A / an
Q: What article is used if the name of the agency is abbreviated, e.g., FBI?
A: It is the sound of the initial letter in the abbreviated form that governs. FBI sounds like EFF-B-I. And so we say, "an H.R. bill," "an M.I.T. student."
About / around
Around, except informally, should not replace about in "I will meet you around three o'clock," the intended sense being at that approximate time. The combination at about is unacceptable, since ataboutabout to mean almost, as in "The conductor is about pinpoints and approximates. Also avoid the use of ready to begin."
Afraid / frightened
Q: My aunt frequently says, “I’m afraid,” as in “I’m afraid we must leave” or “I’m afraid we can’t attend.” Is that phraseology acceptable?
A: Her usage is informal for “to think” or “to believe.” She could just as well say, “I think we must leave” and “I’m sorry we can’t attend.” Afraid is preferably used when there is real cause for fear or alarm or at least some apprehension.
Q: Grammatically, is a person frightened of thunder?
A: No. He is frightened by thunder, possibly because he has always been afraid of thunder. The sense of afraid is habitual fear. To frighten is to fill with sudden and extreme fear or terror. Idiomatically, a person is frightened by and is afraid of.
Ago / since
Do not use the words together, since each word refers to past time. In tandem they are redundant. Not “It was nearly twenty-two years ago since I met her,” but “It was nearly twenty-two years ago that/when…,” or use since and drop ago.
Agreement of subject and verb
Q: Why is it that although we say, “Study and hard work are good for you,” we say, “Pie and ice cream is my favorite dessert”?
A: Generally a subject containing two or more elements connected by and is plural. But some compound subjects constitute a unit; that is, they have been compounded into an oneness, and as such, take a singular verb. Hence we say, “Pie and ice cream is…,” “Ham and eggs is…” because they togetherness makes them a unit.
Q: Which is correct: “Eleven feet are all we need” or “Eleven feet is all we need”?
A: The latter. A unit of measurement is singular, even though denoted by a plural noun (“We thought 140 pounds was too heavy.” “We know that ten dollars is all it’s worth.” “Four years is a long time.”) A period of time is regarded as a unit.
Q: How do we know whether a verb following a fraction should be singular or plural?
A: The number of the verb is determined not by the fraction but rather by the noun following it. “One half of the apple is rotten”; “One half of the apples are rotten.”
Q: “Many a man and woman seek for themselves a better living.” Is a correction needed?
A: Although a compound subject (two or more parts) connected by and requires a plural verb, an exception is made with many a. It takes a singular verb and pronoun. Therefore, substitute seeks and himself (or herself) for seek and themselves.
All
Q: When all is used as a noun, is it a singular or a plural?
A: It depends on the meaning ascribed to it. If all is the equivalent of everything or the only thing, it takes a singular verb (“All is not lost”; “All I want is to come home safely”). If all encompasses each person in a group, it takes a plural verb (“All are wishing you well;” “All were regarded as competent mechanics”).
All over
Q: What may be said about the phrase all over the world?
A: It is good idiom, but in formal writing transposes all and over: over all the world. And never use all over for everywhere. Not “We looked all over for the pen,” but “We looked everywhere.
All together / altogether
All together means all at once (“We’ll now sing all together”) or everyone in one place (“The family is all together on the front lawn”) and that altogether means completely or all told (“My supervisor is altogether pleased that the department is working all together”; “Jill spent three dollars altogether”).
Both
Q: Should we say, “We both bought a radio” or “We each bought a radio”?
A: It depends on how it was bought. Saying, “We both bought a radio” implies that the two of you bought a radio jointly – one radio. Both means “two considered together.” Saying, “We eachSince both means two, be careful to avoid the redundant use of both with such words as alike (“They are both alike”), equal (“Both cousins are equally healthy”), or together (“The boys both swam together”). Omit the italicized words. bought a radio” indicated a purchase of two radios, one for each of you.
Burned up / Burned down
Q: Is there a difference in meaning between “His house burned up” and “His house burned down”?
A: Paradoxical as those sentences seem, they mean the same thing. This is one of the wonders of the English language. And so with “The car slowed up” and “The car slowed down.” In either case, it slowed.
Careless
Q: What preposition does careless take?
A: It may take about, in, of, or with. A man is careless about his dress, in the way he ties his shoelaces, of the feelings of others, with his belongings. Adjective careful may take those same prepositions.
Cause of
Q: Why is it wrong to say, “The cause of the accident was due to a defective steering wheel”? Isn’t the sentence clear?
A: The meaning is clear, but the sentence is unnecessarily wordy. It says the same thing twice – cause and due to. Economize and make it either “The cause of the accident was a defective steering wheel” or “The accident was due to a defective steering wheel,” not both cause and due to.
Clause of purpose
Q: What might you say about this sentence: “Bob made sure he talked all the time, so no one could argue with him”?
A: A clause of purpose should not be introduced by so but by so that (“Bob made sure he talked all the time so that no one…”), and it should not be preceded with a comma because the clause is essential to the main thought. Incidentally, an infinitive could have served: “Bob talked all the time to keep anybody from arguing with him.” A so that clause of result, unlike a clause of purpose, is preceded with a comma: “The dog was dead, so that there was nothing further she could do.
Comprise / Composed of / Include
The whole comprised the parts and parts compose or make up the whole, the passive form comprised of is unacceptable. The transitive verb comprise must be followed by a direct object: “The orchestra comprises two violinists, a pianist, a saxophone player, and a drummer”; “The United States comprises fifty states.” Or, if you wish to circumvent comprise, you may say, “The United States is composed of (or consists of or is made up of) fifty states,” but not is comprised of. The word comprise and include are not synonyms. Whereas comprise suggests the totality of the constituent parts, include suggests that some component parts are mission. “The exhibit includes artifacts from
Consider
Q: May consider be followed by as?
A: No, when meaning regard (“I consider him [no as] a good man”); yes, when meaning discussed or examined (“We considered him as teacher and then as provost”). Idiomatically, consider is followed by a direct object when its sense is to regard as. This means that unlike regard, as may not follow it (“We regard it as a fracas”; “We consider [no as] a fracas”).
Cured
Q: What preposition does verb cured take?
A: It takes of. A person is cured of a disease. The common error is to use the preposition from. A person is not cured from but of.
Depend
Q: “Are we going?” I asked my brother. He said, “It depends whether it rains.” Does his English need correcting?
A: When depends indicates condition or contingency, it needs to be followed by on or upon (“It depends on whether it rains”; “Whether you like heavy drama depends upon your background and taste”). Do not leave intransitive depends hanging in the air. Anchor it to on or upon.
Despite / in spite of the fact that
Q: Which is preferable – despite the fact that or in spite of the fact that?
A: Writing stylists are not kindly disposed toward either one. They would prefer simple although. Between despite and in spite of, the preference is for despite because of its compactness.
Dies
Q: Was the report worded correctly that said the patient died from an aneurism?
A: According to traditional English, a person dies of a disease or ailment. If death results form the effects of an inward agent – disease, old age, thirst – of is the correct preposition to use. A person dies from the effects of an outward agent – from a gunshot wound, form suffocation.
Differ
A: One may always follow differ with from (“Boys differ from girls in many ways”). But differ, in addition to its sense of dissimilarity, may indicate disagreement. When that is so, differ may take with or from “My neighbor’s son always differ with me”). In this construction, with is more common that from.
Q: The word differ takes various prepositions in different constructions. What are they, and when are they used?
A: Differ may take preposition with, in, or from. “Agnes differs with her aunt all the time” means that she disagrees with her constantly. “Agnes and her aunt differ in their political views” means that they have different political ideas. “In many ways Agnes and her aunt differ from each other” suggests dissimilarity.
Due to
Q: I have been criticized for writing sentences like this one: “Due to the snow, our trip was postponed.” The objection was the use of due to. Do you agree with the critic?
A: Yes, the criticism was merited. Although many people use due to to function adverbially as you did, grammatically the sentence needs a prepositional phrase like because of or owing to (“Because of the now”). Due is an adjective and must have a noun to modify – for example, “His absence is due to his illness.” Note: To be sure not to offend anyone’s grammatical sense, however, the safeguard is not to begin a sentence with due to (in that position it rarely serves as an adjective) and to precede due to with a form of the verb be (in that position it is invariable used correctly as a predicate adjective). In “The change in weather is due to an unexpected low-pressure system” and in “His success was due to consistent effort,” due adjectivally modifies change and success, respectively. Strictly speaking, due to means caused by or attributable to. If either of those expressions fits, due to is being used properly.
Else
Q: May it be my choice whether to follow else with but or than in a sentence such as “Nothing else but (or than) this will dl”?
A: To follow else with but is impermissible. However, you may combine else with thanelse than this will do”). Or if you wish, drop else (“Nothing but this will do”). Note: else in his office.” (“Nothing When a person or thing is compared with others in its own category, that person or thing must be excluded. It would make no sense to say, “My stockbroker is more knowledgeable than anyone in his office,” but it is proper to say, “My stockbroker is more knowledgeable than anyone
Even
Q: What warning should one heed when using the word even?
A: Remember to place it immediately before the word it modifies. Its placement can affect the meaning of the sentence; for example, “Even Roger did not speak to me today”; “Roger did not speak even to me today”; or “Roger did not speak to me even today.” Each of those sentences has a meaning quite different from the others.
Farther / further
Farther suggests physical distance and further metaphorical distance, which is any distance that cannot be measured. People who have not reached their destination must continue farther. But a discussion is continued further.
Few
Q: The word few intrigues me. It is used in so many ways. It could mean a great deal or a short supply. Your comments would be appreciated.
A: The sense of few changes, almost reverses itself, depending on how it is used. The opposite of few is many. Therefore, if you say few people were there, you mean not many. But if you say quite a few were there, you mean a good many, possibly more than you expected. If you say only a few were there, clearly the attendance was disappointing.
Note: Avoid the combination few in number. Drop in number.
Fewer / less
Q: I struggle with the words fewer and less is some usages. For example, should I say, “Fewer (or less) than four persons showed up?
A: You should say “fewer than four.” Fewer refers to numbers; less refers to amounts. Or, to put it differently, fewer is used of countable items; less, of collective quantity. “If we eat fewer calories, we’ll have less fat.”
In / into
Q: We often hear a sentence like: “Andy went in his house to get a glass of water.” Is in used correctly?
A: Colloquially, yes; strictly speaking, no. Preposition in denotes position, usually a fixed position (“The butter is in the icebox”), or motion within an area (“The patient was allowed to walk in his room”). Into implies motion from one place to another, as in your example – “He went into his house to get a glass of water.” Figuratively into indicates a change of condition or form (“Don’t flew into a rage”; “The patient fell into a faint”).
Lay / lie
The problem with the word lay is that it serves two verbs in different capacities. It is the present tense of the transitive verb lay (meaning to put or place somewhere), which requires an object (“I lay the newspaper on my dad’s desk every morning”). It is also the past tense of the intransitive verb lie (meaning to rest or to recline), which takes no object (“I lay down for a nap at
Live
Q: What preposition follows the verb live?
A: Many prepositions follow the verb to live; for example, in, on, at, and by: “I live in Pleasantville”; “I live on Pine Street”; “I live at 1322”; “I live by writing.”
