_but what_ for _but that_ or _that_. _I do not doubt that_
(or _but that_) _he will come_, not _but what he will come_; _They did
not know but that_ (not _but what_) _they might accept it_.

Do not use _while_ for _although_, as, _while it is probable_. _While_
refers to time.

VERBS

The verb should agree with its subject in person and number. It ought
not to be necessary to give this obvious rule, but hardly a day passes
without violation of it in almost every paper. Its violation is
especially common in the inverted sentence, introduced with _there_.
_There is likely to be some changes_; _There is, at the present writing,
some hopes of peace_; _There seems to be, in view of all the conditions,
many objections to this plan_, are examples of the faulty usage.

The _to_ should not be separated from the infinitive by word or phrase.
The modifier should precede the _to_ or follow the verb. Do not say _to
promptly act_, but _to act promptly_ or _promptly to act_. Such use as
in the example just given is bad enough, but it is not so offensive as
the intrusion of time adverbs and negatives as, for example, _He decided
to now go_, or _He expected to not only go but to stay_, or _He
preferred to not stay_.

Do not end a sentence with the _to_ of an omitted infinitive; as: _He
could not speak but tried to_; but _He refused to go but he ought to
go_, or _He ought to go but he refuses_.

Subordinate infinitives and participles take their time from the verb in
the principal clause. They should therefore be the simple so-called
present forms. Do not say: _I intended to have gone_, or _I intended
having gone_, but _I intended to go_, _I intended going_; not _He had
expected to have been present_, but _He had expected to be present_; not
_He would have liked to have seen you_; but _He would have liked to see
you_; not _I was desirous to have gone_, but _I was desirous to go_.

With the verbs _appear_ (in the sense of _seem to be_) and _feel_,
_look_, _smell_ and _sound_ (used intransitively) use an adjective and
not an adverb, i. e., _The rose smells sweet_; _Miss Coghlan as Lady
Teazle looked charming_; _She appeared happy_. But _appear_ in the same
sense of _behave_ is followed by an adverb, as _He appears well_; and
the other verbs used transitively of course take an adverb, as _He
looked sharply at the man_.

When one wishes to imply doubt or denial in a condition of present or
indefinite time, the imperfect subj