UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTION

UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTION from Grammar Shots by Mamie Webb Hixon Created by April Turner

DICTION • A—used before words and letters with an initial consonant sound • Ex: a CPA, a historical event • AN—used before words and letters with an initial vowel sound • Ex: an MBA, an honorable man • ALOT—incorrect spelling for A LOT

ACCEPT—verb: to take • Ex: I graciously accept your invitation. • EXCEPT—verb: to omit; preposition: but • Ex: Mothers of small children are excepted from jury duty. • Ex: Everyone was excused except Joe.

ADVICE—noun • Ex: Most good advice falls on deaf ears. • ADVISE—verb • Ex: The protestors were advised to submit a list of their grievances.

AFFECT—verb: to influence or to alter • Ex: The noise affects my concentration. • EFFECT—noun: result; verb: to bring about • Ex: His speech had a positive effect on me. • Ex: The President has effected a new tax law.

ALRIGHT—incorrect spelling for ALL RIGHT • ALMOST—adverb • Ex: We sold almost all the tickets. • MOST—adjective or pronoun • Ex: We sold most of the tickets.

AMONG—used for relationships involving MORE THAN TWO people or things • Ex: There is a silent closeness among the family members. • BETWEEN—used for relationships involving ONLY TWO people or things • Ex: Lois and Hattie had only fifty cents between them.

AMOUNT—used with singular (mass) nouns • Ex: amount of work, amount of credit • NUMBER—used with plural (countable) nouns • Ex: number of classes, number of mistakes

AS, AS IF, AS THOUGH—used before clauses • Ex: It looks as if (not like) it’s going to rain. • Ex: He acts as though (not like) he has Alzheimer’s disease. • LIKE—preposition used to introduce a phrase, not a clause • Ex: His features are unique like a fingerprint. • Ex: It looks like rain.

BESUREAND—misused for BE SURE TO • TRYAND—misused for TRY TO • COULDOF—misused for COULD HAVE • SHOULDOF—misused for SHOULD HAVE • MIGHTOF—misused for MIGHT HAVE • WOULDOF—misused for WOULD HAVE

DIFFERENTTHAN—used only when a clause follows • Ex: The old plantation is different than it used to be. • DIFFERENTFROM—used always except when a clause follows • Ex: Her hairdo is different from yours.

DUETO—used to introduce ADJECTIVE phrases; means “caused by” • Ex: His mistakes were due to carelessness. • BECAUSEOF—used to introduce ADVERB phrases; means “as a result of” • Ex: He was dismissed because of his dishonesty.

DUE TO THE FACTTHAT—misused and wordy for BECAUSE • ENTHUSE/ENTHUSED—colloquialisms for ENTHUSIASTIC

FEWER—used with countable nouns • Ex: fewer cigarettes, fewer people • LESS—used with mass nouns or general amounts • Ex: less time, less money

HOPEFULLY—used as an adverb meaning “in a HOPEFUL MANNER,” not as a sentence modifier • Ex: The children waited hopefully for the packages to arrive. • WRONG: Hopefully, the team will win. • IRREGARDLESS—misused for REGARDLESS

ISWHEN/ISWHERE—should NOT be used to introduce an explanation or a definition • Ex: Plagiarism occurs when (not is when) a writer presents the thoughts and ideas of another author as his own. • KINDOF/SORTOF—correctly used preceding NOUNS, NOT ADJECTIVES • Ex: I enjoy reading this kind of magazine. • WRONG: The movie was kind of boring. • CORRECT: The movie was rather boring.

LEAD ANDLED—Lead (pronounced “leed”) means “to go first.” Its principal parts are lead, leads, led (rhymes with red), and (have) led. • Ex: Priests lead lives of celibacy. • Ex: The man led a life of celibacy before he became a priest. • The homonym for led is a noun. • Ex: The lead in this pencil is broken.

LEND—verb: to allow the use of (lending, lent, [have] lent) • Ex: The credit union lends (not loans) money to members only. • Ex: I lent (not loaned) my book to her last week. • LOAN—noun: something lent for temporary use • Ex: I need to establish credit so that I can be eligible for a loan.

LIE—verb: to rest (LYING, LAY, [have] LAIN • Ex: I lie on the couch every day. • Ex: I lay on the couch for hours yesterday. • Ex: The sweater is still lying on the couch. • LAY—verb: to put (LAYING, LAID, [have] LAID) • Ex: Where did he lay my brush? • Ex: I must have laid it down somewhere yesterday. • Ex: I’m always laying things down and forgetting where I laid them.

PRINCIPAL—noun: chief official; adjective: foremost, major • PRINCIPLE—noun: axiom, rule • Ex: Her principal reasons for resigning were her principles of right and wrong.

REASON IS BECAUSE/REASON WASBECAUSE—misused for REASON IS THAT/REASON WAS THAT • Ex: The reason he was promoted is that (not because) he worked exceptionally hard.

RISE—verb: to go up (RISING, ROSE, [have] RISEN) • Ex: She must rise early in the morning to get to work on time. • RAISE—verb: to push up (RAISING, RAISED, [have] RAISED) • Ex: The landlord must raise the rent to cover an increase in taxes.

SIT—verb: to be seated (SITTING, SAT, [have] SAT) • Ex: Good students usually sit on the front row. • SET—verb: to put, to place (SETTING, SET, [have] SET) • Ex: Please set the paperwork on my desk. • Ex: Try to set a positive example for young people to follow.

SUPPOSE TO/USETO—incorrect spellings for SUPPOSED TO and USED TO • THAN—conjunction • Ex: Amy is a better tennis player than I. • THEN—adverb of time (often misused for THAN) • Ex: The cashier rang up our sale; then he gave us our change.

LET’S PRACTICE!!! • I took the adviseof my counselor and dropped the class. • ADVICE • A employee with a MBA earns more than an internist. • AN employee, AN MBA • Alot of students come to college with no clear notion of what they want to do. • A LOT • Medical schools except fewer than half the students who apply. • ACCEPT

At noon, we runners were already to start. When I reached the halfway mark, my body did not feel alright. • ALL READY; ALLRIGHT • Most all the Republicans stood all together to give their support to the proposed amendment. • ALMOST all • Among the two girls, Madison ran faster. • BETWEEN • The amount of people in the hall was extraordinary. • NUMBER

My students act like they have acute mental disorders. • AS IF • Whenever you’re depressed, you should try and lose yourself in science fiction. • TRY TO • I should of backed out of the agreement. • SHOULD HAVE • Why is your copy of the book different than mine? • DIFFERENT FROM

Due to the Presidents’ Day celebration, the library will be closed. • BECAUSE OF • Due to the fact that her car wouldn’t start, Charlotte was late for class. • BECAUSE • This drink contains lesscalories than the sparkling water. • FEWER • She was enthusedabout entering the contest. • ENTHUSIASTIC

Hopefully, his pains will subside. • I HOPE THAT • Irregardless of the objections, all students in Comp I classes are required to do Lab work. • REGARDLESS • An honorarium is when a professional receives a fee for services rendered. • An honorariumIS a fee paid to a professional for… • When I got off the roller coaster, I felt sort of sick. • RATHER, SOMEWHAT

Joanne leadher sister into a sad world of crime. • LED • The bank will not loan me the money until I establish credit. • LEND • He laid on the floor, wondering why stupid people should be allowed to vote. • LAY • You are my principle problem. • PRINCIPAL

The reason she left the office is because she forgot something in her car. • IS THAT • The curtain was about to raiseon the last act of the senior play. • RISE • Do set down and tell me all about your summer vacation. • SIT • Dick is suppose to be interviewed by the governor for a position at the state level. • SUPPOSED TO • The trail went farther into the bush then the hunter expected. • THAN

UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTION