The Century Handbook of Writing Part 27

Wrong: Laziness and dissipation is the cause of his failure.

Right: Laziness and dissipation are the cause of his failure.

=f. In _There is_ and _There are_ sentences the verb should agree in number with the noun that follows it.=

Wrong: There is very good grounds for such a decision.

Right: There are very good grounds for such a decision.

Wrong: There was present a man, two women, and a child.

Right: There were present a man, two women, and a child.

Exercise:

1. The sound of falling acorns (is, are) one of the delights of an autumn evening. Eye strain through ill-fit gla.s.ses (is, are) injurious to the general health, but reading without gla.s.ses (is, are) often more harmful still.

2. Neither the baritone nor the tenor (has, have) as good a voice as the soprano. The guitar or the mandolin (is, are) always out of tune.

3. The Amazon with its tributaries (affords, afford) access to sea. The conductor of the freight train, along with the engineer and fireman of the pa.s.senger, (was, were) injured.

4. Ghost stories late at night (is, are) a crime against children. My reason for knowing that it is six o'clock (is, are) the factory whistles.

5. There (was, were) in the same coach a dozen singing freshmen. Years of experience in buying clothes (gives, give) me confidence in my judgment.

=_Shall_ and _Will_, _Should_ and _Would_=

Although there is a tendency to disregard subtle distinctions between _shall_ and _will_ in ordinary speech, it is desirable to preserve the more important distinctions in written discourse.

=53. To express simple futurity or mere expectation, use _shall_ with the first person (both singular and plural) and _will_ with the second and third.=

I shall go. We shall walk.

You will play. You will hear.

He will sing. They will reply.

=To express resolution or emphatic a.s.surance, reverse the usage; that is, use _will_ with the first person (both singular and plural), and _shall_ with the second and third.=

I will; I tell you, I will. We will not be excluded.

You shall do what I bid. You shall not delay us.

He shall obey me. They shall pay the tribute.

In asking questions, use the form expected in the answer.

"Shall I go?" I asked myself musingly. "Shall we take a walk?"

"You promise. But will you pay?" "Will it rain tomorrow?"

_Should_ and _would_ follow the rules given for _shall_ and _will_.

Mere statement of a fact: I [or We] should like to go.

You [or He or They] would of course accept the offer.

Resolution or emphatic a.s.surance: I [or We] would never go under terms so degrading.

You [or He or They] should decline; honor demands it.

_Should_ has also a special use in the subjunctive (in all persons) to express a condition; and _would_ has a special use (in all persons) to express a wish, or customary action.

If it should rain, I shall not go.

If I should remain, it would probably clear off.

Would that I could swim!

He [I, We, You, They] would often sit there by the hour.

Exercise:

1. I (shall, will) probably do as he says. I'm determined; I (shall, will) go! We (shall, will) see what tomorrow (shall, will) bring forth.

2. The train (shall, will) whistle at this crossing, I suppose.

When the log is nearly severed, it (shall, will) begin to pinch the saw. The weather (shall, will) be warmer tomorrow.

3. Johnny, you (shall, will) not go near those strawberries! He (shall, will) not leave us in this predicament. I repeat it, he (shall, will) not! We (shall, will) never sell this good old horse.

4. (Shall, will) this calico fade? (Shall, will) you give the organ grinder some money? (Shall, will) I raise the window?

(Should, would) I ask his permission?

5. If you (should, would) visit his laboratory, you (should, would) learn how a starfish preserved in alcohol smells. You (shall, will) all die some day, my friends. (Shall, will) I ever forget this? Time (shall, will) tell.

=Princ.i.p.al Parts=

=54. Use the correct form of the past tense and past participle.= Avoid _come_, _done_, _bursted_, _knowed_, _says_ for the past tense; and [_had_] _eat_, [_had_] _froze_, [_have_] _ran_, [_has_] _went_, [_has_]

_wrote_, [_are_] _suppose_ for the past participle. Memorize the princ.i.p.al parts of difficult verbs. The princ.i.p.al parts are the present tense, the past tense, and the past participle. A good way to recall these is to repeat the formula: Today I _sing_; yesterday I _sang_; often in the past I have _sung_. The princ.i.p.al parts of _sing_ are _sing_, _sang_, _sung_. A list of difficult verbs is given below.

bear bore borne born begin began begun bend bent bent bid bid bid bade bidden bite bit bit bitten bleed bled bled blow blew blown break broke broken burn burnt burnt burned burned burst burst burst catch caught caught choose chose chosen come came come deal dealt dealt dive dived dived do did done drag dragged dragged draw drew drawn dream dreamt dreamt dreamed dreamed drink drank drunk drive drove driven drown drowned drowned dwell dwelt dwelt dwelled dwelled eat ate eaten fall fell fallen fight fought fought flee fled fled fly flew flown flow flowed flowed freeze froze frozen get got got go went gone grow grew grown hang hung hung hang hanged hanged hold held held kneel knelt knelt know knew known lay laid laid lead led led lend lent lent lie lay lain lie lied lied loose loosed loosed lose lost lost mean meant meant pay paid paid prove proved proved read read read rid rid rid ride rode ridden ring rang rung rise rose risen run ran run say said said see saw seen set set set shake shook shaken shine shone shone show showed shown shrink shrank shrunk sing sang sung sit sat sat slink slunk slunk speak spoke spoken spend spent spent spit spit spit spat spat steal stole stolen swear swore sworn sweep swept swept swim swam swum take took taken tear tore torn throw threw thrown thrust thrust thrust tread trod trod trodden wake woke waked waked wear wore worn weave wove woven weep wept wept write wrote written

Exercise:

1. Adams ---- (past tense of _draw_) another gla.s.s of cider and ---- (past tense of _drink_) it. When those squashes once ---- (past tense of _begin_), they ---- (past tense of _grow_) like mad.

2. The thermometer had ---- (past participle of _fall_) twenty degrees, and three water pipes had ---- (past participle of _freeze_). Afterward one ---- (past tense of _burst_).

3. Annie had ---- (past participle of _speak_) a piece, and Nancy had ---- (past participle of _write_) a poem, and Isabel had nearly ---- (past participle of _burst_) with envy.

4. He ---- (past tense of _do_) a brave deed; he ---- (past tense of _swim_) straight for the whirlpool. I had ---- (past participle of _know_) him before, and had ---- (past participle of _shake_) hands with him.

5. He ---- (past tense of _come_) home late, and has ---- (past participle of _eat_) his dinner. Now he has ---- (past participle of _go_) down town. He has ---- (past participle of _ride_) before. I ---- (past tense of _see_) him. He ---- (past tense of _run_) swiftly.