Common Errors in English - Part 8

O/zero

When reciting a string of numbers such as your credit card number it is common and perfectly acceptable to pronounce zero as "oh." But when dealing with a registration code or other such string of characters which mixes letters and numbers, it is important to distinguish between the number 0 and the letter O. In most typefaces a capital O is rounder, fatter, than a zero; but that is not always the case. What looks unambiguous when you type it may come out very unclear on the other end on a computer which renders your message in a different typeface.

In technical contexts, the distinction is often made by using zeros with slashes through them, but this can create as many problems as it solves: those unfamiliar with the convention will be confused by it, numbers using such characters may not sort properly, and slashed zeros created in some fonts change to normal zeros in other fonts.

If you work for a company that requires registration codes you do a disservice to your customers and yourself by including either zeros or O's in your codes where there is any possibility of confusion.

OBSOLESCENT/OBSOLETE

Many people assume the word "obsolescent" must be a fancy form of "obsolete," but something obsolescent is technically something in the process of becoming obsolete. Therefore it's an error to describe something as "becoming obsolescent.

OF

"Of" is often shoved in where it doesn't belong in phrases like "not that big of a deal," and "not that great of a writer." Just leave it out.

OF ___'S

Phrases combining "of" with a noun followed by "'S" may seem redundant, since both indicate possession; nevertheless, "a friend of Karen's" is standard English, just as "a friend of Karen" and "Karen's friend" are.

OFFENSE/OFFENCE

In the US "offense" is standard; in the UK use "offence." The sports pronunciation accenting the first syllable should not be used when discussing military, legal, or other sorts of offense.

See also DEFENSE/DEFENCE

OFTEN

People striving for sophistication often pronounce the "T" in this word, but true sophisticates know that the masses are correct in saying "offen."

OGGLE/OGLE

If you're being leered at lustfully you're being ogled (first vowel sounds like "OH")­­not "oggled," even if you're being ogled through goggles. The word is probably related to the German word "augeln," meaning "to eye," from augen ("eye").

OK/OKAY

This may be the most universal word in existence; it seems to have spread to most of the world's languages. Etymologists now generally agree that it began as a humorous misspelling of "all correct": "oll korrect." "OK" without periods is the most common form in written American English now, though "okay" is not incorrect.

OLD FASHION/OLD­FASHIONED

Although "old fashion" appears in advertising a good deal, the traditional spelling is "old­fashioned."

OLD­TIMER'S DISEASE/ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

I've always thought that "old­timer's disease" was a clever if tasteless pun on "Alzheimer's Disease"; but many people have assured me that this is a common and quite unintentional error.

Some medical authorities prefer the form "Alzheimer Disease," though that is seldom used by nonprofessionals.

OLD WISE TALE/OLD WIVES' TALE

An absurd superstition is an "old wives' tale": according to sexist tradition a story popular among credulous old ladies. It's not an "old wise tale" or­­even worse­­an "old wives' tail."

ON ACCIDENT/BY ACCIDENT

Although you can do things on purpose, you do them by accident.

ON THE LAMB/ON THE LAM

When a criminal hides out, he's on the lam. He wouldn't get far on a lamb.

ON TOMORROW/TOMORROW

You can meet on Monday or on the 21st of March, but it's an error to say "on tomorrow," "on yesterday" or "on today" Just leave "on" out (except, of course, in phrases like "let's meet later on today" using the phrase "later on").

ONCE/ONES

"Once" always has to do with time and answers the questions, "how many times?" or "when?" For instance: "I only played handball once." "Once I got my boot off, I saw my sock had a hole in it."

In contrast, "ones" have to do with things. In your tool collection, the ones you should keep handy are the ones you use most.

ONCE AND A WHILE/ONCE IN A WHILE

The expression is "once in a while."

ONE OF THE (SINGULAR)

In phrases like "pistachio is one of the few flavors that appeals to me," I think you should use the singular form for the verb "appeals" because its subject is "one," not "flavors." However, note that usage experts are all over the place on this subject and you're not likely to get into much trouble by using the plural, and some authorities absolutely prefer it.

ONE­DIMENSIONAL/TWO­DIMENSIONAL

Once upon a time most folks knew that "three­dimensional" characters or ideas were rounded, fleshed out, and complex and "two­dimensional" ones were flat and uninteresting. It seems that the knowledge of basic geometry has declined in recent years, because today we hear uninteresting characters and ideas described as "one­dimensional." According to Euclid, no physical object can be one­dimensional (of course, according to modern physics, even two­dimensionality is only an abstract concept). If you are still bothered by the notion that two dimensions are one too many, just use "flat."

ONE IN THE SAME/ONE AND THE SAME

The old expression "they are one and the same" is now often mangled into the roughly phonetic equivalent "one in the same." The use of "one" here to mean "identical with each other" is familiar from phrases like "Jane and John act as one." They are one; they are the same.

ONE OF THE ONLY/ONE OF THE FEW

Although it has recently become much more popular, the phrase "one of the only" bothers some of us in contexts in which "one of the few" would traditionally be used. Be aware that it strikes some readers as odd. "One of only three groups that played in tune" is fine, but "one of the only groups that played in tune" is more likely to cause raised eyebrows.

ONGOINGLY/CURRENTLY, CONTINUOUSLY

"Ongoingly" is not standard English. When something is occurring in an ongoing manner, you can speak of it as happening "currently" or "continuously."

ONLINE/ON LINE

The common adjective used to label Internet activities is usually written as one word: "online": "The online site selling banana cream pies was a failure." But it makes more sense when using it as an adverbial phrase to write two separate words: "When the teacher took her class to the library, most of them used it to go on line." The hyphenated form "on­line" is not widely used; but would be proper only for the adjectival function. However, you are unlikely to get into trouble for using "online" for all computer­related purposes.

As for real physical lines, the British and New Yorkers wait "on line"

(in queues), but most Americans wait "in line."

ONLY

Writers often inadvertently create confusion by placing "only" incorrectly in a sentence. It should go immediately before the word or phrase it modifies. "I lost my only shirt" means that I had but one to begin with. "I lost only my shirt" means I didn't lose anything else. "Only I lost my shirt" means that I was the only person in my group to

lose a shirt. Strictly speaking, "I only lost my shirt" should mean I didn't destroy it or have it stolen­­I just lost it; but in common speech this is usually understood as being identical with "I lost only my shirt." Scrutinize your uses of "only" to make sure you are not creating unwanted ambiguities.

ONTO/ON TO

"Onto" and "on to" are often interchangeable, but not always. Consider the effect created by wrongly using "onto" in the following sentence when "on to" is meant: "We're having hors d'oeuvres in the garden, and for dinner moving onto the house." If the "on" is part of an expression like "moving on" it can't be shoved together with a "to" that just happens to follow it.

OP­ED

Although it looks like it might mean "opinion of the editor" the "op­ed" page is actually a page written by columnists or outside contributors to a newspaper, printed opposite the editorial page.

OPEN/UNLOCKED/UNLATCHED

Many people refer to doors as being "open" when they mean to say they are merely unlocked. Telling people to leave a house open may mislead them into making the place more inviting to casual intruders than you intend if you really only want it to be unlocked. And you may unnecessarily alarm the driver if you report from the back seat of a car that one of the doors is open when you mean that it is merely unlatched.

OPPRESS/REPRESS

Dictators commonly oppress their citizens and repress dissent, but these words don't mean exactly the same thing. "Repress" just means "keep under control." Sometimes repression is a good thing: "During the job interview, repress the temptation to tell Mr. Brown that he has toilet paper stuck to his shoe." Oppression is always bad, and implies serious persecution.

ORAL/VERBAL

Some people insist that "verbal" refers to anything expressed in words, whether written or spoken, while "oral" refers exclusively to speech; but in common usage "verbal" has become widely accepted for the latter meaning. However, in legal contexts, an unwritten agreement is still an "oral contract," not a "verbal contract."

ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE

Many pretentious writers have begun to use the expression "orders of magnitude" without understanding what it means. The concept derives from the scientific notation of very large numbers in which each order of magnitude is ten times the previous one. When the bacteria in a flask have multiplied from some hundreds to some thousands, it is very handy

to say that their numbers have increased by an order of magnitude, and when they have increased to some millions, that their numbers have increased by four orders of magnitude.

Number language generally confuses people. Many seem to suppose that a 100% increase must be pretty much the same as an increase by an order of magnitude, but in fact such an increase represents merely a doubling of quantity. A "hundredfold increase" is even bigger: one hundred times as much. If you don't have a firm grasp on such concepts, it's best to avoid the expression altogether. After all, "Our audience is ten times as big now as when the show opened" makes the same point more clearly than "Our audience has increased by an order of magnitude."

Compare with "quantum leap."

ORDINANCE/ORDNANCE

A law is an ordinance, but a gun is a piece of ordnance.

OREGON

Oregon natives and other Westerners pronounce the state name's last syllable to sound like "gun," not "gone."

ORGANIC

The word "organic" is used in all sorts of contexts, often in a highly metaphorical manner; the subject here is its use in the phrase "organic foods" in claims of superior healthfulness. Various jurisdictions have various standards for "organic" food, but generally the label is applied to foods that have been grown without artificial chemicals or pesticides. Literally, of course, the term is a redundancy: all food is composed of organic chemicals (complex chemicals containing carbon). There is no such thing as an inorganic food (unless you count water as a food). Natural fertilizers and pesticides may or may not be superior to artificial ones, but the proper distinction is not between organic and inorganic. Many nitrogen­fixing plants like peas do a great job of fertilizing the soil with plain old inorganic atmospheric nitrogen.

When it comes to nutrition, people tend to generalize rashly from a narrow scientific basis. After a few preservatives were revealed to have harmful effects in some consumers, many products were proudly labeled "No Preservatives!" I don't want harmful preservatives in my food, but that label suggests to me a warning: "Deteriorates quickly! May contain mold and other kinds of rot!" Salt is a preservative.

ORIENTAL/ASIAN

"Oriental" is generally considered old­fashioned now, and many find it offensive. "Asian" is preferred, but not "Asiatic." it's better to write the nationality involved, for example "Chinese" or "Indian," if you know it. "Asian" is often taken to mean exclusively "East Asian," which irritates South Asian and Central Asian people.

ORIENTATE/ORIENT

Although it is standard in British English "orientate" is widely considered an error in the US, with simple "orient" being preferred.

OSTENSIVELY/OSTENSIBLY

This word, meaning "apparently," is spelled "ostensibly."

OVER­EXAGGERATED/EXAGGERATED

"Over­exaggerated" is a redundancy. If something is exaggerated, it's already overstressed.

OVERDO/OVERDUE

If you overdo the cocktails after work you may be overdue for your daughter's soccer game at 6:00.

OVERSEE/OVERLOOK

When you oversee the preparation of dinner, you take control and manage the operation closely. But if you overlook the preparation of dinner you forget to prepare the meal entirely­­better order pizza.

OVERTAKE/TAKE OVER

When you catch up with the runners ahead of you in a marathon, you overtake them; but when you seize power, you take over the government.

PAGE/SITE

In the early days of the Internet, it became customary to refer to Web sites as "pages" though they might in fact consist of many different pages. The Jane Austen Page, for instance, incorporates entire books, and is organized into a very large number of distinct Web pages. This nomenclature is illogical, but too well established to be called erroneous. However, it is not wise to write someone who has created a large and complex site and call it a "page." Not everyone appreciates having their work diminished in this way.

PAIR (NUMBER)

"This is a left­handed pair of scissors." "There is a pair of glasses on the mantelpiece." "Pair" is singular in this sort of expression. Note that we say "that is a nice pair of pants" even though we also say "those are nice pants."

PALATE/PALETTE/PALLET

Your "palate" is the roof of your mouth, and by extension, your sense of taste. A "palette" is the flat board an artist mixes paint on (or by extension, a range of colors). A "pallet" is either a bed (now rare) or

a flat platform onto which goods are loaded.

PARALLEL/SYMBOL

Beginning literature students often write sentences like this: "He uses the rose as a parallel for her beauty" when they mean "a symbol of her beauty." If you are taking a literature class, it's good to master the distinctions between several related terms relating to symbolism. An eagle clutching a bundle of arrows and an olive branch is a symbol of the US government in war and peace.

Students often misuse the word "analogy" in the same way. An analogy has to be specifically spelled out by the writer, not simply referred to: "My mother's attempts to find her keys in the morning were like early expeditions to the South Pole: prolonged and mostly futile."

A metaphor is a kind of symbolism common in literature. When Shakespeare writes "That time of year thou mayst in me behold/When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang/Upon those boughs which shake against the cold" he is comparing his aging self to a tree in late autumn, perhaps even specifically suggesting that he is going bald by referring to the tree shedding its leaves. This autumnal tree is a metaphor for the human aging process.

A simile resembles a metaphor except that "like" or "as" or something similar is used to make the comparison explicitly. Byron admires a dark­haired woman by saying of her "She walks in beauty, like the night/Of cloudless climes and starry skies." Her darkness is said to be like that of the night.

An allegory is a symbolic narrative in which characters may stand for abstract ideas, and the story convey a philosophy. Allegories are no longer popular, but the most commonly read one in school is Dante's "Divine Comedy" in which the poet Virgil is a symbol for human wisdom, Dante's beloved Beatrice is a symbol of divine grace, and the whole poem tries to teach the reader how to avoid damnation. Aslan in C. S. Lewis' Narnia tales is an allegorical figure meant to symbolize Christ: dying to save others and rising again ("aslan" is Turkish for "lion").

PARALLELLED/PARALLELED

The spelling of the past tense of "parallel" is "paralleled."

PARALLELISM IN A SERIES

Phrases in a series separated by commas or conjunctions must all have the same grammatical form. "They loved mountain­climbing, to gather wild mushrooms, and first aid practice" should be corrected to something like this: "They loved to climb mountains, gather wild mushrooms, and practice first aid" (all three verbs are dependent on that initial "to"). Fear of being repetitious often leads writers into awkward inconsistencies when creating such series.

PARALYZATION/PARALYSIS

Some people derive the noun "paralyzation" from the verb "paralyze," but the proper term is "paralysis."

PARAMETERS/PERIMETERS

When parameters were spoken of only by mathematicians and scientists, the term caused few problems; but now that it has become widely adopted by other speakers, it is constantly confused with "perimeters." A parameter is most commonly a mathematical constant, a set of physical properties, or a characteristic of something. But the perimeter of something is its boundary. The two words shade into each other because we often speak of factors of an issue or problem being parameters, simultaneously thinking of them as limits; but this is to confuse two distinct, if related ideas. A safe rule is to avoid using "parameters" altogether unless you are confident you know what it means.

PARAMOUNT/TANTAMOUNT

"Paramount" means "best," "top." Think of Paramount Pictures' trademark of a majestic mountain peak encircled with stars.

"Tantamount" means "equivalent."

"The committee's paramount concern is to get at the truth; your continued insistence that you don't remember any of the meetings you attended is tantamount to a confession of incompetence."

PARANOID

The most common meaning of "paranoid" has to do with irrational fears of persecution, especially the unjustified fear that people are plotting against you. More generally it is applied to irrational fears of other kinds; but it is often misused of rational fears, as in "I know my Mom has been reading my blog, so I'm paranoid that she's found out what Jason and I did last Saturday night." That's not paranoia, but fully justifiable fear. It also doesn't make sense to use "paranoid" about mild worries and fears. When you say you are paranoid, you should be conveying your own irrationality, not the risks you feel you are running.

PARENTHESES

The most common error in using parenthesis marks (besides using them too much) is to forget to enclose the parenthetical material with a final, closing parenthesis mark. The second most common is to place concluding punctuation incorrectly. The simplest sort of example is one in which the entire sentence is enclosed in parentheses. (Most people understand that the final punctuation must remain inside the closing parenthesis mark, like this.) More troublesome are sentences in which only a clause or phrase is enclosed in parentheses. Normally a sentence's final punctuation mark­­whether period, exclamation point, or question mark­­goes outside such a parenthesis (like this). However, if the material inside the parenthesis requires a concluding punctuation mark

like an exclamation point or question mark (but not a period!), that mark is placed inside the closing mark even though another mark is outside it. This latter sort of thing is awkward, however, and best avoided if you can help it.

For some reason, many writers have begun to omit the space before a parenthetic page citation, like this:(p. 17). Always preserve the space, like this: (p. 17).

PARLIMENT/PARLIAMENT

Americans unfamiliar with parliamentary systems often mistakenly leave the second "A" out of "parliament" and "parliamentary."

PARTAKE/PARTICIPATE

"Partake" looks like it might mean "take part," and that's how many people mistakenly use it where they should say "participate." The main modern meaning of "partake" is "consume," especially in relation to food. One can partake of the refreshments at a party, but one can also partake of Twinkies at home alone, without any thought of sharing.

So don't ask people to "partake" in a planning process when you mean to ask them to participate.

PASSED/PAST

If you are referring to a period of time before now or a distance, use "past": "the team performed well in the past," "the police car drove past the suspect's house." If you are referring to the action of passing, however, you need to use "passed": "when John passed the gravy, he spilled it on his lap," "the teacher was astonished that none of the students had passed the test." Remember that no matter however you have "passed the time" you have never "past the time," not even in the distant past.

PASSIVE VOICE

There are legitimate uses for the passive voice: "this absurd regulation was of course written by a committee." But it's true that you can make your prose more lively and readable by using the active voice much more often. "The victim was attacked by three men in ski masks" isn't nearly as striking as "three men in ski masks attacked the victim." The passive voice is often used to avoid taking responsibility for an action: "my term paper was accidentally deleted" avoids stating the truth: "I accidentally deleted my term paper." Over­use of passive constructions is irritating, though not necessarily erroneous. But it does lead to real clumsiness when passive constructions get piled on top of each other: "no exception in the no­pets rule was sought to be created so that angora rabbits could be raised in the apartment" can be made clearer by shifting to the active voice: "the landlord refused to make an exception to the no­pets rule to allow Eliza to raise angora rabbits

in the apartment."

PAST TIME/PASTIME

An agreeable activity like knitting with which you pass the time is your pastime. Spell it as one word, with one "S" and one "T."

PASTORIAL/PASTORAL

Whether you are referring to poetry or art about the countryside or the duties of a pastor, the word you want is "pastoral." "Pastorial" is a common misspelling.

PATIENCE/PATIENTS

Doctors have patients, but while you're waiting to see them you have to have patience.

PAUSE FOR CONCERN/CAUSE FOR CONCERN, PAUSE

Something worrisome can give you pause, or cause for concern. But some people confuse these two expressions and say they have "pause for concern."

PAWN OFF/PALM OFF

Somebody defrauds you by using sleight of hand (literal or figurative) to "palm" the object you wanted and give you something inferior instead. The expression is not "to pawn off," but "to palm off."

PAYED/PAID

If you paid attention in school, you know that the past tense of "pay" is "paid" except in the special sense that has to do with ropes: "He payed out the line to the smuggler in the rowboat."

PEACE/PIECE

it's hard to believe many people really confuse the meaning of these words; but the spellings are frequently swapped, probably out of sheer carelessness. "Piece" has the word "pie" buried in it, which should remind you of the familiar phrase, "a piece of pie." You can meditate to find peace of mind, or you can get angry and give someone a piece of your mind. Classical scholars will note that "pax" is the Latin word for peace, suggesting the need for an "A" in the latter word.

PEAK/PEEK/PIQUE

It is tempting to think that your attention might be aroused to a high point by "peaking" your curiosity; but in fact, "pique" is a French word meaning "prick," in the sense of "stimulate." The expression has nothing to do with "peek," either. Therefore the expression is "my curiosity was piqued."

PEAL OUT/PEEL OUT

Bells and thunderclaps peal out; but if your car "lays down rubber" in a squealing departure, the expression is "peel out" because you are literally peeling a layer of rubber off your tires.

PEASANT/PHEASANT

When I visited the former Soviet Union I was astonished to learn that farmworkers were still called "peasants" there. In English­speaking countries we tend to think of the term as belonging strictly to the feudal era. However you use it, don't confuse it with "pheasant," a favorite game bird. Use the sound of the beginning consonants to remind you of the difference: pheasants are food, peasants are people.

PEDAL/PEDDLE

If you are delivering newspapers from a bike you can pedal it around the neighborhood (perhaps wearing "pedal­pushers"), but when you sell them from a newsstand you peddle them.

PEDAL TO THE MEDAL/PEDAL TO THE METAL

When you depress the accelerator all the way so that it presses against the metal of the floorboards you put the pedal to the metal. You get no medals for speeding.

PEN/PIN

In the dialect of many Texans and some of their neighbors "pen" is pronounced almost exactly like "pin." When speaking to an audience outside this zone, it's worth learning to make the distinction to avoid confusion.

PENULTIMATE/NEXT TO LAST

To confuse your readers, use the term "penultimate," which means "next to last," but which most people assume means "the very last." And if you really want to baffle them, use "antepenultimate" to mean "third from the end."

Many people also mistakenly use "penultimate" when they mean "quintessential" or "archetypical."

PEOPLES

In the Middle Ages "peoples" was not an uncommon word, but later writers grew wary of it because "people" has a collective, plural meaning which seemed to make "peoples" superfluous. It lived on in the sense of "nations" ("the peoples of the world") and from this social scientists (anthropologists in particular) derived the extended meaning "ethnic groups" ("the peoples of the upper Amazon Basin"). However, in ordinary usage "people" is usually understood to be plural, so much so that in the bad old days when dialect humor was popular having a speaker refer

to "you peoples" indicated illiteracy. If you are not referring to national or ethnic groups, it is better to avoid "peoples" and use "people."

See also "behaviors."

PER/ACCORDING TO

Using "per" to mean "according to" as in "ship the widgets as per the instructions of the customer" is rather old­fashioned business jargon, and is not welcome in other contexts. "Per" is fine when used in phrases involving figures like "miles per gallon."

PERCENT/PER CENT

In the US the two­word spelling "per cent" is considered rather old­fashioned and is rarely used; but in the UK and countries influenced by it, the two­word form is still standard, though use of "percent" is spreading fast even there.

PERCENT DECREASE

When something has been reduced by one hundred percent, it's all gone (or if the reduction was in its price, it's free). You can't properly speak of reducing anything by more than a hundred percent (unless it's a deficit or debt, in which case you wind up with a surplus).

PERCIPITATION/PRECIPITATION

Rain, snow, hail, etc. are all forms of precipitation. This word is often misspelled and mispronounced as "percipitation."

PERNICKETY/PERSNICKETY

The original Scottish dialect form was "pernickety," but Americans changed it to "persnickety" a century ago. "Pernickety" is generally unknown in the US though it's still in wide use across the Atlantic.

PEROGATIVE/PREROGATIVE

"Prerogative" is frequently both mispronounced and misspelled as "perogative." It may help to remember that the word is associated with PRivileges of PRecedence.

PERPETUATE/PERPETRATE

"Perpetrate" is something criminals do (criminals are sometimes called "perps" in cop slang). When you seek to continue something you are trying to perpetuate it.

PERSE/PER SE

This legal term meaning "in, of, or by itself") is a bit pretentious, but you gain little respect if you misspell per se as a single word.

Worse is the mistaken "per say."

PERSONAL/PERSONNEL

Employees are personnel, but private individuals considered separately from their jobs have personal lives.

PERSPECTIVE/PROSPECTIVE

"Perspective" has to do with sight, as in painting, and is usually a noun. "Prospective" generally has to do with the future (compare with "What are your prospects, young man?") and is usually an adjective. But beware: there is also a rather old­fashioned but fairly common meaning of the word "prospect" that has to do with sight: "as he climbed the mountain, a vast prospect opened up before him."

PERSECUTE/PROSECUTE

When you persecute someone, you're treating them badly, whether they deserve it or not; but only legal officers can prosecute someone for a crime.

PERSONALITY

In show business personalities are people famous for being famous (mostly popular actors and singers); people with more substantial accomplishments like distinguished heads of state and Nobel Prize winners should not be referred to as "personalities" even when they appear on the Tonight Show.

PERUSE

This word, which means "examine thoroughly" is often misused to mean "glance over hastily." Although some dictionaries accept the latter meaning, it is not traditional.

When it is used to mean "look through" it is not standard to add "through" to "peruse." It's not "peruse through the records" but "peruse the records."

PERVERSE/PERVERTED

The sex­related meanings of words tend to drive out all other meanings. Most people think of both "perverse" and "perverted" only in contexts having to do with desire; but "perverse" properly has the function of signifying "stubborn," "wrong­headed." Nothing erotic is suggested by this sort of thing: "Josh perversely insisted on carving wooden replacement parts for his 1958 Ford's engine." It's better to use "perverted" in relation to abnormal sexual desires; but this word also has non­sexual functions, as in "The bake­sale was perverted by Gladys into a fundraiser for her poker habit."

People sometimes mispronounce "pervert" as "PREE­vert."

PHANTOM/FATHOM

Brianna exclaims confusedly, "I can't phantom why he thought I'd want a coupon for an oil change for Valentine's Day!" A phantom is a ghost, but a fathom is nautical measure of depth. When you can't understand something­­being unable to get to the bottom of it­­you should say "I can't fathom it." "Phantom" is not a verb.

PHENOMENA/PHENOMENON

There are several words with Latin or Greek roots whose plural forms ending in "A" are constantly mistaken for singular ones. See, for instance, "criteria" and "media" and "data." it's "this phenomenon," but "these phenomena."

PHILIPPINES/FILIPINOS

The people of the Philippines are called "Filipinos." Don't switch the initial letters of these two words.

PHYSICAL/FISCAL

In budget matters, it's the fiscal year, relating to finances with an "F."

PICARESQUE/PICTURESQUE

"Picaresque" is a technical literary term you are unlikely to have a use for. It labels a sort of literature involving a picaro (Spanish), a lovable rogue who roams the land having colorful adventures. A landscape that looks as lovely as a picture is picturesque.

PICKUP/PICK UP

The noun is spelled "pickup" as in "drive your pickup" or "that coffee gave me a pickup," or "we didn't have a real date; it was just a pickup." If it's a thing, use the single­word form. But if it's an action (verb­plus­adverb phrase) then spell it as two words: "pick up your dirty underwear."

There's also the adjectival form, which has to be hyphenated: "Jeremy tried out one of his corny pick­up lines on me at the bar." According to this rule, it should be a "pick­up game" but you're unlikely to get into trouble for writing "pickup game."

PICTURE

The pronunciation of "picture" as if it were "pitcher" is common in some dialects, but not standard. The first syllable should sound like "pick."

PIN number/PIN

Those who object to "PIN number" on the grounds that the N in "PIN" stands for "number" in the phrase "personal identification number" are

quite right, but it may be difficult to get people to say anything else. "PIN" was invented to meet the objection that a "password" consisting of nothing but numbers is not a word. Pronouncing each letter of the acronym as "P­I­N" blunts its efficiency. Saying just "PIN" reminds us of another common English word, though few people are likely to think when they are told to "enter PIN" that they should shove a steel pin into the terminal they are operating. In writing, anyway, PIN is unambiguous and should be used without the redundant "number."

The same goes for "VIN number"; "VIN" stands for "Vehicle Identification Number." And "UPC code" is redundant because "UPC" stands for "Universal Product Code."

PINNED UP/PENT UP

If you wear your heart on your sleeve I suppose you might be said to have "pinned up" emotions; but the phrase you want when you are suppressing your feelings is "pent­up emotions." Similarly, it's pent­up demand." "Pent" is a rare word; but don't replace it with "penned" in such phrases either.

PIT IN MY STOMACH/IN THE PIT OF MY STOMACH

Just as you can love someone from the bottom of your heart, you can also experience a sensation of dread in the pit (bottom) of your stomach. I don't know whether people who mangle this common expression into "pit in my stomach" envision an ulcer, an irritating peach pit they've swallowed or are thinking of the pyloric sphincter; but they've got it wrong.

PITH AND VINEGAR/PISS AND VINEGAR

To say that people are "full of piss and vinegar" is to say that they are brimming with energy. Although many speakers assume the phrase must have a negative connotation, this expression is more often used as a compliment, "vinegar" being an old slang term for enthusiastic energy.

Some try to make this expression more polite by substituting "pith" for "piss," but this change robs it of the imagery of acrid, energetically boiling fluids and conjures up instead a sodden, vinegar­soaked mass of pith. Many people who use the "polite" version are unaware of the original.

PLAIN/PLANE

Both of these words have to do with flatness. A flat prairie is a plain, and you use a plane to smooth flat a piece of wood.

"Plain" is also an adjective which can describe things that are ordinary, simple, or unattractive.

But whether you go the airport to catch a plane or meditate to achieve a higher plane of consciousness, the meanings that have to do with things high up are spelled "plane."

PLAYS A FACTOR/PLAYS A ROLE

Some people say that an influential force "plays a factor" in a decision or change. They are mixing up two different expressions: "is a factor" and "plays a role."

PLAYWRITE/PLAYWRIGHT

It might seem as if a person who writes plays should be called a "playwrite"; but in fact a playwright is a person who has wrought words into a dramatic form, just as a wheelwright has wrought wheels out of wood and iron. All the other words ending in "­wright" are archaic, or we'd be constantly reminded of the correct pattern.

PLEAD INNOCENT

Lawyers frown on the phrase "plead innocent" (it's "plead guilty" or "plead not guilty"); but outside of legal contexts the phrase is standard English.

PLEASE RSVP/ PLEASE REPLY

RSVP stands for the French phrase "Repondez s'il vous plait" ("reply, please"), so it doesn't need an added "please." However, since few people seem to know its literal meaning, and fewer still take it seriously, it's best to use plain English: "Please reply." It is a mistake to think that this phrase invites people to respond only if they are planning to attend; it is at least as important to notify the person doing the inviting if you cannot go. And no, you can't bring along the kids or other uninvited guests.

PLUG­IN/OUTLET

That thing on the end of an electrical cord is a plug, which goes into the socket of the wall outlet.

PLUS/ADD

Some people continue a pattern picked up in childhood of using "plus" as a verb to mean "add," as in "You plus the 3 and the 4 and you get 7." "Plus" is not a verb; use "add" instead.

PODIUM/LECTERN

Strictly speaking, a podium is a raised platform on which you stand to give a speech; the piece of furniture on which you place your notes and behind which you stand is a lectern.

POINT BEING IS THAT

"The point being is that" is redundant; say just "the point is that" or "the point being that."

POINT IN TIME

This redundancy became popular because it was used by astronauts seeking to distinguish precisely between a point in time and a point in space. Since most people use the expression in contexts where there is no ambiguity, it makes more sense to say simply "at this point" or "at this time."

POINT OF YOU/POINT OF VIEW

Your viewpoint on a subject is your "point of view," not your " point of you." "Your" and "of you" mean the same thing, and combining the two makes little sense; but the expression really gets weird when it turns into "my point of you," "her point of you," "their point of you," etc.

POISONOUS/VENOMOUS

Snakes and insects that inject poisonous venom into their victims are venomous, but a snake or tarantula is not itself poisonous because if you eat one it won't poison you. A blowfish will kill you if you eat it, so it is poisonous; but it is not venomous.

POINSETTA/POINSETTIA

Those showy plants that appear in the stores around Christmas are "poinsettias," named after American diplomat John R. Poinsett who introduced them into the US from Mexico. The Latin ending "­ia" is seldom pronounced as spelled, but that's no justification for misspelling the word as "poinsetta."

POLE/POLL

A pole is a long stick. You could take a "poll" (survey or ballot) to determine whether voters want lower taxes or better education.

POMPOM/POMPON

To most people that fuzzy ball on the top of a knit hat and the implement wielded by a cheerleader are both "pompoms," but to traditionalists they are "pompons," spelled the way the French­­who gave us the word­­spell it. A pompom, say these purists, is only a sort of large gun. Though you're unlikely to bother many people by falling into the common confusion, you can show off your education by observing the distinction.

POO­POO/POOH­POOH/PUPU

The toddler with a soggy diaper proudly announces "I go poo­poo"!

The skeptic is inclined to pooh­pooh outlandish ideas. Don't mix up matter for skepticism with material for the septic system.

A selection of snacks served on a wooden platter in a Chinese restaurant is called a "pupu platter"­­a custom and word that made its way to the

US from Hawaii.

POPULACE/POPULOUS

The population of a country may be referred to as its populace, but a crowded country is populous.

PORE/POUR

When used as a verb, "pore" has the unusual sense of "scrutinize," as in "She pored over her receipts." If it's coffee or rain, the stuff pours.

POSSESSED OF/POSSESSED BY/POSSESSED WITH

If you own a yacht, you're possessed of it. If a demon takes over your body, you're possessed by it. If that which possesses you is more metaphorical, like an executive determined to get ahead, he or she can be possessed by or with the desire to win.

PRACTICE/PRACTISE

In the United Kingdom, "practice" is the noun, "practise" the verb; but

in the US the spelling "practice" is commonly used for both, though

the distinction is sometimes observed. "Practise" as a noun is, however,

always wrong in both places: a doctor always has a "practice," never a

"practise."

PRACTICLE/PRACTICAL

Some words end in "­icle" and others in "­ical" without the result being any difference in pronunciation. But when you want somebody really practical, call on good old AL.

PRAY/PREY

If you want a miracle, pray to God. If you're a criminal, you prey on your victims. Incidentally, it's "praying mantis," not "preying mantis." The insect holds its forefeet in a position suggesting prayer.

PRECEDE/PROCEED

"Precede" means "to go before." "Proceed" means to go on. Let your companion precede you through the door, then proceed to follow her. Interestingly, the second E is missing in "procedure."

PRECEDENCE/PRECEDENTS

Although these words sound the same, they work differently. The pop star is given precedence over the factory worker at the entrance to the dance club. "Precedents" is just the plural of "precedent": "If we let the kids adopt that rattlesnake as a pet and agree to let them take it for a walk in Death Valley, we'll be setting some bad precedents."

PRECIPITATE/PRECIPITOUS

Both of these adjectives are based on the image of plunging over the brink of a precipice, but "precipitate" emphasizes the suddenness of the plunge, "precipitous," the steepness of it. If you make a "precipitate" decision, you are making a hasty and probably unwise one. If the stock market declines "precipitously," it goes down sharply.

PRECURSE/FORETELL, FORESHADOW, PREFACE, ANTICIPATE, PRECEDE

Tempted to "precurse" that guy who looks like he might be going to cut into the lane ahead of you? Until recently "precurse" as a verb was a rare archaic word, but lately people have been using it to mean "be a precursor to." Use a more ordinary and precise word like "foretell," "foreshadow," "preface," "anticipate," or "precede."

PREDOMINATE/PREDOMINANT

"Predominate" is a verb: "In the royal throne room, the color red predominates." "Predominant" is an adjective: "The predominant view among the touts is that Fancy Dancer is the best bet in the third race."

PREDOMINATELY/PREDOMINANTLY

"Predominantly" is formed on the adjective "predominant," not the verb "predominate"; so though both forms are widely accepted, "predominantly" makes more sense.

PREEMPTORY/PEREMPTORY

"Peremptory" (meaning "imperative") is often misspelled and mispronounced "preemptory" through confusion caused by the influence of the verb "preempt," whose adjectival form is actually "preemptive."

PREFERABLY

Although some US dictionaries now recognize the pronunciation of "preferably" with the first two syllables pronounced just like "prefer"­­first "E" long and the stress on the second syllable­­the standard pronunciation is "PREFFerublee," with the first syllable stressed, just like in "preference." The alternative pronunciation sounds awkward to some people.

PREJUDICE/PREJUDICED

People not only misspell "prejudice" in a number of ways, they sometimes say "he's prejudice" when they mean "he's prejudiced."

See also "bias/biased."

PRE­MADONNA/PRIMA DONNA

The leading soprano in an opera is the "prima donna" (Italian for "leading lady"). As an insult, "prima donna" implies that the person under discussion is egotistical, demanding, and doesn't work well as

part of a team.

Don't write "pre­Madonna" unless you intend to discuss the era before the singer Madonna became popular.

PREMIER/PREMIERE

These words are, respectively, the masculine and feminine forms of the word for "first" in French; but they have become differentiated in English. Only the masculine form is used as an adjective, as in "Tidy­Pool is the premier pool­cleaning firm in Orange County." The confusion arises when these words are used as nouns. The prime minister of a parliamentary government is known as a "premier." The opening night of a film or play is its "premiere."

"Premiere" as a verb is common in the arts and in show business ("the show premiered on PBS"), but it is less acceptable in other contexts ("the state government premiered its new welfare system"). Use "introduced," or, if real innovation is involved, "pioneered."

PREMISE/PREMISES

Some people suppose that since "premises" has a plural form, a single house or other piece of property must be a "premise," but that word is reserved for use as a term in logic meaning something assumed or taken as given in making an argument. Your lowly one­room shack is still your premises.

PREPONE

South Asian speakers have evolved the logical word "prepone" to mean the opposite of "postpone": to move forward in time. It's a handy word, but users of it should be aware that those unfamiliar with their dialect will be baffled by this word.

PREPOSITIONS (REPEATED)

In the sentence "Alex liked Nancy, with whom he shared his Snickers bar with" only one "with" is needed­­eliminate either one. Look out for similarly duplicated prepositions.

Incidentally, an often­cited example of this pattern is from Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die": "this ever­changing world in which we live in"; but if you listen closely, you'll hear instead a quite correct "this ever­changing world in which we're livin'." Americans have a hard time hearing the soft British "R" in "we're."

PREPOSITIONS (WRONG)

One of the clearest indications that a person reads little and doesn't hear much formal English is a failure to use the right preposition in a common expression. You aren't ignorant to a fact; you're ignorant of it. Things don't happen on accident, but by accident (though they do happen "on purpose"). There are no simple rules governing preposition usage:

you just have to immerse yourself in good English in order to write it naturally.

See also "different than/different from/to."

PRESCRIBE/PROSCRIBE

You recommend something when you prescribe it, but you forbid it when you proscribe it. The usually positive function of "pro­" confuses many people.

PRESENTLY/CURRENTLY

Some argue that "presently" doesn't mean "in the present." It means "soon." If you want to talk about something that's happening right now, they urge you to say it's going on currently.

PRESUMPTIOUS/PRESUMPTUOUS

"Presumptive" has an I in it, but "presumptuous." does not.

PRETTY/SOMEWHAT

it's pretty common to use "pretty" to mean "somewhat" in ordinary speech; but it should be avoided in formal writing, where sometimes "very" is more appropriate. The temptation to use "pretty" usually indicates the writer is being vague, so changing to something more specific may be an even better solution: "a pretty bad mess" might be "chocolate syrup spilled all over the pizza which had been dumped upside down on the carpet."

PRIMER

When this word is used in the US to mean "elementary textbook" it is pronounced with a short "I": "primmer" (rhymes with "dimmer"). All other meanings are pronounced with a long "I": "prymer" (rhymes with "timer").

PRIMEVIL/PRIMEVAL

The existence of a music group and a comic book using the deliberately punning misspelling "Primevil" helps to further confusion about this word. Something ancient and primitive is "primeval." The "­eval" sequence comes from a root having to do with ages, as in "medieval." It has nothing to do with the concept of evil. The word can also be spelled "primaeval."

PRINCIPAL/PRINCIPLE

Generations of teachers have tried to drill this one into students" heads by reminding them, "The principal is your pal." Many don't seem convinced. "Principal" is a noun and adjective referring to someone or something which is highest in rank or importance. (In a loan, the principal is the more substantial part of the money, the interest is­­or should be­­the lesser.) "Principle" is only a noun, and has to do with

law or doctrine: "The workers fought hard for the principle of collective bargaining."

PRIORITIZE

Many people disdain "prioritize" as bureaucratic jargon for "rank" or "make a high priority."

PRIORITY

It is common to proclaim "in our business, customer service is a priority," but it would be better to say "a high priority," since priorities can also be low.

PROACTIVE

See "reactionary/reactive."

PROBABLY

The two Bs in this word are particularly difficult to pronounce in sequence, so the word often comes out as "probly" and is even occasionally misspelled that way. When even the last B disappears, the pronunciation "prolly" suggests drunken slurring or, at best, an attempt at humor.

AS TIME PROGRESSED/AS TIME PASSED

Events may progress in time, but time itself does not progress­­it just passes.

PRONE/SUPINE

"Prone" (face down) is often confused with "supine" (face up). Some people use the phrase "soup in navel" to help them remember the meaning of the latter word. "Prostrate" technically also means "face down," but is often used to mean simply "devastated."

See also "prostate/prostrate."

PROPHECY/PROPHESY

"Prophecy," the noun, (pronounced "PROF­a­see") is a prediction. The verb "to prophesy" (pronounced "PROF­a­sigh") means to predict something. When a prophet prophesies he or she utters prophecies.

PRONOUNCIATION/PRONUNCIATION

"Pronounce" is the verb, but the "O" is omitted for the noun: "pronunciation." This mistake ranks right up there in incongruity with "writting."

PROSTATE/PROSTRATE

The gland men have is called the prostate. "Prostrate" is an adjective meaning "lying face downward."

PRODIGY/PROGENY/PROTEGE

Your progeny are your kids, though it would be pretty pretentious to refer to them as such. If your child is a brilliantly outstanding person he or she may be a child prodigy. In fact, anything amazingly admirable can be a prodigy. But a person that you take under your wing in order to help promote his or her career is your protege.

Avoid misspelling or mispronouncing "prodigy" as "progidy."

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING/THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING

This common truncated version of an old saying conjures up visions of poking around in your dessert looking for prizes, but "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" means that you don't really know that your dessert has come out right until you taste it.

PROTRAY/PORTRAY

There are a lot of words in English that begin in "pro­." This is not one of them. When you make a portrait, you portray someone.

PROVED/PROVEN

For most purposes either form is a fine past participle of "prove," though in a phrase like "a proven talent" where the word is an adjective preceding a noun, "proven" is standard.

PSYCHOLOGIST/PSYCHIATRIST/PSYCHOTHERAPIST/PSYCHOANALYST/

A psychologist is a person who has studied the mind and earned a Ph.D. or Psy.D. Although some definitions state that psychologists have undergone clinical training but cannot prescribe medicines, there are research psychologists who are not engaged in clinical work at all, but merely do experiments to discover how our minds work. Some of their work can concern animal rather than human minds.

A psychiatrist is technically an M.D. specializing in the treatment of mental problems who can prescribe medicines. They are licensed medical doctors, and get irritated when they are called "psychologists" and when psychologists are called "psychiatrists."

Psychotherapist is not a technical term, and may be used by anyone claiming to offer therapy for mental problems. That someone is called a "psychotherapist" tells you nothing about his or her qualifications. But qualified clinical psychologists and psychiatrists can be properly called "psychotherapists."

A psychoanalyst is a very specific kind of psychotherapist: a licensed practitioner of the methods of Sigmund Freud.

PUNDINT/PUNDIT

"Pundit" is one of those words we get from India, like "bungalow" and "thug." It comes from pandit, meaning "scholar," "learned person." The first premier of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was often referred to respectfully as "Pandit Nehru."

In English it has come to refer to opinionated commentators on public affairs, but it is often mispronounced and misspelled "pundint" or "pundant."

PURPOSELY/PURPOSEFULLY

If you do something on purpose (not by accident), you do it purposely.

But if you have a specific purpose in mind, you are acting purposefully.

(Common Errors in English by Paul Brians)