English 10 | Common Word Misuses

irregardless

Avoid this word. Use "regardless".

accuse, allege

Accuse means “to blame” or “to bring a charge against.” Allege means “to claim something that has not been proved.”

 adapt, adopt

Adapt, a verb, means “to change.” Adopt, a verb, means “to take as one’s own.”

 advice, advise

Advice is a noun meaning “an opinion.” Advise is a verb meaning “to give an opinion.”

affect, effect

Affect is almost always a verb meaning “to influence.” Effect, usually a noun, means “result.” Occasionally, effect is a verb meaning “to bring about” or “to cause.”

aggravate

Aggravate means “to make worse.” Avoid using this word to mean “to annoy.”

allot, a lot, alot

Allot, a verb, means “to divide in parts” or “to give out in shares.” A lot is an informal expression meaning “a great many” or “a great amount.” Avoid using it in formal writing. Alot is a non-standard spelling and should never be used.

all ready, already

All ready is an expression functioning as an adjective and meaning “ready.” Already is an adverb meaning “by or before this time” or “even now.”

all together, altogether

All together means “all at once.” Altogether means “completely” or “in all.”

among, between

Among and between are both prepositions. Among always implies three or more. Between is generally used with just two things.

amount, number

Use amount with quantities that cannot be counted. Use number with things that can be counted.

anxious

Anxious means “worried,” “uneasy,” or “fearful.” Do not use it as a substitute for eager.

anyone, any one, everyone, every one

Anyone and everyone mean “any person” and “every person.” Any one means “any single person (or thing),” and every one means “every single person (or thing).”

as

Do not use this conjunction to mean “because” or “since.”

as to

As to is awkward. Replace it with about.

at about

Avoid using at with about. Simply eliminate at or about.

awhile, a while

Awhile is an adverb, which in itself means “for a while.” A while is an article and a noun and is usually used after a preposition.

beat, win

Beat means “to overcome (an opponent).” Win means “to achieve victory in.” Do not use win in place of beat.

because

Do not use because after the reason. Say “the reason is … that” or reword the sentence.

beside, besides

As prepositions, these two words have different meanings and cannot be interchanged. Beside means “at the side of” or “close to.” Besides means “in addition to.”

bring, take

 Bring means “to carry from a distant place to a nearer one.” Take means the opposite: “to carry from a near place to a more distant place.”

bunch

Bunch means “a number of things of the same kind.” Avoid using this word to mean “group.”

burst, bust, busted

Burst is the standard present, past, and past participle of the verb burst. Bust and busted are non-standard forms.

can, may

Use can to mean “to have the ability to.” Use may to mean “to have permission to” or “to be possible or likely to.”

can’t help but

This is a non-standard expression. Use can’t help plus a gerund instead.

clipped words

 Avoid using clipped or shortened words, such as gym, phone, and photo, in formal writing.

condemn, condone

Condemn means “to express strong disapproval of.” Condone means “to pardon or overlook.”

continual, continuous

Continual means “occurring again and again in succession.” Continuous means “occurring without interruption.”

different from, different than

Different from is preferred.

due to

Due to means “caused by” and should be used only when the words caused by can logically be substituted.

due to the fact that

Replace this wordy expression with since or because.

 emigrate, immigrate

Emigrate means “to leave a country for a new residency.” Immigrate means “to enter a country to establish a residency.”

farther, further

Farther refers to distance. Further means “additional” or “to a greater degree or extent.”

fewer, less

Use fewer with things that can be counted. Use less with qualities and quantities that cannot be counted.

former, latter

 Former refers to the first of two previously mentioned items. Latter refers to the second of the two.

good, lovely, nice

Whenever possible, replace these weak and overused words with a more specific adjective.

hanged, hung

Use hanged to mean “executed.” Use hung to mean “suspended.”

in, into

In refers to position. Into suggests motion.

judicial, judicious

"Judicial" means "relating to the administration of justice". "Judicious" means "showing wisdom".

just

When "just" is used as an adverb meaning "no more than", it should be placed right before the word it modifies.

kind of, sort of

Do not use "kind of" and "sort of" to mean "rather" or "somewhat".

lay, lie

"Lay" means "to put or set (something) down". "Lie" means "to recline".

Lay principle parts – lay, laying, laid, and laid

Lie principal parts – lie, lying, lay, and lain

leave, let

"Leave" means "to allow to remain". "Let" means "to permit".

like

"Like" is a preposition and should not be used in place of the conjunction "as".

loose, lose

"Loose" is usually an adjective or part of idioms. "Lose" is always a verb.

mad

In formal usage, "mad" means "insane". Used informally, "mad" means "angry".

maybe, may be

"Maybe" is an adverb meaning "perhaps". "May be" is a helping verb and a verb.

only

"Only" should be placed in front of the word it logically modifies.

outside of

Do not use this expression to mean "besides" or "except".

parameter

This word is correctly used only in mathematical contexts.

persecute, prosecute

"Persecute" means "to subject to ill treatment". "Prosecute" means "to bring a lawsuit against".

plurals that do not end in –s

Words such as criteria, media, and phenomena are plural and should not be treated as if they were singular (criterion, medium, phenomenon).

precede, proceed

"Precede" means "to go before". "Proceed" means "to move or go forward".

principal, principle

"Principal" means "most important" or "chief". "Principle" means "a fundamental law".

raise, rise

"Raise" usually takes a direct object. "Rise" never takes a direct object.

real

"Real" means "authentic". The use of "real" to mean "very" or "really" should be avoided in formal writing.

set, sit

"Set" means "to put (something) in a certain place". "Sit" means "to be seated".

shape

The meaning of "shape" is "spatial form". In formal writing, avoid using "shape" to mean "condition".

slow, slowly

Although "slow" can now be used as either an adjective or an adverb, careful writers use it as an adjective.

so

"So" is a coordinating conjunction. It should be avoided when you mean "so that".

that, which, who

"That" refers to people or things; "which" refers only to things; "who" refers only to people.

till, until

These words are interchangeable. Be careful, however, of spelling.

unique

"Unique" means "one of a kind". It should not be used to mean "odd", "interesting", or "unusual".

when, where

Do not use "when" or "where" directly after a linking verb.

–wise

Avoid using this suffix to create new words for a particular situation.