Glossary of Usage: P
Glossary of Usage: P
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.
parallel, parallelism: sometimes confused, especially in writing about literature. Parallelism is a noun that refers only to sentence structure. Use parallel as a noun, verb, or adjective to refer to situations that resemble each other:
WRONG: The Boo Radley subplot is a parallelism to the main plot involving Tom Robinson.
RIGHT: The Boo Radley subplot is a parallel to the main plot involving Tom Robinson.
RIGHT: The poet uses parallelism in the line "Obscurely wise, and coarsely kind."
party: in standard usage, party is not a verb.
passed, past: passed is the past tense and past participle of the verb pass. Past is an adjective meaning "ago" and a preposition meaning "beyond."
WRONG: Time has past him by.
RIGHT: Time has passed him by.
phase, faze: phase is a noun meaning "stage," faze a verb meaning "disturb." "Mother says I am going through a phase." "Setbacks did not faze her." Phase can also be a verb, used mostly with out: "The company phased out its old software."
play an important/major/significant role in: vague and overused. "Blood plays an important role in Macbeth." So what? Commas play an important role in Macbeth too. Define the importance.
plea, plead: plea is a noun, plead a verb. "Hear my plea." "He pleaded guilty."
plus: does not mean "and," "also" or "besides." Do not use it in formal writing.
positive, negative: overused as vague substitutes for "good" or "bad." Find more precise words.
prejudice: a much-misspelled word which is both a noun ("They were victims of prejudice") and a verb ("News reports can prejudice a jury"). The correct adjective form is the past participle prejudiced ("The prejudiced jury reached an unfair verdict").
presently: means "soon," not "at the present time":
WRONG: I am presently unemployed.
RIGHT: He will arrive presently.
prideful, pridefulness: prefer proud and pride.
principal, principle: principal is an adjective meaning "most important" and a noun meaning "a school head" or "an amount of money." Principle is a noun meaning "rule" or "law."
Automobiles are the principal cause of smog.
The school hired a new principal.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was devoted to the principle of equal justice for all.
proceed, precede: proceed means "to go on"; precede "to go before in time, space or rank":
If Congress gives its approval, we will proceed with the plan.
We owe a debt to the courageous pioneers who preceded us.
There is no such word as procede or preceed.
proceed to: usually unnecessary. Even worse when used with then:
WORDY: We then proceeded to turn left.
BETTER: We turned left.
prodigy, progeny, protégé: the first is something extraordinary or exceptional; the second means "offspring"; the third is a pupil under the protective guidance of a mentor. A protégé is male, a protégée female. "Mozart was a child prodigy." "The karate instructor trains his protégés." The most common error is using prodigy when protégé is intended.