Word Study and English Grammar Part 10

_Latter_ applies only to the last of two. If a longer series than two is referred to, say _the last_.

_Lay_, which is a transitive verb, should not be confused with _lie_.

_Lay_ is a verb which expresses causitive action; _lie_ expresses pa.s.sivity. "He _lays_ plans." "He _lies_ down." The past tense of _lay_ is _laid_, that of _lie_ is _lay_.

_Learn_ should not be used in place of _teach_.

_Lengthy_ is a very poor subst.i.tute for _long_, which needs no subst.i.tute.

_Liable_ should not be used for _likely_. _Liable_ means an unpleasant probability. _Likely_ means any probability. _Liable_ is also used to express obligation. He is _liable_ for this debt.

_Like_ must never be used in the sense of _as_. "Do _like_ I do" should be "Do _as_ I do."

_Literally_ implies that a statement to which it is attached is accurately and precisely true. It is frequently misused.

_Loan_ is a noun, not a verb.

_Locate_ should not be used in the sense of _settle_.

_Lot_ or _lots_ should not be used to indicate a _great deal_.

_Love_ expresses affection or, in its biblical sense, earnest benevolence. _Like_ expresses taste. Do not say "I should _love_ to go."

_Lovely_ means "worthy of affection" and, like _elegant_, should never be used as a term of general approbation.

_Luxuriant_ which means "superabundant in growth or production" should not be confounded with _luxurious_ which means "given over to luxury."

Vegetation is _luxuriant_, men are _luxurious_.

_Mad_ means _insane_ and is not a synonym for _angry_.

_Means_ may be either singular or plural.

_Meet_ should not be used in the sense of _meeting_ except in the case of a few special expressions such as "a race meet."

_Mighty_ should not be used in the sense of _very_.

_Mind_ should not be used in the sense of _obey_.

_Minus_ should not be used in the sense of _without_ or _lacking_.

_Most_ should not be used instead of _almost_, as in such expressions as "It rained _most_ every day."

_Must_ should not be used for _had to_ or _was obliged_. In its proper use it refers to the present or future only.

_Necessities_ should be carefully distinguished from _necessaries_.

_Negligence_, which denotes a quality of character should be distinguished from _neglect_ which means "a failure to act."

_Neither_ denotes one of two and should not be used for _none_ or _no one_. As a correlative conjunction it should be followed by _nor_ never by _or_.

_New beginner_. _Beginner_ is enough; all beginners are new.

_News_ is singular in construction.

_Never_ is sometimes used as an emphatic negative but such usage is not good.

_Nice_ should not be used in the sense of _pleasant_ or _agreeable_.

_No how_ should not be used for _anyway_.

_No place_ should be written as _nowhere_.

_None_ should be treated as a singular.

_Not_, like _neither_, must be followed by the correlative _nor_, e. g., "Not for wealth nor for fame did he strive."

_Not_ ... _but_ to express a negative is a double negative and therefore should not be used, e. g., "I have _not_ had _but_ one meal to-day."

_Nothing like_ and _nowhere near_ should not be used for _not nearly_.

_O_ should be used for the vocative and without punctuation.

_Oh_ should be used for the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n and should be followed by a comma or an exclamation point.

_Obligate_ should not be used for _oblige_.

_Observe_ should not be used for _say_.

_Observation_ should not be used for _observance_.

_Of_ is superfluous in such phrases as _smell of_, _taste of_, _feel of_.

_Off_ should never be used with _of_; one or the other is superfluous.

_Other._ After _no other_ use _than_, not _but_.

_Ought_ must never be used in connection with _had_ or _did_. "You _hadn't ought_ or _didn't ought_ to do it" should be "You ought not to have done it."

_Out loud_ should never be used for _aloud_.

_Panacea_ is something that cures all diseases, not an effective remedy for one disease.

_Partake of_ should not be used in the sense of _eat_. It means "to share with others."

_Party_ should never be used for _person_ except in legal doc.u.ments.

_Per_ should be used in connection with other words of Latin form but not with English words. _Per diem_, _per annum_, and the like are correct. _Per day_ or _per year_ are incorrect. It should be _a day_, or _a year_.

_Perpendicular_, which merely means at right angles to something else mentioned, should not be used for _vertical_.