Diction

A guide to a few words that are commonly misused

Accept Except Accept means to agree or to take something that is offered. I will accept his offer. Except means everything but. Everyone was here except Fred. As a verb except means to leave out. All minors were excepted from jury duty Affect Effect Affect is usually used as a verb. How will the rising dollar affect our business? Effect is usually a noun. Her lottery win had a huge effect on her credit rating. Note: Effect also has another, less common meaning. Effect can be used as a verb to mean bring about. We will effect numerous changes to the organization Aggravate Irritate Annoy Aggravate means to make worse. Do not use it in place of irritate or annoy. Falling down the stairs aggravated his knee injury. All right Alright Alright is an informal spelling of all right. Many guides consider it incorrect. Among Between Between is used only for two items. Homer and his wife kept the juicy gossip between them Among is used for lists of three or more. Lenny shared the pictures among the entire staff. Amount Number Amount is used for quantities that cannot be counted: liquids, sand, etc. He put a large amount of sugar in his coffee. Number is used for quantities that can be counted A number of people are missing.

Anxious Eager Use anxious to express nervousness or fear. I was anxious about my final grade after failing the mid-term exam. Use eager for a more positive tone. She was eager to begin her summer job. Can May Can relates to the ability to do something. I can drive a car. May indicates permission. May I borrow yours? Complement Compliment Complement means to complete something That blue tie complements the grey shirt. Compliment means to say something nice Mr. Burns complimented us on our efficient office. Complimentary means to do something nice We received a complimentary appetizer with our meal. Could of Should of Would of These are all variations of the same mistake. It comes from using pronunciation, rather than meaning, as a guide. You should use could have or couldve. I could have been a contender. Council / Councillor Counsel / Counsellor A council is a group of bureaucrats. A councillor is a member of that group. All members of the city council agreed to listen to the councillors presentation. Counsel is advice or the act of giving advice. A counsellor is one who gives that advice. Barts counsellor suggested that his best strategy would be to obtain counsel from others like him Eligible Illegible These words have completely different meanings. Eligible means qualified to be chosen. To be an eligible to vote, you must be a Canadian citizen 18 years old or over. Illegible means unreadable. After the ballots got wet they were illegible. Disinterested Uninterested Disinterested means neutral or objective. Uninterested means bored.
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The union and management brought in a disinterested arbitrator to settle the dispute. Emigrate Immigrate Emigrate means to leave a country. Immigrate means to come to a country. Farther Further Use farther only to discuss distance. Regina is farther from Winnipeg than Brandon. Further is used for meanings other than physical distance. Let me explain this further. Fewer Less Fewer is used for quantities that can be counted There are fewer people here today than there were yesterday. Less is used for quantities that cannot be counted: liquids, sand, etc. I should probably drink less coffee. Note: For reasons understood only by a few mystical economists, money is considered an uncountable commodity. The amount of money I earn today is less than the amount I earned last year. Flaunt Flout Flaunt means to show off. If youve got it, flaunt it. Flout means to disregard a law with contempt. The mayor flouted the law every time he ran the red light in front of the police station. Forward Foreword A foreword is a preface to a book Forward is the opposite direction to backward Hanged Hung Hanged should only be used when referring to executions. The prisoner was hanged at dawn. Hung is the past participle of hang in all other situations. He hung his coat on a nail.

Imply Infer Imply means to make a hint. Pat implied that I might get lucky tonight. Infer means to interpret someone elses words. I inferred from those words that Pat had just bought me a lottery ticket. Irregardless Irregardless aint a word. Use regardless. (Dont use aint either.) We will hold classes regardless of the weather. Like As if Like is a preposition. Use it to join words or phrases to the rest of a sentence He is drinking like a fish. As if is a conjunction. Use it to join clauses He is acting as if he is going to be sick Lightning Lightening Lightning comes in electrical storms. Lightening means either to reduce somethings weight or to make its colour paler Literally Literally means actually. Dont use it to emphasize something. The bookcase literally collapsed when I tried to use it as a ladder. Moral Morale Use moral when discussing right and wrong. Use morale when discussing team spirit. Personal Personnel Use personal when discussing something relating to a particular person someones personal property. Use personnel to discuss the staff of an organization Principle Principal Principle means a general rule Principal means central or most important. It can refer to the most important person in a school, or the part of a loan that has interest added to it. Stationary Stationery Stationary means motionless. Stationery means office supplies.