The Biggest Bugbears
Need a little advice (or should that be
Not to worry! This section contains an extensive list of words that are commonly misused or confused. Also included are a number of mnemonics to help you remember the differences when this book isn't handy (although you
Here are the words that cause some of the greatest amounts of perplexity and befuddlement:
a, an: Use
What an honor and a privilege it is to meet a history expert like Prof. Maltby.
a lot, alot, allot: Okay, let's begin with the fact that there is no such word as
Tomorrow night, the mayor will allot a lot of money for various municipal projects.
accept, except:
Except for food for the volunteers, Doris wouldn't accept any donations.
adapt, adopt: To ad
After Mary Elizabeth and Ron adopted the baby, they learned to adapt to having little sleep.
advice, advise:
Grandpa tried to advise me when I was a youngster, but I wouldn't listen to his advice.
affect, effect:
The effect of the announcement of impending war won't affect Adam's decision to join the military.
aggravate, annoy: If you mean
Steven was annoyed when his boss aggravated the situation by talking to the press.
aid, aide: If you help, you
The aid from my aide is invaluable.
aisle, isle, I'll: An
I'll walk down the aisle to meet my groom; then we'll honeymoon on a desert isle.
all ready, already: If you mean all is ready, use
I already told you we're all ready to go out to dinner!
all right, alright:
Is it all right if we eat in tonight?
all together, altogether:
You're altogether wrong about the six friends going all together to the dance; each is going separately.
alumni, alumnae, alumnus, alumna: You can thank the Romans for this confusion; Latin has separate words for masculine, feminine, singular, and plural forms. Here's the rundown: One male graduate is an
several male graduates or several male and female graduates are
Although Mary Jo and her sisters are alumnae from Wellesley, Mary Jo is the alumna who receives the most attention; her brothers Martin and Xavier are alumni of Harvard, but Martin is a more famous alumnus than Xavier.
Other often-confused Latin singulars and plurals are these:
Singular |
Plural |
criterion |
criteria |
datum |
data |
minutia |
minutiae |
stimulus stimuli |
syllabus syllabuses/syllabi |
allusion, illusion: An
If you want a word that means m
Kay told Jerry that she was under the illusion he'd be her Prince Charming; Jerry didn't understand the allusion.
altar, alter: If you chang
We'll alter the position of the altar so the congregation can see the new carvings.
among, between: Think division. If only two people are dividing something, use
The money was divided between Sarah and Bob; the land was divided among Billy, Henry, and Lillian.
angel, angle: An
The angel's wings are set at ninety-degree angles from its body.
anxious, eager: These two words are often confused. If you're
I had been anxious about my medical test results, but when they proved negative I was eager to kick up my heels.
anybody, any body:
Anybody can help to search for any body that might not have been found in the wreckage.
appraise, apprise: To ap
The auctioneer called to apprise our family about how he would appraise various items for us.
bad, badly: When you're writing about how you feel, use
Gregg felt bad he had scored so badly on the test.
bazaar, bizarre: The first is a marketplace; the second means
The most bizarre purchase that came from the bazaar was a pair of sandals without any soles.
bear, bare: A b
The bare bathers were disturbed when the grizzly bear arrived.
besides, beside: If you want the one that means
Besides her groom, the bride wanted her dad beside her in the photo.
breath, breathe: You take a
In the cold of the winter, it was hard for me to breathe when taking a breath outside.
cavalry, Calvary: The
The cavalry wasn't in attendance for the march up Calvary.
can, may: If you
You can use “ain't” in a sentence, but you may not.
cannot, am not, is not, are not, and all other “nots”: For some strange reason,
capital, capitol: The
The capital spent by the legislators at the capitol is appalling.
carat, caret, carrot, karat: A
Set in an eighteen-karat gold band, the five-carat diamond was shaped like a carrot.
censor, censure: To cens
The full Senate voted not to censure the senator for trying to censor the e-mail that came to other congressional employees.
cite, sight, site: Your
The colors on the Web site you cited in your paper were a sight to behold.
climactic, climatic:
Last year's weather featured many climatic oddities, but the climactic point came when snow arrived in June.
coarse, course: If something is
The racecourse led the runners over coarse terrain.
complement, compliment: If something completes another thing, it
The jewelry will complement the outfit the star will wear, and she will surely receive many compliments on her attire.
conscience, conscious: Your
On the witness stand, Marie said she wasn't conscious of the fact that her conscience told her not to steal the ashtray from the hotel room.
continual, continuous:
The continual rains lasted for ten days; because of that, the Blacksons had a continuous problem with water in their basement.
core, corps, corpse: A
At the core of the Marine Corps lieutenant's sleeplessness was his discovery of a corpse while on a training mission.
council, counsel: A
The town council decided to counsel the youth group on the proper way to ask for funds.
desert, dessert: A
While lost in the desert, Rex craved a dessert of apple pie à la mode.
device, devise: A
To devise, you must be wise. Will this device work on ice?
discreet, discrete:
The dancer's discreet movements were discrete from those performed by the rest of the chorus.
dual, duel: The first means
The dual reasons for the duel were revenge and money.
elicit, illicit: To
The telephone scam artist engaged in the illicit practice of trying to elicit credit card information.
emigrate, immigrate: To
Ten people were trying to emigrate from the tyranny of their country and immigrate to the United States.
eminent, imminent: Someone w
Our meeting with the eminent scientist is imminent.
ensure, insure: To
To ensure that we continue to insure your house, send payment immediately.
everyday, every day:
The everyday inexpensive prices of the store meant that more shoppers came every day.
faze, phase: To
I wasn't fazed by his wish to phase out our relationship.
fewer, less: Use
The new product has fewer calories but less fat.
figuratively, literally:
When Pauline called, she asked if I was off my rocker; I thought she meant figuratively and wondered why she thought I had gone crazy. However, she intended to be taken literally, as she wondered if I was still sitting outside in my rocker.
flaunt, flout: If you
In an attempt to flaunt his new car to the girls on the other side of the road, James decided to flout the law and not stop at the red light.
forego, forgo: If you mean something that has gone be
It's a foregone conclusion that Meg and Marion will forgo sweets when they're dieting.
foreword, forward: The word that means
To gain insight into the author's intent, you should read the foreword before you proceed forward in the book.
foul, fowl: The animal is a
The foul smell came from the fowl that had been slaughtered.
good, well:
or
You did well on the test; your grade should be good.
graduated, graduated from: A school
The year Tiya Hudson graduated from college, the school graduated 5,000 students.
grisly, grizzly: A horrible or gruesome sight is
A grisly scene was left after the attack by the grizzly bear.
heal, heel:
You might need ointment to heal the blisters you get from trying to right the sails when the ship heels in the wind.
hear, here: You h
Did you hear that Aunt Helen is here?
hopefully: If you mean
The director waited hopefully for the Oscar nominations to be announced.
imply, infer: Both of these have to do with words not said aloud. A s
Rufus thought the boss had implied that she would be back for an inspection next week, but Ruth didn't infer that.
in, into:
Go into the house, look in my purse, and bring me money.
its, it's:
It's a shame the dog lost its bone.
lead, led: If you want the word that means
The company, led by one of the richest people in the world, announced that its CEO was retiring; today a newcomer will lead it.
loose, lose:
Will I lose my belt if it's too loose?
may of, might of, must of, should of, would of, could of: In speech, we slur these phrases so that they all sound as if they end in
I must have thought you would have been able to find the room without any directions.
moral, morale: If something is
The moral high road that the politician took boosted the morale of the entire staff.
myself, itself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves, ourselves, yourselves: None of these pronouns should ever be used without the antecedent that corresponds to it. You might write:
I myself would like to go for a drive.
But you shouldn't write, “Mike took Pat and myself for a drive.”
nauseated, nauseous:
The nauseous fumes caused the workers to become nauseated.
pacific, specific:
To be specific, the pacific view from Hickory Mountain is what calms me the most.
passed, past:
In the past, twenty parades have passed down this street.
peace, piece: Pe
The father bargained with his small children, “Give me an hour's peace, and I'll get you a piece of cake.”
persecute, prosecute: To
We warned our neighbors that we would prosecute if they continued to persecute their dog.
pore, pour: If you
After Harry accidentally poured ink on the new floor, he pored over several books to find out how to clean the stain.
prophecy, prophesy: You have a fore
Last week the audience heard the medium prophesy about forthcoming bad weather; the prophecy has yet to come true.
principle, principal:
That is the most important principle our principal believes.
quiet, quite:
Are you quite sure that you were quiet in the library?
real, really:
Except in the most casual tone in writing, neither
When Debbie and Phillip realized they were lost, the real importance of carrying a compass hit them.
respectfully, respectively: If you're
Upon hearing the news, I respectfully called Bob and Janie, respectively.
role, roll: A
The role of the acrobat will be played by someone who can perform a backward roll.
set, sit: If you plac
Please set the table before you sit down.
stationery, stationary: If you mean something that lacks any motion, use
The stationery had a picture of people riding stationary bicycles.
supposed (to): Often the
In this job, you're supposed to be able to write short, clear, and effective memos.
than, then: If you mean
For a while, Mary ran more quickly than I; then she dropped her pace.
that, which: For clauses that don't need commas (restrictive clauses), use
The local dog kennels, which are nearby, are the ones that have been featured in the news lately.
there, their, they're: If you want the opposite of
There are employees who think they're going to get their 10 percent raises tomorrow.
to, too, two: If you mean something
Did our supervisor ask the two new employees to go to Detroit and Chicago, too?
troop, troupe: Both are groups of people, but
The troupe of actors performed for the troop of Brownies.
try and, try to: Almost always the mistake comes in writing
The lady said she would try to get the dress in my size; I hoped she would try and keep looking.
weather, whether: If you mean conditions of the climate, use
(Can you stand to
It's now mid-April, and the weather can't decide whether it's spring or winter.
when, where: If you're writing a definition, don't use either of these words. For instance, don't write “A charley horse is when you get a cramp in your leg”; instead, write something like: “A charley horse is the result of a cramp in your leg.”
A bank is a place in which you can make a deposit or withdrawal.
who, which, that: Don't use
The inspector, who gives the orders that we must obey, said that the law, which had never been enforced, would result in higher costs.
No Such Puppy: These are considered nonstandard words and phrases (in other words, ones you shouldn't use):
whose, who's:
After the sock hop, who's going to determine whose shoes these are?
woman, women: One
The local woman asked the two visiting women if they'd like a tour of the town.
your, you're: If you mean
If you're in the sun in Florida, be sure to put sunscreen on your nose.
Try the interactive quizzes on confusable words and phrases at these Web sites:
