Practical Exercises in English

CORRECT and INCORRECT FORMS.[64]--It is not enough to learn by heart the "principal parts" of a verb; the habit of using them correctly should be acquired. The following verb-fo...

HOW TO FORM THE POSSESSIVE CASE.[10]--As a rule, the possessive of nouns in the SINGULAR number is formed by adding an apostrophe and "s" ('s): as, "The _boy's_ coat." Often the...

LIKELY, PROBABLY, LIKE.--_Likely_ is now used as an adjective only, except in the phrase "As _likely_ as not;" ad the corresponding adverb is _probably_. We say, "He is _likely_...

_Write from dictation_-- 1. John's hat is old, yours is new. 2. The bear was lying on its side, dead. 3. The Browns' house is larger than ours, but ours is more convenient than...

LIKE, AS.--In good use _like_ is never a conjunction, and therefore it cannot be used instead of _as_ to introduce a clause. It is incorrect to say, "Walk _like_ I walk," but on...

Why is it that for the purposes of English composition one word is not so good as another? To this question we shall get a general answer if we examine the effect of certain cla...

MISUSED PREPOSITIONS.[132]--A writer, in choosing the proper preposition to express his meaning, must rely chiefly on his sense of idiom, that is, his knowledge of English usage...

A or AN.[7]--The choice between these forms is determined by sound, not by spelling. Before a consonant sound "a" is used; before a vowel sound "an" is used.