The past tense of swim is swam, and the past participle is swum.
BARRED BY THE SUN
Newspaper men can read with profit this list of words and phrases to be avoided, compiled by Charles A. Dana for his associates on the New York Sun:
- above or over for more than
- aggregate for total
- balance for remainder
- call attention for direct attention
- claim for assert
- commence for begin
- comprise for compose
- conscious for aware
- couple for two
- cultured for cultivated
- date back to for date from
- donate for give
- fall for autumn
- from whence for whence
- indorse for approve
- inaugurate for establish, institute
- individual for person
- infinite for great, vast
- last for latest
- less for fewer
- materially for largely
- named after for named for
- notice for observe
- onto for on or upon
- partially for partly
- past two years for last two years
- practically for virtually
- party for person
DOUBLING UP HAVE'S
Mark Twain in "A Tramp Abroad" wrote: "Harris said that if the best writer in the world once got the slovenly habit of 'doubling up his have's,' he could never get rid of it; that is to say, if a man gets the habit of saying 'I should have liked to have known more about it' instead of saying 'I should have liked to know more about it,' his disease is incurable."
. . . REFLECTOR OF EVERY HUMAN INTEREST . . . FRIEND OF EVERY RIGHTEOUS CAUSE . . . ENCOURAGER OF EVERY GENEROUS ACT.