The title of a small book for young people, recently published, was—“The Way that Little Children enter Heaven:” the word that is here incorrectly used as a substitute for in which, or by which.
When this and that, and their plurals, are used in the sense of latter and former, this and these signify the latter, and that and those the former. Thus, in the following couplet from Burns:
“Farewell my friends, farewell my foes,
My peace with these, my love with those.”
these refers to “foes,” and those to “friends.”
In the possessive case of nouns, some instances occur in which a wise choice may be made, but in respect to which usage is divided. Thus, we may say, “They called at Walton’s the bookseller’s,” or, with equal propriety, as far as custom is concerned, “at Walton the bookseller’s.” The first form, however, is preferable.
The use of the hyphen [-] is frequently disregarded in epistolary correspondence, occasioning not only a blemish but a blunder. Its importance may be seen by comparing the meaning of “glass house” with “glass-house;” the former may mean the Crystal Palace, while the latter is a manufactory of glass-ware.
Adjectives are often improperly used for adverbs: as, “extreme bad weather,” for “extremely bad weather.”
It is sometimes difficult to choose between such phrases as “the first three,” and “the three first.” To say first three when there is no second three is inelegant, because superfluous; and three first is absurd, because impossible. The most successful pupil in each of two classes at school would not improperly be called “the two first boys;” while propriety would require that the first and second boys of the same class should be called “the first two boys.” As a general rule, and easy to be recollected, let “first” be first.
The use of some for about is by many writers thought to be awkward: as, “Some fifty years ago,” instead of “About Fifty years.”
An ambiguity occasionally arises in employing the adjective no. Thus, “No money is better than gold,” may mean either that gold is the best kind of money, or that gold is not so good as no money at all!