Okay: Here is the quiz on the confusing S words (and yes, there will be a break from the confusing words series again next week!):
- Just (set, sit) the baby on the floor.
- I just (shined, shone) my shoes yesterday, but they are already scuffed up.
- The (soles, souls) of my feet are dirty from walking barefoot in my house!
- Please be (sure and, sure to) lock the door on your way out.
- Although she is tiny in (statue, stature), she is very strong.
- (Sometime, Some time, Sometimes) maybe you can find time to come fix my dripping faucet.
- I just bought some beautiful floral (stationary, stationery), but I don’t write letters anymore.
- I thought you were (suppose to, supposed to) add the sugar before the eggs.
- I need to let the pie (set, sit) in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- They (shall, will) go whether they like it or not.
- Do you have (some time, sometime) available this week to look at my leaky faucet?
- We decided not to print that newspaper article because we thought it might be (libel, slander).
- They say you reap what you (sew, so, sow).
- The cows were so (stationary, stationery) I thought they were fake!
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Here we go…
- Just (set, sit) the baby on the floor. (I would be inclined to say sit because the object of set is a human. However, sit does not take an object, so I would assume set is correct. I was unable to find a definitive answer online, but if you would like to try . . .)
- I just (shined, shone) my shoes yesterday, but they are already scuffed up. (Both acceptable past tenses of shine, but shined is generally used as a transitive with an object, whereas shone is used to mean “gave off light” without an object.)
- The (soles, souls) of my feet are dirty from walking barefoot in my house!
- Please be (sure and, sure to) lock the door on your way out.
- Although she is tiny in (statue, stature), she is very strong.
- (Sometime, Some time, Sometimes) maybe you can find a free day to come fix my dripping faucet.
- I just bought some beautiful floral (stationary, stationery), but I don’t write letters anymore.
- I thought you were (suppose to, supposed to) add the sugar before the eggs.
- I need to let the pie (set, sit) in the refrigerator for 12 hours. (Hmmm….well, it could be either, I guess, but set has a slightly different meaning in this sentence. Set is used to mean “harden.” However, it is sitting in the refrigerator to set!
- They (shall, will) go whether they like it or not. (Yes, you could also use shall. Shall is used in the third person for emphasis.)
- Do you have (some time, sometime) available this week to look at my leaky faucet?
- We decided not to print that newspaper article because we thought it might be (libel, slander). (Oh, I just threw that one in. Libel refers to print; slander is spoken.)
- They say you reap what you (sew, so, sow).
- The cows were so (stationary, stationery) I thought they were fake!
As a young student, a long time ago, I learnt “I/we shall, and will for the others”. Time passed and I guess the language evolved as I can only hear “will” all the time. But Monty Python teaches us, in The Holy Grail: “None shall pass!”.
I had some trouble with sometimes, sometime, some time. I guess English can be difficult, sometimes.
I was taught the same thing in school….Will seems to be used now, except — as your example shows — shall is often used for emphasis. Thanks for the comment.
#10 not sure you would need to specify “in the third person”, as my understanding is would apply similarly to all points of view. Right?
The rule for will and shall, which is largely ignored these days: Use shall in the first person, and use will in the second and third person. For emphasis, it is the opposite. And shall in a legal sense has its own specific use.
Thank you. I learned, for one, that I have been mixing up stationary and stationery. Also did not know that libel refers to print, whereas slander is spoken. But shouldn’t it be libelOUS?
Thanks for the comment. Very good point. Libelous might have been better. There is a case for using either the noun, which I did, or the adjective with that construction.
Got a few wrong . But did pretty good.
Good! I wouldn’t want anyone to get them all correct! I would be out of a job!