19. If I —— as interested in farming as you are, I'd buy a farm.
20. If her work —— best, why didn't she get the higher salary?
Exercise 124—Verbs Incorrectly Used
| Wrong | Right |
| 1. Let the book on the table. | Leave the book on the table. |
| 2. Leave me go with you. | Let me go with you. |
| 3. Don't blame it on me. | Don't accuse me. |
| 4. Do you carry stationery? | Do you sell stationery? |
| 5. The child aggravates me. | The child irritates me. |
| 6. Please except my invitation. | Please accept my invitation. |
| 7. Where have you located? | Where have you settled? |
| (Locate is a transitive verb.) | |
| 8. I expect you are very busy. | I suppose you are very busy. |
| 9. I disremember seeing him. | I don't remember seeing him. |
| 10. Do you mind where you saw it? | Do you remember where you saw it? |
| 11. Where are you stopping? | Where are you staying? |
| 12. Did you extend an invitation to him? | Did you invite him? |
| 13. This clock needs fixing. | This clock needs repairing. |
| 14. I should admire to go. | I should like to go. |
| 15. I'd love to go. | I'd like to go. |
| 16. He didn't show up on time. | He didn't appear on time. |
| 17. I had a strange thing happen to me yesterday. | A strange thing happened to me yesterday. |
| 18. I didn't get to go. | I was unable to go. |
| 19. Loan me your pencil. | Lend me your pencil. |
| (May I borrow your pencil? is correct. Loan is a noun.)[3] | |
| 20. I can't seem to understand that problem. | I seem unable to understand that problem. |
| 21. I don't take any stock in such schemes. | I have no confidence in such schemes. |
| 22. How do you size up the situation? | What do you think of the situation? |
| 23. I beg to state. . . . | Omit. |
| (This expression has been so overdone in business letters that it should be avoided) | |
| 24. He dove off the pier. | He dived off the pier. |
| 25. He claims that he was deceived. | He asserts (maintains) that he was deceived. |
| 26. Can I take your pencil? | May I take your pencil? |
| 27. We expect to get up a club. | We expect to organize a club. |
| 28. Did you notice how that show window was got up? | Did you notice how that show window was decorated? |
| 29. It is going on ten o'clock. | It is almost ten o'clock. |
| 30. He said to go at once. | He said that we should go at once. |
Note.—The secretary's daily report will be found an excellent means of securing variety of expression in pupils' writing. A different pupil is elected each Monday to act as the secretary of the class for the ensuing week, his duty being to report each day the doings of the class on the preceding day. The conditions are that not more than one and be used in each report and not more than one sentence begin with the subject.
CHAPTER IX
THE PREPOSITION AND THE CONJUNCTION
Prepositions