Index

A

A, an

A while, awhile

Abbreviation, acronym

Abbreviations, at end of sentences

Absolutes

Academic concerns: course titles vs. academic subjects; degrees

Accept, except

Active voice

Ad, add

Adapt, adopt

Adjectives; adverb forms of; commas with, before nouns; compound, hyphens with; defined; degrees of; good, well; phrases used as; proper; quizzes; with sense verbs; this, that, these, those

Adjunct

Adverbs; defined; degrees of; ending in -ly; good, well; phrases used as; quizzes; with sense verbs; very

Adverse, averse

Advice, advise; quizzes

Affect, effect; quizzes

Ages

Aggravate

Ahold

Aid, aide

Ail, ale

Aisle, isle

All-

All ready, already

All right

All together, altogether

Allowed, aloud

All-time record

Allude, elude, refer

Allusion, illusion

Alphabet Juice (Blount)

Altar, alter

A.m., p.m.

Ambiguous, ambivalent

American Heritage Dictionary

American Usage and Style (Copperud)

Amiable, amicable

Amid, amidst

Amount, number

An, a

An historic

And: independent clauses joined by; in numbers; pronouns and nouns linked by; subject-verb agreement

And/or

Anecdote, antidote

Anxious, eager

Any more, anymore

Any time, anytime

Apostrophes; in contractions; dos and don'ts; with initials, capital letters, and numbers used as nouns; with possessive personal pronouns; with possessive plural nouns; with possessive singular nouns; quizzes; to show joint possession; single quotation marks vs.; till, `til; with time or money

Appositive commas

Appraise, apprise

Art movements

As: like vs.; pronouns after

As regards

Ascent, assent

Associated Press Stylebook

Assume, presume

Assure, ensure, insure

Aural, oral

Averse, adverse

Awhile, a while

B

Backward, backwards

Bacteria

Bail, bale

Baited breath, bated breath

Ball, bawl

Bare, bear

Basically

Beach, beech

Beat, beet

Because since

Bell, belle

Benighted

Bernstein, Theodore M.

Berth, birth

Beside, besides

Better, bettor

Biannual, biennial, semiannual

Bite, byte

Bloc, block

Blount, Roy Jr.

Boar, boor, bore

Board, bored

Bolder, boulder

Born, borne

Boy, buoy

Brackets; [sic]; with interruptions; quizzes; with quotations. See also Parentheses

Brake, break

Bremner, John B.

Brians, Paul

Bridal, bridle

Bring, take

Broach, brooch

Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words

Buoy, boy

Business writing: colons after salutation in business letter; exclamation points in

But, independent clauses joined by

Byte, bite

C

Cache, cash

Can, may

Cannon, canon

Cannot

Canvas, canvass

Capital, capitol

Capitalization; of art movements; to begin sentence after colon; of city, county, etc. before proper noun; of course titles vs. academic subjects; of first word of document and after period; of first word of quotation; following question marks; of geographic regions vs. points of compass; of kinship names; of lists following colons; of midsentence independent clause or question; of ``the national anthem,''; of nicknames; pretest; of the before proper nouns; of proper nouns; quizzes and mastery test; of spelled-out decades; of subtitles of works; of titles and offices; of titles of works

Carat, caret, karat

Careen, career

Careful Writer, The (Bernstein)

Cast, caste

Cement, concrete

Censor, censure

Center around

Cereal, serial

Chaise lounge

Chicago Manual of Style

Childish, childlike

Chile, chili

Chomping at the bit

Choral, coral

Chorale, corral

Chord, cord

Cite, sight, site

Classic, classical

Clauses: defined; dependent; essential vs. nonessential; independent; semicolons in sentences with multiple

Cliché

Click, clique

Climactic, climatic

Close proximity

Coarse, course

Cohort

Coin a phrase

Collectable, collectible

Collective nouns, subject-verb agreement

Collide, crash

Colons; after salutation in business letter; capitalization of lists following; between independent clauses when second explains first; to introduce lists; to introduce long quotations; to introduce series of items; quizzes; semicolons vs.

Comma splices

Commas; with academic degrees; after dependent clauses starting sentences; after salutation in informal letters; appositive commas; with cities and states; with dates; with etc.; with independent clauses; with interrupting expressions; with introductory words; with Jr. and Sr.; with names directly addressed; with nonessential words, phrases, and clauses; in numbers; Oxford commas; with parentheses; quizzes; with quotations; to separate contrasting parts of sentences; to separate statements from questions; to separate two adjectives before nouns; in series; with titles used with names; with two adjectives before nouns

Common Errors in English Usage (Brians)

Common nouns: capitalizing, in brand names; defined; possessives of, ending in $s$

Complement, compliment

Complete, completely

Compound adjectives

Compound nouns: defined; hyphenating; possessives of; subject-verb agreement

Compound verbs

Comprise

Concerted

Concrete, cement

Confidant, confident

Connive, conspire

Connote, denote

Consistency: capitalization and punctuation of list items; capitalization of titles of works; collective noun subject-verb agreement; parallel construction; possessives of nouns ending in $s$; singular pronouns; spelling out numbers vs. using figures

Continual, continuous

Contractions

Convince, persuade

Copperud, Roy H.

Coral, choral

Cord, chord

Corral, chorale

Council, counsel

Couple (of)

Course, coarse

Crash, collide

Craven

Criteria

Currently

D

Daily basis

Dangling modifiers

Dashes; punctuation replaced by; spacing with; subject-verb agreement

Data

Dates: apostrophes in decades; commas with; using figures to express; years beginning sentences

Definite, definitive

Degrees: academic; of adjectives; of adverbs

Denote, connote

Dependent clauses: commas with independent clauses followed by; commas with sentences starting with; defined; with whoever/whomever

Desert, dessert

Despise

Device, devise

Dictionary of Modern American Usage, A (Garner)

Dictionary of Usage and Style, A (Copperud)

Different from, different than

Dilemma

Disburse, disperse

Discomfit, discomfort

Discreet, discrete

Disinterested, uninterested

Dock

Dos and don'ts

Drug (dragged)

Dual, duel

E

Each

Eager, anxious

Effect, affect; quizzes

E.g., i.e.

Either

Either/or

Eke out

Ellipses; defined; to express hesitation, changes of mood, etc.; with omitted words or sentences; spacing with

Elude, allude, refer

Emigrate, immigrate

Eminent, imminent

Empathy, sympathy

Emulate, imitate

Enormity

Ensure, insure, assure

Enthuse

Epitaph, epithet

Epitome

Erstwhile

Essential clauses

Etc., et al.

Every day, everyday

Ex-

Exacerbate, exaggerate

Except, accept

Exclamation points; in formal business writing; overuse of; replacing periods; to show emotion, emphasis, or surprise

F

Factious, fractious

Faint, feint

Fair, fare

False possessives

Farther, further

Faze, phase

Feat, feet

Fewer, less

Fir, fur

Firstly

Flair, flare

Flammable, inflammable

Flaunt, flout

Flea, flee

Flounder, founder

Flour, flower

For instance

Forego, forgo

Foreword, forward

Forth, fourth

Fortuitous, fortunate

Foul, fowl

Fractions: hyphenating; mixed; subject-verb agreement

Fractious, factious

Free gift

Fulsome

Fun

Fur, fir

Further, farther

G

Gait, gate

Gamut

Gantlet, gauntlet

Garner, Bryan A.

Gel, jell

Gilt, guilt

Glib

Good, well

Graduate

Graffiti

Grammar: mastery test; pretest

Grill, grille

Grisly, gristly, grizzly

Guerrilla

Guilt, gilt

H

Hair, hare

Hall, haul

Halve, have

Hangar, hanger

Hanged, hung

Have, of used in place of

Heal, heel

Healthful, healthy

Hear, here

Helping verbs

Here

Heroin, heroine

Historic, an

Hoard, horde

Hoarse, horse

Hole, whole

Holy, wholly

Homage

Hone in

Hot water heater

Hung, hanged

Hyphens

I

Idle, idol, idyll

I.e., e.g.

Illusion, allusion

Imitate, emulate

Immigrate, emigrate

Imminent, eminent

Impact

Imply, infer

In, into

In order to

In regard(s) to, with regard(s) to

Incite, insight

Include

Incomparables

Incredible, incredulous

Independent clauses: capitalization of midsentence; commas with; defined; semicolons between. See also Sentences

Indirect questions

Infinitives

Inflammable, flammable

Ingenious, ingenuous

Initials, plurals of

Insure, assure, ensure

Interrupting expressions: brackets for; commas with; dashes with; subject-verb agreement

Introductory words: commas with; semicolons before

Irony, 93

Irregardless

Irregular nouns

Is is

Isle, aisle

It is, it was

Italics: for sic; for titles of works

It's, its

J

Jell, gel

Jibe, jive

Jr.

Just

Just deserts

K

Karat, carat, caret

Kindergartner

Knew, new

Kudos

L

Language, concrete vs. vague

Lastly

Latter

Laxadaisical

Lay, lie; quizzes

Lead, led

Leak, leek

Less, fewer

Lessen, lesson

Let he who is without sin.~.~.

Liable, libel, likely

Lie, lay; quizzes

Lightening, lightning

Like

Likely

Linking verbs

Lists: capitalization and ending punctuation; colons before; etc. vs. et al. with. See also Series

Literally

Loan, lone

Loath, loathe

Loose, lose

M

Mail, male

Maize, maze

Manner, manor

Marquee, marquis

Marry, merry

Marshal, martial

Masterful, masterly

Material, materiel

May, can

Medal, meddle, metal, mettle

Media

Meretricious

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage

Mic

Miner, minor

Minuscule

Misnomer

Modern American Usage

Modifiers: dangling; misplaced

Moral, morale

More importantly, most importantly

Morning, mourning

Muscle, mussel

N

Namely

Names of people: capitalization of kinship names; commas with degrees or titles; commas with, directly addressed; commas with Jr. or Sr.; hyphens with double last names; nicknames; plurals of; possessives of

Names of places: capitalization of city, county, etc. before; capitalization of geographic regions; commas with cities and states

Naval, navel

Negatives, double

Neither

Neither/nor

Neither.~.~.or

New, knew

New record

None

Nonessential clauses

Nonplussed

Not just

Notoriety

Nouns: collective, subject-verb agreement with; common; compound; defined; linked with pronouns by and or or; phrases used as; plurals of initials, capital letters, and numbers used as; possessives of; quizzes on finding; regular vs. irregular. See also Proper nouns; Subjects

Number, amount

Numbers. See Writing numbers

O

Object of the preposition

Object pronouns

Of: subject-verb agreement and phrases beginning with; used in place of have

Off of

Oneself

Or: independent clauses joined by; pronouns and nouns linked by; subject-verb agreement

Oral, aural

Ordinance, ordnance

Orwell, George

Overdo, overdue

Overly

Oxford commas

P

Pail, pale

Pain, pane

Palate, palette, pallet

Parallel construction

Parentheses; for clarifications and asides; comma placement with; punctuation of complete sentences in; quizzes; subject-verb agreement. See also Brackets

Parish, perish

Parody, satire

Participles

Particles, initial negative

Passed, past

Passive voice

Past history

Pastime, past time

Peace, piece

Peak, peek, pique

Peal, peel

Pedal, peddle

Peer, pier

Penultimate

Percent

Periods: with abbreviations at end of sentences; after indirect questions; capitalization after; with complete sentences in parentheses; at end of sentences; with et al. and etc.; exclamation points replacing; question marks replacing; quizzes; with quotation marks; semicolons replacing

Perpetrate, perpetuate

Persecute, prosecute

Persuade, convince

Phase, faze

Phenomenon

Phrasal verbs

Phrases: beginning with of, subject-verb agreement with; defined; essential vs. nonessential

Piece, peace

Pique, peak, peek

Pistil, pistol

Place names. See Names of places

Plain, plane

Plum, plumb

P.m., a.m.

Point in time

Pole, poll

Poor, pore, pour

Possessive pronouns

Possessives: amounts of time or money as; of compound nouns; false possessives; with joint ownership; of nouns; of personal pronouns; of words ending in $s$; of words ending in y

Pray, prey

Precipitate, precipitous

Predominately

Prefixes; confusing without hyphens; defined; ending in same vowel that begins root word; hyphens with; before proper nouns or adjectives; quizzes on hyphens with; re-; self-, ex-, all-

Premier, premiere

Prepositions; in, into; defined; different from, different than; of vs. have; as, as if, as though, the way; like; phrases used as; quizzes; sentences ending with

Presently

Presume, assume

Principal, principle

Profit, prophet

Prone, supine

Pronouns; caution on apostrophes with; consistency with singular pronouns; defined; following than or as; linked with nouns by and or or; object pronouns; possessive pronouns; quizzes; reflexive pronouns; subject pronouns; this, that, these, those; who, which, that

Proper adjectives: capitalizing; prefixes before

Proper nouns: capitalization of; capitalization of city, county, etc. before; capitalization of the before; defined; possessives of; prefixes before. See also Names of people; Names of places

Prophecy, prophesize, prophesy

Prosecute, persecute

Proximity, close

Punctuation: mastery test; pretest

Purposely, purposefully

Q

Question marks; after direct questions; capitalization following; with half statement/half question; not used with indirect or rhetorical questions; quizzes; with quotation marks; replacing periods

Questions: capitalization of midsentence; commas to separate statements from; indirect; rhetorical

Quotation, quote

Quotation marks; double; with nonstandard expressions; with periods and commas; with question marks; quizzes; with quotations longer than one paragraph; single; spacing between single and double; for titles of works

Quotations: brackets with; capitalization of first word of; colons to introduce; commas with; within quotations

R

Rack, wrack

Raise, raze

Rap, wrap

Re-

Real, reel

Reason being is

Reason is because

Reek, wreak

Refer, allude, elude

Reflexive pronouns

Regular nouns

Reign, rein

Relish in

Renown

Rest, as they say, is history

Rest, wrest

Restaurateur

Retch, wretch

Reticent

Reverend

Review, revue

Rhetorical questions

Riff, rift

Right, rite, write

Ring, wring

Road, rode, rowed

Role, roll

Root words

Run-on sentences

Rye, wry

S

Satire, parody

Saver, savor

Scent, sent

Secondly, thirdly, fourthly

Self-

Semiannual, biannual, biennial

Semicolons; colons vs.; before introductory words; quizzes; between sentences; in sentences with multiple clauses; in series containing commas

Sensual, sensuous

Sentence fragments

Sentences: beginning with numbers; capitalization of independent clause or question in middle of; colons between, when second explains first; commas to separate contrasting parts of; ending with prepositions; parallel construction; in parentheses; periods at end of; run-on; semicolons between; word order in. See also Independent clauses

Serf, surf

Serial, cereal

Series: colon to introduce; commas in; semicolons in. See also Lists

Set, sit

Sew, so, sow

Shear, sheer

[sic]

Sight, site, cite

Simplistic

Since, because

Site, sight, cite

Slash (/)

Sleight, slight

Snuck

So, sew, sow

Soar, sore

Sole, soul

Some, sum

Son, sun

Spacing: with AM or PM; around hyphens; with dashes; with ellipses; between single and double quotation marks

Split infinitives

Sr.

Staid, stayed

Stair, stare

Stake, steak

Stationary, stationery

Steal, steel

Step, steppe

Stomping grounds

Straight, strait

Strategy, stratagem

Subject pronouns

Subjects: defined; how to find; quizzes on finding; underlining

Subject-verb agreement; with and; with collective nouns; with dashes; with distances, period of time, sums of money, etc.; with here and there; with interrupting expressions; with none; with or, either/or, neither/nor; with parentheses; with phrases beginning with of; with portions; with pronouns; quizzes; singular vs. plural verbs; subjunctive mood; with who, that, which

Subjunctive mood: defined; subject-verb agreement

Subtitles

Suffixes; beginning with same letter that ends root word; defined; not usually hyphenated; quizzes on hyphens with; using discretion with hyphenating

Sum, some

Sun, son

Sundae, Sunday

Supine, prone

Suppose to

Surf, serf

Sympathy, empathy

T

Tack, tact

Tail, tale

Take, bring

Taught, taut

Team, teem

Temblor

Tenant, tenet

Than, pronouns after

Than, then

That, who, which; quizzes

That is

The, capitalization before proper nouns

The national anthem

Their, there, they're; quizzes

There is, there are

There's

They and their, with singular pronouns

This, that, these, those

Those kind of

Till, `til

Titles and offices: capitalization of; commas with

Titles of courses

Titles of works: capitalization of; quotation marks or italics for

To, too, two

Tort, torte

Tortuous, torturous

Totally

Toward, towards

Transpire

Tremblor

Troop, troupe

Truly

Turbid, turgid

U

Uninterested, disinterested

Unique

Utilize

V

Vain, vane, vein

Venal, venial

Verbs: compound; defined; how to find; infinitives; quizzes on finding; types of; underlining. See also Subject-verb agreement

Verses, versus

Very

Viable

Vial, vile

Vice, vise

Virgule

Virtually

Voice, active vs. passive

W

Waist, waste

Wait, weight

Waiver, waver

Warn, worn

Warrantee, warranty

Wary, weary

Way, weigh

Ways to go

Weak, week

Weather, whether

Webster's New World College Dictionary

Well, good

Whether or not

Which, who, that; quizzes

While, wile

Who, subject-verb agreement

Who, which, that; quizzes

Who, whom; quizzes

Whoever, whomever; quizzes

Whole, hole

Wholly, holy

Who's, whose

With regard(s) to, in regard(s) to

Won't, wont

Words on Words (Bremner)

Worn, warn

Wrack, rack

Wrap, rap

Wreak (wreck) havoc

Wreak, reek

Wrest, rest

Wretch, retch

Wring, ring

Write, right, rite

Writing, effective; active vs. passive voice; concrete vs. vague language; dangling modifiers; double negatives; misplaced modifiers; overuse of there is/are, it is/was, etc.; parallel construction; quizzes; sentence fragments. See also Business writing

Writing numbers; beginning sentences; commas in; dates; decades; decimals; fractions; hyphens with ages; hyphens with spelled-out numbers; large numbers; money; quizzes, pretest, and mastery test; time of day; using figures vs. spelling out numbers; when to use and in spelled-out numbers; years

Wry, rye

Y

Yoke, yolk

You're, your