Practical Grammar and Composition Part 58

1. She is _nice_ looking.

2. We had a _perfectly gorgeous_ time.

3. John is a _professional_ man.

4. The play was _simply exquisite_.

5. To hear his voice makes me feel _funny_.

6. The opposing team was _completely annihilated_.

7. A _noise_ caught our attention.

8. His manners are _horrid_.

9. We had a _great_ time.

10. Such arrogance is _unendurable_.

11. That is a _good_ book.

197. HOW TO IMPROVE ONE'S VOCABULARY. The few following suggestions may be found helpful in the acquiring of a good vocabulary:

1. CULTIVATE THE DICTIONARY HABIT. Learn the meaning, p.r.o.nunciation, and spelling of each new word that you meet. Only when these three things are grasped about each word, does one really know the word.

Some persons have found it an invaluable aid to carry with them a small note book or card on which they note down to be looked up at a convenient time words concerning which they are in doubt.

2. IN YOUR WRITING AND SPEAKING USE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THE NEW WORDS THAT YOU ACQUIRE.

3. CONSTRUCT GOOD ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS for all the slang, fine writing, and hackneyed phrases that you meet, and then use the good expressions instead of the bad ones.

4. STUDY SYNONYMS; words of similar form and meaning. Only by a knowledge of synonyms can you express fine shades of meaning. _Crabbe's_ English Synonyms and _Fernald's_ Synonyms and Antonyms are good books of reference for this purpose. In addition to these books, lists of synonyms will be found in many books that are designed for general reference.

5. TRY TO GET THE ONE WORD that will best express the idea.

6. READ GOOD BOOKS and good magazines, and read them carefully.

7. CULTIVATE THE SOCIETY of those who use good language.

EXERCISE 86

_Look up the meaning of each of the words in the following groups of synonyms. Construct sentences in which each word is used correctly:_

1. Love, like.

2. Wit, humor.

3. Discover, invent.

4. Observe, watch.

5. Pride, vanity, conceit.

6. Proof, evidence, testimony.

7. Balance, rest, remainder.

8. Word, term, expression.

9. Bring, fetch, carry.

10. Abandon, desert, forsake.

11. Propose, purpose, intend.

12. Healthful, healthy, wholesome.

13. Student, pupil, scholar.

14. Capacity, power, ability.

15. Blame, censure, criticism.

16. Accede, agree, yield, acquiesce.

17. Trickery, cunning, chicane, fraud.

18. Instruction, education, training, tuition.

19. Hards.h.i.+p, obstacle, hindrance, difficulty.

20. Maxim, precept, rule, law 21. Mult.i.tude, crowd, throng, swarm.

22. Delight, happiness, pleasure, joy.

23. Work, labor, toil, drudgery, task.

24. Silent, mute, dumb, speechless.

25. Kill, murder, a.s.sa.s.sinate, slay.

26. Hatred, enmity, dislike, ill-will.

27. Example, pattern, sample, model.

28. Obvious, plain, clear, apparent.

29. Noted, eminent, famous, prominent, notorious.

30. Old, aged, antique, ancient, antiquated, obsolete.

SPELLING

198. The following is a list of words that are frequently misspelled or confused. Where possible, an effort has been made to arrange them in groups in order that they may be more easily remembered.

The word with an added ending has been used in most cases in place of the bare word itself as, _occasional_ instead of _occasion_.

A few rules have been included.

accede descend pressure accident fascinate misspelled accommodate mischievous possession accordance miscellaneous accuracy muscle recollection succeed susceptible dispelled occasional miscellaneous occur existence monosyllable experience intellectual across sentence parallel amount embellishment apart foregoing wholly arouse forehead woolly village already forty villain all right foreign till forfeit amateur formally perpetual grandeur formerly persuade perspiration appal fulfill apparatus willful police appet.i.te policies approximate guardian opportunity guessing presence opposite precede disappoint imminent preceptor disappearance immediately accommodation fiend choose commission siege chosen grammar friend inflammation yielding boundary recommend elementary summary seize symmetrical receive final committee receipt finally usual ledger succeed usually legible proceed

ascend a.s.sa.s.sin recede ascent dissimilar secede discerning essential accede discipline messenger intercede discontent concede discreet necessary supersede descent necessity pa.s.sport

199. Words ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, if monosyllables, or if the last syllable is accented, double the final consonant before the ending _-ed_ and _-ing_, but not before _-ence_; as,

rob, rob_bed_, rob_bing_, rob_bers_.

confer, confer_red_, confer_ring_, confer_ence_.

transmit, transmit_ted_, transmit_ting_, transmi_ssion_.

impel, impel_led_, impel_ling_, imp_ulsion_.

Similar to the above are.

defer, infer, prefer, refer, transfer, occur (occurrence), abhor (abhorrence), omit, remit, permit, commit, beset, impel, compel, repel, excel (excellence), mob, sob, rub, skid.

If these words are not accented on the last syllable, the consonant is not doubled; as,

benefit, benefit_ed_, benefit_ing_, benefi_cial_.

Similar are:

differ, summon, model.

200. Words ending in silent _e_ drop the _e_ before a suffix beginning with a vowel; as,

arrive, arriv_ing_, arriv_ed_, arriv_al_.

precede, preced_ed_, preced_ing_, preced_ence_.

receive, receiv_ed_, receiv_ing_.

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