Do not say, “The truth of that is apparent.” [Use obvious or evident. Apparent or seeming is opposed to real; obvious or evident, to obscure.]
Do not use anticipate for expect. [Anticipate means to reach before, to take before, to forestall, as: “I anticipated all his wishes.”]
Do not say, all of them, both of them, for they [or them] all, both, respectively.
Do not spell with z analyse, paralyse, and other words derived from the Greek luo, lusis.
Do not use ale, tea, sugar, &c., in the plural. [Instead of saying, “I have excellent teas, ales and sugars,” say, “I have excellent tea, ale and sugar, of various qualities] [or, at various prices, &c.]”
Do not use accord for grant or give. [Accord, intransitive, means to agree or harmonize; transitive, it means to give or grant; but it carries with it the idea of great condescension, e.g.: “Pallas accords their vow.” In ordinary prose it should be employed but rarely.]
Do not use accident for wound or hurt. [Accident means misfortune or calamity, e.g.: “In the railway accident the man was badly injured.”]
Do not use aggravate for irritate or vex. [Aggravate means to render heavy or more difficult, e.g.: “The guilt was aggravated by the circumstances of the crime.”]
Do not use alternation for series or succession. [Alternation is reciprocal succession, e.g.: “The alternation of red and white balls on the string produced a very pretty effect.”]
Do not use alternative [in the plural] as equivalent to things to be chosen from or among. [Alternative is the choice itself, and should, properly speaking, be restricted to a choice between two things, e.g.: “My alternative was escape or death.”]
Do not use antiquarian [as a noun] for antiquary. [Antiquarian is an adjective.]
Do not use abortive of acts. [It may be used of plans or attempts; but it is, at the best, an inelegant word.]
Do not say, “The measures adopted by Congress for the quelling of the rebellion &c.” Say, “The measures decided upon or taken &c.” [Adopted is correctly employed in such a sentence as, “The report upon ways and means was adopted.”]
Do not say, “His antecedents are bad.” Say, “His past history [or, his reputation] is bad.”
Do not use appreciate for value highly. [Appreciate is to value correctly or justly.] Say, therefore, “I prize [or value] that horse highly;” not, “I appreciate &c.”
Do not say, at auction but by auction.
Do not say, “The wind was accompanied [or attended] by rain &c.” Use with of things [unless personified]; by, of persons.
Do not use anniversary of celebrations that are not yearly. Thus, not, a centennial anniversary; but, a centennial celebration, festival, &c.
Do not use affable as an exact synonym for kindly or good-natured. [Affable is properly applied to the bearing of superiors towards inferiors, not to the bearing of equals towards equals.]
Do not say, “Both are alike;” say, “They [or they two] are alike.” Both denotes union; alike, separation.
Do not say, “I am afraid it will rain.” Say, “I fear it will rain.”
Do not say, “That admits of no doubt.” [Leave out the of.]
Do not say, “He alludes [or refers] to Mr. Smith,” when you mean that he merely names Mr. Smith. Say, “He means Mr. Smith.” [The real meaning of allude or refer to is to touch lightly upon, to call attention to, delicately or indirectly.]
Do not say, “He went around the world.” It should be, “He went round &c.” [Around denotes rest—“The shelves are around the room;” round denotes motion.]
Do not say, “He remained there no longer than could be avoided.” [Logically, it ought to be, than could not be avoided; but, as this is a very inelegant expression, use some other form, e.g.: “He remained there no longer than was unavoidable,” or, “than was necessary.”]
Do not say, “I went all over the town,” for “I went over all the town.”
Do not use above as an attributive adjective. Say, “the foregoing [or preceding] paragraph,” not “the above paragraph.”
Do not say, “He is as rich, or richer, than my brother.” [It should be, “He is as rich as, or &c.” If preferred, the form of the sentence may be changed, “He is as rich as my brother, or richer.”]
Do not say, “John and James both are here.” It should be, “Both John and James are here.”
Do not use balance for remainder. [Balance is the excess of one thing over another, i.e., what will make them balance.]
Do not spell benefited with two t’s.
Do not use to beat for to defeat. E.g.: “The army was beaten,” is incorrect. [Beat means to strike or hit.]
Do not say, at best, at most, at least [the last two in reference to quantity.] Use the article—at the best &c.
Do not say, “He is bound to go,” for, “He intends to go,” or, “He is determined to go.”
Do not spell bye in by-the-bye without the e. [Bye is an old word meaning place. So by-the-bye is by the place, i.e., passing by the place, or digressing from the main subject. Still, it is customary to write by-law, although bye-law is sometimes seen. In good-bye bye is, of course, a contraction for be with ye, i.e., “God be with ye.”]
Do not use banister for baluster or balustrade.
Do not say, “He was killed by a bullet.” Use with. [By denotes conscious agency; with, unconscious instrumentality. By expresses indirect; with, direct agency.] So, a man is killed with an axe, by a man. When the unconscious instrument is personified, by may be used, e.g., “The man was struck by lightning.”
Do not say, “He has a bad cold, a bad wound, &c.” Use some other adjective—severe, dangerous, &c.
Do not say, “I wish very badly to do so.” Use very much, greatly, or some other adverbial expression.
Do not say, “I beg to say &c.,” for “I beg leave to say &c.”
Do not use between of more than two objects. Use among. “I live between Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown.” “I live among friends.” [Between is often incorrectly employed in such expressions as, “The distance between each post was twenty feet.” There can be no distance between one thing. A different turn must be given to such a sentence; e.g.: “The distance from each post to the next one was &c.;” or, “The distance between any two consecutive posts was &c.”]
Do not speak of collecting a bill. The items or the various moneys or amounts constituting a bill may be collected. [It is impossible to collect one thing only.]
Do not use an infinitive as the object of commence or essay. [There is no necessity for using commence at all. Begin is a much better word.]
Do not use condone for atone for or palliate. [Condone is simply to forgive, as applied to things.]
Do not use climax for acme or highest point. [Climax is a ladder or gradual ascent, not the top of the ladder.]
Do not use constantly for often or continually. [Constantly means firmly or steadfastly; as, “He kept his eyes fixed constantly on the goal.”]
Do not use celebrity for celebrated person. [Celebrity means renown; e.g.: “A man of celebrity in Science.”]
Do not use consequence for importance or moment. [Consequence means result.]
Do not say, “He is of a capricious mind.” Say simply, “He is capricious.”
Do not use claim for assert or say.
Do not use upon for on, after to call. E.g.: “He called on [not upon] me.”
Do not say, “I cannot catch the train,” for “I cannot catch up to [or, with] the train.”
Do not use consider for deem or think. [Consider means to ponder.]
Do not use curious for strange or remarkable.
Do not use caption for heading. [Caption means taking, or capture.]
Do not use citizen for person.
Do not use circumstance for event or occurrence. [A Circumstance is “something pertaining to a fact, but not essential thereto.”]
Do not use may, can, must, shall, will, and other auxiliary verbs alone, unless the form of the preceding principal verb may be repeated without change after the auxiliary. E.g.: “He did as well as he could,” is incorrect. “He will do as well as he can,” is correct.
Do not use couple for two, unless the persons or things spoken of are joined, either literally or figuratively. Thus, speak of a happy couple [a man and wife], or of a couple of handcuffs, but not of a couple of dollars.
Do not use calibre [figuratively] of things. It is applicable to persons only.
Do not use contention of an individual act: a contest, struggle, combat. [Contention implies habit or custom; e.g.: “He displayed a spirit of contention through all the negotiations.”]
Do not say, “He was on the horns of a dilemma.” [Dilemma means “two enclosing positions terminating in what may be called horns.” Say, therefore, “He was between the horns of a dilemma;” or, “He was in a dilemma.”]
Do not say, “In distinction [or contradistinction] to.” [Use from.]
Do not say, “It would be desirable [or advisable] to go away.” Say, “It is desirable [or advisable] to go away.”
Do not use demean for bemean. To demean oneself is to behave oneself; to bemean oneself is to lower or disgrace oneself.
Do not say, “Goods of that description,” for “goods of that kind or sort.” [Confine description to the meaning of explanation or recital.]
Do not use detect for distinguish, see, make out. [Detect means to bring to light, to reveal, to expose.] Thus, “The criminals were detected in their crime,” is correct. “The peasants could be detected at once,” is incorrect.
Do not use dangerous for very ill or in danger.
Do not use denuded as an exact equivalent of bare. [A thing cannot be denuded of that which it has never had.]
Do not use deprecate for condemn or censure. [Deprecate means to beg off or pray exemption from. E.g.: “I deprecate the infliction of the death penalty upon the prisoner.”]
Do not say, “He died with a disease.” [Use of.]
Do not use directly for as soon as. [Say, “As soon as he came in, he went out again;” not, “Directly he &c., &c.”]
Do not use donate for give, unless the gift is princely in amount or made with great ceremony.
Do not say a dirt road for a sand [or earth or gravel, &c.] road.
Do not use divine [as a noun] for clergyman, minister, preacher, &c.
Do not say, “That property has depreciated in value.” Depreciate alone means to fall in value. In value is therefore pleonastic. [Depreciate is either transitive (to bring down the value of) or intransitive (to fall in value). The former is said to be the preferable use, but the latter is the more common use.]
Do not say, “I differ with you upon that point.” Say, “I differ from you &c.” [Differ with is sometimes used for quarrel with, or have a misunderstanding with. This use is, however, rather rare.]
Do not say, “He lives some distance from here.” Say, “He lives at some distance &c.”
Do not use differentiate for distinguish. [Differentiate should be confined to mathematical and other scientific expressions.]
Do not employ expect for think or believe. [Expect means to look forward to, and should be used only of the future.]
Do not say, “He has lost ever so many horses.” If used at all, the expression should be, “never so many.”
Do not say equally as well as. Say, equally well, or as well as.
Do not say equanimity of mind, anxiety of mind, unanimity of mind. That is, do not use compounds of animus or anima along with mind, temper, spirit, affection, &c.; as such expressions are pleonastic. [So, unity or agreement of mind is a better expression than equanimity of mind.]
Do not say, “I have every confidence in him,” for, “I have the greatest [or entire] confidence in him.”
Do not use executed for put to death. [Laws or sentences are executed (i.e., carried out), and the criminal is hanged or shot or otherwise killed.]
Do not use enact for act. To enact is to establish by law, to decree, to perform. [So say, “A law was passed”—not enacted; but, “It was enacted by law that all murderers should be put to death.”]
Do not use endorse for approve of, applaud, sanction. Confine the employment of endorse to its ordinary commercial meaning.
Do not use embrace for comprise.
Do not use empty for discharge or flow into [of a river].
Do not say, “He tried an experiment.” [This is tautological, as an experiment is a trial. The expression should be, “He made, or performed, an experiment.”]
Do not say on every hand, for on each hand, or on both hands.
Do not use either, neither and whether of more than two persons or things.
Do not follow else with but. Than is the proper word to use after else.
Do not use exemplary as an exact synonym for excellent. [Exemplary means giving an example, as in: “He inflicted exemplary punishment.”]
Do not say, “I experience great pleasure [or pain”]. Say, “I feel &c.”
Do not use excessively for exceedingly or very.
Do not use effluviums or effluviae for effluvia [the plural of effluvium.]
Do not confuse few and a few. There is a great distinction in meaning between the two. E.g.: “Few persons like Mr. Smith,” means that but few like him, i.e., that he is generally disliked. “A few persons like Mr. Smith,” means that some persons [perhaps all who know him] like him. Therefore, few should be followed by and; a few by but; e.g.: “Few persons like Mr. Smith, and these persons would not like him did they know him well.” “A few persons like Mr. Smith, but more persons like Mr. Brown.”
Do not confuse at fault with in fault. [At fault is a hunting phrase meaning “off the scent” (equivalent to at sea); in fault is in error.]
Do not say, “He faithfully promised to do it.” [One may do a thing faithfully, or may promise to do it faithfully; but one cannot faithfully promise to do it.]
Do not use future for next or subsequent [of the past]. Thus, “The future career of Milton was &c.,” should be, “The after [or subsequent] career of Milton was &c.” Again, “For the future the course of Columbus was &c.,” should be, “Thenceforward [or after this, or thereafter, or subsequently] the course of Columbus was &c.”
Do not say, “Go and fetch it.” [Fetch alone means to go and bring. The expression is, therefore, pleonastic.]
Do not say, “I forbid you from going.” Say, “I forbid you to go,” or, “I forbid your going.” [With prevent or hinder, however, use from.]
Do not compare adjectives ending in ful. Say, “He showed more grace,” or use some other expression in preference to “He was more graceful.” [Of course, the adjective full ought never to be compared. Instead of saying “That jug is fuller than the other,” say, “That jug is more nearly full than &c.” A similar remark will apply to many other adjectives (entire, perfect, &c.), the meaning of which admits of no degrees or gradations.]
Do not use female for woman.
Do not say fall down, sink down, rise up, ascend up, &c., as the adverbs are implied in the verbs. Say fall, sink, rise, ascend, &c.
Do not use fix for repair, arrange, set up. [Fix properly means to fasten firmly, as, “He fixed a nail into the wall.”]
Do not spell the plural of fly, a carriage, flies. The correct form is flys.
Do not use incorrect forms of foreign adjectives. Say, naïfs men, naïves women, naïfs features, i.e., make the adjectives agree in gender and number with its noun taken as a foreign word. [This rule applies especially to French adjectives.]
Do not use the word graphic of sound, or of anything but written or pictured representation.
Do not use going to or just going to, for about to.
Do not use grow as a transitive verb. Say, “He cultivates [produces, raises crops of, &c.] corn.”
Do not say, “He grows small;” for this involves a contradiction. Use decrease, diminish, become smaller.
Do not use get to for attend, be at, be present at, go to.
Do not use gubernatorial for governmental.
Do not use gratuitous for asserted without proof.
Do not say, “The thing is no good [or no use].” Say, “The thing is of no good [of no use].”
Do not say, “That is one of the great, if not the greatest man I have ever seen.” This construction involves a grammatical contradiction, as will be seen by supplying the ellipsis: “That is one of the greatest [men], if not the greatest [man], I have ever seen.”
Do not say, “He gives no more than he can help.” [Logically, it ought to be, “He gives no more than he cannot help;” but as this expression is very awkward, use some other, e.g.: “He gives no more than is absolutely necessary,” “He gives only what he must give (or, is forced to give, or, cannot avoid giving).”]
Do not use humanitarian for humane. [The original and correct meaning of humanitarian is denying the divinity of Christ.]
Do not use, as an adverb, hardly for hard. Say, “He struck the man hard,” “He felt the blow hard” [not hardly]. Hardly means scarcely.
Do not use the word help-meet [one word]. Say, “He has a help meet [fit] for him,” “He has a help-mate,” but not, “He has a help-meet.”
Do not use high with calibre, when the latter has a figurative meaning. Say, “A man of large [or great] calibre.”
Do not use have pleonastically, e.g.: “I do not like to have you go,” for, “I do not like your going,” or, “I do not like you to go.”
Do not say, “He reached a higher stage of perfection than most men.” [There can be no grades or stages in perfection. The sentence should therefore be, “He came nearer perfection &c.” A similar remark applies to all these other words (entirety, totality, fulness, &c.), the meaning of which, from their very nature, admits of no gradations.]
Do not use if for whether. Say, “I cannot tell whether [not if] he will come or not.”
Do not use invest for buy, without an object. Say, “He bought,” not, “He invested in that.” Invest is correctly used as follows: “He invested a large sum of money in wheat.”
Do not use idea for opinion. [Idea is an image in the mind.]
Do not use incorrect, or wrong, or bad, with orthography, orthoepy, calligraphy, &c. [The reason is obvious: orthos means correct, kalos means beautiful. So say, wrong spelling, incorrect pronunciation, bad writing, &c.]
Do not use individual for person, unless you wish to emphasize the idea of individuality, as is the case in the following sentence: “We may condemn the association as a whole, whilst honoring the individuals that compose it.”
Do not use infallible for inevitable. Say, “The inevitable [not, the infallible] result was so and so.”
Do not use inaugurate for begin. [To inaugurate is to install in office with certain ceremonies. Inaugurate should seldom be used of things, unless personified. It is the proper word in the following phrase: “To inaugurate a good and jovial year.”]
Do not use implicit for unbounded or unlimited, as it is used in, “I have implicit confidence in him.” [Implicit properly means woven into, expressed by implication, as opposed to explicit.]
Do not employ item for paragraph or piece of news.
Do not say, “I have not seen him in six months, in a year, &c.” [Use for.]
Do not say an illy equipped force, for an ill [or badly] equipped force. There is no such word as illy: ill being both adverb and adjective. [In England, ill (as adjective) is preferred to sick: sick having the meaning of nauseated. In America sick and ill are almost interchangeable. Authority shows that sick, in the sense of ill, is perfectly correct.]
Do not use identified with for prominent in or closely connected with, as it is used in the following sentence: “He was identified with that movement.” Prominently identified with, is worse still. [To identify is, to prove to be the same, or to ascertain or certify to the identity of. E.g.: “The body was identified as that of Mr. H.”]
Do not use if when there is no supposition or doubt. Do not say, “If, in the main, I have so acted, my reason is &c.” [Say, “My reason for having so acted is &c.”]
Do not employ interested in for concerned in or taking part in. It is correct to say, “I am interested in [i.e., I take an interest in] works of art;” but it is not correct to say, “I am interested in wheat” [for, “I deal in wheat,” or, “I am engaged in wheat-buying”].
Do not say, in so far as, for so far as, or as far as. [The in is clearly superfluous. Of the two expressions, so far as and as far as, the first is greatly preferable.]
Do not speak of a monthly or a quarterly magazine as a journal. [Etymologically, a journal is a daily newspaper. The term journal may, however, be applied to a weekly, a semi-weekly or a tri-weekly publication.]
Do not use jewelry of individual gems or other ornaments. Say, “His stock of jewelry was large;” but, “She wore magnificent jewels.” [Jewelry is a collective noun.]
Do not spell the plural of Knight Templar, Knights Templar or Knight Templars; it is Knights Templars. [Templar is a noun in opposition to Knight.]
Do not say, “The lowest and the highest house on the cliff,” when referring to the position of the houses. Use lowermost and uppermost. Lowest and highest should be applied to dimensions only.
Do not say, “He left it alone,” for “He let it alone.”
Do not say, “He lit a fire.” Use lighted. [Lit is sometimes vulgarly employed as the past tense of light (alight), to come down upon, rest upon. Instead of saying, “The bird lit upon the fence,” say, “The bird alighted upon the fence.”]
Do not use leave (to quit) without an object, as it is used in “When did you leave?” [Say, “When did you go away?” “When did you leave home, town, &c.?”]
Do not say, “The lay of the land is good,” for, “The lie &c.” [The use of lie in this sense should be avoided for the same reason that makes us avoid the use of certain, any, &c., viz., it is an ambiguous word.]
Do not use limited as exactly synonymous with small or short, but confine it to its strictly literal and original meaning of shortened, abbreviated, compressed within limits; e.g.: “He was granted strictly limited hours of recreation.”
Do not employ loan as a verb. Loan is properly used as a noun, the corresponding verb being lend. Say, “He lent me money, and afterwards I effected [or made] a loan for him.”
Do not say, “I speak loud,” for, “I speak loudly.” [Shakespeare uses loud for loudly, but loudly is the correct prose form of the adverb.]
Do not use at length for at last, finally. [At length means fully, lengthily, as, “He reported the speech at length.”]
Do not use myself and the other reflexive pronouns as nominatives, except for emphasis. Do not say, “When the soldiers and myself had gone.” [Use I instead of myself.]
Do not use the masses for the people.
Do not say, “He is more of a man than I am.” Use some other expression: more manly, better, &c.
Do not say, “I am mistaken,” for, “I mistake, I make a mistake, I am incorrect, &c.” [“I am mistaken” really means, “I am misunderstood,” or “taken wrongly.”]
Do not spell the plural of miasma, miasmæ. It is miasmata.
Do not use make for gain or earn. [Say, “Does he earn much?” “Will he gain much?” not, “Does he make much?” “Will he make much?”]
Do not use novitiate for novice. [The novitiate is the period during which one is a novice.]
Do not say, “He merely named the incident or occurrence.” [A person or place may be named, but not an occurrence or event. The latter is mentioned, alluded to, described.]
Do not say, “No one was there,” for, “not one was there.” [The adjective no was originally no one. Therefore, no one is pleonastic. The adverb no is etymologically not or never. Therefore, such expressions as no sooner, no more may be considered correct, although not sooner, not more are preferable. Nobody, no person, &c., may often be advantageously used in place of no one. To the employment of these there is no objection, as there is to that of no one.]
Do not say, “No gold or silver.” Say, “No gold nor silver.” [“No gold or silver” would mean that gold and silver are the same thing. If this meaning were intended, there ought to be a comma after gold, or else “or silver” ought to be in parentheses; e.g.: “No ancient Mexicans, or Aztecs, or (or Aztecs) were to be seen.”]
Do not say, “not as good,” “not as wise.” [After not use so.]
Do not say, “He came near dying,” for “He almost died,” “He narrowly escaped death,” &c.
Do not say, “No gold and no silver are here.” Use the singular verb. [The principle in this case is the same as in the case of each and every.]
Do not use nasty for disagreeable.
Do not say, “I never remember to have seen,” for, “I do not remember ever to have seen.” [“I never remember to have seen,” really means, “I always forget &c.”]
Do not use “next Sunday,” “next Monday,” &c., for the Sunday, Monday, &c., after next. [Next Sunday is the nearest Sunday.]
Do not say, “I never committed the crime,” for, “I did not commit the crime;” i.e., do not use never for not.
Do not say, “I do not think it is true,” for, “I think [or better, believe] it is not true.”
Do not say, “He was nothing like so good as his brother,” “He wrote nothing like so well as his brother.” [Use “not nearly.”]
Do not use near for nearly. [Say, “He is not nearly so rich as &c.,” not, “He is not near &c.”]
Do not use the expression new beginners for beginners alone.
Do not say on the street for in the street. [A street is properly a passage or space, not a roadway.]
Do not employ the self-contradictory expression old news.
Do not use he, him and his, or she, her and hers, for one and one’s. Say, “When one learns one’s lesson, one &c.;” not, “When one learns his lesson, he &c.” [Of course, they, their and them ought never to have one as antecedent.]
Do not use over and above for more than.
Do not use over his signature for under his signature. [The latter, which is the only correct form, means under the sanction of his signature.]
Do not use observe for say. [I observe means I see or notice.]
Do not use ovation as an exact synonym for shouting and cheering. Ovation is applied correctly to great occasions, festivals, triumphs.
Do not say, “I have no other purpose than this.” Say, “I have no purpose other than this,” i.e., keep other and than together. [A similar rule applies to comparatives in general and to many words (e.g., rather) like other, which have a comparative form and force. Therefore say, “Your house is larger than your cousin’s,” in preference to, “That is a larger house of yours than your cousin’s.”]
Do not say old veterans, as the word veterans implies length of service. If “length of days,” as well as length of service, is to be expressed, use aged or some other word or phrase instead of old.
Do not, unless unavoidable, pluralize the indefinite pronoun one. Prefer, “You have three good horses and I have two bad horses,” or, “You have three good, and I have two bad horses,” to “You have three good horses and I have two bad ones.”
Do not say, among the others, among others, among the rest. [A person or thing cannot be among other persons or things. Say, along with the others, or others, or the rest.]
Do not use proposition for proposal or offer. Say: “I made the proposal to him; and he, in return, demonstrated the proposition for me.” [Proposal, in the sense of offer, is preferable to proposition, because it is shorter and unambiguous.]
Do not use pocket-hand-kerchief and neck-hand-kerchief for hand-kerchief or neck-kerchief respectively.
Do not use pretend for claim or assert. Say, “He claimed [or asserted] that he was correct.”
Do not use preposterous for absurd. [Preposterous properly means, putting the first last and the last first. Besides, it is a longer word than absurd.]
Do not use previous and subsequent as adverbs. Say: “He came previously [or subsequently] to your arrival.”
Do not use partially for partly. [Partially should be confined to its meaning of with partiality, but is seldom employed.]
Do not use people for persons individually. Say, “There were three persons [not, people] present.” [People means a race or nation, or else persons collectively—the old word folk.]
Do not use a plural verb or pronoun with each or every. Say: “Each day and each hour [or, every day and every hour] brings its cares.”
Do not use the plural form of the noun in such cases as, “Men’s healths have suffered;” “The children’s illnesses have increased.” [The rule is, that a noun governing the possessive plural, should not itself be in the plural, unless the sense requires it. This rule will apply chiefly to abstract nouns: virtue, sin, &c. The sense will, of course, require the plural in such an instance as, “The children’s hands were injured.”]
Do not use the plural form in such compound adjectival expressions as, calves’-foot jelly, ten-foot pole, twenty-dollar watch.
Do not say, “All have rights and privileges.” [Privilege (literally, private law) is some favor or advantage enjoyed by an individual. So, all have rights; but all have not privileges.]
Do not use the present participle for the past participle or the perfect participle. So, instead of saying, “After seeing him, I went away;” say, “After having seen him,” &c.
Do not use plastic of the person or hand that fashions, but of the material fashioned. Say, “His plastic mind was easily impressed;” not, “He moulded with his plastic touch the mind of his brother.”
Do not use pell-mell of one person or thing.
Do not say, “Providing he has the money, he will pay.” Use provided.
Do not use presume for think or believe. Do not say, “I presume that is correct.”
Do not use period for point of time. Period means series of years or duration. E.g.: “The period between 1862 and 1882 was” &c.
Do not use persuaded for convinced. One is convinced by argument; one is persuaded by entreaty. One is persuaded; one’s reason, convinced.
Do not use quite before a noun. Do not say, “That is quite a house.” [Quite may properly be used before an adjective (“He is quite ill”): it then means entirely, completely; not tolerably, pretty.]
Do not use partake for eat or drink. Say, “He ate some food and drank some water,” not, “He partook of food and water.” [Partake means to share or share with; e.g.: “Sit down, and partake of dinner with me.”]
Do not use per before English nouns: use a. Per is correct before Latin nouns. [Thus: “So much per-annum;” “so much a year;” “per capita,” or “a head.”]
Do not use the past tense for the perfect tense. Say, “He is the best man I have ever seen” [not, “I ever saw”].
Do not use replace for displace. To replace is to place again, i.e., to restore [the same thing] to its former place. Displace is to put out of place, and therefore [often], to put one thing into the place of another.
Do not say, “You have no right to pay him so large a price;” meaning, “You are not called upon [or, in duty bound]” &c.
Do not say, “It is rarely that I see him.” [Rarely, adverb, should be rare, adjective, after the verb to be.]
Do not use recommend for advise or counsel. “I recommend you to go away,” should be, “I advise you” &c.
Do not use rendition for performance or rendering [of a reading, piece of music, &c.]. Rendition means surrender.
Do not say, “Rev. Mr. H. is here.” Say, “The Rev. Mr. H. is here.”
Do not say, “This road takes you to Paris.” Say, “This road leads [or, leads one] to Paris.”
Do not use remit for send. Remit means to send back, to relax, to surrender, to forgive. “To send a remittance,” is still worse than, “to remit money.”
Do not use the adjective scarce for the adverb scarcely. Say, “Scarcely a bushel” [not, scarce].
Do not use species for kind, unless in a scientific sense.
Do not say, “I shall have pleasure in accepting your invitation.” Use the present tense [“I have—or take—pleasure” &c.].
Do not say, seldom or ever, for seldom or never, or seldom if ever.
Do not use spare for give. Spare means to save. So: “I cannot spare you any more”, should be, “I cannot give you any more.”
Do not use sensation for exciting news.
Do not use since for ago. Say, “About a year ago;” not, “About a year since.”
Do not say, “The business was very large, so much so as to require” &c. [Repeat the adjective: “so large as to” &c.]
Do not use summons, as a verb, for summon. Say, “He was summoned [not summonsed] to court.”
Do not say, “He is such another man as his brother.” [Another should precede such: “another such.”]
Do not use superior for able. Say, “He is an able [not a superior] man.”
Do not use supposititious for supposed or hypothetical. Supposititious means spurious; and there is no necessity for using it at all.
Do not use settle for pay. Say, “He paid the account;” not, “He settled the account.”
Do not use such for so. Say, “So good a man;” not: “Such a good man.”
Do not say, “It storms,” when it only rains or snows. [A storm is a violent movement in the atmosphere, with or without hail, snow, sleet or rain.]
Do not use splendid for merely great or good. Splendid should be used of that only which is literally or metaphorically brilliant. E.g.: “A splendid endurance of hardships on the march,” is incorrect. “A splendid charge upon the enemy, when the march was over;” is correct.
Do not say, a summer’s morning, a winter’s morning; for, a summer morning, a winter morning. [We should never think of saying, a spring’s morning, a fall’s morning.]
Do not use strata as a singular noun. Stratum is singular; strata is plural.
Do not speak of a wider [or more extended] point of view [or stand-point]; as a point cannot be anything but a point. [Point of view is preferable to stand-point; as the latter expression is logically absurd: one cannot stand on a point. If stand-point is used, do not say, “He approached from the stand-point;” as approach denotes motion, stand-point rest.]
Do not use sincere without its completing words. E.g.: “He is sincere in his aims, in his means;” is correct. [This necessity arises from the two-fold or ambiguous meaning of sincere. One may be sincere in one’s aims, but not sincere in one’s means of reaching those aims.] Honest, on the other hand, may be used alone; as it means straight-forward and sincere in every thing.
Do not use scorn and disdain, as verbs, with the name of a person as object. Do not say, “He scorns [or disdains] Mr. S.” Use despise, look down upon, or some other expression.
Do not use small of quantity. [Small is applicable only to dimensions. Thus, do not say, “The smallest assistance will be thankfully received.” It should be, “The least assistance” &c.]
Do not use statu quo or bona fide for status quo or bona fides. Say, “The status quo remained unchanged, each party having preserved bona fides.” A similar remark will apply to many other foreign expressions. Of course, wherever there is a satisfactory English equivalent, a foreign word or phrase should not be used.
Do not say, “Will you take some meat?” Say, “Will you have veal [or beef, or whatever it is]?”
Do not say, “It is a quarter to ten.” Say, “A quarter of ten.”
Do not say, “The taxes are levied on persons, and collected from land.” The reverse is the case: taxes are levied on land and collected from persons.
Do not use though for if. Say: “I feel as if [not though] I could die.”
Do not say, “We take dinner, tea,” &c. Use have.
Do not employ thereabouts, hereabouts, whereabouts (with final s) as adverbs. Say, “It was in 1859 or thereabout.” As nouns these words take the s; e.g.: “Do you know his whereabouts?”
Do not say, that far, that much, that many, &c., for so far, so much, so many, &c.
Do not use the word tea for broth, medicine, solution, unless absolutely unavoidable. [Tea is the plant itself or the beverage made from its leaves.]
Do not say, “I prefer to walk to ride.” Say, “I prefer walking to riding.”
Do not say, “I have been to Paris.” [Use at. One can go to, but not be to, a place].
Do not say, “Which do you the more admire: him or her?” [Omit the.]
Do not use underhanded for underhand. Say, “He made money by underhand [not underhanded] dealings.”
Do not use utter as an exact equivalent of say or express. [Utter is to speak, give forth, or pronounce, generally in a loud voice.] Say therefore, “He uttered a sharp cry;” but, “He expressed a noble sentiment.”
Do not use ultimate of the past. Confine it to the future. Do not say: “The ultimate issue of the Thirty Years’ war was” &c. Say, “The result [or, the issue, the end, the conclusion, the subsequent course of the Thirty Years’ War was” &c.]
Do not use the adjective utter indiscriminately for entire or complete. E.g.: One may say, utter nonsense; but not, utter sense. [A similar remark will apply to the adverb utterly.]
Do not use valuable for valued. Say: “One of our most valued [or, most highly valued—not valuable] contributors has sent us a most valuable [not valued] article.”
Do not say, “I am very pleased,” “too pleased,” “so pleased;” for, “I am very much pleased,” “too much pleased,” “so much pleased.” That is, with past participles used as adjectives or along with auxiliaries, insert much after very, too and so. We say, “He is very little [too little, so little] loved.” We ought, therefore, to say, “He is very much [too much, so much] loved.” Strictly speaking, so hated means hated, not to a certain degree, but in a certain manner.
Do not say Toronto and vicinity; but, Toronto and its vicinity. [Neighbourhood is generally a better word to employ than vicinity.]
Do not repeat unnecessarily the word whether. Do not say, “Whether he was rich, or whether he was poor.” [Omit the second whether.] As has been said before, whether, either and neither ought properly to be employed only of two persons or things. Therefore, where several are mentioned, they should be grouped in couples: e.g.: “Whether he has gold or silver, whether he has stocks or bonds;” [or: “Whether he has gold or silver, stocks or bonds” (the second whether being unexpressed).] This is better than: “Whether he has gold, silver, stocks or bonds.”
Do not say: “Whether he be right or wrong.” [Use with whether the indicative is, not the subjunctive be, unless the rules given for the subjunctive apply to the sentence.]
Do not say: “Give it to whomsoever asks for it.” Say: “Give it to whosoever [or whoever] asks for it.” [The object of to is not whomsoever, but some noun or pronoun unexpressed: the person, him.]
Do not say, “Where have you gone to?” Say, “Where have you gone?”
Do not use the verb witness for see or behold. Say: “That is the most beautiful scenery I have ever beheld [or seen; not witnessed].” To witness means to see or be present at the performance of some act or at the occurrence of some event. So a man witnesses a fight, but does not witness scenery. Witness, moreover, generally carries with it the idea of giving testimony. Where such idea is lacking, it is better to use see or behold.
Do not use what for? for why? Say: “Why do you act so?” not: “What do you act so for?”
Do not say, “A widow woman.” [Omit woman, which is superfluous.]
Do not confuse the “editorial we” with the ordinary we, as is done in the following: “As a public journalist, we must say that when other men act in that way, we all [i.e., all persons] feel aggrieved.”
Do not say whether or no, for, whether or not, unless no is an adjective qualifying some noun unexpressed. Thus: “Whether he comes or not [not no];” but, “Whether he is a merchant or no.” In the latter instance, however, not would be quite correct. [“Whether he is a merchant or is not a merchant.”]
Do not use “the whole of” [before a plural noun] for all. Say: “All the deputies were present;” not, “The whole of” &c.
Do not use winsome for winning. Winsome means joyous, light-hearted. “His daughter was a winsome lass; she had a winning smile.”
Do not use worse for more. Say: “He disliked vinegar more [not worse] than pepper.” [A similar remark will apply to better.]
Do not use want for need [verb]. To avoid ambiguity, want should be restricted to its meaning of wish or desire; need, to that of lack or be under the necessity of. Say, therefore, “I want to go for a drive;” but not, “The man was so poor that he actually wanted [lacked, needed] bread;” or worse, “You want [need to, or must] go away.”
Do not say, “Yesterday’s Times has come.” Say, “The Times of yesterday has come.”
Do not end a letter with Yours &c., for Yours truly, Respectfully yours, or some other expression.