by E. B. White
Fix. Colloquial in America for arrange, prepare, mend. The usage is well established. But bear in mind that this verb is from figere: "to make firm." "to place definitely." These are the preferred meanings of the word.
Flammable. An oddity, chiefly useful in saving lives. The common word meaning "combustible" is inflammable. But some people are thrown off by the in- and think inflammable means "not combustible." For this reason. gasoline or explosives are now marked FLAMMABLE. Unless you are operating such a truck and hence are concerned with the safety of children and illiterates, use inflammable.
Folk. A collective noun, equivalent to people. Use the singular form only. Folks, in the sense of "parents," "family," "those present," is colloquial and to folksy for formal writing.
Her folks arrived by the afternoon train.
Her father and mother arrived by the afternoon train.
Fortuitous. Limited to what to be used for fortunate or lucky.
Get. The colloquial have got for have should not be used in writing. The preferable form of the participle is got, not gotten.
He has not got any sense.
He has no sense.
They returned without having got any.
They returned without having gotten any.
Gratuitous. Means "unearned," or "unwarranted."
The insult seemed gratuitous, (undeserved)
He is a man who. A common type of redundant expression; see Rule 17.
He is a man who is very ambitious.
He is very ambitious.
Vermont is a state that attracts visitors because of its winter sports.
Vermont attracts visitors because of its winter sports.
Hopefully. This once-useful adverb meaning "with hope" has been distorted and is now widely used to mean "I hope" or "it is to be hoped." Such use is not merely wrong, it is silly. To say, "Hopefully I'll leave on the noon plane" is to talk nonsense. Do you mean you'll leave on the noon plane in a hopeful frame of mind? Or do you mean you hope you'll leave on the noon plane? Whichever you mean, you haven't said it clearly. Although the word in its new, free-floating capacity may be pleasurable and even useful to many, it offends the ear of many others, who do not like to see words dulled or eroded, particularly when the erosion leads to ambiguity, softness, or nonsense.
However. Avoid starting a sentence with however when the meaning is "nevertheless." The word usually serves better when not in first position.
The roads were almost impassable. However, we at last succeeded in reaching camp.
The roads were almost impassable. At last, however, we succeeded in reaching camp.
When however comes first, it means "in whatever way" or "to whatever extent."
However you advise him, he will probably do as he thinks best.
However discouraging the prospect, they never lost heart.
Illusion. See allusion.
Imply. Infer. Not interchangeable. Something implied is something suggested or indicated, though not expressed. Something inferred is something deduced from evidence at hand.
Farming implies early rising.
Since she was a farmer, we inferred that she got up early.
Importantly. Avoid by rephrasing.
More importantly, he paid for the damages.
What's more, he paid for the damages.
With the breeze freshening, he altered course to pass inside the island. More importantly, as things turned out, he tucked in a reef.
With the breeze freshening, he altered course to pass inside the island. More important, as things turned out, he tucked in a reef.
In regard to. Often wrongly written in regards to. But as regards is correct, and means the same thing.
In the last analysis. A bankrupt expression.
Inside of. Inside. The of following inside is correct in the adverbial meaning "in less than." In other meanings, of is unnecessary.
Inside of five minutes I'll be inside the bank.
Insightful. The word is a suspicious overstatement for "perceptive." If it is to be used at all, it should be used for instances of remarkably penetrating vision. Usually, it crops up merely to inflate the commonplace. That was an insightful remark you made.
That was a perceptive remark you made.
In terms of. A piece of padding usually best omitted.
The job was unattractive in terms of salary.
The salary made the job unattractive.
Interesting. An unconvincing word; avoid it as a means of introduction. Instead of announcing that what you are about to tell is interesting, make it so.
An interesting story is told of
(Tell the story without preamble.)
In connection with the forthcoming visit of Mr. B. to America, it is interesting to recall that he
Mr. B., who will soon visit America
Also to be avoided in introduction is the word funny. Nothing becomes funny by being labeled so.
Irregardless. Should be regardless. The error results from failure to see the negative in -less and from a desire to get it in as a prefix, suggested by such words as irregular, irresponsible, and, perhaps especially, irrespective.
-ize. Do not coin verbs by adding this tempting suffix. Many good and useful verbs do end in -ize: summarize, fraternize, harmonize, fertilize. But there is a growing list of abominations: containerize, prioritize, finalize, to name three. Be suspicious of -ize; let your ear and your eye guide you. Never tack -ize onto a noun to create a verb. Usually you will discover that a useful verb already exists. Why say "utilize" when there is the simple, unpretentious word use?
Kind of. Except in familiar style, not to be used as a substitute for rather or something like. Restrict it to its literal sense: "Amber is a kind of fossil resin"; "I dislike that kind of publicity." The same holds true for sort of. Lay. A transitive verb. Except in slang ("Let it lay"), do not misuse it for the intransitive verb lie. The hen, or the play, lays an egg; the llama lies down. The playwright went home and lay down.
lie, lay, lain, lying
lay, laid, laid, laying
Leave. Not to be misused for let.
Leave it stand the way it is.
Let it stand the way it is.
Leave go of that rope!
Let go of that rope!
Less. Should not be misused for fewer.
They had less workers than in the previous campaign.
They had fewer workers than in the previous campaign.
Less refers to quantity, fewer to number. "His troubles are less than mine" means "His troubles are not so great as mine." "His troubles are fewer than mine" means "His troubles are not so numerous as mine."
Like. Not to be used for the conjunction as. Like governs nouns and pronouns; before phrases and clauses the equivalent word is as.
We spent the evening like in the old days.
We spent the evening as in the old days.
Chloe smells good, like a baby should.
Chloe smells good, as a baby should.
The use of like for as has its defenders; they argue that any usage that achieves currency becomes valid automatically. This, they say, is the way the language is formed. It is and it isn't. An expression sometimes merely enjoys a vogue, much as an article of apparel does. Like has long been widely misused by the illiterate; lately it has been taken up by the knowing and the well-informed, who find it catchy, or liberating, and who use it as though they were slumming. If every word or device that achieved currency were immediately authenticated, simply on the ground of popularity, the language would be as chaotic as a ball game with no foul lines. For the student, perhaps the most useful thing to know about like is that most carefully edited publications regard its use before phrases and clauses as simple error.
Line. Along these lines. Line in the sense of "course of procedure, conduct, thought" is allowable but has been so overworked, particularly in the phrase along these lines, that a writer who aims at freshness or originality had better discard it entirely.
Mr. B. also spoke along the same lines.
Mr. B. also spoke to the same effect.
She is studying along the of French literature.
She is studying French line literature.
Literal. Literally. Often incorrectly used in support of exaggeration or violent metaphor.
a literal flood of abuse
a flood of abuse
literally dead with fatigue
almost dead with fatigue
Loan. A noun. As a verb, prefer lend. Lend me your ears, the loan of your ears
Meaningful. A bankrupt adjective. Choose another, or rephrase.
His was a meaningful contribution.
His contribution counted heavily.
We are instituting many meaningful changes in the curriculum/
We are improving the curriculum in many ways.
Memento. Often incorrectly written momento.
Most. Not to be used for almost in formal composition, most everybody almost everybody most all the time almost all the time
Nature. Often simply redundant, used like character.
acts of a hostile nature
hostile acts
Nature should be avoided in such vague expressions as "a lover of nature," "poems about nature." Unless more specific statements follow, the reader cannot tell whether the poems have to do with natural scenery, rural life, the sunset, the untracked wilderness, or the habits of squirrels.
Nauseous. Nauseated. The first means "sickening to contemplate"; the second means "sick at the stomach." Do not, therefore, say, "I feel nauseous," unless you are sure you have that effect on others.
Nice. A shaggy, all-purpose word, to be used sparingly in formal composition.- "I had a nice time." "It was nice weather." "She was so nice to her mother." The meanings are indistinct. Nice is most useful in the sense of "precise" or "delicate": "a nice distinction."
Nor. Often used wrongly for or after negative expressions.
He cannot eat nor sleep.
He cannot eat or sleep.
He can neither eat nor sleep.
He cannot eat nor can he sleep.
Noun used as verb. Many nouns have lately been pressed into service as verbs. Not all are bad, but all are suspect.
Be prepared for kisses when you gift your girlfriend with this merry scent.
Be prepared for kisses when you give your girlfriend this merry scent.
The candidate hosted a dinner for fifty of her workers.
The candidate gave a dinner for fifty of her workers.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Oglethorp.
Mr. Oglethorp was chair of the meeting.
She headquarters in Newark.
She has headquarters in Newark.
The theater troupe debuted last fall.
The theatre troupe made its debut last fall.
Offputting. Ongoing. Newfound adjectives, to be avoided because they are inexact and clumsy. Ongoing is a mix of "continuing" and "active" and is usually superfluous.
He devoted all his spare time to the ongoing program for aid to the elderly.
He devoted all his spare time to the program for aid to the elderly.
Offputting might mean "objectionable," "disconcerting," distasteful." Select instead a word whose meaning is clear. As a simple test, transform the participles to verbs. It is pos-vilile to upset something. But to offput? To ongo?
One. In the sense of "a person," not to be followed by his or her.
One must watch his step.
One must watch one's step. (You must watch your step.)
One of the most. Avoid this feeble formula. "One of the most exciting developments of modern science is…"; "Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries of Europe." There is nothing wrong with the grammar; the formula is simply threadbare.
-oriented. A clumsy, pretentious device, much in vogue. Find a better way of indicating orientation or alignment or direction.
It was a manufacturing-oriented company.
It was a company chiefly concerned with manufacturing.
Many of the skits are situation-oriented.
Many of the skits rely on situation.
Partially. Not always interchangeable with partly. Best used in the sense of "to a certain degree," when speaking of a condition or state: "I'm partially resigned to it." Partly carries the idea of a part as distinct from the whole— usually a physical object.
The log was partially submerged.
The log was partly submerged.
She was partially in and partially out.
She was partly in and partly out.
She was part in, part out.
Participle for verbal noun.
There was little prospect of the Senate accepting even this compromise.
There was little prospect of the Senate's accepting even this compromise.
In the lefthand column, accepting is a present participle; in the righthand column, it is a verbal noun (gerund). The construction shown in the lefthand column is occasionally found, and has its defenders. Yet it is easy to see that the second sentence has to do not with a prospect of the Senate but with a prospect of accepting.
Any sentence in which the use of the possessive is awkward or impossible should of course be recast.
In the event of a reconsideration of the whole matter's becoming necessary
If it should become necessary to reconsider the whole matter
There was great dissatisfaction with the decision of the arbitrators being favorable to the company.
There was great dissatisfaction with the arbitrators' decision in favor of the company.
People. A word with many meanings. (The American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition, gives nine.) The people is a political term, not to be confused with the public. From the people comes political support or opposition; from the public comes artistic appreciation or commercial patronage.
The word people is best not used with words of number, in place of persons. If of "six people" five went away, how many people would be left? Answer: one people.
Personalize. A pretentious word, often carrying bad advice. Do not personalize your prose; simply make it good and keep it clean. See Chapter V, Reminder 1.
a highly personalized affair
a highly personal affair
Personalize your stationery.
Design a letterhead.
Personally. Often unnecessary.
Personally, I thought it was a good book.
I thought it a good book.
Possess. Often used because to the writer it sounds more impressive than have or own. Such usage is not incorrect but is to be guarded against.
She possessed great courage.
She had great courage (was very brave).
He was the fortunate possessor of
He was lucky enough to own
Presently. Has two meanings: "in a short while" and "currently." Because of this ambiguity it is best restricted to the first meaning: "She'll be here presently" ("soon," or "in a short time").
Prestigious. Often an adjective of last resort. It's in the dictionary, but that doesn't mean you have to use it.
Refer. See allude.
Regretful. Sometimes carelessly used for regrettable: "The mixup was due to a regretful breakdown in communications."
Relate. Not to be used intransitively to suggest rapport.
I relate well to Janet.
Janet and I see things the same way.
Janet and I have a lot in common.
Respective. Respectively. These words may usually be omitted with advantage.
Works of fiction are listed under the names of their respective authors.
Works of fiction are listed under the names of their authors.
The mile run and the two-mile run were won by Jones and Cummings respectively.
The mile run was won by Jones, the two-mile run by Cummings.
Secondly, thirdly, etc. Unless you are prepared to begin with firstly and defend it (which
will be difficult), do not prettify numbers with -ly. Modern usage prefers second, third, and so on.
Shall. Will. In formal writing, the future tense requires shall for the first person, will for the second and third. The formula to express the speaker's belief regarding a future action or state is I shall; I will expresses determination or consent. A swimmer in distress cries, "I shall drown; no one will save me!" A suicide puts it the other way: "I will drown; no one shall save me!" In relaxed speech, however, the words shall and will are seldom used precise-1't; our ear guides us or fails to guide us, as the case may be, and we are quite likely to drown when we want to survive and survive when we want to drown.
So. Avoid, in writing, the use of so as an intensifier: "so good"; "so warm"; "so delightful."
Sort of. See kind of.
Split infinitive. There is precedent from the fourteenth century down for interposing an adverb between to and the infinitive it governs, but the construction should be avoided unless the writer wishes to place unusual stress on the adverb.
to diligently inquire
to inquire diligently
For another side to the split infinitive, see Chapter V, Reminder 14.
State. Not to be used as a mere substitute for say, remark. Restrict it to the sense of "express fully or clearly": "He refused to state his objections."
Student body. Nine times out of ten a needless and awkward expression, meaning no more than the simple word students.
a member of the student body
a student
popular with the student body
liked by the students
Than. Any sentence with than (to express comparison) should be examined to make sure no essential words are missing. I'm probably closer to my mother than my father. (Ambiguous.)
I'm probably closer to my mother than to my father.
I'm probably closer to my mother than my father is.
It looked more like a cormorant than a heron.
It looked more like a cormorant than like a heron.
Thanking you in advance. This sounds as if the writer meant, "It will not be worth my while to write to you again." In making your request, write "Will you please," or "I shall be obliged." Then, later, if you feel moved to do so, or if the circumstances call for it, write a letter of acknowledgment.
