Recently Added Articles Page #60

cannot, can not, cannot but

Use one word, not two. Thus: cannot.Can’t is the contracted form of cannot, meaning the negative of can. In formal writing, it is perfectly acceptable to use contractions.Some object to the idiomatic expressions cannot but and can but, criticizing ...

capitol, capital, capital (money)

The word capitol should be used only to describe an actual governmental building. (My fourth-grade teacher taught us that the building is spelled with an “o” as in “dome,” something that most capitols have on their roofs.)Capital has many mea...

chose, choose

The word chose is the past tense of the verb choose. Often, writers will incorrectly spell choose as chose.Example: They wanted to choose the most inexpensive car, but in the end they chose the nicest one....

climactic, climatic

Climactic relates to the word climax as in “the climactic scene” of a movie.Climatic relates to the weather as in “climatic conditions.”Example: The climatic conditions were ripe for a heavy rainfall, but no one expected the flood that led to...

clothes, cloths

Clothes are something you wear. Cloths are the bolts of fabric that might ultimately become your clothes. Cloth can be used to describe a very characteristic type of clothing worn in a specific profession or position. The term “man of the cloth” ...

coarse, course

Coarse means “common,” “rough,” or “vulgar.” Course implies movement over time or over a predetermined route. The phrases “in due course,” “matter of course,” and “of course” are all built on this meaning. A course is also a s...

compliment, complement

A compliment is a statement of praise or good wishes. A complement is something that goes well with another or completes it. In these meanings, the words act as nouns.Both words can also be used as verbs. To compliment means "to say something nice, t...

comprise, constitute, compose

Comprise means “to be composed of” or “to contain.” Constitute means “to be one of the parts of” something. You could say that the parts constitute the whole and the whole comprises the parts.According to the traditional rule, the whole c...

continual, continuous

Both words can be used to describe an event that recurs regularly.Continual describes an event that begins and ends and begins again over a period of time.Continuous assumes that the event goes on uninterrupted; it implies a lack of interruption.Exa...

counsel, council

Lawyers are most familiar with the word counsel, meaning “advice” or “guidance.” Also, a lawyer is often referred to as a counsel. A corporation, for example, has a general counsel, the head corporate lawyer. A council, on the other hand, is ...

coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention

Expressions such as coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention, and others do not act as coordinating conjunctions. Therefore, when you use these expressions to join one singular subject of a sentence with another noun or pro...

along with

See coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention....

as well as

See coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention....

together with

See coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention....

not to mention

See coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention....

criterion, criteria

Criterion is a singular noun that means the “standard” or “rule” used to make a judgment or decision.Criteria is the plural form of that word, although it is commonly misused as a singular word (what is your criteria?).You may use data and ag...

critique

Until the middle of the 1900s, the word critique served as a noun. But as the verb criticize began to have negative connotations, the word critique became a verb to mean “to review the good and bad aspects of someone’s work.”Example: The writin...

currently, presently

These words are often used to describe an action that is occurring now, at this moment in time.The word presently has come to be used more frequently to describe an action that is just about to happen rather than one that is happening at this moment....

presently, currently

See currently, presently....

data

In formal writing, it’s probably best to treat this word as a plural. Thus: the data are.The singular is datum, but in nonscientific circles, you’ll probably sound pretentious if you use datum.Usage panels now increasingly recognize that data can...

demure, demur

Demure is an adjective used to describe someone who is reserved, modest, or shy.Demur is a verb that means “to delay” or “to object.” Lawyers will use demur to describe the act of entering a demurrer, a motion to dismiss a case.You should tak...

dessert, desert

A dessert is something you eat after dinner.A desert is a hot place with a lot of sand. Desert can also be used as a verb meaning “to abandon” or a noun to describe something that is deserved.Example: After the soldiers decided to desert, they dr...

devise, device

To devise means “to formulate a plan.” In the law, devise means “to give away land or other real property in a will.”A device is something that is made to serve a specific purpose. Device is always a noun while devise is most commonly a verb ...

diary, dairy

A diary is a written record of daily events.A dairy is a place that produces milk or milk products. Dairy is also used as an adjective to describe something commonly associated with milk or cows. Since very few cows will have daily events worthy of d...

different from, different than

Although both of these phrases are common today, some believe that different than is always incorrect. The reason is easy to understand. The word than follows a comparative adjective or adverb. For example, her car is faster than mine. Or he runs fas...