The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-05
ARTICLE X.

Common Errors of the Careless
Speaker.
The verb Ito lie'' seems to be in general
dispute, undue preference being shown to
the verb ito lay"
One careless speaker tells us that he
Is laying down, but he doesn't say
what. lie prefers to leave us in doubt
rather than to acknowledge that he is
lying A little study will enable one
70 master the difficulties Of lie and lay
alphough an instance is recalled of an
earnest student who left her dog standing
IN the middle of the room because she
could not remember whether she sbol1Id
command him to lie down or to law dows,
fortunately the poor animal had sufficient
independence of spirit to lie quietly
down.
In order to understand when to use lie
and when to use lay it is necessary to
remember, first, that ito lie" means to
rest, while ito lay means to cause to
rest; and, secondly, the past tense of
ne IS not laid" but lay" and that
the past participle of lie is not laid
put lam Thus, am going to lie down.
l lay mot laid down yesterday I had
just lain (not laid down when you called
Common Errors of the Careful
Speaker.
1t is the careful speaker who is mis-
taken in thinking that he should not saw
re Is mistaken Il am mistaken"
you are mistaken" HE is mistaken,
are deviations from the meaning which
the speaker wishes to convey but thew
nave the sanction of usage The reform
I ers tell us that inasmuch as Il am mis-
taken means Il am misapprehended. :"
or am misunderstood. one should not
say 1 am in error" or Il mistake Thus
instead OF L am mistaken" you are
mistaken, che is mistaken . we are told
70 say: L mistake or 1 am in error"
you mistake or you are in error" she
mistakes or he is in error
Il think l saw you yesterday if T mis-
take not is certainly a correct form
Ihere is no mistake about it. But 4
thlhk L saw you yesterday if [ am not
mistaken is the form that is used bv the
majority of speakers. Il am mistaken
you are mistaken" etc, like 81 had bet
ter 60 are fixed forms in the language
ana IN consequence it Is too late to ex
CIuue tIe1n from the usage of good speak
ers ana writer's. Those persons who say,
mistake" or Il am in error" sbonId ba
lelllllued that it is not obligatory to use
| those forms, for MISUNDERSTANDING tha
| ADVICE OF the refOrmers II am nois+al,a1, !,
you are mistaken" and che is mistaken,
| rave the sanction of good usage through
our the English speaking world.
conversation.
Mrs. A.-Mrs. B., let me make you ac-
quainted with Mrs. c. You may remam-
pei L asked permission to bring her thai
| she might have the benefit of our CONVEX.
sation. q
Mrs. B.-I am happy to meet YOU. and
| you. e9'
Mrs. CT assure you that it will not
| only interest me, but benefit me: and 7
| nope you will correct my English. for 7
While. -
Mrs B.-Allow me to suggest that 1t ia
not necessary to say ''every once in a
Whlle Once in a while" is sufficient.
Mrs C.-Thank you for your suggestion.
is it incorrect to say every once in a
| while?" -
| Mrs Every once in a while is not
| grammatical form, but a colloouialisn
| being permissible only in EVERYDAY
speech, just as can't, shan't, etc. bur
Ike these contractions, it is not elegant
ana is not admissible in elegant or for
NAL speech. Of course it is allowable
In an informal conversation like the one
we are now having. 1 spoke of the error
| IN order to call your attention to the fact
that it is not a correct expression and
that it should be avoided in more formal
speech.
Mrs. AIS every little while a correct
EXPRESSION?
Mrs. B.-Yes, because every little while
is not meaningless phrase. For exam
pie, may say Il go to see her every lit
tie WHILE" which conveys the meaning
that 1 &c to see her at intervals. the time