Recently Added Articles Page #61

farther, further

Some usage guides insist that only farther describes physical distance (We walked farther than we planned). But farther and further have been used interchangeably throughout much of their histories.Note, however, that only further may be used in the ...

feel

Too many people use feel when they mean “think, believe, or maintain.” Consider this passage from Newsweek: She feels that crime prevention must start with helping small children find their way out of poverty and neglect …. Quoted in Garner, Ox...

fewer, less

Under the general rule, fewer should be used for plural nouns and things that can actually be counted while less is used for collective nouns, mass nouns, or abstract nouns. The exceptions to this rule involve common phrases that allow less to become...

fiancé, fiancée

A fiancé is male; a fiancée is female....

firstly, secondly, thirdly

You should use first, second, and third to show textual enumerations in your writing. Many authorities prefer first, not firstly, even when the remaining items or points are introduced with secondly and thirdly.Example: First, through practice you wi...

flaunt, flout

Flaunt means “to show off” or “to exhibit shamelessly.” Flout means “to show contempt for, to mock, to show disdain.” Unfortunately, perhaps because flaunt is commonly used in conjunction with wealth and a shameless show of wealth is some...

for

Don’t hesitate to start a sentence with For. It’s a coordinating conjunction, and great writers have been starting sentences with conjunctions for hundreds of years. You can remember the coordinating conjunctions by referring to the acronym BOYFA...

forgo, forego

Forgo means “to abstain from” or “to relinquish something.”Forego means “to go before.” (Note the prefix fore-, as in before).Writers often confuse the two, usually using forego when they mean “forgo.”Both have past-tense construction...

former, latter

You should restrict your use of former and latter to those situations where just two referents are involved. The former is the first one; the latter is the second one. If you have more than two, then use first instead of former and last instead of la...

formerly, formally

Formerly means “at an earlier time.”Formally means “proper“ or “with official authorization.”Example: Having formerly run the operation as the interim chair, he was formally appointed to the chairmanship after the vote was counted....

fourth, forth

Fourth is the one between third and fifth.Forth means “forward” or “onward.”Example: After their fourth year of college, most students will graduate with the hope that they will go forth and prosper....

further to your letter

All writers should junk this expression.See enclosed please find, please find enclosed, enclosed herewith....

get, got, “got milk?”

The word “get” means “to receive or come to have possession, use, or enjoyment of.” It also means “to cause to be in one’s possession or succeed in having available for one’s use or enjoyment; obtain; acquire.”Some people insist that ...

gibe, jibe, jive

Gibe means “to taunt” (verb) or “a caustic remark” (noun).Jibe is generally used only as a verb, and it means “to accord with” or “to be consistent with.” Jibe is also a nautical term for the process of shifting the sails from one sid...

good, well

As a noun, well is a hole in the ground or a ship’s compartment. Well is also an adverb used to modify a verb or an adjective. Finally, well is also an adjective meaning "not sick."Good is an adjective used to modify a noun.Verb Good?Sportscasters ...

grizzly, grisly

The word grizzly means “grayish” or “relating to a large brown bear.”The word grisly mean “ghastly or horrible.”Don’t confuse the two.Example: The grizzly bear attacked the campers, leaving a grisly scene behind....

grow, grow the economy

The verb grow is typically intransitive because it describes a process undergone by the subject. Thus: The business grew rapidly. When used as a transitive verb, grow traditionally meant “to grow crops or to grow a beard.”These days, however, som...

handful, handfuls

The proper plural is handfuls, not handsful.Consider this usage note from Dictionary.com. The plurals of nouns ending in -ful are usually formed by adding -s to the suffix: two cupfuls; two scant teaspoonfuls. Perhaps influenced by the phrase in whic...

hanged, hung

Both hanged and hung are past-participial and past-tense forms of the verb hang meaning “to suspend” or “to attach.”The difference is that hanged (past tense and past participle) should be used exclusively in cases where the thing suspended i...

harass, harrass

The correct spelling is harass.You may pronounce it either way, with an accent on the first syllable or the last. In American English, the better pronunciation accents the second syllable....

healthful, healthy

There is a very technical distinction between these two that is slowly wearing away. In their strictest senses, healthy means “possessing good health” and healthful nmeans “conducive to good health,” but these words have become quite intercha...

height, heighth

The proper spelling, of course, is height. Yet because many people improperly pronounce the word with an ending ‑th, you’ll sometimes see the word heighth. In the Richmond Times Dispatch, we see this error: Second-seeded Syracuse had intermittent...

historical, historic

There are significant differences between these two words, and savvy writers should know them.The word historic refers to something that is historically significant. A building might be historic (Monticello). An event might be historic (signing of th...

homage

Pronounce this word with a strong h. To pronounce it ah-mage reveals a speaker’s lack of knowledge....

however

Mr. Strunk and Mr. White in The Elements of Style urge writers to avoid starting a sentence with “However.” It’s not a grammatical mistake to start a sentence with However. It’s just that good writers don’t do it. Instead, they start a cont...