MsJacquiiC
10/10/07, 08:47 AM
Top 20 Misused (and Mistreated) Words
accept: to receive; to answer positively
except: not including; everything but
anxious: worried/nervous
eager: excited/looking forward to
affect: to pretend; to influence
effect: a result
assure: to make certain (such as with a person)
ensure: to make sure (such as with a thing)
insure: to provide or obtain insurance
beside: at the side of
besides: in addition to
between: two items that are related
among: three or more things related
choice: a decision or an option
choose: to make a decision
chose: past tense of choose
compliment: to praise
complement: something that completes
farther: literal or physical distance
further: to a greater extent
fewer: comparative with plural items
less: items that are singular
imply: to suggest
infer: to deduce
its: possessive form of it
it’s: contraction for it is or it has
lay: to place, which is always followed by an object
lie: to recline
**For present tense only. Tip: If you can replace the word in question with put, then use lay.
nauseated: not feeling well
nauseous: disgust
As per Merriam Webster: nauseous = causing nausea or disgust.
Nauseated means “experiencing nausea,” whereas nauseous means “causing nausea”—in other words, offensive or loathsome. If you feel a queasy sensation in your stomach, you are nauseated; only if you cause other people to be ill are you nauseous.
set vs. sit:
In general, set refers to an object ("Set the materials down on the table") and sit does not ("She sat for an hour, waiting for the bus").
that vs. which
"Which" is frequently used to introduce a nonrestrictive clause, a phrase that isn’t necessary or supplies additional information and is usually set off by commas.
For example: The burned CD, which she received from a friend, wasn’t as great of quality as the original from a music store.
"That" is used for introducing restrictive clauses that refer to things, phrases that ARE essential to the meaning of the rest of the sentence.
For example: The CD that consists of all of the band’s top-ten singles is her favorite.
that vs. who/whom
In most cases, "who/whom" is the standard form when referring to human beings, especially in regards to an individual person. "That" is used when referring back to a class, species, or type. "Which" should never be used in reference to humans.
A correct example with "who": She goes to the hairstylist who is the best.
A correct example with "that": He is the type of hairstylist that should charge more because he is the best.
their: possessive form of they
there: in or at that place
they’re: contraction for they are
whose: possessive form of which, who
who’s: contraction for who is
your: possessive form of you; belonging to you
you’re: contraction for you are
accept: to receive; to answer positively
except: not including; everything but
anxious: worried/nervous
eager: excited/looking forward to
affect: to pretend; to influence
effect: a result
assure: to make certain (such as with a person)
ensure: to make sure (such as with a thing)
insure: to provide or obtain insurance
beside: at the side of
besides: in addition to
between: two items that are related
among: three or more things related
choice: a decision or an option
choose: to make a decision
chose: past tense of choose
compliment: to praise
complement: something that completes
farther: literal or physical distance
further: to a greater extent
fewer: comparative with plural items
less: items that are singular
imply: to suggest
infer: to deduce
its: possessive form of it
it’s: contraction for it is or it has
lay: to place, which is always followed by an object
lie: to recline
**For present tense only. Tip: If you can replace the word in question with put, then use lay.
nauseated: not feeling well
nauseous: disgust
As per Merriam Webster: nauseous = causing nausea or disgust.
Nauseated means “experiencing nausea,” whereas nauseous means “causing nausea”—in other words, offensive or loathsome. If you feel a queasy sensation in your stomach, you are nauseated; only if you cause other people to be ill are you nauseous.
set vs. sit:
In general, set refers to an object ("Set the materials down on the table") and sit does not ("She sat for an hour, waiting for the bus").
that vs. which
"Which" is frequently used to introduce a nonrestrictive clause, a phrase that isn’t necessary or supplies additional information and is usually set off by commas.
For example: The burned CD, which she received from a friend, wasn’t as great of quality as the original from a music store.
"That" is used for introducing restrictive clauses that refer to things, phrases that ARE essential to the meaning of the rest of the sentence.
For example: The CD that consists of all of the band’s top-ten singles is her favorite.
that vs. who/whom
In most cases, "who/whom" is the standard form when referring to human beings, especially in regards to an individual person. "That" is used when referring back to a class, species, or type. "Which" should never be used in reference to humans.
A correct example with "who": She goes to the hairstylist who is the best.
A correct example with "that": He is the type of hairstylist that should charge more because he is the best.
their: possessive form of they
there: in or at that place
they’re: contraction for they are
whose: possessive form of which, who
who’s: contraction for who is
your: possessive form of you; belonging to you
you’re: contraction for you are