Çevrimdışı

A.M. / P.M.

AM” stands for the Latin phrase Ante Meridiem —which means “before noon”—and “PM” stands for Post Meridiem : “after noon.” Although digital clocks routinely label noon “12:00 PM” you should avoid this expression not only because it is incorrect, but because many people will imagine you are talking about midnight instead. The same goes for “12:00 **.” Just say or write “noon” or “midnight” when you mean those precise times.

It is now rare to see periods placed after these abbreviations: “A.M.” , but in formal writing it is still preferable to capitalize them, though the lower-case “am” and “pm” are now so popular they are not likely to get you into trouble.

Occasionally computer programs encourage you to write “AM” and “PM” without a space before them, but others will misread your data if you omit the space. The nonstandard habit of omitting the space is spreading rapidly, and should be avoided in formal writing.

ABLE TO

People are able to do things, but things are not able to be done: you should not say, “the budget shortfall was able to be solved by selling brownies.”

ACCEDE / EXCEED

If you drive too fast, you exceed the speed limit. “Accede” is a much rarer word meaning “give in,” “agree.”

ACCESS / GET ACCESS TO

“Access” is one of many nouns that’s been turned into a verb in recent years. Conservatives object to phrases like “you can access your account online.” substitute “use,” “reach,” or “get access to” if you want to please them.

ACCEPT / EXCEPT

If you offer me Godiva chocolates I will gladly accept them—except for the candied violet ones. Just remember that the “X” in “except” excludes things—they tend to stand out, be different. In contrast, just look at those two cozy “C’s” snuggling up together. Very accepting. And be careful; when typing “except” it often comes out “expect.”

ADAPT / ADOPT

You can adopt a child or a custom or a law; in all of these cases you are making the object of the adoption your own, accepting it. If you adapt something, however, you are changing it.

ADMINISTER / MINISTER

You can minister to someone by administering first aid. Note how the “ad” in “administer’resembles “aid” in order to remember the correct form of the latter phrase. “Minister” as a verb always requires “to” following it.

ADVANCE / ADVANCED

When you hear about something in advance, earlier than other people, you get advance notice or information. “Advanced” means “complex, sophisticated” and doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the revealing of secrets.

ADVICE / ADVISE

“Advice” is the noun, “advise” the verb. When Ann Landers advises people, she gives them advice.

AFFECT / EFFECT

There are four distinct words here. When “affect” is accented on the final syllable (a-FECT), it is a verb meaning “have an influence on”: “The million-dollar donation from the industrialist did not affect my vote against the Clean Air Act.” A much rarer meaning is indicated when the word is accented on the first syllable (AFF-ect), meaning “emotion.” In this case the word is used mostly by psychiatrists and social scientists— people who normally know how to spell it. The real problem arises when people confuse the first spelling with the second: “effect.” This too can be two different words. The more common one is a noun: “When I left the stove on, the effect was that the house filled with smoke.” When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it. The less common is a verb meaning “to create”: “I’m trying to effect a change in the way we purchase widgets.” No wonder people are confused. Note especially that the proper expression is not “take affect” but “take effect”—become effective. Hey, nobody ever said English was logical: just memorize it and get on with your life.

The stuff in your purse? Your personal effects.

ALLITERATE / ILLITERATE

Pairs of words with the same initial sound alliterate, like “wild and wooly.” Those who can’t read are illiterate.

ALLUSION / ILLUSION

An allusion is a reference, something you allude to: “Her allusion to flowers reminded me that Valentine’s Day was coming.” In that English paper, don’t write “literary illusions” when you mean "allusions.” A mirage, hallucination, or a magic trick is an illusion. (Doesn’t being fooled just make you ill?)


ALTERNATE / ALTERNATIVE

Although UK authorities disapprove, in U.S. usage, “alternate” is frequently an adjective, substituted for the older “alternative”: “an alternate route.” “Alternate” can also be a noun; a substitute delegate is, for instance, called an “alternate.” But when you’re speaking of “every other” as in “our club meets on alternate Tuesdays,” you can’t substitute “alternative.”

AMORAL / IMMORAL

Amoral” is a rather technical word meaning “unrelated to morality.” When you mean to denounce someone’s behavior, call it “immoral.”

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:

amount number
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.”

ANGEL / ANGLE

People who want to write about winged beings from Heaven often miscall them “angles.” A triangle has three angles. The Heavenly Host is made of angels. Just remember the adjectival form: “angelic.” If you pronounce it aloud you’ll be reminded that the E comes before the L.

APART / A PART

Paradoxically, the one-word form implies separation while the two-word form implies union. Feuding roommates decide to live apart. Their time together may be a part of their life they will remember with some bitterness.

A WHILE / AWHILE

When “awhile” is spelled as a single word, it is an adverb meaning “for a time” (“stay awhile”); but when “while” is the object of a prepositional phrase, like “Lend me your monkey wrench for a while” the “while” must be separated from the “a.” (But if the preposition “for” were lacking in this sentence, “awhile” could be used in this way: “Lend me your monkey wrench awhile.”)

BACKWARD / BACKWARDS

As an adverb, either word will do: “put the shirt on backward” or “put the shirt on backwards.” However, as an adjective, only “backward” will do: “a backward glance.” When in doubt, use “backward.”

BARB WIRE, BOB WIRE

BARBED WIRE



In some parts of the country this prickly stuff is commonly called “barb wire” or even “bob wire.” When writing for a general audience, stick with the standard “barbed wire.”

BARE / BEAR

There are actually three words here. The simple one is the big growly creature (unless you prefer the Winnie-the-Pooh type). Hardly anyone past the age of ten gets that one wrong. The problem is the other two. Stevedores bear burdens on their backs and mothers bear children. Both mean “carry” (in the case of mothers, the meaning has been extended from carrying the child during pregnancy to actually giving birth). But strippers bare their bodies—sometimes bare-naked. The confusion between this latter verb and “bear” creates many unintentionally amusing sentences; so if you want to entertain your readers while convincing them that you are a dolt, by all means mix them up. “Bear with me,” the standard expression, is a request for forbearance or patience. “Bare with me” would be an invitation to undress. “Bare” has an adjectival form: “The pioneers stripped the forest bare.”

BESIDE / BESIDES

“Besides” can mean “in addition to” as in “besides the puppy chow, Spot scarfed up the filet mignon I was going to serve for dinner.” “Beside,” in contrast, usually means “next to.” “I sat beside Cheryl all evening, but she kept talking to Jerry instead.” Using “beside” for “besides,” won’t usually get you in trouble; but using “besides” when you mean "next to” will.

BORN / BORNE

This distinction is a bit tricky. When birth is being discussed, the past tense of “bear” is usually “born”: “I was born in a trailer—but it was an Airstream.” Note that the form used here is passive: you are the one somebody else—your mother—bore. But if the form is active, you need an “E” on the end, as in “Midnight has borne another litter of kittens in Dad’s old fishing hat” (Midnight did the bearing).

But in other meanings not having to do with birth, “borne” is always the past tense of “bear”: “My brother’s constant teasing about my green hair was more than could be borne.”

BORROW / LOAN
In some dialects it is common to substitute “borrow” for “loan” or “lend,” as in “borrow me that hammer of yours, will you, Jeb?” In standard English the person providing an item can loan it; but the person receiving it borrows it.

BOTH / EACH
There are times when it is important to use “each” instead of “both.” Few people will be confused if you say “I gave both of the boys a baseball glove,” meaning “I gave both of the boys baseball gloves” because it is unlikely that two boys would be expected to share one glove; but you risk confusion if you say “I gave both of the boys $50.” It is possible to construe this sentence as meaning that the boys shared the same $50 gift. “I gave each of the boys $50” is clearer.

BRAKE / BREAK

You brake to slow down; if your brakes fail and you drive through a plate-glass window, you will break it.

BREATH / BREATHE

When you need to breathe, you take a breath. “Breathe” is the verb, “breath” the noun.

BRING / TAKE

When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of arrival, use “bring”: “When you come to the potluck, please bring a green salad.” Viewing things from the point of departure, you should use “take“: “When you go to the potluck, take a bottle of wine.”

BY/ ’BYE / BUY

These are probably confused with each other more often through haste than through actual ignorance, but “by” is the common preposition in phrases like “you should know by now.” It can also serve a number of other functions, but the main point here is not to confuse “by” with the other two spellings: “’bye” is an abbreviated form of “goodbye” (preferably with an apostrophe before it to indicate the missing syllable), and “buy” is the verb meaning “purchase.” “Buy” can also be a noun, as in “that was a great buy.” The term for the position of a competitor who advances to the next level of a tournament without playing is a “bye.” All others are “by.”

CANNOT/ CAN NOT

These two spellings are largely interchangeable, but by far the most common is “cannot” and you should probably use it except when you want to be emphatic: “No, you can not wash the dog in the Maytag.”

CAPITAL / CAPITOL

A “capitol” is always a building. Cities and all other uses are spelled with an A in the last syllable. Would it help to remember that Congress with an O meets in the Capitol with another O?

CHUNK / CHUCK

In casual conversation, you may get by with saying “Chuck [throw] me that monkey wrench, will you?” But you will mark yourself as illiterate beyond mere casualness by saying instead “Chunk me that wrench.” This is a fairly common substitution in some dialects of American English.

CITE / SITE / SIGHT

You cite the author in an endnote; you visit a Web site or the site of the crime, and you sight your beloved running toward you in slow motion on the beach (a sight for sore eyes!).

CLASSIC / CLASSICAL

“Classical” usually describes things from ancient Greece or Rome, or things from analogous ancient periods like classical Sanskrit poetry. The exception is classical music, which in the narrow sense is late 18th and 19th-century music by the likes of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, and in the broader sense formal concert music of any period in the West or traditional formal music from other cultures, like classical ragas.

“Classic” has a much looser meaning, describing things that are outstanding exampls of their kind, like a classic car or even a classic blunder.

CLEANUP / CLEAN UP

“Cleanup” is usually a noun: “the cleanup of the toxic waste site will cost billions of dollars.” “Clean” is a verb in the phrase “clean up”: “You can go to the mall after you clean up your room.”

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