30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can
Make You Look Bad
While I like to think I know a
little about business writing, I often fall into a few
word traps. For example, "who" and "whom." I rarely use
"whom" when I should. Even when spell check suggests
"whom," I think it sounds pretentious. So I don't use it.
And
I'm sure some people then think, "What a bozo."
And
that's a problem, because just like that one misspelled word that gets a resumé tossed into the
"nope" pile, using one wrong word can negatively impact your entire
message.
Fair or unfair, it happens.
So let's make sure it doesn't:
Adverse
and averse
Adverse means harmful or unfavorable; "Adverse market
conditions caused the IPO to be poorly subscribed." Averse means
dislike or opposition; "I was averse to paying $18 a share for a company
that generates no revenue."
But you can feel free to have an
aversion to adverse conditions.
Affect
and effect
Verbs first. Affect means to
influence; "Impatient investors affected our roll-out date." Effect
means to accomplish something; "The board effected a sweeping policy
change." How you use effect or affect can be tricky. For example, a
board can affect changes by influencing them, or can effect changes by
implementing them. Use effect if you're making it happen, and affect if you're
having an impact on something someone else is trying to make happen.
As for nouns, effect is
almost always correct; "Once he was fired he was given twenty minutes to
gather his personal effects." Affect refers to emotional states so unless
you're a psychologist, you're probably not using it.
Compliment
and complement
Compliment is to say something nice. Complement is to add to,
enhance, improve, complete, or bring close to perfection. So, I can
compliment your staff and their service, but if you have no current openings
you have a full complement of staff. And your new app may complement your
website.
For which I may decide to compliment
you.
Criteria
and criterion
"We made the decision based on
one overriding criteria," sounds pretty impressive but is wrong.
Remember: one criterion, two
or more criteria. Although you could always use "reason" or
"factors" and not worry about getting it wrong.
Discreet
and discrete
Discreet means careful, cautious, showing good judgment; "We made
discreet inquiries to determine whether the founder was interested in selling
her company."
Discrete means individual, separate, or distinct; "We analyzed
data from a number of discrete market segments to determine overall pricing
levels." And if you get confused, remember you don't use
"discreetion" to work through sensitive issues; you exercise
discretion.
Elicit
and illicit
Elicit means to draw out or coax. Think of elicit as the mildest
form of extract or, even worse, extort. So if one lucky survey respondent will
win a trip to the Bahamas, the prize is designed to elicit responses.
Illicit means illegal or unlawful. I suppose you could
"illicit" a response at gunpoint... but best not.
Farther
and further
Farther involves a physical distance; "Florida is farther from
New York than Tennessee." Further involves a figurative distance;
"We can take our business plan no further." So, as we say in the
South, "I don't trust you any farther than I can throw you." Or,
"I ain't gonna trust you no further."
(Seriously. I've uttered both of
those sentences. More than once.)
Imply
and infer
The speaker or writer implies.
The listener or reader infers. Imply means to suggest, while infer means
to deduce (whether correctly or not.) So, I might imply you're going to
receive a raise. You might infer that a pay increase is imminent. (But
not eminent unless the raise will be prominent and
distinguished.)
Insure
and ensure
This one's easy. Insure
refers to insurance. Ensure means to make sure. So if you promise an
order will ship on time, ensure it actually happens. Unless, of
course, you plan to arrange for compensation if the package is damaged or
lost--then feel free to insure away.
Number
and amount
I goof these up all the time. Use number
when you can count what you refer to; "The number of subscribers
who opted out increased last month." Amount refers to a quantity of
something you can't count; "The amount of alcohol consumed at our last
company picnic was staggering."
Of course it can still be confusing:
"I can't believe the number of beers I drank," is correct, but so is,
"I can't believe the amount of beer I drank." The difference is I can
count beers, but beer, especially if I was way too drunk to keep track, is an
uncountable total--so amount is the correct usage.
Precede
and proceed
Precede means to come before. Proceed means to begin or
continue. Where it gets confusing is when an "ing" comes into
play. "The proceeding announcement was brought to you by..." sounds
fine, but "preceding" is correct since the announcement came before.
If it helps, think precedence:
Anything that takes precedence is more important and therefore comes first.
Principal
and principle
A principle is a fundamental;
"We've created a culture where we all share certain principles." Principal
means primary or of first importance; "Our startup's principal is located
in NYC." (Sometimes you'll also see the plural, "principals,"
used to refer to executives or (relatively) co-equals at the top of a
particular food chain.)
Principal can also refer to the most important item in a particular
set; "Our principal account makes up 60 percent of our gross
revenues."
Principal can also refer to money, normally the original sum that was
borrowed, but can be extended to refer to the amount you owe--hence principal
and interest.
If you're referring to laws, rules,
guidelines, ethics, etc, use principle. If you're referring to the CEO or the
president (or the individual in charge of the high school), use
principal. And now for those dreaded apostrophes:
It's
and its
It's is the contraction of it is. That means it's doesn't
own anything. If your dog is neutered (that way we make the dog, however much
against his will, gender neutral) you don't say, "It's collar is
blue." You say, "Its collar is blue." Here's an easy test
to apply. Whenever you use an apostrophe, un-contract the word to see how it
sounds. In this case, turn it's into it is. "It's
sunny," becomes, "It is sunny." Sounds good to me.
They're
and their
Same with these; they're is
the contraction for they are. Again, the apostrophe doesn't own
anything. We're going to their house, and I sure hope they're
home.
Who's
and whose
"Whose password hasn't been
changed in six months?" is correct. "Who is (the un-contracted version
of who's) password hasn't been changed in six months?" sounds
silly.
You're
and your
One more. You're is the
contraction for you are. Your means you own it; the apostrophe in
you're doesn't own anything. For a long time a local non-profit had
a huge sign that said "You're Community Place."
BY Jeff Haden http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/30-incorrectly-used-words-that-can-make-us-look-stupid.html?cid=em01016week18d
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