Thomas Wood

“ Just as in the building of a house or of a machine, if anything creditable is to be attained, a carefully made plan is necessary before entering on the construction; so in the writing of an essay or theme, there should be made some plan or outline, which will determine what different things are to be discussed, and what is to be the method of developing the discussion. By the inexperienced writer, at least, a composition should never be begun until an outline has been formed for its development. ”

“ But in the depth of winter, when Nature lies despoiled of every charm, and wrapped in her shroud of sheeted snow, we turn our gratifications to moral sources. The dreariness and desolation of the landscape, the short gloomy days and darksome nights, while they circumscribe our wanderings, shut in also our feelings from rambling abroad, and make us more keenly disposed for the pleasures of the social circle. ”

“ The sentence, She looks charmingly, means, as it stands, that her manner of looking at a thing is charming. What is intended to be said is that she appears as if she was a charming woman. To convey that meaning, the adjective, charming, should have been used, and the sentence should read, She looks charming. Wherever the word modifies a verb or an adjective or another adverb, an adverb should be used, and wherever the word, whatever its location in the sentence, modifies a noun or pronoun, an adjective should be used. ”

“ How to Improve One's Vocabulary. The few following suggestions may be found helpful in the acquiring of a good vocabulary:
1. Cultivate the dictionary habit. Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and spelling of each new word that you meet. Only when these three things are grasped about each word, does one really know the word. Some persons have found it an invaluable aid to carry with them a small note book or card on which they note down to be looked up at a convenient time words concerning which they are in doubt. ”

“ The third offense against good use, an impropriety, is the use of a proper word in an improper sense. In many cases an offense against good use may be called a barbarism, an impropriety, or a solecism, since the fields covered by the three terms somewhat overlap one another. Many improprieties have their origin in the similarities in sound, spelling or meaning of words. The following exercises deal with a number of common improprieties resulting from the confusion of two similar words. ”

“ Thus, in the sentence, I could not wish John to be him, him is properly in the objective case, since there is an expressed subject of the infinitive, John, which is in the objective case. But in the sentence, I should hate to be he, he is properly in the nominative case, since the only subject that is expressed in the sentence is I, in the nominative case.
Note 3.—Where the relative pronoun who (whom) is the subject of a clause that itself is the object clause of a verb or a preposition, it is always in the nominative case. ”

“ Spanish, which is the least complex language, is the easiest to learn. In this sentence the principal thought is, Spanish is the easiest language to learn. The relative clause, which is the least complex language, is a thought, which, though not fully so important as the principal thought, is more nearly coördinate than subordinate in its value. It adds an additional thought of the speaker explaining the character of the Spanish language. When who and which are thus used as explanatory relatives, we see Page 19 that the relative clause may be omitted without making the sentence incomplete. ”

“ When this is done, error is often made by using the wrong number of the verb. Each, either, neither, this, that, and one, when used alone as subjects, require singular verbs. All, those, these, few, many, always require plural verbs. Any, none, and some may take either singular or plural verbs. In most of these cases, as is true throughout the subject of agreement in number, reason will determine the form to be used.
Some nouns in a plural form express quantity rather than number. When quantity is plainly intended the singular verb should be used. ”

“ There is no fixed rule governing the proper length of the paragraph, but, probably, no paragraph need be more than three hundred words in length. If the whole composition is not more than two hundred and fifty words in length, it will not often need to be subdivided into paragraphs. In a letter, paragraphing should be more frequent than in other compositions.
Paragraphing should not be too frequent. If paragraphing is too frequent, by making each minute subdivision of equal importance, it defeats its purpose of grouping ideas about some general topic. ”

“ It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. ”

“ Combine each of the following groups of sentences into one well constructed long sentence:
In highly developed commercial communities banks cannot afford space in their vaults for valuables. Especially, they cannot afford it merely to accommodate their patrons. Hence, in such communities the furnishing of places for safe deposit has become a separate business. History should be a part of the course in all schools. It develops the memory. It furnishes the explanation of many social phenomena. It broadens the intellectual view. It gives culture as no other study can give it. ”

“ Name three adjectives which cannot be compared. May one say, Paris is larger than any city? Reason? Paris is larger than all cities? Reason? Paris is the largest of any other city? Reason? Is a singular or plural noun demanded by every? By two? By various? By each? With how many objects may either be used? Neither? Where should the adjective or adverb be placed in the sentence? What is meant by a double negative? Illustrate. What is its effect? What is the definite article?
Verbs. What is a verb? What is a principal verb? An auxiliary? Illustrate. What are the principal parts of a verb? ”

“ A denial of that, I am not here, is called a negative statement. The words, not, neither, never, none, nothing, etc., are all negative words; that is, they serve to make denials of statements.
Two negatives should never be used in the same sentence, since the effect is then to deny the negative you wish to assert, and an affirmative is made where a negative is intended. We haven't no books, means that we have some books. The proper negative form would be, We have no books, or We haven't any books. The mistake occurs usually where such forms as isn't, don't, haven't, etc., are used. ”

“ The auxiliary, then, in a principal clause would be will. Will should, therefore, be the auxiliary in the dependent construction, and the sentence should read, They assure us that they will come. Further examples:
I suppose we shall have to pay.
He thinks that you will be able to do it.
He has decided that John shall replace the book.
In all dependent clauses expressing a condition or contingency use shall with all subjects. Examples;
If he shall go to Europe, it will be his tenth trip abroad.
If you shall go away, who will run the farm?
If I shall die, I shall die as an honest man. ”

“ Most of the time he does the most he can. She worries about what to wear wherever she goes. It is impossible for one to believe that one so changeable can be capable of such work. Those are our books. Every time there was a chance for error, error was made. It is true that the man spoke truly when he said, "Truth is stranger than fiction." The well must have been well made, else it would not have served so well. Everything he said was audible throughout the auditorium. He acted very sillily. He is still worried over the ill fulfillment of John's promise. ”

“ A more common source of error than disagreement in gender is disagreement in number. They, their, theirs, and them are plural, but are often improperly used when only singular pronouns should be used. The cause of the error is failure to realize the true antecedent.
If anybody makes that statement, they are misinformed. This sentence is wrong. Anybody refers to only one person; both any and body, the parts of the word, denote the singular. The sentence should read, If anybody makes that statement, he is misinformed. ”

“ Power was his supreme object; but power which should be gazed at as well as felt, which should strike men as a prodigy, which should shake old thrones as an earthquake, and, by the suddenness of its new creations, should awaken something of the submissive wonder which miraculous agency inspires. ”

“ Use a semicolon to separate the parts of a compound or a complex sentence, when some of those parts are punctuated by commas.
As men, we admire the man that succeeds; but, as honest men, we cannot admire the man that succeeds by dishonesty. ”

“ The song of the bird, the murmur of the stream, the breathing fragrance of spring, the soft voluptuousness of summer, the golden pomp of autumn; earth with its mantle of refreshing green, and heaven with its deep delicious blue and its cloudy magnificence—all fill us with mute but exquisite delight, and we revel in the luxury of mere sensation. ”

“ A common newspaper fault is the coining of a verb or adjective from a noun, or a noun from a verb. Examples:
3. Avoid foreign words. A foreign word should not be used until it has become naturalized by being in general, reputable use. Since there are almost always English words just as expressive as the foreign words, the use of the foreign words usually indicates affectation on the part of the one using them. Examples:
4. Avoid provincialisms. Provincialisms are expressions current and well understood in one locality, but not current or differently understood in another locality. ”

“ There are a great many words current in the newspapers and in other hasty writing that have not the sanction of general good use at the present time, though many of these words may in time come into use. A safe rule is to avoid all words that are at all doubtful. ”

“ What determines whether to use a singular or a plural verb after who, Page 111 which, and that? What form of the verb is used after you? After they? When are shall and should used with I and we? When with other subjects? What rule governs their use in questions. What form is used in dependent clauses introduced by that, expressed or understood? In contingent clauses? Distinguish the use of may and might from can and could. What is a "dangling participle"? Is it an error? May the gerund be correctly used without any grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence? ”

“ It is the house that is on the corner and which is painted white. You can easily learn history if you have a good memory. How can you tell but what it will rain? He does everything but what he should do. ”

“ If they are subordinate clauses, determine whether they are used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
(6) Classify every sentence as simple, complex, or compound.
Houses are built of wood, brick, stone, and other materials, and are constructed in various styles. The path of glory leads but to the grave. We gladly accepted the offer which he made. I am nearly ready, and shall soon join you. There are few men who do not try to be honest. Page 6 Men may come, and men may go, but I go on forever. He works hard, and rests little. She is still no better, but we hope that there will be a change. ”

“ An animal named may be regarded as masculine; feminine, or neuter, according to the characteristics the writer fancies it to possess; as, The wolf seeks his prey, The mouse nibbled her way into the box, The bird seeks its nest. ”

“ The s-form is found in the third personal singular of the present tense. In other tenses, if present at all, the s-form is in the auxiliary, where the present tense of the auxiliary is used to form some other tense of the principal verb. Examples: He has (present tense) , He has gone (perfect tense) , He has been seen.
Some verbs have no s-form; as, will, shall, may. The verb be has two irregular s-forms: Is, in the present tense, and was in the past tense. The s-form of have is has.
52. The past tense always stands alone in the predicate ”

“ Slang is a form of vulgarism that is very prevalent in its use even by educated people. Slang words, it is true, sometimes come into good repute and usage, but the process is slow. The safest rule is to avoid slang expressions because of their general bad taste and because of their weakening effect on one's vocabulary of good words. ”

“ To choose a method of beginning a composition often causes trouble. Usually a simple, direct beginning is the best. But sometimes an introductory paragraph is necessary in order to explain the writer's point of view, or to indicate to what phases of the subject attention is to be given. ”

“ A is used before all words except those beginning with a vowel sound. Before those beginning with a vowel sound an is used. If, in a succession of words, one of these forms could not be used before all of the words, then the article must be repeated before each. Thus, one should say, An ax, a saw, and an adze (not An ax, saw and adze) , made up his outfit. Generally it is better to repeat the article in each case, whether or not it be the same.
Do not say, kind of a house. Since a house is singular, it can have but one kind. Say instead, a kind of house, a sort of man, etc. ”

“ A comparison should not be attempted by adjectives that express absolute quality—adjectives that cannot be compared; as, round, perfect, equally, universal. A thing may be round or perfect, but it cannot be more round or most round, more perfect or most perfect.
3. When two objects are used in the comparative, one must not be included in the other; but, when two objects are used in the superlative, one must be included in the other. ”

“ Loan should be used only as a noun, and lend only as a verb.
I wish to obtain a —— of fifty dollars. Will you —— me your knife? A —— of money loses both itself and friend. A —— is something that one —— to another. Mad, angry. Mad means insane, uncontrollably excited through fear, etc. ”