With the verbs appear (in the sense of seem to be) and feel, look, smell and sound (used intransitively) use an adjective and not an adverb, i. e., The rose smells sweet; Miss Coghlan as Lady Teazle looked charming; She appeared happy. But appear in the same sense of behave is followed by an adverb, as He appears well; and the other verbs used transitively of course take an adverb, as He looked sharply at the man.

When one wishes to imply doubt or denial in a condition of present or indefinite time, the imperfect subjunctive should be used, as If the book were here, I should show you—but the book is not here; If it were true, you would long ago have heard it—but it is not true. But if one is referring to past time, the imperfect indicative must be used, as, If he was here yesterday, I did not know it.

Be careful to distinguish between lay and lie, raise and rise, set and sit. The first of each pair is transitive, and always requires an object; the second is intransitive and never takes an object. (The only exception is sit used of a rider, as, He sits his horse well.) One lays or sets a thing down and raises it up. One lies or sits down and rises from one's place. Land lies this way or that. (But we speak of the lay of the land.)

Especially pains must be taken to keep straight the past tenses and past participles of lay and lie. Of lay past tense and participle are alike laid. He laid or he has laid the case before the authorities. The past tense of lie is lay (the same as the present tense of the transitive verb), the past participle is lain. These forms are seldom if ever used for parts of lay; but for them laid is very often used, as, He laid or he has laid down to take a nap, where the correct usage is He lay or he has lain down, etc.

Prices rise, wages rise, bread rises, bread is set to rise; men raise prices or wages; He rose and raised his hand. Clothing of every sort sits well or ill, it does not set. The corresponding noun, however, is set; He admired the set of the garment. You set a hen, but the hen sits and is a sitting hen. The heavenly bodies set, but that is another word, which means to sink or to settle.

Inanimate objects are not injured but damaged.

Use wish to mean simple desire, as, I wish to see him. Use want to mean acute need, as, I want food.

Only moving objects collide. Two automobiles may collide, but an automobile does not collide with a fence.

Things of a general class are compared with each other to bring out points of similarity or dissimilarity. One thing is compared to another of a different class. He compared Detroit with Cleveland. He compared Detroit to a busy hive of bees.