h
"_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_!

After numerals, the words _couple_, _pair_, _dozen_, _score_, _hundred_,
_thousand_, and a few others, need not take the plural form: thus, custom
first, and finally grammar, have sanctioned such uses as, "three _pair_ of
shoes," "nine _dozen_ bushels," "four _couple_ of students;" also, "_forty
sail_ of vessels," "seventy _head_ of cattle."

The article (_a_ or _an_) renders an important service in such expressions
as, "_A few_ followed their leader throughout the long struggle." To say,
"_Few_ followed him," would imply, unlike the former phrase, that he was
almost deserted.

"A black and a white horse," suggests the idea of two horses; while "a
black and white horse," refers to but one--as if written "a
_black-and-white_ horse."

"The red and white dahlias were most admired," properly means the dahlias
in which both these colors were blended. "The red and _the_ white
dahlias," implies two species.

The grammatical number of a verb should agree with that of its subject,
and not of its predicate. Thus, the sentences, "Death _is_ the wages of
sin," and "The wages of sin _are_ death," are properly written.

In changing from a past tense to the present, when the same nominative
remains, the form of the verb should continue unaltered. Thus, instead of
saying "He _was traveling_ and _travels_," say "He _was traveling_ an