It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you think you've got it, they spring the subjunctive on you, and there you are. No- and I see now plainly enough, that the great pity about the German language is, that you can't fall off it and hurt yourself. There is nothing like that feature to make you attend strictly to business.
Mark TwainThat's the difference between governments and individuals. Governments don't care, individuals do.
Mark TwainNote that venerable proverb: Children and fools always speak the truth. The deduction is plain: adults and wise persons never speak it.
Mark TwainI notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write Englishโit is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of themโthen the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.
Mark Twain