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Bechtel, John Hendricks, 1841-

"Slips of Speech : a Helpful Book for Everyone Who Aspires to Correct the Everyday Errors of Speaking"

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Providing, Provided
"You may go to skate, providing you first finish your task."
Incorrect. You should say provided.
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Proved, Proven
Proven is sometimes incorrectly used for proved. "The evidence was
complete and his guilt was fully proved." Not proven is a legal term
used in England to denote that the guilt of the accused is not made
out, though not disproved.
Quantity, Number
Quantity refers to the how much; number to the how many. "He purchased
a large quantity of wheat, corn, apples, lime, and sand, and a number
of houses, stores, chairs, and books." It is, therefore, incorrect to
say, "There was a large quantity of bicycles in the yard," "He sold a
large quantity of books at auction."
Quite a few
In some parts of the country this expression is in common use in the
sense of many, a large number, etc. "How many people were at church
to-day?" "Quite a few," meaning a considerable number.
Commence, Begin
Some persons always commence, but never begin.


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