Words, Words, Words
Many of my adult literacy and GED students ask me when to use certain words. Some of them are native foreign language speakers; some are just puzzled about when to use a particular synonym. I’ll give you several examples over the next few months and YOU can help me come up with reasons why one…
A street? What about an avenue, or a boulevard – a court, a drive, a lane, or a trail? Who decides what kind of “road” it is? As it turns out, there are rules that are (mostly) followed. I asked my transportation expert friend, Frank Consoli, for advice. Here is his response. “A ‘road’ is…
I’m working on a Communications book and one of the sections illustrates the importance of an audience’s “frame of reference.” With that thought in mind, I had to laugh at my recent experience as the audience. I saw a local newspaper headline that mentioned the date for parks to reopen was uncertain. Aw, heck! I…
You might think that the word “person” is easy to understand but think again! Apparently, some time ago, the legal world decided that persons should refer to businesses, trusts, etc, in addition to people. Well, then, how do I refer to just people in a legal document? May I say “people”? Don’t be silly; that…
I saw an orange yard sign that said “YOU’VE BEEN TEA-P’D,” with a handwritten message that said it was sent by “Someone that loves you.” A lovely thought, but I wish the sender had been “Someone who loves you,” instead. Who is for people; that is for everything else. And if you think “people” and…
If I can’t figure out which homonym is used for just one meaning (see Homonym Hints 1), then I look to see if a related word will help me know which homonym to use. My mom pointed out to me that stationery, with an “ery,” refers to letters and envelopes, which also have a bunch…
How do you know which homonym to use? I usually start by trying to decide if one of the words has a unique meaning. Fare versus fair is a good example. If fare is only used for the cost of a taxi ride, then I’ll use fair for everything else – even, balanced, so-so, light…
So many people write “could of” when they mean “could have.” Why? I think it’s because when we say the contraction, “could’ve,” it sounds like “could of.” If folks would think about how the contraction was created, they would realize that the two words forming the contraction could not possibly be “could” plus “of.” Oh,…
As a follow up to the “less or fewer” post, let’s clear up the confusion between “I could care less” and “I couldn’t care less.” If you really are at the bottom of caring, then you’ll want to say “I could not care less.” As in, “Nope, that’s it. I care about everything else in…
These words are similar but not interchangeable. Less is used for indefinite amounts, as in “We have had less rain this year than last year.” Fewer is used for specific, number-related amounts, as in “Fewer people attended this year than last year.”