Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-05-23

row. "Will he arrive in time?' Shall Is
used instead of will after certain cOniunc-
tions-ii, provided, though, unless, etc,
and adverbs, when, before, after, until,
while, etc. Should is used in the past
tense in place of shall, and would in place
of will. "lIe intended that | or You
should write-he( himselDwould write. "
81 should be glad to see You tomorrow.
a very common error is found in the
expression, Il am opposed to those sort
OF things" making the prOnom agree
with "thingS," in the plural instead
of "sort" in the singular number. The
most careless reader will say it should he
THAT sort OF things" but il he give the
matter some attention he will lind that
even careful speakers frequently make
the mistake. Another common error Is
in the use ol like for rs and rs il. We
here, You read like George speaks. for
You read rs George speaks "lle
spoke like he meant what he said" for
''llc spoke rs il he meant what he said.
Without is often enormously used for I'M
less 81 cannot do it without You help
me, y should he, al cannot ito it unless
you help me" Not long since heard a
man, who had the appearance OF one who
should know better, say to friend,
There is no use in me going" lie evi-
IDENTIFY intended to say that there was no
use in hc"going, but what he really said
was equivalent to There is no use in
me while am going" lie should have
used the posscSsive pronom my instead OF
the objective me, and his sentence would
have been There is no use in my 90
ing This mistake is often made, not
only colloquially but in print, as per cv-
ample A daily paper said some days
ago "ln the event of Col. Blank re-
signing" etc. when it should have said,
using the poSsesivc case; ''ln the event of
CO.. Blank 5 resigning," etc.
Probably one otthe most common and
pardonable errors is in the use OF who Tor
whom in certain forms of speech. 1t is
made universally in conversation by those
who are well educated, As well rs bv
those who are not, and reputable Jour
mails are not free from the fault. For eN-
ample "Who did you see ?" "Who do
you WANT" at was the man who. OF all
others, we desired to see" 1t would puz-
Zle even the most acrobatic grammarian
to parse either OF these sentences, for it Is
simply impossible to make who the Ohlcc
tive case, governed by the verb, and yet
that is what he would have to do. OF
course the sentences should be: Nv HON
did you see ?""Whom did YOU want ?"
at was the man whom, OF all others, we
desired to see." This error is one OF the
best illustrations of that carelessnesS OF
speech TO which have above referrcd-a
carelessncss which, when INDUCED IN by
educated person. leaves its impress upon
the minds of those who are not educated
with results which cannot be otherwise
than injurious. Another error, not so
common, but which needs correction, is
in such expressions As "Shc looked beau
tifully.' This sentence, properly spoken,
is objective, not subjective, and the idea
to he conveyed is that her appearance
was beautiful, but the words are made to
say that she looked, /. e., saw ''beau
tiiully," thus completely changing the
sense. The error consists in the use of
the adverb Tor the adjective, The cor
rect expression would be, "Shc looked
beautiful
We sometimes hearthe word lily "uScd,
even by persons of culture, as in the SEN
tence, THE house WAS lily constructed"
1t should be, 1.-The house was i'll con-
structed." There IS no such word in the
language as lily. Ill is IN adverb, but as
it has not the usual adverbial form care =
less writers and speakers glide into lily.
One OF tine most utterly barbarous error
is in the use of levcS for let | have heard
n graduate of high school say. ''Leve
me know tomorrow. instead of LET me
known tomorrow This is simply outrage
Gus. As a rule this mistake is made only
by uncducatcd persons, but am sorry to
say that they are not the only offenders.
The following are very common errors &:
81 should have been glad to have met
vou." instead OF II should have been
glad to meet YOU" ''Will you learn me
to dance ?" instead of "Will You teach
me to dance - This much by way of
apology" instead of Thus much" etc.
Il have looked cveryw heres" for
Il have looked everywhere, There are
no news" instead OF There is no news. ~
These molasses, instead of This mo
lasSes." "A preventative of disease" in
stead of "A preventive of disease "a
little at that will go great ways, lin
stead OF "a great way" etc.
trust that what have said may in
ducc some persons to take 4 greater inter
est in our noble language. To speak
pure English is a mark of culture which
commands respect from all who here it.
The educated and uneducatcd alike feel
its magic influence. 1t gives dignity of
character. clevates and ennobleS the mind,
and is 4 source of genuine pleasure.
Let Us, then, do all we can to correct
the solecism5 and corruptions which
threaten lis purity with destruction, and
we shall feel that we have bettered our
own condition and conferred bcniit on
those who may come after us.-IHli-
,,,L-I.L., Jj,,,,