The Unforgivable Syntax

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Title:     The Unforgivable Syntax
Author: Christopher Morley [More Titles by Morley]

A certain young man never knew
Just when to say _whom_ and when _who_;
"The question of choosing,"
He said, "is confusing;
I wonder if _which_ wouldn't do?"

Nothing is so illegitimate
As a noun when his verbs do not fit him; it
Makes him disturbed
If not properly verbed--
If he asks for the plural, why git him it!

_Lie_ and _lay_ offer slips to the pen
That have bothered most excellent men:
You can say that you lay
In bed--yesterday;
If you do it to-day, you're a hen!

A person we met at a play
Was cruel to pronouns all day:
She would frequently cry
"Between you and I,
If only us girls had our way--!"

[The end]
Christophe Morley's poem: The Unforgivable Syntax

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