Commonly Misused Words

Sayed Mohamed
 besides
The LDOCE defines besides as meaning 'in addition to; also'. This is true most
of the time, but there are some cases in which besides has a slightly different
nuance than 'in addition to'.

In sentences like (a) and (b) below, the meanings of 'in addition to' and
'besides' are similar, although we'd be more likely to use (a) in informal
conversation and (b) in a formal setting or in writing.However, when you are
talking about reasons for doing or not doing something, 'besides' and 'in
addition' are slightly different. When we use besides, it seems like the reason is
not considered a "proper" reason; it sounds like an afterthought that isn't
sufficient on its own (even though it may be the "real" reason for doing
something.) (c) and (d) are some examples of this use of besides.
a.Besides buying a computer, I want to use some of my bonus money to go on
a trip.
c.In addition to buying a computer, I want to use some of my bonus money to
go on a trip.
e.I can't go to John's party tonight. I have big exam tomorrow and I have to stay
home and study. Besides, his parties are always boring.
g.I would never consider giving him a job; he has no experience and his
qualifications aren't very high. Besides, I heard that his wife is leaving him
because he is always fooling around with other women.
challenge
Challenge has become a Japanese word, but the Japanese use of challenge is sometimes quite different from
the English use of this word. I think that the Japanese-English use of challenge is related to the noun challenge,
but the verb challenge has a somewhat different meaning. This sometimes leads to sentences that sound very
strange, for example:
Strange: I always felt like challenging as many subjects as possible.
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English gives these basic meanings for the verb challenge:
1.to invite (someone) to compete against you in a fight, match, etc.
Examples:
•I challenged him to a game of tennis.
•I challenge you to a race me across the lake.
Notice that both the subject and object are human. In rare cases, this kind of meaning occurs with a non-human
object, but only when that thing is thought of as an adversary:
•We challenged the icy weather as we climbed Mt. Everest.
2.to question the rightness, legality, etc. of
Examples:
•She challenged the authority of the court.
•Traditional female roles are constantly being challenged by contemporary feminists
Note: The subject of the sentence is human and the object is usually an abstract noun like authority, customs, or
beliefs.
3.to test the abilities (of a person or thing)
Examples:
•I only like to study something that challenges me.
•The difficulty of putting our ideas into practice challenged us to find a new method.
Note: in these examples, the subject is human or non-human and the object is human.
4.to stop and demand official proof of the name and intentions of (someone)
Examples:
•The sentry challenged the stranger.
Note: In these examples, both the subject and the object are human.
When you look at the four definition above, you can see what is strange about the sentence "I always felt like
challenging as many subjects as possible." It seems that the writer is thinking of a meaning like definition 3, but in
this case, the sentence should say something like: "I always felt like I wanted to be challenged by many different
subjects."
Another way to express this meaning would be to use the noun form of challenge: "I always wanted to take on
the challenge of many different subjects." But probably the most natural way to say it would be to use the verb try
rather than challenge: "I always wanted to try many different subjects."
consist
The verb consist is usually used with the preposition of . It means "is made of," but it is NOT a passive verb. We
never use the phrases "is consisted of" and "was consisted of".
Wrong:
•This book is consisted of five chapters.
•Each tennis club meeting was consisted of 30 minutes of exercises followed by 1 hour of pairs practice.
Right:
•This book consists of five chapters.
•Each tennis club meeting consisted of 30 minutes of exercises followed by 1 hour of pairs practice.
happening
The dictionary defines the noun happening as "something that happens; an event"; many students use it frequntly
in their writing, but actually, this word is rarely used. In most cases, sentences with happening sound very
awkward, and so if you want to write in natural sounding English, it would be better to avoid this noun.
Strange:
•I asked my mother about how she first met my father, but she didn't want to talk about this happening.
More natural:
•I asked my mother about how she first met my father, but she didn't want to talk about i
mention
According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the meaning of mentionis "to speak about something
briefly, giving little detail or using few words". Usually, we use mention to indicate that a writer says something
about a topic which is not the main topic or the main point. It is just a minor point (and that why it is only spoken
about briefly, without much detail.) Many times, students use the word mention in a sentence that is
grammatically correct but wrong in terms of the meaning.
Strange:
•The author mentioned that the parent-child relationship is becoming a relationship like that of friends.
This sentence is grammatically correct, but it is was wrong in the context because the parent-child relationship is
a fairly important point in the book. The author gives many details about it, including some quotations from
Japanese teenagers about their relationships with their parents.
Better:
•The author said that the parent-child relationship is becoming a relationship like that of friends.
Better:
•The author described how the parent-child relationship is becoming a relationship like that of friends.

much
Much is often used in negative sentences (sentences which contain not or a verb or adverb with a negative
meaning, such as rarely), but it is not usually used in positive sentences. Phrases such as a lot of or a great
deal of are usually used instead.
Strange:
I always have much free time.
Good:
I always have a lot of free time.
He doesn't have much free time.
I rarely have much free time.
Should
Should is a very common English word, but it is one that non-native speakers often have trouble with.
Sometimes people use should in cases where another modal or no modal would be better; other times, people
don't use should in sentences where it should be used.
The basic use of should is to indicate that a writer or speaker is strongly suggesting a particular action or
position because it is the best thing to do, because it is the morally correct thing to do, or because it is the correct
or expected thing to do. Some typical examples are found below.
•When you are writing an essay, you should think about who will be reading it.
•An English essay should be clear and persuasive.
Must is stronger than should; must indicates that something is required and that there is no other possibility.
Should, in contrast, indicates that there are more than one possibility, but that one of the possibilities is better
than the others. The example below sounds strange because we know that not all English essays are clear
and persuasive. Well-written essays are usually clear and persuasive, but there are poorly written essays too.
•An English essay must be clear and persuasive.
Because should indicates a choice among different possibilities, it is generally not used with words such as
required, need, and necessary. If something is required or necessary, then you must do it whether you want
to or not. The example below sounds strange for this reason.
•Some kinds of structures should be required whether the essay is written in English or Japanese.
Finally,the sentences below don't have should but they should have should. Without should, the sentences
seem to be talking about the actual situation rather than a course of action that has not yet been taken.
Strange:
If we could do that, we could discuss whether euthanasia is legal or not.
Better:
If we could do that, we could discuss whether euthanasia should be legal or not.
Strange:
Life cannot be ended if the patients do not know that they are approaching death...
Better:
Life should not be ended if the patients do not know that they are approaching death...
Strange:
If we describe the problem simply, it is whether Japan continues to have US military bases in Okinawa
or not.
Better:
If we describe the problem simply, it is whether Japan should continue to have US military bases in
Okinawa or not.
so
In conversation, so can be used like very , in sentences such as the following sentence.
•It was so hot yesterday!
However, this use of so has a very informal sound, so the sentence above would not be used in formal written
English. Very could be used instead:
•It was very hot yesterday.
However, you can use so before an adjective in written English when it is followed by a that clause, as in the
example below:
•It was so hot that I didn't go outside all day.
Of course, you can also use so in both written and spoken English to join two clauses into one sentence.
•I'm feeling kind of tired, so I think I'll go home now.

too
Too does not mean the same thing as very. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English gives this
definition for too: "(before adjective and adverb) more than enough; to a higher degree than is necessary." This
means that we use too instead of very when we don't like a situation or when there are some kind of negative
results from a situation. Here are some examples using
very and too.
•It's very hot today. I love summer weather!
•It's too hot today. I hate summer weather.
•It's too expensive. I can't afford it.
Because it is good for something to be good, beautiful, or delicious, we don't ordinarily use too with these
adjectives.
Strange:
This movie is too good
That painting is too beautiful
This meal is too delicious.
Too can only be used with a positive adjective if the context makes it clear that
there is something negative in the situation, as in the following example.
O.K.
That story is too good to be true.
Too is more restricted than very in terms of where it can occur in a sentence.
We don't use usually use too in the pattern too+ADJECTIVE+NOUN.
Good:
He is a very tall man. He is very tall.
Strange:
He is a too tall man.
Good:
He is too tall.
Another possible pattern is too+a+ADJECTIVE+NOUN+to
•It's too hot a day to play tennis.
•It's too strange a story to be true.