Conversation: Its Faults and Its Graces Part 6

MISTAKES AND IMPROPRIETIES

IN SPEAKING AND WRITING CORRECTED.

1. HAVE you _learned_ French yet? say _learnt_, as _learned_ is now used only as an adjective,--as, _a learned man_. p.r.o.nounce _learned_ in _two_ syllables.

2. The business would suit any one who _enjoys bad health_ [from an advertis.e.m.e.nt in a London newspaper]; say, any one _in a delicate state of health_, or, _whose health is but indifferent_.

3. "We have no _corporeal_ punishment here," said a schoolmaster once to the author of this little work. _Corporeal_ is opposed to _spiritual_; say, _corporal_ punishment. _Corporeal_ means _having a body_. The Almighty is not a _corporeal_ being, but a _spirit_, as St. John tells us.

4. That was a _notable_ circ.u.mstance. p.r.o.nounce the first syllable of _notable_ as _no_ in _notion_. Mrs. Johnson is a _notable_ housewife; that is to say, _careful_. p.r.o.nounce the first syllable of _notable_ as _not_ in _Nottingham_.

5. Put an _advertis.e.m.e.nt_ in the "Times." p.r.o.nounce _advertis.e.m.e.nt_ with the accent on _ver_, and not on _tise_.

6. He _rose up_ and left the room; leave out _up_.

7. You have _sown_ it very badly; say, _sewed_ it.

8. Mr. Dupont _learnt_ me French; say, _taught_. The _master teaches_, but the _pupil learns_.

9. John and Henry both read well, but John is the _best_ reader; say, the _better_ reader, as _best_ can only be said when _three or more persons_ or objects are compared.

10. The _two first_ pupils I had; say, the _first two_.

11. He has _mistook_ his true interest; say, _mistaken_.

12. Have you _lit_ the fire, Mary? say, _lighted_.

13. The doctor _has not yet came_; say, _has not yet come_.

14. I have always _gave_ him good advice; say, _given_.

15. To be is an _auxiliary_ verb. p.r.o.nounce _auxiliary_ in _five_ syllables, sounding the second _i_, and _not in four_, as we so frequently hear it.

16. _Celery_ is a pleasant edible; p.r.o.nounce _celery_ as it is written, and _not salary_.

17. Are you at _leisure_? p.r.o.nounce _lei_ in _leisure_ the same as _Lei_ in _Leith_, and _not_ so as to rhyme with _measure_.

18. Have you seen _the Miss Browns_ lately? say, _the Misses Brown_.

19. You have soon _forgot_ my kindness; say, _forgotten_.

20. He keeps _his coach_; say, _his carriage_.

21. John is my _oldest_ brother; say, _eldest_. _Elder_ and _eldest_ are applied to _persons_,--_older_ and _oldest_ to _things_.

22. Disputes have frequently _arose_ on that subject; say, _arisen_.

23. The cloth was _wove_ in a very short time; say, _woven_.

24. French is _spoke_ in every state in Europe; say, _spoken_.

25. He writes as the best authors would have _wrote_, had they _writ_ on the same subject; say, would have _written_,--had they _written_.

26. I prefer the _yolk_ of an egg to the white; say, _yelk_, and sound the _l_.

27. He is now very _decrepid_; say, _decrepit_.

28. I am very fond of _sparrowgra.s.s_; say, _asparagus_, and p.r.o.nounce it with the accent on _par_.

29. You are very _mischievous_. p.r.o.nounce _mischievous_ with the accent on _mis_, and _not on chie_, and do not say _mischievious_.

30. It was very _acceptable_. p.r.o.nounce _acceptable_ with the accent on _cept_, and _not on ac_, as we so often hear it.

31. "No conversation be permitted in the Reading Room to the interruption of the company present. _Neither Smoking or Refreshments allowed_" [from the prospectus of a "Literary and Scientific Inst.i.tution"]; insert _can_ after _conversation_, and say, _neither smoking nor refreshments_.

32. _No extras or vacations_[from the prospectus of a schoolmistress near London]; say, _neither extras nor vacations_.

33. He is very covetous. p.r.o.nounce _covetous_ as if it were written _covet us_, and _not covetyus_, as is almost universally the case.

34. I intend to _summons_ him; say, _summon_. _Summons_ is a _noun_, and _not a verb_.

35. Dearly _beloved_ brethren. p.r.o.nounce _beloved_ in _three_ syllables, and _never in two_, as some clergymen do.

36. He is now _forsook_ by every one; say, _forsaken_.

37. Not _as I know_; say, _that I know_.

38. He came _for to do_ it; leave out _for_.

39. They have just _rose_ from the table; say, _risen_.

40. He is quite _as good as me_; say, _as good as I_.

41. _Many an one_ has done the same; say, _many a one_. _A_, and _not an_, is used before the _long sound of u_, that is to say, when _u_ forms _a distinct syllable of itself_, as, _a unit_, _union_, _a university_. It is also used before _eu_, as, _a euphony_; and likewise before the word _ewe_, as, _a ewe_. We should also say, _a youth_, not _an youth_.

42. _Many people_ think so; say, _many persons_, as _people_ means _a nation_.

43. "When our s.h.i.+ps sail among the _people_ of the Eastern islands, _those people_ do not ask for gold,--'iron! iron!' is the call." [From a work by a peer of literary celebrity.] Say, among the _inhabitants_; and, instead of _those people_, which is ungrammatical, say, _those persons_.

44. _Was you_ reading just now? say, _were you_.

45. I have _not had no dinner yet_; say, _I have had no dinner yet_, or, I have _not yet had my dinner_, or, _any dinner_.

46. She will _never be no taller_; say, she will _never be taller_, or, she will _never be any taller_.

47. I _see him_ last Monday; say, _saw him_.

48. He was _averse from_ such a proceeding; say, _averse to_.