The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1828-05-14
MISCELLANEOUS.
A LIALULOUICAL.


There are some grammatical errors in such
common use, that many well educated people
use them habitually, apparently without being
aware of their improperly. Hadn't ought, ior
ought not, and lengthy, for long, are of this
class, though both are becoming much less fire.
quent than formerly. affiliate, for capacitate,
is sometimes heard, but we do rot recolect to
have seen it written We often see blunders
in the use of adjectives for nouns. As adiectives
in English have no distinction of number, SO
nouns, when used as adjectives, should be in
their single, simple state. Violations of this
rule are common, as, teeth-powder, for tooth
powder, feetcloth, for foot-cloth, &c. An in
attention to this PLAN and simple rule has led
some of our contemporaries at the south into
controversy as to the correct mode of wording
visiting card where coming from two or more
sisters. Some contend That it should be thus :
The Misses Bro,on," &c ; others that it
! should be g The Misses BrOaons," &c, while
others, more correctly, as we say, aver that it
should be '-The Mss BroUns,'' &c. Take the
simple expression, Mss Broa0n, and all will
agree that Mss is an adjective, and Broaon a
noun How then is it to be made plural BY
making the adjective plural, as in the first ex-
ample By making the adjective and noun
! both plural, as in the second Or rather by
following the settled analogy of the language
and leaving the adjective as it was, and making
the noun alone plural, as in the last example
We see no room for doubt on the subject. The
last mode only can be correct.
There appears to be no established usage as
to the plural of Ottoman and MuSSuIman, some
writing them Ottomans and Mussulmans, anc
others Ottomen and Mussulmen. Here, if we
look to analogy, we may be left in doubt a.
some words ending in man form the plural b,
changing the into e, as alderman, Gentleman
&C., while others form the regular plural by
adding an S, as German. 1t sounds best to us
where the name is applied to people collec
lively, to form the regular plural, and we &C
cordingly write Ottomans and Mussulmans.
The editor of the New York Telegraph ha,
published list Of grammatical errors of com
mon occurrence, among which are the follow
ing viz: had haze, as, |" If they had have arriv
ed in season. Here the auxiliary have is al
together expletive. The double past time ; as
81 intended to have visited him. al deter
mined to have done it." Here, as the intention
and the determination must necessarily precedt
the act, it should have been, to visit him,
and to do it," We have heard this mode O
expression, and " had have" also, used by dis
tnguished speakers, both in our Courts anC
Legislature.
Talented, as a participial adjective, is offer
used-thus requiring the term, to talent, as
verb from which it may be derived. The
phrases, aoas being, and is being, often occur il
the newspapers Of New York and Philadelphia
particularly in the latter place-as, ,oiile thu
prisoner eas being brought into court" "a
new meeting house IS being erected" We
have never noticed this mode of expression il
any paper published in New England
Singular nouns are often incorrectly writer
and printed in the possessive case, by omittins