Ch. 12: A Glossary of Usage

1. Ch. 12: A Glossary of Usage Common Usage Problems (pp. 262-283)

2. ACCEPT , EXCEPT • accept = to receive (v) • except = to leave out; to exclude (v) • except = other than; excluding (prep) Examples • I accept your apology. • Children were excepted from the admission fee. • Mark has told all his friends except Trenell.

3. AFFECT, EFFECT • affect = to influence (v) • effect = to bring about (v) • effect = the result of some action (n) Examples • The bad punt did not affect the outcome of the game. • The government’s reform effected great changes. • Read more about the effects of pollution.

4. ALL READY, ALREADY • all ready = completely prepared • already = previously Examples • The mechanic checked the engine parts to make sure they were all ready for assembly. • We have already served the refreshments.

5. ALL RIGHT (two words) • unhurt; satisfactory (adj) • well enough (adv →where, when, why, how, how much/how long, under what condition) Examples • Linda fell off the horse, but she is all right. [adj or adv?] • Your work is all right. [adj or adv?] • You did all right at the track meet. [adj or adv?]

6. A LOT • always written as two words Example • Her family donated a lot of money to the Red Cross.

7. AMONG, BETWEEN • between → refers to two things at a time • among → refers to a group rather than separate individuals Examples • In class, Carlos sits between Bob and me. • Some players practice between innings. • We saved ten dollars among the three of us. • There was disagreement among the fans about the coach’s decision.

8. AT • do not use at after where Example Nonstandard • Where is your saxophone at? Standard • Where is your saxophone?

9. BAD, BADLY • bad (adj → modifies nouns/pronouns) • badly (adv → modifies verbs; tells where, when, why, how, how much/how long, under what condition) Examples • The bad fish made him ill. [bad modifies noun fish] • The parrot recited the poem badly. [badly modifies verb recited]

10. BRING, TAKE • bring = to come carrying something • take = to go carrying something Examples • Bring your skateboard when you come to my house this weekend. • Please take these letters with you to the post office when you go.

11. COULD OF / SHOULD OFWOULD OF / MIGHT OF / MUST OF • do not write of with the helping verb could / should / would / might / must • use could HAVE Example • Reva could have[not could of] played the piano.

12. FEWER, LESS • fewer → used with plural words; tells how many • less → used with singular words; tells how much Examples • Do fewer plants grow in the tundra than in the desert? • You have fewer than ten minutes to finish. • Do desert plants require less water? • You have less than one minute to finish.

13. GOOD, WELL • good (adj) • well (adv →where, when, why, how, how much/how long, under what condition) • also an adj → healthy Examples • My essay is good. [adj modifies essay] • I wrote well on my essay. [adv modifies wrote] • Nancy sang well[not good] at the audition. [adv] • He didn’t look well after eating the entire pie all by himself. [adj]

14. FEEL GOOD, FEEL WELL • feel good = to feel happy or pleased • feel well = to feel healthy Examples • I felt good when I got an “A” on my report. • Chris stayed home because he did not feel well[not good] yesterday.

15. HOW COME → WHY • in formal situations, use why instead of how come Example • Why is Nori not here yet?

16. KIND, SORT, TYPE must agree in number: • this / that (singular) → kind / sort / type • these / those (plural) → kinds / sorts / types Examples • Whitney likes this kind of music. [this music] • Those kinds of math problems are easy. [those problems]

17. KIND OF, SORT OF • in formal situations, use somewhat or rather instead of kind of / sort of Example • He seemed somewhat[not kind of] embarrassed.

18. LIE, LAY (pg. 204, Exercise 7)

19. LIKE → AS • in formal situations, use as rather than like Example • I looked up several words in my dictionary, as[not like] our teacher had suggested.

20. LIKE → AS IF, AS THOUGH • in formal situations, use as if or as though instead of like Examples • They behaved as if[not like] they hadn’t heard him. • You looked as though[not like] you knew the answer.

21. OF • do not use of after other prepositions such as inside, off, and outside Examples • He quickly walked off[not off of] the stage. • She waited outside[not outside of] the school. • What is inside[not inside of] this cabinet?

22. REASON…BECAUSE → REASON…THAT • in formal situations, use reason…that instead of reason…because Example • The reason I did well on the test was that[not because] I had studied hard.

23. THAN, THEN • than → conjunction showing comparisons • then → adverb thattells when Examples • Great Danes are larger than Dobermans. • I finished my reading. Then I wrote some letters.

24. TRY AND → TRY TO • in formal situations, use try to rather than try and Example • Try to[not try and] be on time for the party.

25. WAY, WAYS • use way, not ways, in referring to distance Example • They still had a long way[not ways] to go.

26. WHEN, WHERE • do not use when or where incorrectly to begin a definition Example • An infomercial is a TV program that is actually a long advertisement. • NOT: An infomercial is where a TV program is actually a long advertisement.

27. WHERE • do not use where for that Example • I read that[not where] Sue won the tournament.

28. WHO, WHICH, THAT • who → people • which → things only • that → people or things Examples • Kim is the only one who got the right answer. • My bike, which has ten speeds, is for sale. • He is the one person that can help you. • This is the ring that I want to buy.

29. WHO’S, WHOSE • who’s → contraction for who is • whose → possessive form Examples • I wonder who’s keeping score? • Do you know whose baseball glove this is?

30. Complete the following exercises • Exercise 3, page 273 • Skip #’s 1,3,7,8,9 • Exercise 4, page 277 • Skip #’s 3,5,6,8,10 • Exercise 5, page 279 • Skip #’s 4,6,8