Which Word When

Nothing can screw up a good piece of writing more than mixing up a few choice words, writing “farther” when you mean “further,” or “adopt” when you mean “adapt.” It’s little mistakes like these that distract readers and, I think, subliminally sabotage your message – which is the last thing any of us working in public relations (or any other field) want to do. We owe it to our clients, to our employers, and to ourselves to make sure we’re using the right words at the right time. After all, good writing is about precision as much as it is about anything else. Here are seven pairs of words I see confused regularly. 1.    “historic” / “historical” If something is memorable or famous, it’s historic, but if it merely has something to do with the subject of history, it’s historical. Historical evidence exists that President Bush’s use of the phrase “axis of evil” five years ago was an historic event. 2.    “farther” / “further” “Farther” refers to physical distance, while “further” is any distance that can’t be measured, such as degree, time, or quantity. As we got farther from Versailles, Édouard refused to talk about the French Revolution any further.    3.    “further” /“furthermore” As noted above, “further” is a distance that can’t be measured. But “furthermore” means “moreover,” or as Webster’s II New College Dictionary says, “beyond what has already been stated.” Let’s talk about it further when I have more time. Furthermore, as usual, I’m running late. 4.    “perspective” / “prospective” “Perspective” can mean concerned with a view, outlook, or the subjective evaluation of something; “prospective” has to do with something that’s expected to happen. I thought Arjun’s perspective on his fiancé’s, uhm, faults was hilarious; unfortunately, his prospective bride’s parents did not agree! 5.    “percent” / “percentage” Use "percent" only when a numeral is in front of it. Use “percentage” when no number is given. “I've learned it's always better to have a small percentage of a big success,” said TV host Art Linkletter, “than 100 percent of nothing.” 6.    “adapt” / “adopt” When you adapt something you make it fit, modify it, or adjust it. But if you adopt it, you accept or approve of it or take it as your own. The board adopted our new diversity policy after we adapted it to reflect our values. 7.    “anyone” / “any one” When “anyone” is involved, you mean “any person at all.” But when “any one” is involved, you’re referring to a specific person or element in a group. As that deep thinker Mariah Carey said, “I don't think anyone knows as much about what's right for me as I do.” (That’s something with which any one of us can agree!)

Note: These “which word when”  tips have proved to be some of the most popular. Everyone has their own bugaboos – mine is “affect” and “effect”; I keep a Post-It note on my bulletin board that says “affect = verb, effect = noun.” (Now if I’d only remember to look at it.) Check out Common Errors in English, a Web site and book by Paul Brians, a professor of English at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., when you’re in doubt about a pair of words.

What are your bugaboo words?

Comments

[pault]

Less and fewer.

[Stan Hansen]

My respect for words just went up 100 percentage points. :)

[Chris Goldrick]

A semi-related question: Why is it "an" historic event?

[Sara]

Dan,
I'm with you on the affect/effect... going to make a post it note now!

[Danny Cohn]

What is proper to flesh out a idea or flush it?

[Kim Guenther]

Hung vs. hanged. As my 7th grade history teacher abrasively reminded us, "pictures get hung, people get hanged."

[Patricia]

My memory trick for affect/effect -- "effect" is a rEsult, while "affect" is an Act.

My pet peeve -- using "presently" to mean "currently." It really means SOON.

[Kay Mathew]

which and that

[Dan Santow]

Pault, Danny, Kay, (Danny Kay!) and Lee (whose comment somehow materialized under a different posting), here are the differences between the words you asked about:

which/that
Imagine “by the way” following every “which.” "The 2008 campaign season, which [by the way] started too early, will be over Nov. 4, 2008." The “which” phrase adds a useful, but not necessary, piece of information. So, if “by the way” makes sense, use “which.” Also, if the phrase needs a comma, you probably want to use “which.” Here’ s a poetic reminder from Patricia T. O’Conner, former New York Times Book Review editor: “Commas, which cut out the fat, go with which, never with that!”

compliment/complement
To compliment is to praise or admire; to complement is to round out or bring to completion. “She complimented her son on his athletic prowess and hoped it would complement his application to Dartmouth.”

fewer/less
If you can actually count it, use “fewer,” as in “there are fewer eggs today than yesterday.” But if something is uncountable, like time, boredom, or love, use “less,” as in “it took less time to get home,” “I was less bored than usual,” and “I love you less than ever!”

flesh/flush
I have an English Springer Spaniel (named Bailey), a gundog whose traditional job is to flush out game from hiding – in other words, to chase from its hiding place. To flesh out (or add details to) what I mean, a well-trained Springer (in other words, not Bailey) would know to move in a zigzag pattern in front of the hunter seeking game birds.

[Mike Keliher]

I'm sure you'll find plenty of people bickering about this, but "an historic" is incorrect - it should be "a historic."

"An" is used when the following H word starts with vowel sound, like "hour" - "an hour." The word "historic" doesn't start with a vowel sound.

More info/support: http://tinyurl.com/2dpwv9

[Dan Santow]

Mike, you and a few others commented on my use of the word “an” before the word “historic,” suggesting the word “a” should precede it because the word starts with an H sound. I think this is one of those times where the rules are a bit loosy goosy, because there’s another way to look at it, and it’s based on where in a word its stress falls – use “an” before an H-word that starts with an unstressed syllable. So we’d write “an hisTORic moment,” but “a HIStory book.” To my ear, “an historic moment” just sounds right. But then again, I thought I sounded pretty good playing Friedrich in my eighth grade production of “The Sound of Music,” and nobody else did. So there’s evidence my ear can’t be trusted.

[Buck]

Point #2 - I remember this rule due to the movie "Finding Forrester." One of my favorites.

Regards
buck

[gay spank]

Very useful comments - good to read http://boyspanking.iespana.es/

[The Muscleman]

Dan,

How about proscribed vs. prescribed? I saw a Haggadah once that talked about God's prescribed activities for the Israelites, like worshipping idols. No wonder they got into trouble ...