Common Grammatical Errors Here is a list of some of the more commonly committed grammatical errors. You may click on any of these errors to view an example of each as well as a discussion of the grammatical rule in question
The content of these pages was, in part, taken from the following sources:
Harbrace College Handbook (Revised Thirteenth Edition), Horner, Webb, and Miller. Harcourt Brace, 1998. Digital Design, M. Morris Mano. Prentice Hall, 1984. Physics: Principles and Problems, Zitzewitz and Neff. McGraw-Hill, 1995.
Adjective-Adverb Errors It is sometimes easy to use an adjective as an adverb and vice versa. To avoid this kind of error, keep in mind what adjectives and adverbs do. Adjectives only modify nouns and pronouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. When you are writing, consider what it is you are attempting to modify and then select the appropriate modifier.
When using comparative adjectives and adverbs, be careful to select their correct form. When you are comparing two elements, use the comparative ending (usually -er). When comparing three or more elements, use the superlative ending (usually -est). Keep in mind that there are some adjectives and adverbs that have nonstandard endings. Consult your dictionary if you are in doubt.
Never use a double superlative or comparative. Example:
That was the most stupidest book that I've ever read. [to write this correctly, delete "most"]
Apostrophe Misuse Apostrophes have three basic uses:
Apostrophes may be used to show possession. For singular nouns, acronyms, and indefinite pronouns, add the apostrophe and "s":
For plural nouns that end in "s", simply add an apostrophe:
For compound nouns and phrases that indicate joint ownership, add an apostrophe and "s" to the last word:
For individual ownership, use the apostrophe and "s" with both names:
Apostrophes are used to indicate omissions in contractions and dates:
Do not use apostrophes with personal pronouns to show possession. Personal pronouns use the possessive case to show possession. "Its" is often misused this way.
Article Errors Indefinite articles are generally used before nouns that are nonspecific, singular, and countable (individual items that you can count and cannot view as a mass). The indefinite articles are "a" and "an". Use "a" before consonant sounds and use "an" before vowel sounds.
Definite articles, such as "the" are used before specific nouns-nouns that are not countable. They may be either singular or plural.
Sometimes it is okay to omit articles. Here are some of those situations:
Awkward Phrasing or Idiom An idiom is a group of words whose meaning is different from the individual meanings of the words in the group. Examples would be such things as "eating crow", "raining cats and dogs, and "on the go". It is easy to use idiomatic expressions incorrectly. The correct preposition to make a phrase idiomatic is not always apparent. For example: "comply to" as opposed to "comply with" (idiomatic). Hence, choosing the incorrect words for an idiomatic expression can lead to awkward phrasing. If you are unsure about the use of an idiomatic expression, consult your dictionary.
Some common idioms:
Capitalization Errors Here's a list of the types of words that require capitals:
Comma Omissions Sometimes it is difficult to know exactly when you need a comma and when you do not. Below, I'll summarize instances in which a comma is required.
Furthermore, one of the most powerful ways of analyzing data is to display them as a graph. [a comma must follow the introductory word "furthermore."]
As radon decays, it produces gaseous radon.
Example: The ratio of the square of the periods of any two planets, according to Kepler, is equal to the ratio of the cube of their distances to the sun. [The phrase, "according to Kepler", is nonrestrictive and must have a comma before and after it]
Example, contrasted elements: Fuel reprocessing technology, unlike nuclear waste production, has not advanced.
Example, parenthetical elements: Light pollution, or "sky glow", seriously diminishes the amount of starlight visible to the naked eye.
Here's an example:
When a processor is combined with a control unit, it forms a component called a CPU, a CPU contained in a small integrated circuit package is known as a microprocessor.
Here you have two main clauses (a phrase containing a subject and a predicate that can stand alone as a sentence) connected by a comma. There are three simple ways to correct a comma splice:
Contractions Contractions are considered inappropriate for formal writing. So, do not use them in thesis papers, lab reports, term papers, or anything academic submitted for publication.
Double Negatives In formal written English, you should never use two negative expressions to express a single negation. When you do, it is referred to as a "double negative." To correct a double negative, simply delete one of the negatives and add any other necessary words.
Examples: Jeff did not do no lab report. [Delete "no" and add an article before "lab". Correct: Jeff did not do a lab report.]
Jeff thought the instructor would not say nothing to him about it. [Simply delete "not". Correct: Jeff thought the instructor would say nothing to him about it.]
Also, you should keep in mind that words such as scarcely, hardly, and barely are considered to be negatives. Hence, do not use them with other negatives: "not hardly", "without scarcely", etc.
Failure to Use A Possessive Before a Gerund A gerund is a verbal (verb used as a noun, adjective, or adverb) that ends in "-ing" and functions as a noun within a sentence. Whenever a pronoun comes before a gerund, it uses the possessive form.
Example: The instructor did not approve of him assisting Don with his lab report. [the pronoun "him", as it comes before the gerund "assisting", must take the possessive form "his"]
Faulty Coordination When writing, you should always pay close attention to the logic of your sentence construction. Always make sure that your subject and predicate logically work together.
Example: I read an article in the paper that believes in capital punishment. [articles do not believe, people do]
Rewrite it thus: The author of an article I read in the paper believes in capital punishment.
Fragments A fragment is a group of words that begins with a capitalized word and ends with a period, yet it does not form a complete sentence. For a group of words to be considered a sentence, it must have both a subject and a verb. Lacking either, the group of words in question is a fragment. Fragments are usually either some kind of verbal phrase or a subordinate clause punctuated as a sentence.
Here's an example: To understand the operation of each digital module. It is necessary to have a basic knowledge of digital systems and their general behaviour.
The first group of words is merely a verbal phrase. It contains neither a subject nor a verb. To correct it, you must either connect the phrase to another sentence or supply the missing parts:
To understand the operation of each digital module, it is necessary to have a basic knowledge of digital systems and their general behavior.
Keep in mind that sometimes writers use fragments on purpose in order to provide emphasis. However, in formal writing, you should never use fragments unless you have a very good reason.
Fused Sentence A fused sentence is what usually happens when one attempts to correct a comma splice by simply omitting the comma. It is two main clauses jammed together without the use of connecting punctuation or conjunctions.
An example: Binary logic is used to describe the manipulation and processing of binary information it is particularly suited for the analysis and design of digital systems.
There are two main clauses in the example above that must be connected by either proper punctuation or the use of a coordinating conjunction. Here are a couple of ways this sentence can be corrected:
Binary logic is used to describe the manipulation and processing of binary information. It is particularly suited for the analysis and design of digital systems. [divide it at the fused point and form two separate sentences]
Or: Binary logic is used to describe the manipulation and processing of binary information, and it is particularly suited for the analysis and design of digital systems. [a comma and a conjunction inserted at the fused point]
A fused sentence is sometimes called a "run-on sentence".
Dangling Modifiers A dangling modifier is a word or group of words within a sentence that does not clearly relate or refer to any other part of the sentence. The usual method for correcting dangling modifiers is to supply words or to rearrange the words of the sentence to make the meaning clear.
Here's an example: Using an ammeter, the electrical current was measured.
In this example, there is no clear reference for the phrase, "using an ammeter". The "electrical current" doesn't use the ammeter and the ammeter wasn't "measured". Hence, a word must be supplied. From the sentence, we can infer that a person used an ammeter to measure electrical current. Thus, supplying a subject will correct the sentence:
Using an ammeter, he measured the electrical current.
Here, "using an ammeter" clearly refers to "he".
Misused Semicolons Semicolons are used for two purposes: (1) to link independent clauses, and (2) to separate sentence elements that already contain commas.
Independent clauses that concern related subject matter can be linked in three ways:
How closely the independent clauses are related determines which of the above methods you should use. If it's a very strong connection, use a semicolon. If the connection is weaker, use a coordinating conjunction. If the connection is very weak or if you want to separate the ideas, punctuate them as separate sentences.
Semicolons are misused when one tries to connect sentence parts of different grammatical structure. You cannot use a semicolon to connect a clause with a phrase or an independent clause with a dependent clause.
Mixed Construction Mixed construction refers to a sentence that is somewhat confusing due to a switch between two different types of grammatical patterns.
An example: If a person intends to pass the exam, then you should start tonight. This example shows a shift from third person to second person. To avoid committing mixed construction errors, focus on consistency. If you use first person in the first clause of a sentence, then use it the second or any other clauses in the sentence. Other examples would involve shifts in verb tense, tone, or even style (slang vs. formal diction).
Parallelism Words or ideas in a sentence that are parallel in meaning must be parallel in structure as well.
Some examples: Seeing is to believe. [to make this sentence parallel, rewrite it thus: "Seeing is believing"]
Jim likes to surf the net, to design games, and watching science-fiction movies. [the items in the series should all have the same grammatical structure. Hence, rewrite the third item as "to watch science-fiction movies"]
Past Tense Errors Always be careful to add "-d" or "-ed" to a word to form the past tense unless it is an irregular verb such as lay, lead, pay, study, etc. If you are unsure what the past tense form of a verb is, consult your dictionary. These types of errors are most commonly committed with verbs in which the "-d" or "-ed" is not emphasized when the word is spoken. This includes such words as "ask/asked", "suppose to/supposed to", and "use to/used to".
Example: I am suppose to turn my paper in today. [write "supposed" rather than "suppose"]
Plurality Errors-Nouns Although the plurals of most nouns are formed by simply adding "s" to the singular form, there are some nouns that are nonstandard. Here's a brief summary:
If you are unsure how to form the plural of a noun, consult your dictionary.
Pronoun Case Errors The case of a pronoun indicates the relation of the pronoun to other parts in a sentence. There are three basic pronoun cases: subjective, possessive, and objective. The pronoun form also changes from singular to plural. Consider:
Here are some rules to follow that will assist you in choosing the correct case for a pronoun:
Pronoun Errors-Ambiguous Pronouns should clearly refer to a noun preceding them in a sentence. Sometimes, depending on how a sentence is written, a pronoun could seem to refer to more than one noun.
Example: Jeff told John that his answer to the problem was incorrect.
In this sentence it is unclear whether "his" refers to "Jeff" or "John". To write the sentence correctly, you must determine what the meaning of the sentence is and then rewrite it to clearly express your chosen meaning. The example above could be rewritten in one of two ways:
Pronoun Reference Whenever a pronoun is used, it must clearly refer to its antecedent (the word for which it stands). Sometimes a sentence can be worded in such a way that a pronoun could have two or more possible antecedents or the antecedent could be so far removed from its pronoun that it is difficult to determine exactly what word the antecedent is. Sometimes a sentence may contain a pronoun that does not even have an antecedent. In all cases, the sentence must be rewritten so that all pronouns clearly refer to the word for which they stand. Usually, the antecedent should immediately precede its pronoun.
Here's an example: Newton's law of universal gravitation states that the force between them depends on the product of their masses divided by the square of the distance between their centers.
What does "them" and "their" in this sentence refer to? They have no antecedent, hence, the pronoun "them" must be replaced with the word or words for which it stands. In this case, it is "two planets".
Shifts in Person or Number When writing, you must be careful not to make abrupt shifts in person or number. Such shifts can be quite disconcerting for the reader. If you use the singular form of a word in a sentence, you must use it for any other occurrences of the word within the sentence. You must show the same consistency with person (first, second, third). If you use first person in a sentence, you must continue to use first person.
Consider: The senior design team expects to get an "A" on their project.
This is incorrect because "team" is singular and "their" is plural. To correct it, write the sentence in one of the following ways, depending on what you want the sentence to mean:
Shifts in Tense The form of a verb changes when it expresses "when" something happened: the past, present, or future. The form of the verb is called its "tense". There are six tenses in the English language: simple past, simple present, simple future, past perfect, present perfect, and future perfect. Simple tenses refer only to the time in which an action occurred. Perfect tenses refer to the time in which an action occurred and the time in which the action will be completed. In general, it is considered incorrect to shift tenses within a sentence, paragraph, or complete written project without a very good reason.
Consider the following: Tom went to the game, but he leaves early. [The shift in tense makes this sentence sound quite awkward. Replace "leaves" with "left" and the sentence will read correctly.]
Subject-Verb Agreement When writing a sentence, the subject must always match the verb in number. A plural subject requires a plural verb and a singular subject requires a singular verb.
For many verbs, the singular form has an -s at the end or requires that you drop a -y and add -ies. [Bill writes, Joe talks, Jane studies, etc.]
Plural subjects simply require the regular present tense form of the verb. [Jon and Bill write, The students read, Joe and Jane talk, etc.]
An Example: The books on the shelf is about electrical engineering.
In this example, the subject, "books", is plural and the verb, "is", is in a singular form. To make the subject and the verb agree, change one to match the other, depending on your intent:
Keep in mind that you only need to worry about agreement with present tense verbs.
Problems with subject-verb agreement are not always as simple as the example above. Sometimes errors result from failure to correctly identify the subject's number due to some of the following reasons:
Unnecessary Commas
When commas are unnecessarily placed in sentences, it can lead to confusion and misinterpretation. To avoid misplacing commas, heed the following rules:
Verb Errors (wrong form) There are three basic forms or principle parts of a verb: the past, the simple present, and the past participle. Sometimes the present participle is included as well. The present consists of the verb or the verb plus a helping verb (run, is running, can run). The past form is generally formed by adding -d or -ed and can also be used in conjunction with helping verbs (walk: walked, might have walked). Many verbs, however, have nonstandard forms. They are known as irregular verbs and they tend to be quite troublesome when one attempts to identify their principle parts. If you are unsure about the principle parts of a verb, consult your dictionary. Below is a list of some of the more troublesome verbs. Their forms are listed in this order: present, past, past participle, and present participle.
Keep the following in mind: if the subject causes the action, use a helping verb and the present participle. If the subject is affected by the action, use a helping verb and the past participle.
GRAMMATICAL ERRORSPRACTICAL USAGESCONFUSING WORDSPHRASALSIRREGULAR VERBSADJECTIVESADVERBSIDIOMSPROVERBSOPPOSITESSYNONYMSReading IdiomsReading PhrasalREADINGShort storiesMore elliese
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He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good. Confucius
I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty... But I am too busy thinking about myself. Edith Sitwell
Life is a long lesson in humility. James M. Barrie
Be modest! It is the kind of pride least likely to offend. Jules Renard
Modesty is a shining light; it prepares the mind to receive knowledge, and the heart for truth. Madam Guizot
I am no more humble than my talents require. Oscar Levant
If I only had a little humility, I'd be perfect. Ted Turner
Acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion. Kate Reid
I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions. Dorothy Day
I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts. John Locke
Strong reasons make strong actions. William Shakespeare
Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half. John Wanamaker
You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements. Norman Douglas
Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it. Stephen Leacock
Advertisements... contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. Thomas Jefferson
I read no newspaper now but Ritchie's, and in that chiefly the advertisements, for they contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. Thomas Jefferson
What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public. Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties. Aesop
It is very difficult to live among people you love and hold back from offering them advice. Anne Tyler
People who ask our advice almost never take it. Yet we should never refuse to give it, upon request, for it often helps us to see our own way more clearly. Brendan Francis
Ask advice only of your equals. Danish Proverb
Please give me some good advice in your next letter. I promise not to follow it. Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), Letters
Write down the advice of him who loves you, though you like it not at present. English Proverb
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't. Erica Jong
I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite. G. K. Chesterton
Never give advice unless asked. German Proverb Some people like my advice so much that they frame it upon the wall instead of using it. Gordon R. Dickson
The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right. Hannah Whitall Smith I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. Harry S Truman
Never take the advice of someone who has not had your kind of trouble. Sidney J. Harris
In giving advice, seek to help, not please your friend. Solon
Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry. Spanish Proverb
Beware of the young doctor and the old barber. Benjamin Franklin
To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am. Bernard M. Baruch
Aging is not 'lost youth' but a new stage of opportunity and strength. Betty Friedan
There is no old age. There is, as there always was, just you. Carol Matthau
Always be nice to those younger than you, because they are the ones who will be writing about you. Cyril Connolly
The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven't changed in 70 or 80 years. Your body changes, but you don't change at all. Doris Lessing
The surprising thing about young fools is how many survive to become old fools. Doug Larson
Though it sounds absurd, it is true to say I felt younger at sixty than I felt at twenty. Ellen Glasgow
The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. Frank Lloyd Wright
Age to me means nothing. I can't get old; I'm working. I was old when I was twenty-one and out of work. As long as you're working, you stay young. When I'm in front of an audience, all that love and vitality sweeps over me and I forget my age. George Burns
I was always taught to respect my elders and I've now reached the age when I don't have anybody to respect. George Burns
About the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age. Gloria Pitzer
Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough. Groucho Marx
The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom. H. L. Mencken .
My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me. Benjamin Disraeli
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree. Charles Baudelaire
Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness. Cullen Hightower
We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld
If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking. Lyndon B. Johnson
I don't necessarily agree with everything I say. Marshall McLuhan
If you can find something everyone agrees on, it's wrong. Mo Udall
Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. Oscar Wilde
The greatest mistake is trying to be more agreeable than you can be. Walter Bagehot
When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary. William Wrigley Jr.
America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair. Arnold Toynbee There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America. Bill Clinton
America's one of the finest countries anyone ever stole. Bobcat Goldthwaite
There's the country of America, which you have to defend, but there's also the idea of America. America is more than just a country, it's an idea. An idea that's supposed to be contagious. Bono
There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)
The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced. Frank Zappa
England and America are two countries separated by a common language. George Bernard Shaw
America is a young country with an old mentality. George Santayana
America has never been an empire. We may be the only great power in history that had the chance, and refused – preferring greatness to power and justice to glory. George W. Bush
America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. George W. Bush
America will never run... And we will always be grateful that liberty has found such brave defenders. George W. Bush
In the United States there is more space where nobody is than where anybody is. That is what makes America what it is. Gertrude Stein
What's right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have great capacity - intellect and resources - to do some thing about them. Henry Ford II
This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do. Jack Kerouac
In a country as big as the United States, you can find fifty examples of anything. Jeffery F. Chamberlain
America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy. There are three social classes in America: upper middle class, middle class, and lower middle class. Judith Martin,
The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children. King Edward VIII
Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were. Cherie Carter-Scott
When anger rises, think of the consequences. Confucius
If you would cure anger, do not feed it. Say to yourself: 'I used to be angry every day; then every other day; now only every third or fourth day.' When you reach thirty days offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the gods. Epictetus
Anger at lies lasts forever. Anger at truth can't last. Greg Evans
Never forget what a man says to you when he is angry. Henry Ward Beecher
Speak when you are angry--and you will make the best speech you'll ever regret. Laurence J. Peter
Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change. Malcolm X
I have a right to my anger, and I don't want anybody telling me I shouldn't be, that it's not nice to be, and that something's wrong with me because I get angry. Maxine Waters
My parents only had one argument in forty-five years. It lasted forty-three years. Cathy Ladman
He who strikes the first blow admits he's lost the argument. Chinese Proverb
I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. Dave Barry
Use soft words and hard arguments. English Proverb
The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments. Friedrich Nietzsche
The thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts a discussion. G. K. Chesterton
No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other. Jascha Heifetz
If you go in for argument, take care of your temper. Your logic, if you have any, will take care of itself. Joseph Farrell
Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute. Josh Billings
Behind every argument is someone's ignorance. Louis D. Brandeis
Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing. Oscar Wilde
It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them. Pierre Beaumarchais
In a heated argument we are apt to lose sight of the truth. Publilius Syrus
The argument is at an end. Saint Augustine
It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument. William G. McAdoo
With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plea; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost. William Lloyd Garrison
For they are yet ear-kissing arguments. William Shakespeare
[Abstract art is] a product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered. Al Capp
Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern. Alfred North Whitehead
Painting: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic. Ambrose Bierce
Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in. Amy Lowell
Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. Andre Gide
Let each man exercise the art he knows. Aristophanes
I believe that if it were left to artists to choose their own labels, most would choose none. Ben Shahn
So you see, imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering. Brenda Ueland
I suppose no matter what I'm drawing, there will always be some sort of question in my mind about it. A work of art (even cartoon art)is never really finished; it is abandoned. Brooke McEldowney,
I can't criticize what I don't understand. If you want to call this art, you've got the benefit of all my doubts. Charles Rosin,
Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature. Cicero
Art forms of the past were really considered elitist. Bach did not compose for the masses, neither did Beethoven. It was always for patrons, aristocrats, and royalty. Now we have a sort of democratic version of that, which is to say that the audience is so splintered in its interests. David Cronenberg, Rocketboom,
The idea of a mass audience was really an invention of the Industrial Revolution. David Cronenberg,
I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues. Duke Ellington
Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I don't believe that only art matters, I do believe in Art for Art's sake. E. M. Forster
Another unsettling element in modern art is that common symptom of immaturity, the dread of doing what has been done before. Edith Wharton
Art is on the side of the oppressed. Think before you shudder at the simplistic dictum and its heretical definition of the freedom of art. For if art is freedom of the spirit, how can it exist within the oppressors? Edith Wharton
A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world. Edmond de Goncourt
Illusions are art, for the feeling person, and it is by art that you live, if you do. Elizabeth Bowen
Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. Eugene Delacroix
Art is making something out of nothing and selling it. Frank Zappa
I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration. Frida Kahlo
Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere. G. K. Chesterton
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright
I happen to feel that the degree of a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting attitudes she can bring to bear on the same topic. Lisa Alther, Kinflicks,
Complaining is good for you as long as you're not complaining to the person you're complaining about. Lynn Johnston
A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. Patricia Neal
Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. William James
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind. William James
A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it. Bob Hope
Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners. E. Joseph Cossman
A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain. Mark Twain
The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason. John Cage
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. John Constable
Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together. Petrarch
When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. R. Buckminster Fuller
Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. Albert Einstein
This paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace a hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop. Alfred Hitchcock
