Be a Better Writer--AVOID THESE COMMON ERRORS
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:05 am
This week’s lesson is a compilation of some posts I made last year to the Facebook page of my editing business—primarily observations about things I’ve edited or read. Most of these are words that are commonly confused, and I hope that one or two of them will resonate with you.
• Writing names of breeds or species of plants and animals can be tricky--sometimes they're capitalized, and sometimes not. In general, if a breed is named after a person or place (St. Bernard), then you'd capitalize it. If not (monarch butterfly), don't.
• Don't write ‘upmost.’ The word is ‘utmost.’
• Don't confuse ‘phase’ and ‘faze.’ ‘Phase’ is usually a noun, meaning one stage in a process, or one aspect of a whole. As a verb, it has a related meaning--to schedule or introduce a stage or a process, or an aspect of a whole. ‘Faze’ is always a verb--to disturb or disconcert.
She wasn't in the least bit fazed when her daughter escaped from her crib. She realized that Griselda had reached a new developmental phase.
• There's a difference between 'ground coffee' and 'coffee grounds.' Ground coffee is the stuff you put in your coffee maker to make a delicious cup o' joe. Coffee grounds are what they become afterward, or the gross little bits that end up in the bottom of your mug.
• Don't write 'balling' when you mean 'bawling.' All sorts of misunderstandings will happen.
‘Bawling’ is crying. ‘Balling’ is a couple of other things (winding something into a ball, for example, or...well, look it up).
• It's door ‘jamb’, not door ‘jam.’
• I’ve heard people say that they were ‘on tenderhooks.’ The correct expression is ‘on tenterhooks.’ A tenter is a device used to stretch cloth, and the tenterhooks assist in that process. Thus, when people are on tenterhooks, their emotions are figuratively stretched tight.
• Don't say (or write) ‘You have to times that by ten.’ Use the word ‘multiply.’
• There is a commercial in which the spokesperson says, ‘The outdoors are beautiful...’ Nope. Despite that ‘s’ at the end of ‘outdoors,’ it's a singular noun, calling for a singular verb.
• That place you take your clothes to wash them when your washer is on the fritz--it's a laundromat. No 'y' in the middle.
• More frequently confused words: conscience, conscious, consciousness, conscientious, unconscious, subconscious.
Conscience--(noun) that little voice that bugs you when you're doing something wrong.
Conscious--(adjective) awake, aware
Consciousness--(noun) state of being awake or aware
Conscientious--(adjective) wanting to do the right thing
Unconscious--(adjective) not awake, not aware
Subconscious--(adjective, noun) relating to the part of the mind that operates below the level of full awareness, or the part of one's mind that operates that way
Be conscientious in your use of these words.
• Frequently confused words: ‘duel’ and ‘dual.’ Both words share the concept of ‘two-ness,’ but a duel is a fight between two people, often for the cause of honor, while 'dual' is an adjective describing something that has two parts or purposes.
• ‘Flustrated’ and ‘flustrating’ are not words.
• One of the most common errors I see is incorrect placement of commas with small conjunctions. In general, put commas before these conjunctions: and, but, so, yet, and because.
• Confusing words: ‘hurdle’ and ‘hurtle.’ As a noun, a hurdle is a fence-like obstacle (or metaphorically, some other obstacle). As a verb, to hurdle is to leap over such an obstacle. On the other hand, 'hurtle' is always a verb, meaning to move very quickly, often violently (especially when paired with 'into'). Here in the US, they're often pronounced the same, which is probably what contributes to the confusion.
• Also confusing: ‘imminent’ and ‘eminent.’ Both are adjectives, but 'imminent' means 'about to happen.' It also carries a connotation of threat, so it would be better so say that a thunderstorm is imminent than to say that time for chocolate cake is imminent. On the other hand, 'eminent' means 'outstanding or noteworthy' when applied to a person, or 'protruding' when applied to, say, an outcropping of rock.
• Don't confuse ‘hoard’ and ‘horde.’ ‘Hoard’ can be a noun or a verb, both of which have meanings indicating a large quantity of objects stored or treasured, often hidden away. On the other hand, ‘horde’ is always a noun, meaning a crowd, a mass of people.
• Don’t say ‘verse’ when you mean ‘versus.’ When I was teaching high school, I frequently heard my students say something like ‘we’re going to be versing St. Joe tonight.’ It always made me imagine a bunch of students in a poetry contest. (Also, ‘versus’ is not a verb, it's a preposition meaning 'against.')
• I frequently see ‘shudder’ used for ‘shutter,’ and vice versa. ‘Shudder’ is that involuntary motion you make when you’re afraid or disgusted. A ‘shutter’ is something that covers windows, or part of a camera. Once again, I blame American pronunciation, which converts those two internal ‘t’s to ‘d’ sounds.
• Many people write ‘anxious’ when they mean ‘eager.’ Both words are about one’s emotions when anticipating the future, but 'anxiou's means ‘looking toward the future with fear or dread’ and 'eager' means ‘looking toward the future with excitement.’
I am eager to go back to Disney World this fall, but I am anxious about riding the Tower of Terror.
• The most usual meaning of ‘lowly’ is as an adjective meaning ‘humble.’ As an adverb, it’s closer in meaning to ‘humbly’ than anything, so it’s not correct to write something like ‘She spoke lowly to him’ if you mean that she was speaking in low tones.
• To ‘clamor’ is to make a loud noise, frequently with shouting. To ‘clamber’ is to get quickly to one’s feet or up a set of stairs. So usually, if someone writes that a character clamored up to the attic, she meant to write ‘clambered.’
• A callus is a thickened area of skin or other tissue. ‘Callous’ means cold, hard, unfeeling toward others. I think they’re often confused because it’s tempting to use the metaphor of a callused heart to indicate that a person is callous.
HOMEWORK: If any of these bullet points surprised you, or if you found that you’ve been using a word incorrectly, practice the correct usages by writing a few sentences. Using different forms of the word (plurals, other tenses) is fine.
Questions or comments? I’d love to hear them.
If you like this sort of thing, and you’re on Facebook, be sure to ‘like’ Superior Editing Services. I post there several times a week—sometimes posts like this, sometimes links to articles about writing or about literature (or just links that appeal to me), and sometimes (very rarely) contests with teeny tiny prizes.
• Writing names of breeds or species of plants and animals can be tricky--sometimes they're capitalized, and sometimes not. In general, if a breed is named after a person or place (St. Bernard), then you'd capitalize it. If not (monarch butterfly), don't.
• Don't write ‘upmost.’ The word is ‘utmost.’
• Don't confuse ‘phase’ and ‘faze.’ ‘Phase’ is usually a noun, meaning one stage in a process, or one aspect of a whole. As a verb, it has a related meaning--to schedule or introduce a stage or a process, or an aspect of a whole. ‘Faze’ is always a verb--to disturb or disconcert.
She wasn't in the least bit fazed when her daughter escaped from her crib. She realized that Griselda had reached a new developmental phase.
• There's a difference between 'ground coffee' and 'coffee grounds.' Ground coffee is the stuff you put in your coffee maker to make a delicious cup o' joe. Coffee grounds are what they become afterward, or the gross little bits that end up in the bottom of your mug.
• Don't write 'balling' when you mean 'bawling.' All sorts of misunderstandings will happen.
‘Bawling’ is crying. ‘Balling’ is a couple of other things (winding something into a ball, for example, or...well, look it up).
• It's door ‘jamb’, not door ‘jam.’
• I’ve heard people say that they were ‘on tenderhooks.’ The correct expression is ‘on tenterhooks.’ A tenter is a device used to stretch cloth, and the tenterhooks assist in that process. Thus, when people are on tenterhooks, their emotions are figuratively stretched tight.
• Don't say (or write) ‘You have to times that by ten.’ Use the word ‘multiply.’
• There is a commercial in which the spokesperson says, ‘The outdoors are beautiful...’ Nope. Despite that ‘s’ at the end of ‘outdoors,’ it's a singular noun, calling for a singular verb.
• That place you take your clothes to wash them when your washer is on the fritz--it's a laundromat. No 'y' in the middle.
• More frequently confused words: conscience, conscious, consciousness, conscientious, unconscious, subconscious.
Conscience--(noun) that little voice that bugs you when you're doing something wrong.
Conscious--(adjective) awake, aware
Consciousness--(noun) state of being awake or aware
Conscientious--(adjective) wanting to do the right thing
Unconscious--(adjective) not awake, not aware
Subconscious--(adjective, noun) relating to the part of the mind that operates below the level of full awareness, or the part of one's mind that operates that way
Be conscientious in your use of these words.
• Frequently confused words: ‘duel’ and ‘dual.’ Both words share the concept of ‘two-ness,’ but a duel is a fight between two people, often for the cause of honor, while 'dual' is an adjective describing something that has two parts or purposes.
• ‘Flustrated’ and ‘flustrating’ are not words.
• One of the most common errors I see is incorrect placement of commas with small conjunctions. In general, put commas before these conjunctions: and, but, so, yet, and because.
• Confusing words: ‘hurdle’ and ‘hurtle.’ As a noun, a hurdle is a fence-like obstacle (or metaphorically, some other obstacle). As a verb, to hurdle is to leap over such an obstacle. On the other hand, 'hurtle' is always a verb, meaning to move very quickly, often violently (especially when paired with 'into'). Here in the US, they're often pronounced the same, which is probably what contributes to the confusion.
• Also confusing: ‘imminent’ and ‘eminent.’ Both are adjectives, but 'imminent' means 'about to happen.' It also carries a connotation of threat, so it would be better so say that a thunderstorm is imminent than to say that time for chocolate cake is imminent. On the other hand, 'eminent' means 'outstanding or noteworthy' when applied to a person, or 'protruding' when applied to, say, an outcropping of rock.
• Don't confuse ‘hoard’ and ‘horde.’ ‘Hoard’ can be a noun or a verb, both of which have meanings indicating a large quantity of objects stored or treasured, often hidden away. On the other hand, ‘horde’ is always a noun, meaning a crowd, a mass of people.
• Don’t say ‘verse’ when you mean ‘versus.’ When I was teaching high school, I frequently heard my students say something like ‘we’re going to be versing St. Joe tonight.’ It always made me imagine a bunch of students in a poetry contest. (Also, ‘versus’ is not a verb, it's a preposition meaning 'against.')
• I frequently see ‘shudder’ used for ‘shutter,’ and vice versa. ‘Shudder’ is that involuntary motion you make when you’re afraid or disgusted. A ‘shutter’ is something that covers windows, or part of a camera. Once again, I blame American pronunciation, which converts those two internal ‘t’s to ‘d’ sounds.
• Many people write ‘anxious’ when they mean ‘eager.’ Both words are about one’s emotions when anticipating the future, but 'anxiou's means ‘looking toward the future with fear or dread’ and 'eager' means ‘looking toward the future with excitement.’
I am eager to go back to Disney World this fall, but I am anxious about riding the Tower of Terror.
• The most usual meaning of ‘lowly’ is as an adjective meaning ‘humble.’ As an adverb, it’s closer in meaning to ‘humbly’ than anything, so it’s not correct to write something like ‘She spoke lowly to him’ if you mean that she was speaking in low tones.
• To ‘clamor’ is to make a loud noise, frequently with shouting. To ‘clamber’ is to get quickly to one’s feet or up a set of stairs. So usually, if someone writes that a character clamored up to the attic, she meant to write ‘clambered.’
• A callus is a thickened area of skin or other tissue. ‘Callous’ means cold, hard, unfeeling toward others. I think they’re often confused because it’s tempting to use the metaphor of a callused heart to indicate that a person is callous.
HOMEWORK: If any of these bullet points surprised you, or if you found that you’ve been using a word incorrectly, practice the correct usages by writing a few sentences. Using different forms of the word (plurals, other tenses) is fine.
Questions or comments? I’d love to hear them.
If you like this sort of thing, and you’re on Facebook, be sure to ‘like’ Superior Editing Services. I post there several times a week—sometimes posts like this, sometimes links to articles about writing or about literature (or just links that appeal to me), and sometimes (very rarely) contests with teeny tiny prizes.