Ah, English.
That pesky language that trips us all up from time to time. The emergence of short form communication like texts and tweets isn’t helping our cause here. Neither is a decline in reading and reading comprehension.
Truly, how you speak and write leaves an impression, even if you’re only using 140 characters. No matter how much language evolves (and I agree that it does), some mistakes just make you sound sloppy at best and ignorant at worst.
Call me a word nerd or a grammar snob if you must, but I maintain that business communication is vital and doing it well is still important. That includes communication in email and on the web. And while all of the following examples are applicable to any kind of writing or speech, I’m especially keen to improve what I see and hear on the business front day in and day out.
So here are 16 words and phrases that seem to get misused and abused a great deal.
Have more? Add them in the comments.
Hear, Hear.
The phrase isn’t “here, here”.
“Hear, hear” originated in the British House of Commons and is a short form of the cheer for “hear him, hear him”. They don’t do applause much in Parliament, so this phrase is a substitute for that.
For all intents and purposes
The phrase is not “for all intensive purposes”. I suppose it’s possible that your purposes could be intense, but the right phrase is “intents and purposes”.
Et cetera
The abbreviation “etc.” when spelled out is “et cetera” not “ex cetera”. It’s Latin for “and the rest”. You might also run into “et al.”, which is an abbreviation of the Latin et alia and means “and others”. You need the period after “al.” to indicate that it’s an abbreviation.
Rein it in
Think horses. When you rein something in, you’re slowing it down or bringing it more under control. “Reign” is the word used to describe the rule of a monarch. Similarly, if you give someone “free rein”, you’re letting them have a bit of leeway, not giving them a throne or a kingdom.
In regard to
It should either be “as regards”, “with regard to”, or “in regard to”. “In regards to” is a popular misuse.
You and Me vs. You and I
First trick: The other person comes first in the sentence (think of it as good manners). So it would be correct to say “Susan and Me”, not “Me and Susan”. Now, as for whether you use “me” or “I”?
Second trick: Read the sentence without the other person in it, and see if it sounds right. For example: “Amber sent copies of her book to Susan and I”. Remove Susan, and you’re left with “Amber sent copies of her book to I.” Nope, that doesn’t work. Here, the proper personal pronoun is “me”.
Or “Jim and me went to the movies”. You wouldn’t say “Me went to the movies” unless you’re Cookie Monster, so here you’d use “I”.
Cite/Site/Sight
“Cite” means to reference, quote, or mention something. You’d cite an article or a blog post in your book, perhaps.
“Site” is a location. Construction site, site of the crime, even the virtual world of the web site.
“Sight” is either something that is seen (You’re a sight for sore eyes!), the act of seeing something (you might sight land in your binoculars), or even an aspiration (like setting your sights on a particular career goal). And by the way, you go “sightseeing”, not “siteseeing”.
Could Have/Should Have
The proper phrase is “could have” or “should have”, and the contraction is “could’ve”. In our patterns of speech in American English, both the phrase and the contraction sound like “could of” or “should of” when pronounced (and that’s likely why this confusion started in the first place) but they’re incorrect.
Couldn’t Care Less
If you could care less, that means you actually are capable of caring less, which isn’t what you’re going for when you’re driven to use this phrase. If the truth is that you can’t imagine caring any less than you do about something, the proper phrase is “couldn’t care less”.
Supposedly
Not “supposably”. Ever.
Enamored Of
This one isn’t nearly as common, but it crops up more than you might think. The correct phrase is actually “enamored of”, not “enamored by”. “Enamored with” is okay, but not necessarily preferred if you’re the grammar snot type. If you’re “enamored by” Justin Bieber, that actually means he’s all smitten with you, you lucky dog.
English is weird, I know.
Dialogue
A dialogue is a conversation or discussion. It’s a noun, a thing. You don’t “dialogue” with someone, you “have a dialogue”. Yes, I know it’s become common in business language to use dialogue as a verb. But it’s jargon and it sounds terrible in correspondence.
We could do a whole post on jargon, but for the moment, I digress.
Flesh out and Flush out
You “flesh out” an idea to add substance to it and develop it further. Think adding more flesh to the bone. You “flush out” the rabbit from the hedges or the ducks from the marsh or the criminal from his hiding place.
Gibe and Jibe (and Jive)
If your ideas don’t mesh well, they didn’t jibe (which means they didn’t agree). If they didn’t jive that probably means they needed a lot more rhythm and that guy from Airplane. A “gibe” is a joke or a tease.
Say Your Piece
If you’re about to “say your piece”, that means you’re about to speak aloud a piece of your writing or perhaps give a piece of your mind. You don’t “say your peace”.
At a wedding, you either “speak now or forever hold your peace”, which means to maintain your silence forever and ever. If you’re “holding your piece” I certainly hope you’re a police officer or in the privacy of your own home.
Cue and Queue
If you’re standing in line, you’re in a queue or “queuing up”. If you’re scheduling a post or piece of content, you’re “queuing it up” or “putting it in the queue”. It’s such a strange word to look at and type, but it has French origins and is correct in these contexts when you mean to put something into a schedule or process.
Cues are things like pool sticks and indicators for actors to speak their parts.
Some Resources…
Your very best friend is Brians Common Errors in English Usage. Paul Brians is an Emeritus Professor of English at Washington State University. It isn’t a sexy website, but this is a wonderful compilation of common errors in English usage. When in doubt, look it up here, save yourself the mistake and learn a little something in the process. It’s helped me — a bonafide word nerd — loads of times. Like I said, English is weird.
If you’d like an actual book, Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is a great standby. Some of the rules in there are pretty strict and traditional but it’s a wonderful and witty reference overall. Get the new graduate in your life a copy before they head off to college or their first job.
What other words and phrases do you get mixed up and confused? Which drive you batty when you hear or read them? Leave your examples and questions in the comments and we’ll get them sorted out!
P.S. – Just for fun, the first person who comments and correctly guesses the word in the post image that inspired me to use it gets a free copy of Strunk and White courtesy of yours truly.
I had to respond and post a link to a very funny video on YouTube by British comedian Paul Mitchell about the “Couldn’t Care Less” issue it makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw
David Mitchell, not Paul, surely. And, unlike many other things, I bet his name is something he COULD care less about!
My guess would have to be the one that stood out to me, front and center: there. The fact that even highly intelligent people can’t figure out the difference between there, their, and they’re drives me crazy!
Nope that wasn’t it. I didn’t include the typical there/their/they’re thing or the your/you’re thing here because those are covered off in SO many other places, I wanted to tackle other phrases that pop up but are rarely addressed. Thanks so much!
My personal pet peeve is the use of ‘your’ when it should be ‘you’re’…”If your going to be that way…” Argh.
Yeah, that’s an irritating one, though like I said to Michelle I didn’t include some of the more common ones on purpose. That definitely doesn’t mean they aren’t frustrating!
While I obviously cannot win with this guess, I have to agree with Michelle. Looking at the post image, the word “there” immediately jumped out at me as something that is constantly misused. I figured their English is lacking, mostly because they’re just lazy. So there.
Nope. 🙂
‘Would of/should of’ makes me want to chew nails.
Hence its inclusion on the list. 🙂
Don’t forget “lose” and “loose”!
That’s a good one. Perhaps I’ll add to an updated user-contributed list at the end of the post!
You caught a bunch of my pet peeves. Here are a couple of others:
Hone in, instead of home in.
Adverse, when it should be averse, i.e, “the client is adverse to that idea.”
I’m on a tiny screen, but the word I guess is language.
Those are great examples, especially home/hone. I think I’ll round up a few from the comments here and post them as an update. And good guess, but not quite. 🙂
I too had an adverse reaction to “home in” but then I investigated. It is correct usage.
but so is “hone in” …
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hone%20in and
http://www.word-detective.com/2010/03/home-in-hone-in/
“Home” in is correct when you’re trying to locate something (or in some cases focus on it, like a goal. But you don’t “hone in” on it. You hone something to make it sharper. As in a knife. I hear and see these mixed up all the time.
Before I forget I should mention the misuse of “nut” as in “that’s the nut of their argument.”
The correct word there is “nub.”
On “HONE IN” …Dictionaries change annually based on real world usage, not only by adding new words. What is “correct” use of a word can change too, IMO.I can’t argue with this, tho I guess you will …
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-hom1.htm
I get that. And like I said before, I get that language evolves. I do. But I definitely don’t always agree with the fact that something should become “accepted” just because it’s done. Some things just sound silly to me. And I’m sure linguists of old are turning in their graves at many of the things I wouldn’t blink an eye at.
My point here is simply to present phrases that are used – by most standards – incorrectly. We could likely debate “accepted” usages of things until they go out of favor yet again.
By the way, thanks for the post. It’s a real public service!
I hope it’s helpful. I tried not to be too scold-y with it. But the Brians page at the end is super useful no matter what, so I’m glad to share that one around.
Its FRustrated, never fustrated
That’s just bad spelling.
Then and than? Great post!
Re the image: “drunk then these” made me chuckle.
I have two guesses but I’m going to go with ‘through’
Danielle just took my guess. I think it’s when people write “thru” rather than “through.”
Nope, that’s not the word either. But yes, the “thru” thing isn’t awesome though I’ll admit to having used it myself once or twice. I’ll be in the corner.
(after a very busy last 3 weeks)
I was actually thinking of when people interchange ‘threw’ and ‘through’ – drives me nuts!
My guess: ‘scream’. As in ‘These misused phrases make me want to scream!’
My contribution: affect vs. effect. Probably commonly covered, but I’ll admit to double-checking myself when I use one of them.
Nope, that’s not it either.
Affect vs. effect is a good one. I see it used incorrectly more often than not for sure!
LOVE this post. My guess is ‘petal’ versus ‘pedal’.
My pet peeves is ‘irregardless’. It. Is. Not. A. Word!
🙂
Nope that’s not it either. And see my mini rant on “irregardless” below.
Another one that people do quite often is irregardless. Ewww. It’s a non standard form of the word regardless, of course, and actually means the same thing… just sounds funny.
Call it “nonstandard” if you like, I call it incorrect. The prefix “ir” means “not”. So “irregardless” is redundant and silly, and it doesn’t actually mean the same thing – you’d end up with “not regardless”.
It’s either “irrespective” or “regardless”. How that bastardization ever got to be recognized as nonstandard is crazy to me. It’s just WRONG.
I agree totally and cringe when I hear people use it. It’s WRONG but according to the “experts” it’s just non standard. Whatever … it sucks.
I always assume I will be immune from word crimes because I’m so OCD about spelling and grammar. However, thanks to this post I see now that I am guilty of “for all intensive purposes.” Instead of jail time though, I promise to use “for all intent and purposes” for the rest of my life. Thanks Amber.
In response to which word in the post image inspired you to write this post, my guess is the word delirious.
Please do a follow-up post with all the great contributions from the other commenters. Lists like these are gold!
I’m a word nerd and I write posts like this and I’m not immune. I just told my brilliant business partner the other day that a word he used wasn’t a word. And I was wrong. So, we learn every day.
Good guess on the word too, but that’s not it. 🙂
Oh, and for the love of all things sacred, who came up with the word learnt? I’ve noticed it steadily creeping into blog content. I don’t even think it’s a word. Help me out people.
“Learnt” is indeed a word, and is a proper (although somewhat antiquated) past tense for “learn”. It’s much more common in British usage as well as other non-American English speaking countries. Here, we use “learned”.
I’d just like to point out that in British English, ‘learnt’ is the standard past participle of ‘to learn’ and not in any way antiquated… 😉
Sorry, should have been more clear. It’s some what antiquated in US English usage, as it’s been replaced over the years with “learned”. I did mean to point out that it’s standard UK usage but seems I wasn’t clear at all. Thanks!
I love this post! Wish it could be sent far and wide, into every school and corporation! My pet peeve: “incentivize,” or worse: “incent” as a verb. There was a time not too long ago when the word “motivate” or “stimulate” was used instead. But I suppose there is a subtle difference, so I grit my teeth and bear it.
I loathe those words. They’re made up, and I will firmly dig my heels in the sand when there are perfectly real and reasonable words that do the same thing. I can accept some language evolution when new words or usage provides a unique way of expressing something that can’t be done with another word. But most often, it’s simply a matter of a) made up words that simply break through into common use and b) someone trying to sound smart.
I’m going to guess pole. Lots of polls on websites, not so many poles.
Nope, that wasn’t it either…
I’m sooo sad, I had to re-watch that video I posted earlier twice today;). Anyway is the word soar? I’ve often seen people use the word soar when the mean sore. (PS In response to a reply earlier – being a Brit I use the word “learnt” a lot.)
Soar wasn’t the word either.
Zimbabwean-educated and living in Canada means I’m subjected to all manner of grammatical torture daily. The incessant inner dialogue about whether I can or cannot insert a “u” in a particular word. To that end, I think there should be public floggings for the “flesh out versus flush out” phrase. I’ve lost molars grinding down my teeth hearing that phrase used in agency meetings over the years. Thanks for the great list Amber.
I suppose “language” is too obvious. So then maybe “like” since like is so like overused. But delirious is there too. Would I be in thinking that?
‘It begs the question’, must be the most often misused phrase among journalists. It should be used to characterize a argument flawed with circular logic. Instead they use it when something gives rise to another question.
I’m also annoyed by the incorrect use of the word ironic where people use it to describe interesting coincidences.
Also it is ‘Champing at the bit’ not ‘Chomping at the bit’.
GREAT additions, Chad. Especially “champing at the bit”. I get incredulous looks when I tell people that. Thanks for the comments!
You’ve hit a whole bunch of my pet peeves there – thanks! And never apologise for being a “word nerd” … never has it been so necessary!
Another one that gets me, and I see it most in US English (although it’s on the rise here in Australia as well) is the misuse of the word “of” in this context: “It’s not that big OF a deal” or similar … the expression is “… not that big a deal”; “of” is completely superfluous.
My other guess for your inspiration would be “its” and “it’s” …
Maybe the inspiration was “then”? Or “read”?
Wait! I take that back…
“Who”?!
Not that either. 🙂
Nope! I’m so surprised no one has gotten this yet. 🙂
My guess is soar.
Nope! But that would have been a good one to choose.
Great post and comments. I’m going to guess “puppy” as your inspiration.
That’s not either! Man. I may have to start giving hints. I thought this one was a slam dunk!
“think” because that’s what the blog is about? Or “luscious” because it’s somewhat onomatopoeic?
I finally figured out the word; it’s “scream” as in …”It makes me want to scream when I see these errors”
Ha! Stil nope. Good guess, though.
I’m going to guess that the word drunk was your inspiration and add my hated use of the word grow, as in “grow the business.”
That would have been a great guess, but still no.
Mien!
What on earth are you shouting at me, my friend? 🙂
My guess is “language.” Thanks for a great article!
Nope, it’s not language.
“Of” is my guess. I have a friend that uses it in place of “have” all the time, and I just want to smack her upside the head.
Ha. No, that’s not the word, but was definitely in one of the examples. 🙂
This post comprises lots of great responses. Yes, the whole COMPRISES the parts. Nothing is comprised OF anything else.
Yeah, that’s the whole active/passive thing that many people don’t realize isn’t preferred in language. But I’m with you, and probably guilty of using it incorrectly myself on occasion.
I haven’t read all guesses but I suppose the word “delicate” might encourage a grammar snob to feel compelled to encourage people to tread lightly and tactfully through the verbal garden.
That’s a great work, but it’s not the one I picked. 😉
[sic] 🙂
Referring to my typo? Yeah, sometimes the phone gets the better of me. Fixed it.
No, it was my mispost, as I thought your challenge was to guess in one word what poor grammar/spelling made you feel like, instead of picking one word from the photo. (errm, I guess yesterday wasn’t my brightest day)
The joke was supposed to read “Poor grammar makes me [sic].”, but I fear this time it’s on me. 🙂
Nice to see some new ones – not the same old same olds! Here are mine (not “here’s mine) “There’s loads” instead of “there are…” and “lay down” instead of “lie down”.
The lie/lay thing buggers many a person.
Er, I think you may mean ‘bugs’?
Or at least “buggers up”? 🙂
Is the word “her”? Because it comes after “is” and should be “she” instead? (and hence the need for I vs. me)
All in all, really nice! 😉
Nope, it’s not. 🙂
Another: it’s au naturel (not au natural)
Sore and Soar?
derek@vincentenglish.com
I’m a member of the grammar police. You caught some of the same common mistakes as I did a couple months ago. Tell me what you think…and I hope you get a laugh. 🙂 http://www.luftigwarren.com/blog/bid/132458/Commonly-Misused-Words-Phrases
Is it do vs. due vs. dew? My favorite is “dog do” – I’m pretty sure the correct phrase is “dog dew.” “)
As in the presents a dog leaves in the yard? Nope, it’s “dog doo” (as in the child’s term “doo-doo”). “Dog dew” makes me think of wet dogs blanketing the lawn early in the morning. 🙂
Amber, I love this post and I appreciate your understanding and use of language. I dislike reading blogs where there is a consistent misuse of language or repetitive misspellings. My personal pet peeve, although it is widely known (or at least widely described) is principal and principle. I see it a lot because, working in academic medicine, we have many principal investigators. I quaff when I read the resume of a leader of a research project describe her/him self as the principle investigator. Perhaps a principled investigator?
As to the word that inspired you, perhaps PRODUCE since it comes next to “of.”
Also, a favorite, but light hearted approach to this topic is “Eats, shoots and leaves” more grammar than actual word usage but definitely informative–and fun!.
Normally I wouldn’t do this, Alice, but since this post is all about word-nerdery… 🙂
“Quaff” doesn’t work where you’ve used it, as it means to drink deeply. Perhaps you meant to use “quail” which means to recoil in dread, to cower?
Thanks for pointing that out, Paul. We can all learn something. I am not sure why I used the word “quaff” there. I don’t believe I have ever used it before, and certainly didn’t know its meaning. I would like to tell you I meant “quail” but I have never used that word in that way before.
Sagy? Okay – the spelling is killing me even the tiles aren’t really meant to be together. Great article. Thanks!
Is it “have”? Great post, Amber.
Hi Amber, great post, thanks! Here is my two penn’orth:
In and out of when what is meant is in to and out of
Off one’s own back (it should be bat)
Meet with rather than just meet
Would the word be ‘ful’ by any chance? Seeing as it’s not actually a word in the first place, but a suffix which often isn’t used when it should be (eg wonderfull instead of wonderful)
In marketing materials for behind-the-scenes tours of new or upgraded facilities, I often see “sneak peak” rather than “peek.” I believe in many cases it is just an automated reaction to type the same letter combination twice in a row….
And, my guess is “boy” (buoy?)
as ‘e
??
My pet peeve is orientated and reorientated. It’s just fine to be oriented or reoriented, don’t you think?
I see so many word nerds, we might become a special voting block!
I have two grammar peeves to add to your list: more than versus over and affect versus effect. Over is a preposition – you jump OVER a fence. More than refers to something measurable – we have MORE THAN 400 guests. Affect is a verb, as in those strobe lights affected my vision or I was affected by the strobe lights. Effect is most commonly a noun, as in, the effects of the evening were magical or did you notice how the special effects affected the audience?
Fun post (and good grammar tips!).
Best, JR Schmitt
One I see far too often… fewer versus less. Fewer is for specifically measurable, less if for intangibly measurable. Because there are fewer people smoking, there is less smoke in the air.
Similar is farther vs. further. I have to stop and think about that one every time.
You mention “Could care less…” That one always bugs me because it means people aren’t even thinking about what they’re saying.
The other construction I see failing frequently is the from… to… E.g. We carry everything from motors, small engines, oil, spark plugs, and filters. They forget that if you have the “from” you need to have the “to” in there to complete the construct.
I was blessed with a strong grammar/spelling teacher in grade seven & eight, from whom I still benefit every day. God bless Mrs Bush!
I’m gonna guess “think” – for titular reasons 🙂
Was the word Drool? Not to be confused with Droll.
I’m going to guess that the word that inspired you is “could.” You have used it in a couple of examples.
One thing that really bothers me is the use of “Congradulations” instead of “Congratulations.” The first time I saw it was on a sign outside a hotel where a graduation dance was being held, so I thought it was a play on the words, but unfortunately the misspelling is used on many other occasions.
The other one that drives me to distraction is “different than,” instead of the correct “different from.”
This article made me chuckle as I try to recall in my
head my encounters with grammar and how to use words properly. I guess at times we can be a bit lazy to make
our research, or we’re simply just confused.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is when people interchangeably
use the words “regards” and “regard.”
I so appreciate this blog topic. Coming from a family of “grammer Nazis” I am bothered by the language people use every day in written and oral communication. I notice immediately when someone uses proper grammar as it is the exception to the rule. What is most concerning is that people who have influence, like News anchors, or Late-night TV hosts and even Presidents, use poor grammer.
Here are some example that really get me:
1) President Bush (the most recen tone) and Jay Leno say “Nucular” instead of “Nu-cle-ar”
2) Apple’s big campaign ‘Think Big” always bothered me and a lot of people say “Drive Safe” insted of “Drive Safely”
3) I had 2 salesmen who already murdered the english language; one used to say “opening the Panda’s box” instead of opening up a “Pandora’s box” and the other used to talk about “putting the “Otis” on someone instead of the “onus.”
Some of them are laughable, some make me sad because it seems that few people actually know that it’s wrong.
Is it “literally”
Hi Amber, very entertaining and useful post, thank you.
I can only assume the word that inspired you was ‘mean’ given how often it has been used in the post to describe how a particular word or phrase is misused, and actually the scribe means something else. Also, you could have been a lot meaner about such silly errors, which I’m sure was tempting.
dis tru int it
“ful”?
And when when WHEN will people learn that an apostrophe does not indicate a plural?
And the abbreviation for et cetera is etc., not ect.
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