lay, lie	like how, like in, like when
less, fewer, little	loan
lifestyle	a lot
like, as	lose, loose, loss
like, that

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.

lay, lie: lay means "put" or "place"; lie means "recline." Lay is a transitive verb (one that requires a direct object); hens lay eggs, and masons lay foundations. Lie is intransitive; sleepers lie in bed.

INFINITIVE	PAST TENSE	PAST PARTICIPLE
to lie	lay	lain
to lay	laid	laid

Errors occur when lay is used in place of lie:

WRONG:	Leave it where it lays.	He left it where it laid.	It has laid in silence.
RIGHT:	Leave it where it lies.	He left it where it lay.	It has lain in silence.
WRONG:	He lays in bed.	Yesterday he laid in bed.	He has laid in bed.
RIGHT:	He lies in bed.	Yesterday he lay in bed.	He has lain in bed.

Laid is the correct spelling; layed is always wrong.

less, fewer, little: few refers to count nouns, less and little to mass nouns.

WRONG: I have less friends than you.	RIGHT: I have fewer friends than you.
WRONG: He has the least friends of all.	RIGHT: He has the fewest friends of all.
WRONG: I have few or little friends.	RIGHT: I have few or no friends.

lifestyle: jargon. Substitute "life" or "way of life." Like ambience, lifestyle is a word people use when they want to sell you something expensive ("Experience elegant lifestyle and cosmopolitan ambience in our luxury condominiums"). Originally a German term (Lebensstil) used by sociologists, lifestyle has been cheapened so badly by popular usage that many readers scorn it.

like, as: the first, a preposition, introduces a noun, pronoun or noun phrase ("like the wind"). The second can be a conjunction, introducing a clause ("as I was saying") or making a comparison ("as cold as ice"); or a preposition ("As a dancer, I was a failure"). Often people mistakenly use like as a conjunction when as, as if or as though is needed:

WRONG: It's true, just like I said.	RIGHT: It's true, just as I said.
WRONG: I felt like I could fly.	RIGHT: I felt as if I could fly.

like, that: that can act as a conjunction to introduce a statement; like cannot. Like, a preposition, can introduce only noun phrases:

WRONG: We feel like we will win.	RIGHT: We feel that we will win.
WRONG: I feel like the Mayor is right.	RIGHT: I feel that the Mayor is right.

like how, like in, like when: incorrect usage. Like is a preposition and must be followed by a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun:

WRONG: We dressed like how they did in the 1960s. We dressed like in the 1960s.

RIGHT: We dressed as they did in the 1960s. We dressed like hippies from the 1960s.

WRONG: Boo Radley helps the children, like when he mends Jem's trousers.

RIGHT: Boo Radley performs helpful services for the children, like mending Jem's trousers.

loan: use loan only as a noun. For a verb, use lend (past tense lent, past participle lent).

a lot: 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.

lose, loose, loss: lose is a verb meaning "misplace"; loose is an adjective meaning "slack" ("my shoes are too loose"); loss is the noun form of lose ("a hard loss to bear").

WRONG: I often loose my keys.

RIGHT: I often lose my keys.

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