Çevrimdışı

FIRST NAME/GIVEN NAME

Now that few people know what a “surname” is, we usually use the term “last name” to designate a family name; but in a host of languages the family name comes first. For instance, “Kawabata” was the family name of author Kawabata Yasunari. For Asians, this situation is complicated because publishers and immigrants often switch names to conform to Western practice, so you'll find most of Kawabata’s books in an American bookstore by looking under “Yasunari Kawabata.” It’s safer with international names to write “given name” and “family name” rather than “first name” and “last name.”

Note that in a multicultural society the old-fashioned term “Christian name” (for “given name”) is both inaccurate and offensive.


LATE/FORMER

If you want to refer to your former husband, don’t call him your “late husband” unless he’s dead.


LATER/LATTER

Except in the expression “latter-day” (modern), the word “latter” usually refers back to the last-mentioned of a set of alternatives. “We gave the kids a choice of a vacation in Paris, Rome, or Disney World. Of course the latter was their choice.” In other contexts not referring back to such a list, the word you want is “later.”

Conservatives prefer to reserve “latter” for the last-named of no more than two items.


LAY/LIE

You lay down the book you’ve been reading, but you lie down when you go to bed. In the present tense, if the subject is acting on some other object, it’s “lay.” If the subject is lying down, then it’s “lie.” This distinction is often not made in informal speech, partly because in the past tense the words sound much more alike: “He lay down for a nap,” but “He laid down the law.” If the subject is already at rest, you might “let it lie.” If a helping verb is involved, you need the past participle forms. “Lie” becomes “lain” and “lay” becomes “laid”: “He had just lain down for a nap,” and “His daughter had laid the gerbil on his nose.”


LEACH/LEECH

Water leaches chemicals out of soil or color out of cloth, your brother-in-law leeches off the family by constantly borrowing money to pay his gambling debts (he behaves like a bloodsucking leech).


LEAD/LED

When you’re hit over the head, the instrument could be a “lead” pipe. But when it’s a verb, “lead” is the present and “led” is the past tense. The problem is that the past tense is pronounced exactly like the above-mentioned plumbing material (“plumb” comes from a word meaning “lead”), so people confuse the two. In a sentence like “She led us to the scene of the crime,” always use the three-letter spelling.


LEAST/
RIGHT: LEST

American English keeps alive the old word “lest” in phrases like “lest we forget,” referring to something to be avoided or prevented. Many people mistakenly substitute the more familiar word “least” in these phrases.

LEAVE/
RIGHT: LET

The colloquial use of “leave” to mean “let” in phrases like “leave me be” is not standard. “Leave me alone” is fine, though.

LEGEND/MYTH

Myths are generally considered to be traditional stories whose importance lies in their significance, like the myth of the Fall in Eden; whereas legends can be merely famous deeds, like the legend of Davy Crockett. In common usage “myth” usually implies fantasy. Enrico Caruso was a legendary tenor, but Hogwarts is a mythical school. Legends may or may not be true. But be cautious about using “myth” to mean “untrue story” in a mythology, theology, or literature class, where teachers can be quite touchy about insisting that the true significance of a myth lies not in its factuality but in its meaning for the culture which produces or adopts it.


AMOUNT/NUMBER

This is a vast subject. I will try to limit the number of words I expend on it so as not to use up too great an amount of space. The confusion between the two categories of words relating to amount and number is so pervasive that those of us who still distinguish between them constitute an endangered species; but if you want to avoid our ire, learn the difference. Amount words relate to quantities of things that are measured in bulk; number to things that can be counted.

In the second sentence above, it would have been improper to write “the amount of words” because words are discrete entities which can be counted, or numbered.

Here is a handy chart to distinguish the two categories of words:

amountnumber quantity number little few less fewer much many


You can eat fewer cookies, but you drink less milk. If you eat too many cookies, people would probably think you’ve had too much dessert. If the thing being measured is being considered in countable units, then use number words. Even a substance which is considered in bulk can also be measured by number of units. For instance, you shouldn’t drink too much wine, but you should also avoid drinking too many glasses of wine. Note that here you are counting glasses. They can be numbered.

The most common mistake of this kind is to refer to an “amount” of people instead of a “number” of people.

Just to confuse things, “more” can be used either way: you can eat more cookies and drink more milk.

Exceptions to the less/fewer pattern are references to units of time and money, which are usually treated as amounts: less than an hour, less than five dollars. Only when you are referring to specific coins or bills would you use fewer: “I have fewer than five state quarters to go to make my collection complete.”


LESSEN/LESSON

Although not many people try to teach someone a “lessen,” many people try to “lesson” their risks by taking precautions.

“Lessen” is something you do—a verb—and means to make smaller. “Lesson” is a noun, something you learn or teach. Remember this lesson and it will lessen your chances of making a mistake.


LIKE/AS IF

“As if” is generally preferred in formal writing over “like” in sentences such as “the conductor looks as if he’s ready to begin the symphony.” But in colloquial speech, “like” prevails, and when recording expressions such as “he spends money like it’s going out of style” it would be artificial to substitute “as if.” And in expressions where the verb is implied rather than expressed, “like” is standard rather than “as”: “she took to gymnastics like a duck to water.”


LOATH/LOATHE

“Loath” is a rather formal adjective meaning reluctant and rhymes with “both,” whereas “loathe” is a common verb meaning to dislike intensely, and rhymes with “clothe.” Kenji is loath to go to the conference at Kilauea because he loathes volcanos.



LOSE/LOOSE

This confusion can easily be avoided if you pronounce the word intended aloud. If it has a voiced Z sound, then it’s “lose.” If it has a hissy S sound, then it’s “loose.” Here are examples of correct usage: “He tends to lose his keys.” “She lets her dog run loose.” Note that when “lose” turns into “losing” it loses its “E.”


LUXURIANT/LUXURIOUS

The word meaning “abundant” is “luxuriant,” as in “luxuriant hair.” “Luxurious” refers to luxury.


LIGHTED/LIT

Don’t fret over the difference between these two words; they’re interchangeable.


MAJORITY ARE/MAJORITY IS

“Majority” is one of those words that can be either singular or plural. Common sense works pretty well in deciding which. If you mean the word to describe a collection of individuals, then the word should be treated as plural: “The majority of e-mail users are upset about the increase in spam.” If the word is used to describe a collective group, then consider it singular: “A 90% majority is opposed to scheduling the next meeting at 6:00 A.M.” If you are uncertain which you mean, then choose whatever form sounds best to you; it's not likely to bother many people.



MANTLE/MANTEL

Though they stem from the same word, a “mantle” today is usually a cloak, while the shelf over a fireplace is most often spelled “mantel.”


MARITAL/MARTIAL

“Marital” refers to marriage, “martial” to war, whose ancient god was Mars. These two are often swapped, with comical results.


MASSEUSE/MASSEUR

“Masseuse” is a strictly female term; Monsieur Philippe, who gives back rubs down at the men’s gym, is a masseur. Because of the unsavory associations that have gathered around the term “masseuse,” serious practitioners generally prefer to be called “massage therapists.”


MAY/MIGHT

Most of the time “might” and “may” are almost interchangeable, with “might” suggesting a somewhat lower probability. You’re more likely to get wet if the forecaster says it may rain than if she says it might rain; but substituting one for the other is unlikely to get you into trouble—so long as you stay in the present tense.

But “might” is also the past tense of the auxiliary verb “may,” and is required in sentences like “Chuck might have avoided arrest for the robbery if he hadn’t given the teller his business card before asking for the money.” When speculating that events might have been other than they were, don’t substitute “may” for “might."

As an aside: if you are an old-fashioned child, you will ask, “May I go out to play?” rather than “Can I go out to play?” Despite the prevalence of the latter pattern, some adults still feel strongly that “may” has to do with permission whereas “can” implies only physical ability. But then if you have a parent like this you’ve had this pattern drilled into your head long before you encountered this page.


MAYBE/MAY BE

“Maybe” is an adverb meaning “perhaps,” so if you are uncertain whether to use this word or the phrase “may be,” try substituting “perhaps”: “Maybe she forgot I said I’d meet her at six o’clock” becomes “Perhaps she forgot. . . .” When the substitution makes sense, go with one word: “maybe.” When you are wondering whether you may be waiting in the wrong cafe, you’re dealing with a verb and its auxiliary: “may be.” Two words.


MEAN/MEDIAN

To find the mean (or average) of a series of numbers, for example 1,2,3,4,5 & 6, add them all together for a total of 21; then divide by the number of numbers (6) to give the mean (or average) of 3.5.

In contrast, when half the data of a set are above a point and half below, that point is the median. The difference between mean and median can be quite significant, but one often sees the terms used wrongly even in technical contexts.


MEDAL/METAL/MEDDLE -
RIGHT:
METTLE

A person who proves his or her mettle displays courage or stamina. The word “mettle” is seldom used outside of this expression, so people constantly confuse it with other similar-sounding words.

MEDIUM/MEDIAN

That strip of grass separating the lanes going opposite directions in the middle of a freeway is a median. But if you’re trying to achieve a balance between extremes, you’re trying to strike a happy medium.

METHODOLOGY/METHOD

A fondness for big words isn’t always accompanied by the knowledge of their proper use. Methodology is about the methods of doing something; it is not the methods themselves. It is both pretentious and erroneous to write “The architect is trying to determine a methodology for reinforcing the foundation now that the hotel on top of it has begun to sink.”


MILITATE/MITIGATE

These are not very common words, but people who use them—especially lawyers—tend to mix them up. “Militate” is usually followed by “against” in a phrase that means “works against”: “His enthusiasm for spectacular collisions militates against his becoming a really effective air traffic controller.”

“Mitigate” means almost the opposite: to make easier, to moderate. “His pain at leaving was mitigated by her passionate kiss.” It should not be followed by “against.”

MINER/MINOR

Children are minors, but unless they are violating child-labor laws, those who work in mines are miners.

MORAL/MORALE

If you are trying to make people behave properly, you are policing their morals; if you are just trying to keep their spirits up, you are trying to maintain their morale. “Moral” is accented on the first syllable, “morale” on the second.

MOTION/MOVE

When you make a motion in a meeting, say simply “I move,” as in “I move to adjourn”; and if you’re taking the minutes, write “Barbara moved,” not “Barbara motioned” (unless Barbara was making wild arm-waving gestures to summon the servers to bring in the lunch). Instead of “I want to make a motion . . .” it’s simpler and more direct to say “I want to move. . . .”

NEEDS -ED/-ING

In some dialects it is common to say “my shoes need shined” instead of the standard “my shoes need shining” or “my shoes need to be shined.”


NO SOONER WHEN/
NO SOONER THAN

The phrase, “No sooner had Paula stopped petting the cat when it began to yowl” should be instead “No sooner had Paula stopped petting the cat than it began to yowl.”

NAVAL/NAVEL

Your bellybutton is your navel, and navel oranges look like they have one; all terms having to do with ships and sailing require “naval.”


NOTATE/NOTE

To notate a text is to write annotations about it. This technical term should not be used as a synonym for the simple verb “note.” It is both pretentious and incorrect to write “notate the time you arrived in your log.”


NEXT, THIS

If I tell you that the company picnic is next Saturday it would be wise to ask whether I mean this coming Saturday or the Saturday after that. People differ in how they use “next” in this sort of context, and there’s no standard pattern; so it’s worth making an extra effort to be clear.

In the U.K. the distinction is made clear by saying “Saturday next” or “Saturday week.”

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