say, More _complete_.

_Perfect_ rarely admits comparison.

473. Avoid all slang and vulgar words and phrases, as, _Anyhow_, _Bating_, _Bran new_, _To blow up_, _Bother_, _Cut_, _Currying favor_, _Fork out_, _Half an eye_, _I am up to you_, _Kick up_, _Sc.r.a.pe_, _The Scratch_, _Walk into_.

474. "Go _over_ the bridge," should be, Go _across_ the bridge.

475. "_I was some distance from home_," should be, I was _at_ some distance from home.