USING THE RIGHT WORD

For more information and examples, see Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style:
http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk3.html

a lot: a lot is always two words; however, a lot is a vague descriptive phrase that should be
avoided in formal writing:
Informal: I have a lot of jelly beans in my lunch.
Formal: I have many jelly beans in my lunch. alot

accept/except: accept means “to receive or take”; except means “to leave out”:
I will happily accept your offer of a free lunch.
Except for Joe, everyone has really cool purple shoes.

affect/effect: affect is a verb that means “to influence”; effect is most commonly seen as a
noun that means “result,” but it is also used as a verb that means “to bring about”:
The movie affected me so much that I cried.
The love potion had a strange effect on Rosie. Affect = Action (v.)
I ran for office to effect change in our school.

all right: all right is always two words; there is no such word as alright:
I’ll be all right once I catch my breath.

among/between: among refers to three or more persons or things; between refers to only
two persons or things:
Among the three of us, we could not produce a single good idea.
However, between you and me, we have enough money for lunch.

amount/number: amount refers to a quantity that cannot be counted; number refers to a

quantity that can be counted:
A great amount of water flooded my bathroom when I left the tap on.
A large number of water drops splattered on my windshield.

bad/badly: bad is always an adjective; badly is always an adverb:

The bad child was sent to his room.
There he practiced badly on his tuba.
I feel bad (ill). I feel badly (have an inferior tactile sense).

beside/besides: beside means “next to”; besides means “in addition to”:
Besides Newt, everyone on the team got new tennis shoes.
I stood beside Newt when he sunk the first shot.
can/may: can indicates ability; may indicates permission:
I can solve algebra problems.
You may go to the restroom.

fewer/less: fewer refers to quantities that can be counted; less refers to quantities that cannot
be counted. (Same rule as amount/number):
I got fewer scoops of ice cream than she did.
You can count scoops of ice cream
I got less ice cream than she did. but not ice cream in general.

further/farther: further refers to a greater extent, time or degree; farther refers to a greater
distance:
We will discuss post modernism further tomorrow.
I plan to go several inches farther on my next long-jump attempt.

goes/went: Do not use go or went when you mean say or said:

Then she said (not goes), “No way!”

hanged/hung: A person is hanged; everything else is hung.

The outlaw was hanged at high noon in the sycamore gulch.
The velvet Elvis painting hung prominently in the bathroom.

have (not of): write could have, should have, would have, might have, etc.
Wrong: I could of won. Could
Right: I could have won; I just didn’t feel like it. of

i.e./e.g.: The Latin abbreviation i.e. means “that is.” The abbreviation e.g. means “for
example”:
The country’s leader (i.e., the president) declared war.
I love candy (e.g., chocolate truffles).

it’s/its: Use its to describe something that it possesses; it’s is the contraction of it is:
Without its mother, the monster felt lonely and scared.
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.

lay/lie: The transitive verb lay means “to put or place” (the subject does the action to
something); the intransitive verb lie means “to rest or recline” (the subject does the action).
Please lay your completed test on the table.
After that scare, I needed to lie down.

Hint: Memorizing the principal parts of these two verbs will help you use them correctly:
Infinitive Present Participle Past Past Participle
Lie (to recline) (is) lying lay (have) lain
Lay (to put) (is) laying laid (have) laid
past/passed: Past is a noun that means “history,” an adverb (e.g., He rode past), or a
preposition (e.g., Go past the store and turn left); passed is the past tense of the verb pass:
In the past plagues wiped out vast populations.
Marcus rode past her house every day.
I passed Belinda in the hall.

real/really: Real is an adjective; really is an adverb that describes the degree of an adjective:
Her boyfriend bought her a real diamond.
Because I’m really tired, I’ll go to bed now.

regardless: Regardless means “without regard”; there is no such word as irregardless:

Regardless of his natural talent, he did not make the team.

rise/raise: Rise means “to move upward” (the subject does the action); raise means “to lift or
make something go up” (the subject does the action to something else):
I plan to rise early to go fishing.
The Boy Scouts will raise the flag at the ceremony.

said/says: Said is the past tense of the verb to say; says is the present tense:
Yesterday he said he wanted to quit.
My aunt always says, “Pretty is as pretty does.”

slow/slowly: Slow is an adjective; slowly is an adverb:

The slow tortoise never wins races.
After spraining his ankle, he slowly crossed the finish line.

that/which: Use that to introduce essential clauses not set off by commas; use which to
introduce nonessential clauses.
The mirror that once hung in the front hall cracked. (no commas)
My car, which has a sunroof, gets good gas mileage. (commas)

that/who: Use who, whom, or whose to refer to people; use that or which to refer to things.
Incorrect: I enjoy spending time with people that have similar interests as me.
Correct: I enjoy spending time with people who have similar interests as me.

their/there/they’re: To show possession, use their; there is a place; and there is a

contraction for they are:
Their matching outfits make them look like twins.
I love the zoo; let’s go there.
They’re as slow as molasses in January.
to/too/two: To is a preposition that can mean “in the direction of” or it can form the
infinitive of any verb. Too means “also” or is an adverb indicating degree. And two is a number:
Let’s go to the mall. (preposition)
Jeff would like to go too. (infinitive/ “also”)
It will be too crowded. (adverb showing degree)
We will need to take two cars. (infinitive/ number)

try to (not try and): Try to means “attempt”; never use try and try
Try to avoid waking a sleeping alligator.
and
well/good: Good is an adjective (modifies a noun); well is an adverb (modifies a verb) that
means “capably” or an adjective that means “satisfactory” or “in good health”:
The good boy got a sticker as a reward for doing his homework well.
I feel well.

who/whom: Who does the action; whom receives the action: Hint: To test for who/whom,
Who will feed the dragon? substitute he/him in the sentence. If
Whom will you take to the dance? he fits, use who; if him fits, use whom.

your/you’re: To show possession, use your; you’re means “you are”:

Thanks for letting me share your apartment.
You’re going to love this next tune.

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Avoid misplacing modifiers by placing them next to the word they modify. Misplaced modifiers
have been placed incorrectly, making the meaning of the sentence unclear:

Misplaced: They sold an assortment of exercise equipment for active people with a
lifetime guarantee.
Correct: For active people, they sold an assortment of exercise equipment with a
lifetime guarantee.

Misplaced: The thief decided to run when he saw the police officer abandoning the
stolen vehicle and dashing into the woods.
Correct: When he saw the police officer, the thief decided to run, abandoning the
stolen vehicle and dashing into the woods.

Avoid dangling modifiers that appear to modify a word that isn’t in the sentence:

Dangling: Carrying a heavy stack of trays, her foot caught in the doorway.
Correct: Carrying a heavy stack of trays, Jenny caught her foot in the doorway.
 Dangling: Adjusting the binoculars, a dizzy-headed jay was finally spotted.
Correct: Adjusting the binoculars, Audrey finally spotted a dizzy-headed jay.

Parallel Structure
Maintain parallel structure by expressing parallel ideas with the same tense or structure of words or
phrases in a sentence:

Wrong: We learned how to change a tire, shift sixteen gears, and once
almost ran the truck off the road.
Correct: We learned how to change a tire, shift sixteen gears, and keep the truck
from running off the road.

Wrong: I have mowed the lawn, washed the dog, rescued our hamster, and went to
the store all in one day.
Correct: I mowed the lawn, washed the dog, rescued our hamster, and went to the
store all in one day.

Wrong: Water skiing no longer interests me as much as to go scuba diving.

Correct: Water skiing no longer interests me as much as scuba diving.

Writing and Style Manual

Poway Unified School District retrieved
October 1, 2011. //www.powayusd.com/en-US/Students/Writing-With-Style/Research