The Verbalist Part 17

To _set_ means to put, to place, to plant; to put in any place, condition, state, or posture. We say, to _set_ about, to _set_ against, to _set_ out, to _set_ going, to _set_ apart, to _set_ aside, to _set_ down (to put in writing). To _sit_ means to rest on the lower part of the body, to repose on a seat, to perch, as a bird, etc. We say, "_Sit_ up," i. e., rise from lying to sitting; "We will _sit_ up," i. e., will not go to bed; "_Sit_ down," i. e., place yourself on a seat. We _sit_ a horse and we _sit_ for a portrait. Garments _sit_ well or otherwise.

Congress _sits_, so does a court. "I have _sat_ up long enough." "I have _set_ it on the table." We _set_ down figures, but we _sit_ down on the ground. We _set_ a hen, and a hen _sits_ on eggs. We should say, therefore, "as cross as a _sitting_ [not, as a _setting_] hen."

SETTLE. This word is often inelegantly, if not incorrectly, used for _pay_. We _pay_ our way, _pay_ our fare, _pay_ our hotel-bills, and the like. See, also, LOCATE.

SHALL AND WILL. The nice distinctions that should be made between these two auxiliaries are, in some parts of the English-speaking world, often disregarded, and that, too, by persons of high culture. The proper use of _shall_ and _will_ can much better be learned from example than from precept. Many persons who use them, and also _should_ and _would_, with well-nigh unerring correctness, do so unconsciously; it is simply habit with them, and they, though their culture may be limited, will receive a sort of verbal shock from Biddy's inquiry, "_Will_ I put the kettle on, ma'am?" when your Irish or Scotch countess would not be in the least disturbed by it.

SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the first person, and_ WILL _in the second and third persons, merely announce future action_. Thus, "I _shall_ go to town to-morrow." "I _shall_ not; I _shall_ wait for better weather." "We _shall_ be glad to see you." "I _shall_ soon be twenty." "We _shall_ set out early, and _shall_ try to arrive by noon." "You _will_ be pleased." "You _will_ soon be twenty." "You _will_ find him honest." "He _will_ go with us."

SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the second and third persons, announces the speaker's intention to control_. Thus, "You _shall_ hear me out." "You _shall_ go, sick or well." "He _shall_ be my heir."

"They _shall_ go, whether they want to go or not."

WILL, _in the first person, expresses a promise, announces the speaker's intention to control, proclaims a determination_. Thus, "I _will_ [I promise to] a.s.sist you." "I _will_ [I am determined to] have my right." "We _will_ [we promise to] come to you in the morning."

SHALL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the first and third persons, consults the will or judgment of another; in the second person, it inquires concerning the intention or future action of another_. Thus, "_Shall_ I go with you?" "When _shall_ we see you again?" "When _shall_ I receive it?" "When _shall_ I get well?" "When _shall_ we get there?" "_Shall_ he come with us?" "_Shall_ you demand indemnity?"

"_Shall_ you go to town to-morrow?" "What _shall_ you do about it?"

WILL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the second person, asks concerning the wish, and, in the third person, concerning the purpose or future action of others_. Thus, "_Will_ you have an apple?" "_Will_ you go with me to my uncle's?" "_Will_ he be of the party?" "_Will_ they be willing to receive us?" "When _will_ he be here?"

_Will_ can not be used interrogatively in the first person singular or plural. We can not say, "_Will_ I go?" "_Will_ I help you?" "_Will_ I be late?" "_Will_ we get there in time?" "_Will_ we see you again soon?"

Official courtesy, in order to avoid the semblance of compulsion, conveys its commands in the _you-will_ form instead of the strictly grammatical _you-shall_ form. It says, for example, "You _will_ proceed to Key West, where you will find further instructions awaiting you."

A clever writer on the use of _shall_ and _will_ says that whatever concerns one's beliefs, hopes, fears, likes, or dislikes, can not be expressed in conjunction with _I will_. Are there no exceptions to this rule? If I say, "I think I _shall_ go to Philadelphia to-morrow,"

I convey the impression that my going depends upon circ.u.mstances beyond my control; but if I say, "I think I _will_ go to Philadelphia to-morrow," I convey the impression that my going depends upon circ.u.mstances within my control--that my going or not depends on mere inclination. We certainly must say, "I fear that I _shall_ lose it"; "I hope that I _shall_ be well"; "I believe that I _shall_ have the ague"; "I hope that I _shall_ not be left alone"; "I fear that we _shall_ have bad weather"; "I _shall_ dislike the country"; "I _shall_ like the performance." The writer referred to asks, "How can one say, 'I _will_ have the headache'?" I answer, Very easily, as every young woman knows. Let us see: "Mary, you know you promised John to drive out with him to-morrow; how _shall_ you get out of it?" "Oh, I _will_ have the headache!" We request that people _will_ do thus or so, and not that they _shall_. Thus, "It is requested that no one _will_ leave the room."

_Shall_ is rarely, if ever, used for _will_; it is _will_ that is used for _shall_. Expressions like the following are common: "Where _will_ you be next week?" "I _will_ be at home." "We _will_ have dinner at six o'clock." "How _will_ you go about it?" "When _will_ you begin?"

"When _will_ you set out?" "What _will_ you do with it?" In all such expressions, when it is a question of mere future action on the part of the person speaking or spoken to, the auxiliary must be _shall_, and not _will_.

_Should_ and _would_ follow the regimen of _shall_ and _will_. _Would_ is often used for _should_; _should_ rarely for _would_. Correct speakers say, "I _should_ go to town to-morrow if I had a horse." "I _should_ not; I _should_ wait for better weather." "We _should_ be glad to see you." "We _should_ have started earlier, if the weather had been clear." "I _should_ like to go to town, and _would_ go if I could." "I _would_ a.s.sist you if I could." "I _should_ have been ill if I had gone." "I _would_ I were home again!" "I _should_ go fis.h.i.+ng to-day if I were home." "I _should_ so like to go to Europe!" "I _should_ prefer to see it first." "I _should_ be delighted." "I _should_ be glad to have you sup with me." "I knew that I _should_ be ill." "I feared that I _should_ lose it." "I hoped that I _should_ see him." "I thought I _should_ have the ague." "I hoped that I _should_ not be left alone." "I was afraid that we _should_ have bad weather."

"I knew I _should_ dislike the country." "I _should_ not like to do it, and _will_ not [determination] unless compelled to."

s.h.i.+MMY. "We derive from the French language our word _chemise_--p.r.o.nounced _shemmeeze_. In French, the word denotes a man's s.h.i.+rt, as well as the under garment worn by women. In this country, it is often p.r.o.nounced by people who should know better--_s.h.i.+mmy_. Rather than call it _s.h.i.+mmy_, resume the use of the old English words _s.h.i.+ft_ and _smock_. Good usage unqualifiedly condemns _gents_, _pants_, _kids_, _gums_, and _s.h.i.+mmy_."--"Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech."

SHOULD. See OUGHT.

SICK--ILL. These words are often used indiscriminately. _Sick_, however, is the stronger word, and generally the better word to use. _Ill_ is used in England more than with us: there _sick_ is generally limited to the expressing of nausea; as, "sick at the stomach."

SIGNATURE, OVER OR UNDER? A man writes _under_, not _over_, a signature.

Charles d.i.c.kens wrote _under_ the signature of "Boz"; Mr. Samuel L.

Clemens writes _under_ the signature of "Mark Twain." The reason given in Webster's Dictionary for preferring the use of _under_ is absurd; viz., that the paper is _under_ the hand in writing. The expression is elliptical, and has no reference to the position either of the signature or of the paper. "Given under my hand and seal" means "under the guarantee of my signature and my seal." "Under his own signature" or "name" means "under his own character, without disguise." "Under the signature of Boz" means "under the disguise of the a.s.sumed name Boz." We always write _under_ a certain date, though the date be placed, as it often is, at the bottom of the page.

SIGNS. In one of the princ.i.p.al business streets of New York there is a sign which reads, "German Lace Store." Now, whether this is a store that makes a specialty of German laces, or whether it is a store where all kinds of lace are sold, kept by a German or after the German fas.h.i.+on, is something that the sign doubtless means to tell us, but, owing to the absence of a hyphen ("German-Lace Store," or "German Lace-Store"), does not tell us. Nothing is more common than erroneous punctuation in signs, and gross mistakes by the unlettered in the wording of the simplest printed matter.

The bad taste, incorrect punctuation, false grammar, and ridiculous nonsense met with on signs and placards, and in advertis.e.m.e.nts, are really surprising. An advertis.e.m.e.nt tells us that "a pillow which a.s.sists in procuring sleep is a _benediction_"; a placard, that they have "Charlotte _de_ Russe" for sale within, which means, if it means anything, that they have for sale somebody or something called Charlotte of Russian; and, then, on how many signs do we see the possessive case when the plural number is intended!

SIMILE. In rhetoric, a direct and formal comparison is called a _simile_. It is generally denoted by _like_, _as_, or _so_; as,

"I have ventured, _Like_ little wanton boys that swim on bladders, These many summers in a sea of glory."

"Thy smile is _as_ the dawn of vernal day."--Shakespeare.

"_As_, down in the sunless retreats of the ocean, Sweet flow'rets are springing no mortal can see; _So_, deep in my bosom, the prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to thee."--Moore.

"'Tis with our judgments _as_ with our watches; none Go just alike, yet each believes his own."--Pope.

"Grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds, _As_ richest soil the most luxuriant weeds."--Cowper.

"_As_ no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, _so_ no sinners are so intolerant as those who have just turned saints."--"Lacon."

SIN. See CRIME.

SINCE--AGO. Dr. Johnson says of these two adverbs: "Reckoning time toward the present, we use _since_; as, 'It is a year _since_ it happened': reckoning from the present, we use _ago_; as, 'It is a year _ago_.' This is not, perhaps, always observed."

Dr. Johnson's rule will hardly suffice as a sure guide. _Since_ is often used for _ago_, but _ago_ never for _since_. _Ago_ is derived from the participle _agone_, while _since_ comes from a preposition. We say properly, "not long" or "some time _ago_ [agone]." _Since_ requires a verbal clause after it; as, "_Since_ I saw you"; "_Since_ he was here."

SING. Of the two forms--_sang_ and _sung_--for the imperfect tense of the verb to _sing_, the former--_sang_--is to be preferred.

SIT. See SET.

SLANG. The slang that is heard among respectable people is made up of genuine words, to which an arbitrary meaning is given. It is always low, generally coa.r.s.e, and not unfrequently foolish. With the exception of _cant_, there is nothing that is more to be shunned. We sometimes meet with persons of considerable culture who interlard their talk with slang expressions, but it is safe to a.s.sert that they are always persons of coa.r.s.e natures.

SMART. See CLEVER.

SMELL OF. See TASTE OF.

SO. See AS; SUCH; THAT.

SO MUCH SO. "The s.h.i.+pments by the coast steamers are very large, _so much so_ [large?] as to tax the capacity of the different lines."--"Telegram," September 19, 1881. The sentence should be, "The s.h.i.+pments by the coast steamers are very large, _so large_ as to tax,"

etc.

SOLECISM. In rhetoric, a solecism is defined as an offense against the rules of grammar by the use of words in a wrong construction; false syntax.

"Modern grammarians designate by _solecism_ any word or expression which does not agree with the established usage of writing or speaking. But, as customs change, that which at one time is considered a _solecism_ may at another be regarded as correct language. A _solecism_, therefore, differs from a _barbarism_, inasmuch as the latter consists in the use of a word or expression which is altogether contrary to the spirit of the language, and can, properly speaking, never become established as correct language."--"Penny Cyclopaedia." See, also, BARBARISM.

SOME. This word is not unfrequently misused for _somewhat_; thus, "She is _some_ better to-day." It is likewise often misused for _about_; thus, "I think it is _some_ ten miles from here": read, "_about_ ten miles from here."

SPECIALTY. This form has within a recent period been generally subst.i.tuted for _speciality_. There is no apparent reason, however, why the _i_ should be dropped, since it is required by the etymology of the word, and is retained in nearly all other words of the same formation.

SPECIOUS FALLACY. A _fallacy_ is a sophism, a logical artifice, a deceitful or false appearance; while _specious_ means having the appearance of truth, plausible. Hence we see that the very essence of a _fallacy_ is its _speciousness_. We may very properly say that a _fallacy_ is more or less _specious_, but we can not properly say that a fallacy _is_ specious, since without speciousness we can have no fallacies.

SPLENDID. This poor word is used by the gentler s.e.x to qualify well-nigh everything that has their approval, from a sugar-plum to the national capitol. In fact, _splendid_ and _awful_ seem to be about the only adjectives some of our superlative young women have in their vocabularies.

STANDPOINT. This is a word to which many students of English seriously object, and among them are the editors of some of our daily papers, who do not allow it to appear in their columns. The phrase to which no one objects is, _point of view_.

STATE. This word, which properly means to make known specifically, to explain particularly, is often misused for _say_. When _say_ says all one _wants_ to say, why use a more pretentious word?

STOP. "Where are you _stopping_?" "At the Metropolitan." The proper word to use here is _staying_. _To stop_ means to cease to go forward, to leave off; and _to stay_ means to abide, to tarry, to dwell, to sojourn.

We _stay_, not _stop_, at home, at a hotel, or with a friend, as the case may be.