The Century Handbook of Writing

INDEX

Garland Greever

The numbers refer to articles.

Abbreviations, 83, 90c
Absolute expressions
- Defined, 58
- Punctuation of, 91e
Accept and except, 67
Ad, 68
Addresses, 87b, 87e
Adjectives
- Classes of, 58
- Comparison of, 58
- Distinguished from adverbs, 56
- In a series, 91f, 91j2
Adverbs,
- Classes of, 58
- Comparison of, 58
- Distinguished from adjectives, 56
Affect and effect, 67
Aggravate, 68
Agreement
- Of verbs, 52
- Of pronouns, 51, 50i
Ain't, 68
All right, 68
Almost, Position of, 27
Allusion and illusion, 67
Already and all ready, 67
And before a subordinate phrase or clause, 16, 17
And used to excess, 14
And which construction, 17
Antecedent
- Defined, 58
- Faulty reference to, 20-23
Anybody, Number of, 51a
Apostrophe
- In contractions, 97
- With possessive, 97, 50f
Application for a position, 87g
Articles, Omission of, 3
As, Incorrect use of, 50a, 68
Aspect of the verb, 58
Auxiliary
- Defined, 58
- Use of, 55e
Awful, Abuse of, 68

Balanced sentence, 45
Balanced structure, 30, 45
Barbarisms, 66
Because clauses, 5
Because of phrases, 5 Note
Be, Nominative with, 50c
Both ... and, 31
Brackets, 95e
Brevity for emphasis, 41, 60
Business letters, 87c
Bust or busted, 68
But used to excess, 38 Note

Can and may, 67
Cannot help but, 34
Capitals, 81
Case
- Defined, 58
- Use of, 50
Cause, Inaccurate statement of, 5
Caused by, 5 Note, 23, 68
Change in number or person, 33
Change in subject or voice, 32
Change in tense, 33, 55
Choppy sentences, 13
Claim, 68
Clauses
- Cause, 5
- CoÖrdinated loosely, 14, 12
- Defined, 58
- House-that-Jack-built, 38
- Misplaced, 24
- Misused as sentences, 1, 90b
- Restrictive and non-r., 91d
- Subordinate. Not to be used as complete sentences, 1
- Subordination faulty, 15
- To be reduced to phrases, 60
- When or where clauses, 6
Clearness, 20-39
Climax, 44
Coherence, 24-29
Colon, 93
Collective nouns, Number of, 51c
Colloquialisms, 65
Comma, 91, 92c Notes 1 and 2, 95b
- After quotation, 96 Note
- "Comma splice" or "comma fault," 18
- Not used after question mark, 98b
Comparison of adjectives and adverbs, 58
Comparisons, Inaccurate, 4
Compound sentence structure in excess, 12, 14
Compound words, 78
Concreteness, 63
Conjugation, 58
Conjunctions
- Defined, 58
- List of, 36
- Omitted, 37
- Repeated carelessly, 38
Conjunctive adverbs
- Defined, 58
- Punctuation with, 92c
Connectives, 8, 36, 37, 38
Consonants
- Between syllables, 71, 85
- Final (in spelling), 75
Construction
- Incomplete, 2
- Mixed, 34
- Split, 28
Contractions
- Apostrophe with, 97
- When proper, 65b
CoÖrdination, Excessive, 12, 14
Correlatives, 31
Could of, 68

Dangling gerund, 23
Dangling participle, 23
Dash, 94
Dates, Writing of, 84, 91e
Declension, 58
Definition, 6 Note
Dialogue
- Paragraphing, 88c
- Punctuation before, 91h, 93a
- Punctuation in, 96
Diction, Faulty (list), 68
Different than, 68
Divided reference, 20
Don't, 51d
Double capacity, Words in, 57
Double negative, 34 Note
Drownded, 68
Due to, Proper use of, 5 Note, 23 Note, 68

Each, Number of, 51a
ei or ie, 74
Either, Number of, 51a
Either ... or, 31
Ellipsis
- Defined, 58
- Misuse of, 3, 23 Note
Emigrate and immigrate, 67
Emphasis
- By brevity, 41
- By position, 40
- By repetition, 47
- By separation, 41
- By subordination, 42, 14
- By variety, 48
Enthuse, 68
Etc., Use of, 68
Euphemism, 61
Ever, Position of, 27
Every, every one, everybody, Number of, 51a
Exclamation point, 98e
Exact connective, 36
Exact word, 62

Figures, Use of, 84
Figures of speech, Mixed, 35
Final consonant (in spelling), 75
Final e before a suffix, 76
Fine, Abuse of, 68
Fine writing, 61
Flowery language, 61
Formal invitations, 87h
Former, 68

Gent, 68
Geographical names, 91e
Gerund
- Dangling, 23
- Defined, 58
- With possessive, 50g
Good use, 65, 66
Gotten, 68
Grammar, 50-59
Grammatical terms, 58
Guess,68

Hackneyed expressions, 61
Had ought, 68
Handwriting, 80c
Hanged and hung, 67
Healthy and healthful, 67
Historical present, 33 Note
However, Position of, 27
Human, humans, 68
Hygienic and sanitary, 67
Hyphen
- Between syllables, 85
- In compound words, 78

Idioms, 65
Illogical thought, 4, 5, 6, 7
Imagery mixed, 35
Impersonal construction, Needless use of, 60
Improprieties, 66
Incomplete construction, 2
Indefinite it, you, they, 22 Note
Indention of paragraphs, 88
Inflection, 58
Infinitive
- Case with, 50e
- Defined, 58
- Sign of, to be repeated, 37
- Split, 28
- Tense of, 55
Instants and instance, 67
Interjections
- Defined, 58
- Punctuation of, 91c, 98e
Invitations, Formal, 87h
Is when clauses, 6
Is where clauses, 6
Italics, 82, 96e
Its (possessive adjective), without apostrophe, 50f, 97d

Kind of, 68

Later and latter, 67
Lead and led, 67
Learn and teach, 67
Leave and let, 67
Length of paragraph, 88b
Length of sentences, 12, 13, 48b
Less and fewer, 67
Letters, 87
Liable and likely, 67
Lie and lay, 59D, 67
Like (for as), 67, 68
List
- Of connectives, 36
- Of principal parts, 54
- Of grammatical terms, 58
- Of words confused in meaning, 67
- Of words incorrectly used, 68
- Of words logically akin, 72
- Of words confused in spelling, 73
- For spelling, 79
Loan, 68
Locate, 68
Logic, 4, 53
Sit and set, 59D, 67
Slang, 66
- Quotations with, 96d
So, 36 Note, 68
Some, Abuse of, 68
Somewheres, 68
Sound, 64
Spacing, 80b
Specific words, 63
Spelling, 70-79
Split construction, 28
Split infinitive, 28
Squinting, 26
Stationary and stationery, 67
Statue, stature, and statute, 67
Stringy sentences, 12, 14
Subject in nominative case, 50a
Subjunctive mode
- Defined, 58
- Use of, 55d
Subordinating conjunctions
- Defined, 58
- Enumerated, 36
Subordination
- Necessary, 12, 13, 14
- Faulty, 15, 16, 17, 42
- And which, 17
Substantive defined, 58
Such, 68
Suffixes, 75, 76
Superlative degree in comparisons, 4, 58
Sure and surely, 68
Suspicion, 68
Syllabication, 85
Syntax defined, 58

Tautology, 60 Note
Technical terms, Quotations with, 96d
Tense
- In dependent clauses, 55a
- In general statements, 55c
- Past Perfect, 55b
- Sequence of, 55
- Shift in, 33
Than or as, Case of pronouns after, 50a
That there, 68
Them (misused as adjective), 68
These kind, 51b
Those, Omission of relative clause after, 2, 68
Thought undeveloped, 7
Title
- Capitals in, 81
- Reference to, 21 Note
- Spacing, etc., 80a, 96j
- Quoted (books, periodicals, etc.), Transcriber's Notes:
  - Article 7, Missing period added (Many passages are powerful, especially the grave-digging [Is grave-digging a passage?].)
  - Article 13, Changed period to colon (Exercise:)
  - Article 14, Changed period to colon (Exercise:)
  - Article 24, Added missing article "a" (In the morning I found on my bed a heap of snow...)
  - Article 25, Changed "them" to "then" (Do not begin one idea, abandon it for a second, and then return to the first.)
  - Article 31, Added missing comma (not only ... but also ..., both ... and ...)
  - Article 38, Changed "men to "man" (He was undoubtedly a brave man...)
  - Article 38, Changed "trangressions" to "transgressions" (However, if it is used only for serious transgressions...)
  - Article 39, Added missing parenthesis ((Consult 36 for a list of connectives.))
  - Article 54, Changed period to colon (Exercise:)
  - Article 58, Changed "I was being taken" to "I must be taken" in the conjugation table for the verb "to take" as Present Indicative Obligative in Passive voice
  - Article 65, Changed "idoms" to "idioms" (Study the following list of correct idioms)
  - Article 65, Added missing commas (ain't it fierce?, can you beat it?, going some)
  - Article 68, Added missing quotation mark ("We oughtn't (not hadn't ought) to make this error.")
  - Article 68, Changed "Verb" to "Very" (Very. Accompanied by much when used with the past participle.)
  - Article 71, Removed italic style for the word "compare" (compare occasion)
  - Article 86, Corrected numbering in a list changing "2." to "3." (3. Place in order the headings of the following outline)
  - Article 88, Added missing parenthesis ((In some instances the paragraph may consist of a single sentence.))
  - Article 88, Changed comma to period (We'll have a rope down to you in a minute.)
  - Article 91, Added missing parenthesis ((She came and she was gone in a moment. McCoy talked and the rest of us listened.))
  - Article 91, Changed period to colon (Right: For breakfast we had oatmeal, bacon, eggs, and honey.)
  - Article 92, Changed period to colon (Better: She enjoyed the dinners, and the dancing, and the music)
  - Article 94, Changed "d." to "b.", and "b." to "d." (b. Insert a dash when a sentence is broken off abruptly.; d. The use of the dash to end sentences is childish.)
  - Article 95, Changed "dedeclared" to "declared" ("Bunyan's masterpiece (The Pilgrim's Progress)," declared the lecturer)
  - INDEX, Changed period to comma (Impersonal construction, Needless use of)

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