Conversation: Its Faults and Its Graces Part 8

98. The _horizon_ is the line that terminates the view; p.r.o.nounce _horizon_ with the accent on _ri_, and not on _ho_.

99. She has _sang_ remarkably well; say, _sung_.

100. He had _sank_ before a.s.sistance arrived; say, _sunk_.

101. I have often _swam_ across the Tyne; say, _swum_.

102. I found my friend better than I expected _to have found him_; say, _to find him_.

103. I intended _to have written_ a letter yesterday; say, _to write_, as however long it now is since I thought of writing, "_to write_" was then present to me, and must still be considered as present when I bring back that time and the thoughts of it.

104. His death _shall be_ long regretted [from a notice of a death in a newspaper]; say, _will be_ long, &c. _Shall_ and _will_ are often confounded; the following rule, however, may be of use to the reader.

Mere _futurity_ is expressed by _shall_ in the _first_ person, and by _will_ in the _second_ and _third_; the _determination_ of the speaker by _will_ in the _first_, and _shall_ in the _second_ and _third_; as, I WILL go to-morrow, I SHALL go to-morrow. N. B. The latter sentence simply expresses a future event; the former expresses my determination.

105. "_Without_ the grammatical form of a word can be recognized at a glance, little progress can be made in reading the language" [from a very popular work on the study of the Latin language]; say, _Unless_ the grammatical, &c. The use of _without_ for _unless_ is a very common mistake.

106. Have you begun _substraction_ yet? say, _subtraction_.

107. He claimed admission to the _chiefest_ offices; say, _chief_.

_Chief_, _right_, _supreme_, _correct_, _true_, _universal_, _perfect_, _consummate_, _extreme_, &c., _imply_ the superlative degree without _est_ or _most_. In language sublime or impa.s.sioned, however, the word _perfect_ requires the superlative form to give it effect. A lover, enraptured with his mistress, would naturally call her the _most perfect_ of her s.e.x.

108. The s.h.i.+p had _sprang_ a leak; say, _sprung_.

109. I _had rather_ do it now; say, I _would rather_.

110. He was served with a _subpoena_; p.r.o.nounce _subpoena_ with the accent on _poe_, which you will sound like _tea_, and sound the _b_ distinctly. _Never p.r.o.nounce the word soopee'na._

111. I have not travelled _this twenty years_; say, _these twenty years_.

112. He is _very much the gentleman_; say, He is _a very gentlemanly man_, or _fellow_.

113. The _yellow_ part of an egg is very nouris.h.i.+ng; _never_ p.r.o.nounce _yellow_ like _tallow_, which we so often hear.

114. We are going to the _zoological_ gardens; p.r.o.nounce _zoological_ in _five_ syllables, and place the accent on _log_ in _logical_. Sound _log_ like _lodge_, and _the first two o's in distinct syllables_.

_Never_ make _zool_ _one_ syllable.

115. He always preaches _extempore_; p.r.o.nounce _extempore_ in _four_ syllables, with the accent on _tem_, and _never in three_, making _pore_ to rhyme with _sore_.

116. _Naught_ and _aught_; _never_ spell these words _nought_ and _ought_. There is no such word as _nought_, and _ought_ is a verb.

117. Allow me to _suggest_; p.r.o.nounce _sug_ so as to rhyme with _mug_, and _gest_ like _jest_. Never _sudjest_.

118. The Emperor of Russia is a _formidable_ personage; p.r.o.nounce _formidable_ with the accent on _for_, and _not on mid_, as is often the case.

119. Before the words _heir_, _herb_, _honest_, _honor_, _hostler_, _hour_, _humble_, and _humor_, and their compounds, instead of the article _a_, we make use of _an_, as the _h_ is not sounded; likewise before words beginning with _h_ that are _not_ accented on the _first syllable_, such as _heroic_, _historical_, _hypothesis_, &c., as, _an heroic action_, _an historical work_, _an hypothesis_ that can scarcely be allowed. N. B. The letter _h_ is seldom mute at the beginning of a word; but from the negligence of tutors and the inattention of pupils many persons have become almost incapable of acquiring its just and full p.r.o.nunciation. It is, therefore, inc.u.mbent on teachers to be particularly careful to inculcate a clear and distinct utterance of this sound.

120. He was _such an extravagant young man_ that he soon spent his whole patrimony; say, _so extravagant a young man_.

121. I saw the _slough_ of a snake; p.r.o.nounce _slough_ so as to rhyme with _rough_.

122. She is _quite the lady_; say, She is _very lady-like in her demeanor_.

123. He is _seldom or ever_ out of town; say, _seldom, if ever_, out of town.

124. Death _unloosed_ his chains; say, _loosed_ his chains.

125. It is dangerous to walk _of a_ slippery morning; say, _on a_ slippery morning.

126. He who makes himself famous by his eloquence, ill.u.s.trates his origin, let it be _never so mean_; say, _ever so mean_.

127. His fame is acknowledged _through_ Europe; say, _throughout_ Europe.

128. The bank of the river is frequently _overflown_; say, _overflowed_.

129. _Previous to_ my leaving England I called on his lords.h.i.+p; say, _previously to_ my leaving, &c.

130. I doubt _if this_ will ever reach you; say, _whether this_, &c.

131. He was _exceeding kind_ to me; say, _exceedingly kind_.

132. I lost _near_ twenty pounds; say, _nearly_.

133. _Bills are requested to be paid quarterly_; say, _It is requested that bills be paid quarterly_.

134. It was _no use asking_ him any more questions; say, _of no use to ask him_, &c.

135. The Americans said they _had no right_ to pay taxes; say, they _were under no obligation_ to pay, &c.

136. I _throwed_ my box away, and _never took no more snuff_; say, I _threw_, &c., and _took snuff no more_.

137. She was _endowed_ with an exquisite taste for music; say, _endued_ with, &c.

138. I intend to _stop_ at home; say, to _stay_.

139. At this time I _grew_ my own corn; say, I _raised_, &c.

140. He _was_ no sooner departed than they expelled his officers; say, he _had_ no sooner, &c.

141. He _was_ now retired from public business; say, _had_ now retired, &c.

142. They _were_ embarked in a common cause; say, _had_ embarked, &c.

143. Hostilities _were_ now become habitual; say, _had_ now become.

144. Brutus and Aruns killed _one another_; say, _each other_.

145. Pray, sir, who _may you be_? say, who _are you_?

146. Their character as a warlike people _is_ much degenerated; say, _has_ much, &c.