The Century Handbook of Writing Part 43

steal (to take by theft) steel (a variety of iron)

than then

their (belonging to them) there (in that place) they're (they are)

therefor (to that end, for that thing) therefore (for that reason)

till until

to too two

track (an imprint, or a road) tract (an area of land) tract (a treatise on religion)

village villain

wandering wondering

weak (not strong) week (seven days)

weather whether

whole (entire) hole (an opening)

who's (who is) whose (the possessive of _who_)

your (indicates possession) you're (contraction of _you are_)

Exercise:

1. Insert _to_, _too_, or _two_: He is ---- tired ---- walk the ----miles ---- the town. Then ----, it is ---- late ---- catch a car. It is ---- minutes of ----. It is ---- bad.

2. Insert _lose_ or _loose_: You will ---- your money if you carry it ---- in your pocket. We are ----ing time. The sailor ----ens the rope. Did you ---- your ticket?

3. Insert _speak or speech_: I was ----ing with our congressman about his recent ----. I ---- from experience.

4. Insert _plan_ or _plane_: The architect's ---- was accepted.

The carpenter's ---- cuts a long shaving. The carpenter does not ---- the house.

5. Insert _quite_ or _quiet_: The baby is ----ly sleeping. She is ---- well now, but last night she was ---- sick. Be ----.

Walk ----ly when you go.

=Words in _ei_ or _ie_=

=74. Write _i_ before _e_ When sounded as _ee_ Except after _c_.=

Examples: _believe_, _grief_, _chief_; but _receive_, _deceive_, _ceiling_.

Exceptions: _Neither financier seized either species of weird leisure._ (Also a few uncommon words, like _seignior_, _inveigle_, _plebeian_.)

Rules based on a key-word, lice, Alice, Celia (_i_ follows _l_ and _e_ follows _c_) apply after two consonants only, and do not help one to spell a word like _grief_. Rule 74 applies after all consonants.

Note.--The words in which the sound is _ee_ are the words really difficult to spell. When the sound is any other than _ee_ (especially when it is _a_), _i_ usually follows _e_.

Examples: _veil_, _weigh_, _freight_, _neighbor_, _height_, _sleight_, _heir_, _heifer_, _counterfeit_, _foreign_, etc.

Exceptions: _ancient_, _friend_, _sieve_, _mischief_, _fiery_, _tries_, etc.

Exercise:

Write the following words, supplying _ei_ or _ie_: _conc--t_, _retr--ve_, _dec--tful_, _n--ce_, _y--ld_, _p--ce_, _s--ge_, _s--ze_, _rec--pt_, _n--ther_, _w--rd_, _rel--ve_, _l--sure_, _f--ld_, _v--n_, _r--gn_, _sover--gn_, _sl--gh_, _br--f_, _dec--ve_, _r--n_, _f--nt_, _perc--ve_, _w--ld_, _gr--vous_, _--ther_.

=Doubling a Final Consonant=

=75. Monosyllables and words accented on the final syllable, if they end in one consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel.=

Examples: (a) Words derived from monosyllables: _plan-ned_, _clan-nish_, _get-ting_, _hot-test_, _bag-gage_, (b) Words derived from words accented on the final syllable: _begin-ning_, _repel-lent_, _unregret-ted_.

Note 1.--There are four distinct steps in the application of this rule.

(1) The primary word must be found. To decide whether _begging_ contains two _g's_, we must first think of _beg_. (2) The primary word must be a monosyllable or a word accented on the final syllable. _Hit_ and _allot_ meet this test; _open_ does not. _Deferred_ and _differed_, _preferred_ and _proffered_, _committed_ (or _committee_) and _prohibited_ double or refrain from doubling the final consonant of the primary word according to the position of the accent. The seeming discrepancy between _preferred_ and _preferable_, between _conferred_ and _conference_, is due to a shifting of the accent to the first syllable in the case of _preferable_ and _conference_. (3) The primary word must end in one consonant. _Trace_, _oppose_, _interfere_, _help_, _reach_, and _perform_ fail to meet this test, and therefore in derivatives do not double the last consonant. _a.s.surance_ has one _r_, as it should have; _occurrence_ has two _r's_, as it should have. (4) The final consonant of the primary word must be preceded by a single vowel. This principle excludes the extra consonant from _needy_, _daubed_, and _proceeding_, and gives it to _running_.

Note 2.--After _q_, _u_ has the force of _w_. Hence _quitting_, _quizzes_, _squatter_, _acquitted_, _equipped_, and similar words are not really exceptions to the rule.

Exercise:

1. Write the present participle (in _-ing_) of _din_ (not _dine_), _begin_, _sin_ (compare _shine_), _stop_, _prefer_, _rob_, _drop_, _occur_, _omit_, _swim_, _get_, _commit_.

2. Write the past tense (in _-ed_) of _plan_ (not _plane_), _star_ (compare _stare_), _stop_ (compare _slope_), _lop_ (not _lope_), _hop_ (not _hope_), _fit_, _benefit_, _occur_ (compare _cure_), _offer_, _confer_, _bat_ (compare _abate_).

=Final _e_ before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel=

=76. Words that end in silent _e_ usually drop the _e_ in derivatives or before a suffix beginning with a vowel.=

Examples: _bride_, _bridal_; _guide_, _guidance_; _please_, _pleasure_; _fleece_, _fleecy_; _force_, _forcible_; _argue_, _arguing_; _arrive_, _arrival_; _conceive_, _conceivable_; _college_, _collegiate_; _write_, _writing_; _use_, _using_; _change_, _changing_; _judge_, _judging_; _believe_, _believing_.

Note 1.--Of the exceptions some retain the _e_ to prevent confusion with other words. Exceptions: _dyeing_, _singeing_, _mileage_, _acreage_, _hoeing_, _shoeing_, _agreeing_, _eyeing_. The exceptions cause comparatively little trouble. One rarely sees _hoing_ or _shoing_; he often sees _hopeing_ and _inviteing_.

Note 2.--After _c_ or _g_ and before a suffix beginning with _a_ or _o_ the _e_ is retained. The purpose of this retention is to preserve the soft sound of the _c_ or _g_. (Observe that _c_ and _g_ have the hard sound in _cable_, _gable_, _cold_, _go_.)

Examples: _peaceable_, _changeable_, _noticeable_, _serviceable_, _outrageous_, _courageous_, _advantageous_.

Exercise:

1. Write the present participle of the following words: _use_, _love_, _change_, _judge_, _shake_, _hope_, _shine_, _have_, _seize_, _slope_, _strike_, _dine_, _come_, _place_, _argue_, _achieve_, _emerge_, _arrange_, _abide_, _oblige_, _subdue_.

2. Write the present participle of the following words: _singe_, _tinge_, _dye_, _agree_, _eye_.