IV. WORDS TO WATCH

Human eyes are always better than any ‘spell-check’ software. The most troublesome 2 in business and scientific writing are perhaps “affect” and “effect”.

The following are words you may need to check carefully. According to Ian Gordon in his book A word in your ear, these words may be described as confusables.

Actual/Actually
“Actual” is an adjective
“Actually” is an adverb

Both are overworked. They may convey a shade of meaning when talking, but it’s almost always better to leave them out in writing.

Adoption/Adaptation
The noun from “adopt” (or take over as one’s own) is “adoption”. However the noun from “adapt” (or alter to suit one’s particular purposes) is “adaptation”.
E.g. They hoped to be offered twins for adoption.
BUT
My adaptation of the manual is much clearer than the original.

Advice/Advise
“Advice” is a noun meaning suggestion for action.
E.g. She gave me helpful advice so my cooking was delicious.

“Advise” is the verb meaning to give suggestions for action.
E.g. I advise you to report the accident at once.

Several similar pairs exist (like the noun “device” and “the verb “devise”; or the noun “practice” and the verb “practise”). Sometimes, as with “advice” and “advise”, pronunciation helps you distinguish the pair from each other.

Affect/Effect
These 2 common words are often confused in formal writing. Their meanings are completely different.

To “affect” (verb) means to influence or change in some way.
E.g. Smoking had affected her lungs

It can also mean to put on or show a pretence of something.
E.g. After watching the film, she affected a Texan accent

To “effect” (verb) is to being something about.
E.g. The new legislation effected an increase in the number of people buying shares.
OR
The medicine effected an immediate cure.

An “effect” (noun) means a result. It can be used in the singular or plural.
E.g. The effect of the taxation decrease was immediate.
OR
Her personal effects were left to her daughter.

The real danger with “affect” and “effect” is that in some sentences either meaning could be intended.

E.g. The drug effected his chance of success (caused, was responsible for)
OR
The drug affected his chance of success (changed, usually but not necessarily, reduced)

All ready/already
“All ready” refers to everyone in a group.
“Already” means by this time.

E.g. Are the guests all ready to have their meal?
OR
Has the whistle been blown already?

All right: The 2 words “all right” should NOT ever be run together in formal writing

All together/Altogether
“All together” can be 2 words meaning “all at the same time” e.g.
All together they heaved on the rope.

The single word “altogether” means completely e.g.
This equipment is altogether unsatisfactory.

Allude/Delude/Elude
To “allude” to something is to mention or refer to it e.g.
She alluded to her holiday in Bali.

To “delude” someone is to deceive or take that person in e.g.
Don’t think you can delude me with such a far-fetched story.

To “elude” someone is to escape e.g.
Mat eluded capture by a swift side step.

Allusion/Delusion/Illusion
An “allusion” is a reference to, or mention of, something.
E.g. Her allusion to the accident made me realise she was ready to talk about it.

A “delusion” is a false belief.
E.g. He held to the delusion that the earth is flat.

An “illusion” is an unrealistic hope or dream.
E.g. He has illusions about winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune.

“Allude” and “Allusion”; “Delude” and “Delusion” are likely to be useful words in business writing while “Elude” and “Illusion are quite rare.

Among/Between
“Among” is used of more than 2, whereas “between” is used of 2 e.g.
The trustee said the estate was to be divided among the three sisters but YuLi and
YuLa decided between themselves that YuLu should have the whole estate.

Amount/Number
“Amount” refers to things in mass or bulk.
“Number” refers to units or things or people or ideas that can be counted.
E.g. The amount of dust increased with the continuous roadwork.
BUT
The number of scientists working on the project needed to be increased.

* “Fewer” and “Less” follow the same pattern.

Ante-/anti
“Ante-” comes from a Latin word meaning before e.g.
Antenatal exercises are performed before a baby is born.
An anteroom is a room a patient waits in before going into a surgery.

“Anti-” comes from a Latin word meaning against e.g.
Anticorrosive substances prevent corrosion occurring.
An antidote counteracts the effects of a poison.

Sometimes the word “anti” is used by itself in speech and, rarely, in writing e.g.
Is he pro or anti the present government?

Such a sentence would be better worded this way:
Is he for or against the present government?

The exception to the rule with “ante” and “anti” is the word “anticipate”, which means to act before something else happens. The pronunciation will help you remember that the word anticipate breaks the pattern. The “i” is clearly short, like in “hit” or “tip”.

Appraise/Apprise
To “appraise” something is to work out its value e.g.
She appraised the antique cabinet in her own mind.

To “apprise” someone of something is to inform him or her about it e.g.
She apprised her friend of the arrangements for the secret meeting.

Biannual/Biennial/Bimonthly/Biweekly
Avoid all these words.
“Biannual” and “Biennial” can mean twice a year or every second year.
Some dictionaries give one meaning, others the other, and some both.
The same is true for the others so it is better to say what you mean without using them.

E.g. “You must submit a bimonthly report” should be rewritten as:
You must submit a report twice a month.
OR
You must submit a report every two months.

Canvas/Canvass
These 2 are interchangeable but usually “canvas” is used for fabrics from which tents and deck chairs can be made and “canvass” of soliciting opinions or votes.

E.g. Please put the canvas chairs out on the deck.
OR
The chairperson tried to canvass support for his idea.

Casual/Causal
Be careful not to transpose (switch) letters with these 2.
“Casual” means “without careful thought”
“Causal” means “acting as the cause of” / “the cause of”
E.g. His casual attitude to punctuality meant he was late to the appointment and missed
out on the job
OR
The experiment showed that bacteria were the causal factor in the development of mould.

Complement/Compliment
Both these words can be used as verbs or nouns.
A “complement” is something that completes a whole e.g.
The perfect complement to a roast dinner is a light dessert.

A “compliment” is a flattering statement e.g.
She blushed at the compliment but thanked her new friend for it.

“Comprise” means “to contain” or “consist of” e.g.
Our company comprises four sections: production, marketing, account and sales.

“Comprise” is an indispensable word in report writing. Unlike “contain” or “include” it implies that the whole range is covered.

If you wrote, “Our team includes three women” you would mean that the three are part of a larger group, the others not being women.

If you wrote, “Our team comprises three women” you would be saying that there are no other people in the team.

*Remember: “Comprise” can only be used as an active verb.
NEVER say anything “is comprised of” any more than you would say anything “is included of”.

Continual/Continuous
“Continual” means recurring at constant, short intervals.
“Continuous” means going on all the time.

E.g. - Continual telephone calls interrupted his work.
- The continuous noise of passing traffic never ceased.

Council/Counsel
A governing body or board is a council and those who are on I are the councillors.

Advice is sometimes known as counsel and those who give it, including study skills
experts, are known as counsellors.

*A barrister who represents a client in court is known as a counsel, NOT a counsellor.

Coarse/Course
“Coarse” literally means consisting of rough, large bits.
Figuratively it has come to mean ordinary, common, rude.
E.g. - Coarse gravel at the bottom of a clay pot will give good drainage.
- I don’t like his coarse manners, but he had a good heart.

A “course” originally meant a race at a sports meeting, now most often means a plan of action or defined block of study e.g.
He is taking an English course this semester.

Credible/Creditable/Credulous
“Credible” means easily believable e.g.
Her explanations are always credible but they not necessarily true.

“Creditable” means deserving credit e.g.
Though he usually plays on the wing he gave a creditable performance as a goal keeper.

“Credulous” means willing to believe on weak grounds e.g.
A person who is credulous is not necessarily a fool, as is a person who is gullible, but may
easily be taken in.

Device/Devise
Like “advice” and “advise”, and “practice” and “practise”, this is another pair of words with the noun ending in –ce, and the verb in –se.

A “device” is a clever gadget whereas to “devise” is to work out, or invent e.g.
She invented a clever device for holding a hot cup.
Then she had to devise a way of marketing it.

Disburse/Disperse
To “disburse” is to pay out or spend money.
Similarly, “disbursement” is money spent or paid out.
E.g. The accountant disbursed the rest of the money to her client’s heirs.
The disbursement each received was $1000.

To “disperse” is to move away in various directions e.g.
The crowd dispersed as soon as the rain started.

Discrete/Discreet
These 2 words have different meanings and are likely to be used in different contexts.
- “Discrete” particles, in a chemistry experiment, are completely separate from each other.
- “Discreet” behaviour is courteous, intended to please but not attract unwelcome attention.
E.g. The mixture separated into discrete blue and green layers.
She behaved in a discreet manner in her mother-in-law’s house.

Disinterested/Uninterested
“Disinterested” means without bias.
“Uninterested” means not interested.
E.g. A coach would be disinterested when taking down the times of athletes, but certainly
not uninterested.

Effective/Effectual/Efficacious/Efficient
“Effective” means able to achieve its purpose e.g.
I hope this ‘blog’ will be effective and help you improve your writing skills.

“Effectual” has the same meaning limited to people. It is often used in its negative form e.g.
That new head of department in the English faculty is ineffectual in a crisis.

“Efficacious” is used of remedies e.g.
Tiger balm was efficacious in curing his chest pain.

*Effective can serve for both Effectual and Efficacious so use it when in any doubt at all.

“Efficient” or skilled and active is quite different from the first 3. It is appropriate to say, e.g.
a policy or practice is effective and efficient.

Eke out
To “eke out” is to add to, to supplement in a necessary way e.g.
He eked out his superannuation (deductions for pension scheme) by doing occasional jobs.

*It does NOT mean to make something go a long way. It is WRONG to write, ‘You should eke out your allowance by spending less on entertainment.’

Elder/Older
“Elder” is the most senior in a particular group, usually a family or religious group.
You can say a preschooler is the “eldest” of the children or speak of an “elder” in a church.

“Older” and “Oldest” refer to age and have nothing to do with status e.g.
The oldest member of parliament may have been there only two years.

Elicit/Illicit
To “elicit” something is to draw or even drag it out e.g.
I could not elicit a single fact from the witness.

“Illicit” means illegal, existing without the necessary authority e.g.
The police confiscated the parcel of illicit drugs.

Emigrant/Immigrant
- An emigrant is a person who leaves her country to settle permanently in another country.
- An immigrant is a person who moves to a country to settle there permanently.

E.g. SuQin, who is an emigrant from Malaysia, is now an Italian immigrant, having taken
out citizenship in Italy.

Eminent/Imminent
Something or some person who is eminent is outstanding, or high above others e.g.
The eminent University of China historian visited our university.

Something which is about to happen is “imminent” e.g.
Worry about the costs of the imminent wedding occupied his whole waking day.

“Equally” must NOT be followed by “as” e.g.
Yong and his brother are equally capable.

*Putting “as” after equally (on analogy with ‘just as’) is wrong

Especially/Specially
These two are not alternatives.

“Especially” means in particular.
“Specially” means on purpose.
E.g. - You look especially well dressed. (Exceptionally well dressed)
- You look specially well dressed. (Dressed well for some deliberate reason)

*The difference better seen when the order is changed e.g.
- He went to the meeting especially early. (Earlier than he usually did)
- He went to the meeting early specially. (For some reason or other)

Everyone/Everybody
These are plural in sense but singular in form.
They are “distributive pronouns” i.e. refer to a group by considering them one at a time.

Only singular pronouns e.g. he, she, it and singular possessive adjectives e.g. his, her, its
can be used with them.

English has no singular epicene (both masculine and feminine) third person pronoun you may either be cumbersome or sexist if you use “everyone” correctly e.g.
Everyone is to take his or her books when he or she leaves (clumsy).
OR
Everyone is to take his books when he leaves (sexist unless referring to all male group).
OR
Everyone is to take his/her books when he/she leaves (slack).

A sensible alternative is to use plural e.g.
All members of the committee are to take their papers with them when they leave.

Farther/Further
“Farther” refers only to geographic distance.
“Further” can be used geographically and metaphorically,
OR to mean “furthermore” or “moreover” e.g.
The pigeon flew farther afield every day. The pigeon flew further afield every day.

But “further” is the only word to use in sentences like these:
His proposal went further than I expected.
OR
Further, he had borrowed heavily from his partners.

*If in doubt, always use “further”

Fewer/Less
Use “fewer” for countable nouns.
Use “less” for uncountable nouns.
E.g.
- Fewer parents went to the function.
- Less rain fell this season than last season.

Though the distinction is often ignored in speech, it should be observed in writing.

Figuratively/Literally
“Figuratively” means taking an imaginative licence
OR representing something with some symbolic exaggeration e.g.
Figuratively speaking, Ahmad was twice the weight of any of his friends.

“Literally” means exactly but often wrongly used where “figuratively” belongs e.g.
She was literally eight metres tall (i.e. according to accurate and verifiable measures)

“Finalise” is a useful word meaning to settle the last outstanding details e.g.
I will try to finalise the draft before Friday.

*In British English it should NOT be used to mean “to complete” or “finish” (vs American)