Elizabeth von Radics
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Top 10 Taboos
Top 10 Taboos
One of my high school English teachers once handed out a page of “taboos” — grammatical errors that were so egregious yet so commonplace that she summarized them for distribution to students. This was with the admonition that anyone committing one of these syntactic sins would be docked an entire letter grade on the offending assignment. Her list included such grammatical affronts as using it’s
for its
and there
for their
— basic fundamentals for any writer of English.
In the spirit of English teachers everywhere (my mom included), I’ve drawn up my own list. These are corrections that I make daily, on everything from trade paperback manuscripts to corporate annual reports. Less obvious than a lot
versus alot,
they are nevertheless grammatical necessities — the details that make the difference between flawed and flawless text.
1. I versus me
You’d think that all the drilling from our mothers of “May Ellie and I
go...” would have sunk in. Problem is, it did — and it sunk in way too far. We grew up with the impression that me
was a bad word. Seems like every time we used it, someone corrected us, saying that the correct word was I. The backlash of all this is that people use I
for everything now — even when the correct word choice is me.
This is true of newscasters, actors, and [gasp!] even some writers and editors.
When the first person (I
or me) is the subject of the sentence, as in:
May Ellie and I go with Clementine?
I
is obviously correct. Kids speak in simple sentences like this, which is where all that continual drilling comes in.
The problem arises when the first person falls in the predicate
of the sentence:
No, you and Ellie must stay with me.
That me
is correct here seems obvious; you wouldn’t say “stay with I.” Why, then, do we constantly hear otherwise educated people say:
She gave the project to Ellie and I because we did so well.
One wouldn’t say “She gave it to I,” but throw in that Ellie
and,
and we revert to being five years old, overriding common sense in favor of Mother’s litany.
Rule of thumb:
When in doubt, mentally delete that second person — the Ellie and. For example:
She wanted to know if Ellie and I would be available tomorrow.
Take out the Ellie
and
so that it reads She wanted to know if…I would be available, and you know you’re on the right track — and can put that litany to rest.
2. which versus that
This is a matter of a nonrestrictive
versus a restrictive
clause. Which
sets off a nonrestrictive clause that can be taken out of a sentence; it is preceded by a comma. That
introduces a restrictive clause that is an integral part of the sentence and takes no punctuation.
The chair, which is broken, is in the attic.
The chair that is broken is in the attic.
In the first example, which is nonrestrictive, you are talking about only one chair, which happens to be broken. In the second, restrictive, example, you are talking about the chair that is broken, distinguishing it from other chairs that are not
broken.
A nonrestrictive
phrase or clause is one that could be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence (The chair...is in the attic); it should be set off by commas, such as in the first example. A restrictive
phrase or clause, on the other hand, so qualifies or limits the word it modifies that it could not
be omitted without affecting the meaning of the sentence — and it should not be set off. The most common mistake is to use which
when the correct word is that.
Rule of thumb:
If the clause can be surrounded by commas, and thus taken out and the sentence will still make sense, use which. Otherwise, use that.
3. lie versus lay
Does anyone
get this right? I confess to having to look it up on more than one occasion, especially when it involves past tense. Lie
means to rest
or to recline
(not to mention to tell an
untruth):
I usually lie on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Lay means to put, to set, or to place
something:
Please lay the book on the rug.
Note, however, that the past tense of lie
is spelled lay:
I lay on the rug until the fire died out.
A further fly in the ointment is that lay
is also slang for to make love to
(whether or not you’re reclining). Can someone lie
about laying
you down to lay
you while lying
on a rug?
4. while versus although
In general, while
should be used only to express time, meaning simultaneously
or during the time that:
While he played guitar, I read a book.
A common error is to use while
in place of although:
While he plays guitar, I prefer to read.
The previous example implies that I like to read when he plays guitar. It’s ambiguous at best. When I mean to say that his
favorite pastime is playing guitar whereas mine
is reading, although
is the correct word choice:
Although he plays guitar, I prefer to read.
5. as long as versus so long as
As long as
implies a physical comparison:
That snake was as long as my arm!
So long as
implies a condition:
So long as you maintain your cool, we’ll keep looking at the snakes.
A common mistake is to use as long as
when the correct phrase is so long as.
6. farther versus further
Farther
refers to physical distance:
I can’t walk any farther.
Further
refers to degree or quantity:
I refuse to discuss this any further.
A common mistake is to use further
when the correct word choice is farther.
7. continual versus continuous
Continual
refers to something that happens repeatedly, over and over again:
The continual interruptions had her in a real snit.
Continuous
refers to something that happens unceasingly, in an unbroken continuum:
The continuous hum of the rain soothed her frazzled nerves.
The most common mistake with these two words is simply using them interchangeably.
8. affect versus effect
Affect
is almost always used as a verb and means to
influence:
How you eat affects how you feel.
On the few occasions when affect
is used as a noun, it refers to the conscious subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes. Unless you’re writing a dissertation on psychology, you’ll seldom need to use affect
as a noun.
Effect
is usually used as a noun and means a result:
The effect of eating junk food is that you feel pretty junky.
On the few occasions when effect
is used as a verb, it means to cause
or
produce a result:
To effect good health, you need to eat right.
Likewise affective
versus effective:
Affective
means relating to, arising from, or influencing emotion:
The melancholy poetry was so affective I had to close the book.
Effective
means to produce a decided, decisive, or desired result:
Studying night and day was a very effective means of acing the exam.
9. compose versus comprise
Compose
means to constitute, to make up the whole, or to be part of the composition of something. Comprise
means to embrace, to contain, to gather together:
The many images compose the montage.
The montage comprises the many images.
A common mistake is to use the phrase comprised of, which is never correct.
Rule of thumb:
Remember that the parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts.
10. compare to versus compare with
Compare to
means to liken something to another thing in a figurative way, as in a simile:
He compared her to a summer’s day.
Compare with
means to
juxtapose something with another thing in a literal way, as in measuring their qualities or their similarities and differences:
She compared the handwritten ledger with the printed bank statement.