IRREGULARS.
- adhesion
- cohesion
- compulsion
- declension
- decursion
- depulsion
- dissension
- divulsion
- evulsion
- exesion
- expulsion
- impulsion
- incursion
- propulsion
- recension
- recursion
- revulsion
- scansion
- tension
- transcursion
- version
- attention
- causation
- distention
- distortion
- coercion
- suspicion
- crucifixion
FARTHER and FURTHER.
Farther is nowadays only employed when speaking of distance; in all other acceptations of the word, further is generally adopted.
PEAS and PEASE.
There are scarcely any words in which a mistake is more frequently made than in peas and pease. Yet the distinction between them is simple and well defined. Peas is the plural of pea, and, consequently, only follows numeral adjectives; as, “ten peas,” “a hundred peas,” “a few peas,” “many peas;” but pease is used when speaking of the legumen in the aggregate, or generally. Thus, we correctly say, “Pease are dear this year,” “Pease were plentifully supplied to the horses,” &c.
Pease is also employed adjectively; as, “pease-pudding,” “pease-soup,” or “pea-soup,” &c.
The Omission of S in the Possessive Case.
It is not uncommon with some persons to omit the s after the apostrophe in the possessive case of nouns, if the name itself ends in s; as, “James’ book,” “Barnes’ Notes.” But this is incorrect; for if we ask, Whose book? we should directly answer, James’s. The only case when the s can be judiciously omitted, and this solely to avoid the too hissing sound of so many s’s in succession, is when the first word ends with the sound of s in its last two syllables, and the next word begins with s; as in Misses’ spectacles, righteousness’ sake, conscience’ sake.