Innocent English

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER II Page 2: ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Relative Pronouns are who, which, that and what. Who is applied to persons only; as, “The man who was here.” Which is applied to the lower animals and things without life; as, “The horse...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER II Page 3: ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR Present Past Past Participle Love Loved Loved To Love PRESENT TENSE Sing. Plural 1st person I love We love 2nd person You love You love 3rd person He loves They love PAST TENSE Sing. Plural 1st...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER III Page 1: THE SENTENCE Different Kinds Arrangement of Words Paragraph A sentence is an assemblage of words so arranged as to convey a determinate sense or meaning, in other words, to express a complete thought or idea. No matter how...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER III Page 2: THE SENTENCE The amusing effect of disregarding the reference of pronouns is well illustrated by Burton in the following story of Billy Williams, a comic actor who thus narrates his experience in riding a horse owned by...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER IV: FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Figures of Speech Definitions and Examples Use of Figures In Figurative Language we employ words in such a way that they differ somewhat from their ordinary signification in commonplace speech and convey our...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER V: PUNCTUATION Principal Points Illustrations Capital Letters. Lindley Murray and Goold Brown laid down cast-iron rules for punctuation, but most of them have been broken long since and thrown into the junk-heap of disuse. They were...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER VI Page 1: LETTER WRITING Principles of Letter Writing Forms Notes Many people seem to regard letter-writing as a very simple and easily acquired branch, but on the contrary it is one of the most difficult forms of composition and...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER VI Page 2: LETTER WRITING It is better to finish formal letters without any such qualifying remarks. If you are writing to Mr. Ryan to tell him that you have a house for sale, after describing the house and stating the terms simply...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER VII Page 1: ERRORS Mistakes Slips of Authors Examples and Corrections Errors of Redundancy. In the following examples the word or words in parentheses are uncalled for and should be omitted: 1. Fill the glass (full). 2. They appeared...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER VII Page 2: ERRORS “In every well formed mind this second desire seems to be the strongest of the two.”—Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments. In these examples the superlative is wrongly used for the comparative. When only two objects...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER VIII Page 1: PITFALLS TO AVOID Common Stumbling Blocks Peculiar Constructions Misused Forms. ATTRACTION Very often the verb is separated from its real nominative or subject by several intervening words and in such cases one is liable...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER VIII Page 2: PITFALLS TO AVOID ALONE is another word which creates ambiguity and alters meaning. If we substitute it for only in the preceding example the meaning of the sentence will depend upon the arrangement. Thus “I alone struck...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER VIII Page 3: PITFALLS TO AVOID SAYS I—I SAID “Says I” is a vulgarism; don’t use it. “I said” is correct form. IN—INTO Be careful to distinguish the meaning of these two little prepositions and don’t interchange them. Don’t say “He...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER IX Page 1: STYLE Diction, Purity, Propriety and Precision. It is the object of every writer to put his thoughts into as effective form as possible so as to make a good impression on the reader. A person may have noble thoughts and...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER IX Page 2: STYLE Here are the Ten Commandments of English style: 1. Do not use foreign words. 2. Do not use a long word when a short one will serve your purpose. Fire is much better than conflagration. 3. Do not use technical words, or...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER X Page 1: SUGGESTIONS How to Write, What to Write Correct Speaking and Speakers Rules of grammar and rhetoric are good in their own place; their laws must be observed in order to express thoughts and ideas in the right way so that they...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER X Page 2: SUGGESTIONS Henry M. Stanley was a poorhouse waif whose real name was John Rowlands. He was brought up in a Welsh workhouse, but he had ambition, so he rose to be a great explorer, a great writer, became a member of...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER XI Page 1: SLANG Origin, American Slang and Foreign Slang Slang is more or less common in nearly all ranks of society and in every walk of life at the present day. Slang words and expressions have crept into our everyday language, and...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER XI Page 2: SLANG California especially has been most fecund in this class of figurative language. To this State we owe “go off and die,” “don’t you forget it,” “rough deal,” “square deal,” “flush times,” “pool your issues,” “go bury...

HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY by JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A. CHAPTER XII Page 1: WRITING FOR NEWSPAPERS Qualification, Appropriate Subjects and Directions The newspaper nowadays goes into every home in the land; what was formerly regarded as a luxury is now looked upon as a necessity. No matter how poor...