etimes try to make their speech more forceful by
combining the two methods of comparison in such expressions as _more
prettier_, _most splendidest_. Such compounds should never be used.

Some adjectives are not compared. They are easily identified by their
meaning. They indicate some quality which is of such a nature that it
must be possessed fully or not at all, _yearly_, _double_, _all_. Some
adjectives have a precise meaning in which they cannot be compared and a
loose or popular one in which they can be; for example, a thing either
is or is not _round_ or _square_. Nevertheless we use these words in
such a loose general way that it is not absolutely incorrect to say
_rounder_ and _roundest_ or _squarer_ and _squarest_. Such expressions
should be used with great care and avoided as far as possible. None but
the very ignorant would say _onliest_, but one often sees the
expressions _more_ and _most unique_. This is particularly bad English.
Unique does not mean _rare_, _unusual_; it means one of a kind,
absolutely unlike anything else. Clearly this is a quality which cannot
be possessed in degrees. An object either does or does not have it.

_Articles_

An article is a little adjective which individualizes the noun, _a_ boy,
_an_ apple, _the_ crowd.

_A_ which is used before consonantal sounds and _an_ which is used
before vowel sounds are called indefinite articles because they
individualize without specializing. _The_ is called the definite article
because it both individualizes and specializes.

_A_ may be used before _o_ and _u_ if the sound is really consonantal as
in _such a one_, _a use_, _a utility_. _An_ may be used before _h_ if
the _h_ is not sounded, for example, _an hour_ but _a horror_.

_Verbs_

A verb is a word which asserts or declares. In other words, it makes a
noun or pronoun tell something. _John paper_ tells nothing. _John wastes
paper_ tells something. Verbs are the most difficult of all the parts of
speech to understand and to use properly. As a rule, an English verb has
something more than fifty parts which, with their uses, should be
thoroughly learned from a grammar. This is not so difficult a matter as
it might appear, except to those whose native speech is not English.
Nevertheless you should be on the guard against such blunders as _I
seen_, _I seed_, for _I saw_, _I runned_ for _I ran_, _I et_ for _I
ate_, _I throwed_ for _I threw_, and the like. In most verbs these