Chapter 13

PARENTHESIS.--This mark is comparatively little used nowadays. The dash is preferred, probably because it disfigures the page less. The office of the parenthesis is to isolate a phrase which is merely incidental, and which might be omitted without detriment to the grammatical construction.

"Know then this truth (enough for man to know), Virtue alone is happiness below."--Pope.

"The bliss of man (could pride that blessing find) Is not to act or think beyond mankind."

BRACKETS.--This mark is used principally to inclose words improperly omitted by the writer, or words introduced for the purpose of explanation or to correct an error. The bracket is often used in this book.

THE APOSTROPHE.--This point is used to denote the omission of letters and sometimes of figures; as, Jan'y, '81; _I've_ for _I have_; _you'll_ for _you will_; _'tis_ for _it is_; _don't_ for _do not_; _can't_ for _can not_; It was in the year '93; the spirit of '76; It was in the years 1812, '13, and '14.

Also to denote the possessive case; as, Brown's house; the king's command; Moses' staff; for conscience' sake; the boys' garden.

Also with _s_ to denote the plural of letters, figures, and signs; as, Cross your _t_'s, dot your _i_'s, and mind your _p_'s and _q_'s; make your 5's better, and take out the _x_'s.

CAPITALS.--A capital letter should begin every sentence, every line of verse, and every direct quotation.

All names of the Deity, of Jesus Christ, of the Trinity, and of the Virgin Mary must begin with a capital. Pronouns are usually capitalized when they refer to the Deity.

Proper names, and nouns and adjectives formed from proper names, names of streets, of the months, of the days of the week, and of the holidays, are capitalized.

Titles of nobility and of high office, when used to designate particular persons, are capitalized; as, the Earl of Dunraven, the Mayor of Boston, the Baron replied, the Cardinal presided.

THE PARAGRAPH.--In writing for the press, the division of matter into paragraphs is often quite arbitrary; in letter-writing, on the contrary, the several topics treated of should, as a rule, be isolated by paragraphic divisions. These divisions give one's letters a shapely appearance that they otherwise never have.

PURCHASE. This word is much preferred to its synonym _buy_, by that class of people who prefer the word _reside_ to _live_, _procure_ to _get_, _inaugurate_ to _begin_, and so on. They are generally of those who are great in pretense, and who would be greater still if they were to pretend to all they have to pretend to.

PURPOSE. See PROPOSE.

QUANTITY. This word is often improperly used for _number_. _Quantity_ should be used in speaking of what is measured or weighed; _number_, of what is counted. Examples: "What _quantity_ of apples have you, and what _number_ of pineapples?" "Delaware produces a large _quantity_ of peaches and a large _number_ of melons."

QUIT.--This word means, properly, to leave, to go away from, to forsake; as, "Avaunt! _quit_ my sight." This is the only sense in which the English use it. In America, it is generally used in the sense of to leave off, to stop; as, "_Quit_ your nonsense"; "_Quit_ laughing"; "_Quit_ your noise"; "He has _quit_ smoking," and so on.

QUITE. This word originally meant completely, perfectly, totally, entirely, fully; and this is the sense in which it was used by the early writers of English. It is now often used in the sense of _rather_; as, "It is _quite_ warm"; "She is _quite_ tall"; "He is _quite_ proficient." Sometimes it is incorrectly used in the sense of _considerable_; as, _quite_ an amount, _quite_ a number, _quite_ a fortune. _Quite_, according to good modern usage, may qualify an adjective, but not a noun. "She is quite the lady," is a vile phrase, meaning, "She is very or _quite_ ladylike."

RAILROAD DEPOT. Few things are more offensive to fastidious ears than to hear a railway _station_ called a _depot_. A depot is properly a place where goods or stores of any kind are kept; and the places at which the trains of a railroad--or, better, rail_way_--stop for passengers, or the points from which they start and at which they arrive, are, properly, the _stations_.

RAILWAY. The English prefer this word to rail_road_.

RAISE THE RENT. An expression incorrectly used for _increase the rent_.

RARELY. It is no uncommon thing to see this adverb improperly used in such sentences as, "It is very _rarely_ that the puppets of the romancer assume," etc.--"Appletons' Journal," February, 1881, p. 177. "But," says the defender of this phraseology, "_rarely_ qualifies a verb--the verb _to be_." Not at all. The sentence, if written out in full, would be, "It is a very rare thing that," etc., or "The circumstance is a very rare one that," etc., or "It is a very rare occurrence that," etc. To those who contend for "It is very _rarely_ that," etc., I would say, It is very _sadly_ that persons of culture will write and then defend--or rather try to defend--such grammar.

RATIOCINATE. See EFFECTUATE.

REAL.--This adjective is often vulgarly used in the sense of the adverb _very_; thus, _real_ nice, _real_ pretty, _real_ angry, _real_ cute, and so on.

RECOMMEND. This word, which means to commend or praise to another, to declare worthy of esteem, trust, or favor, is sometimes put to strange uses. Example: "Resolved, that the tax-payers of the county be _recommended_ to meet," etc. What the resolving gentlemen meant was, that the tax-payers should be _counseled_ to meet.

REDUNDANCY. See PLEONASM.

RELIABLE. This is a modern word which is often met with; but it is not used by our careful writers. They prefer its synonym _trustworthy_, and argue that, in consequence of being ill-formed, _reliable_ can not possibly have the signification in which it is used.

REMAINDER. See BALANCE.

RENDITION. This word is much misused for _rendering_. Example: "The excellence of Mr. Gilbert's _rendition_ of certain characters, Sir Peter and Sir Antony, for instance, is not equaled," etc. _Rendition_ means the act of yielding possession, surrender, as the _rendition_ of a town or fortress. The sentence above should read, "The excellence of Mr. Gilbert's _rendering_," etc. _Rendition_ is also sometimes improperly used for _performance_.

REPLY. See ANSWER.

REPUTATION. See CHARACTER.

RESIDE. A big word that Mr. Wouldbe uses where Mr. Is uses the little word _live_.

RESIDENCE. In speaking of a man's domicile, it is not only in better taste but more correct to use the term _house_ than _residence_. A man has a _residence_ in New York, when he has lived here long enough to have the right to exercise the franchise here; and he may have a _house_ in Fifth Avenue where he _lives_. People who _are_ live in houses; people who _would be_ reside in residences. The former _buy_ things; the latter _purchase_ them.

REST. See BALANCE.

RESTIVE. Some of the dictionaries, Richard Grant White, and some other writers, contend that this word, when properly used, means unwilling to go, standing still stubbornly, obstinate, stubborn, and nothing else. In combating this opinion, Fitzedward Hall says: "Very few instances, I apprehend, can be produced, from our literature, of this use of _restive_." Webster gives impatient, uneasy, as a second meaning; and this is the sense in which the word is nearly always used.

RETIRE. It is only the over-nice who use _retire_ in the sense of _go to bed_.

REVEREND--HONORABLE. Many persons are in doubt whether they should or should not put _the_ before these adjectives. Emphatically, yes, they should. See "Words and Their Uses," by Richard Grant White, for a full discussion of the question; also "Good English," by Edward S. Gould.

RHETORIC. The art which has for its object the rendering of language effective is called _rhetoric_. Without some study of the art of composition, no one can expect to write well, or to judge the literary work of others.

"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest who have learned to dance."

RIDE--DRIVE. Fashion, both in England and in this country, says that we must always use the second of these words when we speak of going out in a carriage, although _ride_ means, according to all the lexicographers, "to be carried on a horse or other animal, or in any kind of vehicle or carriage."

RIGHT. Singularly enough, this word is made, by some people, to do service for _ought_, _in duty bound_, under _obligation_ to; thus, "You had a _right_ to tell me," meaning, "You should have told me." "The Colonists contended that they _had no right_ to pay taxes," meaning, "They were _under no obligation_ to pay taxes," i. e., that it was unjust to tax them.

RIGHT HERE. The expressions "right here" and "right there" are Americanisms. Correctly, "just here" and "just there."

ROLLING. The use of this participial adjective in the sense of undulating is said to be an Americanism. Whether an Americanism or not, it would seem to be quite unobjectionable.

RUBBERS. This word, in common with _gums_ and _arctics_, is often, in defiance of good taste, used for _overshoes_.

SABBATH. This term was first used in English for Sunday, or Lord's day, by the Puritans. Nowadays it is little used in this sense. The word to use is _Sunday_.

SARCASM. Bain says that _sarcasm_ is vituperation softened in the outward expression by the arts and figures of disguise--epigram, innuendo, irony--and embellished with the figures of illustration. Crabb says that _sarcasm_ is the indulgence only of personal resentment, and is never justifiable.

SATIRE. The holding up to ridicule of the follies and weaknesses of mankind, by way of rebuke, is called _satire_. Satire is general rather than individual, its object being the reformation of abuses. A _lampoon_, which has been defined as a _personal satire_, attacks the individual rather than his fault, and is intended to injure rather than to reform.

Said Sheridan: "Satires and lampoons on particular people circulate more by giving copies in confidence to the friends of the parties than by printing them."

SAW. The imperfect tense of the verb _to see_ is carelessly used by good writers and speakers when they should use the perfect; thus, "I never _saw_ anything like it before," when the meaning intended is, "I _have_ never [in all my life] _seen_ anything like it before [until now]." We say properly, "I never _saw_ anything like it _when I was in Paris_"; but, when the period of time referred to extends to the time when the statement is made, it must be _have seen_. Like mistakes are made in the use of other verbs, but they are hardly as common; yet we often hear such expressions as, "I _was_ never in Philadelphia," "I never _went_ to the theatre in my life," instead of _have been_ in Philadelphia, and _have gone_ to the theatre.

SECTION. The use of this word for region, neighborhood, vicinity, part (of the town or country), is said to be a Westernism. A _section_ is a division of the public lands containing six hundred and forty acres.

SEEM--APPEAR. Graham, in his "English Synonymes," says of these two words: "What _seems_ is in the mind; what _appears_ is external. Things _appear_ as they present themselves to the eye; they _seem_ as they are represented to the mind. Things _appear_ good or bad, as far as we can judge by our senses. Things _seem_ right or wrong as we determine by reflection. Perception and sensation have to do with appearing; reflection and comparison, with seeming. When things are not what they _appear_, our senses are deceived; when things are not what they _seem_, our judgment is at fault."

"No man had ever a greater power over himself, or was less the man he _seemed_ to be, which shortly after _appeared_ to everybody, when he cared less to keep on the mask."--Clarendon.

SELDOM OR EVER. This phrase should be "seldom _if_ ever," or "seldom or _never_."

SERAPHIM. This is the plural of _seraph_. "One of the _seraphim_." "To Thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry." See CHERUBIM.

SET--SIT. The former of these two verbs is often incorrectly used for the latter. To _set_; imperfect tense, _set_; participles, _setting_, _set_. To _sit_; imperfect tense, _sat_; participles, _sitting_, _sat_. To _set_ means to put, to place, to plant; to put in any place, condition, state, or posture. We say, to _set_ about, to _set_ against, to _set_ out, to _set_ going, to _set_ apart, to _set_ aside, to _set_ down (to put in writing). To _sit_ means to rest on the lower part of the body, to repose on a seat, to perch, as a bird, etc. We say, "_Sit_ up," i. e., rise from lying to sitting; "We will _sit_ up," i. e., will not go to bed; "_Sit_ down," i. e., place yourself on a seat. We _sit_ a horse and we _sit_ for a portrait. Garments _sit_ well or otherwise. Congress _sits_, so does a court. "I have _sat_ up long enough." "I have _set_ it on the table." We _set_ down figures, but we _sit_ down on the ground. We _set_ a hen, and a hen _sits_ on eggs. We should say, therefore, "as cross as a _sitting_ [not, as a _setting_] hen."

SETTLE. This word is often inelegantly, if not incorrectly, used for _pay_. We _pay_ our way, _pay_ our fare, _pay_ our hotel-bills, and the like. See, also, LOCATE.

SHALL AND WILL. The nice distinctions that should be made between these two auxiliaries are, in some parts of the English-speaking world, often disregarded, and that, too, by persons of high culture. The proper use of _shall_ and _will_ can much better be learned from example than from precept. Many persons who use them, and also _should_ and _would_, with well-nigh unerring correctness, do so unconsciously; it is simply habit with them, and they, though their culture may be limited, will receive a sort of verbal shock from Biddy's inquiry, "_Will_ I put the kettle on, ma'am?" when your Irish or Scotch countess would not be in the least disturbed by it.

SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the first person, and_ WILL _in the second and third persons, merely announce future action_. Thus, "I _shall_ go to town to-morrow." "I _shall_ not; I _shall_ wait for better weather." "We _shall_ be glad to see you." "I _shall_ soon be twenty." "We _shall_ set out early, and _shall_ try to arrive by noon." "You _will_ be pleased." "You _will_ soon be twenty." "You _will_ find him honest." "He _will_ go with us."

SHALL, _in an affirmative sentence, in the second and third persons, announces the speaker's intention to control_. Thus, "You _shall_ hear me out." "You _shall_ go, sick or well." "He _shall_ be my heir." "They _shall_ go, whether they want to go or not."

WILL, _in the first person, expresses a promise, announces the speaker's intention to control, proclaims a determination_. Thus, "I _will_ [I promise to] assist you." "I _will_ [I am determined to] have my right." "We _will_ [we promise to] come to you in the morning."

SHALL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the first and third persons, consults the will or judgment of another; in the second person, it inquires concerning the intention or future action of another_. Thus, "_Shall_ I go with you?" "When _shall_ we see you again?" "When _shall_ I receive it?" "When _shall_ I get well?" "When _shall_ we get there?" "_Shall_ he come with us?" "_Shall_ you demand indemnity?" "_Shall_ you go to town to-morrow?" "What _shall_ you do about it?"

WILL, _in an interrogative sentence, in the second person, asks concerning the wish, and, in the third person, concerning the purpose or future action of others_. Thus, "_Will_ you have an apple?" "_Will_ you go with me to my uncle's?" "_Will_ he be of the party?" "_Will_ they be willing to receive us?" "When _will_ he be here?"

_Will_ can not be used interrogatively in the first person singular or plural. We can not say, "_Will_ I go?" "_Will_ I help you?" "_Will_ I be late?" "_Will_ we get there in time?" "_Will_ we see you again soon?"

Official courtesy, in order to avoid the semblance of compulsion, conveys its commands in the _you-will_ form instead of the strictly grammatical _you-shall_ form. It says, for example, "You _will_ proceed to Key West, where you will find further instructions awaiting you."

A clever writer on the use of _shall_ and _will_ says that whatever concerns one's beliefs, hopes, fears, likes, or dislikes, can not be expressed in conjunction with _I will_. Are there no exceptions to this rule? If I say, "I think I _shall_ go to Philadelphia to-morrow," I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances beyond my control; but if I say, "I think I _will_ go to Philadelphia to-morrow," I convey the impression that my going depends upon circumstances within my control--that my going or not depends on mere inclination. We certainly must say, "I fear that I _shall_ lose it"; "I hope that I _shall_ be well"; "I believe that I _shall_ have the ague"; "I hope that I _shall_ not be left alone"; "I fear that we _shall_ have bad weather"; "I _shall_ dislike the country"; "I _shall_ like the performance." The writer referred to asks, "How can one say, 'I _will_ have the headache'?" I answer, Very easily, as every young woman knows. Let us see: "Mary, you know you promised John to drive out with him to-morrow; how _shall_ you get out of it?" "Oh, I _will_ have the headache!" We request that people _will_ do thus or so, and not that they _shall_. Thus, "It is requested that no one _will_ leave the room."

_Shall_ is rarely, if ever, used for _will_; it is _will_ that is used for _shall_. Expressions like the following are common: "Where _will_ you be next week?" "I _will_ be at home." "We _will_ have dinner at six o'clock." "How _will_ you go about it?" "When _will_ you begin?" "When _will_ you set out?" "What _will_ you do with it?" In all such expressions, when it is a question of mere future action on the part of the person speaking or spoken to, the auxiliary must be _shall_, and not _will_.

_Should_ and _would_ follow the regimen of _shall_ and _will_. _Would_ is often used for _should_; _should_ rarely for _would_. Correct speakers say, "I _should_ go to town to-morrow if I had a horse." "I _should_ not; I _should_ wait for better weather." "We _should_ be glad to see you." "We _should_ have started earlier, if the weather had been clear." "I _should_ like to go to town, and _would_ go if I could." "I _would_ assist you if I could." "I _should_ have been ill if I had gone." "I _would_ I were home again!" "I _should_ go fishing to-day if I were home." "I _should_ so like to go to Europe!" "I _should_ prefer to see it first." "I _should_ be delighted." "I _should_ be glad to have you sup with me." "I knew that I _should_ be ill." "I feared that I _should_ lose it." "I hoped that I _should_ see him." "I thought I _should_ have the ague." "I hoped that I _should_ not be left alone." "I was afraid that we _should_ have bad weather." "I knew I _should_ dislike the country." "I _should_ not like to do it, and _will_ not [determination] unless compelled to."

SHIMMY. "We derive from the French language our word _chemise_--pronounced _shemmeeze_. In French, the word denotes a man's shirt, as well as the under garment worn by women. In this country, it is often pronounced by people who should know better--_shimmy_. Rather than call it _shimmy_, resume the use of the old English words _shift_ and _smock_. Good usage unqualifiedly condemns _gents_, _pants_, _kids_, _gums_, and _shimmy_."--"Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech."

SHOULD. See OUGHT.

SICK--ILL. These words are often used indiscriminately. _Sick_, however, is the stronger word, and generally the better word to use. _Ill_ is used in England more than with us: there _sick_ is generally limited to the expressing of nausea; as, "sick at the stomach."

SIGNATURE, OVER OR UNDER? A man writes _under_, not _over_, a signature. Charles Dickens wrote _under_ the signature of "Boz"; Mr. Samuel L. Clemens writes _under_ the signature of "Mark Twain." The reason given in Webster's Dictionary for preferring the use of _under_ is absurd; viz., that the paper is _under_ the hand in writing. The expression is elliptical, and has no reference to the position either of the signature or of the paper. "Given under my hand and seal" means "under the guarantee of my signature and my seal." "Under his own signature" or "name" means "under his own character, without disguise." "Under the signature of Boz" means "under the disguise of the assumed name Boz." We always write _under_ a certain date, though the date be placed, as it often is, at the bottom of the page.

SIGNS. In one of the principal business streets of New York there is a sign which reads, "German Lace Store." Now, whether this is a store that makes a specialty of German laces, or whether it is a store where all kinds of lace are sold, kept by a German or after the German fashion, is something that the sign doubtless means to tell us, but, owing to the absence of a hyphen ("German-Lace Store," or "German Lace-Store"), does not tell us. Nothing is more common than erroneous punctuation in signs, and gross mistakes by the unlettered in the wording of the simplest printed matter.

The bad taste, incorrect punctuation, false grammar, and ridiculous nonsense met with on signs and placards, and in advertisements, are really surprising. An advertisement tells us that "a pillow which assists in procuring sleep is a _benediction_"; a placard, that they have "Charlotte _de_ Russe" for sale within, which means, if it means anything, that they have for sale somebody or something called Charlotte of Russian; and, then, on how many signs do we see the possessive case when the plural number is intended!

SIMILE. In rhetoric, a direct and formal comparison is called a _simile_. It is generally denoted by _like_, _as_, or _so_; as,

"I have ventured, _Like_ little wanton boys that swim on bladders, These many summers in a sea of glory."

"Thy smile is _as_ the dawn of vernal day."--Shakespeare.

"_As_, down in the sunless retreats of the ocean, Sweet flow'rets are springing no mortal can see; _So_, deep in my bosom, the prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to thee."--Moore.

"'Tis with our judgments _as_ with our watches; none Go just alike, yet each believes his own."--Pope.

"Grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds, _As_ richest soil the most luxuriant weeds."--Cowper.

"_As_ no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, _so_ no sinners are so intolerant as those who have just turned saints."--"Lacon."

SIN. See CRIME.

SINCE--AGO. Dr. Johnson says of these two adverbs: "Reckoning time toward the present, we use _since_; as, 'It is a year _since_ it happened': reckoning from the present, we use _ago_; as, 'It is a year _ago_.' This is not, perhaps, always observed."

Dr. Johnson's rule will hardly suffice as a sure guide. _Since_ is often used for _ago_, but _ago_ never for _since_. _Ago_ is derived from the participle _agone_, while _since_ comes from a preposition. We say properly, "not long" or "some time _ago_ [agone]." _Since_ requires a verbal clause after it; as, "_Since_ I saw you"; "_Since_ he was here."

SING. Of the two forms--_sang_ and _sung_--for the imperfect tense of the verb to _sing_, the former--_sang_--is to be preferred.

SIT. See SET.