Five Hundred Mistakes of Daily Occurrence in Speaking, Pronouncing, and Writing the English Language Part 2

38. "John went with _James and I_:" say, _James and me_.

39. "I _see him_ last Monday:" say, _saw him_.

40. "He was _averse from_ such a proceeding:" say, _averse to_.

41. "Have you _shook_ the table-cloth?" say, _shaken_.

42. "I have _rang_ several times:" say, _rung_.

43. "I _know'd_ him at once:" say, _knew_.

44. "You have _drank_ too much of it:" say, _drunk_.

45. "He has _chose_ a very poor pattern:" say, _chosen_.

46. "They have _broke_ a window:" say, _broken_.

47. "I have just _began_ my letter:" say, _begun_.

48. "Give me _them books_:" say, _those books_.

49. "Whose are _these here books_?" say, _these books_. _Here_ is superfluous and inelegant.

50. "_Who_ do you mean?" say, _whom_.

51. "The men _which_ we saw:" say, _whom_.

52. "The flowers _what_ you have:" say, _which_, or _that_.

53. "The boy _as is_ reading:" _who_ is reading.

54. "It was _them_ who did it:" say, _they_.

55. "_It is me_ who am in fault:" say, _It is I_.

56. "Was it _her_ who called me?" say, _she_.

57. "If I were _her_, I would accept his offer:" say, If I were _she_.

58. "He _has got_ my slate:" omit _got_; _has_ is sufficient for the sense. The addition of _got_, though not ungrammatical, but gradually becoming obsolete, does not in any degree strengthen the meaning.

59. "The pond is _froze_:" say, _frozen_.

60. "I know _I am him_ whom he meant:" say, _I am he_.

61. "You cannot _catch_ him:" p.r.o.nounce _catch_ so as to rhyme with _match_, and not _ketch_--as the fishermen are in the habit of saying.

62. "_Who done it?_" say, _Who did it?_

63. "The club gives an _impetus_ to the ball:" p.r.o.nounce _impetus_ with the stress on _im_, and not on _pe_.

64. "Spain and Portugal form a _peninsula_:" p.r.o.nounce _pen-in-su-la_, with the accent on _in_, and not on _su_.

65. _Sar-da-na-pa-lus_: p.r.o.nounce it with the accent on _pa_, and not on _ap_. The latter p.r.o.nunciation cannot be changed for the former, without incurring a gross error.

66. "He must by this time be almost as far as the _antipodes_:" p.r.o.nounce _antipodes_ with the accent on _tip_, and let _des_ rhyme with _ease_; it is a word of _four_ syllables, and _not of three_.

67. _Vouchsafe_: a word seldom used, but when used, the first syllable should rhyme with _pouch_; _never say vousafe_.

68. "The land in those parts is very _fertile_:" p.r.o.nounce _fertile_ so as to rhyme with _myrtle_. _Ile_ in such words must be sounded as _ill_, with the exception of _exile_, _senile_, _gentile_, _reconcile_, and _camomile_, in which _ile_ rhymes with _mile_.

69. _Benefited_: often spelt _benefitted_, but _incorrectly_.

70. "_Gather_ a few ears of corn for dinner:" p.r.o.nounce _gather_ so as to rhyme with _lather_, and _not gether_.

71. _Purpose and propose_: these two words, which are often confounded, are entirely distinct in meaning. To _purpose_ means _to intend_; _to propose_ means _to offer a proposition_.

72. _Directing and addressing letters_: _Directing_ designates the persons to whom, and the place to which the letter, as a parcel, is to be sent; _addressing_ refers to the individual to whom, as a communication, it is written. A letter _addressed_ to the President, may be _directed_ to his secretary.

73. "_Who_ do you think I saw yesterday?" say, _Whom_.

74. A popular proverb is expressed in the following language: "Of _two_ evils choose the _least_;" say, _the less_. Of no less than _three_ evils can a person choose the _least_.

75. _Exaggerate_: p.r.o.nounce _exad-gerate_, and _do not sound agger_ as in _dagger_.

76. _Ladies School_: the _usual_ form, but _not correct_; write, _Ladies'

School_. The apostrophe (') is thus used after nouns in the plural, and indicates _possession_. In the singular, it is placed _before the s_, as, _The lady's school_.

77. The following equivocal notice is said to swing out on a sign-board somewhere in the Western country: "SMITH & HUGGS--SELECT SCHOOL.--_Smith teaches the boys, and Huggs the girls._" _Huggs needs correction!_

78. "He keeps a _chaise_:" p.r.o.nounce it _shaze_, and not _shay_; it has a regular plural, _chaises_.

79. "The _drought_ lasted a long time:" p.r.o.nounce _drought_ so as to rhyme with _sprout_, and not _drowth_.

80. "The two friends _conversed together_ for an hour:" omit _together_, as the full meaning of this word is implied in _con_, which means _with_, or _together_, or _in company_.

81. "The affair was _compromised_:" p.r.o.nounce _compromised_ in three syllables, and place the accent on _com_, sounding _mised_ like _prized_.

82. "A _steam-engine_:" p.r.o.nounce _engine_ with _en_ as in _pen_, and _not like in_; also, p.r.o.nounce _gine_ like _gin_.

83. "Several of the trappers were ma.s.sacred by the Indians:" p.r.o.nounce _ma.s.sacred_ with the accent on _mas_, and _red_ like _erd_, as if _ma.s.saker'd_; never say _ma.s.sacreed_, which is abominable.

84. "The King of Israel and the King of Judah sat _either of them_ on his throne:" say, _each of them_. _Either_ signifies the _one_ or the _other_, but _not both_. _Each_ relates to _two or more objects_, and signifies _both of the two_, or _every one of any number taken singly_. We can say, "_either_ of the three," for "_one_ of the three."

85. "A _respite_ was granted the convict:" p.r.o.nounce _respite_ with the accent on _res_, and sound _pite_ as _pit_.

86. "He soon _returned back_:" leave out _back_, which is implied by _re_ in _returned_.

87. "The s.h.i.+p looked like a speck on the edge of the _horizon_:" p.r.o.nounce _horizon_ with the accent on _ri_, and not on _hor_, which is often the case.