cond phrase would indicate the individual opinions of the members
of the committee which might be in agreement but had not been expressed
in formal action. In doubtful cases it is safer to use the plural.

Entire accuracy in these cases is not altogether easy. As in the case
with all the nice points of usage it requires practice and continual
self-observation. By these means a sort of language sense is developed
which makes the use of the right word instinctive. It is somewhat
analogous to that sense which will enable an experienced bank teller to
throw out a counterfeit bill instinctively when running over a large
pile of currency even though he may be at some pains to prove its
badness when challenged to show the reason for its rejection.

The young student should not permit himself to be discouraged by the
apparent difficulty of the task of forming the habit of correct speech.
It is habit and rapidly becomes easier after the first efforts.

The relation of a noun to a verb, to another noun, or to a preposition
is called its case. There are three cases called the nominative,
objective, and possessive. When the noun does something it is in the
nominative case and is called the subject of the verb.

The man cuts.

When the noun has something done to it it is in the objective case and
is called the object of the verb.

The man cuts paper.

When a noun depends on a preposition, it is also in the objective case
and is called the object of the preposition.

The paper is cut by machinery.

The preposition on which a noun depends is often omitted when not needed
for clearness.

The foreman gave (to) the men a holiday.

He came (on) Sunday.

Near (to) the press.

He was ten minutes late (late by ten minutes).

He is 18 years old (old by or to the extent of 18 years).

The nominative and objective cases of nouns do not differ in form. They
are distinguished by their positions in the sentence and their relations
to other words.

When one noun owns another the one owning is in the possessive case.

The man's paper is cut.

The possessive case is shown by the form of the noun. It is formed by
adding _s_ preceded by an apostrophe to the nominative case, thus,

John's hat.

There is a considerable difference of usage regarding the formation of
the possessives of nouns ending in _s_ in the singular. The general rule
is to proceed as in other nouns by adding th