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GRAMMAR VOCABULARY CONTACT US

TRENDING, VOCABULARY

6 Common English
Vocabulary Errors and How to
Avoid Them

! 7 years ago " 8.3K Views

If you are not a native English speaker,

chances are that you might be
learning the language the wrong way.

If you are not a native English speaker,

chances are that you might be learning
the language the wrong way. If you think
your boss or best buddy is someone you
can look up to for vocabulary inspiration,
just don’t! Always follow definitive
sources to improve your English grammar
and vocabulary. So let’s see if you are
aware of these common English
vocabulary errors.

Improve vs. Improvise

Wrong: I want to improvise my
communication skills.

Right: I want to improve my

communication skills.

Explanation: The meaning of the verb

“improvise” is performing a task without
any prior preparation. The noun is
“improvisation”. Both Improve and
improvise may sound acoustically similar,
but they are in no way related to each
other. Grammatically speaking,
improvement is the noun form of the verb
“improve” while improvisation is the noun
form of the verb “improvise”. Look at the
following examples:

Example#1: Sachin Tendulkar has a great

deal of improvisation skills. (This means
that he has the ability to accelerate the
run rate without taking much time to
settle down.)

Example#2: Sonu Nigam’s ability

to improvise onstage is second to none.
(This means Sonu Nigam has the ability
to sing any song without prior practice or
rehearsal)

Reference: http://answers.yahoo.com/qu
estion/index?
qid=20060811193647AAHqAHT

Historic vs. Historical

Wrong: This is a historical victory for the
Indian cricket team.

Right: This is a historic victory for the

Indian cricket team.

Explanation: Grammatically speaking,

both historic and historical are adjectives;
however, they are not related to each
other. Historical means something
pertaining to the history and past.
Historic means remarkable or
extraordinary.

Reference: http://grammar.about.com/od
/alightersideofwriting/a/historicgloss.htm

Reputed vs. Reputable

Wrong: TCS is a reputed software
company in India.

Right: TCS is a reputable software

company in India.

Explanation: Both reputable and reputed

are used to define the reputation of an
organization. However, when you say TCS
is a reputed organization, it essentially
means you’re not very sure of its
reputation. On the other hand, when you
say TCS is a reputable organization, it
means there’s not an iota of doubt that
TCS is a company of national repute.

However, the following example is

acceptable:

Example: The company hired her

because of her reputed skills as a content
writer. (The company is fairly sure of her
skills in content writing)

Reference: http://www.hindu.com/edu/20
08/09/23/stories/2008092350141503.ht
m

Reply vs. Revert

Wrong: I will revert to your email later.

Right: I will reply to your email later.

Explanation: The most commonplace

where the abuse of “revert” is rampant is
workplace. In professional
communications, especially in India,
professionals have a penchant for
“revert” when all they want to mean is
“reply”. Why do they do so? To show off
their vocabulary skills, maybe. Ironically,
they end up hurting their own image in
the process.

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Grammatically speaking, “revert” means

restoring something to its original state.
So when you say “I’ll revert”, you mean
you will go back your previous state. I
have no clue what you mean when you
say that, but for sure, you don’t mean to
go back to your original state. So what’s
the correct usage of the word “revert”?

Correct Usage: After spending three

months in the alcohol rehab, my brother
reverted to his drinking habits again.
(This means my brother returned to his
old habits of drinking)

In this context, it is highly pointless to say

“I’ll revert to your email later”. Technically,
nobody can actually revert to an email.

NB: Some people often go overboard and

say “I’ll revert “back” to your email later”.
OMG, for the love of God, please read
this post!

Reference: http://another.pieceofsky.org/
2008/02/revert-vs-reply/

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Pressure vs. Pressurize

Wrong: Stop pressurizing me!

Right: Stop pressuring me! (A line from

the popular track Scream by Michael
Jackson)

Explanation: According to
freedictionary.com, the word “pressurize”
means “to increase the pressure in (an
enclosure, such as an aircraft cabin) in
order to maintain approximately
atmospheric pressure when the external
pressure is low”.

For example: The captain will pressurize

the cabin for the passengers’ comfort.
(The captain will increase the pressure in
the cabin to maintain the atmospheric
pressure).

If you’ve ever travelled in an airplane or

are a frequent flyer, you know what I
mean.

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However, pressurize can also be used to

define the stress or strain although such
use is quite informal, figurative and rare.

For example: He’s an executive who was

pressurized by a heavy workload. (he’s
subject to excessive stress, strain, or
vexation)

Reference: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/
question/index?
qid=20090915145022AAXwdpG

Staff vs. Staffs

Wrong: You’re the best staff in our
company.

Right: You’re the best employee on our

company staff.

“ Grammatically speaking, staff is

collective noun, meaning a
group of professional in a
particular organization. Like the
word “department”, staff also
refers to two or more things or
people as a group.

Explanation: I have absolutely lost count

of how often I hear this word being
abused, both in writing and speech, on a
daily basis. Blame it on the cultural
orientation, and poor English skills of
many teachers at elementary schools in
India, many people have acquired a
wrong impression about the word “staff”.
Grammatically speaking, staff is
collective noun, meaning a group of
professional in a particular organization.
Like the word “department”, staff also
refers to two or more things or people as
a group.

Therefore, you can’t afford to use the

word “staff” to mean a single person
when it effectively means a group.

For example: He is a reliable staff

member. (NOT reliable staff)

Another Example: I would like to thank

the staff of the Department of
Technology for their help. (NOT staffs)

NB: As far as “staffs” is concerned, it can

be used to mean a group of different
departments in a company. However,
such usage is quite rare. To know more
about staffs, please take your time
to read this. Also, you might also like
to read this to understand the
comprehensive usage of “staff”.

Reference: http://blog.editage.com/?
q=Pluralizing-a-collective-noun-staff-vs-
staffs

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