A lawyer "states"1 his case, a philosopher "states" the proposition which he means to prove; but a traveller does not state that he is hungry, or a newspaper that this or that is a fact. I. Mr. Darcy was staying at the house of a friend. He went to the hotel where he was staying with his father. II. Mr. Darcy was stopping at the house of a friend. He went to the hotel where he was stopping with his father. The error of using stop for "stay," which has been stigmatized as an Americanism, is not confined to this country. It is condemned by good use on both sides of the Atlantic. I. Great excitement was caused by what turned out to be a big fire. The rumor of what had taken place was spread abroad. More than two seconds elapse between the infliction of the wound and the muscular response of the part wounded. Does what occurs in the executive session of the Senate ever leak out (that is, transpire)? II. Great excitement was caused by what transpired to be a great fire. The rumor of what had transpired was spread abroad. More than two seconds transpire between the infliction of the wound and the muscular response of the part wounded. Does what transpires in the executive session of the Senate ever leak out? Few verbs fare worse at the hands of "ready writers" than "transpire." The word, which comes from the Latin trans (through, across) and spirare (to breathe) and is akin to the French transpirer (perspire), originally meant "to give out through the pores.' It next came to mean "to escape from secrecy to notice," "to leak out." 66 In this sense, which Johnson reprobated as an innovation from France," it has established itself in the language. 1 See page 52. Other verbs that may be confounded with one another or that are otherwise misused are accept and except. advertise and advise. alleviate and relieve. allude to, refer to, and mention. argue and augur. construe and construct. convince and convict. detect and discriminate. disclose and discover. dominate and domineer. drive and ride. Beware of misusing verbs. eliminate and elicit. ensure and secure. estimate and esteem. inquire and investigate. persuade and advise. predestine and predestinate. predicate and predict. propose and purpose. replace and take the place of. repulse and repel. suspect and expect. Verbs which are Not Verbs. One way in which the language grows is by forming verbs from nouns or (rarely) from other parts of speech; but some words that are used As verbs are not verbs in any proper sense, for they are not approved by good use. I. Has it cultivated the popular sensibilities? The tenderness in her voice was not in harmony with the hardness of her face. The lovely daughters of the South will not be vanquished by a skate any more than by a logarithm. A beautiful doll came out and gesticulated solemnly. The two men were never neighborly, much to the regret of the Quaker. This book could not be restored to him. II. Has it cultured the popular sensibilities? The tenderness in her voice discorded with the hardness of her face. The lovely daughters of the South will not be downed by a skate any more than by a logarithm. A beautiful doll came out and gestured solemnly. The two men never neighbored, much to the regret of the Quaker. This book could not be restituted to him. I. Mrs. Carlyle looked up, wondering what had tempted the child to revive that old song. II. Mrs. Carlyle looked up wondering what had tempted the child to resurrect that old song. The verbs culture, discord, down, gesture, neighbor, restitute, and resurrect were once, but are no longer, in good use. I. She went to work as a clerk in a store. Mr. Brief moved to apply closure to (or, to close) the debate. It is not always easy to put a general scheme into concrete form. He sent his photograph to be copied in crayon. He was accidentally killed by an electric wire. People are not very enthusi astic. If the West End Company is not to manage its own finances, the city must. The injured limb was soon bathed and bandaged in a manner which made David inordinately proud of himself. The will of Mr. Alger was admitted to probate. The prisoners were put on probation by the county commissioners. He will push his code through by a strict party vote. He summoned me to the office. II. She began clerking in a store. Mr. Brief moved to closure the debate. It is not always easy to concrete a general scheme. He sent his photograph to be crayonized. He was electrocuted by mistake. People don't enthuse worth a cent. If the West End is not to finance it the city must. The injured limb was soon lotioned and bandaged in a manner which made David inordinately proud of himself. The will of Mr. Alger was probated. The prisoners were probated by the county commissioners. He will railroad his code through by a strict party vote. He summonsed me to the office. The verb summons frequents country towns and certain colleges. I. Voted, That the association disapprove of the action of Princeton toward the referee, and extend a vote of thanks to Mr. Appleton for acting as referee of the game in a proper and dignified manner. Mr. Jackson was asked to act as umpire. II. Voted That the association disapprove of Princeton's action toward the referee, and extend a vote of thanks to Mr. Appleton for refereeing the game in a proper and dignified manner. Mr. Jackson was asked to umpire the game. To referee and to umpire belong to college slang. Beware of using verbs that are not in good use. Chapter VI. OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS. THE relation between adjectives and nouns is similar to that between adverbs and verbs; some words serve both as adjectives and as adverbs; many adverbs are formed from adjectives; and it is often a question whether the proper word in a given case is an adjective or an adverb. For these reasons, we may conveniently deal with these two parts of speech together. Vulgarisms. Some inaccuracies in the use of adjectives or adverbs are, or should be, confined to the illiterate. |