Every-Day Errors of Speech Part 31

TO BE, UNITING WORDS.

Words united by _to be_, referring to the same person, must be of the same case.

"It is me," "It may have been him," "It could not be her," and "It was not them," are not correct: _it_, in each of the sentences, is _nominative_ and the other p.r.o.nouns should be _I_, _he_, _she_ and _they_. "I took it to be he," and "I understood it to be they," are also wrong; for _it_ is objective in both instances, and the following p.r.o.nouns should be _him_ and _them_.

THAN, AS.

_Than_ and _as_ implying comparison, have the same case after as before. "He loses more than me," "John knows more than him" and "James is not so tall as her," should be, "He loses more than I" (lose), "John knows more than he" (knows) and "James is not so tall as she"

(is tall).

WHO.

Errors connected with the use of this word are very common, even amongst good speakers.

"Who did you see?" "Who do you know?" and "Who did you hear?" are wrong: _whom_ should be used, for it is the object of the transitive verbs, _see_, _know_ and _hear_. _Who_ in such sentences as: "Who are you looking at?" and "Who are you writing to?" should likewise be changed into _whom_, for it is the _object_ of the prepositions _at_ and _to_.

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS.

Adjectives are often erroneously used for adverbs in sentences like the following: "This is an uncommon good portrait," "It is a miserable poor painting. "_Uncommonly good_ and _miserably poor_ are right.

Adverbs are still more commonly used for adjectives. "Mary looked _beautifully_ at the party," and "Janauschek looked _majestically_ on the stage," are incorrect, for it is intended to describe the appearance of Mary and Janauschek, not their manner of looking; therefore the adjectives _beautiful_ and _majestic_ should be used.

When _two_ objects are compared, the _comparative_ degree should be used. "William is the heaviest of the two," and "Which is the most desirable--health or wealth?" ought to be, "William is the heavier of the two," and "Which is the more desirable--health or wealth?"

THESE, THOSE.

The plural demonstratives _these_ and _those_ are often erroneously used with singular nouns, as: "I don't like these kind of people," and "Those sort of things are very embarra.s.sing." _Kind_ and _sort_ are singular and should have _this_ and _that_.

INTO.

_Into_, not _in_, is used to show the relation between verbs expressing motion, entrance, change of state, etc., and an objective case, as: "Come into the house," "Step into the carriage," and "Look into the room."