Glossary of Usage: A
Glossary of Usage: A
G1: write the rule. Do not just write "G" or "Glossary of usage" in your corrections. Find the appropriate section in the alphabetized list below, read it, write the rule (or a short version of the rule), and correct the error.
a, an: beware of two common errors:
1. Use a before words that begin with consonants, an before words that begin with vowels.
2. Use a or an only with count nouns, not with mass nouns. Count nouns refer to things that can be counted individually, mass nouns to things that cannot, such as sand, happiness or gravity.
WRONG: a sand RIGHT: sand, a grain of sand WRONG: The poet uses an imagery. RIGHT: The poet uses imagery [or an image]. For more information see Art (Articles) in Part One.
(is) about: the clear and simple use of this idiom ("The book is about space travel") has been distorted in the media. Beware of abusing it, as in the following examples:
ADVERTISEMENTS: Our new model is about luxury. We're all about serving you.
POLITICIANS: This campaign is about honesty. My party is about American values.
PRO ATHLETES: It's not about money. My thing is like I'm all about winning.
accept, except: accept is a verb, except a preposition. "I accept every argument except the last."
adapt, adopt: adapt (which often requires a to phrase) means "adjust to conditions"; adopt means "take as one's own." "If we adopt your plan, we must adapt to the changes it requires."
affect, effect: usually affect is a verb and effect a noun. "The storm did not affect us; it had no harmful effects." Both words have secondary meanings as verbs. Affect can mean "to pretend" (in the sense of putting on airs): "Trying to sound cultured, he affected a British accent." Effect can mean "to bring about": "Diplomats failed to effect a settlement."
after school: two words as a prepositional phrase; hyphenated as a compound adjective.
WRONG: afterschool care.
RIGHT: after-school care.
RIGHT: practice after school.
aggravate: means "make worse," not "irritate." To aggravate is to add gravity or weight.
WRONG: Your messiness aggravates me.
RIGHT: Political propaganda aggravated the tensions between the hostile nations.
a lot, alot: a dead metaphor, dull when spelled correctly, worse when misspelled alot. Passable in conversation as a substitute for much or many, it is better avoided in writing.
all right: correctly spelled as two words. Alright is not standard English.
also: weak transition, often redundant ("In addition, he also . . ."). Find more precise transition.
allude: not interchangeable with refer. Allude means "to refer indirectly."
WRONG: The report card alluded to my poor work habits.
RIGHT: When my ex-girl friend made a joke about flat tires, I was the only one at the table who realized she was alluding to our disastrous final date.
Allude is best used as a literary term meaning "to make an allusion: an unexplained reference, especially to mythology, the Bible, history, or other literature."
alternate, alternative: not always interchangeable. As adjectives, alternate means "every other one in a series" ("meetings on alternate Mondays") and alternative means "one of two or more choices" ("forced to use the alternative plan"). As nouns, they are almost the same, but only alternate describes persons ("two players are alternates at halfback").
although, though: often used interchangeably as a subordinating conjunction, but the Keables Guide recommends using although or even though as a conjunction and though as a transitional adverb set off by commas:
Although it rained, we went on with our picnic.
We held our picnic even though it rained.
The rain made it miserable, though, and we regretted our decision.
amazing: overused as a hyperbole for "good." Amazing means "causing astonishment."
analysis: often misspelled. There is no such word as analyzation. The correct plural is analyses. The adjective is analytical; use analytic only for the specialized mathematical meaning.
and: do not rely heavily on the loose connectives and, and so, and and then. They produce flabby sentences which force readers to guess the relation between clauses:
FLABBY: He pays for dinner, and she goes out with him.
Is he chivalrous or chauvinistic? Is she old-fashioned, poor, or stingy? The following versions express more precisely some of the many possibilities:
CLEAR: Only when he pays for dinner does she go out with him.
CLEAR: To make her go out with him, he pays for dinner.
CLEAR: Even though he pays for dinner, she goes out with him.
There are many clear ways to relate clauses that and joins weakly. Note that in every case the complex version is not only clearer, but shorter:
FLABBY: I could speak up and I wouldn't feel uncomfortable about doing it.
BETTER: I could speak up without discomfort.
FLABBY: The rain forests are dying and we have to do something about it soon.
BETTER: Unless we act soon, the rain forests will die.
FLABBY: I practiced every day and I became a faster swimmer.
BETTER: Daily practice made me a faster swimmer.
and yet: a needless redundancy for yet.
anybody: the more formal anyone is preferred. The same is true for everyone, no one and someone. Do not mix forms: "Someone told me nobody is home."
any more, anymore: any more is an adjective or noun phrase; anymore is an adverb.
ADJECTIVE PHRASE: I don't have any more ink.
NOUN PHRASE: I don't have any more.
ADVERB: He doesn't smoke anymore.
anyway, any way (and similar compounds): anyway is an adverb, any way a noun phrase.
ADVERB: I warned her, but she went anyway.
NOUN PHRASE: I was not affected in any way.
a part, apart: a part is a noun phrase, apart an adverb or adjective. "A part of the land was set apart from the rest by a fence."
arguably: a vague, overused transitional phrase. Avoid it. See DM5 (Part Two).
arise, rise, raise: the first two are a intransitive verb meaning "to get up"; the third is a transitive verb meaning "to lift."
"He raised his hand." "The balloon rose."
Nowadays arise is used chiefly to mean "to come into being," and it usually applies to abstract things: questions, problems, doubts.
"Unexpected difficulties arose after construction began."
as, because: avoid the vague use of as to mean because or for.
WRONG: I declined the offer, as I had already seen the movie.
RIGHT: I declined the offer, for I had already seen the movie.
as to whether: a redundancy for whether.
attribute, contribute: not to be confused. To attribute something is to credit or assign it to something: "He attributed his success not to hard work but to sheer genius."
awake, awaken, wake (up): awake is usually an adjective: "I am awake." Awaken is always a verb, either transitive ("A noise awakened me") or intransitive ("At dawn I awakened"). Awaken is more formal than wake up. The word up is often unnecessary: "I woke at dawn."
a while, awhile: a while is a noun phrase usually preceded by a preposition, awhile an adverb meaning for a while. "I'll be there in a while." "We waited awhile."