Minding your ‘p’s and ‘q’s

A linguist from Harvard University is here to help — he has created a list of the words we misuse the most in the English language

It’s surprising how many mistakes people make when they use the English language. A linguist from Harvard University is here to help — he has created a list of the words we misuse the most. In his latest book, The Sense of Style, Harvard cognitive scientist and linguist Steven Pinker explores the most common words and phrases that people stumble over. It is reminiscent of Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style, but is based on linguistics and updated for the 21st century.

In the English language, there is no definitive body governing the rules, so grammar can be up to interpretation. This isn’t true in languages such as French, but it means that when we speak English, it’s difficult to know whether we are making a mistake or using our grammar in an acceptable way. Pinker’s rules and preferences are no different, but most words and phrases he identifies are agreed upon.

Following his rules should help us improve our writing and speaking.

1 Adverse means detrimental and does not mean averse or disinclined. Correct: “There were adverse effects.” / “I’m not averse to doing that.”

2 Appraise means to ascertain the value of and does not mean to apprise. Correct: “I appraised the jewels.” / “I apprised him of the situation.”

3 As far as cannot be used the same way as as for. Correct: “As far as the money is concerned ...” / “As for the money...”

4 Begs the question means assumes what it should be proving and does not mean raises the question. Correct: “When I asked the dealer why I should pay more for the German car, he said I would be getting ‘German quality,’ but that just begs the question.”

5 Bemused means bewildered, not mean amused. Correct: “The unnecessarily complex plot left me bemused.” / “The silly comedy amused me.”

6 Cliché is a noun. Correct: “Shakespeare used clichés.” / “The plot was so clichéd.”

7 Credible means believable, not credulous or gullible. Correct: “His sales pitch was not credible.” / “The man took advantage of credulous people.”

8 Criteria is the plural, not the singular of criterion. Correct: “These are important criteria.”

9 Data is a plural count noun not a mass noun. [Note: “Data is rarely used as a plural today]. Correct: “This datum supports the theory, but many of the other data refute it.”

10 Depreciate means to decrease in value and does not mean to deprecate or to disparage. Correct: “My car has depreciated a lot over the years.” / “She deprecated his efforts.”

11 Dichotomy means two mutually exclusive alternatives, not difference or discrepancy. Correct: “There is a dichotomy between even and odd numbers.” / “There is a discrepancy between what we see and what is really there.”

12 Disinterested means unbiased and does not mean uninterested. Correct: “The dispute should be resolved by a disinterested judge.” / “Why are you so uninterested in my story?”

13 An effect means an influence. While to effect means to put into effect, to affect means either to influence or fake.

14 Enervate means to sap or to weaken and does not mean to energise. Correct: “That was an enervating rushhour commute.” / “That was an energising cappuccino.”

15 Enormity means extreme evil and does not mean enormousness.

16 Flaunt means to show off and does not mean to flout. Correct: “She flaunted her abs.” / “She flouted the rules.”

17 Flounder means to flop around ineffectually and does not mean to founder or to sink to the bottom.

18 Fortuitous coincidental meansor unplanned and Correct: does “Runningnot mean into fortunate.my old friend fortunate was that fortuitous.”I had savings/ “It was after losing my job.”

19 Fulsome means unctuous, excessively or insincerely complimentary and does not mean full or copious. Correct: “She didn’t believe his fulsome love letter.” / “The bass guitar had a full sound.”

20 Homogeneous is pronounced as homogenius and “homogenous” is not a word but a corruption of homogenised. Correct: “The population was not homogeneous; it was a melting pot.”

21 Hone means to sharpen and does not mean to home in on or to converge upon. Correct: “She honed her writing skills.” / “We’re homing in on a solution.”

22 Hot button means an emotional, divisive controversy and does not mean a hot topic. Correct: “She tried to stay away from the hot button of abortion.” / “Drones are a hot topic in the tech world.”

23 Hung means suspended, not suspended from the neck until dead. Correct: “I hung the picture on my wall.” / “The prisoner was hanged.”

24 Intern (verb) means to detain or to imprison and does not mean to inter or to bury. Correct: “The rebels were interned in the military jail.” / “The king was interred with his jewels.”

25 Ironic means uncannily incongruent and does not mean inconvenient or unfortunate. Correct: “It was ironic that I forgot my textbook on human memory.” / “It was unfortunate I forgot my textbook the night before the quiz.”

26 Irregardless is not a word but a portmanteau of regardless and irrespective. [Note: Pinker acknowledges that certain schools of thought regard “irregardless” as simply nonstandard, but he insists it should not even be granted that.]

27 Literally means in actual fact and does not mean figuratively. Correct: “I didn’t mean for you to literally run over here.” / “I’d rather die than listen to another one of his lectures figuratively speaking, of course!”

28 Luxuriant means abundant or florid and does not mean luxurious. Correct: “The poet has a luxuriant imagination.” / “The car’s fine leather seats were luxurious.”

29 Meretricious means tawdry or offensively insincere and does not mean meritorious. Correct: “We rolled our eyes at the meretricious speech.” / “The city applauded the meritorious mayor.”

30 Mitigate means to alleviate and does not mean to militate or to provide reasons for. Correct: “The spray should mitigate the bug problem.” / “Their inconceivable differences will militate against the treaty.”

31 New Age means spiritualistic, holistic and does not mean modern, futuristic. Correct: “He is a fan of New Age mindfulness techniques.” / “The TV screen is made from high-end modern glass.”

32 Noisome means smelly and does not mean noisy. Correct: “I covered my nose when I walked past the noisome dump.” / “I covered my ears when I heard the noisy motorcycle speed by.”

33 Nonplussed means stunned, bewildered and does not mean bored, unimpressed. Correct: “The market crash left the experts nonplussed.” / “His market pitch left the investors unimpressed.”

34 Opportunism means seizing or exploiting opportunities and not creating or promoting opportunities. Correct: “His opportunism brought him to the head of the company.” / “The party ran on promoting economic opportunities for the middle class.”

35 Parameter means a variable and does not mean a boundary condition, a limit. Correct: “The forecast is based on parameters like inflation and interest rates.” / “We need to work within budgetary limits.”

36 Phenomena is a plural count noun, not a mass noun. Correct: “The phenomenon was intriguing, but it was only one of many phenomena gathered by the telescope.”

37 Politically correct means dogmatically left-liberal and does not mean fashionable, trendy.

38 Practicable means easily put into practice and does not mean practical. Correct: “His French was practicable in his job, which required frequent trips to Paris.” / “Learning French before taking the job was a practical decision.”

39 Proscribe means to condemn, to forbid and does not mean to prescribe, to recommend, to direct. Correct: “The policy proscribed staff from drinking at work.” / “The doctor prescribed an antibiotic.”

40 Protagonist means active character and does not mean proponent. Correct: “Vito Corleone was the protagonist in The Godfather .”/“Heisa proponent of solar energy.”

41 Refute means to prove to be false and does not mean to allege to be false, to try to refute. Correct: “His work refuted the theory that the Earth was flat.”

42 Reticent means shy, restrained and does not mean reluctant. Correct: “He was too reticent to ask her out.” / “Fans are reluctant to buy tickets to the ballgame.”

43 Shrunk, sprung, stunk, and sunk are used in the past participle, not the past tense. Correct: “I’ve shrunk my shirt.” / “I shrank my shirt.”

44 Simplistic means naively or overly simple and not simple or pleasingly simple. Correct: “His simplistic answer suggested he wasn’t familiar with the material.” / “She liked the chair’s simple look.”

45 Staunch means loyal, sturdy and does not mean to stanch a flow. Correct: “Her staunch supporters defended her in the press.” / “The nurse was able to stanch the bleeding.”

46 Tortuous means twisting and not mean torturous. Correct: “The road through the forest was tortuous.” / “Watching their terrible acting for two hours was a torturous experience.”

47 Unexceptionable means not worthy of objection and does not mean unexceptional, ordinary. Correct: “No one protested her getting the prize, because she was an unexceptionable choice.” / “They protested her getting the prize, because she was an unexceptional choice.”

48 Untenable means indefensible or unsustainable and does not mean painful or unbearable. Correct: “Now that all the facts have been revealed, that theory is untenable.” / “Her death brought him unbearable sadness.”

49 Urban legend means an intriguing, and widely circulated but false story and not someone who is legendary in a city. Correct: “Alligators in the sewers is an urban legend.” / “Al Capone was a legendary gangster in Chicago.”

50 Verbal means in linguistic form and does not mean oral, spoken. Correct: “Visual memories last longer than verbal ones.”