The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-03-15
Everyday Errors.

There are the careless people, those
'whO know the right, and vet the WRONG
pursue" They plunge recklessly OF
without a thought for the words they
use; their sentences abound with eX-
clamations and eXpletives more express
sive than choice; their slang phrases
are an Otfense to cultivated ears; and
they exhaust the superlatives of the
language on the most ordinary occa-
sions. 1t is they who preface every SEN
tence, even on trivial topics, with "My
Starsr' "By GeOrge'i hBy Jupiter!''
1Graciousw "GoOd Lord!" "Thun-
der' "You bet! NO, you don'tp'
In their vocabulary "Oh!' Tndeed,
ly strewn as leaves in Nallambrosa.
With them funerals Jolly" a prayer
meeting funny an ordinary perform
ance is ''first-rate," the lowest round on
the ladder of beauty is "real pretty"
and their indiscrimfnate admiration is
expressed by the much abused epithets,
splendid, beautiful, magnificent, su-
perb, bewitching, fascinating, charm
ing, delicious, exquisite" etc. Any vi
olatiOn of law belonging to their code is
"shameful;" a refusal TO conform with
their wishes is "horrid mean:n common
cold is TERRIBLE" and a headache "be-
yOnd endurance" They are always
''roastedn or ''frozen," or "melted:U
their friends are beatified with every
virtue; and their enemies are the Off
scOurings of the race. They so COM
pletely exhaust the language on COM
mon occasions that no words are left to
give the expressions to their deeper feel
ings.
A second class includes those who vi
olate the laws of etymology. They have
been thoroughly trained in the gram
mar of language, yet refuse to be regu-
lated by its precepts. This class is
large one and includes among its auda-
cious sinners:
1. Those who use the objective case
for the nominative; as, at is me-" for
''It is l." "It it her" for "It is she;"
'It is u.s." for 'It is We"
2. Those who use the nOminative case
for the objective; as "Between you and
Il" for between you and me-" "Like
you and ~ for "Like you and me;n
''I know SChO you mean,n for ~ know
whom you mean"
8. Those whose subjects and verbs do
not agree in number and person; as
"Sdys J." for "Say l." tYou tOds,n for
"You were;" ''AIy feers eold," for ''AIy
feet are coId;' "There's thirty;u for
"there are thirty"
4. Those who use the Indicative mood
for the subjunctive; "If tcds you," for
''if i were you"
5. Those who use the present tense
for the past; "I see you Yesterday for
81 saw you yesterday
6. Those who use the intransitive verb
for the transitive; "If he is a mind to-"
for "If he has mind TO-"
Z. Those who use incorrectly the much
abused verbs sit and lie; as "I am going
to lay down." for al am going to lie
down." 81 laid down this morning."
for II lay down this mOrning;n ''I shall
set there" for 81 shall sit there.n
s. Those who use the adverb for the
adjective; as, "She looks beautifully"
for "She looks beautiful" or its oppo-
Site "She walks graceful" for "She
walks gracefully"
9. Those who use a plural adjective
with a singular noun; as ''ThOse kind"
for "rhat kind;" "SiX pair" for "Six
pairs"
10. Those who use the compound rel
ative for the conjunction; as al do not
know but what / WILL" for az do not
know but that l will"
IL. Those who use the objective case
after the conjunction "than;" rs, "He
knows more than me-" for ale knows
more than l."
u. Those who use double negatives;
as, mo you don't NEITHER" for mo
you don't either"
l3. Those who use the proposition; as,
Different to-" for Different FROM"
''In regard OF, - for with regard to-"
IA. Those who use the superlative de-
gree for the comparative; as, 'rhe old
est Of two;" for "The older of the two.n