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Word Usage & Abusage

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This guide to word usage is based upon several sources, which are not always in agreement. Remember American English is a “living” language. Also, writers must always consider their audiences.

When we weren’t sure about one of these words or phrases, we checked American Usage and Style, by Roy H. Copperud. We could compare various dictionaries and grammar guides… if we had a year or two. Copperud compares at least nine sources, noting when major references differ.

- N -

naked / nude - Naked is considered whimsical while nude is considered suggestive or artistic.

The drunken painter sat naked on his stool, painting dancing nudes.

need - Avoid when possible. There are few needs in life: food and shelter, top the list.

neither - Use a singular verb and the conjunction nor.

Neither he nor she is the author of the poem.

nice - Overused. Avoid when possible.

no man’s land - Three words, with a possessive.

noncontroversial - Avoid. All issues are controversial. Anything else is a statement of fact.

not - Avoid when it is possible to use a single word. Negative words often begin with un, an, a, in, or im.

The show was not interesting.
Edited:
The show was uninteresting.

I am not going.
Edited, yet weaker:
I am remaining here. (Awkward.)

nowadays - One word, not nowdays.

numerous - Avoid as imprecise. Use many when necessary.

There were numerous books on the desk.
Edited:
There were ten books on the desk.

- O -

of - One of the most overused words in English (yes, sarcasm). Remove when possible. Also, remove of in most cases dealing with groups or measurements.

One of the writers left early.
Edited:
One writer left early.

of between / of from - Use to indicate a range of measure.

The script requires a budget of between 20 and 30 million dollars.

of course - Avoid. Implies the reader is ignorant.

Of course, anyone can ride a bike.
Edited:
Anyone can ride a bike. (Still hyperbole, but less insulting.)

off of - Simply off.

He fell off of his chair.
Edited:
He fell off his chair.

often - An adverb of time, use with caution. Often is not precise.

We went to the beach often.
Edited:
We went to the beach weekly.

OK - Do not use okay according to the Associated Press. O.K. is also considered acceptable.

old friend - Cliché. Often considered ironic, use with care.

on - Use more precise prepositions when possible. On should apply only to a physical location. Try to substitute about or of; at or by; for; toward; or in. Avoid on before a date or day of the week.

We will meet on Monday
Edited:
We will meet Monday.

on / upon - As prepositions, increasingly synonymous in American English. Any editorial decision to use upon is based on a desire for literary effect. Use upon (sparingly) for time, abstractions, and repetitions. Upon may also be used to indicate “old” things or ideas. Use on for locations, connected parts, and direct correlations.

“Upon my love for you, I must act!” he declared.
She placed his calling card on the desk.
He wrote her letter upon letter, declaring his loyalty.
Based on her seeming lack of response, he moved to France.

Though his name was on the cover, the story was based upon a familiar legend.
(We assume the legend is old, hence upon is acceptable.)

one - Avoid as a replacement for I or you, except in formal writing.

One should be honest in poetry.
Edited:
You should be honest in poetry.

online / on-line - On-line is considered correct; online is increasingly common.

only - A common causes of split verb phrases.

He has only been writing a few years.
(Has been writing is the verb phrase.)
Edited:
He has been writing only a few years.

on to / onto - Onto is a preposition while on to is part of the verb phrase.

Placing her credit card onto the counter, she asked to travel on to New York.

onward / onwards - Only onward is an adjective while either can be used as an adverb.

The onward journey would be challenging.
Walking onwards, his feet ached.

or / nor - Use nor in the negative sense when the introductory statement does not directly affect the action refused. Use or if the two relate.

You must fish or cut bait.
(You free the bait if you do not use the smaller fish as lures.)

She refused to finish the script, nor would she give it to another writer.

other than - Avoid when redundant. Use otherwise or except.

ought - Do not use with auxiliary verbs and do not omit to when using the infinitive phrase.

She ought to write nightly for practice.

outside - Do not use of.

He stood outside of the agent’s office.
Edited:
He stood outside the agent’s office.

over - For numbers use more than. Use over as a preposition of location.

overall - The adjective and adverb are one word.

Overall, they succeeded. The overall effect was unknown.

owing / owing to - Use because or since.

- P -

pair / pairs - Either is a correct plural, though pairs is increasingly common. In relation to people use a plural verb.

The pair were scheduled to appear on the same panel. The host requested three pairs of shoes for the taping.

paramount - Avoid. Use important when possible. We like paramount, but most editors will remove it.

pass / past - A common mistake is to use past as a past tense of pass. The proper verb is passed. The past is a time.

We watched as he passed the store, remembering how alive he looked in the past.

per - Use a or an adverb when possible.

He mailed query letters twice per week.
Edited:
He mailed query letters twice a week.
He mailed query letters twice weekly.

percentage - Often mistakenly used to indicate a small fraction, percentage refers to any number. Because it is “meaningless” without a value, avoid using.

perfect - Avoid modifiers with perfect, something is perfect or not. Some clichés are acceptable, but use them wisely.

per se - Avoid, as per se means “of, by, or in itself” and should not be used to define or clarify a statement.

He wasn’t gifted, per se, but worked hard.
Edited:
He wasn’t gifted, but worked hard.

petite - Avoid. Petite refers to height, but most assume the word implies a complete smallness.

Ph.D. - The correct form for a Doctor of Philosophy degree’s abbreviation.

plead innocent - In law there is no such phrase; the correct phrase is “plead not guilty.” Innocence is not a legal finding.

pleaded / pled - Pleaded is preferred by journalists, but pled is considered correct American English, too.

p.m. - The correct form. See a.m.

plus - Use and when possible. Plus requires a singular verb.

The dress plus her expression is the formula for seduction.

pretty - Avoid in the sense of moderately.

It was a pretty nice day.
Edited:
It was a nice day.

More to avoid:
pretty well, pretty close, pretty bad…

private industry - Redundant. Industry is private, unless you are in a socialist or communist country with state-owned industry.

probe - Use investigation when appropriate. Probes are popular tools of aliens, some publications claim.

professor - Reserve for those with a Ph.D.

prophecy / prophesy - The noun and the verb forms.

The prophecy was bleak. Why would he prophesy such a thing?

protagonist - Greek meaning “the principle actor in a story.” The protagonist is not necessarily good.

protest - Do not use the preposition of. One protests against an injustice.

put - Use for a physical action. Usually, a better word can be chosen.

He put the pen on the desk and walked away.

- Q -

quality - Items have quality or they do not. Avoid modifiers, such as high or low.

quasi - Hyphenate with adjectives.

It is a quasi-historical novel.

quick / quickly - Use quickly as an adverb.

Roadrunners are quick. We saw one quickly cross the highway.

quite - Avoid when possible, quite is like pretty when used as a modifier.

She was quite nice.
Edited:
She was nice

- R -

raised / reared - Animals are said to be raised while children are reared. It is increasingly common to use raised in both instances.

rather - The equivalent of somewhat or moderately. Avoid using additional modifiers.

He was a rather talented poet.

recur / reoccur - Recur is preferred for a repeated event.

rebut / refute - rebut is to argue the contrary. Refute connotes success in the argument.

regardless - Irregardless is not a word. To regard is to consider; regardless means without consideration.

Regardless of the final score, the team earned respect.

rendezvous - Properly used as a noun. One cannot rendezvous with; there is a rendezvous event.

The lovers’ rendezvous was ruined by her husband.

result - Use the preposition in, not with.

Poverty might result in crime.

review / revue - Use revue for stage performances. A review is a study or critique.

The critic’s review of the revue was cruel.

Rio Grande River - Redundant, since rio means river. Use Rio Grande.

routine - Often redundant, anything normal or expected is routine.

- S -

Sahara Desert - Redundant as Sahara means desert.

said / stated - Written words are stated. Only the spoken word can be said. We see evidence said and its forms are being used for printed words, but academic editors still prefer stated.

“It states in his will that the money goes to the dog,” the lawyer said.

same - Avoid using as a pronoun. Sometimes it reads more naturally and should be used, but attempt to rewrite the passage except in dialogue.

He lied on the stand today. The same was true yesterday.
Edited:
He lied on the stand today, just as he did yesterday.

sans - Replace with without; most people don’t use sans.

scattered in all directions - Redundant. Use scattered.

scholar - Reserved for a specialist at a university.

see that / see where - Use see that, not see where unless you want to indicate a specific location.

I see that he was shot twice. Can you see where he was standing before he fell?

seldom ever - A contradiction. Use seldom alone.

She seldom ever signs autographs.
Edited:
She seldom signs autographs.

shall - The first person indication of intention. Increasingly, will is used in American English.

I shall write forever, as you will, too.

sharp - Redundant in reference to time.

Please arrive at 7 p.m. sharp.
Edited:
Please arrive at 7 p.m.

shoestring - One word.

should / would - Follow the same rules as shall/ will.

Sierra Nevada Mountains - Redundant. Use Sierra Nevada. Sierra is Spanish for jagged mountains. Amazingly, this appears in print frequently, as does Rio Grand River, another redundancy.

since - Use as an adverb of time. As a conjunction or conditional, replace with for or because when possible.

Since it was raining, she remained indoors.
Edited:
Because it was raining, she remained indoors.

sir - Correctly used with the full name of a British gentleman.

Sir Winston Churchill.

Skid Road / Skid Row - A skid road is a logging road (“skids”) and in Seattle there is a street named Skid Road where loggers first gathered. Skid Road became slang for poor, unemployed, or homeless in Seattle. As the slang spread, Skid Row became the generic slang.

slander - To defame verbally, such as by spreading a rumor. See libel.

He slandered his former lover, saying she was a liar.

slow / slowly - Slow may be used as an adverb and an adjective. Slowly is preferred as an adverb, but not required.

The new driver was a slow learner. He drove slowly out of fear.

small - Use for size, but avoid for numbers of items.

smell - Follow with an adjective such as bad, sweet, sour, or good. Do not follow with an adverb.

The rose smelled sweetly.
Edited;
The rose smelled sweet.

snack - Use as a verb.

He snacked on potato chips.

so as - Redundant.

so far - Avoid.

somebody / someone - Both are correct.

something / somewhat - Something is preferred.

She is somewhat of a tart.
Edited:
She is something of a tart.

some time / sometime / sometimes - Some time is an adverbial phrase meaning an interval. Sometime is an adverb indicating an indefinite event. Sometimes indicates a probability.

After some time, the detective said, “The poison is sometimes fatal.” Sometime later, the victim died.

species - Both singular and plural.

splendid - Avoid as hyperbole.

square - For areas, precede the unit of measure.

The estate covered six miles square.
Edited:
The estate covered six square miles.

state of the art - Overused. Most new technology products are “state of the art.”

stunning - Overused, hyperbole.

such as - Use like when possible.

sudden death - Common in sports, but avoid in most writing.

suggest - Use to imply a tentative statement.

She suggested there was enough evidence for an arrest.

suggestive - To imply a sexual situation.

The dress was quite suggestive.

suicide - Use as a noun, not a verb.

supine - Lying face upward.

sure / surely - Use surely as an adverb, sure as an adjective.

He was sure she loved him… as her kiss surely proved.

- T -

temperature - Use fever for the result of an infection.

than - Use as a conjunction in most cases, not a preposition. Some experts do disagree, however. Than compares items by degree or extent.

He is a better writer than she is.

that - Overused. Remove that when possible.

We believe that she lied.
Edited:
We believe she lied.

that / which - That begins a restrictive clause and which begins a nonrestrictive clause. A good rule is to look for a comma, which marks the start of a nonrestrictive clause.

That red car was speeding. The driver ignore the light, which was red.

that / who - Use who for people.

Any student that is late will be penalized.
Edited:
Any student who is late will be penalized.

theater / theatre - Use theatre for stage productions or groups of people organized to present classical drama, theater for buildings. This guideline is not observed closely, as some buildings are named “Theatre” and some groups use “Theater” in their names.

thee / thou - Thou is the nominative and thee is the objective form. This guideline is violated in the King James Bible and within Shakespeare’s works.

then - Do not confuse with than; then indicates the next event in a timeline. See than.

He stabbed his lawyer then hid the body.

there - Avoid there is and there are to begin sentences. Rewrite when possible.

There is evidence of his guilt.
Edited:
Evidence suggests his guilt.

this / these - Often confusing as pronouns, associate with a noun when possible.

This book is popular.

though - See although.

thus - Avoid. It sounds pretentious, thus omit the word.

together with - Redundant. Use one or the other.

We went together with the other class.
Edited:
We went with the other class.

toward / towards - Towards is often used for movement in the direction of a real object, but either is correct.

tsar - Use czar

- U -

unaware / unawares - Unawares is an adverb, unaware the adjective.

She was unaware of his love, walking unawares beside him.

unhuman - Possessing no human traits, as opposed to inhuman, which means cruel. However, it is common to use inhumane for cruel.

The unhuman monster was the creation on the inhuman scientist.

uninterested - Not paying attention. See disinterested.

unique - Overused. If necessary, avoid modifiers since unique cannot be more or less so.

Her excuse was the most unique.
Edited:
Her excuse was unique.

unmoral - Immoral means contrary to accepted standards. Amoral and unmoral mean without regard to moral standards. See immoral.

until - Overused. All situations exist until they change.

upon - Used to indicate time or immediacy. Use on for locations. See on / upon.

Upon entering, he gasped at the horrorific scene.

upward / upwards - Use upward.

- V -

vast - Avoid. Most phrases using vast are clichés.

very - Overused. Either delete or try revising the sentence.

visit with - Use visit.

- W -

wait for / wait on - Use for, not on unless referring to a service provider waiting on a client.

We were waiting on her to finish.
Edited:
We were waiting for her to finish.

well - 1) A state of health.

He is well today.

2) An adverb of manner. See good.

She writes well.

3) Hyphenate in compounds before a noun, but not after.

The well-dressed man was well tuned as a politician.

West - A region of the United States.

what ever / whatever - Use what ever in questions, whatever in other instances.

“What ever are you doing?” she demanded.
“Whatever I wish,” he replied.

whereabouts - A singular, requiring a singular verb. It is better to use a prepositional phrase, for ease of construction. (is, not are, in U.S. English)

Her whereabouts is unknown.
Better:
We did not know the whereabouts of the suspect.

whether / if - Whether is preferred when offering alternatives. Use if only for conditional statements. See if.

If the writer receives a Hugo he can decide whether or not to attend the ceremony.

which - See that / which.

who / whom - Use whom with care. Whom is an objective form, but is falling from common use. As the object of a preposition, use whom. Look for to whom and by whom.

To whom should we mail the check?

word-of-mouth - Always hyphenate, as a noun or adjective.

workday / workweek - Both are compound words.

- X -

- Y -

yearlong - The adjective yearlong is one word in some style manuals.

- Z -

 

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Our guide to word usage is based on American Usage and Style, by Roy H. Copperud. We could compare various dictionaries and grammar guides… if we had a year or two. Copperud compares at least nine sources, noting when major references differ. We also use the Associated Press Stylebook, which is the primary style guide for reporters and editors at daily newspapers and many periodicals. The AP is not the Modern Language Association, nor does the AP adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style so many graduate students have struggled to master. Never assume the style of a publication, publisher, or university. Always ask for the name of the current standard to save yourself rewrites or rejection.

Writer: C. S. Wyatt
Updated: 08-Aug-2008
Editor: S. D. Schnelbach