We could accomplish this if every one would do their part.
is wrong. It should be
We could accomplish this if every one would do his part.
Another common mistake is the confusion of the nominative and objective cases in objective clauses where two pronouns or a noun and a pronoun occur.
All this was done for you and I.
is a very common but entirely inexcusable mistake. One would hardly think of saying
"All this was done for I."
I saw John and he leaving the shop.
is almost equally common and quite equally bad. Do not allow yourself to be confused by a double object.
In general great care should be taken to avoid ambiguity in the use of pronouns. It is very easy to multiply and combine pronouns in such a way that while grammatical rules may not be broken the reader may be left hopelessly confused. Such ambiguous sentences should be cleared up, either by a rearrangement of the words or by substitution of nouns for some of the pronouns.
Adverbs
An adverb is a helper to a verb, "I fear greatly," "that press works badly." Adverbs modify or help verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs just as adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. The use of adverbs presents some difficulties, mainly arising from the adverbial use of many other parts of speech and from the close relation between adverbs and adjectives.
It should never be forgotten that while adverbs never modify nouns or pronouns, adjectives never modify anything but nouns or pronouns. Remembrance of this simple fact will settle most questions as to the use of adverbs or adjectives. Careful observation and care in forming correct habits of expression will do the rest.
Do not multiply negatives. They cancel each other like the factors in an arithmetical problem. "He never did wrong" is correct in statement and clear in meaning. "He never did nothing wrong" does not add force, it reverses the meaning. The negatives have cancelled each other and you are saying "He did wrong." "He never did nothing wrong to nobody" leaves us with an odd negative and brings us back to the first statement, very badly expressed.
Prepositions
A preposition is a hook for a noun or pronoun to hang on. It usually precedes the noun or pronoun which hangs, or depends upon it, as indicated by its name which is derived from the Latin pre-before and pono-I place.
John is behind the press.
I shall work until Sunday.
A preposition shows the relation of a noun or pronoun used as its object to some other word or words in the sentence or, as it has been otherwise stated, makes the noun or pronoun to which it is joined equivalent to an adjective or an adverb. The expression "John is behind the press" is equivalent to an adjective describing John. That is, he is "John behind-the-press." Prepositions are governing words and the words governed by or depending on them are always in the objective case.
Conjunctions
A conjunction is the coupling link between the parts of a train of thought. It is of no purpose whatever except to connect.
I am cold and hungry and tired and I am going home.
Care should be taken to avoid confusing and and but and and and or.
He sees the right and does the wrong.
should be
He sees the right but does the wrong.
The ideas are contrasted, not associated.
I did not see Thomas and John.
should be
I did not see Thomas or John.
The first phrase means that I did not see them together, it says nothing about seeing them separately.
Either-or and neither-nor are called correlative conjunctions. They should always be paired in this way. Neither should never be paired with or nor either with nor. Each member of the pair should be placed in the same relative position, that is before the same part of speech.
I could neither see him nor his father.
is wrong. It should be
I could see neither him nor his father.
This rule applies to all other correlatives, that is since they are correlatives in form they should be correlatives in position also. It is correct to say
It belongs both to you and to me.
or
It belongs to both you and me.
but not
It belongs both to you and me.
Interjections
An interjection is a word or sound expressing emotion only such as a shout, a groan, a hiss, a sob, or the like, such as Oh, alas, hush.
General Notes
The position of words in a sentence is often very important. Misplacement will frequently cause ambiguities and absurdities which punctuation will not remove. What does the phrase "I only saw him" mean? A newspaper advertisement describing a certain dog which was offered for sale says "He is thoroughly house-broken, will eat anything, is very fond of children." As a rule modifiers should be kept close to the words, clauses, or phrases which they modify, but due regard should be given to sense and to ease of expression.
A word or phrase which can be easily supplied from the context may often be omitted. Care must be used in making these omissions or the result will be either ambiguous or slovenly.
Washington is nearer New York than Chicago.
What exactly does this mean? One might get into serious trouble over the interpretation of the phrase "He likes me better than you."
All day and all night are recognized as good expressions sanctioned by long usage. All morning and all afternoon are not yet sanctioned by good usage and give a decided impression of slovenliness.
Another objectionable omission is that of to before place and similar words in such expressions as "Let's go some place" and the like. It should be to some place or, generally better, somewhere.
A decidedly offensive abbreviation is the phrase Rev. Smith. It should be Rev. John Smith or Rev. Mr. Smith. Rev. is not a title, or a noun in apposition, but an adjective. It would be entirely correct to say Pastor Smith or Bishop Smith. The same error sometimes occurs in using the prefix Hon.
A knowledge of the correct use and combination of words is fully as important as a knowledge of their grammatical forms and their relations. This knowledge should be acquired by the use of books on rhetoric and by careful study of words themselves. The materials for such study may be found in the books named in the "Supplementary Reading" or in other books of a similar character.
The task of the writer or speaker is to say what he has to say correctly, clearly, and simply. He must say just what he means. He must say it definitely and distinctly. He must say it, so far as the subject matter will permit, in words that people of ordinary intelligence and ordinary education cannot misunderstand. "The right word in the right place" should be the motto of every man who speaks or writes, and this rule should apply to his everyday talk as well as to more formal utterances.
Three abuses are to be avoided.
Do not use slang as a means of expression. There are occasions when a slang phrase may light up what you are saying or may carry it home to intellects of a certain type. Use it sparingly if at all, as you would use cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce. Do not use it in writing at all. Slang is the counterfeit coin of speech. It is a substitute, and a very poor substitute, for language. It is the refuge of those who neither understand real language nor know how to express themselves in it.
Do not use long, unusual words. Use short and simple words whenever they will serve your turn. It is a mistake to suppose that a fluent use of long words is a mark either of depth of thought or of extent of information. The following bit of nonsense is taken from the news columns of a newspaper of good standing: "The topography about Puebla avails itself easily to a force which can utilize the heights above the city with cannon." What was meant was probably something like this, "The situation of Puebla is such as to give a great advantage to a force which can plant cannon on the high ground overlooking the city."
Do not use inflated or exaggerated words.
A heavy shower is not a cloud burst; a gale is not a blizzard; a fire is not a conflagration; an accident or a defeat is not a disaster; a fatal accident is not a holocaust; a sharp criticism is not an excoriation or flaying, and so on.
Rules for Correct Writing
More than a century ago the great Scotch rhetorician Campbell framed five canons or rules for correct writing. They have never been improved. They should be learned by heart, thoroughly mastered, and constantly practiced by every writer and speaker. They are as follows:
Canon 1.-When, of two words or phrases in equally good use, one is susceptible of two significations and the other of but one, preference should be given to the latter: e. g., admittance is better than admission, as the latter word also means confession; relative is to be preferred to relation, as the latter also means the telling of a story.
Canon 2.-In doubtful cases regard should be given to the analogy of the language; might better should be preferred to had better, and would rather is better than had rather.
Canon 3.-The simpler...
