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Index
1. Advance vs. Advanced
2. Affect vs. Effect
3. Altogether vs. "All together"
4. Alternate vs. Alternative
5. Amount vs. Number
6. Amused vs. Bemused
7. Apart vs. "A part"
8. Appraise vs. Apprise
9. Breath vs. Breathe
10. Breach vs. Breech
11. Bring vs. Take
12. Depreciate vs. Deprecate
13. Deserts vs. Deserts vs. Desserts
14. Diffuse vs. Defuse
15. Disinterested vs. Uninterested
16. e.g. vs. i.e.
17. Economic vs. Economical
18. Emigrate vs. Immigrate
19. Flaunt vs. Flout
20. Grisly vs. Grizzly vs. Grizzled
21. "Home in" vs. "Hone in"
22. Horde vs. Hoard
23. Incredible vs. Incredulous
24. Infectious vs. Contagious
25. Its vs. It’s
26. Led vs. Lead
27. Less vs. Fewer
28. Lie vs. Lay
29. Literally vs. Figuratively
30. Lose vs. Loose
31. Meet vs. "Meet with"
32. Me vs. Myself vs. I
33. "Most important" vs. "Most importantly"
34. Past vs. Passed
35. Pore vs. Pour
36. Preying vs. Praying
37. Saw vs. Seen
38. Staunch vs. Stanch
39. There vs. their vs. "they’re"
40. Waive vs. Wave vs. Waver vs. Waiver
41. Were vs. We’re vs. Where vs. Wear
42. Who vs. Whom
43. Whose vs. "who’s"
44. "You’re" vs. Your
Advanced means sophisticated, complex, far on, ahead, or at a higher level than others.
If you’re not sure whether the word should be advance or advanced, test the meaning by substituting
prior. If prior makes sense, advance is probably the word that fits the context. On the other hand, you
can just use prior.
Examples:
Ludwig heard about the concert well in advance of the tickets going on sale. (Ludwig heard about
the concert prior to the tickets going on sale.)
Ludwig attended the concert with his most advanced piano students – those whom he thought would
most appreciate the music.
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The basic rule of thumb is that affect is almost always used in its verb form, while effect is usually used in
its noun form. There are exceptions, but when in doubt, stick to the rule. If you need help remembering,
think of this mnemonic device: The action is affect; the end result is the effect. Affect means to influence
or to change in some measure. An effect is a result, consequence, or outcome.
Examples:
How will the new marijuana store moving in on Elm Street affect the value of nearby properties?
One effect of legalizing marijuana is that sales of the substance can now be taxed.
Special Cases:
Effect can also be used as a verb, in the sense of to accomplish or to bring about. (e.g., to effect a
change)
Affect is also a noun, although it is a noun rarely used outside of psychological jargon, and usually
refers to the physical manifestation of an emotional state. (“The patient’s mood disorder caused him
to present a flat affect, so that his face did not appear to change and he gave a constant impression
of apathy.”)
Altogether means completely, “all things considered,” or “on the whole.” “All together” means “everyone
together” or “everything together.”
Examples:
Garett appeared on stage altogether nude!
We traveled to the circus all together, in a single very small car – as if we ourselves were the clowns.
Alternate means "to happen or exist one after the other repeatedly, in a sequence." It's a tricky word,
since it can be used as a noun, an adjective, or a verb. It's typically the adjectival form that is confused
with the word alternative.
The adjective (or noun) alternative describes another option: a possible replacement or substitute. That
is not the same as alternate, which means, much more specifically, every other one in a series; every
second item.
Examples:
Kidney beans are an alternative to red meat as a source of iron in one’s diet.
June babysits her little brother on alternate Tuesdays.
Hint:
When you think of the adjective alternate, it may help to think of an automobile’s alternator, which is
based on an electric current that reverses its direction at regular intervals. The electricity changes
regularly in a series; there is no replacement energy source.
An alternative might call up a mental image of a “native” – a person, rather than an automobile. Think:
“alternate: alternator (change at regular intervals / car engine)” versus “alternative: person (substitute,
like a substitute teacher).”
Amount describes a cumulative total; number is used for a countable collection of individuals or items.
Bemused means somewhat bewildered or baffled, and does not mean amused. A person who is
amused is pleasantly entertained, perhaps laughing. Both words are commonly used as both adjectives
and verbs.
Examples:
The unnecessarily complex plot left me bemused.
The silly comedy amused me.
Hint:
Bemuse and amuse both derive from muse meaning “to ponder” or “to be lost in thought.” But the be–
of bemused essentially means extremely or “to excess,” as it does in words like bewitched, bedazzled,
and befuddled. So if you’re “extremely lost in thought,” then you’re utterly confused, or bemused.
Apart means separate from. This word can be used with the preposition from, or it can be used on its
own to describe another word or phrase.
"A part" is a two-word phrase that refers to a section or an individual sub-set: one part of a whole.
Examples:
It was Helen’s rare beauty that set her apart from dullness of Troy. She was, indeed, a woman apart.
The wooden horse designed by Odysseus was a part of the treachery that the Greeks used to
defeat the town of Troy.
Hint:
The phrase "a part" has itself been split into parts; it is presented in two sections.
Examples:
Hint:
Appraise and appraisal both come from the same root as does price, and so refer to cost or money.
Apprise comes from the same root as does apprentice, and so refers to knowledge or information.
The form of the word without the final –e (breath) is the noun that is pronounced to rhyme with death, but
that means the soft oxygenated wind that is necessary to air-breathing life forms.
When a final –e is added, the word becomes the verb that describes the action of moving that lovely air
into and out of the lungs: inhaling and exhaling. The word breathe thymes with seethe.
Examples:
In winter, I can see my breath.
When Karl’s asthma is bad, he cannot breathe very easily.
Hint:
Breath rhymes with death and neither word has an –e on the end of it.
Examples:
“Bring me one of each type of dessert that you offer, for me to try! I’ll
bring a slice of the chocolate cake home for Tommy.”
“Now, please take these dirty dishes to the kitchen.” It might sound okay (although it is not correct) to
say: “Now, please bring these dirty dishes to the kitchen.” Bring isn’t correct, however, because the
speaker is not in the kitchen and will presumably not be there when the dirty dishes arrive. The
kitchen is not the speaker’s “here,” and so the correct description of movement is that of taking
dishes away to the kitchen – to “there.”
Depreciate means to decrease in value, and does not mean to deprecate or to disparage.
Examples:
My car has depreciated a lot over the years.
She deprecated his efforts.
Hint:
Like appraise, depreciate comes from the Latin word for price, whereas deprecate comes from the
Latin for pray and literally means “to pray against or for deliverance from something,” so deprecate is
now used to mean “to express criticism of.”
The verb deserts is pronounced “deh-ZURTS,” and means "to abandon," to leave completely alone
(treacherously or disloyally). The plural noun that is spelled exactly the same, deserts, is pronounced with
the emphasis on the first syllable: “DEH-zurts,” and refers to more than one of those hot, dry, sand-filled
places where camels roam around.
When the word is spelled desserts, it most often describes multiple tasty after-meal offerings, typically
sweet, and never to be eaten before you have finished your vegetables.
Fun to know:
The word desserts may also be used in the set phrase “just desserts,” which is, oddly, used in the
singular. “Just desserts” means “what is deserved” or “what is merited.” (as in: “Of course he’s in prison;
that’s his just desserts.”) Technically, this usage, although now accepted, is incorrect, because the
phrase “just desserts” is actually a corruption of the correctly spelled original: “just deserts.”
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"To diffuse" (pronounced to rhyme with muse) means to spread over a wide area, to disperse or scatter.
Defuse means to disarm, literally to remove the fuse (the detonating mechanism) from an explosive
device; to calm, to decrease tension, or to reduce or eliminate danger. Diffuse can also be an adjective,
pronounced to rhyme with “moose,” and that means scattered/ spread out, or may mean lacking clarity
or focus, rambling.
Examples:
The soft glow from this lamp will diffuse over the entire area.
The negotiator is skilled and we hope she will be able to successfully defuse the hostage situation.
Often mistaken for synonyms, disinterested and uninterested are actually not at all interchangeable. If
you are not interested in, or are or bored by, something, you are uninterested. However, disinterested
means you do not have a financial or personal stake in something.
Disinterested means being impartial or neutral.
Examples:
The dispute should be resolved by a disinterested judge.
Why are you so uninterested in my story?
Hint:
The trick to remembering this one is that disinterest is a word on its own, while uninterest isn’t. If you
disinterest yourself, you remove your “interest” or concern in something, whereas if you’re just not
interested in it, then you’re uninterested.
Both e.g. and i.e. are abbreviations for Latin phrases. i.e. stands for id est (“that is”) and e.g. stands for
exempli gratia (“for example”).
A good way to remember the difference: i.e. means “in other words” and should therefore introduce
information that clarifies the idea previously introduced in the sentence.
Example:
I expect that we’ll end up relying on the most experienced Boy Scouts to set up the campsite (i.e.,
Jeff and Mike).
The expression i.e. is great for introducing parenthetical statements, because it sets off a bit of
nonessential or extra information. You can actually enclose it with parentheses or not, depending on how
much distance you want to put between two concepts.
E.g. is easier to remember—think “egg sample” in order to connect your brain to “for example.” It’s silly,
but it works.
Example:
I don’t have time to cook dinner tonight. Can you pick up something? e.g., Pizza or takeout?
Important:
1. Neither i.e. nor e.g. is ever capitalized.
2. Each abbreviation is always followed by a comma after the second period, in order to separate the
abbreviation from the information that it identifies: i.e., and e.g.,
Examples:
The outcome of next year’s election will depend greatly on improvements in the country’s economic
conditions.
Louis prefers buying the triple-sized rolls of toilet paper, as that is the most economical way the item
is packaged for purchase.
Example:
François made plans to emigrate from Canada, so that he could immigrate to the United States.
Hint:
Examples:
Fiona tricked Instagram by flaunting a large stash of plastic jewels and play money for 12 Likes and
25 comments.
Daddy alone will be responsible for keeping the couch free from crumbs if she continues to
flout late-night snacking rules.
Hint:
Flaunt - an aunt so awesome she needs to be shown off.
That which is grisly is gruesome: outright related to blood, gore, injury, and other such unpleasantness.
While a grizzly, one of those large bears who inhabit the western United States, might cause grisly injury,
the bear might be just as likely to lumber by in search of a nice salmon.
Hair or beards that are grizzled are streaked with gray. Occasionally, one might refer to this sort of
graying pattern as grizzly, but the better adjective is grizzled.
Examples:
The medical intern knew that the patient’s leg had been torn off at the scene of the accident, and she
brace herself for a grisly procedure.
As Emily watched the Memorial Day parade, she saluted the grizzled old men who, she knew, had
once been dashing young soldiers.
"To home in" means to converge upon."To hone" means "to sharpen." The phrase "to hone in" doesn't
exist.
Examples:
Hint:
The best way to remember this one is that hone is also another word for a whetstone (a stone used to
sharpen razors and knives), and the verb hone derives from the image of things being sharpened. When
you think of "homing in," think of a baseball player heading straight for the goal: home base.
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Examples:
Genghis Khan and his terrifying horde of soldiers took over much of ancient Asia.
No one suspected that the simple old woman’s attic held a hoard of rare gold coins.
While the word incredible actually means unbelievable, over time, the adjective has come to signify that
something is especially good. Incredulous, on the other hand, has a more negative connotation: it
means skeptical. And while incredible applies to the thing, situation, person, etc. being described, the
word incredulous describes only a person himself or herself, the one who is skeptical – that is, who is
incapable of credulity or belief.
Examples:
The incredulous crowd watched as a man dressed in a red-and-blue body suit climbed the building,
without using any ropes.
The man in the body suit performed an incredible feat.
Something that is contagious is spread by direct or nearly direct physical contact, and contagious refers
to the possibility of transmission. Something that is infectious may or may not be contagious, because
infectious refers to cause. You can be infected by a sickness that is not contagious: tetanus, for
example, or pneumonia. Both are infectious but not contagious.
Examples:
General George S. Patton led the Third Army through Europe during World War II.
The metal lead is widely used in the manufacture of car batteries.
LeBron James will lead his basketball team to victory.
Examples:
There are fewer clouds today than yesterday, so there is less cloud cover.
I have lost fewer pounds this week than last, but I still weigh less than I did in February. [“weight”
cannot be separated or counted]
There is much less confusion now, and a result, there are fewer questions.
Hint:
When in doubt, use the Cottage Cheese Rule: You cannot, with a straight face, say “fewer cottage
cheese.” If an item cannot be separated into distinct, individual items, you must use the word less. “Less
cottage cheese. Fewer eggs.”
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The confusion between these words comes about when they are used in their verb forms to describe the
action of reclining/resting and the action of placing a person, animal, or object somewhere. "To lie down"
means to recline: to do that oneself, without performing the action on any baby, any book, any plate of
sandwiches, etc.
"To lay" means to perform the action of setting an object, or even a person, down: to effectively make
someone or something else recline or rest. (Of course, in the well-known prayer, one can even “lay”
oneself: “Now I lay me down to sleep...” This is correct, as long as the words treat “me” as an object, an
else: “I lay me...”)
Examples:
I think I’ll lie down for a little nap.
I think I’ll lay my book down next to me before my nap.
Very few words are so abused as is the poor, beleaguered word literally. This word seems to have
come to mean “I really, really mean this.” It is used (quite incorrectly) as an intensifier. Trust us: You sound
pretty dumb when you mis-use the word literally. Stop doing that!!!
Literally refers to that which is exactly and precisely true as spoken or as written. Figuratively, on the
other hand, means that whatever is being spoken of or written of is an analogy, a comparison, or an
allusion.
Examples:
That is literally the best omelet I have ever eaten. [The speaker really, truly, absolutely means that he
or she has never, ever tasted an omelet that is superior to this one.]
Our best high school sprinter is a figurative Kentucky Derby winner. [The high school runner is a
human, not a horse – but the comparison is meant to show that the sprinter is very, very fast! The
comparison is an analogy; it isn’t literal.]
ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT: I have literally read every book there is on American history. [No. No,
you haven’t. The number of books written on American history is finite, but you have not read literally
each one.]
Hint:
If there is even the slightest bit of exaggeration in what you are describing, do not use the word literally.
Loose is an adjective and refers to something that is not tight, tightly fitted.
Examples:
I've lost two hours of my life searching for that lost car key.
He enjoys that extra air around his breech in those loose pants.
"To meet with someone" is to have a meeting: to sit down together to discuss something. "To meet
someone" is to make their acquaintance: to encounter them for the first time, or to encounter them by
chance, or by arrangement at a certain place -- but not for an organized work meeting or for a planned
event. "Meet with" is especially common in American English.
Examples:
I usually meet my girlfriend at 12:59.
We can meet with the professor Tuesday morning.
"Between you and I" might sound scholarly, but it is always wrong.
You must say: "between you and me." It's wrong because the word I cannot be the object of a
preposition (“between”).
You can use the word myself when "you" are doing something to "you" (e.g., I hate myself. / I asked
myself a question.)
(In this role, the word myself is acting as a reflexive pronoun.)
You can use the word myself for emphasis (e.g., I did it myself.) (In this role, the word myself is acting as
an emphatic pronoun.)
These are the only times you can use myself. Do not use myself because you think it sounds particularly
formal or polite (e.g., Please contact myself if you have any questions.)
The most important point to remember about these two phrases is that "most important" should be used
to describe an idea, a consideration, a very specific situation, etc. – that is, to describe a “thing.” A thing
(a noun) is important (or most important), not importantly.
It has become common in American English to introduce sentences using what are known as disjunct
adverbs: Frankly... Sadly... Importantly... These adverbs and adverbial phrases express a speaker’s
attitude toward what is being described -- toward an entire idea, a complete action.
Examples:
The most important number to consider is the interest rate that you will pay.
Most importantly, the suspect had refused to sign the confession, thus making it inadmissible at his
trial.
The two words listed here are pronounced exactly the same, and are related in meaning. However, past
is most often used as a noun or an adjective that refers to history, what has happened in prior times,
whereas passed is a verb form that tells you something has already happened or has traveled by.
Examples:
Richard Nixon’s resignation is an event from America’s past.
Sam watched with awe as the elephants passed by in the tall savanna grasses.
Notes:
Past may also be used as an adverb to describe what has gone by (e.g., “The race car streaked
past the spectators.”
Passed is sometimes used as a synonym for “died” (e.g., “My mother passed two years ago.”), but
this usage is colloquial and is often considered to be overly euphemistic.
Examples:
Benny would pore over each old comic book, hoping to find one that was valuable.
Can you please pour me a glass of cherry lemonade?
Examples:
The coyotes in the nearby woods have been preying on the neighborhood cats.
We have been praying for good health and renewed friendships.
Examples:
We saw the Beatles perform before they were famous. Marcus has seen more chicken embryos
than he can count.
Examples:
Her staunch supporters defended her in the press.
The nurse was able to stanch the bleeding.
Hint:
Despite their different meanings, both stanch and staunch derive, ultimately, from a Latin word meaning
watertight (and in the sense of “something that has no outflow,” they are etymological cousins of
“stagnant”). While stanch is usually used exclusively as a verb, staunch is always an adjective; the
sense of loyal or sturdy is thought to derive from the reliability of watertight containers.
Examples:
The defendant waived her right to a jury trial; she believed that her best chance for a favorable
verdict lay directly with the judge.
Queen Elizabeth of England is famous for her white-gloved royal wave.
The scholarship student received a waiver of the $85 sports participation fee.
Examples:
We were unstoppable when we played soccer in high school.
We like to pretend that we’re still unstoppable.
Where did you go to high school?
What color uniforms did your school’s teams wear?
Hint:
As always, any word that contains an apostrophe (e.g., we’re) has “lost” a letter or letters, and the
apostrophe is standing in for the lost letter[s]. Here, the apostrophe stands in for the “a” that is lost when
“we are” becomes we’re.
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Who is a pronoun that replaces the specific name (Nancy, D’André, Chaim...) of someone performing
an action; it is used as a grammatical subject. Whom is a pronoun that replaces a specific name, but it
is used as a grammatical object (direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition). Sometimes,
people think that whom sounds rather posh, and so they use that form of the word in preference to who,
and yet that usage may not be correct.
Hint:
1. Find out whether to use who or whom by answering with he or him.
2. If the answer is he, use who. If the answer is him, use whom.
(Of course, she and her work too, but he and him sound more like who and whom, so it’s a simpler test.)
Who won the prize? Him -> Wrong. He -> Correct! He won the prize.
To whom was the prize given? He -> Wrong. Him -> Correct! The prize was given to him.
Examples:
Whose coffee cup is that on the table? [To whom belongs that coffee (cup) on the table?]
Who's that? Her coffee smells so good.
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Examples:
You're such an amazing person.
Your Himalayan coffee smells so good.
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Grammar Check
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