Welcome to Grant's Guide. I do not for one moment claim to be some kind of authority on our language, nor do I claim that this humble guide is the one and only reference source you'll ever need, because it most certainly is not. This is why I felt I couldn't call it anything other than my guide. It's just a humble but hopefully handy look-up for those awkward moments when you're just not sure what the correct form is.
My contention is that if you are writing – whether for a modest blog, a newspaper or a novel – you owe it to yourself and your readers to do it well. If you walk into a pub and someone is bashing out a favourite song on an old piano that is also out of tune, it's painful to listen to. You recognise the song, you know what they are trying to play but still it makes you cringe. For someone with no ear for music or someone who is tone deaf, it won't really matter but for the rest of us, it has to be endured rather than enjoyed.
So it is with English. Poorly written English is not easy to read. It frustrates and can often by confusing or ambiguous – did she mean this, or did she mean that? Again, for the semi literate, as long as the general gist is understood, it'll do well enough. However if you want your prose to be taken seriously, attention to the kind of details contained in said guide will, I think, serve you well. If you have any comments, please feel free. Similarly and suggestions for additional entries would be most welcome.
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Abuse/misuse/disabuse
To abuse something, somebody or an unfortunate animal is to treat it so badly that you cause damage, pain or distress.
To misuse something is to use it wrongly, like using a finely honed chisel to prize up a stone.
To disabuse someone of something is to demonstrate that they were wrong, or that they had been given the wrong idea.
Acute & Chronic
The word acute means 'sharp', so an acute illness is one that is sudden, or that gets rapidly worse and reaches a point of crisis.
A chronic illness is one that is long lasting.
Adverse & Averse
Adverse means unfavourable, as in adverse weather conditions. Averse is to be opposed to or against. So you could be averse to going out in adverse conditions.
Advisor, adviser
Advisor is, to my mind, to be preferred although this seems to be almost a lost cause.
I was taught the shorthand rule that 'er' is for the trades, and 'or' is for the professions.
So we have carpenter, plumber, bottlewasher etc, and on the other hand, working from any deities down, we have creator, mentor, actor, ambassador, instructor and so on all the way down to the opposite extreme of solicitor.
Of course there are what at first seem to be exceptions – lawyer, biographer, teacher and so on, but they don't share the adjectival form of advisory. It most certainly isn't advisery. It's just an unnecessary.
Affect & Effect
Affect is a verb - it means to have an effect on something or someone, to have an influence. Effect is a noun, and it refers to the result of something; the noise had a terrible effect on my ears.
There is an exception whereby effect is used as a verb, because you can effect change - i.e. make a change.
Aggravate
This is an often misused word, as in 'he really aggravated me' or 'your so aggravating!'
It means to make worse. A stomach upset will be aggravated by whiskey, or you might aggravate a situation by doing or saying the wrong thing.
Alot, a lot
There is no such word as 'a lot', so when one writes something like 'she gave up a lot' it should be 'a lot'. There is the word allot – which refers to a measure or portion of something (as an an allotment, or alloted time), but that's a different thing altogether.
Alright/all right
Strictly speaking, the correct use is all right, as in things are either all right, or all wrong. However my take on this is that the more colloquial 'alright' is really useful in writing because it gives us two valuable shades.of the phrase. All right mate? Just doesn't read as well as 'alright mate' and similarly, when the barrister asked if the papers were all right, alright just wouldn't do at all.
Alternate/alternative
Alternate means to switch between to things, as an electrical alternator switches between positive and negative. You can also use it in the sense of alternate numbers, as in 1,3,5,7 or alternative days, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and so on.
He couldn't make up his mind and kept alternating between the Ford and the Nissan.
Alternative is something else or another choice, as in 'she had a number of alternatives'.
'We could go by train or alternatively, we could drive.'
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Allusion, illusion
An allusion is an indirect reference to something. "He made constant allusions to her chequered history." An illusion is a false image or a visual trick. Magicians perform illusions, politicians make allusions.
An hotel, an history.
The use of 'an' in front of these words is affected and unnecessary. It's a nasty habit perpetuated by the Mrs Buckets of this world who think it proper. Evidently, it arises from the days when most 'educated' people spoke French, and would freely pronounce hotel as 'otel, and histoire instead of history. The silent h led them to use 'an' to avoid the inevitable and ugly eppiglotal pause that would interrupt the free flow of speech. Try saying 'we stayed at a 'otel' and you'll see what I mean. So it became an 'otel, an histoire.
If the h is silent, as in 'hour', use an. If it's not, as in history or hotel, use 'a'.
Apprise, appraise
This is a really common error.
To apprise is to inform - so someone can be apprised of a situation. They can't be appraised of a situation. To appraise is to estimate or assess the value of something.
This note is to apprise you that your appraisal is due soon.
Assume, presume
To assume something is to make a supposition - to suppose something to be true without any real evidence or proof. Something went missing in the office, and people assumed it was the cleaner. No proof, no evidence – just a supposition. An assumption.
To assume something is to take for granted without proof, evidence or experience.
It also has a second meaning; one can assume a responsibility or adopt a characteristic: the actor immediately assumed the personality of Magwich.
To presume something is to state something with some probability. You would presume that the train will be on time because there is a timetable – therefore there is some basis for the supposition. Also, you can presume something because there is no evidence or proof to the contrary. A prisoner is presumed innocent until evidence and/or proof is presented to the court.
Though many people use them as though they are completely interchangeable, they are two quite different words.
Behaviour, behaviours.
This is the same as saying 'trouts' or 'aircrafts'. The 's' is completely redundant. It seems to be very trendy, but it's simply wrong.
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Britain, British Isles, UK etc.
The British Isles is purely a geographical term. It consists of over 6,000 islands from little more than rocky islets through to the large main island, which is called Great Britain. Again, this is a geographical term denoting the largest island. Thus the Republic of Ireland (an independent sovereign state) is part of the British Isles (the archipelago off western Europe).
The United Kingdom comprises Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England.
Choice, choices
A choice requires two elements: its a decision made from at least two possibilities.
"He has two choices - either he runs, or he fights' is wrong. That's one choice, i.e. between running and fighting. Similarly, if you are shopping for a sofa and you're in the showroom with dozens available, you are making just one choice when you choose your sofa. It's a mistake to say you have lots of choices. You have lots of options, or lots to choose from, or on the presumption that you're buying just the one sofa, lots of choice.
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Climatic, climactic
Climatic refers to the climate.
Climactic refers to climax - the point of greatest intensity.
Compliment, complement
A compliment is to express praise or approval for something as you might if complimenting someone on their taste in music.
Complement is to add to something in a positive way, such as lemon sole being complemented by white wine. It also has a second meaning in the sense of the quantity of something. For example a platoon might have its full complement of soldiers.
Complimentary, complementary
Complimentary means either free of charge or flattering. The tickets were complimentary. She was very complimentary about the work.
Complementary are things or people which work well together. Eric was complementary to Ernie. Red and green are complementary colours.
Comprise
Another common mistake is "the house comprises of five rooms". Comprise means either 'consists of' or 'includes'. So the house comprises five rooms or the set comprises sixteen pieces.
No need for the extra 'of'.
Continual, Continuous
Continual means 'repeated' and continuous means uninterrupted.
So a dripping tap makes a continual sound. A running tap makes a continuous sound.
Corpspeak.
I hate corpspeak. The kinder term is 'business English', as though normal English isn't good enough for those in business. Having spent much of my career in the commercial world, I can report that it's the other way round – many of those in business have a pretty feeble grasp of English. This has given rise to some painful abuse and misuse, not least of which is the phenomenally ugly and transparently phoney dialect that now passes for conversation in many an office building.
Corpspeak is not jargon, because that is a useful and often necessary set of words and phrases required by people with certain specialities in order to communicate effectively and accurately. Engineers, the military, the medical profession and many more have their own lexicon, because they need it.
I'll leave it to the Urban Dictionary, who nailed it pretty well with the following example.
"It seems to me that by breaking down the silos, we can better leverage our respective core competencies and ensure that we win in this space. Without cross-channel implementation of new paradigms, we won't have a chair at the adults' table."
Alternatively, Google 'corpspeak generator' and you'll be spoilt for choice. My personal favourite is the gobbledegook generator on the Plain English Campaign's site. This may seem like fun, but a great many people are paid highly to produce this rubbish.
Criteria, criterion
Criteria is the plural, criterion the singular.
If someone says 'there is only one criteria', they are making a mistake. It's only one criterion.
To get that contract, we had to fulfil a number of criteria.
Data/datum
Data is the plural, datum the singular. Strictly speaking, you shouldn't write 'the data was invalid', but 'the data were invalid'. However this is so often ignored, it's probably another lost cause. For my money, I think the singular and plural are worth retaining – which is probably why I've included it.
Diffuse, Defuse
Diffuse means dispersed, as in a spray. To defuse is to remove a fuse, as in a plug or more commonly a bomb. It used to be hyphenated – de-fuse. The confusion has probably arisen from the metaphorical use of 'defuse' in relation to a tense situation, as in the Police defused an explosive situation.
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Disburse, Disperse
To 'disburse' is to distribute, as in 'the clerk disbursed the wages'. Disperse is to scatter - the crowd dispersed after the show.
Discreet, Discrete
To be discreet refers to the ability to protect a confidence or not to be obvious or ostentatious.
Discrete means clearly separated, different in shape, colour, form, style etc.
Disinterested/uninterested
Disinterested is to have no bias or view on something. You could be absolutely captivated by something, yet be disinterested. Imagine someone getting interested in a tennis match on TV, not because of any interest in the individual players, but purely because of the tennis. That's disinterested.
Uninterested is to have no interest in something. I was utterly uninterested in what she had to say.
Thus a judge should at all times be both interested and disinterested.
Elude/allude
Elude is to not quite grasp something or to not find something. The meaning eludes me. It is also to escape or avoid often using guile or cunning, as in 'he eluded the soldiers'.
To allude is to hint strongly or to suggest something – to direct attention to something without actually stating it outright. She alluded to his record, but that's as far as she went.
Its other use is to recall a style or period in the creative arts, such as when a photographer's work might allude to an earlier period.
Ensure/insure
To ensure is to make sure of something, e.g. Jim ensured the gate was shut.
To insure is to make financial provision for an event, as in insurance.
One can ensure that the driver is insured, or seek assurance concerning his insurance.
Enquiry/ inquiry
An enquiry is a question - one might make an enquiry about train times, or enquire after great aunt Maud's health.
An inquiry is an investigation, as in a murder inquiry or an inquiry by a government department.
The term is often confused, especially by Americans who tend to use inquire and inquiry for everything. The difference is important as an innocent question about the weather is very different from a searching question in a fraud investigation.
e.g. and i.e.
Exempli gratia - 'for example' and 'Id est' - that is.
There are many types of cat, e.g. the British Blue (for example, the British Blue)
The British Blue is a pedigree feline, i.e. a cat. (that is, a cat.)
Farther, further
Farther means distance, and only distance. LA is farther from London than New York. The pub is just a little farther up the lane.
Further can also be used to refer to distance (the pub is further up the lane) but can also refer to the degree of something: "I'd like to investigate this further", "he wants to further his ambitions", “nothing could be further from the truth”.
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Founder and flounder
Founder has only two, very specific meanings. The first is to sink. A ship can founder or be in danger of foundering. The second is someone who has established some kind of organisation – anything from a brass band to a global corporation.
Flounder is either a fish, or to behave like a fish out of water; flapping around; be confused and clumsy.
Flaunt/flout
To flaunt is to be showy, to show off. If you've got it - flaunt it!
To flout is to purposefully ignore or defy a law, a rule or a custom. The teacher flouted the school dress code and wore jeans to class.
Hay, straw
Hay is fer eating, straw is fer lyin' on!
Hay is use as animal fodder whereas straw, which is just dry stalks of wheat or other cereal plant, is used for bedding. Remember the phrase 'hay - don't let them eat that dirty straw!'
His/her, he/she, his/hers
Time was that the masculine included the feminine in the same way that mankind includes womenkind. However as women began to emerge from the predefind roles of old and began to take their proper place in the world, an obvious quandary arose. Some of us just carry on as before hoping that the reader will go along with it for the sake of brevity and style. Others use his/hers or he/she, but this interrupts the act of reading like a bump in the road or a bum note in a song. Yet another group use their and theirs which is just plain ugly.
The answer?
No idea.
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Historical/historic
Historical refers to something that happened in the past. Historic is an event of great importance – one that will almost certainly go down in history. A speech made today can be historic, but not historical.
Hoi polloi
This is Greek, and means literally 'the people', and in usage, "the common people".
There is no need to use a preceding 'the', as in 'the hoi polloi' which is 'the the common people'.
This come under lost causes because the phrase 'the hoi polloi' is so common. However it's worth knowing, because like 'comprise', there are many who will recognise and appreciate its proper use.
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Inflammable/flammable
Now you could be forgiven for thinking that 'inflammable' would be the opposite of 'flammable', just as inexpensive is the opposite of expensive also accessible, inaccessible; effective, ineffective; competent, incompetent and so on. However this particular word comes from 'inflammaire' – to inflame. Thus they mean essentially the same thing and the 'in' does not serve to negate as it does with so many other words. If you need to be absolutely clear, use flammable and non-flammable or perhaps combustible or non-combustible.
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It's and its.
An unbelievably common error, this!
It's means 'it is' or 'it has'. It is not 'possessive', i.e. it does not have anything belonging to it. The apostrophe is used to denote the missing letter.
Its is the possessive form - as in 'the dog wagged its tail'.
'It's a Wonderful Life' is correct. (It is a wonderful life).
'The cat washed it's face' is wrong - it says 'the cat washed it is face'.
So - the cat washed its face.
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Install/installation
You often see 'software install complete' or perhaps read an email from a supplier that says the engineer will be round 'to do the install' on Friday. This is some kind of new pidgin dialect that seems to be slowly but surely gaining ground. Perhaps some people think it's cool, or its somehow becoming part of the world of ever growing corpspeak. I really don't know. What I do know is that it's the software installation that was completed, and that the engineer will be carrying out the installation on Friday. Assuming he shows up, of course.
This shortening by leaving out the modifier really is nonsensical. Why do it? Is it because of all the precious time it saves or something? Where will it lead? Will we talk about working for an organise? The examiner making a correct to the exam paper? Going into hospital for an operate? I have distant relates in America?
See also read/reading.
Into/in to
I'd like to go into that pub. I was hoping to go in to use the loo.
In the first sentence, I just want to enter the hostelry so the words are joined.
In the second, I want to go in (clause 1) so that I can use the loo (clause 2). The 'in' belongs to one part of the sentence, and the 'to' belongs to the the second part, so they are separated.
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Less and fewer
Less is a matter of degree, fewer a matter of number.
'12 items or less' at the checkout is therefore poor English. It should be 12 items or fewer.
There are fewer than ten gallons in the tank, or there is less fuel in the tank.
Some say that it's so commonly used that it doesn't matter, and that the words are interchangeable.
They aren't. Try: "there is fewer fuel in the tank".
If you can count it, use fewer. If you can’t, use less.
Lever/leverage
You use a lever to move or lift something. The act of so doing is leverage. Therefore if you want to move something, you use a lever to apply leverage. To say I'm going to leverage something is nonsensical. It's used all too frequently in corpspeak (see also behaviours) and it jars the sensibilities of anyone whose read more than a couple of books.
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Also, someone with considerable political influence can be said to have leverage, because they have the weight to steer or pressurise others into taking a certain course.
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Literally
This refers to factual information - actual and accurate. "The joke was so funny I literally died laughing"
Er – clearly you didn't.
It's become very common in conversation, and is increasingly seen in written English. It's a very useful word with a specific meaning. It originally meant 'related to letters' in the sense of what was actually written, and so was used to denote something that was real; something actual or true.
Its use in an ironic sense always seemed to me to be a bit suspect, but it is used now with no regard to any sense whatsoever, apart from a supposed increase in intensity. It's just a word thrown in, as in 'like' or 'totally'.
Lose/loose
This seems to be more and more common for some reason. To lose something is to misplace it, or to be beaten in a game. Similarly, to lose someone means that someone has left or passed on.
Loose is the opposite of tight. A loose belt, a loose nut. You can't loose a pub quiz or tighten a lose nut.
Oral/aural
Oral pertains to the mouth, and aural to the ear. A dentist performs an oral examination, whilst a hearing aid specialist will conduct aural tests.
Oriented/orientated
The noun orientation (not oriention) is to direct something to a position or a direction, such as a compass point. You might also be said to have a particular political or sexual orientation. Thus the word is orientated, not oriented – although the latter is commonly used in the US.
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PIN number
PIN is an acronym for Personal Identification Number. The term 'PIN number' is therefore 'personal identification number number' which is plainly nonsense. This also goes for the ATM (automatic teller machine) in which you would use your PIN.
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Principle/principal
Principle is a noun meaning truth - a law or a moral code. To steal is hopefully against your principles.
Principal is an original sum of money, or the head of an organisation, especially a school.
Proscribe/prescribe
To proscribe something is to ban it; to outlaw it.
To prescribe is to recommend.
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Quality
Quality is a noun, and is the standard of something as measured against other things of the same kind.
Poor quality, high quality, average quality etc. However to use it alone renders it meaningless. 'Quality furniture' doesn't describe the furniture, since the noun needs to be described. It could be high quality furniture, equally it could be low. It's used informally and in conversation as in 'he's a quality player' and generally accepted to mean good. In written English however, you should be specific.
Read/reading
Read is a verb. You read a book or read a meter. Reading is a noun. The evening included music and poetry readings. So when Ecotricity wrote to me about my wonderful new smart meter and kept promising that there would be no more estimated meter reads, and when it transpired the new meter didn't work properly that someone would be round to do a meter read manually, I naturally wondered if they had carried out the install correctly.
What's go on? I find it really annoy. I mean, you don't go to an art gallery to look at a paint, do you? Are people going bark mad?
Redundant
Often misused - it means no longer needed or obsolete. It doesn't mean useless or non-functional.
Reign/rein
A reign refers to the rule of a monarch. Reins refer to the straps used to control a horse or other animal. So one can 'rein in' or have 'free rein', but not free reign.
Scot, Scots, Scotch, Scottish
A Scot is a Scottish person. Billy Connolly is a Scot.
The Scots are the Scottish people.
Scots also refers to Scots law, Scots language.
Also Scottish law and the Scottish language.
Scotch refers to whisky, salmon, broth and haggis, but is now used more generally to refer to all inanimate things. So there ye' havvit.
(Never use the term 'Scotchman!')
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Sight, site, cite
A sight is something seen, a site is a place or location, and 'to cite' is to quote, refer to or to provide a source.
Stationary/stationery
Stationary is still. The vehicle was stationary.
Stationery refers to paperwork and writing materials - as in office stationery.
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Steal/rob
You steal something, but rob a person. A burglar steals, a mugger robs.
There, their, they're
There is to refer to the location of something - the chair is there.
Their means 'belonging to or pertaining to them'. Their taste for bloodsports, their rifles.
They're is a contraction of 'they are' as in "they're all dead, captain!"
(Also there're, which is a bloody awful contraction of 'there are' best avoided unless needed in speech.)
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Weather/climate
Weather is the state of the climate at a specific place and time. The weather looks great for tomorrow, let's got to the park.
Climate is the overall or prevailing type of weather. There are five types of climate: global, dry, tropical, temperate, cold and polar. Climatologists define it more precisely as a long term average of weather over thirty years.
Whose, who's, whom
Whose is an interrogative - "whose house is that?" Or "the man whose dog you admired."
Who's is a contraction of who is or who has. Who's she when she's at'ome? Who's left the car parked across the drive?
Whom
Er... let me see...
The best way of handling this is to think of 'he' and 'she' for who, and 'her' or 'him' for whom.
Let me try to explain (not let me 'try and' explain).
"He is a man who I know to be honest."
"He is a man whom I know to be honest."
Which is correct? By substituting he and him, the answer is easily found: him is honest, or he is honest?
It's he, of course, so the correct term is who.
The famous method is Hemingway's 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'. It tolls for him.
For who the bell tolls - it tolls for he.
Confused?
Take comfort in the fact that if you stick to 'who', by my reckoning you'll be right most of the time!