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Lesson 15

 

SES AND SWAY CIRCLES

(A) SES CIRCLE


The Ses Circle is a large circle that signifies the sounds of "sess sez zez" in the middle or end of an outline. It is written in the same way as Circle S. It is written approximately a third to half the length of the stroke.

 

It can have any vowel sound in its middle. If the vowel within it is a short E, being very common, that vowel sign is not written in:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
pieces spaces buses/buzzes doses/dozes
chooses juices

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

cases success faces/phases offices services

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

sizes ceases/seizes misses amasses noises senses necessary

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

 laces/lazes loses/looses horses races/raises houses uses

 

Other vowels, being less common, are written inside the circle:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

exist insist resist

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

emphasis synthesis synopsis synopses

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

Texas census exhaust

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

exercise exercised exercising
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

emphasise emphasised emphasising

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

synthesise synthesised synthesising

A Circle S is added by continuing on the other side:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
successes censuses exercises emphasises

(B) There is a group of outlines that do not use the Ses Circle, generally verbs, this is to keep the main verbal derivatives similar to the basic form:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

possess possesses possessing, access accesses accessing

 

The past tenses of the above are covered in Lesson 19 Halving

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
recess recesses recessed recessing

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

incise incises incised incising

 

Some adjectives and nouns that are derivatives of the above examples do use the Ses Circle, as they are not part of the verb:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

possessive possessively possessor accessible recessive
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
excessive excessively, incisive incisively


Original forms are retained, so words like the following do not use Circle Ses:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

policy policies, fallacy fallacies

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

mercy mercies, lessee lessees
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

Lucy Lucy's, Lizzie Lizzie's

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

Rosie Rosie's, Nancy Nancy's

Ses Circle is not used on its own (other than the short forms below) or if the word ends in a vowel:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

sauce size says sees/seas/seize/cease - sauces sizes assesses seizes/ceases

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

saucy sassy Assisi so-so see-saw see-saws

In a few words, the Ses Circle is used to signify two S's which are not always sounded clearly separately in speech, but using it helps with reading back:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

bus-stop misspell misspelling house-sparrow

The Ses Circle is also used in a few words to signify two circles - the Circle S and the circle of the Hay stroke:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
race-horse post-haste* doss-house Fitzhugh

 

* Omits the first T sound

(C) Distinguishing Outlines

Some similar sets of outlines need a vowel sign to distinguish them:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

base plural: bases; basis plural: bases (=bay-seez)
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

axe plural: axes; axis plural: axes (=ak-seez)

Short Forms
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
as is, is as, themselves ourselves myself himself itself

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

But full strokes for yourself herself it's*

 

* Always include the vowel sign in apostrophied phrases

The large lone circles can stand for any pairing of the four words "as, has, is, his" and the position follows the vowel of the first word in the pair:

Above the line:
as is, as his, as has, has his
 

On the line:
is as, is his, his is, his has


Phrases
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
this is, this is the, this city, in these cities, this subject, on these subjects
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

New York, United States, United States of America, San Francisco

 

Distinguishing Outlines

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

Misses Mrs

(D) SWAY CIRCLE

As the Ses Circle is not used at the beginning of an outline, this same large circle is used for the initial sound of SW. It is written in the same way as Circle S and is always read first. It is never used for SW in the middle or end of an outline, and there is no vowel between the S and W sounds.
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
swap sweep swab swat/swot sweet/suite
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
swayed/su
ède Swedish switch swag suave swiftest*

 

* "swift" is covered in Lesson 19 Halving
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
Swiss swizz swash swish swim
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
swan swoon swing swell swallow swallowed
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

swear swirl swirled swarm soirée

 

It cannot be used on its own or in the middle, so stroke Way is used:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

sway Swahili rosewood pass-way

(E) Phrases

The Sway Circle is used at the beginning of phrases for the words "as we" and "as w-"
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

as we have, as we know, as we had, as we can, as we are, as we think
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
as we may, as well, as well as, as will be seen
, as we*, this way

 

* Write in full, where it cannot be phrased with the next outline

 

In a few phrases, an initial large circle is used for S-S:
 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand
as soon as, as soon as we have, as soon as they, as soon as they have,
as soon as it is

 

SUMMARY

  • Ses is a large circle half the length of the stroke

  • Used only at the end of a stroke

  • Short E sound is not indicated, other vowel signs are written inside

  • Add Circle S by continuing on the other side of the stroke

  • In compound words, can be used for two Circle S, or Circle S and the circle of Upward Hay

  • Sway is a large circle written at the beginning of an outline

  • Sway is not used in the middle or end of an outline

  • Large circle used for "as w-" or "as-s" at the beginning of a phrase

 

EXTRA VOCABULARY

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

poses passes disposes causes successive

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

boxes fixes mixes gases gazes

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

offices refuses voices invoices assizes

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

thesis maces/mazes muses amazes amuses

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

noses nieces minces necessity

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

losses leases rises roses hoses hazes

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

swoop swipe sweat swatch switchback

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

swig swath swathe swimmer swansong swine

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

swingeing swank swarthy swelling swill

 

Pitman's New Era Shorthand

swore swizzle tarsus rhesus nexus

 

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"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

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