24 Things You Might Be Saying Wrong

The Reader's Digest Version of all those confusing words and seemingly random rules you missed in English class. You never mean: Could care less You always mean: Couldn't care less Why: You want to say you care so little already that you couldn't possibly care any less. When the oston Celtics' Ray !llen said" #$od could care less whether % can shoot a &ump shot"# we 'now he meant e(actly the opposite because )* $od has other things on his mind" and +* $od is a ,nic's fan.

You might say: -ano a mano You might mean: -an.to.man Why: You don't spea' /panish by adding 0owels to the end of English words" as a columnist describing father1teenage son relationships seemed to thin' when he wrote" #Don't e(pect long" mano a mano tal's.# -ano a mano 2literally" #hand to hand#* originated with bullfighting and usually refers to a 'noc'. down" drag.out direct confrontation. You might say: 3ess You might mean: 4ewer Why: %n general" use fewer when you're specifying a number of countable things 2#+55 words or fewer#*6 reser0e less for a mass 2#less than half#*. /o when you're composing a tweet" do it in )75 characters or fewer" not less. You never mean: 8one in You always mean: 8ome in Why: 3i'e homing pigeons" we can be single.minded about finding our way to a point9 #/cientists are homing in on the causes of cancer.# 8one means #to sharpen#9 #The roo'ie spent the last three seasons honing his s'ills in the minor leagues.# ut it's easy to mishear m's and n's" which is probably what happened to the Virginia senator who said" #We'0e got to hone in on cost containment.# %f you're unsure" say #:ero in# instead. You might say: ring You might mean: Ta'e Why: The choice depends on your point of 0iew. ;se bring when you want to show motion toward you

2# ring the dog treats o0er here" please#*. ;se ta'e to show motion in the opposite direction 2#% ha0e to ta'e Rufus to the 0et#*. The rule gets confusing when the mo0ement has nothing to do with you. %n those cases" you can use either 0erb" depending on the conte(t9 #The assistant brought the shot to the 0et# 2the 0et's point of 0iew*6 #the assistant too' the shot to the doctor# 2the assistant's*. You might say: Who You might mean: Whom Why: %t all depends. Do you need a sub&ect or an ob&ect< ! sub&ect 2who* is the actor of the sentence9 #Who left the roller s'ates on the sidewal'<# !n ob&ect 2whom* is the acted.upon9 #Whom are you calling<# =arents" hit the -ute button when Dora the E(plorer shouts" #Who do we as' for help when we don't 'now which way to go<# You almost never mean: rother.in.laws" runner.ups" hole in ones" etc. You almost always mean: rothers.in.law" runners.up" holes in one" etc. Why: =lurals of these compound nouns are formed by adding an s to the thing there's more than one of 2brothers" not laws*. /ome e(ceptions9 words ending in ful 2mouthfuls* and phrases li'e cul.de.sacs. You almost never mean: Try and You almost always mean: Try to Why: Try and try again" yes" but if you're planning to do something" use the infiniti0e form9 #%'m going to try to run a marathon.# Commenting on an online story about brea'ups" one woman wrote" #! guy % dated used to try and impress me with the choice of boo's he was reading.# %t's no surprise that the relationship didn't last. You almost never mean: Different than You almost always mean: Different from Why: This isn't the biggest offense" but if you can easily substitute from for than 2-y mother's tomato sauce is different from my mother.in.law's*" do it. ;se than for comparisons9 -y mother's tomato sauce is better than my mother.in.law's. You almost never mean: eg the >uestion You almost always mean: Raise the >uestion Why: Correctly used" #begging the >uestion# is li'e ma'ing a circular argument 2% don't li'e you because you're so unli'able*. ut unless you're a philosophy professor" you shouldn't e0er need this phrase. /tic' to #raise the >uestion.# You might say: -ore than You can also say: ?0er

Why: The two are interchangeable when the sense is #?0er @"555 hats were sold.# We li'e grammarian ryan $arner's ta'e on it9 #The charge that o0er is inferior to more than is a baseless crotchet.# You almost never mean: /upposably You almost always mean: /upposedly Why: /upposably is" in fact" a wordAit means #concei0ably#Abut not the one you want if you're trying to say #it's assumed"# and certainly not the one you want if you're on a first date with an English ma&or or a &ob inter0iew with an English spea'er. You might say: !ll of You probably mean: !ll Why: Drop the of whene0er you can" as Bulia Roberts recently did" correctly9 #E0ery little moment is ama:ing if you let yourself access it. % learn that all the time from my 'ids.# ut you need all of before a pronoun 2#all of them#* and before a possessi0e noun 2#all of Bulia's 'ids#*. You might say: That You might mean: Which Why: #The money that is on the table is for you# is different from #the money" which is on the table" is for you.# That pinpoints the sub&ect9 The money that is on the table is yours6 the money in my poc'et is mine. Which introduces an aside" a bit of e(tra information. %f you remo0e #which is on the table"# you won't change the meaning9 The money is for you 2oh" and unless you don't want it" it's on the table*. %f the clause is necessary to your meaning" use that6 if it could safely be omitted" say which. You never mean: ?utside of You always mean: ?utside Why: These two prepositions weren't meant for each other. =erfectly acceptable9 #Wearing a cheese. head hat outside Wisconsin will li'ely earn you some stares and glares 2unless you're surrounded by $reen ay =ac'ers fans" that is*.# You might say: Each other You might mean: ?ne another Why: Tradition says that each other should be used with two people or things" and one another with more than two" and careful spea'ers should follow suit9 #The three presenters argued with one another o0er who should announce the award" but !nn and arbara ga0e each other flowers after the ceremony.# 2 y the way" if you need the possessi0e form of either one when writing that business letter" it's always each other's and one another's6 ne0er end with s'.*

8 Confusing Pairs leery, wary: suspicious weary9 tired farther9 for physical distance further9 for metaphorical distance or time principle9 rule principal9 of your school compliment9 nice thing to say complement9 match continual9 ongoing but intermittent continuous9 without interruption stationary9 stands still stationery9 paper imply9 to suggest a meaning infer9 to draw meaning from something affect9 typically a 0erb" meaning #to act upon or cause an effect#6 as a noun" it's #an emotional response# effect9 typically a noun" meaning #something produced"# li'e a special effect6 as a 0erb" #to bring about"# as in #to effect change#