Common Usage Errors

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Common Usage Errors

• 21-40

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21. CONSCIENCE, CONSCIOUS, CONSCIOUSNESS

• Your conscience makes you feel guilty when you do
  bad things, but your consciousness is your
  awareness. If you are awake, you are conscious.
  Although it is possible to speak of your
  conscious mind, you cant use conscious all
  by itself to mean consciousness.

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22. CRITIQUE/CRITICIZE

• A critique is a detailed evaluation of something.
  The formal way to request one is give me your
  critique, though people often say informally
  critique this"meaning evaluate it thoroughly.
  But "critique as a verb is not synonymous with
  criticize and should not be routinely
  substituted for it.

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23. DISCREET/DISCRETE

• The more common word is discreet, meaning
  prudent, circumspect When arranging the party
  for Agnes, be sure to be discreet we want her to
  be surprised. Discrete means separate,
  distinct He arranged the guest list into two
  discrete groups meat-eaters and vegetarians.
  Note how the T separates the two Es in
  discrete.

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24. DISBURSE/DISPERSE

• You disburse money by taking it out of your purse
  (French bourse) and distributing it. If you
  refuse to hand out any money, the eager mob of
  beggars before you may disperse (scatter).

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25. DRANK/DRUNK

• Many common verbs in English change form when
  their past tense is preceded by an auxiliary
  (helping) verb I ran, I have run. The same
  is true of drink. Dont say Ive drank the -
  unless you want people to think you are drunk. An
  even more common error is I drunk all the milk.
  Its Ive drunk the - and I drank all the
  milk.

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26. EMIGRATE/IMMIGRATE

• To emigrate is to leave a country. The E at the
  beginning of the word is related to the E in
  other words having to do with going out, such as
  exit. Immigrate, in contrast, looks as if it
  might have something to do with going in, and
  indeed it does it means to move into a new
  country.

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27. ENVELOP/ENVELOPE

• To wrap something up in a covering is to envelop
  it (pronounced enVELLup ). The specific
  wrapping you put around a letter is an envelope
  (pronounced variously, but with the accent on the
  first syllable).

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28. FARTHER/FURTHER

• Some authorities (like the Associated Press)
  insist on farther to refer to physical distance
  and on further to refer to an extent of time or
  degree, but others treat the two words as
  interchangeable except for insisting on further
  for in addition, and moreover. Youll always
  be safe in making the distinction some people
  get really testy about this.

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29.FORCEFUL/FORCIBLE/FORCED

• These words sometimes overlap, but generally
  forceful means powerful (He imposed his
  forceful personality on the lions. ) while
  forcible must be used instead to describe the
  use of force (The burglar made a forcible entry
  into the apartment.). Forced is often used for
  the latter purpose, but some prefer to reserve
  this word to describe something that is done or
  decided upon as a result of outside causes
  without necessarily being violent a forced
  landing, a forced smile, forced labor.

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30. GOOD/WELL

• Good is the adjective well is the adverb.
  You do something well, but you give someone
  something good.

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31. HEAR/HERE

• If you find yourself writing sentences like I
  know I left my wallet hear! you should note that
  hear has the word ear buried in it and let
  that remind you that it refers only to hearing
  and is always a verb (except when you are giving
  the British cheer Hear! Hear! ). I left my
  wallet here is the correct expression.

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32. HOLE/WHOLE

• Hole and whole have almost opposite meanings.
  A hole is a lack of something, like the hole in a
  doughnut (despite the confusing fact that the
  little nubbins of fried dough are called
  doughnut holes). Whole means things like
  entire, complete, and healthy and is used in
  expressions like the whole thing, whole milk,
  whole wheat, and with a whole heart.

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33. IMPLY/INFER

• These two words, which originally had quite
  distinct meanings, have become so blended
  together that most people no longer distinguish
  between them. If you want to avoid irritating the
  rest of us, use imply when something is being
  suggested without being explicitly stated and
  infer when someone is trying to arrive at a
  conclusion based on evidence. Imply is more
  assertive, active I imply that you need to
  revise your paper and, based on my hints, you
  infer that I didnt think highly of your first
  draft.

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34. INFAMOUS/NOTORIOUS

• Infamous means famous in a bad way. It is
  related to the word infamy. Humorists have for
  a couple of centuries jokingly used the word in a
  positive sense, but the effectiveness of the joke
  depends on the listener knowing that this is a
  misuse of the term. Because this is a very old
  joke indeed you should stick to using infamous
  only of people like Hitler and Billy the Kid.

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35. ITCH/SCRATCH

• Strictly speaking, you scratch an itch. If youre
  trying to get rid of a tingly feeling on your
  back scratch it, dont itch it.

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36. LATER/LATTER

• Except in the expression latter-day (modern),
  the word latter usually refers back to the
  last-mentioned of a set of alternatives. We gave
  the kids a choice of a vacation in Paris, Rome,
  or Disney World. Of course the latter was their
  choice. In other contexts not referring back to
  such a list, the word you want is later.

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37. AMOUNT/NUMBER

• This is a vast subject. I will try to limit the
  number of words I expend on it so as not to use
  up too great an amount of space. The confusion
  between the two categories of words relating to
  amount and number is so pervasive that those of
  us who still distinguish between them constitute
  an endangered species but if you want to avoid a
  mistake, learn the difference. Amount words
  relate to quantities of things that are measured
  in bulk number to things that can be counted.

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38. LOSE/LOOSE

• This confusion can easily be avoided if you
  pronounce the word intended aloud. If it has a
  voiced Z sound, then its lose. If it has a
  hissy S sound, then its loose. Here are
  examples of correct usage He tends to lose his
  keys. She lets her dog run loose. Note that
  when lose turns into losing it loses its E.

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39. LEGEND/MYTH

• Myths are generally considered to be traditional
  stories whose importance lies in their
  significance, like the myth of the Fall in Eden
  whereas legends can be merely famous deeds, like
  the legend of Davy Crockett.

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40. MAYBE/MAY BE

• Maybe is an adverb meaning perhaps, so if you
  are uncertain whether to use this word or the
  phrase may be, try substituting perhaps
  Maybe she forgot I said Id meet her at six
  oclock becomes Perhaps she forgot. . . . When
  the substitution makes sense, go with one word
  maybe. When you are wondering whether you may
  be waiting in the wrong cafe, youre dealing with
  a verb and its auxiliary may be. Two words.