Plain English. Marian Wharton
irregular verbs—the present and past time forms and the past participle are called the principal parts of a verb.
(Those marked with an r have also the regular form.)
SPELLING
LESSON 6
Every vowel or every vowel combination pronounced as one vowel sound indicates a syllable (excepting final e in such words as fate, late, rode, etc.) Take the word combination, for example. In this word we have four syllables, thus: Com-bi-na-tion.
A syllable is that part of a word which can be uttered distinctly by a single effort of the voice. Remember that each syllable must contain a vowel or a vowel combination like oi or ou, which is pronounced as one vowel. Sometimes the vowel alone makes the syllable as in a-lone, e-qual, etc. The final e in words like late, and fate is not sounded. It is silent, we say.
All words ending in silent e have the long vowel sound, with a very few exceptions. Words without the final e have the short vowel sound as for example: fate, fat; mate, mat; hide, hid; rode, rod.
In dividing words into syllables the consonant is written with the preceding vowel when that vowel is short. If the vowel is long the consonant is written with the next syllable, as for example, de-fine and def-i-ni-tion. In de-fine the e is long therefore f, the consonant following, is written with the next syllable, fine. In def-i-ni-tion the e has the short sound, therefore the f is written with the e in the syllable, def.
When there are two consonants following the vowel, divide between the consonants, as for example, in-ven-tion, foun-da-tion, etc. Never divide a digraph, that is, two consonants which are sounded together as one sound, as for example, moth-er, catch-er, te-leg-ra-pher, etc.
In writing words containing double consonants like dd, ll, ss, divide the word into syllables between the double consonants, as for example, per-mit-ted, ad-mis-sion, sad-dest, etc.
Monday
Important
Accommodate
Person
Correspond
Action
Tuesday
Difference
Notice
Indicate
Remember
Irregular
Wednesday
Mistake
Conversation
Correctly
President
Ordinary
Thursday
Participle
Passive
Various
Phrase
Quotation
Friday
Imagine
Confidence
Humanity
Faith
Future
Saturday
Whisper
Thought
Ability
Knowledge
Genius
PLAIN ENGLISH
LESSON 7
Dear Comrade:
I wonder if you have ever thought as to how our language grew.
We get the words in our language from many sources. The English language today is a development of the early Anglo-Saxon. England was called originally Angle-land which was gradually shortened into England. So we have in our language what are called pure English or Anglo-Saxon words. These words form the bulk of our every day vocabulary, being simple, strong, forceful words. Then we have in our English many foreign words which we have adopted from other languages. There are many Latin and Greek words; these we use in our more elegant speech or writing.
There is an interesting bit written by Sir Walter Scott in his novel of early England, "Ivanhoe," which illustrates the manner in which words have come into our language and also the difference in speech which marks the working class and the exploiting class. As those who do the work of the world rid themselves of the parasites who have appropriated the produce of their labor, through the ages, they will demand that which belongs to them—the best—the best in language as in everything else.
"'… I advise thee to call off Fangs and leave the herd to their destiny, which, whether they meet with bands of traveling soldiers, or of outlaws, or of wandering pilgrims, can be little else than to be converted into Normans before morning, to thy no small ease and comfort.'
"'The swine turned into Normans to my comfort!' quoth Gurth. 'Expound that to me, Wamba, for my brain is too dull and my mind too vexed to read riddles.'
"'Why, how call you these grunting brutes running about on their four legs?' demanded Wamba.
"'Swine, fool, swine,' said the herd; 'every fool knows that.'
"'And swine is good Saxon,' said the jester; 'but how call you the sow when she is flayed, and drawn, and quartered, and hung by the heels like a traitor?'
"'Pork,' answered the swineherd.
"'I am glad every fool knows that too,' said Wamba; 'and pork, I think, is good Norman-French, and so when the brute lives and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes a Norman and is called pork when she is carried to the castle-hall to feast among the nobles. What dost thou think of that, friend Gurth, ha?' … "
So you see even in words the distinction is made between those who produce and those who possess.
But the day is at hand when those who work shall also enjoy. We have fought for religious and political freedom. Today we are waging the battle for industrial freedom. It is your struggle. Study—prepare yourself to do battle for your rights.
FUTURE TIME
118. We have learned how to express present time and past time, by changes in the form of the verb. But we very often desire to make a statement in which we do not express either present or past time, thus we may say:
We shall enjoy our rights some day.
He will join us in the struggle.
We do not mean to say that we do enjoy our rights now, in the present, or that we did in the past, but that we shall enjoy our rights some time in the future. In the second sentence, will join expresses the same idea of future time. To indicate future time, we do not make a change in the verb form, but we use shall and will with the simple form of the verb.
119. We denote future time by use of a verb phrase made by placing shall or will before the simple form of the verb.
120. The rule of some grammarians is to use shall always in the first person, the person speaking, to denote future time, and will with the second person, the person spoken to, and with the third person, the person spoken of, to denote future time. But common usage does not always follow the rules of the grammarians, and, in the course of time, affects and changes these rules. So our common usage of today uses will in the first person to express future time, as well as shall.
This rule of