Use the Right Word

As Mark Twain once quipped, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."

When you are sick to your stomach, are you nauseated or nauseous? If you say "nauseous," you're telling people that you are making them sick to their stomachs. Oops!

Is everytime one word or two? It's always two words. But what about everyone? Check out this website for the answer: Common Errors in English: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors

Bookmark this terrific website, and you'll never use the wrong word again.

Don't write on the BART train

"I wrote my report on the BART train."

This statement could get you into trouble. We know what you mean: You were on BART when you wrote your report. However, it actually says that you wrote the report on the BART train, as in graffiti. Misplaced and dangling modifiers say what you don't mean. Make sure prepositional phrases line up properly, and you don't write the way you speak.

NOT this: "I wrote my report on the BART train."
THIS: "I wrote my report while riding BART."

Pronoun-Verb Agreement

Pronoun – Verb Agreement

Indefinite pronouns are always singular: another, each, every, either, neither, and one and the compound pronouns made with any-, every-, some-, and no-, such as anybody, everyone, someone, nobody, nothing.

The following pronouns are always plural and take plural verbs: both, few, many, others, and several.

The following pronouns are either singular or plural depending on usage: all, none, any, some, more, and most.

Relative pronouns -- who, whom, which, whoever, whomever, and that -- are singular if their antecedent is singular; plural, if the antecedent is plural.

Use active verbs

Be active, not passive.

Active voice is dynamic and adds energy to your writing. When you use active voice you identify the “actor” in the document, and your writing seems more personal. Active voice sentences are direct, concise, and easy to understand. It shows accountability.

Passive voice sentences use forms of the verb “to be”: is, are, am, was, were, be, been. Passive voice tells what happened and gives the reader less information than active voice. Passive voice sentences are harder for some people to follow. Passive voice also gives your writing a more formal tone.

Sometimes, passive voice is appropriate. Use passive voice when you don’t want to identify the actor or you don’t know who performed the action. It can also be politically correct to not identify the actor. For example, it might be more politic to write, “We lost the bid because the cost analysis was not included,” not “We lost the bid because James forgot to include the cost analysis.”

Use of active or passive voice also depends on what you want to emphasize. For example, how does the emphasis shift in each sentence below?

The company was founded in 1833.
Abraham Stokes founded the company in 1833.

In the first sentence, the emphasis is on the company; in the second, it’s on the founder.

The sentences that follow are written in passive voice and have been rewritten in active voice.

Passive: The car was test-driven by a potential buyer.
Active:

Passive: The chart is designed to help readers follow the process.
Active:

Passive: A check for $15 is being sent to you.
Active:

Passive: The process may be changed only with the approval of a vice president or higher.
Active:

Passive: It has been determined that the new procedures will be able to save the organization time and money.
Active:

Passive: A list of faculty can be found on page 33.
Active:

A, An, The: Little words, big meaning

"A," "An," and "The" are adjectives called articles. Special usage rules apply:

• "A" and "An" are indefinite and are used with general nouns or nouns not previously mentioned. I have a cat and a dog for pets; Geri has an octopus for a pet. A man and a woman walk on a path.
• "The" refers to nouns previously mentioned. The cat and the dog don't get along. The octopus is a baby. The man took the woman's hand when the path got rocky.
• "The" is used to refer to specific nouns: The elephant is a highly intelligent animal. The Nile is found in the African continent. The sun should shine tomorrow after the storm passsed overnight.
• "A" is used before nouns that begin with a consonant or consonant sound: A history assignment, an university degree.
• "An" is used before nouns that begin with a vowel or vowel sound: An assignment, an hour.
• "A" and "An" are also used to refer to your profession: I am an admin.

Collective nouns can trip you up

Collective nouns are words that appear singular, but represent a group, such as flock, staff, class, committee, and jury.

If the group acts as a single unit, or if the idea of oneness is key, use a singular verb:
- The jury has reached a verdict.
- A couple of birds has built a nest in the eaves of my house.
- My staff is preparing the report to the board.

If members of the group act separately or if the word refers to individuals within the group, use the plural verb:
- A group of researchers from Europe are coming to the conference.
- A couple of latecomers are not seated.
- My staff are consistently late for work.


What about these?
- Human rights is a sensitive issue.
- Human rights are often ignored.

Nouns that end in “-ics” take a singular verb if they refer to a body of knowledge; a plural verb, if they refer to particular activities:
- Statistics is a boring subject for many students.
- Statistics are often interpreted for the benefit of the speaker.