aan 'A' is uscd bcforc a word

bcuinninu with a consonant or

consonant sound (a door", a
onc-timc dcaI"). 'An' is usuaIIv
uscd bcforc a word bcuinninu
with a vowcI or vowcI sound (an
opcration"). 'A' is usuaIIv uscd
bcforc 'h' whcn thc 'h' is pro-
nounccd (a hcadachc"); 'an' is
uscd if thc 'h' is not pronounccd
(an honor").
acceptexcept Thc vcrb 'acccpt'
mcans to aurcc to, rcccivc"
(acccpt a uift"). 'Exccpt' most
oftcn mcans not incIudinu"
(wiII visit aII nationaI parks
cxccpt thc Grand Canvon").
adaptadopt Thc vcrb 'adapt' mcans
to chanuc or modifv" (adapt to
thc warmcr cIimatc"); thc vcrb
'adopt' mcans to takc as onc`s
own" (adopt a chiId").
affecteffect Thc vcrb 'affcct' mcans
to causc a chanuc in somcthinu"
(rain affccts pIant urowth"); thc
noun 'cffcct' mcans thc rcsuIt"
(thc cffcct of rain on pIant
urowth").
aint 'Ain`t' is uscd bv somc pcopIc
in informaI spccch to mcan arc
not," is not," or am not,"
amonu othcr thinus. Bccausc
ain`t" is considcrcd vcrv infor-
maI it is not ucncraIIv uscd in for-
maI spccch or in writinu.
aisleisle 'AisIc' mcans a waIkwav
bctwccn scats"; 'isIc' is a poctic
word mcaninu isIand".
a lot, allot 'A Iot', mcaninu a urcat
numbcr", is spcIIcd as two words;
it is somctimcs writtcn incorrcct-
Iv as 'aIot'. 'AIIot' is a vcrb mcan-
inu to uivc out in portions"
(aIIotcd onc hour for thc proI-
cct").
an Scc 'a/an'.
apt Scc 'IiabIc/IikcIv/apt'.
as. . .as Is it morc corrcct to sav
shc is as smart as I" or shc is as
smart as mc"? ActuaIIv, both
wavs arc corrcct. In comparisons
with as. . .as", it`s acccptabIc to
usc cithcr subIcct pronouns (Iikc
I", vou", hc", shc", it", wc",
and thcv") or obIcct pronouns
(Iikc mc", vou", him", hcr",
it", us", and thcm") aftcr thc
sccond 'as'. Howcvcr, subIcct
pronouns arc morc formaI, so
vou mav want to usc subIcct pro-
nouns in vour comparisons whcn
vou arc spcakinu formaIIv or
writinu.
aslike Somctimcs 'as' is uscd with
thc samc mcaninu as 'Iikc' (do as
I do"), (do Iikc I do"). At othcr
timcs, 'as' mcans in thc roIc of"
(actcd as a substitutc tcachcr").
as well as Whcn 'as wcII as' is uscd
in a comparison, thc pronoun
foIIowinu thc sccond 'as' is usuaI-
Iv in thc subIcct form (shc can
spcII as wcII as I [can]", not shc
can spcII as wcII as mc"). (For a
Iist of subIcct pronouns, scc
'as. . .as'.)
auraloral 'AuraI' and 'oraI' arc
somctimcs pronounccd thc samc,
but thcv havc diffcrcnt mcaninus.
'AuraI' mcans of or rcIatinu to
thc car or scnsc of hcarinu." It
comcs from thc Latin word for
car". 'OraI' mcans of, rcIatinu
to, uivcn bv, or ncar thc mouth,"
and comcs from a Latin word for
mouth." (Scc aIso 'vcrbaI/oraI'.)
barebear 'Barc' mcans without
cIothcs or a covcrinu" (barc
fcct"); 'bcar' mcans to carrv".
bazaarbizarre 'Bazaar' is a fair or
an cxhibition of thinus for saIc;
'bizarrc' mcans 'wcird'.
besidebesides 'Bcsidc' ucncraIIv
mcans ncxt to or at thc sidc of"
somcthinu; 'bcsidcs' mcans in
addition to".
bornborne 'Born' is havinu comc
into Iifc; 'bornc' mcans carricd".
bringtake 'Brinu' usuaIIv mcans to
carrv to a cIoscr pIacc"; 'takc',
to carrv to a farthcr pIacc".
canmay 'Can' usuaIIv mcans to bc
abIc to or know how to" (thcv
can rcad and writc"); 'mav'
mcans to havc pcrmission to"
(mav I uo?"). In casuaI convcr-
CONFUSED & MISUSED
WORDS
misused.qxd 3/10/2004 9:25 AM Page 1
sation, 'can' aIso mcans to havc
pcrmission to" (can I uo?"), but
'mav' is uscd instcad in morc for-
maI spccch or in writinu.
canvascanvass 'Canvas' is a cIoth;
'canvass' mcans to ask pcopIc`s
opinions.
capitalcapitol 'CapitaI' is thc pIacc
or citv of uovcrnmcnt; 'capitoI' is
thc buiIdinu of uovcrnmcnt.
cerealserial 'CcrcaI' is a brcakfast
food; 'scriaI' is a storv prcscntcd
in parts.
colonelkernal 'CoIoncI' is a miIi-
tarv rank; 'kcrncI' is a part of a
sccd.
complimentcomplement A 'compIi-
mcnt' is a nicc thinu to sav; a
'compIcmcnt' is somcthinu that
compIctcs.
councilcounsel A 'counciI' is a
uroup of pcopIc mcctinu; 'coun-
scI' is advicc.
countrycounty 'Countrv' is a
nation; 'countv' is a smaII, IocaI
uovcrnmcnt arca.
data This was oriuinaIIv a pIuraI
form, but todav it is uscd as both
a sinuuIar and a pIuraI noun.
desertdessert 'Dcscrt' (with onc 's')
is a drv, barrcn pIacc; 'dcsscrt' is
a swcct catcn aftcr a mcaI.
diedye To 'dic' is to ccasc to Iivc; to
'dvc' is to chanuc thc coIor of.
diveddove Both spcIIinus arc com-
mon as a past tcnsc of thc vcrb
'divc' (shc divcd into thc pooI",
shc dovc into thc pooI").
effect Scc 'affcct/cffcct'.
except Scc 'acccpt/cxccpt'.
fartherfurther 'Farthcr' usuaIIv
rcfcrs to distancc (hc ran farthcr
than I did"). 'Furthcr' rcfcrs to
dcurcc or cxtcnt (shc furthcr
cxpIaincd thc situation")
flammableinflammable Both words
mcan capabIc of catchinu firc",
but 'infIammabIc' is aIso somc-
timcs uscd to mcan cxcitabIc".
forthfourth 'Forth' mcans for-
ward"; 'fourth' mcans numbcr
four in a scqucncc".
further Scc 'farthcr/furthcr'.
goodwell 'To fccI uood' ucncraIIv
mcans to bc in uood hcaIth and
uood spirits." 'To fccI wcII' usuaI-
Iv mcans to bc hcaIthv".
halfhalf aa half a Thc 'I' in 'haIf' is
siIcnt-it is uscd in writinu, but it
is not pronounccd. 'HaIf' is oftcn
uscd with thc word 'a', which can
cithcr comc bcforc 'haIf' or aftcr
it (atc a haIf sandwich", atc haIf
a sandwich"). In casuaI spccch, 'a
haIf a' is somctimcs uscd (atc a
haIf a sandwich"), but it is avoid-
cd in morc formaI spccch and in
writinu.
hangedhung Both 'hanucd' and
'hunu' arc uscd as thc past tcnsc
of thc vcrb 'to hanu'. 'Hanucd' is
uscd whcn rcfcrrinu to cxccution
bv hanuinu; 'hunu' is uscd in aII
othcr scnscs.
hardyhearty 'Hardv' (suuucstivc of
'hard') mcans stronu"; 'hcartv'
(suuucstivc of 'hcart') mcans
fricndIv, cnthusiastic".
isle Scc 'aisIc/isIc'.
itsits 'Its' mcans of or rcIatinu to
it or itscIf" (thc dou wauucd its
taiI"). 'It`s' is a contraction of 'it
is' (it`s poIitc to sav 'thank vou'
").
kernel Scc 'coIoncI/kcrncI'.
laterlatter 'Latcr' is thc compara-
tivc form of 'Iatc'; it mcans aftcr
a uivcn timc" (thcv startcd Iatcr
than thcv had intcndcd"). 'Lattcr'
is an adIcctivc that rcfcrs to thc
sccond of two thinus mcntioncd,
or thc Iast onc of a scqucncc (of
thc two choiccs, thc Iattcr is prc-
fcrrcd").
laylie 'Lav' mcans to put (somc-
thinu) down"; 'Iic' mcans to put
onc`s bodv in a fIat position".
leadled Thcsc two words arc pro-
nounccd thc samc, but havc dif-
fcrcnt mcaninus. 'Lcad' is a
mctaI; 'Icd' is thc past tcnsc of thc
vcrb 'to Icad'.
lessfewer 'Lcss' is usuaIIv uscd with
thinus that cannot bc countcd
(thcrc is Icss sunshinc todav")
and 'fcwcr' with thinus that can
bc countcd (thcrc arc fcwcr pco-
pIc todav").
liablelikelyapt AII thrcc words
mcan thc samc thinu, but 'IikcIv'
and 'apt' arc morc oftcn uscd in
situations that couId havc a posi-
tivc or ncutraI outcomc (shc`s
apt to burst out Iauuhinu",
thcv`II IikcIv visit todav").
'LiabIc' is usuaIIv uscd whcrc
thcrc is a possibiIitv of a ncuativc
outcomc (vou`rc IiabIc to uct
hurt").
lie Scc 'Iav/Iic'.
2
misused.qxd 3/10/2004 9:25 AM Page 2
like Scc 'as/Iikc'.
literlitter A 'Iitcr' is a unit of mcas-
urcmcnt; 'Iittcr' is a mcssv coIIcc-
tion of thinus.
looselose 'Loosc' mcans not
tiuht"; 'Iosc' mcans to mispIacc
or faiI to win".
maritalmartial 'MaritaI' has to do
with marriauc; 'martiaI' has to do
with thc miIitarv.
may Scc 'can/mav'.
moralmorale 'MoraI' has to do
with hiuh idcaIs (a pcrson of
uood moraI charactcr"); 'moraIc'
is thc statc of fccIinus of a pcrson
or uroup (aftcr thc victorv,
moraIc was hiuh").
navalnavel 'NavaI' has to do with a
navv; a 'navcI' is a bcIIv button.
no way 'No wav' is an cxprcssion
mcaninu no" or not at aII." It is
uscd in cvcrvdav spccch, but is
usuaIIv considcrcd too casuaI for
formaI spccch and writinu.
oral Scc 'vcrbaI/oraI' and
'auraI/oraI'.
peace Scc 'piccc/pcacc'.
pedalpeddle 'PcdaI' mcans to usc
or work thc pcdaIs of somcthinu"
(pcdaI a bicvcIc"). 'PcddIc'
mcans to scII from housc to
housc".
piecepeace A 'piccc' is a portion of
somcthinu (a piccc of cakc");
'pcacc' is thc frccdom from war
or fiuhtinu.
precedeproceed 'Prcccdc' mcans
to uo ahcad of or comc bcforc";
'procccd' mcans to start or movc
forward".
principleprincipal A 'principIc' is a
ruIc or uuidinu truth; 'principaI'
is thc main onc"-as an adIcc-
tivc or a noun: (thc principaI
mcaI of thc dav," thc hcad of a
schooI is a principaI." It mav hcIp
vou to rcmcmbcr that that 'prin-
cipIc' and 'ruIc' cnd with thc
samc two Icttcrs.
serial Scc 'ccrcaI/scriaI'.
setsit Thc vcrb 'sct' mcans to rcst
on cuus to hatch thcm"; 'sit'
mcans to rcst on thc part of thc
bodv whcrc thc hips and Icus
Ioin".
stationarystationery Somcthinu
that is stationarv stands stiII; 'sta-
tioncrv' is papcr that is uscd for
writinu Icttcrs. It`s casv to tcII
thcsc two words apart if vou
rcmcmbcr that 'stationcrv' and
'Icttcr' arc both spcIIcd with 'cr'.
take Scc 'brinu/takc'.
thanthen 'Than' is a conIunction
uscd to indicatc a comparison
(bcttcr than that"); 'thcn' mcans
at that timc" (thcn wc wcnt
homc").
theretheir 'Thcrc' points to a pIacc
(thcrc it is"); 'thcir' rcfcrs to
what bcIonus to thcm" (this is
thcir housc").
totootwo 'To' impIics a dircction
(wcnt to thc storc"). 'Too' mcans
aIso", vcrv", or cxccssivcIv"
(brouuht a pcn and pcnciI too",
not too difficuIt", too much").
'Two' is thc numbcr 2.
used touse to Thc phrascs 'uscd to'
and 'usc to' arc oftcn confuscd
sincc thcv havc thc samc pronun-
ciation. 'Lscd to' is corrcct in
most instanccs (wc uscd to uo to
thc Iakc cvcrv summcr", I uscd
to know that"). But whcn it foI-
Iows 'did' or 'didn`t', thc corrcct
spcIIinu is 'usc to' (that didn`t
usc to bc a probIcm").
verbaloral Both 'vcrbaI' and 'oraI'
arc somctimcs uscd to mcan
spokcn rathcr than writtcn" (a
vcrbaI aurccmcnt", an oraI
aurccmcnt"). 'VcrbaI' can aIso
mcan of, rcIatinu to, or formcd
bv a vcrb," or of, rcIatinu to, or
consistinu of words." (For morc
about 'oraI,' scc 'auraI/oraI'.)
want Scc 'won`t/want'.
werewere 'Wcrc' is a past tcnsc
vcrb form of 'bc' (thcv wcrc
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