As promised, here is the continuation of my last post. I’ve attempted to explain the confusion that arises with some of the most common errors. There is no shortage of words to choose from!
1. Misused words
a, an – Okay, let’s get this straight once and for all. We all know to use a when the following word starts with a consonant and an when the following word starts with a vowel, but what we should really say is when the following word starts with a vowel sound or a consonant sound.
cat [k] ⇒ a cat
apple [a] ⇒ an apple
Easy enough. But what about these:
unit [y] ⇒ a unit
uncle [uh] ⇒ an uncle
historic [h] ⇒ a historic (unless you pronounce it “istoric”)
hour [ow] ⇒ an hour
Or depending on your specific pronunciation:
herb [h] ⇒ a herb
or [er] ⇒ an herb
among, between – between you and me, but among the three of us. The rule: between two, among more than two. That’s it! (And if you are wondering why it’s between you and me not between you and I, see this previous post.)
and/or – Strunk and White call this “A device, or shortcut, that damages a sentence and often leads to confusion or ambiguity.” [1] They suggest using the term that best clarifies the sentence. A few solutions present themselves:
| You can choose cake, pie and/or brownies. You can choose cake and/or pie. line |
⇒ ⇒ ⇒ |
You can choose cake, pie or brownies. You can choose cake or pie or both. You can choose either cake or pie. |
That being said, it is in the dictionary as an acceptable English conjunction. I’m not convinced that it causes confusion for most people, but I definitely think it lacks style. I would use it sparingly or avoid it altogether.
because, since – These conjunctions can be used interchangeably when showing a causal relationship, although because is often considered a little stronger. [2] The confusion comes from the two meanings of since, both causal and temporal. When the sentence is ambiguous, because is preferred.
Ambiguous: Since the judge called a recess, counsel headed outside for a cigarette.
Causal: Because the judge called a recess, counsel headed outside for a cigarette.
Temporal: Since the moment the judge called a recess, counsel has been outside for a cigarette.
compared to, compared with – “To compare to is to point out or imply resemblances between objects regarded as essentially of a different order; to compare with is mainly to point out the differences between objects regarded as essentially of the same order. Thus, life has been compared to a pilgrimage, to a drama, to a battle; Congress may be compared with the British Parliament. Paris has been compared to ancient Athens; it may be compared with modern London.” [3]
couple (of) – couple (n): two people or things that are together; a couple of (adj phrase): an indefinite small number
A couple of days ago, he saw a couple walking hand in hand.
He spent a couple of bucks on a coffee. (not a couple bucks)
different from, different than – Different from is the standard phrase, according to all sources I’ve checked. Different than is more common in America than Britain, but as The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation points out, “…many fine writers have had no problem steering clear of different than for their entire careers.” [4]
disinterested, uninterested – “You can be both uninterested and disinterested, or one but not the other. Disinterested means ‘impartial’; uninterested means ‘unconcerned’ or ‘apathetic.’ Many would interpret The judge was disinterested to mean that the judge didn’t care. But the sentence actually means that the judge was unbiased. Huge difference there. Would you rather a have a judge who’s fair or one who wants to go home?” [5]
fewer, less – “If you can count the commodity, less will be wrong. You have less justification, but fewer reasons.” [6]
guilty, liable – “In the law, guilty specifically refers to having been found by a jury to have committed a crime. The term guilty is properly used only in the criminal context. By contrast, liable refers to the condition of being legally responsible or obligated to do or refrain from doing something.
- The jury found the defendant guilty as charged of first-degree murder.
- If my dog bites someone, I will be liable for the person’s medical bills.” [7]
infer, imply – “Infer means to deduce or to draw a conclusion. Imply means to suggest or hint…
- The jury could infer from Mr. Smith’s testimony that he knew the gun was loaded.
- Mr. Smith’s testimony implied that he knew the gun was loaded.” [8]
irregardless – “This nonsense word results from confusing and combining regardless and irrespective. If people would just think about it, what’s that silly ir- doing there?” says The Blue Book. “In technical terms, ir- is an initial negative particle. So if irregardless means anything, it means ‘not regardless’ when the person using it is trying to say the exact opposite.” [9]
unique – without like or equal; the only one
Strunk and White point out that if something is the only one, there can be no degrees of uniqueness. The Blue Book explains further, “Unique belongs to a group of words called absolutes or incomparables. Examples include dead, equal, essential, eternal, opposite, supreme. Such words resist being modified. Modifiers like more, most, absolutely, rather, and very either strip them of their strength or result in foolishness.” [10]
And a few fun and misused phrases:
bated breath (not baited breath) – to hold one’s breath; a variant of abated, meaning lessened in intensity or restrained
champing at the bit (not chomping at the bit) – to show impatience; champ means to bite or chew noisily; a bit is the part of a horse’s harness that goes in its mouth;
couldn’t care less (not could care less) – If you couldn’t care less, then you are completely uninterested in something. If you could care less, then you still have some interest.
for all intents and purposes (not for all intensive purposes) – Confession: this one came as a surprise when I first started copyediting, having never seen this expression written before. If you’d asked, I couldn’t have explained what an intensive purpose would be, but cut me some slack; this is the language where you might find one in the same, a blessing in the skies, and a doggy-dog world.
hold one’s peace, but speak one’s piece – easily confused, but sometimes we just need to give someone a piece of our mind before we can have peace of mind.
There are so many of these, I could go on forever.
2. Redundancies
It is my personal opinion that completelyeradicating redundancies will vastlyimprove your writing. I will warn you in advance that my ultimate goal is to make each and every one of you aware of these issues so you can avoid making unintentional mistakes. Don’t make me repeat it again. Here are a few more, just for fun!
all-time record
basic necessities
close proximity
depreciate in value
enclosed herein
first and foremost
grow in size
habitual custom
important essentials
joint collaboration
knowledgeable experts
local residents
merge together
natural instinct
originally created
plan ahead
revert back
still persists
true facts
unexpected emergency
visible to the eye
whether or not
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this post, I have no illusions that I will ever be able to remember all of these distinctions, but my job as a copyeditor is to recognize the problem words and consult with the authorities to make sure they are spelled correctly or are being used properly. Now I hope we are all a little more aware of these potential pitfalls.
I would love to hear from our readers if there are any favourites that I’ve missed!
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[1] Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed (Boston: Pearson, 2000) 40
[2] Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006) 374
[3] Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 43
[4] Straus, Jane, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, 11th ed (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014) 79
[5] Straus, Jane, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, 80
[6] Straus, Jane, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, 84
[7] Vanwinkle, Jessie, “Commonly Confused and Misused Words in Legal Writing”, online: https://suite.io/jessie-vanwinkle/55yt2as.
[8] Vanwinkle, Jessie, “Commonly Confused and Misused Words in Legal Writing”
[9] Straus, Jane, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, 93
[10] Straus, Jane, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, 119
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