Grammar Girl's 101 Troublesome Words You'll Master in No Time (Quick & Dirty Tips)
Language: English
Pages: 144
ISBN: 0312573472
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Millions of people around the world communicate better thanks to Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, whose top-rated weekly grammar podcast has been downloaded more than 40 million times. Now she's turning her attention to solving your worst problems―one troublesome word at a time.
Are you feeling "all right" or "alright"? Does "biweekly" mean twice a week or every two weeks? Do you run a gauntlet or a gantlet? Is a pair of twins four people or two?
The English language is always changing, and that means we are left with words and phrases that are only sort of wrong (or worse, have different definitions depending on where you look them up). How do you know which to use? Grammar Girl to the rescue! This handy reference guide contains the full 411 on 101 words that have given you trouble before―but will never again.
Full of clear, straightforward definitions and fun quotations from pop culture icons such as Gregory House and J. K. Rowling, as well as from classical writers such as Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin, this highly-useable guidebook takes the guesswork out of your writing, so you'll never be at a loss for words again.
aggravated assault is an assault that’s worse than normal, just like an aggravating comment makes somebody’s mood or situation worse than it already is. * * * Alright What’s the Trouble? Nearly all usage guides condemn alright, but it occasionally shows up in the work of respected writers, and many people who aren’t language experts think it’s fine, or even the preferred spelling. The Oxford English Dictionary calls alright a “frequent spelling of all right”—not quite saying
understanding odds. Mathematically, odds and probability are not the same thing, although colloquially, many people treat the words as synonyms. Further complicating matters, odds for the same event can be presented in different ways. For example, one person may think of the odds of rolling a six on a regular six-sided die as 1 to 5 in favor, and another person may think of the odds as 5 to 1 against. You can get in particular trouble when you talk about odds being high because high odds
Orientate What’s the Trouble? English has two verbs that mean the same thing: orient and orientate. Orient is the older verb, but its rival, orientate, has been around since the mid-1800s. We often make new words by adding suffixes. For example, we got the word syndication by adding the -ion suffix to the end of the verb syndicate. But the process can also work in reverse: we can make new words by dropping suffixes. For example, we got the verb edit by dropping the suffix from editor.
That’s called back formation, and it’s how lexicographers think we got the word orientate—by dropping the -ion suffix from orientation. Orient and orientate are both acceptable English verbs, but orient is preferred in American English and orientate is preferred in British English. What Should You Do? In American English, stick with orient. The way you move—you orient yourself around him without even thinking about it. When he moves, even a little bit, you adjust your position at the
guilt that he’s unable to stand. “If only I’d paid him back that twenty-five thousand dollars I borrowed,” he says. I see Hugh, drying his eyes on the sleeve of his suit jacket, then crying even harder when he remembers I bought it for him. —David Sedaris in When You Are Engulfed in Flames Real What’s the Trouble? Real shouldn’t be used as an adverb, but it is. The basic rules are simple: really is an adverb (I really like cheese), and real is an adjective (Nothing beats real