List of commonly misused English words

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This is a list of English words which are commonly misused. It is meant to include only
words whose misuse is deprecated by most usage writers, editors, and other professional
linguists of Standard English. It is possible that some of the meanings marked non-
standard may pass into Standard English in the future, but at this time all of the
following Non-standard phrases are likely to be marked as incorrect by English teachers
or changed by editors if used in a work submitted for publication. Some of the examples
are homonyms or pairs of similarly spelled words which are often confused.

The words listed below are consistently used in ways that major English dictionaries do
not condone in any definition. See list of English words with disputed usage for words
that are used in ways that are deprecated by some usage writers but are condoned by
some dictionaries. There may be regional variations in grammar, spelling, and word-use,
especially between different English-speaking countries. Such differences are not seen as
incorrect once they have gained widespread acceptance in a particular country.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 List
o 1.1 A
o 1.2 B to D
o 1.3 E to H
o 1.4 I to J
o 1.5 K to L
 o 1.6 M
o 1.7 N to R
o 1.8 S to T
o 1.9 U to Z
• 2 See also
• 3 Notes
• 4 References

• 5 External links

[edit] List
[edit] A

• abdicate, abrogate, and arrogate. To abdicate is to resign from the throne, or

more loosely to cast off a responsibility. To abrogate is to repeal a law or abolish
an arrangement. To arrogate is to attempt to take on a right or responsibility to
which one is not entitled.
o Standard: Edward VIII abdicated from the throne of the United Kingdom.
o Standard: Henry VIII abrogated Welsh customary law.
o Non-standard: John abrogated all responsibility for the catering
arrangements (should be "abdicated")
o Non-standard: You should not abrogate to yourself the whole honour of
the President's visit (should be "arrogate")

• accept and except. While they sound similar (or even identical), except is a
preposition that means "apart from", while accept is a verb that means "agree
with", "take in", or "receive". Except is also occasionally used as a verb, meaning
to take out or to leave out.
o Standard: We accept all major credit cards, except Diners Club.
o Standard: Men are fools... present company excepted! (Which means,
"present company excluded")
o Non-standard: I had trouble making friends with them; I never felt
excepted.
o Non-standard: We all went swimming, accept for Jack.

• acute and chronic. Acute means "sharp", as an acute illness is one that rapidly
worsens and reaches a crisis. A chronic illness may also be a severe one, but it is
long-lasting or lingering.
o Standard: She was treated with epinephrine during an acute asthma attack.
o Standard: It is not a terminal illness, but it does cause chronic pain.
o Non-standard: I have suffered from acute asthma for twenty years.
o Non-standard: I just started feeling this chronic pain in my back.

• adage often used in conjunction with old. Adage is necessarily "old".

• adverse and averse. Adverse means unfavorable, contrary or hostile. Averse
means having a strong feeling of opposition, antipathy, or repugnance.
o Standard: They sailed despite adverse weather conditions.
o Standard: He was averse to taking his medicine.
o Non-standard: He is not adverse to having a drink now and then.

• affect and effect. The verb affect means "to influence something", and the noun
effect means "the result of". Effect can also be a verb that means "to cause
[something] to be", while affect as a noun has technical meanings in psychology,
music, and aesthetic theory: an emotion or subjectively experienced feeling. A
device to remember when trying to decide which is the right choice: If something
affects you it usually has an effect on you.
o Standard. This poem affected me so much that I cried.
o Standard. Temperature has an effect on reaction spontaneity.
o Standard. The dynamite effected the wall's collapse.
o Standard. He seemed completely devoid of affect.
o Non-standard. The rain effected our plans for the day.
o Non-standard. We tried appeasing the rain gods, but to no affect.

• aggravate and mitigate. Aggravate means "to make worse". Mitigate means "to
make less bad". "Mitigating factor" refers to something that affects someone's
case by lessening the degree of blame, not anything that has any effect at all.

• algorithm and logarithm. An algorithm is a sequence of instructions, often used

for calculation and processing data. A logarithm is a mathematical function that
indicates, for a given base, the power (i.e. exponent) to which the base must be
raised to produce that number.
o Standard: The manager developed an algorithm by which he could
determine which candidate would best meet the needs of the company.
o Standard: The pH is equivalent to the negative logarithm of the
concentration of hydrogen ions in solution. Thus, a solution of pH 6.2 will
have an [H+] concentration of 10−6.2 mol/L

• allusion, illusion, and hallucination. An allusion is an indirect or metaphorical

reference to something; an illusion is a false picture of something that is there; a
hallucination is the seeing of something that is not there.

• alternative and alternate. An alternative (noun) is secondary option; to alternate

(verb) is to go back and forth between two states.
o Standard: Green would be a good alternative to red.
o Standard: She alternated between love and hate.
o Non-standard: Are there are alternate choices?

• anticipate: to act in advance of an expected event, and expect: to regard as likely.

 • appraise and apprise. To appraise is to assess or value something; to apprise is
to teach or inform.
o Standard: His performance was appraised very positively.
o Standard: I lost no time in apprising her of the situation.
o Non-standard: Has he been appraised of the fact?

• assume: to suppose to be true, especially without proof, and presume: to take for
granted as being true in the absence of proof to the contrary. Presume can also
mean "take excessive liberties", as in the adjective form "presumptuous".
o Standard: They had assumed that they were alone, so they were surprised
when they heard a third voice join their song.
o Standard: Doctor Livingstone, I presume?

• assure, ensure, and insure. To assure is to intend to give the listener confidence,
to ensure is to make certain of, and to insure is to purchase insurance.
o Standard: I assure you that I will have your car washed by the time you
return.
o Standard: When you mow the lawn, ensure there are no foreign objects in
the grass.
o Standard: I plan to purchase the collision policy when I insure my car.

[edit] B to D

• bifurcate. Bifurcate means to segregate or divide into two parts. Not as a stand-in
for 'more than one.'

• cache and cachet. A cache (IPA: /kæʃ/) is a storage place from which items may
be quickly retrieved. A cachet (IPA: /kæˈʃeɪ/) is a seal or mark, such as a wax
seal on an envelope or a mark of authenticity on a product. Note that cachet is
usually used figuratively to mean "marked by excellence, distinction or
superiority".
o Standard: The pirates buried a cache of jewels near the coast.
o Standard: Living in New York City definitely has a certain cachet.
o Non-standard: If your web browser is running slowly, try emptying the
cachet.

• can't and cant. Can't is a contraction of cannot. Cant has a number of different
meanings, including a slope or slant, or a kind of slang or jargon spoken by a
particular group of people. "Canting arms" is a coat-of-arms that represents
meaning of the bearer's surname.
o Standard: I can't understand the dialogue in this book because it is written
in cant.
o Standard: Heralds do not pun; they cant.[1]
o Non-standard: I cant swim; I have never taken lessons.
• complementary and complimentary. Things or people that go together well are
complementary (i.e., they complete each other), whereas complimentary refers to
a bonus gift or giving someone praise.
o Standard: Orange and blue are complementary colors.
o Standard: This sales item comes with a complimentary gift.
o Standard: Jane was very complimentary about your new home.

Similarly, a complement is an accessory, while a compliment is a statement of

admiration.

• concession. A concession stand gets its name from the fact that the operator has
typically been granted a contract known as a "concession" to operate the stand. It
is non-standard to refer to the items sold at concession stands as "concessions."

• contiguous, continual, and continuous. Contiguous means "touching" or

"adjoining in space"; continual means "repeated in rapid succession"; continuous
means "uninterrupted" (in time or space).
o Standard: Alaska is not one of the forty-eight contiguous states.
o Standard: The field was surrounded by a continuous fence.
o Standard: The continuous murmur of the stream.
o Standard: His continual interruptions are very irritating.

• contingent and contingency. As a noun, a contingent is a representative group; a

contingency is a possible event.
o Standard: The explorers were prepared for every contingency.
o Standard: He was a member of the California contingent at the
convention.
o Non-standard: He was greeted by a contingency from the school board.

• crotch and crutch. A crotch is an area where something branches or forks off in 2
directions, or the area on a person's body where the legs fork from the trunk
(commonly interchanged with 'groin'). A crutch is a device that assists motion,
especially one that sits under the armpit, or something that supports, often used
negatively to indicate that it is not needed and causes an unhealthful dependency.

• diffuse and defuse. To diffuse is to disperse randomly, whereas to defuse is to

remove the fuse from a bomb, or in general to render a situation less dangerous.
Diffuse can also be used as an adjective, meaning "not concentrated".
o Standard: The situation was defused when Sandy explained that he was
gay, and had no interest in Frank's wife.
o Standard: The smell of gasoline slowly diffused into the still air of the
hall.
o Standard: The spotlights were turned off, leaving the stage lit by the
diffuse glow of the lanterns.
 • dilemma which really means for one to be faced with a bifurcation in choice, and
not simply a problem as is commonly alleged.

• disassemble and dissemble. To disassemble means "to dismantle" (e.g. to take a

machine code program apart to see how it works); to dissemble means "to tell
lies".

• disburse and disperse. Disburse means "to give out", especially money. Disperse
means "to scatter".

• discreet and discrete. Discrete means "having separate parts", as opposed to

contiguous. Discreet means "circumspect".

• disinterested and uninterested. To be disinterested in something means to not be

biased about something (i.e. to have no personal stake in a particular side of an
issue). To be uninterested means to not be interested in or intrigued by something.
o Standard: As their good friend, I tried to mediate their argument in a
disinterested manner so as not to anger either.
o Standard: Though his initial reaction suggested otherwise, he maintains
that he remains uninterested in the business proposition.
o Non-standard: The key to attracting a member of the opposite sex is to
balance between giving attention to him or her and appearing
disinterested.

• dissect and bisect. Bisect means "to cut into two"; dissect means "to cut apart",
both literally and figuratively. Disect is an archaic word meaning "to separate by
cutting", but has not been in common use since the 17th century.
o Standard: We dissected the eye of a bull in biology class today.
o Standard: She dissected Smith's dissertation, pointing out scores of errors.
o Standard: The Americas are bisected by the Panama canal.
o Non-standard: We bisected the eye of a bull in biology class today.

[edit] E to H

• economic and economical. Economic means "having to do with the economy".

Economical means "financially prudent, frugal" and also figuratively in the sense
"sparing use" (of time, language, etc.)[2]
o Standard: Buying in bulk can often be the most economical choice.
o Standard: The actor should be economical in his use of movement.
o Standard: He attended the School of Economic and Business Sciences.
o Non-standard: Leading economical indicators suggest that a recession
may be on the horizon.
o Non-standard: The actor should be economic in his use of movement.

• e.g. and i.e. The abbreviation e.g. stands for the Latin exempli gratiā "for
example", and should be used when the example(s) given are just one or a few of
 many. The abbreviation i.e. stands for the Latin id est "that is", and is used to give
the only example(s) or to otherwise qualify the statement just made.
o Standard: A Briton is a British citizen, e.g. John Lennon.
o Standard: Tolkien's The Hobbit is named after its protagonist, i.e., Bilbo
Baggins.
o Non-standard: A Briton is a British citizen, i.e., Paul McCartney (at the
last count, there were about 60 million Britons—Sir Paul is far from being
the only one)

• emigration and immigration. Emigration is the process of leaving a country;

immigration is the process of arriving in a country—in both cases, indefinitely.
o Standard: Ethnic communities, such as Little Italy, were created by people
emigrating from their home countries.

• eminent, preeminent, imminent, and immanent. Eminent, originally meaning

"emerging", means "illustrious or highly-regarded". Preeminent means "most
highly-regarded". Imminent means "about to occur". Immanent (less common than
the other two, and often theological) means "indwelling, pervading".
o Standard: The eminent doctor Jones testified on behalf of the defence.
o Standard: Rumours that war was imminent soon spread through the
population.
o Standard: God's grace is immanent throughout the entire creation.

• exacerbate and exasperate. Exacerbate means "to make worse". Exasperate

means "to exhaust", usually someone's patience.
o Standard: Treatment by untrained personnel can exacerbate injuries.
o Standard: Do not let Jack talk to the state trooper; he is tactless and will
just exasperate her.

• flesh and flush. To flesh out is to add flesh to a skeleton, or metaphorically to add
substance to an incomplete rendering. To flush out is to cause game fowl to take
to flight, or to frighten any quarry from a place of concealment.
o Standard: The forensic pathologist will flesh out the skull with clay.
o Standard: The beaters flushed out the game with drums and torches.
o Non-standard: This outline is incomplete and must be flushed out.

• flounder and founder. To flounder is to be clumsy, confused, indecisive or to

flop around like a fish out of water. A flounder is also a type of flatfish. To
founder is to fill with water and sink.
o Standard: The ship is damaged and may founder.
o Standard: She was floundering on the balance beam.
o Non-standard: The ship is damaged and may flounder.

• flout and flaunt. One flouts a rule or law by flagrantly ignoring it. One flaunts
something by showing it off.
o Standard: If you have it, flaunt it.
 o Standard: He continually flouted the speed limit.
o Non-standard: If you have it, flout it.
o Non-standard: He continually flaunted the speed limit.

• hay and straw. Hay is a grassy plant used as animal fodder. Straw is the dry stalk
of a cereal plant (e.g., barley, oats, rice, rye), after the grain or seed has been
removed; it is used to line an animal's stall or for insulation.

• hang. To hang something or someone in the present tense, one uses the same
form. In the past, however, pictures are hung and criminals are hanged.

• hangar and hanger. The aeroplane is in the hangar; the coat is on the hanger.

• historic and historical. In strict usage, historic describes an event of importance

—one that shaped history or is likely to do so. Historical merely describes
something that happened in the past.
o Standard: The president made a(n) historic announcement. (The
announcement was of historical importance.)
o Non-standard: The office kept an archive of historic records. (The records
are not necessarily of historical importance—they are simply records from
the past.)

• hoard and horde. A hoard is a store or accumulation of things. A horde is a large

group of people.
o Standard: A horde of shoppers lined up to be the first to buy the new
gizmo.
o Standard: He has a hoard of discontinued rare cards.
o Non-standard: Do not horde the candy, share it.
o Non-standard: The hoard charged when the horns sounded.

[edit] I to J

• imply and infer. Something is implied if it is a suggestion intended by the person

speaking, whereas a conclusion is inferred if it is reached by the person listening.
o Standard: When Tony told me he had no money, he was implying that I
should give him some.
o Standard: When Tony told me he had no money, I inferred that I should
give him some.
o Non-standard: When Tony told me he had no money, he was inferring that
I should give him some.

• inherent and inherit. A part inherent in X is logically inseparable from X. To

inherit is a verb, meaning "pass down a generation".
o Standard: Risk is inherent in the stock market.
o Standard: The next president inherits a legacy of mistrust and fear.
o Non-standard: There is violence inherit in the system.
 • it's and its. It's is a contraction that replaces it is or it has (see apostrophe). Its is
the possessive determiner corresponding to it, meaning "belonging to it".
o Standard: It's time to eat! (it is time)
o Standard: It's been nice getting to meet you. (it has been)
o Standard: My cell phone has poor reception because its antenna is broken.
o Non-standard: Its good to be the king.
o Non-standard: The bicycle tire had lost all of it's pressure.

• irony. Something is ironic if it is the opposite of what is appropriate, expected, or

fitting.
o Standard: It is ironic that the center for the handicapped has no wheelchair
ramp.
o Standard: It is ironic that Alanis Morissette wrote a song called "Ironic"
with many examples, not one of which is actually ironic.
o Non-standard: It is ironic that George W Bush is right-handed and
Republican while Bill Clinton is left-handed and Democratic.
o Non-standard: It is raining on our wedding day! Is it not ironic?

• isle and aisle. An isle is an island. An aisle is corridor through which one may
pass from one place to another.
o Standard: He came from a small isle in the Caribbean.
o Standard: The coffee is down the third aisle on the left.

[edit] K to L

• lay (lay, laid, laid, laying) and lie (lie, lay, lain, lying) are often used
synonymously. Lay is a transitive verb, meaning that it takes an object. "To lay
something" means to place something. Lie, on the other hand, is intransitive and
means to recline (and also to tell untruths, but in this case the verb is regular and
causes no confusion). The distinction between these related verbs is further
blurred by the fact that past tense of lie is lay. An easy rule of thumb is to replace
the words with sit and set. If sit makes sense (e.g. sit down) then lie should be
used (lie down). If the sentence works with set (e.g. set the book on the table) then
lay should be used (lay the book on the table). To lie can also mean "to not tell the
truth" - but in that case, the past tense is lied. A layoff is never a lieoff or lyoff.
o Standard: I lay my husband's work clothes out for him every morning.
Yesterday, I decided to see if he paid attention to what I was doing, so I
laid out one white sock and one black. He did not notice!
o Standard: You should not lie down right after eating a large meal.
Yesterday, I lay on my bed for half an hour after dinner, and suffered
indigestion as a result. My wife saw me lying there and made me get up;
she told me that if I had waited for a couple of hours I could have lain
down in perfect comfort.
o Standard: You lied to me, there is no hidden chamber!
o Non-standard: Is this bed comfortable when you lay on it? (Should be lie)
 o Non-standard: Yesterday I lied down in my office during the lunch hour.
(Should be lay)
o Non-standard: There was no reason for him to have laid down in the
middle of the path, it unnerved me to see him laying there saying nothing.
(Should be "have lain down" and "him lying there")
o Non-standard: Lie the baby down, and change his diaper (Should be lay,
as lie is intransitive)
o Non-standard: "It could be easy for those guys to lay down. After I left,
they could have just laid down."[3]
o Non-standard: I am going to lay out in the sun and work on my tan.
(Should be lie. In general, the term lay out when referring to sunbathing is
always non-standard usage.)
o Non-standard: Sorry, I lay about our appointment yesterday. (Should be
lied)
o Non-standard: You should not lay down right after eating a large meal.
Yesterday, I lied on my bed for half an hour after dinner, and suffered
indigestion as a result. My wife saw me laying there and made me get up;
she told me that if I had waited for a couple of hours I could have lied
down in perfect comfort. (Should be lie, lay, lying and lain)

• levee and levy. A levee is a structure built along a river to raise the height of its
banks, thereby preventing nearby land from flooding (see: dike). To levy is to
impose (1) a tax, fine or other assessment, or (2) a military draft; as a noun, a levy
is an assessment or army thus gathered. The two words share a common root, but
they are not considered interchangeable in Standard English. Because they are
homophones, misuse is usually only apparent when observed in writing.
o Standard: The Netherlands is well known for its elaborate system of
levees.
o Standard: This statute allows the state to levy a 3% tax.
o Non-standard: Recent storms have weakened the levy.

• literally.[4] A term used to emphasize that a statement is not metaphorical,

figurative or hyperbolic. It is also commonly misused as an intensifier for
metaphorical, figurative or hyperbolic statements.
o Standard: The mayor is literally a convicted felon.
o Non-standard: The mayor is literally robbing us blind with this new tax.

• loathe and loath or loth: Loathe is a verb meaning "to strongly dislike", and loath
or loth means "unwilling" or "reluctant".
o Standard: I loathe arrogant people.
o Standard: I was loath to concede defeat.
o Standard: I was loth to submit to a body-cavity search until I saw who
would be administering it.

• lose and loose. Lose can mean "fail to win", "misplace", or "cease to be in
possession". Loose can mean the opposite of tight, or the opposite of tighten. Lose
 is often misspelled loose, likely because lose has an irregular rhyme for the way it
is spelled: it is more common for words ending -ose to rhyme -əʊz, like nose, or
rose, but lose rhymes -uːz, like news or confuse. This may cause poor spellers to
guess the correct spelling should match another -uːz rhyming word like choose,
although choose is itself also an exception to the regular rhyme for words ending
-oose (typically such words, including loose, rhyme -uːs, like goose or caboose).
o Standard: We cannot afford to lose customers to our competitors.
o Standard: A screw is loose and I need a screwdriver to tighten it.
o Non-standard: If the team cannot score any points, they will loose the
game.

[edit] M

• macerate, marinate, and marinade. (From post-classical Latin marina brine,

short for classical Latin aqua marina sea water.)[5] In Standard English, marinade
is a noun and not a verb; marinate is the verb. Macerate means "to soften by
steeping in a liquid" and in culinary terminology is used for non-protein items,
specifically fruit.[5] The word macerate is also used in science "to soften bone,
rock etc. in a liquid".[5]
o Standard: The meat will taste better if you marinate it in olive oil before
cooking.
o Standard: Prepare the marinade by mixing vinegar and soy sauce.
o Non-standard: Marinade the meat in wine for half an hour.
o Standard: Macerate the fruit in wine for half an hour.
o Non-standard: Marinate the fruit in wine for half an hour.

• me, myself, and I. In a traditional prescriptive grammar, I is used only as a

subject, me is used only as an object, and myself is used only as a reflexive object,
that is to say when the subject is "I" and the object would otherwise be "me".
Myself is often used incorrectly, often in a form of hypercorrection. Like the other
reflexive pronouns, myself should be used only when both the subject and object
of the verb are the speaker, or as an emphatic pronoun (intensifier).
o Standard: Jim and I took the train.
o Standard: He lent the books to Jim and me.
o Standard: That is I in the picture. (This is very formal, and seldom found
in speech.)
o Acceptable: That is me in the picture. (This is typical in informal English.)
o Standard (intensifying): I myself have seen instances of that type.
o Standard (reflexive): I hurt myself. I did it to myself. I played by myself. I
want to enjoy myself.
o Non-standard: Jim and me went into town.
o Non-standard: Me and Jim went into town.
o Non-standard: As for myself, I prefer the red.
o Non-standard: He is an American like myself.
o Non-standard: He gave the paper to Jim and myself.
o Non-standard: My wife and myself do not like the development.
 o Non-standard: 'I wake up/With my eyes shut tight/Hoping tomorrow will
never come/For you and I.' (Should be For you and me) (From "You And
I, Part II" by Fleetwood Mac)

• mitigate and militate. To mitigate is to make something milder. To militate is to

fight or exert pressure for something to happen or not to happen.
o Standard: The seriousness of your crime was mitigated by the provocation
you were under.
o Standard: Over-protective practices in this factory militate against
increased efficiency.
o Non-standard: Over-protective practices in this factory mitigate against
increased efficiency.

[edit] N to R

• novice and novitiate. A novice is a prospective or trainee member of a religious

order. The novitiate is the state of being a novice, or the time for which one is a
novice. However, a novice monk or nun is often incorrectly described as "a
novitiate" (perhaps confused with "initiate").

• of and have. In some dialects of spoken English, of and the contracted form of
have, 've, sound alike. However, in standard written English, they are not
interchangeable.
o Standard: Susan would have stopped to eat, but she was running late.
o Standard: You could have warned me!
o Non-standard: I should of known that the store would be closed. (Should
be "I should've known")
• overestimate and underestimate. There is frequent confusion between things
that cannot and should not be over/underestimated, though the meanings are
opposite.
o Standard: The damage caused by pollution cannot be overestimated (i.e. it
is so enormous that no estimate, however high, is excessive)
o Standard: The damage caused by pollution should not be underestimated
(i.e. it is wrong to regard it as minor)
o Non-standard: The damage caused by pollution cannot be underestimated
(literal meaning: it is so minimal that no estimate is too small. Intended
meaning: one of the previous two)

• past and passed. Past refers to events that have previously occurred, while
passed is the past tense of "to pass", whether in a congressional action or a
physical occurrence.
o Standard: Congress passed the bill limiting the powers of the President.
o Standard: History is mainly concerned with the events of the past.
o Non-standard: He past my house on his way to the store.
• peremptory and preemptive. A peremptory act or statement is absolute; it cannot
be denied. A preemptive action is one taken before an adversary can act.
o Standard: He issued a peremptory order.
o Standard: Preemptive air strikes stopped the enemy from launching the
new warship.

• perpetrate and perpetuate. To perpetrate something is to commit it, while to

perpetuate is something is to cause it to continue or to keep happening.
o Standard: The gang perpetrated outrages against several citizens.
o Standard: The stories only serve to perpetuate the legend that the house is
haunted.

• perquisite and prerequisite. Perquisite usually means 'an extra allowance or

privilege'. Prerequisite means 'something required as a condition'.
o Standard: He had all the perquisites of a movie star, including a stand-in.
o Standard: Passing the examination was one of the prerequisites for a
teaching position.

• perspective and prospective. Perspective is a view with correct visual angles,

example: parallel railway tracks converging in the distance. "Prospective" is a
future possibility or expectation.

• perspicuity and perspicacity. If something is perspicuous, it is easily understood;

its meaning is obvious. If one is perspicacious, then one is quick to understand or
has good insight.
o Standard: I admired her perspicacity; she just seemed to get it so much
better than I.
o Standard: He expressed the idea so perspicuously that anyone could
understand.
o Non-standard: She spoke in a perspicacious way.

• peruse means "to read or examine very carefully" but is sometimes used
erroneously when the exact opposite is meant: "to read superficially," "to glance
over quickly," "to skim."

• photogenic and photographic. The former is to be used to mean someone's

likeness is particularly amenable to being well photographed. The latter is
anything pertaining to photography whether it is technical e.g. photographic
chemical or equipment, or generic e.g. photographic journals.

• prescribe and proscribe. To prescribe something is to command or recommend

it. To proscribe somebody or something is to outlaw him, her or it.

• progeny and prodigy. Progeny are offspring or things that follow something else.
A prodigy is a genius or a marvelous example of something.
 • Quartary and quaternary. Quartary (from Latin: quartarius) is the fourth
member of an ordinal number word series beginning with (primary, secondary,
tertiary) and continuing with (quintary, sextary, ...).[6] Quaternary (from Latin:
quaternarius) is the fourth member of a distributive number word series
beginning with (singular, binary, ternary) and continuing with (quinary, senary,
septenary, octonary ... centenary).[7][8]

In biology, the non-standard usage "Quaternary structure" is so firmly entrenched

that to refer to "Quartary structure" would be incorrect.

• redundant does not mean "useless" or "unable to perform its function". It means
that there is an excess of something, that something is "surplus to requirements"
and no longer needed, or that it is obsolete.
o Standard: A new pill that will instantly cure any illness has made
antibiotics redundant. (Antibiotics could still be used to cure illnesses, but
they are no longer needed because a better pill has been invented)
o Standard: The week before Christmas, the company made seventy-five
workers redundant.
o Non-standard: Over-use of antibiotics risks making them redundant. (This
should read: over-use of antibiotics risks making them ineffective)

• regimen and regiment. A regimen is a system of order, and may often refer to the
systematic dosing of medication. A regiment is a military unit
o Standard: The sick soldier was removed from his regiment.
o Standard: The sick soldier was ordered to complete a regimen of
amoxicillin.

• reign and rein. A reign refers to the rule of a monarch. Reins are the straps used
to control the movements of an animal (typically a horse). Thus, to "take the
reins" means to assume control, and to have "free rein" means to be free of
constraints.[9]
o Non-standard: ...the Suns gave Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum free
reign of practices...[10]
o Non-standard: Bobby Jindal, a whiz kid takes the reigns of Louisiana's
Department of Health and Hospital[11]

[edit] S to T

• sensual and sensuous. Both words mean, "to do with the senses". Sensual is more
often applied to a pleasure or experience or to a person's character; sensuous to
someone or something of enticing appearance.
o Standard: Don Juan is the most sensual character in fiction.
o Standard: Ascetics believe in avoiding all sensual pleasures.
o Standard: Marilyn Monroe looks extremely sensuous in this film clip.
• set and sit. When used as a verb, to set means "to place" or "to adjust to a value",
whereas to sit means, "to be seated".
o Standard: Set the pot upon the stove.
o Standard: Set the temperature-control to 100 °C.
o Non-standard: Set down over there.
o Non-standard: Sit the pot on the stove.
o Standard: Sit on the chair.

• shrink and shirk. To shirk means "to consistently avoid", "to neglect", "to be too
afraid to engage". To shrink means "to contract", "to become physically smaller in
size"; also, to shrink away means, "to suddenly jerk away from something in
horror". However, to shrink from may also mean, "to hesitate or show reluctance
toward".
o Standard: I will not shirk discussion.
o Standard: I will not shrink from discussion.
o Standard: She shrank away from me.
o Non-standard: I will not shrink discussion.
o Non-standard: I will not shirk from discussion.

• sight, site, and cite. A sight is something seen; a site is a place. To cite is to quote
or list as a source.
o Standard: You are a sight for sore eyes.
o Standard: I found a list of the sights of Rome on a tourist site.
o Standard: Please cite the sources you used in your essay.
o Standard: You must travel to the site of the dig to see the dinosaur bones.
o Standard: It is necessary to have line-of-sight if you want to use
semaphore.
o Non-standard: One must be careful on a construction sight.
o Non-standard: I will site the book in which I saw the statistics.
o Non-standard: I could not fire because I did not have line-of-site to the
target.

• temblor and trembler. A temblor is an earthquake. A trembler is something that

trembles.

• than and then. Than is a grammatical particle and preposition associated with
comparatives, whereas then is an adverb and a noun. In certain dialects, the two
words are usually homophones because they are function words with reduced
vowels, and this may cause speakers to confuse them.
o Standard: I like pizza more than lasagne.
o Standard: We ate dinner, then went to the movies.
o Non-standard: You are a better person then I am.

• there, their, they're, and there're. There refers to the location of something.
Their means "belonging to them". They're is a contraction of "They are". There're
is a contraction of "there are".[citation needed]
 o Standard: There're five of them and they're all coming to the restaurant for
their dinner; we will meet them there.

• there's, where's, etc. A common spoken mistake is using a singular contraction

when it should be plural in words like there's and where's. This stems from the
fact that there're and where're are more difficult to enunciate and are often
avoided for that reason in colloquial speech.
o Non-standard: Where's the cars? (Should be Where're)
o Non-standard: There's many types of cars. (Should be There're)

• to, too. Too means "in excess" or "also". To is a preposition or is a part of a verb
in the infinitive. At the end of a sentence to may also refer to a dropped verb in
the infinitive.

• trimester. A trimester is a period of three months.[12][13] Because it is most

commonly used in conjunction with a nine-month academic year[14] or a nine-
month term of human pregnancy,[15] it is sometimes wrongly assumed that
trimester is simply a synonym for one third.[16][17]
o Standard: One calendar year contains four trimesters.
o Non-standard: Without further delay, then, comes ESPN.com's annual
(and overdue) First Trimester Report, ushering folks back to the office by
taking stock of the season's opening third:[18]

[edit] U to Z

• venal and venial. These words are sometimes confused; venal means "corrupt",
"able to be bribed", or "for sale"; venial means "pardonable, not serious".[2][19]
o Standard: According to Catholic doctrine, eating meat on a Friday is a
venial sin, but murder is a mortal sin.
o Standard: All ages have examples of venal politicians.

• warranty and warrantee. A warranty is a legal assurance that some object can
perform some specified task or meets certain quality standards. A warrantee is the
person who benefits from a warranty. The verb form is warrant. Confusion here
can stem from guarantee and the less common guaranty, which have similar
meanings.
o Standard: Most new cars come with at least a three-year warranty.
o Standard: I guarantee that you will make a return on your investment.
o Non-standard: Your mobile phone has stopped working? Maybe you need
to claim under the warrantee.

• whose and who's. Whose is an interrogative word (Whose is this?) or a relative

pronoun (The people whose house you admired); who's is a contraction for "who
is" or "who has".
• won't and wont. Won't is a contraction for "will not", while wont is a word
meaning "accustomed" or "inclined to" (as an adjective) or "habit or custom" (as a
noun).
o Standard: He won't let me drive his car.
o Standard: He spent the morning reading, as he was wont to do.
o Standard: He took a walk in the evening, as was his wont.
o Non-standard: I wont need to go to the supermarket after all.

• you're and your. While they sound the same in many dialects, in standard written
English they have separate meanings. You're is a contraction for "you are", and
your is a possessive pronoun meaning "belonging to you". When in doubt, just see
whether the word in question can logically be expanded to "you are".
o Standard: When driving, always wear your seatbelt.
o Standard: If you're going out, please be home by ten o'clock.
o Non-standard: You're mother called this morning.
o Non-standard: Your the first person to notice my new haircut today!

• aggravate – Some prescriptivists have argued that this word should not be used in
the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse".
However, this proscription against "to annoy" is not rooted in history. According
to AHDI, the "annoy" usage occurs in English as far back as the 17th century;
furthermore, in Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were
used.[1] Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's Usage Panel approves of its use in "It's the
endless wait for luggage that aggravates me the most about air travel."[2] M-W
mentions that while aggravate in the sense of "to rouse to displeasure or anger by
usually persistent and often petty goading" has been around since the 17th
century, disapproval of that usage only appeared around 1870.[3] RH states in its
usage note under aggravate that "The two most common senses of aggravate are
'to make worse' and 'to annoy or exasperate.' Both senses first appeared in the
early 17th century at almost the same time; the corresponding two senses of the
noun aggravation also appeared then. Both senses of aggravate and aggravation
have been standard since then."[4] Chambers cites this usage as "colloquial" and
that it "is well established, especially in spoken English, although it is sometimes
regarded as incorrect."[5]*
o Disputed usage: It's the endless wait for luggage that aggravates me the
most about air travel.
o Undisputed usage: Being hit on the head by a falling brick aggravated my
already painful headache.

• ain't – originally a contraction of "am not", this word is widely used as a

replacement for "aren't", "isn't", "haven't" and "hasn't" as well. While ain't has
existed in the English language for a very long time, and it is a common, normal
word in many dialects in both North America and the British Isles, it is not a part
of standard English, and its use in formal writing is not recommended by most
usage commentators. Its unselfconscious use in speech may tend to mark the
speaker as uneducated. Nevertheless, ain't is used by educated speakers and
 writers for deliberate effect, what Oxford American Dictionary describes as
"tongue-in-cheek" or "reverse snobbery", and what Merriam-Webster Collegiate
calls "emphatic effect" or "a consistently informal style".[6]

• alibi – Some prescriptivists argue this cannot be used in the non-legal sense of
"an explanation or excuse to avoid blame or justify action." AHD4 notes that this
usage was acceptable to "almost half"[7] of the Usage Panel, while most opposed
the word's use as a verb. M-W mentions no usage problems, listing the disputed
meaning second to its legal sense without comment. OED cites the non-legal noun
and verb usages as colloquial and "orig[inally] U.S.".[8] Chambers deems this use
"colloquial".[9]

• alright – An alternate to "all right" that some consider illiterate but others allow.
RH says that it probably arose in analogy with other similar words, such as
altogether and already; it does concede the use in writing as "informal", and that
all right "is used in more formal, edited writing."[10] AHD4 flags alright as
"nonstandard",[11] and comments that this unacceptance (compared to altogether
etc.) is "peculiar", and may be due to its relative recentness (altogether and
already date back to the Middle Ages, alright only a little over a century).[12]
Chambers refers to varying levels of formality of all right, deeming alright to be
more casual; it recommends the use of all right "in writing for readers who are
precise about the use of language."[13]

• also – Some prescriptivists contend this word should not be used to begin a
sentence. AHD4 says "63 percent of the Usage Panel found acceptable the
example The warranty covers all power-train components. Also, participating
dealers back their work with a free lifetime service guarantee."[14] See also and &
but, below.

• alternate – In British English this adjective means, according to OED and other
sources, switching between two options or similar. It does not mean the same as
alternative (see next), which OED specifically marks as an American meaning of
alternate. In international English it is thus thought better to observe the British
distinction: then the meanings of alternative and alternate will be clear to
everyone. (See meanings given at M-W; the same applies to the adverbs
alternately and alternatively.)

• alternative – Some prescriptivists argue that alternative should be used only

when the number of choices involved is exactly two. While AHD4 allows "the
word's longstanding use to mean 'one of a number of things from which only one
can be chosen' and the acceptance of this usage by many language critics", it goes
on to state that only 49% of its Usage panel approves of its use as in "Of the three
alternatives, the first is the least distasteful."[15] Neither M-W[16] nor RH[17]
mentions any such restriction to a choice of two. Chambers qualifies its definition
as referring to "strictly speaking, two, but often used of more than two,
possibilities".[18]
• a.m./p.m. – These are Latin abbreviations for the adverbial phrases ante
meridiem ("before noon") and post meridiem ("after noon"). Some prescriptivists
argue that they thus should not be used in English as nouns meaning "morning"
and "afternoon"; however, such use is consistent with ordinary nominalization
features of English. AHD4 lists adjectival usage with "an A.M. appointment" [19]
and "a P.M. appointment".[20] RH gives "Shall we meet Saturday a.m.?"[19] without
comment; it gives no corresponding example at p.m., so that usage can only be
extrapolated. Also, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (n.d.)
contends it is incorrect to use 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. to mean either noon or midnight.

• among/amongst and between – The traditionalist view is that between should

only be used when there are only two objects for comparison; and among or
amongst should be used for more than two objects. Most style guides and
dictionaries do not support this advice, saying that between can be used to refer to
something that is in the time, space or interval that separates more than two items.
M-W says that the idea that between can be used only of two items is "persistent
but unfounded"[21] and AHD4 calls it a "widely repeated but unjustified tradition".
[22]
The OED says "In all senses, between has been, from its earliest appearance,
extended to more than two".[23] Chambers says "It is acceptable to use between
with reference to more than two people or things", although does state that among
may be more appropriate in some circumstances.[24]
o Undisputed usage: I parked my car between the two telegraph poles.
o Undisputed usage: You'll find my brain between my ears.
o Disputed usage: The duck swam between the reeds.
o Disputed usage: They searched the area between the river, the farmhouse,
and the woods.
o Undisputed usage: We shared the money evenly amongst the three of us.
o Disputed usage: We shared the money between Tom, Dick, and me.
o Undisputed usage: My house was built among the gum trees.

• amount – Some prescriptivists argue amount should not be substituted for

number. They recommend the use of number if the thing referred to is countable
and amount only if it is uncountable. While RH acknowledges the "traditional
distinction between amount and number, it mentions that "[a]lthough objected to,
the use of amount instead of number with countable nouns occurs in both speech
and writing, especially when the noun can be considered as a unit or group (the
amount of people present; the amount of weapons) or when it refers to money
(the amount of dollars paid; the amount of pennies in the till).[25] (see also less)
o Disputed usage: I was amazed by the amount of people who visited my
website. (With knowledge of the exact number)
o Undisputed usage: The number of people in the lift must not exceed 10.
o Undisputed usage: I was unimpressed by the amount of water consumed
by the elephant.

• and – Some prescriptivists argue that sentences should not begin with the word
and on the argument that as a conjunction it should only join clauses within a
 sentence. AHD4 states that this stricture "has been ridiculed by grammarians for
decades, and ... ignored by writers from Shakespeare to Joyce Carol Oates."[26] RH
states "Both and and but, and to a lesser extent or and so, are common as
transitional words at the beginnings of sentences in all types of speech and
writing'; it goes on to suggest that opposition to this usage "...probably stems from
the overuse of such sentences by inexperienced writers."[27] ENCARTA opines
that said opposition comes from "too literal an understanding of the 'joining'
function of conjunctions", and states that any overuse is a matter of poor style, not
grammatical correctness.[28] COED calls the usage "quite acceptable".[29] Many
verses of the King James Bible begin with and, as does William Blake's poem
And did those feet in ancient time (a.k.a. Jerusalem). Fowler's Modern English
Usage defends this use of "and". Chambers states that "Although it is sometimes
regarded as poor style, it is not ungrammatical to begin a sentence with and."[30]
See also also, above, and but, below.

• anxious – Some prescriptivists argue that this word should only be used in the
sense of "worried" or "worrisome" (compare "anxiety"), but it has been used in
the sense of eager for "over 250 years"; 52% of AHD4's Usage Panel accepts its
use in the sentence "We are anxious to see the new show of contemporary
sculpture at the museum." Also, it suggests that the use of anxious to mean eager
may be mild hyperbole, as the use of dying in the sentence "I'm dying to see your
new baby."[31] RH states bluntly that "its use in the sense of 'eager'...is fully
standard."[32] M-W defines anxious as "3 : ardently or earnestly wishing <anxious
to learn more> / synonym see EAGER"[33] Chambers gives "3 very eager •
anxious to do well."[34]

[edit] B
• barbaric and barbarous — Barbaric applies to the culture of barbarians and may
be positive ("barbaric splendor"); barbarous applies to the behavior of barbarians
and is negative ("barbarous cruelty"). This is standard English usage. However,
M-W equates the third meaning of "barbaric" with the third of "barbarous", that
is, "mercilessly harsh or cruel";[35] COD11 and Chambers list "savagely cruel" and
"cruel and brutal; excessively harsh or vicious",[36] respectively, as the first
meanings for "barbaric". Only AHD4 disallows this usage, and without comment.
[37]

o Undisputed. The environment of the venue was barbaric.

o Undisputed. Terrorism is barbarous.
o Disputed. Capital punishment is a disgusting, barbaric measure.

• begging the question. In logic, begging the question is another term for petitio
principii or arguing in a circle, in other words making assumptions in advance
about the very issue in dispute. Now often used to mean simply leading to the
question.
o Undisputed. You argue that Christianity must be true because the Bible
says so. Isn't that begging the question?
 o Disputed. You want to go to the theatre. That begs the question which day
we should go.

• but – Some prescriptivists argue that if and should not be used to begin sentences,
then neither should but. These words are both conjunctions; thus, they believe that
they should be used only to link clauses within a sentence. AHD4 states that "it
may be used to begin a sentence at all levels of style.".[38]

[edit] C
• can and may – Some prescriptivists argue that can refers to possibility and may
refers to permission, and insist on maintaining this distinction, although usage of
can to refer to permission is pervasive in spoken and very frequent in written
English. M-W notes: "Can and may are most frequently interchangeable in senses
denoting possibility; because the possibility of one's doing something may (or
can) depend on another's acquiescence, they have also become interchangeable in
the sense denoting permission. The use of can to ask or grant permission has been
common since the 19th century and is well established, although some
commentators feel may is more appropriate in formal contexts. May is relatively
rare in negative constructions (mayn't is not common); cannot and can't are usual
in such contexts."[39] AHD4 echoes this sentiment of formality, noting that only
21% of the Usage Panel accepted can in the example "Can I take another week to
submit the application?".[40] For its part, OED labels the use of can for may as
"colloquial".[41]

• comprise – Comprise means "to consist of". A second meaning, "to compose or
constitute" is sometimes attacked by usage writers. However, it is supported as
sense 3 along with a usage note in M-W,[42] and although AHD4 notes the usage
as a "usage problem", its usage note says, "Our surveys show that opposition to
this usage is abating. In the 1960s, 53 percent of the Usage Panel found this usage
unacceptable; in 1996, only 35 percent objected."[43]
o Undisputed usage: The English Wikipedia comprises more than two
million articles.
o Disputed usage: The English Wikipedia comprises of more than two
million articles.
o Disputed usage: The English Wikipedia is comprised of more than two
million articles.
o Disputed usage: More than two million articles comprise the English
Wikipedia.
o Disputed usage: Diatoms comprise more than 70% of all phytoplankton.
o Undisputed usage: Diatoms constitute more than 70% of all
phytoplankton.
o Disputed usage: "Those in the industry have mostly scoffed at the young,
inexperienced Carter and the rest of the high school pals that comprise the
company."[44]
Contents: Top · 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] D
• deprecate – The original meaning in English is "deplore" or "express disapproval
of" (the Latin from which the word derives means "pray to avert evil", suggesting
that some event would be a calamity). The word is now also used to mean "play
down", "belittle" or "devalue", a shift that some prescriptivists disapprove of, as it
suggests the word is being confused with the similar word depreciate; in fact,
AHD4 states that in this sense deprecate has almost completely supplanted
depreciate, however a majority of the dictionary's Usage Panel approved this
sense.[45] Its use with the approximate meaning to declare obsolete in computer
jargon is also sometimes condemned.

• diagnose – Cochrane (2004) states that to "diagnose [someone] with a disease" is

an incorrect usage of the verb diagnose, which takes the physician as subject and
a disease as object (e.g. "to diagnose cancer"). In American English, according to
AHD4[46] and M-W,[47] the sense of "diagnose [someone] with a disease" is listed
without comment or tag; however, for its part, RH does not list such a usage, with
or without comment. For British English, COD11 offers "identify the medical
condition of (someone): she was diagnosed as having epilepsy (2004); this usage,
however, did not appear in editions as recently as the 1990s. Chambers does not
offer this sense at all.[48]
o Disputed usage: Mr. Smith was diagnosed with diabetes.
o Undisputed usage: The doctor diagnosed diabetes.

• different – Standard usage in both Britain and America is "different from" (on the
analogy of "to differ from"). In Britain this competes with "different to" (coined
on the analogy of "similar to"). In America it competes with "different than"
(coined on the analogy of "other than"). "Different to" is also found in Irish,
Australian, and New Zealand English.
o Undisputed usage: The American pronunciation of English is different
from the British.
o Disputed usage: The American pronunciation of English is different to the
British.
o Disputed usage: The American pronunciation of English is different than
the British.

• disinterested – Standard usage is as a word for "unbiased," but some have also
rendered it synonymous with "uninterested" or "apathetic".
o Undisputed usage: As their mutual best friend, I tried to remain
disinterested in their argument so as not to anger either.
o Disputed usage: The key to attracting a member of the opposite sex is to
balance between giving attention to him or her and appearing
disinterested.
 • due to – The adjectival use of due to is undisputed. Its adverbial use, however,
has been a subject of dispute for many years, as witnessed by several (especially
U.S.) dictionary usage notes that in the end designate it as "standard." William
Strunk in his Elements of style labelled the disputed adverbial use of due to as
"incorrect." [49] Although the first (1926) edition of FOWLER condemned the
adverbial use as "common ... only ... among the illiterate", the third (1996) edition
said, "Opinion remains sharply divided, but it begins to look as if this use of due
to will form part of the natural language of the 21C., as one more example of a
forgotten battle." Due to is frequently used in place of from, for, with, of, because
of, and other prepositions. Undisputed synonyms for due to are caused by and
attributable to.
o Disputed usage: He died due to cancer. (He died of cancer.)
o Disputed usage: Due to the end of the Second War, circumstances altered
profoundly. (With the end of the Second War, circumstances altered
profoundly.)
o Disputed usage: The project failed due to lack of funds. (The project
failed for lack of funds.)
o Undisputed usage: His death was due to cancer.
o Undisputed usage: Many thought the problem was due to mismanagement.

[edit] E
• enormity – Frequently used as a synonym for "enormousness" or "immensity",
but traditionally means "extreme wickedness". According to AHD4, this
distinction has not always occurred historically, but is now supported by 59% of
the dictionary's Usage Panel.[50] COD11 states that enormity as a synonym for
hugeness "is now broadly accepted as standard English." Although Chambers lists
"immenseness or vastness" as a meaning, it says it "should not be used" in that
sense, commenting that it is encountered often because the word enormousness is
"awkward"; it recommends using instead another word, such as hugeness,
greatness, etc.[51]
o Disputed usage: The enormity of the elephant astounded me.
o Traditional usage: The enormity of Stalin's purges astounds me.

[edit] F
• farther and further – Many prescriptivists adhere to the rule that farther only
should refer to matters of physical distance or position, while further should be
reserved for usages involving time or degree (as well as undisputed descriptions
of moreover and in addition).
o Disputed usage: San Jose is further from L.A. than Santa Barbara.
o Disputed usage: L.A. was a couple hours farther from home than I
expected.
o Disputed usage: If her fever increases any farther, I will call the doctor.
o Undisputed usage: I would like to discuss the issue further at a later time.
 • fortuitously – Used by some interchangeably with fortunately, strictly speaking
fortuitousness is a reference to an occurrence depending on chance. M-W notes
that use of the word in sense of "fortunate" has been in standard use for at least 70
years and notes that the sense of "coming or happening by a lucky chance" is
virtually unnoticed by usage critics.[52][clarification needed]

[edit] G
• gender – Gender is often used interchangeably with sex in the sense of the
biological or social quality, male and female. It is never used to refer to sexual
intercourse.
o Gender traditionally refers to grammatical gender, a feature in the
grammar of a number of different languages. Some prescriptivists argue
that its use as a euphemism for sex is to be avoided as a genteelism;
Fowler (p. 211) says it is used "either as a jocularity...or a blunder."
o Sex and gender can be used in different but related senses, with sex
referring to biological characteristics and gender to social roles and
expectations based on sex. Use of gender as interchangeable with or as a
replacement for sex may confuse readers who draw this distinction. See
gender identity, gender role.

[edit] H
• hoi polloi – The question surrounding hoi polloi is whether it is appropriate to use
the article the preceding the phrase; it arises because hoi is the Greek word for
"the" in the phrase and classical purists complain that adding the makes the phrase
redundant: "the the common people". Foreign phrases borrowed into English are
often reanalyzed as single grammatical units, requiring an English article in
appropriate contexts. AHD4 says "The Arabic element al- means 'the', and
appears in English nouns such as alcohol and alchemy. Thus, since no one would
consider a phrase such as the alcohol to be redundant, criticizing the hoi polloi on
similar grounds seems pedantic."[53]

• hopefully – Some prescriptivists argue this word should not be used as an

expression of confidence in an outcome; however, M-W classes hopefully with
other words such as interestingly, frankly, and unfortunately (which are
unremarkably used in a similar way) as disjuncts, and describes this usage as
"entirely standard".[54] AHD4, however, notes that opposition to this usage by their
usage panels has grown from 56% to 73%, despite support for similar disjuncts
(such as 60% support for the use of mercifully in "Mercifully, the game ended
before the opponents could add another touchdown to the lopsided score"). AHD4
opines that this opposition is not to the use of these adverbs in general, but that
this use of hopefully has become a "shibboleth".[55] OED lists this usage without
any "colloquial" or other label, other than to say "Avoided by many writers".[56]
See also the discussion of hopefully as a dangling modifier. One investigation in
 modern corpora on Language Log revealed that outside fiction, where it still
represents 40% of all uses (the other qualifying primarily speech and gazes),
disjunct uses account for the vast majority (over 90%) of all uses of the word.[57]
o Disputed usage: Hopefully I'll get that scholarship!
o Undisputed usage: The prisoner thought hopefully about the prospect for
escape when he realized the guards accidentally left his cell unlocked.

Contents: Top · 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] L
• less – Some prescriptivists argue that less should not be substituted for fewer.
Merriam-Webster notes "The traditional view is that less applies to matters of
degree, value, or amount and modifies collective nouns, mass nouns, or nouns
denoting an abstract whole while fewer applies to matters of number and modifies
plural nouns. Less has been used to modify plural nouns since the days of King
Alfred and the usage, though roundly decried, appears to be increasing. Less is
more likely than fewer to modify plural nouns when distances, sums of money,
and a few fixed phrases are involved <less than 100 miles> <an investment of less
than $2000> <in 25 words or less> and as likely as fewer to modify periods of
time <in less (or fewer) than four hours>"[58]
o Disputed usage: This lane 12 items or less.
o Undisputed usage: We had fewer players on the team this season.
o Undisputed usage: There is less water in the tank now.

• like and as – Some prescriptivists object to the use of like as a conjunction, stating
it is rather a preposition and that only as would be appropriate in this
circumstance. M-W, however, cites like's use as a conjunction as standard since
the 14th century, and opines that opposition to it is "perhaps more heated than
rational" (see M-W's entry "like [7, conjunction]"). AHD4 says "Writers since
Chaucer's time have used like as a conjunction, but 19th-century and 20th-century
critics have been so vehement in their condemnations of this usage that a writer
who uses the construction in formal style risks being accused of illiteracy or
worse", and recommends using as in formal speech and writing.[59] OED does not
tag it as colloquial or nonstandard, but notes, "Used as conj[unction]: = 'like as',
as. Now generally condemned as vulgar or slovenly, though examples may be
found in many recent writers of standing."[60] Chambers lists the conjunctive use
as "colloquial".[61]
o Undisputed usage. He is an American as am I.
o Undisputed usage. He is an American like me.
o Undisputed usage. It looks as if this play will be a flop.
o Undisputed usage. This play looks like a flop.
o Disputed usage. He is an American like I am.
o Disputed usage. It looks like this play will be a flop.
 • literally – Some prescriptivists argue literally should not be used as a mere
emphatic, unless the thing to which it refers is actually true. It is used to
disambiguate a possible metaphorical interpretation of a phrase. M-W does not
condemn the second use, which means "in effect" or "virtually", but says "the use
is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts
where no additional emphasis is necessary".[62]
o Disputed usage: The party literally went with a bang. (No, it did not,
unless there was an actual loud noise.)
o Undisputed usage: I literally ran more than 25 miles today. I ran a
marathon.

• loan – The use of loan as a verb meaning "to give out a loan" is disputed, with
lend being preferred for the verb form. AHD4 flatly states "[t]he verb loan is well
established in American usage and cannot be considered incorrect";[63] M-W states
"...loan is entirely standard as a verb".[64] RH says "Sometimes mistakenly
identified as an Americanism, loan as a verb meaning "to lend" has been used in
English for nearly 800 years"; it further states that objections to this use "are
comparatively recent".[65] Chambers defines the verb loan as "to lend (especially
money)".[66] OED merely states "Now chiefly U.S.",[67] and COD11 includes the
meaning without tag or comment.
o Undisputed usage. I lent him some money.
o Undisputed usage. Fill out the paperwork for a loan.
o Disputed usage. I loaned him some money.

[edit] M
• may and might – "May" should only be used where the event in question is still
possible, not for something that was possible in the past, or for a hypothetical
present possibility. "Might" is properly the past tense form of "may". (In similar
fashion, "could", "should", and "would" are all past tense forms for "can", "shall",
and "will", respectively.)
o Undisputed usage: My brother may have gone to China last week
(perhaps he did)
o Disputed usage: If he had not been prevented, my brother may have gone
to China last week (but he didn't)
o Undisputed usage: If he had not been prevented, my brother might have
gone to China last week.
o Disputed usage: He thought it may be true (but it wasn't)
o Undisputed usage: He thought it might be true.

• meet – Some prescriptivists state that as a transitive verb in the context "to come
together by chance or arrangement", meet (as in meet (someone)) does not require
a preposition between verb and object; the phrase meet with (someone) is deemed
incorrect. Chambers flags this usage "US";[68] RH allows it in the sense of "to join,
as for conference or instruction: I met with her an hour a day until we solved the
problem."[69] On the other hand, none of M-W, AHD4, or COD11 entertains this
 usage. NOTE: In the sense of fulfilling prerequisites or criteria (We met with the
entry requirements), or that of encountering (Our suggestions may meet with
opposition; the soldiers met with machine-gun fire), the verb phrase meet with is
not in dispute.
o Disputed usage: I will meet with you tonight.
o Undisputed usage: I will meet you tonight.

• momentarily – Traditionally, momentarily means "for a moment", but its use to

mean "in a moment" is sometimes disputed. M-W[70] and RH[71] give this latter
usage a standard entry without comment, while OED[72] and Chambers[73] tag it
"N.Amer." AHD4 has a usage note indicating that 59% of their Usage Panel
deems this usage "unacceptable".[74]
o Disputed usage: Your feature presentation will begin momentarily.
o Undisputed usage: The flash from the atom bomb momentarily lit up the
night sky.

[edit] N
• nauseous – Traditionally nauseous means "causing nausea" (synonymous with
"nauseating"); it is commonly used now as a synonym for "queasy," that is,
having the feeling of nausea. AHD4 notes the traditional view, stating that 72% of
the Usage Panel preferred nauseated over nauseous to mean "affected with
nausea"; however, 88% of that same panel preferred nauseating to nauseous to
mean "causing nausea"; in other words, a maximum of only 28% prefers
nauseous in either case. It also states that in common usage, nauseous is
synonymous with nauseated, but deems this usage "incorrect".[75] M-W, however,
asserts that "[t]hose who insist that nauseous ... is an error for nauseated are
mistaken".[76] Both M-W and AHD4 accept that nauseous is supplanting
nauseated for "feeling nausea", and in turn being replaced by nauseating for
"causing nausea" in general usage; they only differ on the correctness of the
change. RH states "The two literal senses of nauseous [...] appear in English at
almost the same time in the early 17th century, and both senses are in standard use
at the present time. Nauseous is more common than nauseated in the sense
'affected with nausea', despite recent objections by those who imagine the sense to
be new."[77] CHAMBERS lists the sense of causing nausea first and affected with
nausea second,[78] while COD11 gives the affliction first and causation second;
both dictionaries list the entries without comment. OED goes further, tagging its
"nauseated" usage as "Orig[inally] U.S.", but demoted its "nauseating" usage to
"literary". OED also notes that the original (now obsolete) sense of the word in
English was "inclined to sickness or nausea; squeamish".[79] Curiously, this oldest
seventeenth-century meaning (inclined to nausea), while distinct from the
disputed twentieth-century usage (afflicted by nausea), more closely resembles
the latter than it does the prescribed meaning (causing nausea).
o Undisputed usage: That smell is nauseous.
o Disputed usage: That smell is making me nauseous.
o Undisputed usage: That smell is nauseating.
 o Undisputed usage: That smell is making me nauseated.

Contents: Top · 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] O
• overly – FOWLER notes that some editors regard this as an Americanism. The
American source M-W's Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, 1989, eventually
settles on accepting it, but has this to say: "Bache 1869 and Ayres 1881 succinctly
insulted contemporaries who used this word, calling them vulgar and unschooled.
Times have changed: modern critics merely insult the word itself. Follett 1966,
for example, claims that overly is useless, superfluous, and unharmonious, and
should be replaced by the prefix over-. Bryson 1984 adds that 'when this becomes
overinelegant ... the alternative is to find another adverb [...]'." The prefix over- is
safer, and accepted by all: "He seemed over-anxious." M-W, AHD4, and RH
include the word without comment, and OED notes only "After the Old English
period, rare (outside Scotland and North America) until the 20th cent." In most
cases "too" or "excessively" would be better choices than "over-".

Note, however that this word is rather frequent in the American media.

[edit] P
• pleasantry originally meant a joke or witticism (like in French plaisanterie). It is
now generally only used to mean polite conversation in general (as in the phrase
"exchange of pleasantries").

• people and persons – By some linguistic prescriptions, persons should be used to

describe a finite, known number of individuals, rather than the collective term
people.
o Disputed usage: There are 15 people registered to attend. (Compare to:
There are 15 persons registered to attend.)
o Undisputed usage: There are countless people online at this moment.

• presently – Traditionally, presently is held to mean "after a short period of time"

or "soon". Also, it is used in the sense "at the present time" or "now", a usage
which is disapproved of by many prescriptivists, though in medieval and
Elizabethan times "presently" meant "now" (but in the sense of "immediately"
rather than "currently"). RH dates the sense of "now" back to the 15th century—
noting it is "in standard use in all varieties of speech and writing in both Great
Britain and the United States"—and dates the appearance of the sense of "soon" to
the 16th century. It considers the modern objection to the older sense "strange",
and comments that the two senses are "rarely if ever confused in actual practice.
Presently meaning 'now' is most often used with the present tense (The professor
is presently on sabbatical leave) and presently meaning 'soon' often with the
 future tense (The supervisor will be back presently)."[80] M-W mentions the same
vintage for the sense of "now", and that "it is not clear why it is objectionable."[81]
AHD4 states that despite its use "nowadays in literate speech and writing" that
there is still " lingering prejudice against this use". In the late 1980s, only 50% of
the dictionary's Usage Panel approved of the sentence General Walters is …
presently the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.[82] COD11 lists
both usages without comment; CHAMBERS merely flags the sense of "now" as
"N Amer, especially US".[83]
o Disputed usage: I am presently reading Wikipedia.
o Undisputed usage: I will be finished with that activity presently.

[edit] R
• refute – The traditional meaning of refute is "disprove" or "dispel with reasoned
arguments". It is now often used as a synonym for "deny". The latter sense is
listed without comment by M-W[84] and AHD4,[85] while CHAMBERS tags it as
colloquial.[86] COD11 states that "Traditionalists object to [the use of refute as
deny], but it is now widely accepted in standard English." However, RH does not
mention this use at all.[87]

• relatively – Literally meaning "compared to", some now use relatively to mean
"moderately" or "somewhat." AHD4 does not list this usage at all;[88] M-W has
apparently blended the two usages in one.[89]
o Disputed usage: That man was relatively annoying.
o Undisputed usage: Though relatively harmless when compared to
dimethylmercury, mercury (II) oxide is still quite toxic.

[edit] S
• Scotch, Scots, and Scottish – Formerly, English people used "Scotch" where
Scottish people used "Scottish". The current convention is as follows:
o "Scottish" for people
o "Scotch" for things (especially whisky)
o "Scots" for institutions (Scots law, Scots language)

• seek – This means 'look for', but is used to mean 'try' or 'want'. This usage is
criticised by Fowler in the entry "Formal Words".
o Disputed usage: '...we did seek to resolve the Iraq crisis by peaceful
means.... those who seek to emulate his legacy of murder.... the Liberals
seek to undermine that future...'.[attribution needed]
o Undisputed usage: 'Seek and ye shall find.'

[edit] T
 • than — Than is the subject of a longstanding dispute as to its status as a
preposition or conjunction; see than. For the disputed construction different than,
see Different.

• they — Prescriptivists regard this as a plural pronoun that uses a third person
plural verb conjugation (see below: "they show"), but the word is now commonly
used, especially in speech and informal writing, as a non-gender-specific third-
person singular pronoun (which modern English otherwise lacks). Alternatives
include "he or she" and generic "he". Some writers argue that generic "he" is
generic (as the name implies) and thus includes both sexes. Others find it sexist or
too old-fashioned. The pronouns "you" or "one" can be used in some sentences.
o Disputed usage: A person is rude if they show no respect for their hosts.
o Undisputed usage: One is rude if one shows no respect for one's hosts.
o Undisputed usage: It is rude not to show respect for hosts.
o Undisputed usage: Many people have told me that they are satisfied with
their food.

• thusly — Thusly (AHD4 suggests) was originally coined by educated writers to

make fun of uneducated persons trying to sound genteel.[90] Thusly, however,
diffused into popular usage. Some people accept it as an adverb in its own right,
while others believe thus should be used in all cases. The word "thusly" appears
with no associated usage notes in M-W;[91] COD11 tags it as "informal", with the
entry thus tagged as "literary or formal". CHAMBERS does not list the word at
all, and it is unknown in British usage.[92]

[edit] U
• unique – Some prescriptivists argue that unique only means "sole" or
"unequaled" (British spelling: "unequalled"), but most dictionaries give a third
meaning: "unusual", which can be qualified by very or somewhat, as in "The
theme of the party was somewhat unique"; see comparison. "Almost unique" is
universally acceptable.[citation needed]

[edit] W
• whilst and while— Penguin Working Words recommends while only, and notes
that whilst is old-fashioned. Cambridge Guide to English Usage and M-W's
Webster's Guide to English Usage comment on its regional character, and note
that it is rare in American usage. It is thus safer to use only while, in international
English. (See the article While for further sources deprecating the use of whilst,
and cautioning about uses of while.)
 • who — Some prescriptivists argue that "who" should be used only as a subject
pronoun, the corresponding object pronoun being "whom". Strictly speaking,
using who instead of whom is substituting a subjective pronoun for an objective
pronoun and hence is the same as using she instead of her (e.g., I talked to she
today.). Most people never use whom in spoken English and instead use who for
all cases. Those who use whom in everyday speech may recognize substitution of
who as substandard. FOWLER has an extensive entry on who and whom
including several quotes from major publications where whom is used incorrectly.
o Undisputed usage: You are talking to whom?
o Disputed usage: You are talking to who?
o Undisputed usage: To whom are you talking?
o Disputed usage: To who are you talking?
o Disputed usage: ... far more hostile to Diana whom she believes betrayed
the Prince of Wales—Independent Mag., 1993 (FOWLER)
o Undisputed usage: ... far more hostile to Diana who she believes betrayed
the Prince of Wales
o Disputed usage: Whom do men say that I am? (Mark 9:27, King James
Version)

• whoever — This extension of who (see above) along with its object form
whomever is attended by the same uncertainties as who along with whom, and is
discussed in the same sources. (See the relevant section at Who.)
o Undisputed usage: Give it to whoever wants it.
o Undisputed usage: Give it to whoever you think should have it.
o Undisputed usage: Give it to whomever you choose to give it.
o Disputed usage: Give it to whoever you choose to give it to.
o Disputed usage: Give it to whomever wants it.
o Disputed usage: Give it to whomever you think should have it.

Module - Pair work - Asking questions to your

partner
Hey,

with Group #2, we first talked a little about food at the beginning of the class as a
warm up. And here is what we said:

"to be written by Franc".

Then, today was the first day that we worked in pairs. You had to find information
about superhero characters asking questions to your partner.

Here are the two worksheets if you still need to complete them:

Worksheet for student A

Worksheet for student B

HW: you need to be able to speak about the picture of a super hero + speak about
their story + give the common points between all the super heroes presented. Your
presentation will last about 3 to 5 minutes. You can send me some drafts (brouillon)
if needed.
By English Prof
Enter comment - Share
Tuesday 17 november 2009
- Posted in: 2009-2010 - Tale LV2

Southern Trees - beginning of the study

Hey,

today we first warmed up about your future jobs while waiting for those who were
late. Here is what you said:

I would like to become an architect when I leave highschool. (Selma)

I want to study law to be a lawyer maybe. (Jérôme)

Structures: WANT TO // WOULD LIKE TO -- Attention aux noms de métiers qui

sont précédés de l'article a/an

Then we did a quick recap about what Jim Crow laws used to be. Here is what we
said:

• Jim Crow Laws:

These were laws about racial segregation until the end of the 1960's.
Blacks were not allowed to go to school with Whites.
Blacks were not allowed to attend school with Whites.
Blacks were forbidden to live together: there were separate water
fountains, rest rooms, or entrances at restaurants.
They were prohibited to sit at the front of a bus.

• KKK(1865-...):

white Protestants
supremacy of the white race
white costumes
terrorism and violence to oppress Blacks.

Finally, we listened to the text and we started our general comprehesion by

highlighting the important information about the type of document, the places, the
time, ...
Here is what we wrote:

• Text "Southern Trees":

- type of doc: extract from the autobiographic novel of Billie Holliday

- who: Billie Holliday, Lewis Allen, piano player of Billie, Pop, audience, bitch
- where: in New-York, at Cafe Society, on 52nd Street, Miami, Los Angeles
- when: published in 1956

HW: you need to finish answering the usual wh- questions about the text (in
particular about the feelings of the characters involved). You also need to divide the
text into 2 parts, give them a title, and justify your titles.

NB: you will have a vocabulary test next week with the words from the lesson and
the words from the tool box p. 53. You may also have a test about the text and
about racial discrimination in the US on Wednesday. It will depend on how far we are
into the study of the document: "Southern Trees".
By English Prof
Enter comment - View comment - Share
Tuesday 17 november 2009
- Posted in: 2009-2010 - 2nde 2

Spiderman - Page 3
This morning with the whole class, we first warmed up with why I was a little late in
class. Here is what we wrote:

"to be sent by Romain Ferjule"

Then, we studied the last page from Spiderman.

There was a secretary for each person that spoke about a panel. Here are the notes
that we took while they were speaking:

"to be sent by Romain Ferjule"

HW: you will be able to speak about the document at the beginning of the class in a
row (d'un seul trait).
You can download the last page here:

By English Prof
Enter comment - Share
Tuesday 17 november 2009
- Posted in: 2009-2010 - 2nde 2

Oral tests about picture presentation + Last

superhero activity in pair work
Hey,
today in "module" I asked you to speak about the picture p. 152 that you had to
comment. You need to improve your analysis. I'll be asking other students next time
again.

Here is an example of presentation. It's not perfect but it's a rather good one:

The document is a picture where there are two parts. In the first part, we
can see a white family at the bottom who is sitting in a garden. They look
surprised and they are looking at the second family who feels happy and
impressed. Contrary to the white family, they are standing and clad with
their traditional dress. It's a black family.

To me, the scene takes place in the USA and the goal of this picture is to
denounce discrimination which treats people differently in society.
The photographer aims at criticizing segregation. In this photo, the
separation is represented by the fence which is separating Africans from
Americans. Segregation in the 20th century in America was when the Blacks
and the Whites couldn't blend.

To my mind, this picture is a good representation of discrimination. Martin

Luther King and Rosa Park are the symbols of this conflict. When I see some
people wanted to change society and make people aware of these
inequalities through paintings, photos, speeches or parades, I'm grateful to
them.

The picture attains its objective. I like this photo because it denounces very
well the implicit problems of American society in the 20th century.
(by Rochella D.)

Group 2: then we started a new activity about grammar on how to differentiate

between Present Simple and Present Be + ing.
You may download the documents here:
"yet to be uploaded..."

Group 1: Then we started a new activity that was initially designed by Miss
Fernandes, a colleague in the academy of Caen. We first described the pictures of
the superheroes.

Worksheet for student A

Worksheet for student B

HW: You need to finish the description of each picture and prepare the questions to
ask to your partner about the missing elements in your worksheet.
By English Prof
Enter comment - Share
Monday 16 november 2009
- Posted in: For Fun

The Prisoner - New Series - Trailer

A new American series that you will probably LOVE! Here is the trailer. Looks and
sounds fantastic!

Exprimer le conseil en anglais

Today after taking a test on Body beauty and body parts (phonetics included), we
spoke about superstitions on Friday the 13th. And we discovered that Jonathan's
grand-ma was extremely supersticious and that some of you believed in supernatural
things too like Juliette who thinks her mother can read her mind or Camille R.L. who
is sure what she says sometimes comes true. Beware of the other Camille T. who
has got a black cat. She is certainly a witch and she may transform us all into
piglets...! Just kidding of course! :)

Here is what we said about superstitions:

Today is a special day.

On Friday the 13th, people who are superstitious believe something terribly
bad or something awesome will happen to them.

Examples of supertisions:
- you shouldn't be 13 around a table.
- you shouldn't walk under a ladder.
- you shouldn't meet a black cat.
- you shouldn't break a mirror.
- you shouldn't celebrate a birthday before.
- you should wear a rabbit leg.
- you shouldn't walk on a line in the street.
- you shouldn't cross your legs.
- you should touch wood when you say something bad.
- you shouldn't put hats or shoes on a bed.
- you shouldn't open your umbrella inside.
- you shouldn't put the bread upside down.

Remember: to express advice, there are 3 very simple structures:

• should / shouldn't + V
• had better / had better not + V
• ought to / ought not to + V

Chômage: unemployment
Embaucher: to hire

• by + V+ ing: au moyen de, en + V+ ing

• to + V : pour + V (le but)

leisure : loisirs
high – low
élevé – bas
être oblige de: to have to + V
to lead to: entraîner
huge: immense
= The work-week: la semaine de travail
In France the 35 hours-work week was decided and implemented in the 1990’s by a
socialist government ( Mrs Aubry)
Exercice de traduction:
1) Les employés doivent faire des heures supplémentaires.
Employees must do long hours.
Employees have to do long hours
2) Il y a de nombreuses façons de trouver du travail.
There are a lot of ways to find work.
3) L’immense augmentation des réseaux sociaux permettent aux gens de
communiquer d’avantage.
The huge increase of social networks enables people to communicate more.
4) Le travail supplémentaire entraîne des problèmes de santé pour les hommes
surmenés.

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References » Question
I Want to Improve my english day by day. So Plz Tell me What i m
Doing for Improve my english. give me your best idea.
Asked in Exams, Education & References at 12:00 PM on October 09, 2008
Tags: english, idea
! This question is closed
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ntn jain
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• Latest Answers(4)

Sort by Latest | Oldest | Top-rated

English is best improved by practice and also by taking a small course to improve grammar and communication skills.
The key to practice is to read newspapers, magazines and books almost regularly. You can also start talking and
expressing yourself in English with your peers, friends and (if possible) relatives.

Writing in English is a good habit that will strengthen your expression skills as well. In case you complete this all-
round approach, I am sure you will do well. All the best!

Answered by Idle Mind , an ibibo Master, at 4:09 PM on October 13, 2008

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Idle Mind
Profile | Q&A

try reading aloud as much as you can and ask aomeone to correct u or hrlp u if u don't understand the pronounciations.
TRy to talk in English as much as you can

Answered by Rachana , an ibibo Citizen, at 1:06 PM on October 11, 2008

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 Rachana
Profile | Q&A

well ntn ...

its really good that yu want to mprove yur english skills ... i'm sure they'll really prve beneficial to you in the coming
future.... n ways ntn ...some tips from my side that will help yu improve yu ur english are :

i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, while
imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time
understanding you.

Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech -- it is more important that everything you say
be understood.

iii. Listen to the 'music' of English.

Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'.

iv. Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words
that are hard for you to say.

v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language
well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.

vi. Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading
the book on the tape.

vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you
speak English.

viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day.

Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new
language.

ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is a very
important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

x. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too
soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

GOOD LUCK
Answered by Anant-!!!!!- , an ibibo Master, at 1:33 PM on October 09, 2008
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Anant-!!!!!-
Profile | Q&A

BEST WAY ACCORDING TO ME IS READ DAILY ENGLISH NEWSPAPER .IF U COULD NOT
UNDERSTAND BUY ONE OXFORD DICTIONARY AND REFER MEANINGS .AND IFU COULD NOT
UNDERSTAND BUY MEANINGS CONVERSION OF ENGLISH TO UR MOTHER TONGUE THIS MAY TAKE
SOME TIME THERE WILL BE SOME IMPROVEMENT IN JUST 1 MONTH .
BETTER READ "HINDU" OR "TIMES OF INDIA".
ALL THE BEST

Answered by gyaneshwar , an ibibo Citizen, at 12:58 PM on October 09, 2008

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gyaneshwar
Profile | Q&A

Related Search

Meri english bahot hi weak hai,main apni english kaise strong kar sakta hoon,kis tarah fluently
english bol sakta hoon?

dear,the simple way to improve you english is to partice.....have you ever heard of the saying" Parctise makes a man,
perfect" so even when you you commit mistake try to learn from the mistake and rectify them....and simple start asking
question to people in English...and if you want yo learn english, donot fell embrace in the front of anyone......! and also
try to read TIMES OF INDIAN

Posted in Self Development by naqeeb ahmar at 7:58 PM on March 17, 2008

Tags meri, english, bahot, weak, apni, kaise, strong, sakta, tarah, fluently, hoon

how to improve english plese tell me?

to compose simple sentences in your mind when you are alone. Stick on the idea you want to convey rather than the
grammar. Speak to the native English speakers if possible. Chatt with those in internet. SearchI dont know the level of
your english if you have basics the fun way of learning are english comics ,cartoon network in english or any english
movies comics will help you in speaking good english

Posted in Love & Romance by Shiva Singh at 10:15 PM on September 24, 2008
Tags improve, english, plese

How can i improve my Enlish speaking and writing both

their meanings and use them in your convesation.Listen to english news.For writing read the books on letters, essays
and stories.slowly you will get the idea of using english in your convenience.Finally findDear Ashok, It is good you
want to improve your English. First and foremost thing you need is YOU. All you need to do is give quality time not
the quantity. Do make a conscious effort and smart work

Posted in Self Development by ashok sharma at 6:26 AM on October 14, 2008

Tags improve, enlish, writing

how to use GPRS in china made mob prince A960

here most of gprs settings for most of mobile service operator India to enter in your phone mannulay. Here you have
manual gprs settings for vodafone, hutch, idea, airtel, bsnl, airtel live, airtel mobile you can enter in your phone and
configure mannually.Manual Idea gprs Settings:1. Account Name - ideaGPRS2. Username - leave Blank3. Password -
leave Blank4. Homepage - http://wap.ideafresh.com5

Posted in Computers & Technology by vivek soni at 1:45 AM on June 13, 2008
Tags gprs help, china mad mob

I Want to Improve my english day by day. So Plz Tell me What i m Doing for Improve my english.
give me your best idea.

try reading aloud as much as you can and ask aomeone to correct u or hrlp u if u dont understand the
pronounciations.TRy to talk in English as much as you can...well ntn ...its really good that yu want to mprove yur
english skills ... im sure theyll really prve beneficial to you in the coming future.... n ways ntn ...some tips from my side
that will help yu improve yu ur english are :i. Observe

Posted in Exams, Education & References by ntn jain at 9:39 PM on October 13, 2008
Tags want, improve, english, improve, best

what is html?

they want. Text is what you will use. English letters, just like you use everyday.. Markup is what you will do. You will
write in plain English and then mark up what you wrote. Language. Some may argue that technically html is a code,
but you write html in plain, everyday English language.Hi RockyHTML is the code behind your webpage and is what
your browser looks for to display a webpage, the way the webdesigner

Posted in Computers & Technology by Rocky at 2:58 PM on May 07, 2008

Tags html

how I improve my english speech?

and be confident.....YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A LOT OF SOFTWARES FROM INTERNET , IT REALLY HELPS.
AND ANOTHER IDEA IS TO WATCH ENGLISH CHANNELS LIKE METRO NATION, NDTV GOOD TIMES,
AND DONT FORGET TO WATCH NDTV DISCUSSIONSget to c more english movie join times classes on english
they improvise a lot.....English can be improved by reading books,newspaper, by discussions....These are certain tips to
improve english

Posted in Counselling by sagar gawde at 8:03 PM on February 14, 2008

Tags improve, english, speech

What is the best way to enhance skills in English. Which is most best website which can help to
learn English from basic to a very high class.

will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin thinking in English. Listening to Native Speakers as Much as
Possible is the good idea to enhance your English language skills. Here are someFirst of all, be motivated, become a
person who likes to learn English. Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to
learn faster. There are many different ways
Posted in Self Development by RAVINDRA at 6:44 PM on October 03, 2008
Tags best, enhance, skills, website, help, learn, english, basic, high

Who created the first mouse?

to the rear part of the device, suggesting the idea of a tail to the common mouse.The first marketed integrated mouse
shipped as a part of a computer and intended for personal computer navigation came from the resemblance of early
models which had a cord attached to the rear part of the device, suggesting the idea of a tail to the common mouse.The
first marketed integrated mouse shipped as a part

Posted in Computers & Technology by Aryan Gusain at 2:12 PM on July 02, 2008
Tags created, first, mouse

Do you have any idea for FRANKLYN INSTITUTE OF LANGUAGE?... Its a spoken English Institute
which gives Job Guarantee, if anyone knows plz let me know.

. 190A, Maniktolla Main Road, Kolkata-54 phone no. 91-33-32401558, 91-33-32428200 frankylnkkghotmail.com...hi
poonam,ur question gives an idea dat ur command on english is nt poor. why u r lookingYou have heard right...
FRANKLYN offers spoken english courses..... and there is also a lot of students pursuing courses there