Word Study and English Grammar - Frederick W. Hamilton (digital e reader .TXT) 📗

Washington is nearer New York than Chicago.

What exactly does this mean? One might get into serious trouble over the interpretation of the phrase "He likes me better than you."

All day and all night are recognized as good expressions sanctioned by long usage. All morning and all afternoon are not yet sanctioned by good usage and give a decided impression of slovenliness.

Another objectionable omission is that of to before place and similar words in such expressions as "Let's go some place" and the like. It should be to some place or, generally better, somewhere.

A decidedly offensive abbreviation is the phrase Rev. Smith. It should be Rev. John Smith or Rev. Mr. Smith. Rev. is not a title, or a noun in apposition, but an adjective. It would be entirely correct to say Pastor Smith or Bishop Smith. The same error sometimes occurs in using the prefix Hon.

A knowledge of the correct use and combination of words is fully as important as a knowledge of their grammatical forms and their relations. This knowledge should be acquired by the use of books on rhetoric and by careful study of words themselves. The materials for such study may be found in the books named in the "Supplementary Reading" or in other books of a similar character.

The task of the writer or speaker is to say what he has to say correctly, clearly, and simply. He must say just what he means. He must say it definitely and distinctly. He must say it, so far as the subject matter will permit, in words that people of ordinary intelligence and ordinary education cannot misunderstand. "The right word in the right place" should be the motto of every man who speaks or writes, and this rule should apply to his everyday talk as well as to more formal utterances.

Three abuses are to be avoided.

Do not use slang as a means of expression. There are occasions when a slang phrase may light up what you are saying or may carry it home to intellects of a certain type. Use it sparingly if at all, as you would use cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce. Do not use it in writing at all. Slang is the counterfeit coin of speech. It is a substitute, and a very poor substitute, for language. It is the refuge of those who neither understand real language nor know how to express themselves in it.

Do not use long, unusual words. Use short and simple words whenever they will serve your turn. It is a mistake to suppose that a fluent use of long words is a mark either of depth of thought or of extent of information. The following bit of nonsense is taken from the news columns of a newspaper of good standing: "The topography about Puebla avails itself easily to a force which can utilize the heights above the city with cannon." What was meant was probably something like this, "The situation of Puebla is such as to give a great advantage to a force which can plant cannon on the high ground overlooking the city."

Do not use inflated or exaggerated words.

A heavy shower is not a cloud burst; a gale is not a blizzard; a fire is not a conflagration; an accident or a defeat is not a disaster; a fatal accident is not a holocaust; a sharp criticism is not an excoriation or flaying, and so on.

Rules for Correct Writing

More than a century ago the great Scotch rhetorician Campbell framed five canons or rules for correct writing. They have never been improved. They should be learned by heart, thoroughly mastered, and constantly practiced by every writer and speaker. They are as follows:

Canon 1.—When, of two words or phrases in equally good use, one is susceptible of two significations and the other of but one, preference should be given to the latter: e. g., admittance is better than admission, as the latter word also means confession; relative is to be preferred to relation, as the latter also means the telling of a story.

Canon 2.—In doubtful cases regard should be given to the analogy of the language; might better should be preferred to had better, and would rather is better than had rather.

Canon 3.—The simpler and briefer form should be preferred, other things being equal, e. g., omit the bracketed words in expressions such as, open (up), meet (together), follow (after), examine (into), trace (out), bridge (over), crave (for), etc.

Canon 4.—Between two forms of expression in equally good use, prefer the one which is more euphonious: e. g., most beautiful is better than beautifullest, and more free is to be preferred to freer.

Canon 5.—In cases not covered by the four preceding canons, prefer that which conforms to the older usage: e. g., begin is better than commence.

The Sentence

The proper construction of sentences is very important to good writing. The following simple rules will be of great assistance in sentence formation. They should be carefully learned and the pupil should be drilled in them.

1. Let each sentence have one, and only one, principal subject of thought. Avoid heterogeneous sentences.

2. The connection between different sentences must be kept up by adverbs used as conjunctions, or by means of some other connecting words at the beginning of the sentence.

3. The connection between two long sentences or paragraphs sometimes requires a short intervening sentence showing the transition of thought.

The Paragraph

The proper construction of paragraphs is also of great importance. The following rules will serve as guides for paragraphing. They should be learned and the pupil should be drilled in their application.

1. A sentence which continues the topic of the sentence which precedes it rather than introduces a new topic should never begin a paragraph.

2. Each paragraph should possess a single central topic to which all the statements in the paragraph should relate. The introduction of a single statement not so related to the central topic violates the unity.

3. A sentence or short passage may be detached from the paragraph to which it properly belongs if the writer wishes particularly to emphasize it.

4. For ease in reading, a passage which exceeds three hundred words in length may be broken into two paragraphs, even though no new topic has been developed.

5. Any digression from the central topic, or any change in the viewpoint in considering the central topic, demands a new paragraph.

6. Coherence in a paragraph requires a natural and logical order of development.

7. Smoothness of diction in a paragraph calls for the intelligent use of proper connective words between closely related sentences. A common fault, however, is the incorrect use of such words as and or but between sentences which are not closely related.

8. In developing the paragraph, emphasis is secured by a careful consideration of the relative values of the ideas expressed, giving to each idea space proportionate to its importance to the whole. This secures the proper climax.

9. The paragraph, like the composition itself, should possess clearness, unity, coherence, and emphasis. It is a group of related sentences developing a central topic. Its length depends upon the length of the composition and upon the number of topics to be discussed.

Rules for the Use and Arrangement of Words

The following rules for the use and arrangement of words will be found helpful in securing clearness and force.

1. Use words in their proper sense.

2. Avoid useless circumlocution and "fine writing."

3. Avoid exaggerations.

4. Be careful in the use of not ... and, any, but, only, not ... or, that.

5. Be careful in the use of ambiguous words, e. g., certain.

6. Be careful in the use of he, it, they, these, etc.

7. Report a speech in the first person where necessary to avoid ambiguity.

8. Use the third person where the exact words of the speaker are not intended to be given.

9. When you use a participle implying when, while, though, or that, show clearly by the context what is implied.

10. When using the relative pronoun, use who or which, if the meaning is and he or and it, for he or for it.

11. Do not use and which for which.

12. Repeat the antecedent before the relative where the non-repetition causes any ambiguity.

13. Use particular for general terms. Avoid abstract nouns.

14. Avoid verbal nouns where verbs can be used.

15. Use particular persons instead of a class.

16. Do not confuse metaphor.

17. Do not mix metaphor with literal statement.

18. Do not use poetic metaphor to illustrate a prosaic subject.

19. Emphatic words must stand in emphatic positions; i. e., for the most part, at the beginning or the end of the sentence.

20. Unemphatic words must, as a rule, be kept from the end.

21. The Subject, if unusually emphatic, should often be transferred from the beginning of the sentence.

22. The object is sometimes placed before the verb for emphasis.

23. Where several words are emphatic make it clear which is the most emphatic. Emphasis can sometimes be given by adding an epithet, or an intensifying word.

24. Words should be as near as possible to the words with which they are grammatically connected.

25. Adverbs should be placed next to the words they are intended to qualify.

26. Only; the strict rule is that only should be placed before the word it affects.

27. When not only precedes but also see that each is followed by the same part of speech.

28. At least, always, and other adverbial adjuncts sometimes produce ambiguity.

29. Nouns should be placed near the nouns that they define.

30. Pronouns should follow the nouns to which they refer without the intervention of any other noun.

31. Clauses that are grammatically connected should be kept as close together as possible. Avoid parentheses.

32. In conditional sentences the antecedent or "if-clauses" must be kept distinct from the consequent clauses.

33. Dependent clauses preceded by that should be kept distinct from those that are independent.

34. Where there are several infinitives those that are dependent on the same word must be kept distinct from those that are not.

35. In a sentence with if, when, though, etc. put the "if-clause" first.

36. Repeat the subject where its omission would cause obscurity or ambiguity.

37. Repeat a preposition after an intervening conjunction especially if a verb and an object also intervene.

38. Repeat conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, and pronominal adjectives.

39. Repeat verbs after the conjunctions than, as, etc.

40. Repeat the subject, or some other emphatic word, or a summary of what has been said, if the sentence is so long that it is difficult to keep the thread of meaning unbroken.

41. Clearness is increased when the beginning of the sentence prepares the way for the middle and the middle for the end, the whole forming a kind of ascent. This ascent is called "climax."

42. When the thought is expected to ascend but descends, feebleness, and sometimes confusion, is the result. The descent is called "bathos."

43. A new construction should not be introduced unexpectedly.

Common Errors