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denoting not the other, and not the one, and relating to two persons or things considered separately. The following examples illustrate the correct usage of these words: Each man of the crew received a reward. Every man in the regiment displayed bravery. We can walk on either side of the street. Neither of the two is to blame. NEITHER-NOR When two singular subjects are connected by neither, nor use a singular verb; as, Neither John nor James was there," not were there. NONE Custom Has sanctioned the use of this word both with a singular and plural; as "None is so blind as he who will not see" and "None are so blind as they who will not see." However, as it is a contraction of no one it is better to use the singular verb. RISE-RAISE These verbs are very often confounded. Rise is to move or pass upward in any manner; as to "rise from bed;" to increase in value, to improve in position or rank, as "stocks rise;" "politicians rise;" "they have risen to honor." Raise is to lift up, to exalt, to enhance, as "I raise the table;" "He raised his servant;" "The baker raised the price of bread." LAY-LIE The transitive verb lay, and lay, the past tense of the neuter verb lie, are often confounded, though quite different in meaning. The neuter verb to lie, meaning to lie down or rest, cannot take the objective after it except with a preposition. We can say "He lies on the ground," but we cannot say "He lies the ground," since the verb is neuter and intransitive and, as such, cannot have a direct object. With lay it is different. Lay is a transitive verb, therefore it takes a direct object after it; as "I lay a wager," "I laid the carpet," etc. Of a carpet or any inanimate subject we should say, "It lies on the floor," "A knife lies on the table," not lays. But of a person we say "He lays the knife on the table," not "He lies ." Lay being the past tense of the neuter to lie (down) we should say, "He lay on the bed," and lain being its past participle we must also say "He has lain on the bed." We can say "I lay myself down." "He laid himself down" and such expressions. It is imperative to remember in using these verbs that to lay means to do something, and to lie means to be in a state of rest. SAYS I I SAID "Says I" is a vulgarism; don't use it. "I said" is correct form. IN INTO Be careful to distinguish the meaning of these two little prepositions and don't interchange them. Don't say "He went in the room" nor "My brother is into the navy." In denotes the place where a person or thing, whether at rest or in motion, is present; and into denotes entrance. "He went into the room;" "My brother is in the navy" are correct. EAT ATE Don't confound the two. Eat is present, ate is past. "I eat the bread" means that I am continuing the eating; "I ate the bread" means that the act of eating is past. Eaten is the perfect participle, but often eat is used instead, and as it has the same pronunciation (et) of ate, care should be taken to distinguish the past tense, I ate from the perfect I have eaten (eat). SEQUENCE OF PERSON Remember that the first person takes precedence of the second and the second takes precedence of the third. When Cardinal Wolsey said Ego et Rex (I and the King), he showed he was a good grammarian, but a bad courtier. AM COME HAVE COME "I am come" points to my being here, while "I have come" intimates that I have just arrived. When the subject is not a person, the verb to be should be used in preference to the verb to have; as, "The box is come" instead of "The box has come." PAST TENSE PAST PARTICIPLE The interchange of these two parts of the irregular or so-called strong verbs is, perhaps, the breach oftenest committed by careless speakers and writers. To avoid mistakes it is requisite to know the principal parts of these verbs, and this knowledge is very easy of acquirement, as there are not more than a couple of hundred of such verbs, and of this number but a small part is in daily use. Here are some of the most common blunders: "I seen" for "I saw;" "I done it" for "I did it;" "I drunk" for "I drank;" "I begun" for "I began;" "I rung" for "I rang;" "I run" for "I ran;" "I sung" for "I sang;" "I have chose" for "I have chosen;" "I have drove" for "I have driven;" "I have wore" for "I have worn;" "I have trod" for "I have trodden;" "I have shook" for "I have shaken;" "I have fell" for "I have fallen;" "I have drank" for "I have drunk;" "I have began" for "I have begun;" "I have rang" for "I have rung;" "I have rose" for "I have risen;" "I have spoke" for "I have spoken;" "I have broke" for "I have broken." "It has froze" for "It has frozen." "It has blowed" for "It has blown." "It has flowed" (of a bird) for "It has flown." N. B. The past tense and past participle of To Hang is hanged or hung. When you are talking about a man meeting death on the gallows, say "He was hanged"; when you are talking about the carcass of an animal say, "It was hung," as "The beef was hung dry." Also say your coat "was hung on a hook." PREPOSITIONS AND THE OBJECTIVE CASE Don't forget that prepositions always take the objective case. Don't say "Between you and I"; say "Between you and me" Two prepositions should not govern one objective unless there is an immediate connection between them. "He was refused admission to and forcibly ejected from the school" should be "He was refused admission to the school and forcibly ejected from it." SUMMON SUMMONS Don't say "I shall summons him," but "I shall summon him." Summon is a verb, summons, a noun. It is correct to say "I shall get a summons for him," not a summon. UNDENIABLE UNEXCEPTIONABLE "My brother has an undeniable character" is wrong if I wish to convey the idea that he has a good character. The expression should be in that case "My brother has an unexceptionable character." An undeniable character is a character that cannot be denied, whether bad or good. An unexceptionable character is one to which no one can take exception. THE PRONOUNS Very many mistakes occur in the use of the pronouns. "Let you and I go" should be "Let you and me go." "Let them and we go" should be "Let them and us go." The verb let is transitive and therefore takes the objective case. "Give me them flowers" should be "Give me those flowers"; "I mean them three" should be "I mean those three." Them is the objective case of the personal pronoun and cannot be used adjectively like the demonstrative adjective pronoun. "I am as strong as him" should be "I am as strong as he"; "I am younger than her" should be "I am younger than she;" "He can write better than me" should be "He can write better than I," for in these examples the objective [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |