way	(like) when
weather, whether	which
whether or not	while
wierd	who, whom
when, where	who's, whose
(is) when, where

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.

way: misused as an intensifier.

WRONG: way too strict.

RIGHT: much too strict.

weather, whether: not the same. "I wonder whether the weather will be good or bad."

whether or not: usually a redundancy for whether:

WORDY: I wonder whether or not I should go.

BETTER: I wonder whether I should go.

weird: much abused. It means "eerie," not (as in Valley Girl usage) "unfashionable" or "unusual."

when, where: when refers only to time; where, to place. Do not use them for in which.

WRONG: Laryngitis is a condition where you cannot speak.

(is) when, where: avoid using when and where after is. The error is common in definitions, which should never begin, "A ___ is when." A definition of a noun must be a noun phrase:

WRONG: Photosynthesis is when plants exposed to light form carbohydrates.

RIGHT: Photosynthesis is the formation of carbohydrates by plants exposed to light.

When, like how, introduces adverbial clauses, not noun clauses. For the same reasons, expressions like is why, is if, is how and is because are awkward.

(like) when, how, in: 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 in 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.

which: often misused as a vague connective between ideas. The pronoun which must refer to a specific noun or noun phrase:

WRONG: He sped, which frightened me and made me stop going out with him.

RIGHT: His speeding, which frightened me, made me stop going out with him.

 

WRONG: Huck Finn often doubts what people say, which indicates his intelligence.

RIGHT: Huck Finn's frequent doubts indicate his intelligence.

while: avoid using while to mean although or whereas. It means at the same time that:

WRONG: Modern reptiles are flightless, while some dinosaurs could fly.

who, whom: Usually who is used before a verb, and whom is used before a noun or pronoun and after a preposition. Look at your sentence and identify which situation applies:

SUBJECT OF VERB:	She is the one who loves me.	Who loves me?
OBJECT OF VERB:	She is the one whom I love.	Whom do I love?
OBJECT OF PREPOSITION:	He is the one with whom I agree.	With whom do I agree?
COMPLEMENT OF LINKING VERB:	I know who it is.	Who can it be?

When you use whom, beware of leaving a preposition hanging at the end of a sentence or clause:

WRONG (HANGING PREPOSITION): Pip learns whom he should be grateful to.

WRONG (EXTRA PREPOSITION): Pip learns to whom he should be grateful to.

RIGHT: Pip learns to whom he should be grateful.

For more information about who and whom, see PCd or Wh in Part One.

who's, whose: who's is a contraction of who is; whose, a relative pronoun in the possessive case. Ask yourself if you can substitute who is. "Who's to say whose fault it was?"

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