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    Hugo's How to Avoid Incorrect English
    Hugo's How to Avoid Incorrect English
    Hugo's How to Avoid Incorrect English
    Ebook222 pages1 hour

    Hugo's How to Avoid Incorrect English

    By Victor Hugo

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    "This book is a simple and handy guide for those whose knowledge of English is incomplete or 'rusty'. Sections deal with common errors in expression, similar words with different meanings, punctuation, hints on style, etc. An ideal reference book for the home or office." Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include: Common Errors in Expression and Grammar Notes on Idioms, Vocabulary, Spelling, Punctuation, Etc Grammatical Terms Explained and Illustrated EtcKeywords: Punctuation Hints Grammar Notes Reference Book Handy Guide Grammatical Terms Similar Words 1900s Vocabulary Spelling Artwork Idioms
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateJun 4, 2013
    ISBN9781473385313
    Hugo's How to Avoid Incorrect English
    Author

    Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo (1802-1885) is one of the most well-regarded French writers of the nineteenth century. He was a poet, novelist and dramatist, and he is best remembered in English as the author of Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) (1831) and Les Misérables (1862). Hugo was born in Besançon, and became a pivotal figure of the Romantic movement in France, involved in both literature and politics. He founded the literary magazine Conservateur Littéraire in 1819, aged just seventeen, and turned his hand to writing political verse and drama after the accession to the throne of Louis-Philippe in 1830. His literary output was curtailed following the death of his daughter in 1843, but he began a new novel as an outlet for his grief. Completed many years later, this novel became Hugo's most notable work, Les Misérables.

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      Book preview

      Hugo's How to Avoid Incorrect English - Victor Hugo

      This book

      is not a grammar

      but is a simple and handy guide for those whose knowledge of English is incomplete or ‘rusty’.

      Sections deal with

      • Common errors in expression

      • Similar words with different meanings

      • Punctuation

      • Hints on style, etc.

      An ideal reference book for the home or office.

      HUGO’S

      HOW TO AVOID

      INCORRECT

      ENGLISH

      Copyright.

      CONTENTS

      (SEE PAGES 143 AND 144)

      PREFACE

      We do not believe in giving exaggerated importance to mere technicalities. It is our opinion, founded on long experience, that constant practice in the application of a few simple rules provides the student with a much easier way to success than does the acquisition of any amount of pure theory. If, therefore, PART III. of this little book contains some matter which may be thought difficult or even useless, let it be borne in mind that this Part IS ACTUALLY A DICTIONARY, AND NOT MATERIAL FOR SYSTEMATIC LEARNING. A dictionary must, of course, be as complete as possible within its own limits; but it does not follow that it should be regarded as a text-book and used as such.

      After all, it will not be denied that speaking or writing correctly can be achieved without a profound study of grammar. Nor will anybody be branded as illiterate merely for the breach of some minor rules which are insisted upon only by strict grammarians. Thus, to say: It’s me, or He only did it yesterday, instead of: It’s I, He did it only yesterday, cannot be stigmatized, except by a pedant, as a heinous offence.

      There are, however, mistakes that should never be committed, even by those who have never looked at a grammar. Sentences such as: We acted like you did, He is taller than me, She remained oblivious to my presence, are, in some respects, like bad manners in social life: they never pass unnoticed and uncondemned. The fact that these serious errors are extremely common makes it difficult, no doubt, for many people to avoid them; but it goes without saying that such solecisms cannot be excused on the ground of their prevalence. They should be completely eschewed by all those who have any education, and who must, therefore, feel it incumbent upon them to do their part in preserving the purity of the English language.

      It is mostly with faults of this description that the first part of the book is concerned. The way to keep clear of them is shown as briefly and lucidly as possible, while other mistakes which, although less reprehensible, should nevertheless be carefully avoided, are also noted and corrected. A perusal of this first section will tax very lightly the reader’s time and energy; but it will, we think, well repay him for any effort required. Surely it must be worth his while to give some attention to the points dealt with if by so doing he can avoid the conviction or even the mere suspicion of illiteracy.

      Some practical information will be found in the second part with regard to the correct use of a number of expressions and idioms. This part also provides guidance on some doubtful points.

      Concerning the section comprised in pages 77-122, in the third part, students should notice that ALTHOUGH IT CONTAINS ALL THAT IS IMPORTANT IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR, IT IS INTENDED MAINLY FOR REFERENCE. They should consult it when they need an explanation of the terms used in Parts I. & II., or when they wish to know the exact meaning of some technical expression which they have met with in the course of their reading. Similarly, the few pages on Parsing and Analysis of Sentences need not be studied except by those who desire to go more closely into the nature and construction of sentences.

      On the other hand, pages 63-72 should be carefully studied by all learners who wish to master the main principles of the English language.

      It will thus be seen that this little work is not a conventional manual of grammar and composition. Its compilers intend it as a simple and handy reference book on some important points relating to speech and writing, and if it provides practical help in the everyday use of the mother tongue, it will have fulfilled its purpose.

      PART 1

      COMMON ERRORS IN EXPRESSION

      AND GRAMMAR.

      PLEONASM, VULGARISMS, COLLOQUIALISMS,

      JOURNALESE, WRONG IDIOMS, ETC.

      PLEONASM (or TAUTOLOGY).—A needless repetition of the same idea in different words:

      You will admire the scenery, while at the same time enjoying the pure and refreshing sea-breeze.

      He returned it back to me.

      They came one after the other in succession.

      COLLOQUIALISM.—A word or expression that can be used in the spoken, but not in the written language.

      What you have done is quite all right.

      An extreme form of colloquialism is SLANG.

      JOURNALESE.—The use often made in the daily press of unusual or pretentious words (sometimes distorted from their right meaning), like: eventuate, evince, materialize, transpire;—of such adjectives as: gigantic, stupendous, amazing, etc., etc., in cases where they are an obvious exaggeration;—or of verbose sertences for what could well be expressed in fewer words: The prospects of considerable periods of genial holiday weather are by no means negligible. (These faults in writing are due either to haste,—which leads to the use of clichés, i.e., hackneyed phrases,—or to a mistaken desire for novelty).

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