the painless path to proper english usage, 1986

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一一勺

弓で昌彦肋肋で

云室、更ｏｃｐ之工司詞

Ｑ

一囲



The Painless Pa th to

PR P R NGLISH US G



P R O F. P E RR Y S

P O P U L A R P E D A GO G I CA L P I C TO R IA L S

Proudly Presents

T h e Pa in less Pa t h to

P RO PE R E NG U SH USAGE

Ably Arranged Edited and Illustrated

Stan alotte

St M a r ti n s P r es s

New Y o r k



THE PAINLESS P T TO PROPER ENGLISH USAGE Copyright © 1986by Stan Malotte. All rights

reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or

reproduced in any manner whatsoeverwithout written permissionexcept in the case of brief

quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin s

Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Malotte Stan.

The painless path to proper English usage.

1. English language—Usage—Dictionaries.

2. English language—Usage—Caricatures and cartoons.

I. Title.

PE1460.M278 1987 428.3 87 4469

ISBN 0 312 00714 0

Originally published by R. E. Miles, San Pedro, CA.

Names herein are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or products is unintentional.

U S R S N O T

Because the word pairs are arranged alphabetically byonlythe first word, a completeindex is

included Further helpalsoappears:AppendixA reprintsan old rhymeon the parts of speechand Appendix Bgivesa sample listingof Americanvs. Britishspellings, a continuing sourceof

confus ion for us all.



or hirley



reface

For his book Prof. Perry has chosen 126ofthe most frequently confused

words in our language. Most are included in the usage chapters of

our s tandard high school and college texts. Despite our schools best

efforts however we still seeexamples of mis-usage inthe media and daily

business communications — and, even worse do not see them as they

sneak by in our own writ ing.

To straighten us all out. Prof. Perry first explains the correct usagefor each word and then farther clarifi . . . oops .. .further clarifies the

lesson with examples from his personal collection of rare grammatical

art. These magnificent illustrations, incidentally, have been hanged in

some of excuse me have been hung in some of the principle

I mean principal.. . well it s obviously time we get started.

— S.M.



The in less th to

PROP R NGLISH US G



accept/except

Use accept to mean receive. Just think of otherwords that begin with ac

and also have a sense of receiving — like acquire and accumulate. The prefix ac is from the Lat in and means toward, except means no t

included. Its first two letters {ex are the Lat in prefix that means ^rom

as in excerpt extrsci, and other ex words suggesting to take from.



HERE IT is THE OTOV RSIflL PROPOS L SCENE FliOM

\

ULi

« W «

\F I thef^iTH THE one

I don OIVN

AXOLOTL

rrrir^r ui^YOU

{.pTthIomW .



f fec t e f fec t

affect {to have an influence on i s a lways a verb, as in Too much

rain will affect plant growth adversely. effect is usually a noun, as in

The right amount of rain has a good effect on plant growth. However,

effect can also be a verb meaning to bring about a result, as in Theright amount of rain will help effect {bring about] proper plant

growth. The principal thing to remember is that ^fect is always a

verb — i ts a s t nds for action.

Except for it s special use in psychology.



6 THi SmSMMTi^roTTi So YouVc ot OSTTlOSiS

ha zrH iD

O EFFECT

O

oo

I KN W IT

WOOLOA/ r

AFFECT



aggravate / annoy

aggravate is commonly misused to mean annoy. We can annoy peopleand we can aggravate increase the unpleasantness of) an already

unpleasant effect or situation, but we cannot aggravate people. That

would mean we would inc rease them



lAOVERTISEMENTi

cAZTmrm3£BS

WMTfSURE YOU CAN ^l\ll\IOY people/ BUr/V0H^ YOl/ CAN AGGRAVATE thatannoyance to a professional level/ even if youVe neverHAD MUSICAL TRAININ6 / / 7 '5 S/MPlE WITH -

BEFORE

J

NORMAL AWNOYANCE AGGRAVATEDANNOYANCE

Here's how V/hih huz-z-mg ^ diving near a. person's face, .Simply pldy^'^TheA'ttacKSucte (pi ovided) on^our HTrfiCKTUBA:•Vro/JIVES EM crazy/''SAYS BtLLTHE B>EE AKRON OHIO

ORDER YOURS TODAy * ATTACK TUBA FOR BEES.'

*N(yr50LO w swres rHfitrprohibit tobpa



all ready/already

all ready means that everything is prepared, all is ready, already (an

adverb) refers to time, as in Areyou here already? so soon?), We did

that already {previously ), etc.



0aum^ didij duly daruu ̂ /ia/LduA/ndh^d£iJz£ynM^u ntir dm/ aoid^ c ^Mlp

m M®1IKIM ^ ©JFfMI ill MTOT



all right/ alright

all right is the correct word, alright is nonstandard version ofa l l

right and is not to be written by users of this book



FROM

A a s iVl

U and HiS DuTTiplrucK

CMGOf

Uri

\ \v\^N^ ^((/ > ®

z<}\Mt vCv



all together/altogether

The meanings are altogether different all together means theindividual items are not separated they are together altogether means

totally entirely as in Altogether there were 4deer at the river

all together a t one time.



rom The Life of Bill the Tbreman

l t e

iCESHir AI^OS o



moun t numbe r

fewer l e s s

amount r ef er s t o volume or bulk, number r ef er s t o separate items you

can count. For instance, you can t count rain, but you ca n count raindrops although you must hurry . The same logic applies to fewer and less. You

would not, for example, say, We had fewer rain this year. You would

say, We had less rain — and therefore fewer raindrops.



^ n

.5olv\<^&j: ^ ?oaLENV

WAT



any body/anybody

any more/anymore

any one/anyoneany t ime/anytime

any way/anj^ay

As two separate words each of these reveals its meaning in the

second part For example the separate more in any more indicates the

subject under discussion is more whereas in the combined anymore

the emphasis is shared equally by both parts thus forming a brand new

word Just analjrze the meaning you want to get across The same logic

applies to compoxmd words like everybody everyday and so on



r\THE.S£

Nl»>/MI_||||

• j|®/ ROM aJtOte X d?ec6LVt

Inthiseyample thedetectLve has properly called everyone fntothe llbfary but has -macie the comTYion -mistaKe of provCdlTiqlarge ûaTitLtles of chocolates for the suspects This tends toelicLt Irrelevant comTnents and delay the Inv/estiqation.Normallyônly small ûar^tities of chocolates should be provided.

m



pt li ble likely

pt from the s me root as aptitude suggests proneness, n tur l tendency

liable me ns subject to, susceptible, likely suggests probability.



C j} ^ H- t r ul O rcr Hvo r 7 1̂7? ;»f ^rz- i h^?r^j«w3o »» ov»j\i j-lAot /j r .

Wbather Bureau W/ns AwardExcitemenb reigned allover th e w e a t h e r bur eau

this w e ek w he n f or ecas t

e r s the re wo n th e c ov-

eted^ iSood Engi Lsh UsageIn Meteorology Award.

^Vour st a t e m e n t s es

pecially stand out^ saldWillard Kbokyboodle,president oF the American Award Giving Society, a private ^roapt h a t travels a b o u t th ecountry givtno awards.T h e f our s t a tem en t s

have been permaneTitlyengraved on a plac^uet h a t wij/ s e r v e a s a

durable reminder o F th ewords actualljj spoKen.**Sound fadesj explained

v;

AAGS 6EUIM Award Winners

1. IT VERY likely will rainMAYBE.

2. THI5 AREA 15 LIABLE TO RAINAND OTHER FORMS OFWEATHER.

3. IF IT RAINS TOO MUCH,THE5TREETS ARE AP T TO FLOOD.

4 HEAD FOR THE HILLS/

FORECASTERS view award plaQue engraved withBureau^winning weathei^ report statements.

2 7



ssu r / nsur / insur / r ssur

assure means to help remove doubt to bolster confidence ensure

means to make certain of something Use insure only for commercial

insurance purposes, reassure means to give further encouragement

to restore confidence Note : In British usage assure is used for the

commercial insurance sense.



TOi io L L m m t i i Q

IASSUREYouTSaSSM D ME IT

[willARRIVE.

n

v u^

oh, IF L SO UNSURE/

^ASSURE HER ^ OSt®

a

BUT HOW DO WE KWOW ?/WH/IT DIDYOU DO TO ENSURE IT« ARRIVAL?

TO ENSURE ITS ARRIVAL.MADAME,^

UNSURED T / ^



a whi le whi l e

while is a noun and nouns are used with prepositions like for. So,we say,

Let s rest for a while. Putting a and while together makes the adverb

awhile. Adverbs aren t usedwith prepositions; adverbs modify verbs. So,

there s no need for the for. So, we say, Let s rest awhile.



/j ...I LL...I LL T NK^

Tn^ r WHILE... lUJUST W IT AWH ILF. :

m

O0 ii0W0@Kl

IFORTYYEARS LATER.I

OECIOING TO BUY THE SUIT BILLRETURNS TO THE T RE ONLY TO

FIND IT HAS BEEN DEMOLISHED

AND IN ITS PLACE A TRIBUTE TOTHE AMERICAN CLOTHlNS SALESMAN.



bad/badly

I feel bad adjective) is the correct way to describe how you feel with,say, an upset stomach. I feel badly adverb) means I have a poor sense

of touch because adverbs tell how something is done. Note: feel is a

non-act ion verb. See a lso good/well .



oV

LumusftixheesLaiKfDiitch Venneei in—

THE STORY OF AN EX SHORTSTOP WHO

TURNEDTO CRIME AND NOW HAS DYSPEPSIA

hand

CR OOK

S£ coMt>f£ ATUl?e

•1 JFIiEo

THE MOVl£Tft«frTel / siT

Like: it-sHouZ-D8E TOtD/



eside es ides

Ifyou are beside {next to someone and a third personjoins you there is

now someone besides in addition to the two of you He may also stand

beside the two of you



®CEMETERY

™

YOU MAY ASK -

W S I AFRAIP ?

X \AjAS

6£: \D£ W Elf



can/may

can means is able to; may indicates permission Maybe this will help

I can can-can, but my doctor says I may not



LE DERSHIP SKILLS SKill8:

° DECISIOK M iai

v SM

7



c p it l c p itol

sec pit l for the city nd capitol for the building



h pter

A LowPolTitffOTTl TheLife of Bill America s Educational IJoet

rftplTOLTbu'i'^ ^^ ^ 0^

\ S^ 1;

th ^„rftpiTOU



THAT DO \ 0T WORK, FROM; SELLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT

tl

r



compare to/compare with

As a rule of thumb, use compare to to compare in general;

use comparewith to compare in detail. Shakespeare, for example, wrote:

Shall I compare thee to a simuner s day?/Thou art more lovely and

more temperate. Had he written Shall I compare thee with a summer s

day, hewould have had to continue: It begins at sunrise, you don t begin

until around 11; its temperatures are in the 80 s whereas you have

cold hands, and so forth. Shakespeare knew how to use words.



LE53 N :THE ROLE OF FOOD IN EATING

S m OMPftRE MEM/ A M

PLASTIC QUESTION:^111 M KE VOU MORE TTR TIVE

£

WEAL

WEALt«g

l sS^ i9

^ is

W JW>

n \ ^ i i l \ \ \ i\ n in mi



complement / compliment

Use complement to mean goes with to make something mxrre complete

et the e in complement remind you ofthe word comply A compliment

is something I like to receive



g ?K)(© §mi>

X U

A

^ScoRE lOpoin-ts if you said Hft s -forgettLns to iip his hat Scope onljj 6pomts If you sald^* don t Know/ fBufc addZ points back on 4/ou could havegatten the right answer if you had ideally thou9ht about Lt.)

45



con t inu l con t inuous

Use continual for something that continues in an off and on manner like continual barking continuous means non stop. Remember the

difference by describing escaping steam as continuoussssss.

It: u 35 militatij history s saddest moTyieT fc luheti Sgb. Bill was...



COURT-MARTIALED FOR OBEYING ORDERS

Ordered to keep a CONTINUALmtch - overh/s area sgt billperiodically covered his eyes^thusFOLLOWING ORDERS TOTHE LETTER. HE

WAS,NEVERTHELESS, COURT-MARTIALEDANDTODAY LIVES IN DISGRACE WITH

HIS W IF E AND TWO LOVELY CHILDREN .

CONTINUAL

WATCH

NON-ALERT PHASE(UNACCEPTABLE;

What his superiors had meanttoSAY IjUas:^ keepa CONTINUOUSWATCH -* OVER HIS AREA,THE DIFFERENCEIS SHOWN IN THE TWO PHOTOGRAPHS

BELOW FROM THE NEWLY REVISEDTRAINING ^KW^kL THEADl/ENTUREOF GUARD DUTY

CONTINUOUS

WATCH

(MIL spec;I

J 47



oun i l / ouns l / onsu l

council noun) is a group ofpeople who meet to discuss and decide things

e.g., the city council), counsel means to give advice or guidance; it also

means the advice given e.g., The counselor counseled me and his

counsel was good ), consul is a person working in the foreign service ofhis country. Ifyou just remember the c in council as relating to the city

council, you ll have a head start.



[ HOUjTOecorosuL GewefflLFoiJWPTrefoft W icecReflm ]

CITY

COUNCK

F W0U5 FITNESS EXPERT DR ZHOG

HAD ARRIVED LATE TO COUNSELTHE COUNCIL ON COMMUNITY FITNESS.

so THECOUNCIL S CONSUL-COUNSELING WAS CANCELEO

50 THE COUNCILcouldn^t counsel

THE CONSUL ON LOCAL AFFAIRS

LEAVING AMPLE TIME FOR THE CONSULTO ENJOY A SINGLE PIST CHIO



desert /dessel i :

The verb desert (de*ser t : to abandon) and the noun desert (des ert: arid

land) are both spelled with single s We can remember that the dessert

we eat has ss because, ofcourse, the ss stands for strawberry shortcake.



^THEOLD DAY5,PI0WEER ANTSWOULD CROSS V ST DESSERT

LIKE THIS IN COVEReD W GONS

ISTORY IS INTEReSTINSj

En 184 when ants learned ofa great DESERT that extendedfop hundreds of mlles^theijrushed west bij the Tntllionsfor what they thought luould be

the TTiost glorious treat of theirlives Before the^ realized theirmistake^ they perished thethousands Once agaln^ history

shows the importance ofgoodspelling Becauseof thisdramatic incident in t ir

history^ ants toda] are nearlyall excellent spellers



device/devise

device is the noun devise is the verb We devise device u t remember;

the bility to devise something shows you re quitewis and the device

you create is always quite nice



,

V JUST ONE OF BILL S SCHEMES TO GET RICH NOFAMOUS^ FROM THE MUSlCALs^JUST TWO OF BILL S SCHEMES TO SET RICH AND FAMOUS

llL DEVISE ADEVICE

THAT 15 MflDE OUT OF ICE

AND MELTS WHEN ITi <v°

PUJGGED INTHEWALLV

I

1 \\9. I

THE PUDDLES IT M KES ^ CAN BE SOLD AS SMALL LAKES ,

0RASIN6LE L RGE FL T „

W TERF LL

J^ee FOR.5^

hWn

S^E tM



is in teres te uninteres te

Use disinterested to mean impartial neutral uninterested means yo u

just don t c ar e t o hear about it probably because it s uninteresting.



O SERVER RECOGNITION CH RT REPL CES CH RTS Uthra8

ISINTERESTE

O SERVER

ST ND RD

O SERVER

COAJ

UNINTERESTED

O SERVER



emigrant/immigrant

When you permanently leave your country, you emigrate from that

country (think of e for exit . When you come into your new country to

stay, you immigrate i for into . Just remember that emigrants exit and

you ll have it.



WEltKNOWN MWfERIES SOLVED/At what precise Tnoment does the change occur

^ P froTT^ EMIGRANT to immigrant? t ^

©MIGRANTS gxiT the placeWHERE THEYVe BEEKl

So ©MTO some new place AS©MM16RANT5 them.

t - n / . . ^ - .t J

TYPICAL IMMI6RANT SHIP OF 1890 WHERE DEEP INSIDE TH HULL ^

/\s You CAN SEE they re ALLTHE SAME BUNCH —

They do it, i th ink, to g e tTWO TURNS l u n c h .

y

/ i < X

emigrantsLUNCH

lliS-IZi9

IMM 6RANTS ^LUN H \IZiP-IJo

f tX/> ^ IcHlCKEty JY \TOWi^ ^

1^39530 a31JViH9lilsj.



m in n t immin i i t

Use eminent for well known, outstanding. Use imminent for something

that s about to happen immediately Note: immanent is a different word

altogether and should be looked up for extra credit.



every day everyday

As two separate words every day means each separate day As one wordeveryday means ordinary routine commonpUice We do everyday things

practically every day

fVlfVl



TeASEH 3 o

y ®DI0K OWNS NI ESUITS FOREVERY OFTHE WEEK HE MUST WEAR TH E

SUIT DESIG NA TED FOR THAT

P/\RTICULAR DAY ON THAT

PARTICULAR DAY/

©DICK LSO OWNS N ORDIN RYEVERYDAY suit HE MUSTWEAR HIS EVERYDAY sui t

EVERY DAY/

©PROBLEM: HOW M DI K DO BOTH? HINT: NO HE CAN/MOT WEAR MORE

THAN ONE SUIT AT ATIME.j

tTf^2

©ANSWER-.•3N a

J ONNVD ±1



f r ther fu r ther

Use farther when referring to physical distance eserve further for al l

other uses such as further in th e future, We ll discuss i t no further,

and so on. Think of the a in farther as standing for area.

GTi®



)1

nge r

iL^

EP/SODE 1Zi TheFURTHERiheij investigated -the FARTHER^®©@ S® ®®Sr? 9/ the^had iotcavel tillone day deep -the jungle.

WextWeek: FURTHER DEVELOPMEWTS/



f l i r f l re

Ifwe can remember how to spell one of them the otherwill take care of

itself Perhaps this will help flare aoo flame are so close in meaning

they differ by only one letter

r ^

^ Qhuu htoMj



The Onl^ Fbem Deflniteljj Thought b e ill^the Unknown Ifcet

(UoA^/aM/uaMJU mjo flair^flJyjwwOn^urhmuiir ̂ JiiAeA.Jkajv

-aim

5aUi jMW-uM md.Mo./mE

- ^

0^



f l un t f l ou t

We are show offs when we flaunt {ostentatiously display) and rebels when

we flout {openly defy . Just remember Bill s aunt who flaunts her

independence by flouting the rules.

TXS TOllTg J -.««to8eh ce

A LOUT WHO WILL IS SOMEONE



FLOUT TH

RULES OF6ENTILITY

C O U N T

fS

W E SHUM W I T H

ALL OURA G I L I T Y

V .

...WHILE M KING pUlTE...

W NT ^Uch

FLAUNTIMA6INED

ABILITY

SURE THAT IT s DONE...

WITH CI V I L I T Y



fo r e r / fo re e r

forbear means to control oneself to refrain from an impulse forebear

with an e in the middle means a relative from whom we are descendedJust remember the connection with people who came before us.

Note: This logic should also help with forgo vs forego



Jfn/ L/ t MlL .Jyri Hv7V/mjietc^ M> 97

clI^c/oMiJbu oid j

:tS<ru^ rrurm£ rCt MJUMuSi^^

AND HE

♦ g o l i l o k s should have een kinder



fo reword fo rw rd

You ll never confuse these two if you just remember th t

the word th t comes be ore is the foreword

tteScenes; AT THE PUBLISHERSehm



\

NF »NJ

s y

m



good/well

good is an adjective and therefore tells something about a noun, as in

She is a good singer. well is an adverb and therefore tells something

about a verb— that is, how something is done— as in She sings well.

Note: good can also be usedwith verbs, but onlymth non-action verbs

like looks, tastes, and feels, as in She s ings well and looks good. We

never say, She sings good or The ice cream tastes well.



hanged hung

Both words are t he pas t tense of hang but hung is for pictures

hanged is fo r people

FI OM l i f

VOLUME

CHAPTER



^ BILL S FIRST JOB^



m e

I is the pronoun when I do something, me is usedwhen something is donetome orforme, as in He s done a lotfor you £ n me (not foryou and I ).

I is th e doer me is the receiver

TheHilariousTlftie Bill Couldn't Hflish/

Now,some people say Thejj really shouldjun)p They never uxjuld say,



CAnd 111 •nevet' Knooj whu):

• Agiftcame todauAnd Lt s for you and l

Up and down with greatglee

And properly sauThat iivyor you and ME

OhlThisgiffc b for I/ ,

They'd say/It's for you touch ^^ou ljdiel

When ̂ ^Ljou isthere^-though,Somethipggoes all awry-They thinK they're politeSaytTi^ • Sor you andI

But it's wron^/oh^'tis utonq/And should be corrected-Alon^ with ^ He don tAnd 5 he's Jaif compiectedj'''

Andother mistakes

Too TiuiD''rous to mention-

Which I'mcioin^-to anyuaySo please pau...oops/...

y\ r \ ^



imply/infer

imply means to say something indirectly, to be t around the bushinfer means to draw conclusion perhaps from something that has

been implied .

EDU TION TIHROIJGH CRIMEfroTn LAU H AT HI H COLLEGE COSTS



S OU M Y



n n t o

Use in if something is already inside Use into if it s in the process of

entering For example He decided he would not jimip into the Isikewhen

he noticed that he was already in the lake.

«t»TAFT£RI



W



inc red ib le / i nc redu lous

s e in cr ed ib le t o me n not to be believed nd i nc re dul ou s t o me n

skeptical. Just remember the ending -o-u-s as in o-u-s just pullin my

leg

e



I

f

N

^

I

>



ingenious ingenuous

ingenious means clever inventive ingenuous means unsophisticated

innocent unworldly even to the point of being naive. You ll never

forget which is which if you let the first u in ingenuous stand for

unsophisticated.

VISIT TO MADAME SINCERE 5

T Z HH



xn

ace money make r

ISIMPLY DROP PENNY HERE AND OUT

I OMES SHINY SILVER DOLL R THERE

me Nious

ING NUOUS

lU



irrespective / regardless

Use irrespective to express neutrality, fairness, equal consideration

regardless suggests a sense of being careless indifferent even reckless

Note: There is no such word as irregardless — and therefore it only

seems to appear on this page. It should be reserved for humorous use.)

BUSMSSB5 YOU CM ST RT AT HOWE (*66)



FLywGr

^/ ^ Vyove / » ^

REG/1RDL£SS^ TAg cof/sEs>oei/c^

IF YOU HAVE ANAIRPLAME /^ND A REASONABLY LARGE BACKYARD, YOU REALL T TO GET INTO THIS EXCITING WORK/ EVERYTHING YOU NEED ToKNOW IS REVEALED IN OUR BEAUTIFULLY DUPLICATED INSTRUCTION SHEET.

DROP Y ND PICK ONE UP/ FREE 6UITAR LESSON WHILE YOU WAIT/

ML B CmEflC£f/T£/i^ SHOE R^PAIFLAlso WFAvm ay a native »i£TUbooyou/i i/wnortwhile you re here



i t s i t s

its without the apostrophe is the poss ssiv form of it it s with theapostrophe is the contraction for it is The apostrophe indicates the

missing i in is . (Note: There i s no such form as its . )

l

mROM OUR NIM L FRI WOS



lie/lay

resen t r e sen t as t a s t

ense Participle ens e Participle

lie to recline lying lay have lain

lay to put layingla id

have laidlie to fib lying l ied have lied

Unfortunately, it would be wise to memorize the above.

Taals a«i § tfei©tf» TaOgs



CDo^ Stories for an Overcast Afternoon

im i l JVAIL

Jby ^ ntoLne LAY HIM DOWNCAREFULLY.



me/myself

If I do something to myself I use the word myself— as in I hurt myself.

Ifsomebody else does something to me, I use me — as in They gave the

award to B il l and me not They gave the award to B ill and myself ).

Also myself is never a doer ofanything. Never say, Bill and myselfwon

the award ; simply say, Bil l and I won the award.

>\REYOUINTHIS PICTURE?Fromihe booK ARE YOUINW/Si BOOK? Based onthe opera



ARE youIN TMbROOM? from the play^ S MBODYfiOMEl

OOl^



principal /principle

Use principal to mean the chief thing or person the most important Use

principle to refer to rules ofconduct ethics basic laws behind somethingExample: The principal thing to remember is to base your decisions on

high principles

/o\(S't? ^ o -DsspLte a20-second delaw for a stoplight^t j^ Va/V voUmO Bill arrived at the school. And tiowj,..

H£LLO,VHaLO,Bia. I M AL THE PRINCIPAL.sir/j i mthe PRIMCIPAl official in

THE SCHOOL.

AMOMENT LATER

OH,CERTAINLY, LE.. .1M£AN AL? N W ^

UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE; A REPUTATION



(l5 THATH/HYTHEY call YOUTHE ^ PRINCIPAf^

^Y^THAT STHE PRIWCIPALRE °iSON. A {RC/ISON 15THAT MY NAME l3 ALf'J

YOU MEAN...??) YES. IFMY NAME WERE LE,Ili l COULON T BE PRINCIPAL.

I EXPECT YOU UNDERSTAND THE 7

FO R BEIMG EXTREMELY FAIR.

15 THAT WHYTHEY CALL YOU

the-PRINCIPAL ?

i

woNo Youwe/?£W r

LISTENING. THEI M CALLED

principal IS. ,

OONT MI55 NEXT WEEK^^^ Why /\\Is Called TfMTheConlmuinaAdventuresofEXCITING CONCLUSION-: V the ^PrmcipalV ̂ M Bill^ His Nlicrophane-



prophecy/prophesy

prophecy is the noun prophesy is the verb One must prophesy

prophecy

uWM OOL EYWITH HIS TOiS

f rom M ZING FEMS



oo



r i se r i se

raise means to elevate r ise means to stand up. Therefore can rise from

a chair and can raise myself from a chair and can raise a window—

but cannot rise a window. It is now considered acceptable usage to

raise children instead of rear children but we should a t l ea st make

sure that we really do elevate them.

WHY P Y SKY HIGH aIRLINE F RES WHEN YOU N ...

smfij m§The World s Bread Dough

W I T H



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s t s i t

Use set to mean to put something down as in Please set the box on the

kitchen table. Use sit to mean sit down in chair, as in Louella, please

sit here. Exception: Although it seems to sit, the sxin sets — but

we will not argue with the sun.)

§

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statio n ar y stationery

For something that can t he moved us e stationary. For letter vniting

u s e s ta t io n er y .

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t h t wh ich

that introduces a restrictive clause or phrase. For instance the phrase

that sings restricts the kind ofhorse you mean. The phrase that sings

could not be left out of the sentencewithout destroying itsmeaning. However, the non-restrictive phrase which everyone knows is not essential

to the speaker s point that Horses cannot sing and could be omitted.

The Eternal onflict etween

go iRi gg m® TOi m m f

rthPor sm ̂

V ^ oo



their /ther e/they r e

It s e sy to remember that you ca n get from here to there just by adding

t Yo u can also remember that they re is they plus a re w it h the

apostrophe teiking the place of in are. What s harder to remember is

that their means belongs to them B ut if you remember the other tw o

words a nd t he ir meanings you w on t n ee d to remember t ha t theirmeans belongs to them

lEffi s i s m Lesson 6: Making Certain

THERE

a JIM. THEY RESmiNGOUR BOAT/



INO,B LL.THAT Syii=F=^THEIR boat

my,SO IT IS/]

S W THROUGH

THESPYGL SS

WHAT BILL k

fWHY DID YOU CHANGE THE NM^ GRIEF WE wniiiW NT TO STE L OUR BO^/f /

poir BOUh CiNG

AROUhiD WILL yA?

NEXTWEfK^LESSON

THE

M GN

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us u t i l iz

use is the bro der word nd is fine in most cases, but utilize h s the

special sense of m king use of a neglected skill or of something not

norm lly used for the piupose s in Luckily, we were ble to utilizethe cook s knowledge of the coastline to find a safe l nding place.

From The Mad Dr s Plot

M MIPL§YDEEP INS OE THE MAD DOCTOR S CAVE



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\HiI{lH^A/UivJ8£R5 rHEW0^^30— pv t oi w ^ ^ \ £122^WE^fyP PUKf o

NEXT MONTH The Mad Doctor learns thatTiumbers go all the way to inKnlti Whatwill he do? Blow up the secret computeicenter? Destroy his banjo? ©et a job?

WATCH THIS SPACEBur MEANWHILEDON T neglect

YOUR REGULAR DUTlEa



w s w e r e

It s easy to confuse if I was and if I were. Here s how to remember

which to use: If the idea to be expressed is a possibility, use if I was

The children asked if I was the king ). Ifthe idea is known to be false,

use were I said if I were the king I d be wearing a much nicer hat ).

I I

I7 P

TO



j S ^

\\



w h o s w h o s e

who s means who is. The apostrophe takes the place of the missing i.

whose is the possessive form of who. Although we usually make

possessives by adding s to a word (as in the cat s paw ) certain

exceptions exist— like whose as in The cat, whose paw is in the milk,

is Felix ). (Note: Examples of other possessives with no apostrophes arehers, theirs, and its.)

J@®



your/you re

Use plain your when something belongs to somebody, as in I like your

book. ( Thank you. you re means you are. The apostrophe takes the

place of the missing a in are and thus makes the contraction you re —a s in You r e welcome.

THE or DR ms i omrom YOU Y NOT H VE OSMOSIS



u m_a^MW T



Appendix A

T H E P R T S O F S P E E C H

If you are among those who

have forgotten the Parts of Speech

and their functions the followinganon3nnous verse that helped our

great-grandparents as children

Three little words you often see

Are ARTICLES a an and the.

A n o u n s the name of anything;As school or garden hoop or swing.

ADJECTIVES tell t he k ind of noun;



is still of help to us: As great small pretty white or brovm.

Instead of nouns the PRONOUNS stand;

Her head his face ou r arms your hand.

VERBS tell of something being done;

To read count sing laugh jump or run.

How things are done the ADVERBS tell;As slowly quickly ill or well.

CONJUNCTIONS join the words together;

As men and women wind or weather.

T h e PREPOSITION s t a n d s before

A noun as in or through a door.

The INTERJECTION shows surprise;

As oh how pretty ah how wise

The whole are called nine parts of speechWhich reading writing speaking teach.

117



Appendix B

MERIC N VS. RITISH SPELLINGS

A Sample List

Although not technically a usage problem spelling variants adopted from British

spellingpreferencesare another common source ofconfusion for Americans—and

vice versa. While we cannot tackle the whole problem of spelling in this book we

can at leasthelp answeranother aspectof th e question Which wordshould I use?



Thus the following list as a little something extra. Add to it as you notice others.

MERIC N BRITISH

abridgment abridgement

acknowledgment acknowledgement

amuck amok

analyze analyse

anes the t i c anaesthet ic

a rbor a rbou r

cal iber ca l ibre

canceled cancel led

ca rbure to r carbure t tor

c e n t e r c en t r e

chise led chiselled

color colour

defense defence

enrol l enro l

119

MERI N RITIS

en thra l l en th r a l

equaled equalled

esophagus oesophagus

fxber f ibre

fulf i l l fulf i lfuror furore

g r a y g r ey



gypsy gipsy

honor honour

humo r humou r

in f lect ion inf lex ion

i ns t a l lment i n s t a lmen t

ins t i l l ins t i l

jeweler jeweller

judgment judgement

kidnaped kidnapped

l abor l abou r

leveling levelling

l icense l i cence

l us t e r lus t re

m n uv r m no uvr

meag e r meag r e

mold mou ld

AMERICAN RITIS

neighbor neighbour

offense offence

paneling panelling

paralyze paralyse

practice practise a s a verb

pretense pretence

r oon r oon

sepulcher sepulchre

shoveled shovel led



sk i l l fu l sk i l fu l

smo lde r smou lder

sombe r sombre

specter spectre

spelled spelt

t he a t e r theatre also Broadway usagetoward towards

t r ave led travel led

vapo r vapou r

vise vice th e tool

willful wilfu l

worshiped worshipped

International Dictionary 1981 pp. 21a-24a.

12 1



•

Bibliography

American Heritage Dictionary: Second College Edition Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Company 1982

The comments on usage by th e Usage Panel are extremely helpful

Bernstein Theodore M. The Careful Writer: A Modem Guide to English Usage.New York: Atheneum 1965

Balanced advice nd fun to read



Fowler H. W. A Dictionary ofModem English Usage. 2nd ed. revised by

Sir Ernest Gowers Oxford: Clarendon Press 1965

he classic

Strunk W. Jr and White E B The Elements of Style 3rd ed.. New York:

Macmillan 1979

Everybody should have this book just on general principles

Webster^s Third New International Dictionary of the English Langua^ey

Unabridged. Springfield Mass.: G. C. Merriam Co. 1981

Has all the words anyone would need

123



ndex

Italicized words appear only in explanatory matter on lef thand page. Quotation

m rks indicate a nons t nd rd word.

accept a while 31

affect 13 awhile 3

aggravate 5a ll ready 7 bad 33

all r ight 9 badly 33

all together beside 35



already 7 besides 35

alright 9

altogether can 37

amount 3 capital 39

annoy 15 capitol 39any body 5 censer 41

anybody 5 censor 41

any more 5 censure 41

anymore 25 compare to 43

any one 5 compare with 43

anyone 5 complement 45

any time 5 compliment 45

an3rtime 5 consul 49any way 5 continual 47

anyway 5 continuous 47

apt 27 council 49

assure 29 counsel 49

125

desert, 5 forgo 68

dessert, 5 forward, 7

device, 53 further, 63

devise, 53

disinterested, 55 good 73

effect, 3 hanged, 75emigrant, 57 hung 75

eminent, 59

ensure, 29 I 77



every day, 6 immanent, 58

everyday, 6 immigrant, 57

except, imminent, 59

imply, 79

farther, 63 in, 81

fewer , 23 incredible , 83

flair, 65 incredulous, 83

flare, 65 infer , 79

flaunt, 67 ingenious, 85

flout, 67 ingenuous, 85

forbear, 69 insure, 29

forebear, 69 into, 81

foregoy 68 irregardless, 86

foreword, 7 irrespective, 87

its 89 set 10 1

it s 89 sit 101

stationary 10 3

stationery 10 3

lay 9

less 3 th at 105

liable 27 their 107lie 9 there 10 7

likely 7 they re 10 7



m a y 37 uninterested 55

m e 77 93 use 109

myself 93 utilize 109

number 3 was. 11 1well 73

principal 95 were. 111

principle 95 which 105

prophecy 97 who s 113

prophesy 97 whose 11 3

raise 99 your 11 5

reassure 29 you re 115regardless 87

rise 9912 7



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the painless path to proper english usage, 1986

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