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GWA Writing Centre 2012-13
General writing resources
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MLA Citation
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Grammar and Mechanics
Commonly Confused Words
Editing and Proofreading
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Commonly Confused Words
The following pairs of words are
not
synonyms; one cannot be used in place of the other.
accept, except
accept: (verb) to receive
except: (preposition) excluding
(verb) to leave out
EXAMPLES:
Did you
accept
the gift?
We were busy every evening
except
Monday. (preposition)
Everybody
except
me knew the answer. (verb)
all right, (not) alright
‘alright’ may be seen in some written material, but it is not the preferred form; the preferred form is ‘all right’.
EXAMPLES: Everything is
all right
now.
The thunderstorm is over; it is
all right
to go outside now.
affect, effect
affect:(verb) to influence, to impress
effect: (noun) the result (of an action)
EXAMPLES:
Try not to let unkind remarks
affect
you.
The loss of the tennis match will
affect
Laura’s confidence.
The
effect
of the storm was evident the next day.
fewer, less
(have very different uses in a sentence)
fewer: tells ‘how many’, used before a plural noun, refers to things you cannot count
less: tells ‘how much’, used before a singular noun, refers to the degree/size/amount of something that cannot be counted (space, hair)
EXAMPLE:
I worked
fewer
hours this week than last week.
I worked
less
time this week than last week.
They had
less
trouble at the dance this year.
who, whom
(pronouns)
who: is usually used as the subject of a verb
whom: is usually used as an object of a verb
EXAMPLES:
Who
plays the part of Hitler in the play?
(
Who
is the subject of the verb
plays)
For
whom
is he baking the pita bread?
(object)
With
whom
are you going to the dance?
(object)
Whom
usually follows prepositions like ‘to’, ‘for’, ‘with’.
of
of
is a preposition.
Do not use
of
in place of
have
after verbs such as
should, could, would, might, must
, and
ought (to
):
EXAMPLES:
You
could have
told me that you were unwell.
(correct)
You
could of
told me that you were unwell.
(incorrect)
If I had known the party was casual, I
wouldn’t
have
worn this dressy outfit.
(correct)
If I had known that the party was casual, I
wouldn’t of
worn this dressy outfit.
(incorrect)
or, nor
Use
or
with
either
; use
nor
with
neither
EXAMPLES:
Either
Celia
or
Gloria will host the party.
Neither
Alan
nor
Don has been absent this quarter.
good,well/ bad, badly
good/bad:
these are adjectives and modify a noun.
Do not use to modify a verb; instead use
well/badly
well/badly:
these are adverbs (refer to
doing
something capably or incapably)
or adjectives ( refer to health or a satisfactory/unsatisfactory condition.)
EXAMPLES:
They skate
good
.
(incorrect)
They skate
well
.
(correct)
Once the problem was corrected, all was
well
.
He hated being called the
bad
apple.
(used as adjective)
She played
badly
and struck out three times.
(used as adverb)
in, into
in
: means within/already inside
They waited
in
the hospital lounge
.
into
: implies moving to the inside
They walked
into
the house.
contraction errors: your, you’re/ its, it’s/ there, they’re, their/ whose/who’s
To ensure that you are using the correct term, break the contraction and see if it makes sense in the sentence.
EXAMPLE:
Its
fur is brown and tan
. OR
It’s
fur is brown and tan
.
It is
fur is brown and tan
. (incorrect)
Therefore: ‘its’ is the correct form in this sentence:
Its
fur is brown and tan
.
Whose
hat is on the rack?
OR
Who’s
hat is on the rack?
Who is
hat is on the rack.
(incorrect)
Therefore: ‘whose’ is the correct form in this sentence:
Whose
hat is on the rack
.
he, she, they
:
unnecessary pronouns, should not be used after a noun
EXAMPLES:
My father
he
is working in Hong Kong.
(incorrect)
My father is working in Hong Kong.
(correct)
double negatives: can’t hardly/can’t scarcely
no/none/nothing
( never use with another negative)
EXAMPLES:
You
can’t hardly
see ten feet in this fog
. (incorrect)
You
can
hardly see ten feet in this fog.
(correct)
There
isn’t no
reason to be nervous
. (incorrect)
There
is
no reason to be nervous
.
off, off of:
often used instead of just ‘off’
EXAMPLES:
Sandy
moved the box
off of
the table.
(incorrect)
Sandy
moved the box
off
the table
. (correct)
inside of, outside of
: use just ‘outside’, ‘inside’ without ‘of’
EXAMPLES:
Outside of
the building was a public garden
. (incorrect)
Outside
the building was a public garden
. (correct)