"WILL" AND "SHALL."

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2086, 10 September 1875, Page 4

"WILL" AND "SHALL."

One of the incidental effects of the interest in orthography which has of late been occasioned in many parts of the country by " spelling matches," lias been that of calling a good deal of attention also to etymology and syntax. Many of the common mistakes -in the use of language have thus been brought to notice. Some of these errors have excited a much smaller proportion of remark than their importance demands. Among this class may be prominently mentioned the misplacement of the auxiliaries " will " and " shall"—an error which Mr Kichard Grant White has labored hard to correct. It would save us a good deal of time if writers for the Press would read hischapters on the subject. The employment of " will" for " shall" In many cases where good usage requires ►the latter, is not only a mistake which Tery often occurs, but ouo which appears to be increasing in frequency. The uso of " shall " for " will" is far less common; and, indeed, is so seldom heard that we shall not stop here to remark upon it. But the number of persons who habitually say or write " will' in certain connections where the word ough{|.ito be " shall," and ""would " where it'ouglif to be " should," is, even among well-educated people very great. Indeed, we doubt whether there is one in five of our college-educated men ■who does not often make this mistake. It is very certain that a great many of them do make it, not only frequently, but habitually, and that there are not a fewof the young men who have graduated with high honors at our principal universities who show very plainly that however much Latin and Greek they may have learned, they are, at least in the particular respect of which we are speaking very deficient in acquaintance with their own language. Perhaps the most marked and noticeable form in which the mistake we have just mentioned is made, occurs iv questions asked for the purpose of ascertaining the wishes or commands of others in regard to the questioner's actioas. " What book will I get for you at the library ? " " Where will I wait for you this afternoon? " '• Doctor, will I take any more of those pills ? " " Mamma/ what dress will I wear to the party ? " Obvious as the error in these and similar instances is, it is one which is often heard from persons who would be very much surprised at the suggestion that they ever talked bad gnfenmar. In fact, there are a good many people who use this form of expression without being aware that they do so. And there are great numbers of parents whose children habitually employ it who have become so mnch accustomed to the phraseology that it would take some time to convince them that the children use it at all.

There is, when we consider the matter, perhaps less reason for. surprise that so many people misplace the words " will" arid "shall" than that anybody ever learns to use them correctly. There are, it is true* certain rules in regard to their employment. But these rules are not easily remembered, and besides, they are necessarily expressed in language entirely incomprehensible to great numbers of persons, including, of course, all little children. If a little boy were obliged to wait till he could understand, for instance, the formal statement of the distinctions between the meaning of " shall" in connection with a nominative of the first person and its meaning in connection with a nominative of the second or third person, in order to be able practically to make the distinction, he would most assuredly acquire habits of inaccuracy in regard to its employment, which it would be very hard to break by the study of rules. And, indeed, we do not believe that the correct xise of " will" and " shall" could by any possibility be perfectly learned by any formal rules, No rules that could be given in regard to the matter could be so expressed as to cover all cases. It is one of those points, of which there are so many in the use of language, respecting which accuracy can only be obtained by exsmple and practice. . Unfortunately, the example which is, in regard tOr,this point, set before young people by persons of otherwise excellent education is in very many cases far from advantageous.

Wp particularly commend this subject to'lhe attention of teachers. There is many a school where strict care is taken to correct the smallest mistake in a Latin or French exercise, in which the habitual employment by the great majority of the pupils of the auxiliary "will" in cases where its use is glaringly incorrect is passed by entirely unnoticed. This may be considered by some people as a smallmatter ; but the ability to speak and write the Knglish language properly is not an insignificant branch of education, and no one can be said to be well trained in this branch who habitually makes the class of mistakes of which we have been speaking. —New York Times.

CUKIOTTS EeLIC OP THE PAST.—At Pompeii they recently found a curious record. It was scratched on the stucco of a kitchen wall,, and has been thus translated : " Lighted the fire, cooked his meals and swept his house for him 28,000 times to this day, and he refuses to take me to the circus." Beneath this, in a different hand, is written.: " Women are never satisfied."

A Bock Politician. —A gentleman engaged a colored man to do a job of whitewashing. At noon, the whitewasher not having appeared, he made a second call, and, finding the delinquent, exclaimed : " You, sir, are a bold liar !" " Dats a fact, bess," replied the negro as he slid off the bench ; " I 'greed to be dar by 10; but just as I war ready to go> along comes a lot ob niggers "and begins to talk politics ; and, when dar's a political discussion on the floor, I'm going to be right dar, if I dont make a cent."—American paper.

Beal Distbxss.— A female applicant for aid appeared at the office of the director of the poor, in Detroit, the other day, with a sad and anxious look, and on being, asked what she wanted, replied, " I'd like some money." " How much ?" " Well, I can't say exactly; how much do you generally, give out to them when they want to buy a bead belt."

General Grant to our fellow countrymen.—" Let us hare peace." Sanguinary red man, enticing frontier settlers with the persuasions of the tomahawk-^-" Let us have top piece."

Disheartening-.—lf married men will attend the spelling-matches, they had better leave their wives at home. It isn't comfortable to walk home with her and have the dear creature muttering at every step, " I'm ashamed of your ignorance;" sand "If you can't spell 'agitate,' Til teach you when I get you home," No; it's disheartening. • ■■ _ Epitaph fok a Htjmoueist.— Wagged out.