Conversation: Its Faults and Its Graces Part 7

49. He has _wore_ his boots three months; say, _worn_.

50. He has _trod_ on my toes; say, _trodden_.

51. Have you _shook_ the cloth? say, _shaken_.

52. I have _rang_ several times; say, _rung_.

53. I _knowed_ him at once; say, _knew_.

54. He has _growed_ very much; say, _grown_.

55. George has _fell_ down stairs; say, _fallen_.

56. He has _chose_ a very poor pattern; say, _chosen_.

57. They have _broke_ a window; say, _broken_.

58. Give me _them books_; say, _those books_.

59. My brother gave me _them there pictures_; say, gave me _those pictures_.

60. Whose are _these here books_? say, _these books_.

61. The men _which_ we saw; say, _whom_.

62. The books _what_ you have; say, _which_, or _that_.

63. The boy _as is_ reading; say, _who is_ reading.

64. The pond is _froze_; say, _frozen_.

65. He has _took_ my slate; say, _taken_.

66. He has often _stole_ money from him; say, _stolen_.

67. They have _drove_ very fast; say, _driven_.

68. I have _rode_ many miles to-day; say, _ridden_.

69. You cannot _catch_ him; p.r.o.nounce _catch_ so as to rhyme with _match_, and not _ketch_.

70. Who has _got_ my slate? leave out _got_.

71. What are you _doing of_? leave out _of_.

72. _If I was rich_ I would buy a carriage; say, _If I were_.

73. We have all within us an _impetus_ to sin; p.r.o.nounce _impetus_ with the accent on _im_, and not on _pe_, as is very often the case.

74. He may go to the _antipodes_ for what I care; p.r.o.nounce _antipodes_ with the accent on _tip_, and let _des_ rhyme with _ease_. It is a word of _four_ syllables, and _not of three_, as many persons make it.

75. _Vouchsafe_, a word seldom used, but, when used, the first syllable should rhyme with _pouch_. _Never say, vousafe._

76. Ginger is a good _stomachic_; p.r.o.nounce _stomachic_ with the accent on _mach_, sounding this syllable _mak_, and _not mat_, as is often the case.

77. The land in those parts is very _fertile_; p.r.o.nounce _fertile_ so as to rhyme with _pill_. The _ile_ in all words must be sounded _ill_, with the exception of _exile_, _senile_, _gentile_, _reconcile_, and _camomile_, in which _ile_ rhymes with _mile_.

78. _It is surprising the fatigue he undergoes_; say, _The fatigue he undergoes is surprising_.

79. _Benefited_; often spelt _benefitted_, but _incorrectly_.

80. _Gather_ up the fragments; p.r.o.nounce _gather_ so as to rhyme with _lather_, and _not gether_.

81. I _propose_ going to town next week; say, _purpose_.

82. If I _am not mistaken_, you are in the wrong; say, If I _mistake not_.

83. _Direct_ your letters to me at Mr. Jones's; say, _Address_ your letters.

84. Wales is a very _mountainious_ country; say, _mountainous_, and place the accent on _moun_.

85. Of two evils choose _the least_; say, _the less_.

86. _Exag'gerate_; p.r.o.nounce _exad'gerate_, and _do not sound agger_ as in the word _dagger_, which is a very common mistake.

87. He knows _little or nothing of Latin_; say, _little, if anything, of Latin_.

88. He keeps a _chaise_; p.r.o.nounce it _shaise_, and not _shay_. It has a regular plural, _chaises_.

88. The _drought_ lasted a long time; p.r.o.nounce _drought_ so as to rhyme with _snout_, and not _drowth_.

90. The man was _hung_ last week; say, _hanged_; but say, I am fond of _hung beef_. _Hang, to take away life by hanging_, is a regular verb.

91. We _conversed together_ on the subject; leave out _together_, as it is implied in _conversed_, _con_ being equivalent to _with_, that is to say, _We talked with each other_, &c.

92. The affair was _compromised_; p.r.o.nounce _compromised_ in three syllables, and place the accent on _com_, sounding _mised_ like _prized_. The word has nothing to do with _promised_. The noun _compromise_ is accented like _compromised_, but _mise_ must be p.r.o.nounced _mice_.

93. A _steam-engine_; p.r.o.nounce _engine_ with _en_ as in _pen_, and _not like in_, and _gine_ like _gin_.

94. Numbers were _ma.s.sacred_; p.r.o.nounce _ma.s.sacred_ with the accent on _mas_, and _red_ like _erd_, as if _mas'saker'd_, never _mas'sacreed_.

95. The king of Israel and the king of Judah sat _either of them_ on his throne; say, _each of them_. _Either_ signifies the _one_ or the _other_, but _not both_. _Each_ relates to _two or more objects_, and signifies _both of the two_, or _every one of any number taken singly_.

_Never_ say "_either_ of the three," but "_each_ or _any one_ of the three."

96. A _respite_ was granted the convict; p.r.o.nounce _respite_ with the accent on _res_, and sound _pite_ as _pit_.

97. He soon _returned back_; leave out _back_, which is implied by _re_ in _returned_.