Michael L. Keene,
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Katherine H. Adams,
Loyola University New Orleans
| a, an | Use a before a consonant sound; use an before a vowel sound:a dog, an animal. When a word begins with a silent h, it begins with a vowel sound, so use an: an hour, an herb, but a house, a horse.
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| accept, except | A c c e p t is a verb meaning "to receive willingly."Except is a preposition meaning "excluding": I will accept all the nominations except the last one.
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| adapt, adopt | Adapt means "to adjust to a situation": She will adapt to college life easily. Adopt means "to take into the family" or "to accept a course of action or belief": We adopted a child. She adopted a new code of ethics for all employees.
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| advice, advise | A d v i c e is a noun meaning "guidance"; advise is a verb meaning "to counsel": We advised him to seek advice from a college counselor.
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| affect, effect | Affect is a verb meaning "to influence": Her performance affected me. Effect is generally used as a noun meaning "the result": She had heard about the dangerous effects of that prescription drug. Effect can also be a verb meaning "to bring about": The new diplomat immediately effected important changes.
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| ain't | Ain't is nonstandard. Use am not, isn't, or aren't.
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| all right | All right should always be written as two words, never as alright.
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| allude, elude | Allude means "to refer to indirectly": At the end of his speech, he briefly alluded to his son's drinkingproblem.Elude means "to evade or escape from": How did he elude the police?
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| allusion, illusion | An a l l u s i o n is an "indirect mention." An i l l u s i o n is a "false belief or appearance": The doctor made an allusion to the patient's illusions of greatness.
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| a lot | A lot is always two words: She has a lot of friends.
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| already, all ready | A l r e a d y, an adverb, means "before" or "previ-ously." All ready, an adjective, means "completely prepared": I already told you that I am all ready to leave for the camping trip.
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| altar, alter | A l t a r is a noun meaning "the elevated front part of a church." Alter is a verb meaning "to change": The new priest wants to alter the arrangement of flowers on the altar.
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| altogether, all together | A l t o g e t h e r means "entirely, completely. " All together means "in a group": I altogether agree with you that we cannot go all together to the wedding.
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| among, between | Use among for three or more items; use b e t w e e n with two: The tasks were divided among the ten volunteers. Park your car between these two posts.
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| amoral, immoral | A m o r a l means "neither moral nor immoral." It also means "not concerned with right and wrong." I m m o r a l m e a n s "morally wrong": Her sex education lectures have an amoral perspective. Taking those books was an immoral act.
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| amount, number | A m o u n t refers to items in bulk or mass; n u m b e r is for countable items: You will need a larger amount of flour, baking soda, and sugar to make a large number of cakes.
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| an | See a, an.
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| and/ o r | Avoid this construction because it can be awkward and confusing: The decision will be made by the teacher and/or the adviser. [If you mean both, use and. If you mean either one, use or. If you mean either one or both, write "by the teacher, by the adviser, or by both."]
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| and etc. | A redundant phrase: use e t c . by itself. See also the entry for etc.
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| anybody | Anybody is singular.
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| anyone | Anyone is singular.
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| anyone, any one | Anyone means "any person at all." Any one refers to a member of a group: Anyone can purchase any one of the paintings in the show.
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| anyplace | Nonstandard for any place or anywhere.
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| as | Do not use a s to mean "because" or "since": the resulting sen-tence may be confusing, since as can also mean when. We left the pool because [not as] it was raining. See also like, as.
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| bad, badly | Bad is the adjective form; badly is the adverb: The bad wound healed badly.
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| being as, being that | Nonstandard for because.
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| beside, besides | Beside means "by the side of "; b e s i d e s means "in addition to" and "other than": She sat beside the bed. He is getting a monthly living allowance besides his regular salary. She has few friends besides those she made in the army.
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| be sure and | Use be sure to in formal writing: Be sure to [not and] bring in the dog tonight.
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| between | See among, between.
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| biannual, biennial | B i a n n u a l means "twice a year"; b i e n n i a l means "once every two years."
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| breath, breathe | B r e a t h is a noun meaning "the air inhaled and exhaled." Breathe is a verb meaning "to inhale and exhale": When her breath became regular, I began to breathe more easily.
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| burst, bursted, bust, busted | Burst is the standard verb form: The balloon burst. Bursted, bust, and busted are nonstandard forms.
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| capital, capitol | C a p i t a l means "a city that is a government seat."Capitol means "a building where a legislature meets": As soon as our train arrived in the capital, we looked up to see the dome of the capitol.
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| choose, chose | C h o o s e is the present tense verb; chose is the past tense.
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| cite, sight, site | Cite is a verb meaning "to refer to." The noun sight means "the ability to see" or "something that is seen." The noun s i t e means "a location": Remember to cite your sources in your research paper. He lost his sight when he was five. The vacant lot was the site of the new parking lot.
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| cloth, clothes | C l o t h means "fabric." C l o t h e s means "garments like shirts and pants": The tailor used only fine silk cloth to make the clothes for her trip.
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| complement, compliment | C o m p l e m e n t means "to make whole or bring to perfection." Compliment means "praise": That color complements your eyes. Her new haircut received many compliments.
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| conscience, conscious | C o n s c i e n c e is a noun that means "a sense of right and wrong." Conscious is an adjective that means "being aware of your existence and feelings": Shoplifting the candy bothered her conscience. He was conscious of his own prejudices.
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| continual, continuous | C o n t i n u a l means "of frequent recurrence." Continuous means "without stop." The continual ringing of bells at nearby churches bothered the office staff, but they never noticed the continuous hum of the copy machine.
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| could of | Nonstandard for could have: She could have [not could of] been a wonderful president.
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| council, counsel | C o u n c i l is a noun that means "an assembly of leaders." Counsel means "advice" (noun) or "to give advice" (verb): The student council offered to counsel the new freshman class.
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| criteria | The plural of criterion.
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| data, datum | D a t a is, technically, the plural form of d a t u m . In many fields, d a t a is now treated as the only form, as singular or plural, depending upon the context.
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| differ from, differ with | Differ from means "to be unlike." D i f f e rwith means "to disagree with": Her hair color and face shape differ from her twin sister's. I often differ with my boss about hiring decisions.
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| disinterested, uninterested | D i s i n t e r e s t e d means "impartial, objective." Uninterested means "not interested": Umpires should be disinterested. Fans often become uninterested when their team falls behind.
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| due to | Due to should be used to mean "because of " only after a form of the verb be:Darla left the house because of [not due to] her husband's violence. Freida's success was due to hard work.
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| e.g. | In formal writing, replace the Latin abbreviation e.g. (for exem-pligratia) with for example or for instance.
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| each | Each is singular.
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| effect | See affect, effect.
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| either | Either is singular.
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| elicit, illicit | E l i c i t is a verb meaning "to bring out" or "to evoke." Illicit is an adjective meaning "unlawful": The police officer shoved the suspect into a chair and began to elicit information in an illicit manner.
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| elude | See allude, elude.
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| emigrate from, immigrate to | Emigrate from means "to leave one country or region": Many people emigrated from England in search of religious freedom. Immigrate to means "to enter another country and live there": He left Sarajevo and immigrated to Italy.
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| eminent, imminent | E m i n e n t means "exceptional" or "distin-guished." Imminent means "about to happen": The eminent historian announced that war was imminent.
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| e t c . | In formal writing, avoid the Latin abbreviation e t c . (for e tc e t e r a , meaning "and so forth"). Instead of ending a list with e t c . , begin it with such as, for example, or for instance.
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| everybody, everyone | Everybody and everyone are singular.
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| everyday, every day | Everyday is an adjective meaning "ordinary." Do not confuse it with the phrase every day meaning "each day": On every day except Sunday, I use my everyday plates and silverware.
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| everyone, every one | Everyone is an indefinite pronoun. Every one, the pronoun one modified by the adjective every, means "each individual or thing in a particular group": Everyone waited until every one of the jewels was found.
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| except | See accept, except.
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| explicit, implicit | E x p l i c i t means "expressed directly"; i m p l i c i t means "implied, unstated": The pilot gave explicit instructions to the ground crew. Their immediate smiles and nods indicated their implicit agreement.
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| farther, further | F a r t h e r refers to additional distance. F u r t h e r refers to additional time, quantity, or extent: As we drove farther from home, I told Dennis that I didn't want to discuss the matter any further.
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| fewer, less | F e w e r refers to items that can be counted; l e s s refers to bulk or mass amounts: fewer days, less time; fewer cups, less sugar
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| firstly | F i r s t l y sounds stilted, and it leads to the awkward series firstly, secondly, thirdly, fourthly, and so on. Use first, second, third instead.
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| get | Get has many slang and colloquial uses. In formal writing, avoid using g e t to mean the following: "to evoke an emotional response" (That song gets to me or Her pouting gets to me); "to take revenge on" (I plan to get her back); "to finish" (We got done); "must" (I've got tostudy); and "have" (I've got three tests this Friday).
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| good, well | G o o d is an adjective, and w e l l is nearly always an adverb: The good friends dance well together. Well may be used as an adjective to refer to health: She is well.
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| good and | Nonstandard for very: I am very [not good and] angry with you.
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| had ought | The had is unnecessary: She ought [not had ought] to finish college.
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| hanged, hung | H a n g e d is the past tense and the past participle of the verb hang meaning "to execute": In the nineteenth century, many petty criminals were hanged. H u n g is the past tense and past participle of the verb h a n g m e a n i n g "to fasten or suspend": The large decorations were hung on piano wire.
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| hardly | Avoid expressions such as c a n 't hardly and not hardly, which are considered double negatives: I can [not can't] hardly wait for the party to begin.
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| he | At one time h e was used to mean "he or she." Today such usage is not considered appropriate.
(See For alternatives, see 19b, Biased Uses of Language, in Part Three, pages 370-73.)
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| he/she, his/ her | In formal writing, use he or she or his or her.
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| hisself | Nonstandard for himself.
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| hopefully | Hopefully means "in a hopeful manner": We waited hopefully while Tran was in surgery. Do not use hopefully to mean "it is to be hoped": I hope that [not Hopefully] you will get the lead part in the play.
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| i . e . | In formal writing, replace the Latin abbreviation i . e . (for id est) with its English meaning, that is.
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| if, whether | Use i f in a statement of condition and whether to ex-press alternatives: If you go to college, whether to a private or a state school, you will need to fill out financial aid forms.
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| illicit | See elicit, illicit.
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| illusion | See allusion, illusion.
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| immigrate to | See emigrate from, immigrate to.
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| imminent | See eminent, imminent.
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| immoral | See amoral, immoral.
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| implicit | See explicit, implicit.
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| imply, infer | I m p l y means "to suggest without stating directly"; infer means "to draw a conclusion": The lawyer implied that her client had been treated unfairly at three universities, but the judge inferred that the defendant had been a bad teacher.
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| in, into | I n generally indicates "location or condition within"; i n t o indicates movement or a change in condition: He ran into another car while he was driving in the rain.
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| in regards to | Nonstandard for in regard to or regarding.
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| irregardless | Nonstandard for regardless.
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| is when, is where | These constructions are often incorrectly used in definitions: A beefalo is a hybrid between an American buffalo and a domestic cow. [Not "A beefalo is when an American buffalo is bred with a domestic cow."] Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States. [Not "Washington, D.C. is where the capital of the United States is."]
(See For further discussion, see 17d, page 321.)
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| its, it's | Its is a possessive pronoun; it's is a contraction of it is: It's pleasing to see that dog leave the pound with its new owner.
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| later, latter | L a t e r, referring to time, is the comparative form of l a t e .L a t t e r refers to the second named of two; the first is called the f o r m e r : I had hoped to see Naomi and Chris, but only the latter was home. Naomi wasn't expected until much later.
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| lay, lie | L a y is a transitive verb meaning "to put or place." Its principal parts are l a y, laid, laid. L i e is an intransitive verb meaning "to recline or rest in a flat position." Its principal parts are lie, lay, lain: Where did I lay those leather gloves? Do you need to lie down?
(See For further help with these forms, see 19v, Verbs, in Part Three, page 459.)
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| lead, led | L e a d is a noun referring to a metal and a verb meaning "to go before." Led is the past tense of the verb to lead: The tests led to the conclusion that the child had lead poisoning.
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| learn, teach | L e a r n means "to gain knowledge"; t e a c h means "to impart knowledge": Her parents must teach [not learn] her to eat with a spoon.
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| less | See fewer, less.
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| liable | L i a b l e means "obligated" or "responsible." Do not use it to mean "likely": You're likely [not liable] to fall if you walk on that high wall.
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| lie | See lay, lie.
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| like, as | L i k e is a preposition. It should be followed by a noun or a noun phrase. A s is a subordinating conjunction that introduces a dependent clause: You look like a friendly person. You don't know her as I do.
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| loose, lose | L o o s e is an adjective meaning "not fastened." L o s e is a verb meaning "to misplace" or "to fail to win": Rosa began to lose the race when her rear wheel became loose.
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| lots, lots of | L o t s and lots of are slang substitutes for m a n y, much, or a lot. Avoid using them in formal writing.
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| maybe, may be | M a y b e is an adverb meaning "possibly." May be is a verb phrase: Maybe we will win the relay race. The results may be a surprise to the fans.
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| may of, might of | May of and might of are nonstandard for m a yhave and might have: They may have [not may of] already left.
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| media, medium | M e d i a is, technically, the plural form of m e d i u m .Media is often treated now as the only form, as singular or plural, depending upon the context.
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| moral, morale | M o r a l is an adjective meaning "conforming to stan-dards of goodness." M o r a l e is a noun meaning "the spirit of an indi-vidual or group": His moral decision to stand up for his staff increased the morale of the whole group.
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| most | Most should not be used to mean almost: Almost [not Most] everyone enjoyed the concert.
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| myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves | The self pronouns are reflexive or intensive pronouns and thus must have an antecedent.
Reflexive: I hurt myself.
Intensive: I will teach you myself.
Do not use myself in place of I or me: The police next questioned Trudy and me [not myself].
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| neither | Neither is singular.
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| none | None is singular.
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| nowheres | Nonstandard for nowhere.
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| number | See amount, number.
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| of | Use the verb h a v e , not the preposition o f , after the verbs c o u l d ,should, would, may, might, and must: You should have [not of ] seen her new interview suit.
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| off of | The of is unnecessary. Use off: She fell off [not off of ] the balcony.
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| OK, O.K., okay | All three spellings are acceptable, but you should avoid these slang expressions in formal writing.
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| passed, past | P a s s e d is the past tense of the verb to pass; thus it means "went by" or "received a passing grade." P a s t means "of a former time" or "beyond in time or position": She passed her test. He passed the car driven by our past president. The accident occurred just past the new entrance ramp.
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| phenomena | The plural of phenomenon.
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| plus | Do not use plus to join two independent clauses: The oleander bushes need clipping, and [not plus] the roses need fertilizer.
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| precede, proceed | P r e c e d e means "to come before." P r o c e e d m e a n s "to go onward" or "to move in an orderly fashion": As Juana proceeded to the final turn of the walk race, she realized that three contestants had preceded her.
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| principal, principle | P r i n c i p a l is a noun meaning "the head of a school" or "a sum of money." It is also an adjective meaning "first in importance." Principle is a noun meaning "a basic truth or standard": The principal asked the school board, "Do we have the principal to rebuild the science building?" My principal reason for leaving home was that I disagreed with my stepfather's principles of discipline.
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| proceed | See precede, proceed.
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| provided, providing | P r o v i d e d can serve as a subordinating conjunction meaning if. Providing cannot be used this way: We will begin providing a larger budget for urban housing provided we receive a new federal grant.
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| quote, quotation | Q u o t e is a verb; q u o t a t i o n is a noun. Do not use quote as a shortened form of the noun: She supported her arguments with quotations [not quotes] from current journals.
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| raise, rise | Raise is a transitive verb meaning "to move upward." It takes a direct object: She raised the banner above her head. R i s e is an intransitive verb meaning "to go up." It does not take a direct object: When the sun comes up, the temperature rises.
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| real, really | R e a l is an adjective; r e a l l y is an adverb. R e a l is some-times used informally as an adverb, but you should avoid this use in formal writing: They were really [not real] tired.
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| reason is because, reason why | Both of these phrases are redun-dant. Use reason is or reason is that instead. The reason [not The reason why] he chose a technical college is unclear.
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| respectfully, respectively | R e s p e c t f u l l y means "in a manner that shows respect." Respectively means "each in the order given": She acted respectfully toward her older cousins. The three childhood friends, Margaret, Paula, and Suelinda, became a college teacher, a lawyer, and a counselor, respectively.
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| rise | See raise, rise.
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| set, sit | S e t is a transitive verb meaning "to put "or "to place." Its principal parts are set, set, set. Sit is an intransitive verb meaning "to be seated." Its principal parts are sit, sat, sat: She set the tray of cucumber sandwiches near the bench where her mother-in-law sat.
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| should of | Nonstandard for should have: He should have [not should of] filled the tank with gas before he left town.
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| sight, site | See cite, sight, site.
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| sit | See set, sit.
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| somebody, someone | Somebody and someone are singular.
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| something | Something is singular.
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| sometime, some time, sometimes | S o m e t i m e is an adverb meaning "at an indefinite or unstated time": The plane will leave sometime soon. Some time is two words (a noun and its modifier) that mean "a period of time": I had not seen my sister for some time. Sometimes is an adverb meaning "now and then": Sometimes I go jogging at the track.
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| stationary, stationery | S t a t i o n a r y means "not moving." S t a t i o n e r y is a type of writing paper: Stationary and alone, Rodney waited while the dean pulled out her stationery to write his parents.
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| suppose to | Nonstandard for supposed to.
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| teach | See learn, teach.
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| than, then | T h a n is a conjunction used in comparisons; t h e n is an adverb meaning "at that time in the past" or "next": Then he decided that he liked contact lenses more than glasses.
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| that, which | T h a t introduces essential (or restrictive) clauses. In "The next set will begin with the song that Harvey wrote," the restric-tive relative clause that Harvey wrote i d e n t i fies the specific song being referred to. W h i c h can introduce either essential or nonessen-tial (nonrestrictive) clauses, but many writers reserve w h i c h for non-restrictive clauses. In "The song, which Harvey wrote, has three different choruses," the nonrestrictive relative clause which Harveywrote simply provides additional information. (For further discussion of restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses, see page 381.)
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| theirselves | Nonstandard for themselves.
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| them | Do not use them in place of those: Martha bought those [not them] blouses for her sister.
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| there, their, they're | T h e r e is an adverb meaning "in that place" and an expletive (or filler word) in the phrase there is: There is a homeless man lying over there. Their is a possessive pronoun. They're is a contraction of they are: They're sure that they left their skates near the door.
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| thru | In formal writing, avoid this colloquial spelling of through.
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| to, too, two | To is a preposition usually meaning "in a direction to-ward"; too is an adverb meaning "also"; two is a number: Gerald went to the soccer game. Two famous Argentinians were playing, and pro scouts were there too.
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| try and | Nonstandard for try to: We agreed to try to [not try and] stop arguing about our in-laws.
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| uninterested | See disinterested, uninterested.
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| use to | Nonstandard for used to.
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| wait for, wait on | Wait for means "to be in readiness for" or "to await." Wait on means "to serve": We are waiting for [not on] the rain to slacken.
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| ways | Use way when referring to distance: Her house is a long way [not ways] from her garden.
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| well | See good, well.
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| where | Do not use where in place of that. Where should be used only for locations: I heard that [not where] the new American cars are just as well made as Japanese cars.
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| whether | See if, whether.
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| which | Do not use w h i c h to refer to persons. Use w h o or t h a t instead. See also that, which.
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| who, whom | Who is used for subjects; whom is used for objects. Who wrote the sentence? She is the woman whom I love.
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| who's, whose | W h o 's is a contraction of "who is"; w h o s e is a possessive pronoun: Who's going to your graduation? Whose bedspread is this?
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| your, you're | Your is a possessive pronoun; you're is a contraction of "you are": Your dog has won the first prize. You're the best trainer at the meet.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education