DICTION

 Diction - lexical accuracy

 Problems with diction can be solved by referring to international dictionaries
 Read the dictionary for different meanings of words (or word forms) in different
classification.
 Authentic sentences – sentences used to refer to own experiences
 Watch out is for danger
 Watch for refers to something pleasant you are anticipating
Lexical Change
 Be open to changes in form and use of English words
 Further now used in the same sense as farther, despite idiom, far from the truth
 New words may come from inventions.
- Fax, short form for facsimile electronically transmitted, is now a verb.
- Xerox, from copying process of xerography, is now a non-count noun and a verb.
 Some words acquire new meanings.
- Consult, with the noun consultant, now also means “to function as consultant.”
- Text, used as a verb, “to send in response.”
 Some words get superseded by other words.
- Handicapped – physically challenged
- Mentally retarded – mentally challenged
- Moslem – Muslim
- Underdeveloped countries – developing countries
- General health – wellness – subjective well-being
 Names of institutions, cities, countries, etc., officially changed, must be updated
- Burma – Myanmar
- Bombay - Mumbai
- Calcutta – Kolkata
- Ceylon – Sri Lanka
- Persia – Iran
Lexical Variation
 Lexical variation – words may have similar or same meanings, or same source but used
in particular English dialects
- French fries (American) – chips (British)
- Elevator (American) – lift (British)
- Lawyer (Am.) – solicitor/barrister (Brit.)
- Phonograph (Am.) – gramophone (Brit.)
- TV (Am.) – telly (Brit.)
 Special case for numbers. One billion in Am. is 1,000,000,000, known as a milliard in
Brit. system where one billion is 1,000,000,000,000.
Homophonous and Homographic Words
 Homophonous – same pronunciation
 Homographic – same spelling
 Make sure context of use clearly and firmly establishes meaning
 Differentiate between words with similar pronunciation but spelled differently
- Canvas (cloth) – canvass (getting price quotations)
- Forgo (abstain from) – forego (go before; precede)
 Differentiate between words close related in spelling & pronunciation.
 Contraction it’s for it is used when it is subject of is, not when they are simply adjacent
Word meanings
 Differentiate between words very closely related in meaning to each other.
- consent (give permission) – assent (respond positively)
- disallow (permission withdrawn) – prohibit (no permission given)
- imbibe (accept, take in) – imbue (passive for imbibe)
- voluntarism (private, not government) – volunteerism (use of volunteers)
 Words may have differing forms but same meanings
- administer – administrate
- orient – orientate
- heterogenous – heterogeneous
- homogenous – homogeneous
- predominant – predominate
 Near-homonyms now accepted in common usage
- Self-depreciating (belittling oneself) – self-deprecating (hating oneself)
- Partake (sharing in food or drink) – participate (take part in activity)
 Do not rely on building meaning of words from individual meanings of its parts
 Be careful in using transitive and intransitive verbs closely related in meaning
 Words that are ambiguous, with two or more distinct meanings
 Make sure context allows desired meaning
 Differentiate among adverbs of frequency indicating gradation
Explicitness
 Use right word, as explicit as possible, don’t leave ideas understood
 Use word/phrase that directly, clearly and correctly communicates meaning
Filipinisms and slang
 Use Filipinisms when target readers are familiar (Filipinos or others who know Filipino
English)
 Neosemanticisms – new or additional meanings to common words
- accident prone area – high risk area
- ballpen – ballpoint pen
 - color-coding – color restriction
- commute – travel via public transportation
- do – make love
- double dead – meat from animals that died from disease still sold for consumption
- enlist – put o.s. in list of students for a class
- memo – send memo of reprimand
- plastic – hypocritical
- pumping – thrusting
- salvage – summary execution
- text – send text message
- toxic – troubled, problematic
- trending – use trend to influence results
 celebrant, person marking own anniversary; celebrator, helping celebrate particular
event
 blow-out – large meal, party or feast
 neoterisms – new forms already indicated by other words or phrases (e.g. aggrupation,
backgrounder, fiscalizer, masteral, routinary, etc.)
 Avoid using slang or colloquialisms in formal communication
 Avoid Filipinisms when common English words are available
 Words often misused in Philippine formal writing (e.g. emeritus, consultation, enjoin,
harassment, impunity, postgraduate, prescribe)
Loan Words
 Diacritical marks sometimes omitted in English text. Anglicized pronunciation is
acceptable.
 French – a la carte, a la mode, bon voyage, bourgeois, buffet, croissant, cuisine, entrée,
menu, rendezvous, etc.
 Latin – ad hoc, ad hominem, affidavit, alter ego, cum laude, magna cum laude, ergo, in
memoriam, persona non grata, post hoc, etc.
 Italian – a cappella, adagio, allegro, alto, basso, opera, bel canto, concerto, forte, vivace
Dictionary Entries
 Limitations of research, printing space and the like lead to some words listed in some
but not all dictionaries
 Use only if found in dictionary or if there is citation from reputable international
publication or broadcast.
Neologisms
 Wait for terms to stabilize for five years before including in printed editions
 Get spelling, pronunciation, grammatical category and meaning from material using
them
IDIOMS
 Idiom – particular combination of words, having own meaning unpredictable from
individual meaning of components
 Best way to learn is to memorize and use them
 Do not reason out form of idiom; they defy rationalization
 Be conscious of idioms used in reputable publications, esp. international
newsmagazines
 Phrasal verbs – acquiesce to, adhere to, back up, beg off, bring up, center around,
concur in, conform to, consist in, correspond with, differ from, fill in, give back, give up,
log in, part from, prevail against, suffer from, talk about, turn on, etc.
 Phrasal verbs with reflexives – absent oneself, acquit oneself, conduct oneself, hurt
oneself, pride oneself, etc.
 Transitive verbs and noun (objects) – catch a cold, catch fire, commit a crime, play the
violin, watch TV, etc.
 Verb-noun-preposition – ask a question of, lay claim to, make revisions to, pave the
way for, put a premium on, etc.
 Verb-adjective/adverb – make free, make good, run amok, shoot someone dead
 Preposition-noun phrase – at an hour, at home, at bay, by hand, off limits, etc.
 Phrasal adjectives – abreast of, absent from, conscious of, crucial to, thankful for, etc.
 Participial idioms – accompanied by, addicted to, ashamed of, done in, furnished with,
etc.
 Noun-infinitive – ability to do, capability to do, chance to do, means to do, opportunity
to do, etc.
 Noun-preposition – affection for, degree of, factor in, guidelines on, passion for, etc.
 Preposition-noun-preposition – at variance with, in compliance with, in accordance
with, with reference to, in spite of, etc.
 Nominal quantifiers – bodies of water, bolts of lightning, cups of coffee, drops of rain,
sheets of paper, etc.
 Collective forms for certain nouns – cattle for cows, herd for sheep, flock for birds,
pride for lions, school for fish, etc.
 Phrasal adverbs of time – at daytime, at night, in the morning, on Monday, next
weekend, etc.
- Adjective last only used for common nouns or names of days and months. On or in
for specific dates or years
 Idiomatic expressions – birds of a feather flock together, good luck with something, a
good read, a new think coming, sight unseen, etc.
Idiom Sets Commonly Misused
 Cannot but do, cannot help doing and cannot keep from doing all mean “having no
option but to do something. Cannot help but do, once erroneous, recently listed as a
variant.
 Check can be without a particle (check), with optional particle (check [over]), with
particles (check in/into) or with subordinate clauses (check that…)
 Chip in is to contribute money while pitch in is to lend a helping hand
 Consider, regard and brand are synonymous but have different combinations.
 Contrary has two idioms. On the contrary indicates next statement is opposite of
preceding. To the contrary signals one statement is opposite of another
 Due to only used when referring to noun or pronoun before it but is now synonymous
with because of.
 Elect takes as if followed by common noun but not when followed by official title.
 Encourage to and discourage from
 Forbid followed by to while prohibit followed by from, though usage is now nearly
similar, although nonstandard
 In Brit. Eng., prevent and stop do not use particle from
 Ground means “cause” or “reason,” idioms incl. a ground for s.t., on the ground of s.t.,
on grounds of s.t., have grounds to do s.t., on the grounds that S.
 Help use infinitive marker to in British though can be safely used with or without to
 In behalf of means “for the benefit of,” while on behalf of means “as the agent of”
 Interview has three idioms: interviews s.o., interview of s.o., go for interview
 Level preceded by different prepositions (to be on a level with, speak in a level on a level
playing field, at a level, on another level, on a more serious level, on the level)
 Lie low means hide oneself, also rendered as lay low though this also means to
overpower or kill
 Link takes different particles when used as noun or verb
 Make change – exchange smaller denominations for larger bill
 Meantime – can be used with for or in or alone with different shades of meaning
 Pay commonly used. Here are some:
- pay for someone - in behalf of or buying a person
- pay off workers - pay workers for the last time
- pay out a lot of money - spend a lot for failure
- pay someone back - make them suffer
- pay someone off - bribe, pay to keep quiet
- pay the price of s.t. – experience bad consequences
- pay the ultimate price – die, get killed
- pay through the nose – pay too much
- pay top dollar – pay a lot
- pay up – for overdue account
- someone to pay his way – support oneself
- s.t. to pay for itself – recover initial investment
- s.t. to pay off – to realize profits
  Par – used to establish face value, standard or norm (above/below par [aove/below
standard], at par [nominal value], par [standard], par for the course [expected in given
situation], on a par [equal], on a par with [equal to standard]
 There’s no question about s.t. means something is certain while there’s no question of
s.t. means something is out of the question, will definitely not happen
 Redress – transitive verb which takes a noun referring to a problem or difficulty as its
object. If used as a noun, it uses the verbs seek or provide
 Request, as a noun, takes the particle for while the verb does not.
 Required uses of for noun referring to affected party and for for noun of purpose.
 Research often uses on although not listed in dictionaries.
 Speak and talk can be confusing.
- speak to, speak with or talk to – communicate orally with someone
- give someone a talking-to – admonish someone
- speak of, talk of or talk about – mention or discuss someone or something
- talk over – if discussion is lengthier
- speak for – represent someone else’s opinions
- talk at – communicate with someone without paying attention to what he says
- talk up – speak enthusiastically about something
- talk down – speak loudly or continuously to prevent someone from responding
- talk s.o. into doing something contrary to talk s.o. out of doing something
- talk out – discuss to arrive at an agreement or find a solution
 Substitute and replace refer to same action but take different objects
 Support as a verb does not take particle but for noun can be support for or in support
of
 Take does not have a particle for formal courses and degree programs but if something is
started after something else is dropped, the idiom is take up
 Think is followed by about or of but rethink has no particle
 Threaten takes different constructions depending on meaning involved
 To no end means “without any result, to no avail.” No end means without ceasing.
 Tuck has two semantic groups. Tuck in for tidying up and tuck under for putting away,
safety or good appearance
 The particle up is used in colloquial American English but is not productive and is yet to
become part of formal writing
Special Cases
 If worse comes to worst – means “in the worst possible situation”
 By the skin of my teeth - the contemporary version of “with the skin of my teeth”
 First-come-first-served – commonly misspelled by false analogy
 Pass out – “to faint,” pass by can also lose the particle
 Stand fast is the opposite of run fast
 Stand down means either move or don’t move
 Slim chance is the same as fat chance
  Turn up missing is self-contradictory
 Wise man (positive) is different from wise guy (negative)
Idioms in Certain Lexical Fields
 Telephone Usage – pay phone, lift the receiver, area codes, local number, call someone
up, etc.
 Health, Sickness, Death – I am the picture of health, He is in bad shape, I caught a cold,
He is on the mend, He passed away, etc.
Expressions Commonly Mistranslated – Ako na lang, Bababa ako, Mauuna na ako, May
nakaupo ba rito?, Nag-commute lang ako, etc.

PREPOSITIONS
 Prepositions express relationships between nouns, between a verb and a noun, and
between an adjective and a noun.
 Preposition+NP or prepositional phrase functions as a modifier
 There are ninety-seven simple prepositions and thirty-nine phrasal prepositions in
English
 Simple Prepositions – aboard, about, before, after, across, behind, below, beneath,
including, like, as, etc.
 Phrasal Prepositions – a la, according to, along with, in accordance with, in spite of, etc.
 Semantic Classification of Prepositions
- Accordance – according to, after, as per, in accordance with
- Agent – by
- Appearance – like
- Approximation – about, around, circa, near, within
- Beneficiary – for
- Cause – because of, by, due to, for, through, thanks to
- Company – absent, along with, among, apart from, sans, etc.
- Comparison – a la, as with, vis-à-vis
- Contrast – considering, despite, for, in spite of, irrespective of, etc.
- Direction – across, after, against, down, from, etc.
- Exception – aside from, bar, barring, besides, but, etc.
- Extent – between
- Location – aboard, after, along, alongside, over, etc.
- Means – by, on, through, via, with, etc
- Measurement – above, below, beyond, by, over
- Opposition – against, contra, versus
- Patient – with
- Pertinence – about
- Purpose – for
 - Quantity – at, for, of
- Reference – as concerns, as for, as to, concerning, regarding, etc.
- Relation – behind, beneath, beside, between, by, etc.
- Role – as, for
- Stead – instead of, vice
- Time – above, after, as of, by, over, etc.
 Current linguistic terminology uses the term particle for preposition-like words that
idiomatically form part of phrasal adjectives and phrasal verbs. These particles in idioms
do not have the same meaning as corresponding prepositions
 In despite of became despite, which is equivalent to in spite of
 There are those which are dated from previous centuries.
 Some are dialectal and the openness of English to loan words led to foreign
prepositions
 Alongside of and off are becoming redundant and dated
 Due to may be used wherever owing to or because of may occur
 There is no difference between toward and towards
 Between is used for two items while among is for three or more. Between can be used
for three or more entities if among is too formal