Common Usage Problem

51-100

(51) Get, got,

gotten

-these forms of verb get

are acceptable.
-but whenever possible it is
best to find a more specific
word.

(52) gone, went

GONE- past participle of go
and should be used as a verb
only with a helping verb.
WENT- past tense of go.

(53) good,
nice

lovely,

Whenever possible, replace

these weak words with more

SPECIFIC WORDS.

(54) hanged,
hung
HANGED
- executed
HUNG
- suspended

(55) healthful,
healthy
HEALTHFUL
- Used to describe things
HEALTHY
- Used to describe people.

(56) if, whether

- These are interchangeable.
- When using WHETHER, it is
not necessary to include or
not after it.

(57) in, into

IN
- Refers to position
INTO
- Suggests motion

(58) irregardless
Avoid this word. Use
REGARDLESS.

(59) judicial,
judicious
JUCIAL
- Relating to the
administration of justice
JUDICIOUS
- Showing wisdom

(60) just
JUST
- No more than
- It should be placed right
before the word it
modifies.

Selling of
Ideas

Procedure:
The class will be divided
into groups.
Each group will sell ideas
through explaining them.

Procedure:
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group

12345-

pandesal
taho
puto
balot
ice cream

(61) Kind of ,
of

sort

Do not use KIND OF and

SORT OF to mean
RATHER or SOMEWHAT.

Example:
INCORRECT:
You look kind of pale.
CORRECT:
You look somewhat pale.

(62) Kind of a,
of a

sort

Do not use A after

KIND OF and SORT
OF.

Example:
NONSTANDARD:
Which kind of a dressing do
you want?
CORRECT:
Which kind of dressing do
you want?

Kind of ,sort of
NONSTANDARD:
- this kind of books
- these sorts of exam
CORRECT:
- this kind of book
- These sorts of examination

(63) lay, lie

LAY
-to put down
-LAY, LAYING, LAID, and LAID are usually
followed by a direct object.
LIE
-to recline
-LIE, LYING, LAY and LAIN are never
followed by an object.

(63) lay, lie

LAY
- LAY your book on the desk.
- Theyre LAYING the carpet tomorrow
morning.
- He gently LAID the eggs in the
basket.

(63) lay, lie

LIE
- LIE down for an hour.
- The child is LYING on the floor.
- After I became tired, I LAY down and
rested.
- The dog has LAIN there all
afternoon.

(64) Learn,

teach

LEARN
- To acquire knowledge
TEACH
- To give knowledge to

(64) Learn,

teach

- Hellen learned about

poetry.
- The teacher taught Hellen
about poetry.

(65) leave, let

LEAVE
-to allow to remain
LET
-to permit

(65) leave, let

- LET me do this by
myself.
- LEAVE my dog alone!

(66) like
LIKE
- A preposition
- Should never be used in
place of the conjunction
AS

(66) like
NONSTANDARD
- He is clever like a fox is clever.
CORRECT
- He is clever as a fox is clever.
- He is clever like a fox.

(67) loose, lose

LOOSE
-an adjective
-not tightly attached
LOSE
-a verb
-to miss from ones possession

(67) loose, lose

- The door knob was
loose.
- Do not lose this
telephone number.

(68) mad
- an adjective
- Insane(Formal)
- Angry (Informal)

(68) mad
- I am MAD at you.
- Jane learned that
Rochesters wife was
mad.

(69) maybe,
be

MAYBE
- adv. Perhaps
MAY BE
- Links subject and
complement.

may

(69) maybe,
be

may

- MAYBE I can help you.

- You MAY BE right.

(70) of
- Do not use OF after helping
verbs such as SHOULD,
WOULD, COULD OR MUST.
- Use HAVE instead

(70) of
- Do not use OF after
OUTSIDE, INSIDE, OFF and
ATOP.
- Simply eliminate it.

(70) of
NONSTANDARD
- He must of remembered he had
a date.
CORRECT
- He must have remembered he
had a date.

(71) OK, O.K.,

okay

In INFORMAL writing, these are

all acceptable to mean ALL
RIGHT.
Do not use these expressions in
FORMAL writing. Use more
SPECIFIC WORD.

(71) OK, O.K.,

okay

INFORMAL writing
- The blueprint looks okay.
FORMAL writing
- The blueprint looks
flawless.

(72) only
ONLY should be placed
in front of the word it
logically modifies.

(72) only
- Only Steve bought a
balloon.
- Steve bought only a
balloon.

(73) ought
- Never use OUGHT with
HAVE or HAD.
- Eliminate HAVE or HAD

(73) ought
NONSTANDARD
- The machine had ought to
work now.
CORRECT
- The machine ought to work
now.

(74) Outside of
Do not use this
expression to mean
BESIDES or EXCEPT.

(74) Outside of
NONSTANDARD
- No one came to the party
outside of Dina.
CORRECT
- No one came to the party
except Dina.

(75) parameter
-it is correctly used in
mathematical contexts
- Do not use PARAMETER to
mean BOUNDARY, LIMIT, SCOPE,
or DETAIL.

(75) parameter
LESS ACCEPTABLE
- These are the parameters to
the problem.
PREFERRED
- These are the limits of the
problem.

(76) persecute,
prosecute
PERSECUTE
- To subject to ill treatment
PROSECUTE
- To bring a lawsuit against.

(76) persecute,
prosecute
- He was PERSECUTED for his
religious beliefs.
- Jack is being PROSECUTED
for libel.

(77) Plurals that do not

end in -s
- CRITERIA, MEDIA, and
PHENOMENA are plural and
should not be treated as if
theyre singular.

(77) Plurals that do not

end in -s

INCORRECT
- That criteria for selecting a
winner is unfair.
CORRECT
- Those criteria for selecting a
winner are unfair.

(78) poorly
- used informally to mean
ILL
- Avoid using this in formal
writing.

(78) poorly
INFORMAL
- Mom is feeling poorly.
FORMAL
- Mom is feeling ill.

(79) precede,

proceed

PRECEDE
- To go before
PROCEED
- To move or go forward

(79) precede,

proceed

- The preceding paragraph

introduced the topic.
- Proceed to the next step.

(80) principal,
principle
PRINCIPAL
-Adj., a person who has
controlling authority
- Most important
PRINCIPLE
- noun, a fundamental law or
belief

(80) principal,
principle
- His principal goal is to make
money.
- Mr. Santos is the schools
principal.
- All religions have different
principles.

Buddy
Buddy

(81) raise, rise

RAISE
-usually take a direct object
RISE
- Never takes a direct object

(82) real
REAL
-authentic
The use of REAL to mean
VERY or REALLY should be
avoided in formal writing.

(83) says
SAYS should not be
substituted for SAID.

(84) seen
SEEN
-past participle and can be
used as a verb only with a
helping verb.

(85) set, sit

SET
-to put in a certain place
SIT
-to be seated

(86) shape
SHAPE
- Spatial form
In formal writing, avoid
using SHAPE to mean
CONDITION.

(87) slow,
slowly
SLOW
- Adjective
SLOWLY
-Adverb

(88) so
SO
-a coordination
conjunction
It should be avoided
when you mean SO THAT.

(89) Take and

- This is a nonstandard
expression
- Eliminate it entirely

(90) than, then

THAN
-used in comparisons
THEN
-Adverb
-usually refers to time

(91) that, which,

THAT/WHICH
- Refers to things
WHO
-refers only to people

who

(92) their, there,

theyre
THEIR
-a possessive pronoun
THERE
-an adverb
THEYRE
- Contraction of THEY ARE

(93) them, them there,

these here, this her, that
here
THEM- a pronoun
USE THESE OR THOSE in place of either
THEM or THEM THERE.
To correct the sentence with THESE
HERE, THIS HERE, and THAT THERE,
simple leave out HERE and THERE

(94) till, until

These words are
interchangeable.
TILL
- Should not be spelled TIL or
TIL

(95) to, too,

TO- preposition
TOO- adverb
TWO- a number

two

(96) unique
-one of a kind
It should not be used to mean
ODD, INTERESTING, or UNSUAL.
Expressions as MOST UNIQUE,
VERY UNIQUE and EXTREMELY
UNIQUE are illogical.

(97) Want in,

out

want

These are nonstandard

expressions for WANT TO COME
IN, WANT TO ENTER, WANT TO
LEAVE, or WANT TO GET OUT.

(98) ways
- WAYS is plural.
- Do not use it after the
article A.
- Use instead the singular
WAY.

(99) when,

where

- Do not use WHEN or WHERE

directly after a linking verb.
- Do not use WHERE as a
substitute for THAT.

(100) -wise
- Avoid using this suffix to
create new words for a
particular situation.