Contents
Introduction
Addicting
AfricanAmerican
Aggravate
Alright
Alternate
Alternative
American
Ax
Back
BegstheQuestion
Bemused
Between
Billion
Biweekly
BringandTake
Cactus
Celtic
Companies
Couldn’tCareLess
Data
Decimate
Dialogue
Dilemma
Done
Donut
Do’sandDon’ts
Drag
Earth
Eldest
Else’s
E-mailVersusEmail
Enormity
Entitled
Fish
Flaunt
Flier
ForFree
FreeGift
Fun
Gauntlet
Gender
GoneMissing
Gotten
Graduated
Grow
Half
Hanukkah
HaveGot
Healthy
Hero
Hopefully
I’d’ve
Into
ItIsI
Jealous
Kinds
Kudos
Lay
LightedandLit
Media
Momentarily
Myriad
Neither…Nor
Next
Noisome
None
Odds
OK
One
Orientate
OutLoud
Over
Pair
Percent
Peruse
Plethora
Preventative
Rack
Real
Shine
Since
Slow
Smokey
South
Team
ThanIVersusThanMe
They
Toward
TryAnd
Twins
Unique
Until
Utilize
Verbal
Website
Whet
While
Whom
Wool
Wrong
YouandI
AbouttheAuthor
INTRODUCTION
Englishisalwayschanging,andthatleavesuswithtroublesomewordsandphrases
thatareonlysortofwrong.Somepeopleinsisttheoldwaystousewordsaretheonly
correctways,andotherpeopleusewordsinnewerwayswithoutevenrealizingthe
wordsarecontroversial.Likeitornot,onewayEnglishchangesisthrough
misunderstandingsandmistakesthatgainaholdinthemindsofenoughpeople.
Inotherinstances,wereallyhavenorules.Somewordshavetwoacceptablespellings
ortwoacceptablepasttenseforms.Sometimesexpertstakemoreofa“thiswayis
better,butthatwayisn’twrong”approach.It’sfrustratingforpeoplewhojustwantto
knowwhattowriteintheirpapersore-mailmessages.
Finally,somewordsaresoconfusingthatpeoplewishtheruleswouldchange,butthey
haven’t.
Inthisbook,Itacklemanyoftheseinfuriatingwords—mostofwhichIhaven’tcovered
inotherbooksbecausetheyseemedtootricky—andImakejudgmentsaboutwhich
onesyoushouldusewithoutguilttoday,andwhichonesyoushouldshunalittle
longer.Youlikelywillnotagreewitheverychoice,butatleastI’vetakenastand.In
confusingcaseslikethe101thatfollow,I’vefoundthatmostpeopleappreciate
someoneelsedoingtheresearch,measuringtheoptions,andmakinga
recommendation.
ADDICTING
What’stheTrouble?Addictingissometimesusedinterchangeablywith
addictive.
Sometechnicalormedicalbooksuseaddictingwhereatypicalwriterwouldlikelyuse
addictive:Parentsaretoldthesedrugsarenotaddicting.Nevertheless,addictiveis
themorecommontermfordescribingsomethingpeoplestruggletoquit.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Stickwithaddictivewhenyouaretryingtosayanounsuchasdrug,videogame,food,
orloverhasanunhealthy,nearlyunbreakableholdonyou.
JOEFOX:Doyouknowwhat?Wearegoingtoseducethem.We’re
goingtoseducethemwithoursquarefootage,andourdiscounts,
andourdeeparmchairs,and…
JOEFOX,KEVIN:Ourcappuccino.
JOEFOX:That’sright.They’regoingtohateusatthebeginning,but…
JOEFOX,KEVIN:Butwe’llget’emintheend.
JOEFOX:Doyouknowwhy?
KEVIN:Why?
JOEFOX:Becausewe’regoingtosellthemcheapbooksandlegal
addictivestimulants.Inthemeantime,we’lljustputupabigsign:
“Comingsoon:aFoxBookssuperstoreandtheendofcivilizationas
youknowit.”
—TomHanksasJoeFoxandDaveChappelleasKevininthemovieYou’ve
GotMail
Reserveaddictingforsomethingorsomeoneactivelycausingaddiction.
Shouldcocainemomsbeprosecutedforaddictingtheirbabies?
—JetMagazine(headline)
AFRICANAMERICAN
What’stheTrouble?PeoplewonderaboutthedifferencebetweenAfrican
Americanandblack.
Acceptablenamesforpeopleofcolorhavechangedovertimeandarelikelytochange
againinthefuture.Today,bothAfricanAmericanandblackareconsideredrespectful
bymostpeopleintheblackcommunity.
AfricanAmericaniscapitalized,butblackisusuallylowercasedunlessit’spartofthe
nameofanorganization(e.g.,CongressionalBlackCaucus).
TheAssociatedPressrecommendsahypheninAfrican-American,butTheChicago
ManualofStylerecommendsleavingitoutinallcompoundnationalities(African
American,ItalianAmerican,ChineseAmerican,andsoon).
Finally,AfricanAmericansoundsalittlemoreformalthanblack,whichcouldplaya
factorinyourwordchoice.
WhatShouldYouDo?
ForAmericansofAfricandescent,useAfricanAmericanorblack.Ifthepersonyouare
describingisfromanothercountry,useanotherappropriateterm,suchasCaribbean
American.
OpeningtomorrowinNewYork,thedocumentaryfilmWhiteWash
exploresthehistoryofblacksurfinginAmerica,paintingacontrast
totheglobalsportthatisdominatedbywhitemales.
—JamesSullivaninUSAToday
AfricanAmericanmenlivinginareaswithlowsunlightareupto3.5
timesmorelikelytohaveVitaminDdeficiencythanCaucasianmen
andshouldtakehighlevelsofVitaminDsupplements.
—NorthwesternUniversitypressrelease
AGGRAVATE
What’stheTrouble?Someexpertsrecommendavoidingaggravatewhenyou
mean“annoy”or“irritate,”butsuchuseiscommonandhasalonghistory.
AggravatecametoEnglishfromaLatinwordthatmeans“tomakeheavier,”andthe
argumentthataggravatemustmean“tomakeworse”insteadofsimply“annoy”or
“irritate”hingesonthatorigin.InLatin,itmeanttomakethingsheavier,notjustheavy
—inotherwords,worse.However,peoplestartedusingaggravatetomean“annoy”or
“irritate”almostrightaway.
Theadjectiveaggravatingevenmoreforcefullytookonthemeaningof“annoying”or
“irritating.”Infact,you’llfindaggravatingusedinthiswaymorethananyother.
Ignorantpeoplethinkit’sthenoisewhichfightingcatsmakethatis
soaggravating,butitain’tso;itisthesickeninggrammarthatthey
use.
—MarkTwaininATrampAbroad
WhatShouldYouDo?
Informalsituationsorifyou’refeelingespeciallysticklerish,avoidusingaggravateto
mean“irritate.”
Iknowyouhaveaninnatetalentforrubbingpeoplethewrongway,
Jack,butwhyfortheloveofGodwouldyouaggravatethevice
president?[Irritatewouldbeabetterchoiceunlessthevicepresidentwas
alreadyupset.]
—SashaRoizasParkerinthemovieTheDayAfterTomorrow
Usingaggravatingtomean“irritating”islessriskythanusingaggravatetomean
“irritate,”butsomepeoplemaystillobject.
QuickandDirtyTip
Whenyouhearcopsonyourfavoritecrimeshowtalkaboutaggravated
assault,remindyourselfthataggravatedassaultisanassaultthat’sworse
thannormal,justlikeanaggravatingcommentmakessomebody’smoodor
situationworsethanitalreadyis.
ALRIGHT
What’stheTrouble?Nearlyallusageguidescondemnalright,butitoccasionally
showsupintheworkofrespectedwriters,andmanypeoplewhoaren’tlanguage
expertsthinkit’sfine,oreventhepreferredspelling.
TheOxfordEnglishDictionarycallsalrighta“frequentspellingofallright”—notquite
sayingoutrightthatitiswrong,butmakingtheimplication.TheColumbiaGuideto
StandardAmericanEnglishisclearer:“AllrightistheonlyspellingStandardEnglish
recognizes.”
Theword’shistoryislittlehelp.AccordingtoMerriam-Webster’sDictionaryofEnglish
Usage,veryearlyspellingsincludedbothone-wordandtwo-wordformssuchasealriht
andalrizt.
Withthepressuretosavespaceinstatusupdatesandtextmessages,alrightislikelyto
gaincurrencyratherthanfade.The“savesspace”argumentisnotnew;anearly
proponentofalrightoverallrightmentionedthecostsavingsofsendingcable
messagesusingalright.
UntilpopularusageguidessuchasTheChicagoManualofStyleandAPStylebookgive
theirstampofapprovaltoalright,thewordwillbeeditedoutofmostprofessional
work.However,onetellingsignisthatit’seasytofindquotationsonGoodReads.com,
transcribedbypeoplewhoarelikelytobeabove-averagereaders,thatsubstitute
alrightwhenallrightappearsintheoriginalbook.Ipredictalrightwilleventuallywin.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Stickwithallrightunlessyouwishtobepartofthechargetolegitimizealright,which
rightnowisafringeposition.
IsBillalright?…CowleythinksI’maSimpleSimon.I’mafoolalright.
—JackKerouacinapersonallettertoAllenGinsberg,PeterOrlovsky,
WilliamS.Burroughs,andAlanAnsen
ALTERNATE
What’stheTrouble?Traditionalistshavesometimesmadeadistinctionbetween
theadjectivesalternateandalternative.
Althoughsomestyleguidestrytomakeadistinctionbetweenalternateand
alternative,mostconcedethatbothadjectivesareacceptablewhenyoumean
“substitute”:Findanalternateroute.Findanalternativeroute.
Whenpeopleoreventsaretakingturns,however,theonlycorrectchoiceisalternate:
Mr.BrownhashissononalternateSaturdays.Alternateisalsotheonlycorrectchoice
whenyou’reusingthewordasanoun:Hewasanalternateonthejury.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Don’tfretabouttheadjectivesalternateandalternative.Eitherisacceptablewhenyou
mean“substitute”andmostotherusesareobvioustonativeEnglishspeakers.
BURTON“GUS”GUSTER:Howshouldweintroduceourselves?Don’tsay
“psychic.”They’llshutyouoff.Picksomethingvague,likeAlternative
TacticsDivision.
SHAWNSPENCER:HowabouttheBureauofMagicandSpellCasting?
—DuléHillasGusandJamesRodayasShawnintheTVseriesPsych
PENNY:Whatishedoing?
LEONARDHOFSTADTER:It’salittlehardtoexplain.He’spretendingtobe
inanalternateuniversewhereheoccupiesthesamephysicalspace
asus,butcannotperceiveus.
SHELDONCOOPER:Oh,don’tflatteryourself.I’mjustignoringyou.
—KaleyCuocoasPenny,JohnGaleckiasLeonard,andJimParsonsas
SheldonintheTVseriesTheBigBangTheory
ALTERNATIVE
What’stheTrouble?Afewpeoplesaythatalternativecanonlybeusedwhen
therearetwochoices.
TheLatinrootofalternativeisalter,whichmeans“theotheroftwo”orsimply“the
other.”Basedonthisetymology,someusagewritersinthe1800sbegansuggestingthat
alternativeshouldbeusedonlywhendescribingachoicebetweentwooptions—not
threeormore.However,fewmodernsourcessupportthenotion,andMerriam-
Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsagereportsthatsomehavegoneasfarastocallita
fetishorpedantry.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Feelfreetousealternativeforthreeormorechoicesunlessyouhavereasontobelieve
you’rewritingforsomeonewhohangsontotheoutdatedrule.
[L]ibrariesshouldbeopentoall—exceptthecensor.Wemustknow
allthefactsandhearallthealternativesandlistentoallthe
criticisms.Letuswelcomecontroversialbooksandcontroversial
authors.FortheBillofRightsistheguardianofoursecurityaswell
asourliberty.
—JohnF.KennedyintheSaturdayReview
AMERICAN
What’stheTrouble?Americanistheonlysinglewordwehavetoreferto“a
citizenoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica”(USican?),buttechnically,anAmericanis
“anyonewholivesinNorthAmerica,CentralAmerica,orSouthAmerica.”
We,thepeople,havebeencallingourselvesAmericanssincebeforeourcountrywas
evenfounded(ashaveourdetractors).AlthoughallpeopleoftheAmericancontinents
areactuallyAmericans,mostreadersintheUnitedStatesandEuropeassumethatan
AmericanisaU.S.citizensincethatishowthewordismostcommonlyused.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Despiteitsfailings,useAmericantoreferto“acitizenoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.”
Nobettertermexists.Feelfreetofeelguilty.
TheConstitutiononlyguaranteestheAmericanpeopletherightto
pursuehappiness.Youhavetocatchityourself.
—BenjaminFranklin
AX
What’stheTrouble?Thehandheldtoolforchoppingwoodhastwospellings:ax
andaxe.
ThestandardAmericanspellingisax,andthestandardBritishspellingisaxe.Axe
bodyspray,whichisheavilyadvertisedintheUnitedStates,wascreatedbyaBritish
companyandfirstlaunchedinFrance.
Ifyou’dliketofeelsuperiortotheBritish,theOxfordEnglishDictionarysaysthatthe
axspellingisbetterthanaxeintermsof“etymology,phonology,andanalogy.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
InAmerica,spellthewordax.
Inthiscountrypeopledon’trespectthemorning.Analarmclock
violentlywakesthemup,shatterstheirsleepliketheblowofanax,
andtheyimmediatelysurrenderthemselvestodeadlyhaste.Can
youtellmewhatkindofdaycanfollowabeginningofsuch
violence?
—MilanKunderainFarewellWaltz
BACK
What’stheTrouble?Backisoftenredundantwhenusedinphrasessuchasrefer
back.
Sincetheprefixre-means“back”inwordssuchasretreat,revert,reply,andrespond,
toaddbackafterthesewordsisusuallyredundant.(Re-canmean“again”inother
words,suchasrepeat.)
Insomecases,however,backcansubtlychangethemeaningofthesentence.For
example,intheGatsbyquotationbelow,retreatbackgivesasenseoftwomonsters
brieflycomingoutofahidingplaceandthengoingbacktothesameplace.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyoucandropbackfromphrasessuchasreferbackwithoutchangingthemeaningof
yoursentence,doit.
Theywerecarelesspeople,TomandDaisy—theysmashedupthings
andcreaturesandthenretreatedbackintotheirmoneyortheirvast
carelessness,orwhateveritwasthatkeptthemtogether,andlet
otherpeoplecleanupthemesstheyhadmade.
—F.ScottFitzgeraldinTheGreatGatsby
BEGSTHEQUESTION
What’stheTrouble?It’sraretoseebegsthequestionusedtherightway.
Begsthequestioncomesfromformallogic,inwhichthepersonmakinganargument
doessoinawaythatsimplystatesthatthepremiseistrueinsteadofprovingitistrue.
Itcanbeapremisethat’sindependentfromtheconclusionor,inasimplerform,the
conclusioncanbeacircularrestatementofthepremise.
Itdoesnotmean“raisesthequestion”or“begsthatIaskthequestion.”
Forexample,let’ssaySquigglyistryingtoconvinceAardvarkthatchocolateishealth
food.Squigglywouldbebeggingthequestionifhearguedthatchocolateishealthy
becauseit’sgoodforyou.Hehasn’tproventhatchocolateishealthy;he’ssimplyuseda
synonymforhealthyashisargument.He’sbeggedthelistenertoacceptthequestion
(ischocolatehealthy?)astheconclusion(chocolateishealthy).Whendebatersbegthe
question,theybasetheirargumentsonafaultypremise.
Here’sanexampleofthecommon,wrong,waytousebegsthequestion:
Beingpresidentofthiscountryisentirelyaboutcharacter.Forthe
record:yes,Iamacard-carryingmemberoftheACLU.Butthe
moreimportantquestioniswhyaren’tyou,Bob?Now,thisisan
organizationwhosesolepurposeistodefendtheBillofRights,soit
naturallybegsthequestion:Whywouldasenator,hisparty’smost
powerfulspokesmanandacandidateforpresident,choosetoreject
upholdingtheConstitution?
—MichaelDouglasasPresidentAndrewShepherdinthemovieThe
AmericanPresident
WhatShouldYouDo?
Reestablishingthetraditionalmeaningofbegsthequestionisalostcause,buteven
thoughalmostnobodywillrealizeyou’vemadeanerror,there’salsonoreasonto
misappropriatethephrase.Ifyoumean“raisesthequestion”or“begsthatIaskthe
question,”sayraisesthequestionorbegsthatIaskthequestion.
BEMUSED
What’stheTrouble?Bemusedcanbeconfusedwithamused.
Bemusedmeans“confused,bewildered,orbaffled,”andhasnothingtodowith
amusementorhumor.Theeighteenth-centurypoetAlexanderPopefirstusedtheword
todescribesomeonewhowasmuddledbyliquororhadfoundamuseinbeer.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Thinkofbemusedassimilartobefuddledanduseitonlytodescribesomeonewhois
confused.Avoidusingbemusedinsituationswherethecontextisambiguousenoughto
leavethereaderwonderingwhetheryoumean“amused”or“confused.”
Dracowasontheupperlanding,pleadingwithanothermasked
DeathEater.
HarrystunnedtheDeathEaterastheypassed:Malfoylooked
around,beaming,forhissavior,andRonpunchedhimfromunder
thecloak.MalfoyfellbackwardontopoftheDeathEater,his
mouthbleeding,utterlybemused.
“Andthat’sthesecondtimewe’vesavedyourlifetonight,youtwo-
facedbastard!”Ronyelled.
—J.K.RowlinginthenovelHarryPotterandtheDeathlyHallows
BETWEEN
What’stheTrouble?Somepeoplebelievebetweenshouldonlyrefertotwo
things.
Popularusageguidesandschoolbookshavestatedthatbetweencanonlybeusedwhen
yourefertotwothings,andthatamongshouldbeyourchoicewhentherearemore.
See,theonlydifferencebetweenawinnerandaloserischaracter.
Everymanhasapricetocharge,andapricetopay.
—TaylorKitschasRemyLeBeauinthemovieX-MenOrigins:Wolverine
Althoughbetweendoesworkforsentencesinvolvingtwochoices,the“rule”isan
oversimplificationanddoesnotaccuratelyrepresentbroadercommonandhistorical
usesofbetween.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Betweenhasalwaysbeenusedtoindicateachoiceorrelationshipbetweenmany
differentindividualitemsorpeople.NativeEnglishspeakersnaturallymakethischoice
(notehowwrongamongwouldsoundintheexamplesbelow),andmodernusage
guidessupportthisuseofbetween.
BetweenMonica,Phoebe,ChandlerandRoss—ifyouhadto—who
wouldyoupunch?
—MattLeBlancasJoeyTribbianiintheTVseriesFriends
Ihadahardtimechoosingtherightadjectives.Icouldn’tdecide
betweenchildish,juvenile,andjustplainoldannoying.
—ValarieRayMillerasAgentBrynFillmoreintheTVseriesNCIS
BILLION
What’stheTrouble?Attimes,billionhasmeantadifferentamountinAmerican
EnglishthanithasinotherEnglish-speakingcountries.
Believeitornot,theworldhastwonamingsystemsforlargepower-of-tennumbers
suchasabillionandatrillion:theshortscaleandthelongscale.Inthelongscale,a
billionis1,000,000,000,000(1012)andintheshortscale,abillionis1,000,000,000
(109).Britaintraditionallyusedthelongscale,butAmericansadoptedtheshortscale.
Whatamess!
Fortunately,Britainandmanyothercountriesswitchedtothe“shortscale”inthemid-
1970s,andbillionusuallynowmeansthesameamountinallEnglish-speaking
countries(France,Germany,Italy,Spain,Denmark,Finland,andotherEuropean
countriescurrentlyusethelongscale.)
WhatShouldYouDo?
Today,youcansafelyusebilliontomean1,000,000,000.Whenyouarereadingoldor
translateddocuments,however,beawareoftheircountryoforiginandrememberthat
themeaningofbillioncouldbe1,000,000,000,000.Billions,plural,isalsooftenused
metaphoricallytodescribeanunfathomableamount.
Iknowthiswillcomeasashocktoyou,Mr.Goldwyn,butinall
history,whichhasheldbillionsandbillionsofhumanbeings,nota
singleoneeverhadahappyending.
—AconversationbetweenDorothyParkerandSamGoldwynrelatedin
DorothyParker:WhatFreshHellIsThis?byMarionMeade
BIWEEKLY
What’stheTrouble?Biweeklymeanstwocontradictorythings.
Theprefixbi-canmean“two”or“twice.”Thinkofabicyclewithtwowheelsorbifocals
withtwolenses.Unfortunately,whenthebi-prefixisaddedtoweekly,itcanmean
everytwoweeksortwiceaweek.
It’snotjustaproblemofpeoplebeingconfusedormisunderstandingthemeaning.
Dictionarydefinitionsforbiweeklyactuallyincludebothmeanings:“everytwoweeks”
and“twiceaweek.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
Althoughit’salwayssadtoabandonwords,thesafestchoiceistoavoidbiweeklyand
bimonthlyandinsteadjustusetwiceaweekoreveryotherweek.
Iwasnothingifnotdetermined;atleasttwiceaweekIwouldwear
bright,prettyclothes.IwasafraidifIdidn’t,I’dforgetwhoIwas.
I’dturnintowhatIfeltlike:agrungy,weapon-bearing,pissy,
resentfulvengeance-hungrybitch.
—KarenMarieMoninginFaefever
Yeah,likehighschool.It’seasytodatethere.Imean,weallhadso
muchincommon.Beingmonsterfoodeveryotherweek,forinstance.
—CharismaCarpenterasCordeliaintheTVseriesAngel
BRINGANDTAKE
What’stheTrouble?Thestandardruledoesn’talwaysleadyoutoananswer.
Inmanycasesthechoicebetweenbringandtakeiseasy:Peoplebringthingstoyour
currentlocation,andtakethingsawayfromyourcurrentlocation.Bringmecotton
candy.Takeawaythisbroccoli.It’sallfocusedonaplace.
Therulesfallapart,however,whenyouconsiderthefutureoralocationwherenobody
hasarrivedyet.Doyoubringrumcaketotheschoolbazaarordoyoutakerumcaketo
theschoolbazaar?Itsimplydependsonwhereyouwanttoplacetheemphasisofthe
sentence—whichperspectiveyouwanttoadopt.
Ifyouwanttofocusontheschoolandwritefromtheperspectiveofthebazaar,you
bringthecaketothebazaar.Ifyouwanttofocusonyourkitchenandwritefromthe
perspectiveofhome,thenyoutakethecaketothebazaar(whichputsthefocuson
takingitawayfromyourhome).
WhatShouldYouDo?
Whenyoustartwritingaboutthefutureandhavetochoosebetweenbringandtake,
imaginewhereyouareinthescenario,andmakeyourwordchoicebasedonthat
location.
DEXTERMORGAN:Heyguys,Ineedyouraddressesfortheweddingand
Ineedtoknowifyou’rebringingdates.
ANGELBATISTA:Canwebringjustfriends?
VINCEMASUKA:Ineverbringdatestoawedding.Bestmanalways
hooksupwiththemaidofhonor.
DEXTERMORGAN:ThemaidofhonorisRita’sdaughter.She’sten.
[Notehowtheycouldhaveusedtake,butalsohowitwouldhavesubtly
changedthefocusofthesentence.Bringcausesyoutoimaginethematthe
wedding,whereastakewouldcauseyoutoimaginethemathomegettingready
orpickinguptheirdates.]
—MichaelC.HallasDexter,DavidZayasasAngel,andC.S.LeeasVince
intheTVseriesDexter
CACTUS
What’stheTrouble?Cactushastwoacceptablepluralforms:cactusesandcacti.
CactuscomesfromtheGreekwordkaktos,whichmadeitswayintoLatin(wherethe
pluralbecamecacti)andthenthroughLatinintoEnglish.
ForeignwordsthatbecomeestablishedinEnglishoftenlosetheirforeignpluralformin
favorofaStandardEnglishpluralthatendsins.Yet,theforeignformcancontinueto
coexistwiththenewEnglishpluralorcansurviveinisolatedcontextsasisthecase
withcactus.Althoughcactusesiscommoningeneralwriting,cactiisstilldominantin
botanicalwriting.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyouwriteforgardeningmagazines,nurseries,orbotanicalaudiencesusecacti.
Otherwise,usecactuses.
ThosewhohavenevervisitedtheAmericanSouthwesttendtohave
somemisconceptions.Themostcommononeisthatthewhole
placeisahotdesertstuddedwithsaguarocactuses.
—LesleyS.King,DonLaine,KarlSamsoninFrommer’sAmerican
Southwest
Thepropagationofcactifromseedsisoneofthosethingswhich
requireanimmenseamountofpatience.Mostoftheseplantsare
naturallyslowgrowersandthetimeneedfultoproducea
flowering-sizeplantfromseedwouldinmanyspeciesbeasmuchas
thespanofaman’slife.
—S.LeonardBastininScientificAmerican
CELTIC
What’stheTrouble?Peoplewhospeaklanguagesinthefamilythatincludes
Breton,Welsh,Irish,ScotchGaelic,andCornishcanbecalledCelticorKeltic.
AlthoughCelticisthemorecommonspellinginAmerica,you’llalsoseeKeltic,and
dictionariessaybothareacceptable.
TheargumentforKelticisthatitoriginallycomesfromtheGreekwordkeltoi,but
althoughthepeopletheGreekscalledtheKeltoimayhavespokenanearlyformof
Celtic,theydidn’tinhabittheBritishIsles—thelandswethinkofasCeltic.Instead,they
livedinalargeregionofWesternEuropecalledGaul.
Ontheotherhand,theargumentforCelticisthatthewordcameintoEnglishnot
directlyfromGreek,butthroughFrench,andtheFrenchwordisceltique.
It’sevenconfusinginScotland.GlasgowhasasoccerteamcalledtheCelticFootball
Club,eventhoughmostpeoplelivinginScotlandwouldrefertothemselvesasKeltic.
WhatShouldYouDo?
TheKelticspellingandhard-kpronunciationaregreatlypreferredbypeoplewhostudy
thecultureandlanguage,tothepointthatifyoucallitanythingotherthanKeltic,
they’relikelytolookdownonyou.Butingeneralwriting,Celticprevails,andifyouare
attendingabasketballgameinBostonorafootballgameinGlasgow,you’rerootingfor
theCeltics.
Aftertheconquest,withthespreadofRomancivilisation,LateKeltic
artrapidlydisappearedinthesouthofBritain,hithertoitschief
centre;nevertheless,itpersistedinScotlandandIrelandtillthe
comingofChristianity,whereandwhenitwasusedbytheearly
Christianstodecoratetheirmonumentsandmetalwork,andto
embellishtheirilluminatedmanuscripts.
—NormanAultinLifeinAncientBritain
WeIrishpreferembroideriestoplaincloth.TousIrish,memoryis
acanvas—stretched,primed,andreadyforpaintingon.Welovethe
“story”partoftheword“history,”andweloveittrimmedoutwith
coloranddrama,ribbonsandbows.Listentoourtunes,observea
Celticscroll:wealwaysdecorateouressence.
—FrankDelaneyinTipperary:ANovel
COMPANIES
What’stheTrouble?Peoplewonderwhethertorefertoacompanyaswhoorthat.
Companiesareentities,buttheyarerunbypeople.Anargumentcouldbemadefor
usingeitherwhoorthatasthepronounwhenyou’rewritingaboutacompanythat
takesanaction,particularlysinceU.S.courtshaveruledthatcompaniesarepeoplein
mostlegalsenses.However,thepreferredstyleistorefertoacompanyasanentityand
usethepronounsitandthat:Wewanttobuystockinacompanythatmakeshotair
balloons.
Ifyouwanttohighlightthatpeopleinthecompanyarebehindsomeactionordecision,
namethemandusewho:FloatingBasketswasdriventobankruptcybyitssenior
directorswhotooktoomanyexpensiveAlaskanjoyrides.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Stickwiththepronounsitandthatwhenreferringtocompanies.
ThemovebroughtanendtoMr.Icahn’stwo-monthfighttosqueeze
morevalueoutofacentury-oldcompanythatisfacingtough
competitionfromgenericsbutwhichinvestorsgenerallyseeaswell
run.
—PaulZiobroinTheWallStreetJournal
COULDN’TCARELESS
What’stheTrouble?Peoplesaytheycouldcarelesswhen,logically,theymean
theycouldn’tcareless.
ThephraseIcouldn’tcarelessoriginatedinBritainandmadeitswaytotheUnited
Statesinthe1950s.ThelesslogicalphraseIcouldcarelessappearedintheUnited
Statesaboutadecadelater.
Intheearly1990s,thewell-knownHarvardlinguistStephenPinkerarguedthatthe
waymostpeoplesaycouldcareless—thewaytheyemphasizethewords—impliesthey
arebeingironicorsarcastic.Otherlinguistshavearguedthatthetypeofsoundatthe
endofcouldn’tisnaturallydroppedbysloppyorslurringspeakers.
Regardlessofthereasonpeoplesaytheycouldcareless,itisoneofthemorecommon
languagepeevesbecauseofitsillogicalnature.Tosayyoucouldcarelessmeansyou
haveabitofcaringleft,whichisnotwhatthespeakersseemtointend.Theproper
couldn’tcarelessisstillthedominantforminprint,butcouldcarelesshasbeen
steadilygaininggroundsinceitsappearanceinthe1960s.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Stickwithcouldn’tcareless.
JULIETO’HARA:Guesswhattodayis.
CARLTONLASSITER:It’snotoneofthosetouchy-feelyholidaysinvented
bycardcompaniestogoadmeintobuyingapresentforsomeoneI
couldn’tcarelessabout,isit?
—MaggieLawsonasO’HaraandTimothyOmundsonasLassiterintheTV
seriesPsych
DATA
What’stheTrouble?Dataisusedasbothasingularandpluralnoun.
AlthoughdataisapluralwordinLatin,it’smuchmorelikelytobeusedasasingular
nouninEnglish.TheOxfordEnglishDictionaryincludesbothpluralandsingular
definitions,althoughtheeditorsnotethatinLatin,datumissingularanddatais
plural.
Althoughyouarelesslikelytobecriticizedbysticklersfortreatingdataasplural,
phrasessuchasthedataarecompellingarelesscommonthanthedataiscompelling
innewsarticles,andtreatingdataaspluralcansoundoddtoreaders.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Garner’sModernAmericanUsagecallsdataaskunkedterm,meaningyoucan’twin—
whetheryoutreatitassingularorplural,you’llgetintrouble.Trytowritearoundthe
problem,forexample,byusingdatapointorinformation.
Ingeneralwriting,ifinformationwon’tworkbecauseyou’reusingdataasamassnoun
tomean“informationcollectedinascientificway,”datacanbesingular;however,in
scientificwriting,alwaystreatdataasplural.
Rememberthecellphonethatwasneverused?Well,itwasused.
Onlyallthedatawashard-erased.[Informationwouldbeasaferchoice.]
—PauleyPerretteasAbbySciutointheTVseriesNCIS
Fewweatherstationsdotremoteandhigh-altitudelocalesand
wheretheydoexisttheirdataareoftenincomplete.
—BrianHandwerkinNationalGeographic
DECIMATE
What’stheTrouble?Somepeopleclingtothebeliefthatbecauseoftheprefixdeci-
,theworddecimatecanonlymean“reductionby10percent.”
TheRomanmilitarywasn’tasinterestedinjusticeasitwasinorder.Wegettheword
decimatefromitspracticeofpunishingmutinousunitsbyhavingthemendrawlots.
Thosedrawingtheunlucky10percentwerekilledbytheremaining90percentoftheir
comrades.DecimatehasitsetymologicalrootintheLatinwordfortenth,andshares
thatrootwithwordslikedecimalanddecimeter.
Becauseofthesehistoricalandetymologicalroots,somepeoplebelievethattheonly
properwaytousedecimateistotalkaboutsomethingreducedbyprecisely10percent.
Usageexpertsdisagree.Merriam-Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsage(MWDEU),
forexample,notesthatdecimatehasneverbeenusedthiswayinEnglish.Although
thereisanentryforthe“reductionby10percent”meaningintheOxfordEnglish
Dictionary(OED),itcontainsnoexamplesentences,whichisunusual.TheMWDEU
editorsbelievethattheOEDdefinitionwasincludedmerelytobridgethegapbetween
theRomanpracticeandtheStandardEnglishmeaning,whichis“amassiveorsevere
reduction.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
Usedecimatewithoutfeartodescribeahugecullingorloss.Becauseofitsroots,
decimateisparticularlywellusedwhendescribingsignificantcasualtiesinapopulation
ofmilitarytroopsbutitcanbeusedtodescribeanyextremeloss.Bewareofusingitto
describeacompleteloss,however.Thatuseisincorrect.
Who,inthemidstofpassion,isvigilantagainstillness?Wholistens
tothereportsofrecentlydecimatedpopulationsinSpain,India,
BoraBora,whennewlips,tonguesandpoemsfilltheworld?
—LaurenGroffinDelicateEdibleBirds:AndOtherStories
DIALOGUE
What’stheTrouble?Dialoguehastwoacceptablespellings,andmanypeople
objecttotheword’sneweruseasaverb.
Althoughdialogisanacceptablespelling,dialogueismorecommon.
Therealcontroversyiswhetherit’sOKtousedialogueasaverbthatmeans“totalk”or
“toexchangeideas.”Theusehasbeenaroundforcenturies,butitseemstohave
becometrendyinbusinesscirclesinthelastfewdecades.Althoughusingdialoguethis
wayisn’twrong,manysourcescriticizeitasjargonorfaddish.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Avoiddialogueasaverbunlessit’scommoninyourcircles.It’snotwrong,butcanbe
viewedasannoyingorpretentious.
Reallifeissometimesboring,rarelyconclusiveandboy,doesthe
dialogueneedwork.
—SarahReesBrennan,Irishwriter
Incomingmonths,Texasairportswillcontinuedialoguingwitheach
othertolearnwaystobestservethepublicandthecommunities
thatdependoncommercialairservice.[Communicatingwouldbea
betterchoice.]
—HoustonAirportSystempressrelease
DILEMMA
What’stheTrouble?Somestyleguidessaydilemmashouldbeusedonlyto
describeachoicebetweentwounpleasantoptions,butabroadermeaningis
pervasive.
Thedi-prefixindilemmameans“two”or“double,”whichlendssupporttotheidea
thatdilemmashouldbeusedonlytodescribeachoicebetweentwoalternatives.The
AssociatedPressandGarner’sModernAmericanUsagesupportthatlimitation,and
gofurther,sayingthatdilemmashouldbeusedonlyforachoicebetweentwo
unpleasantoptions.
Nevertheless,Garner’salsoconcedesthatotherusesare“ubiquitous.”Merriam-
Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsageandtheColumbiaGuidetoStandardAmerican
Englishsayit’sfinetousedilemmatodescribeanyseriouspredicament,andThe
AmericanHeritageGuidetoContemporaryUsageandStyletakesanintermediate
position.What’sawritertodo?(Isitadilemma?)
WhatShouldYouDo?
Unlessyou’refollowingastyleguidethatrequiresyoutolimitdilemmatoachoice
betweentwobadoptions,it’sacceptabletousedilemmatodescribeadifficultproblem,
evenwhenalternativesaren’tinvolved,ortousedilemmatodescribeadifficultchoice
betweenpleasantoptions.Still,you’llseemmostcleverwhenyouusedilemmato
describeachoicebetweentwobadoptions.Inotherinstances,beforeusingdilemma,
askyourselfifanotherword,suchasproblem,wouldworkbetter.
QuickandDirtyTip
Torememberthatdilemmaisbestusedforachoicebetweentwothings,think
oftheidiomonthehornsofadilemmaandpicturethemascotofthe
UniversityofTexas—alonghornsteerwithtwohugehorns.
Youseethedilemma,don’tyou?Ifyoudon’tkillme,precogswere
wrongandprecrimeisover.Ifyoudokillme,yougoaway,butit
provesthesystemworks.Theprecogswereright.So,whatareyou
goingtodonow?[Particularlyniceuseofdilemma.]
—TomCruiseasJohnAndertoninthemovieMinorityReport
Therearetwodilemmasthatrattlethehumanskull.Howdoyou
holdontosomeonewhowon’tstay?Andhowdoyougetridof
someonewhowon’tgo?[Problems,questions,orquandarieswouldhave
beenabetterchoice.]
—DannyDeVitoasGavininthemovieTheWaroftheRoses
DONE
What’stheTrouble?Somepeoplesayyoucan’tusedonetomean“finished”
unlessyou’retalkingaboutfood.
Althoughdonehasbeenusedtomean“finished”forcenturies,admonitionsagainstit
startedsurfacingintheearly1900s.Noreasoningwasgiveninthefirstpublishedstyle
guidethatmadethedeclaration.Merriam-Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsage
speculatestheadvicewasbasedonbiasagainsttheusage’s“Irish,ScotsandU.S.”
origin.
The“rule”againstdonehasbeenwidelytaughtinschools,butnohistoricalpattern,
logic,ormodernusageguidesupportsit.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Don’tbeafraidtousedone,althoughfinishedandthrougharefinetoo.
I’mcookiedough.I’mnotdonebaking.I’mnotfinishedbecoming
whoeverthehellitisI’mgonnaturnouttobe.Imakeitthrough
this,andthenextthing,andthenextthing,andmaybeoneday,I
turnaroundandrealizeI’mready.I’mcookies.
DONUT
What’stheTrouble?Donutisasimplifiedvariantofdoughnut.
Adoughnutisliterallyanut(ball)ofdough.AccordingtotheOxfordEnglish
Dictionary,thenamewasfirstreportedbyAmericanauthorWashingtonIrving(using
thepennameDiedrichKnickerbocker)in1809.Thesweettreathewasdescribing
resembledwhattodaywe’dcalldoughnutholesratherthanthepuffyringswenowcall
doughnuts.
Thedonutspellingappearedaboutonehundredyearslaterbutdidnotimmediately
thrive.However,itsusehasgrownsteadilyandsignificantlysinceDunkin’Donutswas
foundedin1950.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Stickwithdoughnut(unless,perhaps,you’rewritingadcopyfordeep-friedsugary
dough).
Aparadox,thedoughnuthole.Emptyspace,once,butnowthey’ve
learnedtomarketeventhat.Aminusquantity;nothing,rendered
edible.Iwonderediftheymightbeused—metaphorically,ofcourse
—todemonstratetheexistenceofGod.Doesnamingasphereof
nothingnesstransmuteitintobeing?
—MargaretAtwoodinTheBlindAssassin
DO’SANDDON’TS
What’stheTrouble?Thespellingofdo’sanddon’tsisinconsistent.
Generally,youdon’tuseapostrophestomakewordsorabbreviationsplural(e.g.,CDs,
1970s,hats),butwehaveafewexceptions.Forexample,youcanuseapostropheswhen
theyhelpeliminateconfusion,whichhappensmostoftenwithsingleletters.Mindyour
p’sandq’sisthetypicalspelling,andwewritethatthewordaardvarkhas3a’s,not3
as.
Do’sanddon’tsisanespeciallyunusualexception.Theapostropheinthecontraction
don’tseemstomakepeoplewanttouseanapostrophetomakedoplural(do’sand
don’ts)butthentobeconsistent,you’dalsohavetouseanapostrophetomakedon’t
plural,whichbecomesdownrightugly(do’sanddon’t’s).
Styleguidesandusagebooksdon’tagree.TheChicagoManualofStyleandothers
recommenddosanddon’ts,theAssociatedPressandothersrecommenddo’sand
don’ts,andEats,Shoots&Leavesrecommendsdo’sanddon’t’s.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Unlessyoureditorwishesotherwise,ifyouwritebooks,spellitdosanddon’ts;andif
youwritefornewspapers,magazines,ortheWeb,spellitdo’sanddon’ts.Ifyou’re
writingforyourself,spellitanywayyouwant.
Whobetterthana16-year-oldgirltohelpnavigatetheexhausting
socialnetworkingworldofloveandthedo’sanddon’tsof
relationshipstatuses?
—AlisonBonagurowritingforCMT.com
DRAG
What’stheTrouble?Draggedistheproperpasttenseoftheverbdrag,butdrug
isacommonvariant,especiallyintheSouth.
Dragisaregularverb,whichmeansthepasttenseisdragged.Englishtendstolike
regularverbs,andirregularverbstendtobecomeregularizedovertime(forexample,
thepasttenseofchideusedtobechode,butnowit’schided).Yetanoddthinghas
happenedwithdraginAmericaandespeciallyintheSouth:peoplestartedusingdrug
(theirregularform)insteadofdragged(theregularform)forthepasttense.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Althoughdrugisclearlypartofsomedialects,it’snotconsideredStandardEnglish.
Avoidit,especiallyinwriting.
Andashedroveon,theraincloudsdraggeddowntheskyafterhim
for,thoughhedidnotknowit,RobMcKennawasaRainGod.Allhe
knewwasthathisworkingdaysweremiserableandhehada
successionoflousyholidays.Allthecloudsknewwasthatthey
lovedhimandwantedtobenearhim,tocherishhimandwater
him.
—DouglasAdamsinTheUltimateHitchhiker’sGuidetotheGalaxy
EARTH
What’stheTrouble?Earthisn’ttreatedlikethenamesofotherplanets.
InEnglish,thegeneralruleisthatwecapitalizetheformalnamesofthingsandplaces
(e.g.,GoldenGateBridge,SanFrancisco),sowecapitalizethenamesofotherplanets:
Jupiter,Mars,andsoon.Forsomeunknownreason,however,wetreatearth
differently.Sometimesit’scapitalizedandsometimesit’slowercased,andtheredoesn’t
seemtobeahard-and-fastrule.
Typically,whenearthisproceededbythe,it’slowercased;andtypically,whenearthis
listedwiththenamesoftheotherplanets,it’scapitalized—butyoucanfindexceptions
toeventhesepatterns.
Ofcourse,whenwe’rejustusingearthasanotherwordfordirt,it’salwayslowercase.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyou’reaprofessionalwriter,checkyourpublication’sstyleguidetoseewhatit
recommends.Ifyou’rewritingforyourself,checkastyleguideordecideonyourown
whenyouwillcapitalizeearthandbeconsistent.
Forinstance,ontheplanetEarth,manhadalwaysassumedthathe
wasmoreintelligentthandolphinsbecausehehadachievedso
much—thewheel,NewYork,warsandsoon—whilstallthe
dolphinshadeverdonewasmuckaboutinthewaterhavingagood
time.Butconversely,thedolphinshadalwaysbelievedthatthey
werefarmoreintelligentthanman—forpreciselythesamereasons.
—DouglasAdamsinTheHitchhiker’sGuidetotheGalaxy
Itcanhardlybeacoincidencethatnolanguageonearthhasever
producedtheexpression,“Asprettyasanairport.”
ELDEST
What’stheTrouble?Englishhastwosetsofwordsyoucanusetotalkabout
relativeage.
Theadjectiveselderandolderandeldestandoldestmeanlargelythesamethings.You
canusuallyusetheminterchangeablywhenyou’retalkingaboutpeople;however,you
can’tuseelderandeldesttodescribethings.Elderandeldestalsotendtosoundmore
formal.Elderisalsomorecommoninsetphrasesthatimplysenioritysuchaselder
statesman.
Dotakecaretousethemintherightcontextthough.Elderandolderarecomparatives,
soyouusethemwhenyouarecomparingtwopeople.Ifyouhavetwodaughters,you
wouldtalkaboutyourelderorolderdaughter.Eldestandoldestaresuperlatives,so
youusethemwhenyou’recomparingmorethantwopeople.Ifyouhavethree
daughters,youwouldtalkaboutyoureldestoroldestdaughter.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Useelderandolderandeldestandoldestinterchangeablywhenyou’retalkingabout
people.Onlyuseolderandoldestwhenyou’retalkingaboutthings.
Theoldestandstrongestemotionofmankindisfear,andtheoldest
andstrongestkindoffearisfearoftheunknown.
[Notehowonlyoldestworkshere.]
—H.P.Lovecraftin“SupernaturalHorrorinLiterature”
Ruin,eldestdaughterofZeus,sheblindsusall,thatfatalmadness—
shewiththosedelicatefeetofhers,nevertouchingtheearth,
glidingovertheheadsofmentotrapusall.Sheentanglesoneman,
nowanother.
[Notehowoldestoreldestwouldwork.]
ELSE’S
What’stheTrouble?Spellcheckersconfusepeoplebyerroneouslymarkingelse’s
incorrect.
Intheearly1800s,theapostrophewentonthefirstpartofsomebodyelse,asin
somebody’selseproblem.Usageshifted,however,andtodaytheapostrophegoeson
thesecondpart.Theonlycorrectformtodayissomebodyelse’s,anybodyelse’s,
everyoneelse’s,andsoon.
Unfortunately,electronicspellcheckerscan’tseemtogetthisoneright.Theyregularly
markelse’sasincorrect,causingsomepeopletodoubtwhetherthewordsthey’veheard
theirwholelifearecorrect.Neverrelyentirelyonspellcheckers;theyoccasionally
makebigerrorssuchasmarkingelse’sincorrect,andtheycan’ttellwhenyou’veuseda
homonyminsteadofmisspelledaword(e.g.,itsforit’s).Thinkofyourspellcheckeras
somethingthatmerelyhighlightswordsyoushoulddouble-check.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ignoreyourspellcheckerwhenitmarkselse’sincorrect.
I’vebeenmakingalistofthethingstheydon’tteachyouatschool.
Theydon’tteachyouhowtolovesomebody.Theydon’tteachyou
howtobefamous.Theydon’tteachyouhowtoberichorhowtobe
poor.Theydon’tteachyouhowtowalkawayfromsomeoneyou
don’tloveanylonger.Theydon’tteachyouhowtoknowwhat’s
goingoninsomeoneelse’smind.Theydon’tteachyouwhattosayto
someonewho’sdying.Theydon’tteachyouanythingworth
knowing.
—NeilGaimaninTheSandman,Vol.9:TheKindlyOnes
E-MAILVERSUSEMAIL
What’stheTrouble?Somestyleguidesrecommende-mail(withahyphen)and
otherstyleguidesrecommendemail(withoutahyphen).
E-mailstandsfor“electronicmail,”anditwasoriginallyhyphenatedbecauseitwas
usuallyacompoundmodifierinelectronic-mailmessage.Today,althoughsomepeople
objecttoemailalone,suchuseiswidespreadandstandard:Igottwentye-mailsinthe
lasthour.
Emailhasbeenwidelywrittenwithoutthehyphenforyears,andin2010,the
AssociatedPresschangedtheirrecommendedspellingfrome-mailtoemail,saying
theywerebowingtocommonusage.
Atthetimethisbookwaspublished,somenewspaperswereholdingoffonadoptingAP
styleandwerestillusinge-mail.TheChicagoManualofStylestillrecommendse-mail,
eventhoughthewriterofChicago’sQ&Asectionhadindicatedafondnessforemail.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Whetheryoulikeitornot,fightingfore-mailisalostcause.Ipreferit.Istilluseit.But
itwillbearelicintentotwentyyears—likepercent.Ifyou’rewritingforapublication
thatusesaspecificstyleguide,followtheirstyle.Ifyou’rewritingforyourself,it’s
generallysafetousewhicheverspellingyouprefer.
Inanemail,[Mark]Malkoffsaidofhisvisit[totheNetherlands]:
“Didyouknowtheyhaveurinalsonthestreet?Ihadnoclue.Some
ofthefunstuffIdidincluded:askingDutchcitizenstodonate
moneytohelppayofftheU.S.debt,gorunninginwoodenclogs
(turnsoutithurts!),hangadrawingIdidinthebathroomatthe
VanGoghMuseum,coveringmyselfinbirdseedinDamSquare
whiledozensofpigeonsateoffofme,anddescendingtheEuromast
328feetonarope.
—JackBellinTheNewYorkTimes
IntherecentBeangatecaseatChipotle,MaximeditorSethPorges
startedane-mailandTwittercampaignwhenhe,anon-porkeater
“forreligiousandculturalreasons,”discoveredthatforthepast10
yearshehadbeengettingbaconalongwiththepintobeansinhis
burrito.
—JoeYonaninTheWashingtonPost
ENORMITY
What’stheTrouble?Enormityisoftenusedtomean“enormousness,”butsome
peoplethinkthat’sanerror.
Enormityisregularlyusedtodescribesomethingofstaggeringhugeness,but
enormousnessmeansthesamething,andsomepeople(includingsomerespected
usageguidewriters)thinkenormityshouldbereservedtomeansomethingakinto
“atrociousness”or“wickedness.”
Garner’sModernAmericanUsageseemsto(grudgingly)giveupthefightonenormity,
andMerriam-Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsage(MWDEU)makesacompelling
argumentforallowingenormitytodescribeavastimmensity.Besideshighlightinga
largenumberofexamplesfromthe1800stotodayofwritersactuallyusingenormityin
the“prohibited”way,theMWDEUeditorsexplainthatthereisnohistoricalbasisfor
thedistinction.Nevertheless,TheChicagoManualofStyleandStrunk&Whitewant
youtostickwithenormousness.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Avoidambiguitybyavoidingenormityincontextswherethemeaningcouldbeeither
“huge”or“horrible.”
Unlessyou’rerequiredtofollowastyleguidethatfavorsenormousness,useenormity
tomean“hugeness”withonlyatwingeoffear.Althoughenormitywillsoundmore
naturalthanenormousnesstomostreaders,acadreofpeoplestillexistwhowillthink
you’vebrokenarule.Onlyyoucandecidewhentheriskisworthtaking.
Thedateitself[September11]isaloadedtermthatevokesthe
enormousness,andtheenormity,ofthedeedthatredefinedour
times.
—ACanadianChronicleHeraldeditorial
ENTITLED
What’stheTrouble?Bothentitledandtitledcanmean“havingthetitleof…”
Webster’sCollegiateDictionaryandTheAmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglish
Languagelistentitleandtitleassynonymswhentheyareusedasverbs:theyboth
indicatethatsomethingisbeinggivenatitle.
Entitledcanalsobeusedtoindicatethatpeoplehaveacertainright(suchastheright
toanopinion)orfeelasenseofentitlement(thattheyareduesomething).
WhatShouldYouDo?
Althoughentitledisn’tincorrect,stickwithtitledwhenyou’rereferringtoatitle.
EMDSerono,abiopharmaceuticalcompany,hasproduceda
campaignonFacebooktitled“BirdsandtheBees:TheRealStory.”
Partofthecampaignfeaturesamusicvideo,“EarlyBirdCatches
theSperm,”reminiscentofadigitalshorton“SaturdayNightLive.”
—JessicaRyenDoyleonFoxNews
DR.NILESCRANE:[Maris]droveuponthesidewalk,andwhenthe
policeranhernamethroughthecomputer,theyfoundquitealittle
backlogofunpaidparkingtickets.
DR.FRASIERCRANE:Whatelsewouldyouexpectfromawomanwho
thinksherchocolateallergyentitleshertoparkinahandicapped
space?
—DavidHydePierceasNilesandKelseyGrammerasFrasierintheTV
seriesFrasier
FISH
What’stheTrouble?Fishhastwoacceptablepluralforms:fishandfishes.
Fishisthemostcommonpluralformoffish,buttherearesomeinstancesinwhich
peopleusefishes.Scientistswhostudyfish(ichthyologists)forexample,oftenreferto
differentspeciesasfishes.InthebiblicalbookofMark,Jesusfeedsthousandsofmen
thefiveloavesandtwofishes.Finally,themovieTheGodfatherpopularizedthephrase
sleepswiththefishestodescribemobkillingsinwhichacorpseisdumpedinthewater.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Usefishasthepluraloffishunlessyou’rewritingaboutbiologyormakingreferencesto
TheGodfatherortheBible.
[TessiobringsinLucaBrasi’sbulletproofvest,deliveredwithafish
inside]
SONNY:Whatthehellisthis?
CLEMENZA:It’saSicilianmessage.ItmeansLucaBrasisleepswiththe
fishes.
—RichardCastellanoasClemenzaandJamesCaanasSonnyinthemovie
TheGodfather
Thepikeisoneofthefewfisheswithbinocularsight;botheyeslook
forwardandthevisualfieldsoverlap.
—LenCacuttinFishes
Whenyougofishingyoucancatchalotoffish,oryoucancatchabig
fish.Youeverwalkintoaguy’sdenandseeapictureofhimstanding
nexttofourteentrout?
—JustinTimberlakeasSeanParkerinthemovieTheSocialNetwork
FLAUNT
What’stheTrouble?Peoplesometimesconfuseflauntandflout.
Flauntandfloutsoundsimilarbutdon’tmeanthesamething.Whenyouflaunt
yourself,yourwealth,oraccomplishments,you’reparadingtheminfrontofpeople—
showingoff.Floutmeans“todisregard,scoffat,mock,orshowscorn.”Arebelflouts
rulesandlaws.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Rememberthatflauntmeans“toshowoff”andfloutmeansto“disregard.”
QuickandDirtyTip
Rememberthatyoufloutlawsbylinkingtheoutinfloutwiththeideaofbeing
outsidesociety.
That’sit,baby!Whenyougotit,flauntit,flauntit!
—NathanLaneasMaxBialystockinthemovieTheProducers
The[flapper]assertedherrighttodance,drink,smoke,anddate…
tolivefreeofthestricturesthatgovernedhermother’s
generation….ShefloutedVictorian-eraconventionsandscandalized
herparents.
FLIER
What’stheTrouble?Peoplearen’tsurewhetherpaperswithinformation,or
“handbills,”arefliersorflyers.
Supposedly,flieristheAmericanspellingandflyeristheBritishspelling.That’swhat
Garner’sModernAmericanUsageclaims,andthatclaimisbackedupbythe
AssociatedPress(anAmericanorganization),whichrecommendsflier,andThe
Economist(aBritishpublication),whichrecommendsflyer.
Ontheotherhand,whenaddressingthe“handbill”meaning,Webster’sThird(an
Americandictionary)saysthewordisusuallyspelledflyer,andtheOxfordEnglish
Dictionary(adictionarywithBritishroots),saystheU.S.spellingisflyer.AGoogle
BooksNgramsearch(whichisn’trestrictedbymeaning)showsthatflyerismore
commonthanflierinbothBritishEnglishandAmericanEnglishandthatboth
spellingshavecoexistedsinceatleast1800.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyou’refollowingAssociatedPressstyle,usefliertomean“handbill.”Otherwise,pick
thespellingyoupreferanduseitconsistently.
We’rebarelymakingenoughtosurvive,withnohopeforanything
better.Icouldn’tdreamanymoreaboutschool.ButwhenIsawthis
flier,Ifeltlifegettingbackintome.
—MackenzieAstinasWillStonemaninthemovieIronWill
FlyerseemstobepreferredinthenamesofbusesandtrainssuchastheMidnight
Flyer,andflierseemstobepreferredwhenyoumean“onewhoflies,”butit’seasyto
findexceptions.
FORFREE
What’stheTrouble?Forfreeiscommon,butsomeusageexpertsdisparageit.
Typically,forisfollowedbyanamount:Youcanhavethatteacupforfivedollars.I’ll
giveyouthatsaucerfornothing.Freeisn’tanamount;it’sadescriptionthatmeans
“withoutcharge”or“withoutcost.”YoucouldanswerthequestionHowmuchdoyou
have?byresponding,Fivedollars,orNothing,butnotbyrespondingFree.
Nevertheless,forfreeissocommonthatsomepeopleconsideritanidiom,andthere
areinstancesinwhichyoucan’tswapfreeandforfreewithoutmakingyoursentence
soundawkwardorcausingconfusion.
KevinWilliamscan’twaittogetoutontothefieldwithhis
MinnesotaVikingsteammatesforthefirsttimethisseasonafter
missingthefirsttwogamesbecauseofasuspension.
He’salittlelessexcitedaboutplayingthenexttwogamesforfree.
[Freealonecouldhavebeenconfusing,perhapssuggestingthatheisafree
agent.Withoutpaycouldbeabetterchoice.]
—JonKrawczynskiwritingfortheAssociatedPress
We’renotgoingtobreakanything.Don’tthinkofitasbreakinginto
SeaWorld.ThinkofitasvisitingSeaWorldinthemiddleofthe
nightforfree.
[Freealonewouldbeawkwardsinceitisatsuchadistancefromwhatitis
modifying:visiting.ThesentencecouldbefixedbywritingThinkofitasafree
visittoSea-Worldinthemiddleofthenight.]
—JohnGreeninPaperTowns
WhatShouldYouDo?
Theinstancesinwhichyousimplycan’tdroptheforfromforfreearerare,andforfree
stilldrawsenoughnegativeattentionthatit’sworththeextraefforttorewriteyour
sentencestoavoidit.
FREEGIFT
What’stheTrouble?Freegiftisusuallyredundant.
Giftsshouldbefreebydefinition,right?It’srarelynecessarytowriteaboutafreegift.
Giftaloneshouldsuffice.
Ontheotherhand,althoughit’sredundant,freegiftissocommoninadvertisements
thatit’shardtocallitanerror.Let’sjustsaythatitshouldbelimitedtothedomainof
advertisersbecausetheyseemtofinditeffective.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Avoidthephrasefreegiftunlessyou’rewritingads.
Sospeakup,America.Speakupforthehomeofthebrave.Speakup
forthelandofthefreegiftwithpurchase!
—ReeseWitherspoonasElleWoodsinthemovieLegallyBlonde2:Red,
White&Blonde
FUN
What’stheTrouble?Somepeoplethinkfuncan’tbeusedasanadjectiveand
otherpeoplethinkit’sfinetousefunnest.
Funoftenmeanssomethingdifferentdependingonhowoldyouare—bothliterallyand
linguistically.Literally,aneighty-year-oldmayfindfuninacrosswordpuzzle,whereas
aneight-year-oldmaycravearollercoasterride.Linguistically,everyoneagreesthat
funisanoun(e.g.,everyonehadfun),butolderpeoplethinkthefunstopsthere,
whereasyoungerpeoplethinkfuncanalsobeanadjective(e.g.,itwasafunparty).
Althoughfunhasbeenusedasanadjectivesincethemid-1800s,therewasaburstof
talkaboutfuncars,funclothes,funparties,andfunpeoplestartingrightafterWorld
WarIIandtheusecontinuedon.Morethanonelanguageexperthascommentedon
thelinkbetweenageandhowacceptablepeoplefindfun,theadjective.
Oneargumentagainstallowingfuntobeusedasanadjectiveisthatthecomparative
andsuperlativeforms(funnerandfunnest)arestillconsideredobjectionable(orat
leastwildlyinformal)byalmosteveryone,andit’saproblemtohaveanadjectivethat
can’ttakethesamenormalextendedformsasotheradjectives.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Feelfreetousefunasanadjectiveunlessyou’rewritingforapublicationwhose
audienceislargelyolderreaders.Avoidfunnerandfunnestunlessyou’retryingto
soundlikeadudeordudette.(OrareveredtechCEO.Don’tforgetthatSteveJobs
introducedthenewiPodTouchin2008bycallingitthe“funnestiPodever.”)
Ifyouneverdidyoushould.Thesethingsarefunandfunisgood.
[funasapredicateadjectiveandanoun]
—Dr.SeussinOneFishTwoFishRedFishBlueFish
ASupposedlyFunThingI’llNeverDoAgain
[funasanadjective]
—TitleofaDavidFosterWallacebookofessaysandarguments
Youwannatalkfun?Publicbus.Youmeetthefunnestpeople.
[funnestasthesuperlativeoffun]
—NicholasBrendonasXanderintheTVseriesBuffytheVampireSlayer
GAUNTLET
What’stheTrouble?Manystyleguidesrecommendgantletinthephrasemost
peoplewriteasrunthegauntlet.
Manyusageexpertssaygauntletandgantlethavedifferentoriginsandthatagauntlet
isonlyagloveandagantletisonlyapathlinedwithattackers.Therefore,youthrow
downthegauntlet(glove)tochallengesomeoneandpickupthegauntlet(glove)to
acceptachallenge,butyourunthegantlet(acourse).
Moststyleguidesstillsupportthedistinction.Forexample,theAPStylebookcurrently
recommendsusinggantletinphrasessuchasrunthegantlet.However,inthepast,the
APeditorshavesaidtheybowtocommonusage(forexample,whentheychangedtheir
recommendationfrome-mailtoemail).Theyarelikelytoabandonthegantlet
requirementinthenearfuture,particularlybecausetwolargenewspapershave
reportedreceivingsignificantmailchidingthemforthe“error”whentheyhaveused
gantletasAPrecommends.Further,runthegauntletalreadyappearsmoreoftenin
booksthanrunthegantlet.
Finally,Merriam-Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsagedigsintotheetymologyof
gauntletandfindsthatthedistinctionfromgantletisnotsoclear.Althoughtheyare
usuallypronounceddifferentlynow,earlyongantletandgauntletweresimplyvariant
spellingsoftheSwedishwordgatalopp,whichmeant“road”or“course”andwas
makingitswayintoEnglish.Theyfindnoreasongantletbecamethepreferredspelling,
andiffact,suggestitmaybebecauseoftheirowndistinctionbetweenthewordsinone
oftheirearlydictionaries,whichtheyregret.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Unlessyou’refollowingastyleguidethatrequiresgantlet,usegauntletwhenyou’re
talkingaboutrunningdownalanewhilebeingattacked.Ifyouusegantlet,youruna
significantriskofbeingviewedasincorrectorprecious.
TOMParis:Whenyousaid“Bethereinaminute,”youweren’t
kidding.
B’ElannaTorres:AgroupofKlingonsambushedmeoutsideof
Engineering.Idecidedtransportingmyselfwouldbeeasierthan
runningthegauntlet.
—RobertDuncanMcNeillasTomParisandRoxannDawsonasB’Elanna
TorresintheTVseriesStarTrek:Voyager
GENDER
What’stheTrouble?Genderhasbecomeaquestionablereplacementforsex.
Peopleoftenusethewordgenderasa“delicate”waytoasksomeone’ssex,butit’s
technicallysomethingelse.Whenyouaskwhatsomeone’ssexis,you’reaskingwhether
theyhavethephysicalcharacteristicsofamaleorafemale.Genderisasocial
construct,sowhenyouasksomeone’sgender,you’reaskingwhetherapersonwantsto
beperceivedaswhatsocietycallsmaleorsocietycallsfemale.That’swhyintersexis
usedtodescribesomeonewhohasbothmaleandfemalephysicalcharacteristics,and
transgenderisusedtodescribepeoplewhoarephysicallymalebutpresentthemselves
totheworldasiftheyarefemale,andviceversa.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyourreadersarelikelytobeextremelysqueamishaboutsex,it’sOKtousegenderas
areplacementforsex,butifnot,trytokeepthedistinctionbetweenthetwowords.
Tedyoumaywannafindanewgenderforyourself’causeI’m
revokingyourdudemembership.
—NeilPatrickHarrisasBarneyintheTVseriesHowIMetYourMother
Therearetwotypesofmaleoysters,andoneofthemcanchange
gendersatwill.
[Sexwouldhavebeenabetterchoicesince,presumably,oystershaveno
culturethatdefinessocialconstructssuchasgender.]
—WilliamPetersenasGilGrissomintheTVseriesCSI:CrimeScene
Investigation
GONEMISSING
What’stheTrouble?ManyAmericansfindgonemissingannoying,yetitisnot
incorrect.
GonemissingisaBritishismthathasmadeitswaytotheUnitedStates,whereitis
primarilyusedbyjournaliststodescribemissingpersons.Althoughreportersand
newscastersseemtolovegonemissing,it’seasytofindvocalreadersandviewerswho
hateit.
Hatersarguethatapersonmustgotoalocation,andmissingisn’taplace,andthatan
inanimateobjectcan’tgomissingbecauseitcan’ttakeactionalone—butEnglishhas
neverbeensoliteral.Inatightlabormarket,jobscangobegging(beun-filled),for
example,eventhoughbeggingisnotalocationandjobscan’ttakeaction.Other
peeverssuggestthatgonemissingnecessitatesanactiononthepartofthepersonor
itemthathasvanished.Again,wehaveparallelsthatunderminetheargument:Milk
goesbad,forexample,withouttakinganyactiononitsown.
Gonemissingisnotwrong.TheOxfordEnglishDictionaryplacesitinthesame
categoryasthephrasegonative,asinWehadhighhopesforournewsenator,but
afterhewasinWashingtonforafewmonthshewentnative.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifgonemissingbothersyou,useawordsuchasdisappearedinyourownwriting.You
cancriticizegonemissingasannoyingifyoulike,butnotasincorrect.
ThesheriffofArea9inTexashasgonemissing.HeistwiceasoldasI
amandverypowerful.Ifonesuchashecanbetaken,thannoneof
usissafe.
—AlexanderSkarsgårdasEricNorthmanintheTVseriesTrueBlood
GOTTEN
What’stheTrouble?Inthepast,someschoolbookstaughtthatgottenisincorrect
asthepastparticipleoftheverbtoget,butsuchadvicehasadubioussource.
TheBritishrarelyusegottenasthepastparticipleofgetanymore(theyprefergot),but
it’sstillthemostcommonAmericanformandisacceptedbymajorAmericanstyle
guides.Britishstyleguidesdisparagedgottenbackinthe1800sandthatcriticism
madeitswayintosomepopularAmericanschoolbooks.
AlthoughgottenisfineinAmerica,wealsousegot.Merriam-Webster’sDictionaryof
EnglishUsagesaysAmericansusegottenandgot“inawaythatisalmostfreely
variable.”However,whichwordyouusecanchangethemeaningofsomesentences.
Gotcanhaveasenseofownership,whereasgottencanhaveasenseofprocess.The
AmericanHeritageGuidetoContemporaryUsageandStylehighlightsitbestwith
thesetwoexamples:Ihaven’tgotanymoney(whichsaysyou’rebroke)versusI
haven’tgottenanymoney(whichsaysyouhaven’tbeenpaid).
(AlsoseeHaveGot.)
WhatShouldYouDo?
Don’tbeafraidtousegotten,butinsentenceswheregotcouldmeansomething
different,besureyouchoosetherightword.
Thephotographcaughtfourblackbearsastheypuzzledovera
suspendedfoodbag.Thebearswereclearlystartledbutnot
remotelyalarmedbytheflash.Itwasnotthesizeordemeanorof
thebearsthattroubledme—theylookedalmostcomically
nonaggressive,likefourguyswhohadgottenaFrisbeecaughtupa
tree—buttheirnumbers.Uptothatmomentithadnotoccurredto
methatbearsmightprowlinparties.
—BillBrysoninAWalkintheWoods:RediscoveringAmericaonthe
AppalachianTrail
GRADUATED
What’stheTrouble?Peoplearestartingtodropthefrominsentencessuchas
Johnnygraduatedfromhighschool.
Seventyyearsago,parentssaidJohnnywasgraduatedfromhighschool,butthat’sa
passiveconstruction.Bythemid-1960s,peoplehaddroppedthewas,andtheactive
formhadbecomethestandardform:Johnnygraduatedfromhighschool.Recently,
graduatedhasbeenthetargetofanotherchange:peoplearestartingtodropthefrom
andsimplysayJohnnygraduatedhighschool.
Thenew,shorterformmayeventuallybecomestandard,butit’scurrentlyconsidered
wrongbecauseaschooldoestheactofgraduatingandthenewwayofsayingitseems
toimplythatJohnnydidtheactofgraduating.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Stickwiththegraduatedfromconstruction:Johnnygraduatedfromhighschool.
[phonerings]
CLIFF:Oh,notanotherVanessacaller.
[answers]
CLIFF:Vanessa’sResidence?…No,shecannotcometothephone
rightnow….Becauseitisnow10:05,andshecannottakeanycalls
past10o’clock….No,Icannottakeamessage.Iamherfather.Iam
adoctor.Igraduatedfrommedicalschool,allright?
—BillCosbyasHeathcliffHuxtableintheTVseriesTheCosbyShow
GROW
What’stheTrouble?Somepeopleobjecttousinggrowwithintangibleobjects
(e.g.,growtheeconomyinsteadofgrowroses).
Clearly,growcantakeanobject.Peoplehavebeengrowingriceandwheatfor
millennia.Peoplehaveonlyspokenofgrowinginvestmentsoreconomiesforafew
decadesthough,andoutsideofbusinesscircles,usingsuchnonorganic,intangible
objectswiththetransitiveverbgrowraisessomeeyebrows.
Nevertheless,metaphorically,investmentsandeconomiesneedtendinginthesame
waythatplantsneedwaterandfertilizer.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Growinthissenseisfirmlyestablishedinbusinesswritingandisn’tgoingaway.Freely
usegrowwithnonlivingthingsinbusinesspublications,butbemorehesitantinother
typesofpublications.
Votersnextfallmaybeabletoweightwostronglycontrastingviews
ofhowtogrowtheeconomyandcreatejobs.
—ChristianScienceMonitoreditorialboard
NOTE:Oddasitmayseem,it’sperfectlyacceptabletosaysomethinggrewsmaller.
“Become”haslongbeenoneofthedefinitionsofgrow.
HALF
What’stheTrouble?Halfcanbesingularorplural.
Typically,subjectsandverbsmustagree:Ifthesubjectissingular,theverbissingular;
andifthesubjectisplural,theverbisplural.However,sentencesthatstartwithhalf
don’tfollowthisrule.
Halfaloneissingular,butalthoughhalfisthesubjectinasentencesuchasHalfthe
boysaremissing,weuseapluralverbbecauseofsomethingcallednotionalagreement.
Itsimplymeansthatalthoughhalfissingular,thesubjecthasanotionofbeingplural,
sothepluralverbisOK.
Halfhasafewotherquirkstoo.Compoundwordsthatstartwithhalfcanbeopen,
closed,orhyphenated(e.g.,halfnote,halfhearted,half-baked).There’snorule,soyou
havetocheckadictionary.Andalthoughhalfofisn’twrong,usuallythemeaning
doesn’tchangeandyoursentenceismoreconciseifyouleaveouttheof.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Followthisrulewhenhalfisthesubjectofasentence:Ifhalfisfollowedbyasingular
noun,useasingularverb.Ifhalfisfollowedbyapluralnoun,useapluralverb.
Halftheworldiscomposedofpeoplewhohavesomethingtosayand
can’t,andtheotherhalfwhohavenothingtosayandkeeponsaying
it.
—RobertFrost,Americanpoet
HalfoftheAmericanpeoplehaveneverreadanewspaper.Half
nevervotedforPresident.Onehopesitisthesamehalf.
—GoreVidal,Americanfictionandnonfictionwriter
HANUKKAH
What’stheTrouble?TherearemanyacceptablewaystospellHanukkah.
TheJewishholidayalsoknownastheFestivalofLightscanbespelledChanukah,
Hanukkah,Hanukah,andHannukah.Andthat’sjustthebeginning.Hebrewwords
likeHanukkahcan’tbedirectlytranslatedtoEnglishbecauseEnglishandHebrewuse
differentalphabets.Instead,wordsaretransliterated:givenEnglishspellingsbasedon
howtheyarepronounced.Transliterationleavesspellingopentointerpretation.
ThemostpopularspellingintheCorpusofContemporaryAmericanEnglish(ahuge
databaseofEnglishtext)isHanukkah,andthatisalsothespellingrecommendedby
theAssociatedPress.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Pickonespellinganduseitconsistently.Hanukkahisagoodexampleofwhy
organizationsneedstyleguides.
Somenights,someplacesarealittlebrighter.It’sdifficulttostare
atNewYorkCityonValentine’sDay,orDublinonSt.Patrick’s.The
oldwalledcityofJerusalemlightsuplikeacandleoneachof
Chanukah’seightnights…We’rehere,theglow…willsayinoneanda
halfcenturies.We’rehere,andwe’realive.
—JonathanSafranFoerinEverythingIsIlluminated
HAVEGOT
What’stheTrouble?Somepeoplesaythatgotisunnecessaryandincorrectwhen
insertedbetweenhavetoinsentencessuchasYouhavegottoseemynewparrot.
Got,indeed,doesnotnotsignificantlychangethemeaningwhenit’sincludedafterthe
helpingverbhave(IhavetobuysomebirdseedversusIhavegottobuysome
birdseed).Itdoes,however,addemphasis,justasmyselfaddsemphasisinasentence
suchasIpickedouttheparrotmyself.
HavegothasbeenusedinEnglishforcenturiesandisconsideredfullystandardby
mostmodernusageguides.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Usehavegottowithoutfearwhenyoursentencemeritsextraemphasis.
Ifyouhaveanythingtosay,anythingyoufeelnobodyhaseversaid
before,youhavegottofeelitsodesperatelythatyouwillfindsome
waytosayitthatnobodyhaseverfoundbefore,sothatthething
youhavetosayandthewayofsayingitblendasonematter—
asindissolublyasiftheywereconceivedtogether.
—F.ScottFitzgeraldinTheShortStoriesofF.ScottFitzgerald
HEALTHY
What’stheTrouble?Somepeopleinsistthatcarrotsaren’thealthy;they’re
healthfulbecauseonlyhealthfulcanmean“conducivetohealth.”
Healthyhaslongbeenusedtodescribethingsthatimproveyourconstitution.
Healthfulgainedgroundagainsthealthystartinginthelate1800s,buthealthyfought
backandnow,althoughhealthfulisn’twrong,healthyisthedominantStandard
Englishwordweusewhendescribingfruits,vegetables,exercise,andotherthingswe
hopewillmakeuslivelonger.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ignoreanyonewhosaysyouhavetousehealthfulinsteadofhealthy(unlessyou’re
tryingtofeignan“old-timey”air).
It’saveryhealthfuldrink!Evenbetterforyouthanplacingleeches
onyourtongue.
—GaryColemanvoicingKennyFalmouthinthevideogameTheCurseof
MonkeyIsland
HERO
What’stheTrouble?Heroisoverusedandmisunderstood.
Somedictionariesincludeadefinitionofherothatmeans“anadmiredperson,”but
readerscanobjectwhenwritersextendtheherolabeltoanentireclassofpeople(e.g.,
allfirefightersorallsoldiers)orpeoplewhoarejustdoingadifficultjob(e.g.,an
excellentteacher).Suchreadersmaintainthatapersonmustdosomething
extraordinarytobeahero—thattheremaybeheroesamongfirefighters,butnotevery
firefighterisheroic;andthatpeoplemustaccomplishmorethansimplydoingtheirjob
welltobeahero.
Heroalsohasothermeanings.Forexample,inliterature,aherocanbesimply“the
maincharacterinawork,”andinclassicmythology,aherois“astrong,courageous
manwhomayhavegodlikepowersorbefavoredbythegods.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
Althoughit’snotincorrecttouseherotodescribesomeoneyouadmireorthinkyour
readersshouldadmire,considerwhetheradifferentdescriptionmaybemore
appropriateorlessgratingtocertainreaders.
[Homerhasbeenthrownoutofanall-you-can-eatrestaurantfor
eatingtoomuch]
LIONELHUTZ:Thisisthemostblatantcaseoffalseadvertisingsince
mysuitagainstthemovieTheNeverEndingStory.
HOMER:So,doyouthinkIhaveacase?
LIONELHUTZ:Mr.Simpson,Idon’tusetheword“hero”lightly,butyou
arethegreatestheroinAmericanhistory.
HOMER:Woohoo!
HOPEFULLY
What’stheTrouble?Althoughit’scommontousehopefullytomean“Ihope,”
manypeopleobjecttosuchuse.
Forcenturies,hopefullymeant“inahopefulmanner.”
Totravelhopefullyisabetterthingthantoarrive.
—ScottishwriterRobertLouisStevenson
Inthe1960s,peoplestartedusinghopefullytomean“Ihope”or“wehope.”Itbecame
trendy.Atthetime,usageexpertsobjectedtothenewmeaning,butthoseobjections
failedtostick.Today,hopefullytomean“Ihope”iswidespreadandmoststyleguides
havesoftenedtheirstance.Merriam-Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsagepinsthe
peakofhopefullyoppositionto1975;nevertheless,manypeoplearestillalivetoday
whoremembertheearlyandmorevehementopposition.
TREYATWOOD:Ryansaidyoutalkalot.
SETH:Yeah,it’skindofaproblembuthopefullyoneyou’llcometo
findendearing.
—LoganMarshall-GreenasTreyandAdamBrodyasSethintheTVseries
TheO.C
WhatShouldYouDo?
Hideunderarock?Unfortunately,youcan’twinwithhopefully.Althoughthe
argumentsagainstusingitasasentenceadverbareuncompelling(it’snotmuch
differentfromfranklyandthankfully),anditcommonlyappearsinprintandeveryday
language,youarestillquitelikelytodrawcriticismfromalargepoolofobjectorsifyou
useit.Takecomfortintheknowledgeitprobablywon’tbeaproblemforyourchildren.
I’D’VE
What’stheTrouble?Somecontractionsthatmimicspeechpatternsseemoddin
writing.
Whenwespeak,weoftenslurandcontractourwords.Someofthesecontractionsare
alsocommoninprint(there’s,I’m),yetotherslookunusualandawkward(I’d’ve,
that’ve,there’re).I’d’veisnolesscorrectthanshould’ve,andthere’reisnolesscorrect
thanthere’s,butusingsuchoddcontractionscouldthrowyourreaders.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Unlessyou’regoingforaninformal,breezyairthatcloselymimicsspeech,avoidthe
lesscommoncontractionssuchasI’d’ve.
Newtdidsomethinggraceful.KarenTumulty,Ibelieve,said
“CongressmanGingrich,”thencorrectedherselfwith“Speaker
Gingrich.”AndNewtbrokein,“Newt.”(IfIhadbeenthereporter,
I’d’vesaid“Mr.Gingrich.”Idon’tthinkthesetitlesshouldcarryon
forever.)
—JayNordlingerinhis“Impromptus”columnfortheNationalReview
Online
INTO
What’stheTrouble?Determiningwhetheryouneedintoorintocanbetricky.
Intoindicatesmotion,andinindicatesposition:Youaccidentallywalkedintoawall,
andyouwereinyourroomwhenthephonerang.Thatseemssimpleenough.
Thetrickypartisthatinisalsopartofphrasalverbssuchastunein,optin,andlogin
thatcanjusthappentocomebeforetoinasentence.That’swhenyouhavetobe
careful.Forexample,youtuneintoaradiostation;youdon’ttuneintoit.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Whenyou’renotsurewhethertouseintoorinto,askyourselfwhetherthereismotion
(ifso,youusuallywantinto),orwhetheryourverbwouldhaveadifferentmeaningif
youdeletedthewordin(ifso,youusuallywantinto).
TMZhasvideoof[Shia]LaBeoufbeingpunchedbyanunnamed
personwhilelayingontheground.Othersoutsidequicklystepped
intopullShiaoutofthere.
[Notethatsteppedhasadifferentmeaningthansteppedin.]
—CharleyBeenwritingforStarzLife
[R]eplacingdepartedstarShiaLaBeoufwithBritmusclemanJason
Stathamcouldinjectsomenewtestosterone-drivenenergyintothe
series.
[Notethatinjectintoindicatesmetaphoricalmotion—energyflowingintothe
series.]
—DaveLewiswritingforHitFix
ITISI
What’stheTrouble?ItisIistechnicallycorrect,butmostpeoplesayItisme.
Grammatically,Iisthecorrectchoicefollowingalinkingverbsuchasis,meaningwhen
peopleaskWhoisthere?youshouldanswerItisI.Nevertheless,tomostpeople,ItisI
soundsoverlyformalevenaftertheyaretaughttherule.
It’snotamodernproblem.Backin1878,HenryAlford,theDeanofCanterburyand
authorofapopularusagebookoftheera,APleafortheQueen’sEnglish,calledItisme
a“wellknownandmuchcontrovertedphrase.”HedefendedItisme,saying,“Thisisan
expressionthateveryoneuses.Grammarians(ofthesmallerorder)protest;
schoolmasters(ofthelowerkind)prohibitandchastise;butEnglishmen,women,and
childrengoonsayingit,andwillgoonsayingitaslongastheEnglishlanguageis
spoken.”
ModernusageguidescontinuetosupportItisme.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Inallbutthemostformalsituations,feelfreetouseItismeorIt’sme.
ItisI;benotafraid.
—JesusinthebookofMatthew
AreYouThereGod?It’sMe,Margaret.
—JudyBlumebooktitle
JEALOUS
What’stheTrouble?Jealousandenvioushaveoverlappingmeaningsandare
oftenusedinterchangeably.
Somesourcessayjealousshouldbelimitedtoresentfulemotionalrivalries(often
romantic)withanotherperson,whereasenviouscanexpandtocoverdesiringor
covetingtheobjectsoraccomplishmentsofanotherperson.Jealousycanalsocome
withanelementoffearthatyoumightlosesomeone,whereasifyouareenvious,you
simplywantwhatsomebodyelsehas.
Forexample,maybeyou’rejealousofyourgirlfriend’sbestfriendwho’sadude,but
you’reenviousofherupcomingtriptoHawaii.Ifshe’sgoingtoHawaiiwiththedude,
youcanbejealousandenviousatthesametime!(Clearly,it’sadoomedrelationship.)
Nevertheless,jealousiscommonlyusedinmoviesandmagazinearticleswhenenvious
wouldbethemoreprecisetermaccordingtotraditionaldefinitions,anddictionaries
includeoverlappingdefinitions.Thedistinctionbetweenthetwowordsinpracticeis
weak,atbest.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyouwishtobeprecise,makeadistinctionbetweenjealousandenviousinyour
writing,butdon’tbesurprisedwhenthedefinitionsareblurredinpopculture.
Youpeoplemakemeenvythedeafandtheblind!
—JohnnyHardwickasDaleintheTVseriesKingoftheHill
Oh,please.Youcan’ttellmeyouweren’tjealousthatVaughnhadhis
hippiehandsalloveryourdebate-slash-make-outpartner.
—GillianJacobsasBrittaintheTVseriesCommunity
KINDS
What’stheTrouble?Kindslipsinwhenpeoplemeankinds.
Youhaveonekindofpeanutbutterbutthreekindsofjelly.Usethesingular(kind)
whenyouhaveoneofsomething;usetheplural(kinds)whenyouhavemore.Since
theseandthoseindicatemultiplethings,youhavetouseaplural:kinds:Thesekindsof
situationsalwaysperplexme.(Thesekindofsituationsiswrong.)
WhatShouldYouDo?
Thebestyoucandoistowatchoutfortheproblem.Remember:whenyouhavea
pluraladjectivesuchastheseorthose,youneedapluralnoun,kinds:Thosekindsof
restaurantsalwaysseemtofillupfast.
Thecharacterstrengthsthatenabled[DominicRandolph]to
achievethesuccessthathehaswerenotbuiltinhisyearsat
Harvardorattheboardingschoolsheattended;theycameoutof
thoseyearsoftrialanderror,oftakingchancesandlivingwithouta
safetynet.Anditispreciselythosekindsofexperiencesthathe
worriesthathisstudentsaren’thaving.
—PaulToughinTheNewYorkTimes
KUDOS
What’stheTrouble?Somepeoplemistakenlybelievekudosisplural.
Kudosmeans“praise”or“glory”andisoftenusedwhere“congratulations”wouldfit.It
comesdirectlyfromGreekandissingular,justaspraiseandgloryaresingular.
However,becausekudosendsinsandcongratulationsisplural,somepeople
mistakenlybelievethatkudosispluralandusekudoasasingularform.Suchuseis
incorrect.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Usekudos,andrememberthatit’ssingular.
“Iseethatyouareworkingthisvampireanglewithsomesuccess,”
Jacesaid,indicatingIsabelleandMaiawithanodofhishead.“And
kudos.Lotsofgirlslovethatsensitive-undeadthing.ButI’ddrop
thatwholemusicianangleifIwereyou.Vampirerockstarsare
playedout,andbesides,youcan’tpossiblybeverygood.”
—CassandraClareinCityofGlass
Memotoself:Kudosareinorder.IcouldwinaNobelPrize.Ifthey
everaddthatAtrocitiescategory.[Itshouldbekudosisinorderor
congratulationsareinorder.]
—AlanRachinsasProfessorJeffersonColeintheTVseriesLois&Clark:
TheNewAdventuresofSuperman
LAY
What’stheTrouble?Layiscommonlyusedwhenlieistherightchoice.
BryanGarner,authorofGarner’sModernAmericanUsage,callsmistakinglayforlie
“oneofthemostwidelyknownofallusageerrors,”andlayversuslieisoneofthetop
searchesthatbringspeopletotheGrammarGirlwebsite.Clearly,there’ssome
confusion.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Theruleisactuallyquitesimple.Layisthetransitiveverb(youuseitwhenyouare
layingsomethingdown)andlieistheintransitiveverb(youuseitwhenyouor
someoneyouaredescribingistakingtheactionoflyingdown).Youlayapenonthe
table,andliedowntosleep.
Ienjoyhavingbreakfastinbed.Ilikewakinguptothesmellof
bacon,sueme.AndsinceIdon’thaveabutler,Ihavetodoit
myself.So,mostnightsbeforeIgotobed,Iwilllaysixstripsof
baconoutonmyGeorgeForemangrill.ThenIgotosleep.WhenI
wakeup,Ipluginthegrill.Igobacktosleepagain.ThenIwakeup
tothesmellofcracklingbacon.
—SteveCarellasMichaelScottintheTVseriesTheOffice
LIGHTEDANDLIT
What’stheTrouble?Theverbtolighthastwoacceptablepasttenseforms.
Oddasitmayseem,bothlightedandlitareequallyacceptablepasttenseformsofthe
verbtolight.
Lightedisaregularform(becauseyouadd-edtotheendtomakeitpasttense),andlit
isanirregularform(becauseyouchangethespellinginsteadofadding-edtotheend),
butirregulardoesnotmeanlessacceptable.Infact,litappearsmoreofteninprintthan
lighted.
Ilightedthreecandles.
Ilitthreecandles.
LightedistheolderadjectiveformaccordingtotheOxfordEnglishDictionary,but
again,bothlightedandlitarestandardadjectives.
Hesawheracrossthelightedballroom.
Hesawheracrossthelitballroom.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Choosewhicheverwordsoundsbetterinyoursentence.
Thousandsofcandlescanbelighted/litfromasinglecandle,andthe
lifeofthecandlewillnotbeshortened.Happinessneverdecreases
bybeingshared.
—ABuddhistsayingthatappearsinbothforms
MEDIA
What’stheTrouble?Mediaistreatedasbothsingularandplural.
MediacomesfromLatin,inwhichmediumisthesingularandmediaistheplural.
However,foreignwordscanchangetheirstripeswhentheybecomerootedinEnglish,
andmediaisdoingjustthat.
InEnglish,mediaisoftenusedasacollectivenounlikebandorteam,andinAmerica
weusuallytreatcollectivenounsassingularnouns:Thebandishere,theteamis
excited,andthemediaisonthestory.(InBritain,collectivenounsareusuallytreated
asplural.)
WhatShouldYouDo?
Whenmediaisusedasacollectivenoun,it’sfinetouseasingularverb.TheAP
StylebookandTheChicagoManualofStylesupportsuchuse,althoughit’snot
unheardofforanAmericaneditortofavorusingapluralverb.You’llseethemediaare,
butyou’llseethemediaismoreoften:
Whoa,thisreallybeatsthepressureofplayingbigleagueball,there
ifyoumakeamistake,and“boom”themediaisalloveryou.
—MajorLeagueBaseballcatcherMikeSciosciaashimselfintheTVseries
TheSimpsons
Asanybodywhohasreadanewspapersince1788willknow,the
BritishmediaaresomewhatobsessedwithLondon,attheexpense
ofeverywhereelse.
—ScottMurraywritingforTheGuardian
MOMENTARILY
What’stheTrouble?Momentarilyislosingitsoriginalmeaning.
Momentarilyhasitsrootsinthewordmomentary—asinthePinkFloydalbumA
MomentaryLapseofReason—andittraditionallymeans“foramoment.”However,it’s
morecommonnowadaystohearpeopleusemomentarilywhentheymean“ina
moment.”TheOxfordEnglishDictionarysaysthisismainlyanAmericanproblem.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Don’tusemomentarilytomean“foramoment”;youmayconfusepeople.Ifyoumean
inamoment,sayorwritethat.There’snoneedtousemomentarilyinsuchcases,and
doingsowillirritatelanguagepurists.
TOMSCAVO:[Lynetteissittingathercomputer]What’reyoudoing?
LYNETTESCAVO:I’mjusttalkingtoPorteronSilverfizz.
TOMSCAVO:WhoisSarahJfromMacArthurHighSchool?
LYNETTESCAVO:Me!I’msixteen,cute,IlikegraphicnovelsandTokyo
PoliceClub.
TOMSCAVO:OhmyGod!You’repretendingtobesomebodyelse!
LYNETTESCAVO:Ourbroodingsonhasaclassmatewhogotarrestedfor
sellingdrugs,Ireallythinktheendsjustifythemeans.
TOMSCAVO:We’lladdressyourmajorethicalbreachinamoment.What
didyoufindout?
—DougSavantasTomScavoandFelicityHuffmanasLynetteScavointhe
TVseriesDesperateHousewives
DR.RODNEYMCKAY:Ifiguredoutawaytocreateaglitchthat,onmy
command,shouldmomentarilyfreezethem.
RononDEX:Howlong?
Dr.RODNEYMCKAY:Well,Idon’tknow.That’swhyIsaid“momentarily.”
—DavidHewlettasMcKayandJasonMomoaasDexintheTVseries
Stargate:Atlantis
MYRIAD
What’stheTrouble?Somesourcessaythephraseamyriadofisunacceptable;
otherssayit’sfine.
TheAmericanHeritageGuidetoContemporaryUsageandStylenotesthatusing
myriadasanoun(e.g.,amyriadof)hasbeencommonthroughoutmostofEnglish
history,anditwasonlyintheearlynineteenthcenturythatmyriadstartedtobeused
asanadjective(e.g.,inmyriadways),andatfirstonlypoetically.Otherrespectable
styleguidesagreethatamyriadofisfine,buttheAssociatedPressinstructsitswriters
thusintheentryonmyriad:“wordisnotfollowedbyof.”Therefore,writerswhoare
familiaronlywithAPstylecanbelievethephraseamyriadofiswrong.
Cheesecoversamyriadofsins.
—JessicaBielasMaryintheTVseries7thHeaven
Booksgrantusmyriadpossibilities:thepossibilityofchange,the
possibilityofillumination.
—AlbertoManguelinTheLibraryatNight
Thepluralnoun,myriadsisalsoallowedbysome—inthesenseofahugeamountsuch
astensofthousands—andfrowneduponbyothers.
Oneoftheproofsoftheimmortalityofthesoulisthatmyriadshave
believedit.Theyalsobelievedtheworldwasflat.
—MarkTwain
WhatShouldYouDo?
FreelyuseamyriadofunlessyoufollowAPstyle,butknowthatyoumayoccasionally
getcomplaintswhenyoudoso.
NEITHER…NOR
What’stheTrouble?Choosingasingularorpluralverbcanbetrickywhenwriting
aneither…norsentence.
Peopleoftenseemincorrectlydrawntopluralverbswhenwritingwithneitherandnor.
However,neitherandnorcreatesomethingcalledan“alternatesubject,”whichmeans
youusetheclosestnounorpronountochooseyourverb.
singular+plural=pluralverb(Neithermilknorcookiesareonthemenu.)
plural+singular=singularverb(Neithercookiesnormilkisonthemenu.)
plural+plural=pluralverb(Neitherbrowniesnorcookiesareonthemenu.)
singular+singular=singularverb(Neithermilknororangejuiceisonthe
menu.)
Thesamerulesapplyforeither…orconstructions.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Rememberthatthenounclosesttotheverbdrivesyourverbchoice.Also,it’sbetterto
putthepluralverblastifpossible.
Neitherlovenorevilconquersall,butevilcheatsmore.
[singular(love)+singular(evil)=singularverb(conquers)]
—LaurellK.HamiltoninCeruleanSins
NEXT
What’stheTrouble?Peoplethinknextmeansdifferentthingswhenitmodifiesa
dayoftheweek.
SomepeoplethinknextFridaymeansthenextFridaythatwilloccur,andotherpeople
thinknextFridaymeanstheFridayinthenextweek,regardlessofwhatdayitisinthe
currentweek.
WhatShouldYouDo?
ThereisnodefinitivemeaningfornextFriday,andeveniftherewere,usingitwould
stillcauseconfusion.Avoidusingnexttomodifyadayoftheweek.Bemorespecific.
SID:WellI’mgoingdowntovisitmysisterinVirginianext
Wednesday,foraweek,soIcan’tparkit.
JERRY:ThisWednesday?
SID:No,nextWednesday,weekafterthisWednesday.
JERRY:ButtheWednesdaytwodaysfromnowisthenextWednesday.
SID:IfImeantthisWednesday,IwouldhavesaidthisWednesday.
It’stheweekafterthisWednesday.
—JerrySeinfeldasJerryandJayBrooksasSidintheTVseriesSeinfeld
NOISOME
What’stheTrouble?Noisomehasnothingtodowithnoise.
Noisomesoundslikenoisy,butthat’snotwhatitmeans.Anoisomeproblemoffends
yournose,notyourears.Noisomemeans“offensiveordisgusting,”butisusedalmost
exclusivelytodescribesmells.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Rememberthatnoisomemeans“stinky,”anddon’tusenoisomeinasentencewherea
misinformedreadercouldinterpretittomean“noisy.”
QuickandDirtyTip
Insteadoffocusingontheinitiallettersthatmisleadyoutonoisy,focusonthe
pronunciation.NoisomecomesfromtheMiddleEnglishwordfor“annoy.”
Thinkofitas“annoy-some.”
“Amsterdam,”Isay,“wouldbesuperbwereitnotforitsstinks.”
Murraysays,“Thereisagooddealofmuddepositedatthebottom
ofthecanals,which,whendisturbedbybarges,producesamost
noisomeeffluviawhenthewaterissaidto‘grow.’Machinesare
constantlyatworktoclearoutthemud,whichissenttodistant
partsasmanure.”
—J.Ashby-SterryinTinyTravels
NONE
What’stheTrouble?Nonecanbesingularorplural,butmanypeoplethinkitcan
onlybesingular.
Noneusuallymeans“notone”andisfollowedbyanounandasingularverb.
However,sometimesnonemeans“notany”givingyoursentenceasenseofplurality.In
suchcases,nonecantakeapluralverb.
YouwillfindthatIwillonlytrulyhaveleftthisschoolwhennone
hereareloyaltome.
—J.K.RowlinginHarryPotterandtheChamberofSecrets
WhatShouldYouDo?
Youmaybechidedbytheuninformedwhenyoufollownonewithapluralverb,but
don’tbeafraidtodosoifit’sclearyoursentencecallsforit.
Nevertheless,it’snotascommonfornonetomean“notany”asitisfornonetomean
“notone,”andit’seasytobemistakenlydrawntoapluralverbwhennoneisfollowed
byapluralnoun.Ifyou’renotcertainandhavetoguess,gowithasingularverb.
ODDS
What’stheTrouble?Manypeoplehavetroubleunderstandingodds.
Mathematically,oddsandprobabilityarenotthesamething,althoughcolloquially,
manypeopletreatthewordsassynonyms.Furthercomplicatingmatters,oddsforthe
sameeventcanbepresentedindifferentways.Forexample,onepersonmaythinkof
theoddsofrollingasixonaregularsix-sideddieas1to5infavor,andanotherperson
maythinkoftheoddsas5to1against.
Youcangetinparticulartroublewhenyoutalkaboutoddsbeinghighbecausehigh
oddscanmean“somethingislikelyorunlikely”dependingonhowyourreader
interpretsit.Thesamegoeswithlowodds.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyouwanttosaythat“somethingislikely,”saythere’sagoodchanceorahigh
probabilityofithappening.Ifyoumustuseodds,saytheyaregoododdsorbadodds,
not“high”or“low”odds.
HappyHungerGames!Andmaytheoddsbeeverinyourfavor.
—SuzanneCollinsinTheHungerGames
OK
What’stheTrouble?Thiswell-knownAmericanaffirmativehastwoacceptable
spellings.
OKwasborninAmericainthe1830s.Muchlikethetextmessagingabbreviationsof
today,OKwasanabbreviationforafunnymisspellingofallcorrect:ollkorrect.
AccordingtotheOxfordEnglishDictionary,theokayspellingdidn’tappearuntil1895.
Today,bothformspeacefullycoexist.Forexample,theAssociatedPressrecommends
OKandTheChicagoManualofStylerecommendsokay.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyouworkforsomeoneelse,usethespellinginyouremployer’srecommendedstyle
guide.Ifyou’rewritingforyourself,pickyourfavoritespellinganduseitconsistently.
Oneoutoffourpeopleinthiscountryismentallyunbalanced.
Thinkofyourthreeclosestfriends;iftheyseemOK,thenyou’rethe
one.
—AnnLanders,advicecolumnist
ONE
What’stheTrouble?Oneshowsupinconstructionssuchasoneinfiveandoneof
thepeoplewho,whichcanbehardtopindownassingularorplural.
InasentencesuchasOne-in-fivepeoplestruggleswithsubject-verbagreement,oneis
thesubjectandmoststyleguidessaytheverbshouldbesingular—it’sdrivenbyone,
notpeople.(Dissentingauthorssuggestthatwhenwritersrefertoone-in-fivepeople,
theyusuallydon’tmean“onesingleperson”;theyusuallymean“20percentofall
people,”whichhasasenseofbeingplural.)
InasentencesuchasOneofthepeoplewhostrugglewithsubject-verbagreementjust
threwabookoutthewindow,somestyleguidessayofthepeoplewhostrugglewith
subject-verbagreementisaphrasethatneedstobeinternallyconsistent.Inthat
phrase,thepeopledrivestheverbchoice,makingtheverbplural.However,you’llfind
evenmorestyleguidesthatdisagreewiththisrulethanthepreviousone.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyou’dlikearuletofollow,maketheverbinyourone-in-fivesentencessingularand
theverbinyourone-of-the-people-whosentencesplural.However,theexpertsdisagree
somuchaboutsuchcasesthatit’salsofinetochoosetheverbthatsoundsbesttoyouin
yourspecificsentence.
Tellme,isitoneinfourmarriagesthatendindivorcethesedays,or
oneinthree?[pluralverb]
—RenéeZellwegerasBridgetinthemovieBridgetJones’sDiary
AccordingtothelargesurveybytheEuropeanCommitteeinallEU
MemberStatesjustoneoutoftenEuropeancitizensdoesnotsee
climatechangeasa“seriousproblem.”[singularverb]
—RolfSchuttenhelminTheHuffingtonPost
ORIENTATE
What’stheTrouble?Englishhastwoverbsthatmeanthesamething:orientand
orientate.
Orientistheolderverb,butitsrival,orientate,hasbeenaroundsincethemid-1800s.
Weoftenmakenewwordsbyaddingsuffixes.Forexample,wegottheword
syndicationbyaddingthe-ionsuffixtotheendoftheverbsyndicate.Buttheprocess
canalsoworkinreverse:wecanmakenewwordsbydroppingsuffixes.Forexample,
wegottheverbeditbydroppingthesuffixfromeditor.That’scalledbackformation,
andit’showlexicographersthinkwegotthewordorientate—bydroppingthe-ion
suffixfromorientation.
OrientandorientatearebothacceptableEnglishverbs,butorientispreferredin
AmericanEnglishandorientateispreferredinBritishEnglish.
WhatShouldYouDo?
InAmericanEnglish,stickwithorient.
Thewayyoumove—youorientyourselfaroundhimwithouteven
thinkingaboutit.Whenhemoves,evenalittlebit,youadjustyour
positionatthesametime.Likemagnets…orgravity.You’relikea…
satellite,orsomething.
—StephenieMeyerinEclipse
OUTLOUD
What’stheTrouble?Indaysofold,aloudwastheonlyculturedoption.
Intheearly1900s,usageguidewriterslookeddowntheirnosesatoutloudandcalled
it“colloquial.”Today,outloudandaloudarebothfine,althoughaloudstillhasamore
high-broworformalfeel.
Contextseemstodrivepeople’spreferences.Readaloudandsaidaloudaremuchmore
commoninbooksthanreadoutloudandsaidoutloud,butsayitoutloudismore
commonthansayitaloud;andnotsurprisingly,laughoutloudsurpassedlaughaloud
around1975andhasbeenonastrongupwardtrendeversince.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Usewhicheverwordsoundsmorenaturaltoyou,however,aloudisbetterforsolemnor
formaloccasionssuchasaskingsomeonetoreadaloudinchurch.
IthoughtsuchawfulthoughtsthatIcannotevensaythemoutloud
becausetheywouldmakeJesuswanttodrinkginstraightoutofthe
catdish.
—AnneLamottinTravelingMercies
Iwastalkingaloudtomyself.Ahabitoftheold:theychoosethe
wisestpersonpresenttospeakto.
—J.R.R.TolkieninTheTwoTowers
OVER
What’stheTrouble?Manypeoplehavebeentaughtnottouseovertomeanmore
than,butthereisnobasisfortherule.
Morethanandoverbothhavemultiplemeanings,butwhenthewordsactasa
prepositionbeforeanumber,they’reusuallyequivalent:Morethantwentycamels
performedaballet.Overtwentycamelsperformedaballet.
The“rule”againstusingoverinthissenseoriginatedwithaninfluentialNewYork
EveningPosteditorin1877.Despitehavingnorationale,hisdictumpropagated
throughoutnewspaperstyleguidesbecomingwhatMerriam-Webster’sDictionaryof
EnglishUsagecallsa“hoaryAmericannewspapertradition.”
Nearlyallmodernstyleguidescomeoutstronglyagainstthe“rule.”Garner’sModern
AmericanUsagecallsita“baselesscrotchet”andTheAmericanHeritageGuideto
ContemporaryUsageandStylesaysitmaybe“safelyignored.”Eventhenewest
editionoftheAPStylebook(ahoaryAmericannewspaperstylebook!)takesasoftened
stanceonover,sayingthatmorethanis“preferredwithnumerals,”butnotgoingsofar
astosaythatoveriswrong.
WhatShouldYouDo?
UnlessyouworkforapublicationthatfollowsAPstyle,freelyuseovertomeanmore
thanifitworksbetterinyoursentence.
Miracleoflove.You’reovertwiceaslikelytobekilledbytheperson
youlovethanbyastranger.
—HughLaurieasDr.GregoryHouseintheTVseriesHouseM.D.
Now,youlistentome,officer.Idonottakekindlytoyoushining
yourlightintheeyesofmyfemalecompanion.AndasIhavemore
than100yearsonyou,Idonottakekindlytoyoucallingme“son.”
—StephenMoyerasBillComptonintheTVseriesTrueBlood
PAIR
What’stheTrouble?Peoplefindpairconfusing.Isitsingularorplural?When
shouldyouusepairs?
Apairis“twoofsomething,”butapairofcanbesingularorplural—it’soneofthose
oddEnglishverbs(likecouple)thatcanbesingularorpluraldependingonhowyou’re
thinkingofthepeopleoritemsinquestion.
Apairofpapers…havebeensubmittedtoAstronomyand
Astrophysics,describingtheplanets.
—DennisOverbyewritingforTheNewYorkTimes
Inthecrowd,furiousbutfriendlyargumentsweretakingplaceas
surroundinggroupswatched,muchthewayone-on-onebasketball
gamesareenjoyedinurbanAmerica.Onepairwasarguingthe
meritsofsalvagingatleastabitoftheRussianlanguageas
Ukrainianstrytomoveforwardintoindependence.
—FrancisX.ClineswritingforTheNewYorkTimes
Sometimesyou’llseepair(withoutansattheend)usedasapluralnoun,butpairsis
thebetterchoiceinsuchinstances.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Whenyou’retalkingaboutmorethanonepair,thepluralispairs:Iownonepairof
pants.Iowneightpairsofpants.
Apairofcantakeasingularorpluralverb,dependingonyourmeaning.Choosethe
verbthatbestreflectsthesinglenessorpluralityofyoursentence.
PERCENT
What’stheTrouble?Writerswhoaren’tcomfortablewithmathcanconfuse
percentwithpercentagepoints.
Whenyouarewritingaboutincreasesordecreasesinmeasurementsthatare
themselvespercents,it’softenimportanttobepainfullyclearwhetheryourchangesare
percentchangesorpercentagepointchanges.
Forexample,if6percentofstudentsattendedswimmeetslastyear,and8percentof
studentsattendedswimmeetsthisyear,that’sa33percentincreaseinattendance,but
anincreaseofonly2percentagepoints.
Seehowthewayyoupresentthenumbercaninfluencehowdramaticthechange
seems?Also,ifyouusethewrongword,youcanbeveryfarfromreality.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Usecarewhenwritingaboutpercentchanges.
DARNELLJACKSON:Uh,whatpercentageinchancedoesmyfriend,Aki,
haveofsleepingwithyou?
YUN:Zeropercent.
DARNELLJACKSON:Onemorequestion,please.Whatifhe’sa
professionalbreak-dancer?
YUN:Twopercent.
AKI:Mathematicallythat’saninfinitypercentincrease.
—MiguelA.NúñezJr.asDarnell,KiraClavellasYun,andBobbyLeeas
AkiinthemovieKickin’ItOldSkool
PERUSE
What’stheTrouble?Peruseismisunderstoodinmorethanoneway.
Perusemeans“read,”andithasforcenturies,butin1906aninfluentialeditornamed
FrankVizetellypronounced,withoutanyreasoning,thatperuseshouldonlymean“to
readwithcareandattention.”Hispronouncementwasincludedinmultiplebooks
underhissway,andthosebooksinfluencedlaterusageguides.
Althoughperuseisoccasionallyusedmetaphorically,itdoesn’tmean“browse”;you
don’tperuseclothesinastore,forexample.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Youmaycertainlyuseperusetomean“readcarefully,”butdonotcringewhenyousee
itusedtosimplymean“read.”Usingperusetomean“skim”isn’tadvisable,andusingit
tomean“browse”isclearlywrong.
BessieaskedifIwouldhaveabook:thewordbookactedasa
transientstimulus,andIbeggedhertofetchGulliver’sTravels
fromthelibrary.ThisbookIhadagainandagainperusedwith
delight.
—CharlotteBrontëinJaneEyre
PLETHORA
What’stheTrouble?Usageguidesdisagreeabouthowacceptableitistouse
plethoratomeansimply“many.”
Traditionally,plethorahasmeant“anunpleasantoverabundanceofsomething,”but
peopleoftenuseittomeansimply“alotofabadthing”(insteadof“toomuchofabad
thing”)oreven“alotofagoodthing.”Someusagewritersstillfindthischange
outrageous,andothersconsideritalmostfullyacceptable.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Usingplethoratodescribeahappybountyisn’ttheworstmistakeyoucouldmake—
usageisclearlygoinginthatdirection—butforthetimebeing,useplethoraonlywhen
yourcupismetaphoricallyoverflowingwithsomethingunpleasant.
Thenumberofgamesisobscene…Theinitialrepercussionofthis
plethoraofgameswastocommoditizethemall,butwithsomany
games,specialplaceslikeNotreDamebecomemoreimportant.
—KenSchanzer,presidentofNBCUniversalSports,inaninterviewwith
TheNewYorkTimes
PREVENTATIVE
What’stheTrouble?Englishhastwowordsthatmeanthesamething:preventive
andpreventative.
Oftenwhenwehavetwonearlyidenticalwordsthatmeanthesamething,suchas
preventiveandpreventative,everyonepresumesthatoneofthemiswrong—usually
thelongerone.Suchlogicwouldsuggestthatpreventativeisabadword.
Youwillcertainlyfindoccasionaladmonitionsagainstpreventative,butmostsources
considerittobeStandardEnglish.It’sbeenaroundasanadjectiveandanounforover
threehundredyears.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Youmaycertainlychoosetousethesleekerpreventive,butdon’tchidepeoplewho
preferthelongerform.
Preventivewarislikecommittingsuicideoutoffearofdeath.
—OttovonBismarck,firstchancelloroftheGermanEmpire
Theprimaryfocusforpreventativecareinferretsshouldbecentered
onyearlyorbiyearlyphysicalexamination.
—BonnieM.BallardandRyanCheekinExoticAnimalMedicineforthe
VeterinaryTechnician
RACK
What’stheTrouble?Wrackisstartingtoencroachonrack,butthetwowords
aren’tinterchangeable.
Wehaveracksforstoringspicesanddryingclothes,butintheMiddleAges,therack
wasaninstrumentfortorture.The“mentaltorment”meaningofrackinrackyour
brainandnerve-rackingcomesfromtheideaofphysicaltormentofbodiesonthe
rack.
Ontheotherhand,thewordwrackisrelatedtothewordwreck,meaning“damageor
destruction.”Sincerackandwracksoundsimilarandhavesimilarmeanings,people
cangetthemconfused,butrackyourbrainandnerve-rackingaresetphrases,asis
wrackandruin.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Rememberthatthesetphrasesarerackyourbrainandnerve-racking.
QuickandDirtyTip
Whenyourackyourbrainormakeitthroughanerve-rackingexam,thinkof
yourselfasbeingtorturedontherackintheMiddleAges.
Ithinkaboutdeathallthetime,butonlyinaromantic,self-serving
way,beginning,mostoften,withmytragicillnessandendingwith
myfuneral.Iseemybrothersquattingbesidemygrave,sorackedby
guiltthathe’sunabletostand.“IfonlyI’dpaidhimbackthat
twenty-fivethousanddollarsIborrowed,”hesays.IseeHugh,
dryinghiseyesonthesleeveofhissuitjacket,thencryingeven
harderwhenheremembersIboughtitforhim.
REAL
What’stheTrouble?Realshouldn’tbeusedasanadverb,butitis.
Thebasicrulesaresimple:reallyisanadverb(Ireallylikecheese),andrealisan
adjective(NothingbeatsrealParmesancheese).
Inpractice,however,ininformalconversationandamongpeoplewhousefolksy
language(eithernaturallyorinacalculatingway,aspoliticianssometimesdo),realis
alsooftenusedasanintensifyingadverbthatmeans“very.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
Unlessyou’regoingforacolloquialsound,asinthefollowingtwoexamples,avoid
usingrealasanadverb.
Whyshouldn’tIworkfortheN.S.A.?That’satoughone,butI’lltake
ashot.SayI’mworkingatN.S.A.Somebodyputsacodeonmydesk,
somethingnobodyelsecanbreak.
MaybeItakeashotatitandmaybeIbreakit.AndI’mrealhappy
withmyself,’causeIdidmyjobwell.Butmaybethatcodewasthe
locationofsomerebelarmyinNorthAfricaortheMiddleEast.
Oncetheyhavethatlocation,theybombthevillagewheretherebels
werehidingandfifteenhundredpeopleInevermet,neverhadno
problemwith,getkilled.
—MattDamonasWillinthemovieGoodWillHunting
That’soneofthoseissuesthatifyoudon’tsayexactlytheright
word,exactlythewaysomebodyexpectsit,yousteponalandmine.
That’swhywewroteitdown.Sowecouldberealclear.
—HermanCain,Americanpolitician
SHINE
What’stheTrouble?Theverbshinehastwopasttenseforms:shinedandshone.
Shinedandshonearetwocompeting,acceptablepasttenseformsoftheverbshine.
Some(butnotall)sourcesrecommendusingshinedwhentheverbhasanobject(when
youareshiningsomething)andshonewhenitdoesnot(whensomethingisshiningon
itsown).
Meaningmattersthoughtoo:shinedistheonlyacceptablepasttensewhenyoumean
“polished,”asinHeshinedhisshoes.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Stickwiththetraditionalruleofusingshinedwithanobjectandshonewithoutunless
youhaveagoodreasontodeviate.
QuickandDirtyTip
Therhymeit’sshonewhenalonewillhelpyouremembertouseshonewhen
theverbisalone(i.e.,hasnoobject).
Mr.Robinsonwasapolishedsortofperson.Hewassocleanand
healthyandpleasedabouteverythingthathepositivelyshone
—whichisonlytobeexpectedinafairyoranangel,butis
somewhatdisconcertinginanattorney.
—SusannaClarke,JonathanStrange&Mr.Norrell
Ifyouwantthelawtoleaveyoualone,keepyourhairtrimmedand
yourbootsshined.
—LouisL’AmourinTheManCalledNoon
SINCE
What’stheTrouble?Sincecanbeusedtomean“because,”butsometimesdoing
socreatesambiguity.
Sincecancarryanelementoftime,butsinceandbecausehavealsobeensynonyms
throughouttheages.Sincewestillhadmoneyinourpockets,wedecidedtotry
blackjackmeansthesamethingasBecausewestillhadmoneyinourpockets,we
decidedtotryblackjack.
Sometimes,however,asentencewithsincecanbeinterpretedtwoways,andthatis
whenyoushouldavoidusingsincetomeanbecause.Considerthisambiguoussentence
fromHunterS.Thompson:LifehasbecomeimmeasurablybettersinceIhavebeen
forcedtostoptakingitseriously.Heprobablymeans“lifeisbettersincethetimehe
wasforcedtostoptakingitseriously,”buthecouldalsomean“lifeisbetterbecausehe
wasforcedtostoptakingitseriously.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
Don’tbeafraidtousesinceasasynonymforbecause.Justbesureyouaren’tcreating
ambiguoussentences.
Laughterandtearsarebothresponsestofrustrationand
exhaustion….Imyselfprefertolaugh,sincethereislesscleaningdo
todoafterward.
—KurtVonnegutinPalmSunday
Fearisn’tsodifficulttounderstand.Afterall,weren’tweall
frightenedaschildren?NothinghaschangedsinceLittleRedRiding
Hoodfacedthebigbadwolf.Whatfrightensustodayisexactlythe
samesortofthingthatfrightenedusyesterday.It’sjustadifferent
wolf.
—AlfredHitchcockquotedinIt’sOnlyaMoviebyCharlotteChandler
SLOW
What’stheTrouble?Misguidedsticklersofteninsistthatslowcanneverbean
adverb.
Englishhasaclassofwordscalledflatadverbs:theadjectivecanbeusedasanadverb
(suchasslow,quick,andloud)evenwhenaseparateadverbthatendsin-lyexists
(suchasslowly,quickly,andloudly).Althoughyoucanusethe-lyadverbformifyou
prefer(driveslowly),itisalsoacceptabletousetheflatadverb(driveslow).
Despitevocalsticklerswhorailagainstdriveslow(includingWeirdAlYankovic,who
madeafunnyvideoaboutit),everymajorstyleguideanddictionarysayitandother
instancesofflatadverbsarefine.EvenWilliamStrunk,ofElementsofStylefame,was
knowntosay,“Ifyoudon’tknowhowtopronounceaword,sayitloud!”Additional
examplesofflatadverbsappearregularlyinpoemsandliterature.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Youmaywanttoavoidflatadverbsinsituationsinwhichitcouldbeaproblemifyou’re
perceivedtohavemadeamistake(suchasinarésumécoverletter),butingeneral
writing,ifaflatadverbfitsbetterinyoursentence,don’tbeafraidtouseit.
Talklow,talkslow,anddon’tsaytoomuch.
—JohnWaynequotedinTheElephanttoHollywoodbyMichaelCaine
SMOKEY
What’stheTrouble?Thewordhastwospellings.
BetweenSmokeyRobinson,SmokeytheBear,andthemovieSmokeyandtheBandit,
youcanbeforgivenforthinkingthecorrectspellingforthesmellofburnedwoodis
smokey,butyou’restillwrong.Thecorrectspellingissmoky.Whenit’sanickname
foranofficerofthelaw,it’sspelledsmokey,butotherwise,dropthee.
WhatShouldYouDo?
UsethisQuickandDirtyTiptorememberthatapoliceman’sorranger’snicknameis
Smokey,withane:Thinkofofficersaskeepingtheireyesonyou—eyes,withallthose
e’s.
TINA:[concernedaboutasniperoutside]Butwhathappensifhehits
thegastank?
MATTHELM:SmokeytheBearwon’tlikeit.Getin.
—DaliahLaviasTinaandDeanMartinasMattHelminthemovieThe
Silencers
[cookingamushroomoverthechimney]Thekeyistokeepturning
ittogetthesmokyflavorniceandeven.
—PattonOswaltvoicingRemyinthemovieRatatouille
SOUTH
What’stheTrouble?Sometimesdirectionaltermssuchassoutharecapitalized
andsometimestheyaren’t.
Whenyou’redescribingadirection,southislowercase:Themapisbehindasecret
dooronthesouthwall.
Whenyou’renamingaregion,however,Southiscapitalized.Atlanta,NewOrleans,and
MobileareallintheSouth,notthesouth.Thesameholdstrueforotherdirectional
termsthatarealsothenamesofregions:Midwest,Northeast,Northwest,MiddleEast,
andsoon.Often,ifyoucanputtheinfrontofthename,it’scapitalized:He’sfromthe
South.
Whendirectionaltermsareusedtodescribepeople,styleguidesofferdifferingadvice.
Forexample,TheChicagoManualofStylepreferssoutherner,whereastheAssociated
PressprefersSoutherner.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifadirectionaltermisthenameofaregion,capitalizeit.Ifit’sjustacompasspoint,
lowercaseit.
ThisisBerk.It’stwelvedaysnorthofHopelessandafewdegrees
southofFreezingtoDeath.It’slocatedsolidlyontheMeridianof
Misery.
—JayBaruchelvoicingHiccupinthemovieHowtoTrainYourDragon
Here’sasoldieroftheSouthwholovesyou,Scarlett.Wantstofeel
yourarmsaroundhim,wantstocarrythememoryofyourkisses
intobattlewithhim.Nevermindaboutlovingme,you’reawoman
sendingasoldiertohisdeathwithabeautifulmemory.Scarlett!
Kissme!Kissme…once….
—ClarkGableasRhettButlerinthemovieGonewiththeWind
TEAM
What’stheTrouble?Peoplewonderwhethercollectivenounssuchasteamare
singularorplural.
Teams,committees,boards,andbandsaremadeupoflotsofpeople,butthewordsare
collectivenounsandintheUnitedStates,wegenerallytreatthemassingular.(In
Britain,writersaremorelikelytotreatthemasplural.)
Namesofteams(andbands)aredifferenthowever.Therulesarelessclear,andmost
writerstreatthenamesdifferentlydependingonwhethertheysoundsingularorplural.
Forexample,we’dwritethattheBeatlesareoneofthebestsellingbandsofalltime,but
thatRadioheadisontour.
WhatShouldYouDo?
IntheUnitedStates,treatcollectivenounssuchasteamassingularandteamnamesas
singularunlessthenameitselfsoundsplural.
YourteamisdealingwiththeGreatMayonnaisePanicof2007.I’m
worrieditmightspreadtoothercontinents.
—LisaEdelsteinasDr.LisaCuddyintheTVseriesHouseM.D.
JAMESSTAMPHILL:HowdoyouthinktheYankeeswilldoagainstthe
Redskinsthisyear?
HENRIYOUNG:TheYankeesareabaseballteam.TheRedskinsarea
footballteam.Personally,IthinktheRedskinswouldkickthe****
outofthem.
THANIVERSUSTHANME
What’stheTrouble?Peopleargueaboutwhichpronountouseinsentencessuch
asNobodylovesgrammarmorethan[I/me].
Thetroublewithsentencesthatendwiththanmeisthatsometimestheycanbe
ambiguous.YoulikeQuinnmorethanmecouldmeanthat“youlikeQuinnmorethan
youlikeme,”orthat“youlikeQuinnmorethanIlikeQuinn.”
FINNHUDSON:Okay,Rachel,sincethisisyourfirsttimeatthis,I’m
gonnabreakitdownforyou.Guysandgirlsfallintocertain
archetypeswhentheygetdrunk.ExhibitA:Santana,theweepy,
hystericaldrunk.
SANTANALOPEZ:[WeepingatSam]Youlikehermorethanme.She’s
blondeandawesomeandsosmart.Admit,justadmitit!No,kiss
me!
—CoryMonteithasFinnandNayaRiveraasSantanaintheTVseriesGlee
WhatShouldYouDo?
Whenendingasentencewiththanmewouldcreateambiguity,butIalonewouldsound
toostuffy,addtheimpliedwordthatfollows:YoulikeQuinnmorethanIdo.
Alsokeepinmindthatevenwhenthereisnoambiguity,thanIhasamoreformaltone
thanthanme,andyoushouldkeepyouraudienceinmindwhenchoosingyour
pronoun.QuinnissmarterthanIsoundsmorebuttonedupthanQuinnissmarter
thanme.
BLAIRWALDORF:Whatareyoudoinghere?MakingsuretheDean
knowsit’sallmyfault?
SERENAVANDERWOODSEN:No.IcametotellhimthatYaleisyour
dreamandyoudeservetogoheremorethanIdo.Whatareyoudoing
here?
BLAIRWALDORF:Doingthesamethingforyou.
—LeightonMeesterasBlairandBlakeLivelyasSerenaintheTVseries
GossipGirl
THEY
What’stheTrouble?Englishdoesn’thaveasingularpronountousewhenyou
don’tknowtheperson’ssex.
Englishhasabig,gapinghole:nopronounwecanusetodescribeapersonwhenwe
don’tknowtheirsex(see!)—I’vetrieditwithbabies,andithasn’tgonewell.Indays
goneby,hewasacceptableasagenericpronoun,buttodayit’snot.Nearlyallmajor
styleguidesrecommendagainstit.
Tofillthegap,manypeopleconsciouslyorsubconsciouslyusethey,asinTellthenext
callertheywinacar.Doingsoactuallyhasalongerhistorythanmostpeoplerealize
andisallowedbysomecurrentstyleguides.Althoughmanypeopleconsideritwrong,I
suspectmanyofthosesamepeoplesayitincasualconversationwithoutevenrealizing
itandthatthesingulartheywillbecomefullyacceptablewithinthenextfiftyyears.
Sentencesthatstartwithsingularpronounsthatsoundplural(suchaseveryone)cause
particulartemptationtousetheyortheirassingularpronounslaterinthesentence.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifbeingperceivedasmakingamistakecouldbeaproblem(e.g.,inrésumécover
letters),rewriteyoursentencestoavoidusingtheyasasingularpronoun.Makingthe
subjectpluralisoftenaneasysolution.
Everybodyaroundherwasgayandbusy;eachhadtheirobjectof
interest,theirpart,theirdress,theirfavouritescene,theirfriendsand
confederates:allwerefindingemploymentinconsultationsand
comparisons,ordiversionintheplayfulconceitstheysuggested.
[Eachisalwayssingular,yetAustenusedtheir.]
—JaneAusteninMansfieldPark
EverybodyisalwayssupposingthatI’mnotagoodwalker;andyet
theywouldnothavebeenpleasedifwehadrefusedtojointhem.
[Everybodyisalwayssingular,yetAustenusedthey.]
—JaneAusteninPersuasion
TOWARD
What’stheTrouble?Sometimesyou’llseetoward,andsometimesyou’llsee
towards.
TowardisthetypicalspellingintheUnitedStatesinallcases,buttheBritishwilloften
usetowardasanadjectiveandtowardsasanadverb.Thissometimescausesconfusion
forAmericanreadersofBritishpublications.
Theruleholdsforall-wardsuffixes.ThepreferredAmericanformsareafterward,
outward,forward,backward,andsoon.
WhatShouldYouDo?
UsethisQuickandDirtyTip:RememberthattheAmericanspellingistowardby
thinkingthatAmericanslikeshortcuts,sowe’veloppedoffthes.
MayIhaveeveryone’sattention,please?We’reevacuatinginto
outerspace,withliterallyinfinitedirectionsinwhichtoflee.
However,wehavedecidedthatourtransportswilltraveldirectly
towardthefleetofStarDestroyers.Anyquestions?
—AlexBorsteinvoicingLoisGriffinasPrincessLeiaintheTVseries
FamilyGuy
TRYAND
What’stheTrouble?Tryandisconsideredlessacceptablethantryto.
Althoughtryandhasbeenusedinspeechandinformalwritingforcenturies,ithasalso
oftenbeencondemned.Usageguidesofoldrecommendedagainstit,andradiocallers
todaystillregularlyciteitasapetpeeve.Nevertheless,modernexpertscalltryand
informal,notwrong.
Itappearsthatinthemid-1800stryandandtrytowereusedaboutequally,butsince
thentrytohasbecomethedominantforminprint.Tryandmaybeslightlymore
commoninprintinBritainthaninAmerica,buttrytoisthemorecommonformin
bothregions.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Avoidtryandinformalwritingbutdon’tgoballisticifsomebodysaysitin
conversationorwritesitinane-mail.
IrecognizeterrorasthefinestemotionandsoIwilltrytoterrorize
thereader.ButifIfindthatIcannotterrify,Iwilltrytohorrify,and
ifIfindthatIcannothorrify,I’llgoforthegross-out.I’mnotproud.
—StephenKinginStephenKing’sDanseMacabre
Ifyoutryandtakeacataparttoseehowitworks,thefirstthingyou
haveonyourhandsisanon-workingcat.
—DouglasAdamsquotedinADevil’sChaplain:ReflectionsonHope,Lies,
Science,andLovebyRichardDawkins
TWINS
What’stheTrouble?Somepeopleinsistthatapairoftwinsisfourpeople.
Someoverlyliteralpeoplearguethatsincetwinsalreadymeans“twopeople,”apairof
twinsisfourpeople.However,apairoftwinsisthecommonidiomtoreferto“two
peoplewhohappentobetwins.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
Apairoftwinsis“twopeople”;don’tbeafraidtousethephrase.However,noticeyour
contextandbesureitwon’tcauseconfusion.Askyourselfiftwinsaloneortwoinplace
oftwinswouldbejustasgood.
InthebackseatMooseandSquirrelinhabitedapairofsix-year-old-
twins,andwouldn’tstopbickeringandpickingtheirnoses.They
wereclearlyintheirelement.
—NealShustermaninEverwild
UNIQUE
What’stheTrouble?Uniqueisanabsoluteterm,butit’scommontohearpeople
modifyit,sayingsuchthingsasveryunique.
Grammarianscalladjectivessuchasunique,dead,andimpossible“ungradable.”It
meanstheycan’tbemoreofwhattheyalreadyare.Ifsomethingisalreadyimpossible,
itcan’tgetmoreimpossible.Uniquemeans“oneofakind”or“havingnoequal,”and
thingscan’tbecomemoreunique.Thus,althoughyouoftenseedescriptionsthat
includeveryuniqueonCraigslist,realestatesites,andinpersonalads,thephrasingis
wrong.
Gradabletermscanbemodifieddown,however.Forexample,almostuniqueisfine,
justasitwouldbefinetodescribesomethingasalmostimpossibleoralmostdead.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Reserveuniqueforthingsthataretrulyoneofakind.
HENRYVANSTATTEN:Tellthemtostopshootingatit!
DIANAGODDARD:Butit’skillingthem.
HENRYVANSTATTEN:They’redispensable.ThatDalek’sunique.Idon’t
wantascratchonitsbodywork.Doyouhearme?Doyouhearme?
—CoreyJohnsonasHenryVanStattenandAnna-LouisePlowmanas
DianaGoddardintheTVseriesDoctorWho
UNTIL
What’stheTrouble?Whenusedtodescribeadeadline,untilcanbeambiguous.
IfyouhaveuntilMarch4tosubmitanentryintheNationalGrammarDayvideo
contest,doesthatmeanyoucanstillturnitinonMarch4,orisMarch3thelast
acceptableday?Unfortunately,theworduntildoesn’tmakethemeaningclear.
Oneofthemoststress-inducingdeadlinesistheannualtaxfilingdeadlineforthe
InternalRevenueService,whichmakesapointtospelloutthattheApril15filing
deadlineincludesApril15.TheyalsocallApril15aduedate,notadeadline.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Ifyou’refollowinginstructions,don’tassumeuntilmeansthrough.Turninyouritema
dayearlyorgetclarification.Ifyou’rewritinginstructions,makethemclearbyusinga
wordsuchasthroughorstatingaspecificdayandtime.TheIRSdoesn’trelyonan
ambiguouswordsuchasuntil,andneithershouldyou.
Theendoftheworldstartedwhenapegasuslandedonthehoodof
mycar.UpuntilthenIwashavingagreatafternoon.[Untilendswith
thelanding.]
—RickRiordaninTheLastOlympian
“ButIhavetoconfess,I’mgladyoutwohadatleastafewmonthsof
happinesstogether.”
“I’mnotglad,”saysPeeta.“Iwishwehadwaiteduntilthewhole
thingwasdoneofficially.”[Untilseemstogothroughthetimeitisdone.]
—SuzanneCollinsinCatchingFire
UTILIZE
What’stheTrouble?Writerssometimeschooseutilizewhenusewouldsuffice.
Often,youcanreplaceutilizewithuseandyoursentencewillmeanthesamethingand
soundlessstuffy.
Utilizedoeshaveitsuses,though.Itconveysmoreofasenseofusingsomething
specificallyforapurposeorforprofitthanusedoes.Youmayuseacamera,butitmay
bemoredescriptivetosaythatpropagandistsutilizecamerastoinfluenceopinions,
sincethatistheirpurposeandit’smorespecializedthanjustsnappingphotos.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Don’tuseutilizejustbecauseitsoundslikeafancyword.Whenindoubt,chooseuse.
Ontheotherhand,don’tbeafraidtouseutilizewhenyou’reconfidentthatit’stheright
word.
Becausewehumansarebigandcleverenoughtoproduceandutilize
antibioticsanddisinfectants,itiseasytoconvinceourselvesthatwe
havebanishedbacteriatothefringesofexistence.Don’tyoubelieve
it.Bacteriamaynotbuildcitiesorhaveinterestingsociallives,but
theywillbeherewhentheSunexplodes.Thisistheirplanet,and
weareonitonlybecausetheyallowustobe.
—BillBrysoninAShortHistoryofNearlyEverything
VERBAL
What’stheTrouble?Verbalcanmean“written”aswellas“spoken.”
Youmaybesurprisedtolearnthatverbalcanmean“written”aswellas“spoken,”and
evenmoresurprisedthatsomepeoplebelieveyoushouldneveruseverbaltomean
“spoken”andshouldinsteaduseoralinsuchcircumstances.
Althoughusingverbaltomean“written”islegitimate,historyandcommonusageare
notonthesideofpeoplewhowouldliketosayverbalcan’talsomean“spoken.”Infact,
itisrelativelyeasytofindquotationsinwhichverbalisusedtomean“spoken”indirect
contrastwithwritten.Also,the“spoken”meaningissocommonthatit’slikelysome
readerswillbeconfusedifyouuseverbaltomean“written.”
WhatShouldYouDo?
Useverbaltomean“written”ifyouwish,butbesureyourcontextmakesthemeaning
clear.Donothesitatetouseverbaltomean“spoken.”
TherealhistoryofAfricaisstillinthecustodyofblackstorytellers
andwisemen,blackhistorians,medicinemen:itisaverbalhistory,
stillkeptsafefromthewhitemanandhispredations.Everywhere,
ifyoukeepyourmindopen,youwillfindthewordsnotwritten
down.
—NobelLaureateDorisLessinginTheGoldenNotebook
WEBSITE
What’stheTrouble?PeoplecommonlywritebothwebsiteandWebsite.
Opencompoundsoftenbecomeclosedcompoundsovertime,soalthoughWebsitewas
morecommonwhentheInternetwasnewandwewerejuststartingtodescribethe
sitesthatappearontheWeb,theclosedcompound,website,isnowthemost
commonlyrecommendedspelling.
YoumaybewonderingwhyWebsiteiscapitalizedbutwebsiteisnot.Itisn’trelatedto
thenewnessorimportanceoftheWeb,it’sbecauseoftheregularEnglishcapitalization
rules:wecapitalizedwordsthatarethenameofsomethingspecific,andmostsources
agreethattheWeb,whichisshortfortheWorldWideWeb,isanentitymadeupofall
thefilesthatareaccessibleontheInternetbyusingtheHTTPprotocol.Thereisonly
one,anditsnameistheWeb—apropernoun.Ontheotherhandtherearemillions
(gazillions?)ofsitesontheWeb,sowebsiteismerelydescriptive—acommonnoun.
ThecapitalizationofWebisasubjectofdebate,however.TheChicagoManualofStyle
usedtorecommendWeb,butrecentlyswitchedtowebinthenew16thedition,stating
thattheynowconsiderwebagenericterm.Sofar,theyareanoutlier,butthatcould
changeinthefuture.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Mostmajorstyleguidesrecommendwebsite,sowriteitthatwayunlessyouworkfor
aneditorwhorequiresotherwise.
Thewebsitedidn’tsayhowmuchbrains—orevenhowmany—I
shouldeat,onlythatIshouldeatthemin48hoursORELSE.Why
doesn’tanyonepayattentiontodetailsanymore?Woulditbeso
hardtoaddasimplelinelike,BTW,Maddy,3poundsofbrainsper
weekisplenty?
Seriously,amIthefirstnewzombieevertoask?
—RustyFischerinZombiesDon’tCry
Whilelookingatawebsiteforliposuction,Ilearnedthatitwasasix-
to-eight-weekrecoveryperiod,theclincherbeingthat,duringthat
time,Iwouldundernocircumstancesbeabletousestreetdrugs.
ObviouslyIhadtothinkofamorerealisticapproach.
—ChelseaHandlerinAreYouThere,Vodka?It’sMe,Chelsea
WHET
What’stheTrouble?Peopleconfusewhetandwet.
Whetmeans“tosharpenorincite.”Youwhetablade,butyoualsowhetyourappetite.
However,peoplesometimeswritewetyourappetiteinstead.Peoplemaythinkof
salivatingwhentheythinkofanincreasingappetiteorconfusethephrasewithwet
yourwhistle,whichmeans“totakeadrink”(andwhich,toaddtotheconfusion,the
OxfordEnglishDictionarysaysisalsosometimeswrittenaswhetyourwhistle).
WhatShouldYouDo?
Rememberthatthecorrectphrasesarewhetyourappetiteandwetyourwhistle.
QuickandDirtyTip
Thinkofawhettedknifecuttingscrumptiousmeatwhenyouthinkofwhetting
yourappetite.Unlessyou’reavegetarian.Thenimaginetheknifecutting
scrumptioussquash.
Nodoubtthemurderousknifewasdullbeforeitwaswhettedon
yourstone-hardheart.
—AnnetteBeningasQueenElizabethinthemovieRichardIII
WHILE
What’stheTrouble?Somepeoplebelievewhileshouldnotmean“although.”
Somemeaningsofwhilehaveasenseoftime,suchas“during,”“atthesametimeas,”
or“alengthoftime.”Whilehasanothermeaning,however,whichhassometimes
raisedhackles:whilecanbeusedasasynonymforalthoughorwhereas.
Althoughwhileisperfectlyacceptabletouseinthisway,occasionallydoingsocan
causeambiguity.Forexample,ifyouweretosay,WhileSquigglyisyellow,Aardvark
isblue,peoplewouldn’tknowwhetheryouwerecontrastingthetwocharacters’colors
orsayingthatAardvarkisonlybluewhenSquigglyisyellow.Incaseslikethat,you
havetousealthoughorwhereas.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Youcanchoosetolimitthemeaningofwhiletosensesoftimeinyourownwritingif
youlike,butdon’tcorrectotherswhochoosetousethewidermeaning.
Anymanwhocandrivesafelywhilekissingaprettygirlissimplynot
givingthekisstheattentionitdeserves.
—AlbertEinstein
Justsoyouknow,whiletherearefewthingsIconsidersacred,the
backofthelimoisoneofthem.
—EdWestwickasChuckBassintheTVseriesGossipGirl
WHOM
What’stheTrouble?Writershavelongbeenpredictingthedemiseofwhom.Few
peopleknowhowtouseitproperlyineveryinstance,andyetitpersists.
Manylanguageloverscringeatthesuggestionthatweshouldjustgetridofwhom,but
thesuggestionsandthepredictionsthatitwillhappenhavebeenaroundsinceatleast
thelate1800s,andwhoisoftenusedinplaceofwhom,evenbythewelleducatedand
wellheeled,especiallyinspeech.
Ina2008VisualThesaurussetofarticles,evenJohnMcIntyre,whowasthenthe
assistantmanagingeditorofthecopydeskatTheBaltimoreSunandtheformer
presidentoftheAmericanCopyEditorsSocietyandhadbeenchosentochampionthe
causeofwhom,couldonlymusteratepiddefense:“Fornow,whom,thoughitmay
haveseenitsbestdays,isgoing,going,butnotquitegone.”
Sincewhom’sdemisehasbeenpredictedforatleast150yearsandyetitstillcontinues
toclingtolife(albeitprecariously),it’sstillworthknowingtherulesandattemptingto
followthem.It’snotlikelythatstyleguideswilljustgiveuponwhominthenear
future,andagoodnumberofpeoplewillstillwriteangrye-mailsormarkyourpapers
withredinkifyougetitwrong.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Inwritingandunlessdoingsosoundspainfullystilted,followthestandardrule:Use
whoforthesubjectofasentenceandwhomfortheobjectofasentenceortheobjectof
apreposition(e.g.,whenitfollowswordssuchasfor,of,andwith).
QuickandDirtyTip
Insimplecases,ifyoucanhypotheticallyanswerthequestionwithhim,the
correctchoiceiswhom:[Who/Whom]shouldweinvitetotheparty?We
shouldinvitehim.Thus,thecorrectchoiceiswhom.[Who/Whom]isbringing
thecake?Heisbringingthecake.Thus,thecorrectchoiceiswho.
NANCY:[afterseeingthatthehouseisnowfullysecured]Mother!
What’swiththebars?
MARGE:Security.
NANCY:Security?Securityfromwhat?
MARGE:Notfromwhat,fromwhom.
—HeatherLangenkampasNancyandRoneeBlakleyasMargeinthe
movieANightmareonElmStreet
WOOL
What’stheTrouble?Becausethenounwoolhastherelatedadjectivewoolen,
somepeoplebelieveitisincorrecttodescribesomethingasawoolsweaterorwool
jacket.
NounsregularlyserveasadjectivesinEnglish.Whentheydo,wecallthemattributive
nouns.Forexample,Californiastyleincludesmanythings:treefarms,cottonclothing,
andavocadosandwiches.Alltheunderlinedwordsareattributivenouns.
Notallnounshaverelatedadjectives.Cottonandfleece,forexample,areyouronly
choicefordescribingacottonshirtorfleecejacket.Sincewoolandsilkhavethe
adjectiveformswoolenandsilken,yougettochoosebetweentheattributivenounand
adjective.Youcanwearasilkenscarfwithyourwoolensweater,oryoucanwearasilk
scarfwithyourwoolsweater,forexample.Untilthe1970swoolandwoolenappeared
aboutequally,butwoolisnowusedfarmoreoftenthanwoolen.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Feelfreetousenounssuchaswoolandsilkasadjectives.
Fedsaren’tlikethat.Fedsareseriouspeople.Poli-scimajors.
Studentcouncilpresidents.Debateclubchairpersons.Thekindsof
peoplewhohavethegrittowearadarkwoolsuitandatightly
buttonedcollarevenwhenthetemperaturehasgreenhousedupto
ahundredandtendegreesandthehumidityisthickenoughtostall
ajumbojet.Thekindsofpeoplewhofeelmostathomeonthedark
sideofaone-waymirror.
—NealStephensoninSnowCrash
WRONG
What’stheTrouble?Somepeoplethinkwrongcan’tbeusedasanadverb.
Wronglyonlyactsasanadverb,andthewordcomesupalotinnewsstories:people
arewronglyarrested,wronglyjailed,wronglyconvicted,andwronglyreleased.
Althoughsomepeoplebelievethatsincewealreadyhavetheadverbwrongly,itmust
betheonlychoice.Wrong!Wrong,canalsobeanadverb—andanoun,verb,and
adjectivetoo.(Whoknewthereweresomanywaystogowrong?)
Mostoften,wrongsoundsrightwhenitcomesafteraverb,asingonewrong,heard
wrong,andyou’redoingitwrong;andwronglysoundsrightwhenitcomesbeforethe
verb,asinwronglyaccused.
WhatShouldYouDo?
Don’tbeafraidtousewrongasanadverb.Trustyourear.
DeweyBozella—whowaswronglyjailedfor26years—wonhisfirst
professionalboxingmatchsincebeingletoutofprisonfora
murderhedidn’tcommit.
—EmilyHewettinMetro
SometimesIlieawakeatnight,andIask,“WherehaveIgone
wrong.”
Thenavoicesaystome,“Thisisgoingtotakemorethanonenight.”
—CharlieBrownintheCharlesM.SchulzcomicstripPeanuts
YOUANDI
What’stheTrouble?BetweenyouandIissowidespreadinpopularculturethat
peoplearebecomingconfused.
Pronounsthatfollowprepositions(suchasbetween,of,andabout)inprepositional
phrasesarealwaysintheobjectivecase.Thatmeansthatthecorrectphraseisalways
betweenyouandme,butpeopleseemtohaveahardtimerememberingthatrule.
Unfortunately,popularsongshavegottenitwrongandincreasedtheconfusion.For
example,JessicaSimpsonreleasedasongwiththetitle“BetweenYouandI”(which
shouldhavebeen“YouandMe”becauseitfollowstheprepositionbetween).The2010
Olympicthemesongincluded“IbelieveinthepowerofyouandI”(whichshouldhave
beenyouandmebecauseitfollowstheprepositionof),andBryanAdamswrote“That
wouldchangeifsheeverfoundoutaboutyouandI”(whichshouldhavebeenyouand
mebecauseitfollowstheprepositionabout).
Actually,thepronounconfusionisn’tevenlimitedtoprepositionalphrases;they’rejust
commonoffenders.Forexample,LadyGagawrote“Youandmecouldwriteabad
romance”(whichshouldhavebeen“YouandIcouldwriteabadromance”becausethe
pronounsareinthesubjectposition).
WhatShouldYouDo?
Remembertouseobjectprepositions(e.g.,me,him)afterprepositionsandthatthe
correctphraseisbetweenyouandme.
PENNY:Thisisbetweenyouandme.Youcan’ttellLeonardanyofthis.
SHELDONCOOPER:You’reaskingmetokeepasecret?
PENNY:Yeah.
SHELDONCOOPER:Well,Iamsorry,butyouwouldhavehadtohave
expressedthatdesirebeforerevealingthesecret,sothatIcould
choosewhetherIwantedtoacceptthecovenantofsecret-keeping.
Youcan’timposeasecretonanex-post-factobasis.
—KaleyCuocoasPennyandJimParsonsasSheldonintheTVseriesThe
BigBangTheory
Acknowledgments
ThankyoutoMarioSanchezfromNewMexico,whofoundthe“nextWednesday”
quotation;JoeKisenwetherfromReno,Nevada,whoexplainedoddstome;myeditor,
BeataSantora;myagent,LaurieAbkemeier;myFacebookandTwitterfriends;andthe
GrammarGirlpodcastlisteners.
Iusedthefollowingsourcesextensively:Garner’sModernAmericanUsage,Merriam-
Webster’sDictionaryofEnglishUsage,TheColumbiaGuidetoStandardAmerican
English,TheAmericanHeritageGuidetoContemporaryUsageandStyle,The
ChicagoManualofStyle,APStylebook,theonlineOxfordEnglishDictionary,M-
W.com,andDictionary.com.IalsooccasionallyconsultedFowler’sModernEnglish
Usage,TheYahoo!StyleGuide,andvariousothersources.Iprimarilyfound
quotationsthroughGoodReads.com,IMDb.com,GoogleNews,andGoogleBooks,
althoughIoccasionallysearchedothersources.
AbouttheAuthor
MignonFogartyisthecreatorofQuickandDirtyTips.Formerlyamagazinewriter,
technicalwriter,andentrepreneur,shehasaB.A.inEnglishfromtheUniversityof
WashingtoninSeattleandanM.S.inbiologyfromStanfordUniversity.Shelivesin
Reno,Nevada.Visitherwebsiteatquickanddirtytips.comandsignupforthefreee-
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GRAMMARGIRL’S101TROUBLESOMEWORDSYOU’LLMASTERINNOTIME.Copyright©2012byMignon
Fogarty,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Forinformation,addressSt.Martin’sPress,175Fifth
Avenue,NewYork,N.Y.10010.
GrammarGirlandQuickandDirtyTipsaretrademarksofMignonFogarty,Inc.
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IllustrationsbyArnieTen
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Fogarty,Mignon.
GrammarGirl’s101troublesomewordsyou’llmasterinnotime/MignonFogarty.
—1sted.
p.cm.
ISBN:978-1-4668-2518-5
1.Englishlanguage—Usage.2.Englishlanguage—Termsandphrases.3.English
language—Errorsofusage.I.Title.II.Title:101troublesomewordsyou’llmasterinno
time.III.Title:Onehundredandonetroublesomewordsyou’llmasterinnotime.
PE1460.F5772012
428.2—dc23
2012004622