Hall of Fame/HallofFameCDROM.cdr/util2/pcbrs101.lzh/MISUSED

Text File | 1990-02-06 | 24KB | 497 lines

accept          adapt           adopt           advice          advise                    [BR= /I:6.18 /J:22.20 /K:0.0]
affect          allude          allusion        alot            altar
alter           author          awhile          born            borne
breadth         breath          breathe         capital         capitol
choose          chose           complement      complementary   compliment
complimentary   council         councilor       counsel         counselor
credible        creditable      dual            duel            effect
elude           envelop         envelope        except          fewer
foreword        formally        formerly        forward         gorilla
guerilla        illusion        imply           infer           it's
its             last            later           latter          lead
led             less            loose           lose            maybe
moral           morale          passed          past            peace
persecute       personal        personnel       perspective     piece
precede         principal       principle       proceed         propose
prosecute       prospective     purpose         respectfully    respectively
right           rite            stationary      stationery      tack
tact            than            their           then            there
they're         to              too             two             weather
whether         who's           whose           wright          write
ACCEPT  versus  EXCEPT

 Accept, verb, To receive [something]:
    Tom accepts the gift from Mary.
 Except, preposition, In every case but:
    The memo was sent to everyone except John.
ADAPT  versus  ADOPT

 Adapt, verb, To change or be changed [in response to a situation]:
    Jenna rapidly, if unhappily, adapted to the longer work week.
    We can adapt our old forms to work with window envelopes.
 Adopt, verb, To take on as one's own:
    We can adopt this stray cat as our mascot and office manager.
ADVICE  versus  ADVISE

 Advice {ad-Vyess'}, noun, Suggestions, guidelines:
    Consultants can be hired to give advice.
 Advise {ad-Vyez}, verb, Make suggestions:
    Consultants can be hired to advise us.
AFFECT  versus  EFFECT

 In normal usage, effect can be both noun and verb, whereas affect is only
a verb.
   Affect {uh-Fehkt'}, verb, To have an impact on:
      I can affect the atmosphere in my office.
      The atmosphere in my office affects my work.
   Effect {eh-Fehkt'}, verb, To bring about:
      I can effect changes in the atmosphere in my office.
   Effect {eh-Fehkt'}, noun, Something brought about:
      The atmosphere in my office has an effect on my work.
 In addition, affect has two special meanings:
   Affect {uh-Fehkt'}, verb, To simulate, put on, or pretend:
      Joanna affects a high, whiny tone when she's imitating our boss.
   Affect {Af'ehkt}, noun, Feeling or emotion (psychology):
      John showed little affect when he learned of the death of his brother.
ALLUDE  versus  ELUDE

 Allude, verb, Refer to, often indirectly:
    At the presentation, Susan alluded to our reputation in the industry.
 Elude, verb, Avoid or get away from:
    The difference between these words can elude the incautious author.
        (See also ALLUSION)
ALLUSION  versus  ILLUSION

 Allusion, noun, A reference to [something], often indirect:
    Susan made an allusion to our reputation in the industry.
 Illusion, noun, A mirage, or an error in belief:"
    Our professionalism gives the illusion that we are a large corporation.
        (See also ALLUDE)
ALTAR  versus  ALTER

 Altar, noun, The place where a [religious] ceremony is held:
    I regret that our competitor worships at the altar of greed.
 Alter, verb, To change:
    Since we've altered our approach, we've become more competitive.
AUTHOR

 Author is used correctly only as a noun ── the person who writes something:
    We're going to the bookstore to meet the author of "The Author's Guide."
 It describes the writer, never the act of writing:
    WRONG: I am authoring a book called "The Author's Guide."
    CORRECT: I am writing a book called "The Author's Guide."
        (See also WRITE)
BORN  versus  BORNE

 Both words are past participles of bear.
    Born, past participle of bear as in To give birth to:
       People cheered when the new prince was born.
    Borne, past participle of bear as in To carry:
       People waved when the new prince was borne through the crowd.
BREATH  versus  BREATHE  versus  BREADTH

 Breath {rhymes with death}, noun, Intake of air:
    He was so tense that he held his breath.
 Breathe {rhymes with seethe}, verb, To take in air:
    He was so tense that he forgot to breathe.
 Breadth {rhymes with death}, noun, Size or scope [of something]:
    The breadth of his knowledge is breathtaking.
ALOT

 This misspelling of "a lot" is increasingly common ── but is no more correct
than it was 20 years ago.  (For that matter, "a lot" of something is itself
less than acceptable in formal writing.)
    WRONG: She has alot of friends.
    BETTER: She has a lot of friends.
    BEST: She has many friends.
AWHILE

 Be careful not to use awhile when you mean a while.  A "while" is a period
of time; if you can replace "while" with, say, "minute" in a sentence, you
should use a while instead of awhile.  For example, consider
    1) RIGHT: Susan's going to shop for a while.
    2) RIGHT: Susan's going to shop awhile.
In (1), you could as easily write
    1) RIGHT: Susan's going to shop for a minute.
Thus the correct ending for sentence (1) is a while.  In (2), however, you
may sense something awkward about the revised
    2) WRONG: Susan's going to shop a minute.
This construction is fine in conversation, but it's incorrect in writing.
Since you can't substitute "minute" for "while," the correct form of sentence
(2) ends in the single word "awhile."

 Technically, awhile is an adverb (while is a noun).  Adverbs hang out with
verbs (He spoke well), adjectives (The sky is very blue), and even other
adverbs (The sky is very very blue); however, they're not good pals with
prepositions such as "for" (WRONG: Stay for awhile).  Only a noun (such as
while can be the object of a prepositional phrase (Stay for a while).
CAPITAL  versus  CAPITOL

 Capitol's only meaning is the building in which a legislature meets:
    We're going to the capitol to watch our legislators in action.
 It's capitalized for a particular capitol in our nation's capital:
    We're going to the Capitol to watch America's government in action.
 All other meanings require capital:
    We're going to the capital of New York, Albany.
    Our business failed because we didn't have enough capital.
    A sentence must begin with a capital letter.
    America is one of the few Western countries with capital punishment.
    That's a capital idea!
    The top part of a pillar is called a capital.
    An alert businessperson capitalizes on opportunities.
CHOOSE  versus  CHOSE

 Chose is the past tense of choose:
    Let's choose up sides for the game.
    We chose up sides in the game of love.
COMPLEMENT  versus  COMPLIMENT

 Complement, noun, Something that completes
    Joanna skills are a good complement to Bill's.
 Compliment, noun, Praise
    Joanna gave Bill a compliment on his work.
 Complement, verb, Completing, filling in
    Joanna skills complement Bill's work.
 Compliment, verb, To praise
    Joanna complimented Bill on his work.
        (See also COMPLEMENTARY)
COMPLEMENTARY  versus  COMPLIMENTARY

 Complementary, adjective, Completing
    Joanna and Bill have complementary skills.
 Complimentary, adjective, Expressing praise, or given free(ly)
    Joanna gave Bill complimentary tickets.
        (See also COMPLEMENT)
COUNCIL  versus  COUNSEL

 Council, noun, A group of people handing down laws or advice
    The city council meets this evening.
 Counsel, noun, Lawyer
    Ray is the City Counsel.  (He's the city's chief lawyer.)
 Counsel, verb, Give advice
    Suzanne will be counseling me on how to behave in front of the committee.

 As a noun, counsel is somewhat more formal and restrained than lawyer:
    "You'll be hearing from my lawyer, you %#&*@(#!($!!."
    "On advice of counsel, I have nothing further to say."
        (See also COUNCILOR)
COUNCILOR  versus  COUNSELOR

 Councilor, noun, A person who serves on a council
    The city councilor spoke at our annual meeting.
 Counselor, noun, Lawyer or advisor
    The camp counselor spoke at our annual meeting.
        (See also COUNCIL)
CREDIBLE  versus  CREDITABLE

 Credible, adjective, Believable
    His account of the journey was barely credible.
 Creditable, adjective, Worthy of praise
    His effort on the journey was quite creditable.
DUAL  versus  DUEL

 Dual, adjective, Pertaining to two
    A saber has a dual purpose in a fight.
 Duel, noun, A battle or a (formal) fight
    I propose we fight a duel with sabers.
ENVELOP  versus  ENVELOPE

 Envelop {en-Vel'up}, verb, Enclose
    The arms of night reached out to envelop me, but I escaped.
 Envelope {En'veh-lope, Ahn'veh-lope}, noun, container
    I sent my purple prose to the publisher in a self-addressed envelope.
FEWER  versus  LESS

 Fewer is used to describe things that are discrete ── fewer tacks, fewer
people.  Less is used for continuous quantities or collective nouns ── less
water, less growth.

    There are fewer tourists here this year than last.
    There is less tourism this year than last.
FORMALLY  versus  FORMERLY

 Formally, adverb, Officially; following conventions
    He dresses formally for dinner.  (He wears a tuxedo.)
 Formerly, adverb, In the past
    He formerly dressed for dinner.  (He used to wear clothes at the table.)
FOREWORD  versus  FORWARD

 Foreword, noun, Introduction [to a book] (literally, a "word before")
    She is writing the foreword to Rachel's new book.
 Forward, adjective, Near the front
    She is sleeping in the forward cabin.
 Forward, adverb, Toward the front
    Despite the publisher's misgivings, Rachel is going forward with the book.

 Note that there is no such thing as a "foreward."  (Wanna bet?  More than
one book has been delivered to a major publisher with such a section!)
 Traditionally, a book's foreword is written by someone other than the book's
author, usually a more famous author rounded up by the publisher in the hope
of increasing sales.  The book's author writes the preface, often to explain
the rest of the book.  The author may also write an introduction, a prelimi-
nary chapter to tell you how he/she's going to tell you whatever he/she plans
to tell you.  Sometimes all of this front matter can make one wonder if books
are sold by weight rather than content.
GORILLA  versus  GUERILLA

 Gorilla, noun, Largest of the primates
    Gorillas have gotten a bad rap from Hollywood; they're really rather meek.
 Guerilla, noun, Fighter in a revolutionary movement
    Guerillas have gotten a bad rap from Washington; they're rarely meek.
IMPLY  versus  INFER

 Inferring is something you do in RESPONSE to something you've read or heard.
 Implying, on the other hand, is something you can do ACTIVELY, suggesting
something.

 Infer, verb, Draw a conclusion
    I infer from your tone that you're angry with me.
 Imply, verb, Suggest (often indirectly)
    I didn't mean to imply that you're being unreasonable.
IT'S  versus  ITS

 It's, contraction of "it is" (or "it has")
    It's raining, it's been raining, and it shall continue to rain.
 Its, possessive pronoun, Belonging to [the subject of the phrase]
    The dog scarfed down its dinner, and then went after mine.

 Confusion arises here because most possessives DO require apostrophes ──
Tom's, the dog's, and so on.  However, possessive pronouns DON'T take
apostrophes ── hers, his, ours, whose, and its.  There's no deep-rooted
logic here; its simply ── whoops, it's simply a rule of thumb.  (The
possessive "its" used to take an apostrophe, once upon a time, but of course
that made English spelling too uniform.  At any rate, the apostrophe has
vanished from the possessive; it's ── no, its reappearance in your writing
will result in readers with permanently raised eyebrows.)
LATER  versus  LATTER  (versus  LAST)

 Later, adjective, At some time in the future
    You can have ice cream later, after you eat the liver.
 Latter, adjective, The second in a group of two
    Of liver and ice cream, I prefer the latter.
 Last, adjective, The final item in a group of three or more
    CORRECT: Of liver, beets, and peas, I prefer the last.
    WRONG: Of liver, beets, and peas, I prefer the latter.
LEAD  versus  LED

 Lead {Leed}, verb, To direct
    Murphy will lead the expedition.
 Led {Lehd}, verb - past tense, Directed
    Murphy led the expedition, until he got lost.
 Lead {Lehd}, noun, A dense grey metal
    They were looking for gold, but found only lead.
LOOSE  versus  LOSE

 Loose {Looss}, adjective and adverb, Free, not compact
    Despite the leash law, I let my pit bull run loose.
 Lose {Looz}, verb, Be separated from, suffer defeat
    I'm going to lose the suit brought on by my dog's actions.

 Loose sees occasional use as a verb in its own right, meaning "To set free:"
    "Let us loose the dogs of war."  This meaning is obsolete; use it with
    caution.
MAYBE

 Maybe, written as one word, means "Perhaps."  Written as two words, may be
is part of a verb form similar to "might."
    CORRECT: Maybe we can go to the movies today.
    CORRECT: We may be going to the movies today.
MORAL  versus  MORALE

 Moral {Mawr'ul}, adjective, Ethical
    We have moral obligations to our fellow passengers on Spaceship Earth.
 Moral {Mawr'ul}, noun, Lesson
    The moral is, Do unto others before they do it unto you.
 Morale {muh-Rall'}, noun, Spirit
    After 48 consecutive losses, our morale was beginning to flag.
PASSED  versus  PAST

 Passed is a verb form, the past tense (and past participle) of "pass"; past
is a noun, adjective, adverb, or preposition.

    The due date for this bill has passed. (verb, past participle)
    The two ships passed in the night. (verb, past tense)
    The runner dropped the passed baton. (verb, past participle)
    The due date for this bill was some time in the past. (noun)
    We've been discussing the past tense. (adjective, modifying the noun
 "tense")
    My ship steamed past yours without recognition. (adverb, modifying the
 verb "steamed")
    You're up past your bedtime. (preposition)

 What's the difference between passed baton and past tense?  The passed in
"passed baton" refers to the action of passing (the verb "to pass") ── the
baton was passed to the runner.  The past in "past tense" refers to a time.
PEACE  versus  PIECE

 Peace, noun, A calm period
    As Elvis said, "What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?"
 Piece, noun, Part of something
    Graceland is a significant piece of modern pop culture.
 Piece, verb, To join or mend
    Elvis retreated to Graceland to piece together his shattered dreams.

 (Actually, the Elvis of the first example is pop icon Elvis Costello, not
pop icon Elvis Presley.)
PERSECUTE  versus  PROSECUTE

 Persecute, verb, Harass, oppress
    Most countries have at least one persecuted minority.
 Prosecute, verb, Start or conduct legal proceedings, persist
    One can be prosecuted for infringing the rights of others.
PERSPECTIVE  versus  PROSPECTIVE

 Perspective, adjective, A way of looking at something
    I saw him in a new perspective when he gave me his business card.
 Prospective, adjective, In the future
    Suddenly, I realized he was a prospective client.
PERSONAL  versus  PERSONNEL

 Personal, adjective, Belonging or pertaining to a person; private
    She borrowed the corporate hot tub for personal use.
 Personnel, noun, People working in a job or service
    However, she was one of the personnel with free access to it.

 Note; it is bureaucratese to use personnel with a specific number:
    WRONG: We have 14 personnel in the Department of Redundancy Department.
    BETTER: We have 14 persons in the Department of Redundancy Department.
    CORRECT: We have 14 people in the Department of Redundancy Department.
PRECEDE  versus  PROCEED

 Precede, verb, Come before
    The robber made me precede him into the apartment.
 Proceed, verb, Go forward
    I thought, "What would Bogart do now?" and proceeded to faint.
PRINCIPAL  versus  PRINCIPLE

 Principal, adjective, Primary
    My principal objection to the deal was the appearance of impropriety.
 Principal, noun, Major participant; head of a school
    The school principal was also the principal in the land deal.
 Principle, noun, A basic or moral truth
    It's an American principle that education should be available to all.

 Principle can never be an adjective; if you need the adjective, you need
principal.  As a noun, a principal is a person.  (Teachers used to foist
upon their students the mnemonic phrase, "You have a pal in the principal."
This phrase seems to have stuck in the memory of many students during the
1950s; once bedeviled by it, such students had little chance of misusing
priciple and principal.  However, misuse of these words is creeping back into
today's writing, suggesting (1) that overworked teachers have less time to
impart such gems, (2) that jaded students are less receptive to responding to
them, or (3) that the relationship among students, teachers, and principals,
somewhat awkward to begin with, has by now broken down so completely that the
phrase evokes undisguised derision from all parties involved.
PROPOSE  versus  PURPOSE

 Propose {pruh-Poze'} is a verb, purpose {Per'puhs} an adjective.
    I propose to go to the store.
    My purpose is to buy some tangelos and kiwi fruit.

 (In Shakespeare's time, purpose was also a noun, and one could say, "I
purpose to go to the store."  That was then, however, and this is now.)
RESPECTFULLY  versus  RESPECTIVELY

 Respectfully, adverb, With deference or respect
    Jane and John went respectfully to church.
 Respectively, adverb, In order, as mentioned
    Jane and John went respectively to work and to the health club.
RIGHT  versus  RITE  versus  WRITE  versus WRIGHT

 As nouns:
    Right, noun, Permission
      We signed a treaty giving our ships right of passage in the channel.
    Rite, noun, Ceremony
      Getting drunk is an unfortunate rite of passage for some teenagers.
    Wright, noun suffix, Maker, builder
      Eugene O'Neill, playwright, wrote often of drunkenness.
        (Note: don't confuse the maker of plays, a playwright, with the act
        of creation of a play, playwriting.)
  As verbs:
    Right, verb, To set straight
      We had to right the sailboat after we got hit by the squall.
    Write, verb, To create, to put on paper
      Eugene O'Neill writes often of drunkenness.
  As an adjective:
    Right, adjective, Proper, correct
      Astronauts need to believe that they have "the right stuff."
  As an adverb:
    Right, adverb, Directly
      The damp cold of a Boston winter cuts right through your clothes.
STATIONARY  versus  STATIONERY

 Stationary (with an "a") is an adjective, meaning "fixed."  Stationery (with
an "e") is a noun, meaning "writing materials."
    I tried to write outdoors, but my stationery blew away.
    The deck isn't stationary in a high wind.
TACK  versus  TACT

 "Take a new tack" has gained currency as a phrase meaning "try a different
approach."  Unfortunately, it often appears incorrectly as "a new tact."
Used in this sense, tack derives from a nautical term meaning "to change
direction in order to sail into or against the wind."  It's a perfectly valid
metaphor, although it's becoming perfectly overused; in any case, it's
perfectly awful when tact replaces tack.
THAN  versus  THEN

 Than, conjunction, (Used to begin the second part of a comparison)
    Carrie is taller than I.
 Then, adverb, At some time
    First Carrie and then I borrowed the tape measure.
 Then, noun, At a given time
    I had thought of myself as tall until then.

 When than is used in a comparison, the phrase following "than" should
parallel is structure the phrase preceding it:
    RIGHT: Carrie is taller than I am.
    RIGHT: Carrie is taller than I. ("...I am" is implied)
    WRONG: Carrie is taller than me.
    RIGHT: They pay Carry more than they pay me.
    RIGHT: They pay Carry more than me.
    WRONG: They pay Carry more than I.
A conjunction separates two equivalent structures ── "Carrie" and "I" are the
subjects of the sentence in the first group of examples and the objects of
"they pay" in the second.
 What's the difference between different from and different than?  There's no
real rule, but usage suggests that the former is preferable unless it would
create an awkward construction:
    RIGHT: Carrie's car is different from mine.
    POORER: Carrie's car is different than mine.
    RIGHT: Her hair is different this evening than last.
THEIR  versus  THERE  versus  THEY'RE

 Their, possessive pronoun, Belonging to them
    They leapt onto their horses and rode into the imaginary sunset.
 There, noun, In some place
    They leapt onto the horses and rode from here to there.
 There, adverb, In some place
    Even with fast horses, you can't get there from here.
 There, adverb/introductory expletive
    There sure are a lot of horses around here.
 They're, contraction, They are
    They're riding their hobby horses at breakneck speed.
TO  versus  TOO  versus  TWO

 To, preposition, Toward
    I thought I heard the doorbell, so I went to the door.
 Too, adverb, Also
    Sara thought she heard the doorbell too; she too went to the door.
 Two, noun, The number 2
    Could two of us be hearing things?
WEATHER  versus  WHETHER

 Weather, noun, Meteorological conditions
    The weather in Seattle changes dramatically from hour to hour.
 Weather, verb, Survive
    I'm not sure I could weather another Boston winter.
 Whether, conjunction, In one case or the other
    I had to choose whether to live in Boston or Seattle.
WHO'S  versus  WHOSE

 Who's, contraction, Who is
    I don't know who's going to the party.
 Whose, possessive pronoun, Belonging to [someone]
    I don't know whose party it is.

        (See also the notes about IT'S)