Use Commonly Misused Words

Lots of everyday English words are used incorrectly. To correctly use commonly misused words, consult the list and explanations below.

Steps

"Affect" and "Effect"

  1. Use “effect” as instructed.
    • "Effect" is a noun referring to something that happens as a result of something else. E.g., "The antibiotic had little effect on the illness."
    • "Effect" is also a verb meaning to bring something about. E.g., "I have decided to effect a change in the scope of this article."
  2. Use “affect” as instructed.
    • The verb "affect" means to change something in some way. E.g., "His steady gaze affected my ability to breathe."
    • The noun "affect" is used fairly rarely. It refers to a display of an inner state of mind. E.g., "Her affect is subdued this evening."

"Anxious" and "Eager"

  1. Use "anxious” as instructed.
    • When followed by a gerund (the "–ing" verb form), anxiousness refers to anxiety, not pleasant feelings such as enthusiasm or excitement.
      • Ex. “He was anxious about becoming the President." (He had an uncomfortable feeling about it.)
    • When followed with an infinitive ("to" and the verb), anxiousness refers to eager desire.
      • Ex. “He was anxious to become the President."
  2. Use “eager” as instructed.
    • Eagerness conveys enthusiasm and is followed with an infinitive.
    • Ex. “He was eager to become the President." (He was happy about it.)

"Convince" and "Persuade"

  1. Use “convince” as instructed.
    • Convince a person of the truth or validity of an idea.
    • Follow “convince” with "that" or "of."
    • Ex. "The teacher convinced her students that good grammar could aid in communication."
  2. Use “persuade” as instructed.
    • Persuade a person to take action.
    • Follow "persuade" with an infinitive (“to” and the verb).
    • Ex. "The teacher persuaded her students to use good grammar."

"Could of" and "Could have"

  1. Use “could” with “have.” In fact, all modals ("could," "would," "should," "may," "might," "must") use the auxiliary verb "have."
    • “Have” can be contracted as "'ve" (as in "could've" and "couldn't've").
    • Correct: "She could have (or "could've") done it."
  2. Do not use “could” with “of.”
    • The same applies to all other modals.
    • Incorrect: "She could of done it."

"Decimate" and "Devastate"

  1. Use “decimate” as instructed.
    • Decimation describes the wiping out of humans. In ancient Rome, “decimate” literally meant "kill one of every ten soldiers."
      • Ex. “The 2010 tsunami in Japan decimated cities and towns along the coast.”
    • Using creative license, you would also be correct in saying something like:
      • “The flu decimated Larry's sixth grade class.” (Everyone will understand that more/less than ten percent were affected and nobody actually died.)
    • Remember that "decimate" is similar to "decimal," which refers to counting by tens.
  2. Use "devastate” as instructed.
    • Devastate means "lay waste to."
      • Ex. “Natural disasters can devastate a region’s buildings, forests, and landscapes.”
    • Devastate also means “overwhelm with negative emotions.”
      • Ex. “A nasty breakup can devastate an individual.”

"Each Other" and "One Another"

  1. Use “each other” as instructed.
    • “Each other” refers to two.
    • Ex. "The two brothers helped each other study."
  2. Use “one another” as instructed.
    • "One another" is used for three or more.
    • Ex. "These five businesses compete with one another."

"E.g." and "I.e."

  1. Use “e.g.” as instructed.
    • "E.g." (exemplī grātiā) means "for example" or "such as."
    • Remember the "e" in "for example."
    • Ex. “Many photo manipulation programs (e.g. Photoshop, GIMP) have nearly identical functions.”
  2. Use “i.e.” as instructed.
    • "I.e." (id est) means "that is" or "in other words."
    • Remember the "i" in "in other words."
    • Ex. “They recommend that we ‘demonstrate our continued loyalty through pecuniary means’ (i.e. send more money).”

"Good" and "Well"

  1. Use “good” as instructed.
    • "Good" can be an adjective, meaning it describes a noun (person, place, thing, idea).
      • Ex. “It’s a good thing you called.”
    • “Good” can also be a noun.
      • Ex. “Charities do a lot of good in this world.”
  2. Use “well” as instructed.
    • "Well" is an adverb, meaning it can modify verbs and adjectives.
    • Ex. “I’m doing well today, thank you” (as opposed to "I am doing good today," which is incorrect – unless you are doing good things, like Superman).
    • Ex. “This car runs very well” (as opposed to “This car runs good,” which is incorrect).

"Historical" and "Historic"

  1. Use “historical” as instructed.
    • Use "historical" for things that happened in history or pertain to history.
    • Ex. “I've filled my story with historical figures.”
  2. Use “historic” as instructed.
    • Use "historic" for things that were important in history.
    • Ex. “D-Day was a historic moment.”
  3. Use the correct article for both words. "An historic" and "a historical" are proper only if you use the alternative pronunciation with a silent "h." Otherwise, say “a historic” or “a historical.”

"Lay" and "Lie"

  1. Use “lay” as instructed.
    • Lay means "put" or "place." It is a transitive verb, meaning it needs a subject and an object (i.e. subject + “lay” + object).
    • Ex. “She lays bricks for a living.”
    • Ex. “Chickens lay eggs.” (Associating laying with eggs may help you remember its correct usage.)
  2. Use "lie” as instructed.
    • Lie means "rest." It is an intransitive verb and only needs a subject.
    • It’s often with prepositions such as "on" or adverbs such as "here."
    • Ex. “I need to lie down.”
    • Ex. “The dog is lying on the couch again.”
  3. Be careful with the past-tense forms of both verbs.
    • The past tense of “lay” is "laid."
      • Ex. “He laid the glass down gently.”
    • The perfect form of “lay” is “have laid.”
      • Ex. “Luckily, they had laid out the tarp before it started raining.”
    • The past tense of “lie” is "lay."
      • Ex. "I lay in bed yesterday."
    • The perfect form of “lie” is “have lain.”
      • Ex. "I have lain in bed for two hours."

"Prone" and "Supine"

  1. Use “prone” as instructed.
    • "Prone" means lying on your stomach (face down).
    • Ex. “He lay prone in a puddle of his own drool.”
  2. Use “supine” as instructed.
    • "Supine" means lying on your back (face up).
    • Ex. “She lay supine with her eyes fixed on the ceiling fan.”

"Raise" and "Rise"

  1. Use “raise” as instructed.
    • Raise means "lift" and is a transitive verb, meaning it needs a subject and an object (i.e. subject + “raise” + object).
    • Ex. “They voted to raise taxes.”
    • Ex. “Raise the roof!”
  2. Use "rise” as instructed.
    • Rise means "move upward." It is an intransitive verb and only needs a subject.
    • Ex. “His blood pressure rose.”
    • Ex. “Taxes rose 2% last year.” (Of course, they were raised by someone, but since that isn’t mentioned in this sentence, “rise” is the correct verb to use.)

"Real" and "Really"

  1. Use “real” as instructed.
    • "Real" is an adjective, meaning it describes a person, place, thing, or concept.
    • Ex. “Is that real gold?”
  2. Use “really” as instructed.
    • “Really” is an adverb that is used to modify adjectives (which modify nouns).
      • Ex. “She’s a really good runner.” (“Really” modifies “good,” an adjective that modifies the noun “runner.”)
    • "Really" is also used to modify adverbs (which typically modify verbs).
      • Ex. “She runs really quickly.” (“Really” modifies “quickly,” an adverb that modifies the verb “runs.”)

"Set" and "Sit"

  1. Use “set” as instructed.
    • Set means "place or put" and is a transitive verb, meaning it needs a subject and an object (i.e. subject + “set” + object).
      • Ex. “He set the book on the table.”
    • Set also means “become stiff or gelatinous” and, in this form, is an intransitive verb that needs only a subject.
      • Ex. “We need to let the concrete set before we let anyone walk on it.”
  2. Use "sit” as instructed.
    • Sit means "take a seat" and is an intransitive verb that only needs a subject.
      • Ex. “Can you get the dog to sit?”
    • Sit also means "make someone take a seat" (often figuratively) and, in this form, is a transitive verb that needs a subject and an object.
      • Ex. “Should we sit him down and talk to him about this?”

"To," "Too," and "Two"

  1. Use "to” as instructed.
    • “To” is a preposition. It’s always correct if you are talking about direction.
      • Ex. “I’m going to the store.”
    • "To" is also used to form the infinitive verb form.
      • Ex. "It is my goal to write one page today."
  2. Use “too” as instructed.
    • “Too" is always an adverb. It’s correct if you can substitute "also."
    • Ex. “Really? I hate that guy, too!”
  3. Use “two” as instructed.
    • "Two" is always a number. You should almost always write out the word "two" rather than using the Arabic number.
    • Ex. “Please buy two-percent milk this time.”

"Who's" and "Whose"

  1. Use “who’s” as instructed.
    • "Who's" is the contracted form of "who is" and is suitable for use only where the non-contracted form would also be suitable.
    • Ex. "Who's coming to dinner?"
  2. Use “whose” as instructed.
    • “Whose” means “of whom or of which” and is a possessive pronoun, meaning it must be used to modify another noun.
    • Ex. “Whose car is blocking mine in the driveway?"
    • In question form, “whose” can modify a noun that isn’t explicitly mentioned.
    • Ex. “Have you ever heard her music?”
      “Whose?”
      “Kelly’s.”

"Hilarious" and "Hysterical"

  1. Use “hilarious” as instructed.
    • “Hilarious” means arousing great merriment; extremely funny.
    • Ex. “She's my favorite comedian. I think she's hilarious!”
  2. Use “hysterical” as instructed.
    • “Hysterical” has to do with uncontrollable emotions, particularly negative ones.
    • Ex. “Seeing his dog get hit by a car made him hysterical.”
    • Ex. “Her hysterical laughter was off-putting, especially since the joke wasn’t that funny.”

Tips

  • Teachers, do not forget to look at the other wikiHow articles in the English Grammar for additional grammar articles that you can easily incorporate into your teaching.

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