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 pa.s.s 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 p.r.o.nunciation (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 princ.i.p.al 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 carca.s.s 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 p.r.o.nOUNS
Very many mistakes occur in the use of the p.r.o.nouns. "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 p.r.o.noun and cannot be used adjectively like the demonstrative adjective p.r.o.noun. "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 cases _him_, _her_ and _me_ are used wrongfully for the nominatives. After each of the misapplied p.r.o.nouns a verb is understood of which each p.r.o.noun is the subject. Thus, "I am as strong as he (is)." "I am younger than she (is)."
"He can write better than I (can)."
Don"t say "_It is me_;" say "_It is I_" The verb _To Be_ of which is is a part takes the same case after it that it has before it. This holds good in all situations as well as with p.r.o.nouns.
The verb _To Be_ also requires the p.r.o.nouns joined to it to be in the same case as a p.r.o.noun asking a question; The nominative _I_ requires the nominative _who_ and the objectives _me_, _him_, _her_, _its_, _you_, _them_, require the objective _whom_.
"_Whom_ do you think I am?" should be "_Who_ do you think I am?" and "_Who_ do they suppose me to be?" should be "_Whom_ do they suppose me to be?" The objective form of the Relative should be always used, in connection with a preposition. "Who do you take me for?" should be "_Whom_ do, etc." "Who did you give the apple to?" should be "Whom did you give the apple to," but as pointed out elsewhere the preposition should never end a sentence, therefore, it is better to say, "To whom did you give the apple?"
After transitive verbs always use the objective cases of the p.r.o.nouns.
For "_He_ and _they_ we have seen," say "_Him_ and _them_ we have seen."
THAT FOR SO
"The hurt it was that painful it made him cry," say "so painful."