Grammar for Smart People

Barry Tarshis

• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9781439139165
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Good grammar is essential for effective communication. Yet many of us are plagued by the same nagging question: If I'm so smart why does grammar make me feel so dumb? Grammar For Smart People can help. Here at last, is a lively, user-friendly guide that zeroes in on the areas that give everyone the most trouble, and it does it with an advantage most grammar books lack - a light touch. You won't feel as though you're back in the fifth grade, diagramming sentences and struggling with a grammar textbook filled with dull, unbreakable rules.

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CHAPTER 1

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Word Wise

How to put the proper word in its proper place

This chapter deals with verbal abuse. More precisely, it deals with those words and expressions in English that in the view of most usage authorities are common sources of confusion and misuse.

As it happens, the number of words and expressions in English that fall into this dubious category is substantial. But that is to be expected, given the nature of the language. Forget for the moment that English has more words per se than any other of the major languages of the world, or that it is more densely populated than other languages with words that have foreign origins. Focus instead on the fact that English, as William Safire has pointed out, is a “stretch language”—a language, in other words, that gives its users an enormous amount of elbow room when the time comes to express ideas. No other language, on the one hand, has as many words that mean the same or nearly the same thing, and, on the other hand, has as many words that take on different meanings in different situations.

All this elbow room, of course, is terrific news if you are one of those persons who loves words and would just as soon go to bed with a good dictionary as with a Robert Ludlum thriller; but it is not terrific news if you are concerned about using what Jonathan Swift liked to call “the proper word in its proper place.” For how do you know, given all the choices you have in any given situation, which word is, in fact, the “proper” word: the long word, the short word, the more formal word, the idiomatic word, the word Shakespeare used, the word your boss uses, ad infinitum?

The purpose of this chapter is to help you answer that question when you are dealing with those words and expressions (and most of them, not surprisingly, come in pairs) that, for a variety of reasons, have become troublesome to most people. In many of the listings that follow, the choice is clear-cut: Similar though the words may look or sound, they mean different things. More often than not, however, the words in each listing are close enough in meaning that a case could be made for either choice; and in a few instances the only difference between the two words or expressions is that one of the choices grew up in a bad neighborhood and hasn’t yet achieved enough respectability to be considered standard English.

With these considerations in mind, I have based the guideline in each listing on how the majority of today’s better writers, editors, and usage authorities would handle the choice in each pairing, and I have relied, in particular, on two sources: The American Heritage Dictionary and Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage. I have also divided the word pairings into several categories, based not only on why the words are confused, but on how significantly they differ in their basic meanings. (Note: All the words listed appear alphabetically in the Index.)

The listings themselves consist of a usage guideline and a sentence or two that illustrate the distinction at the heart of the guideline. Some of the listings include a sentence or two that further clarify the distinction; and where I thought it might help, I have included a memory key—an easy-to-remember sentence or phrase designed to help you keep in mind the distinction between the two words.

A final word about the mechanics of this chapter—and, for that matter, the book itself. You will notice as you read through this chapter that in some cases parenthetical information is enclosed within brackets [ ] while in other cases it is enclosed within parentheses ( ). I have used brackets primarily for definitions inserted in the examples to help reinforce the distinction between the two words. I have used parentheses for everything else.

Sore Thumbs

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A random sampling of those words and sets of words that deserve special attention, given how frequently they are misused

ADVERSE & AVERSE: Up against it

Guideline. Use adverse (never followed by to) to describe reactions that are unfavorable, hostile, and unfortunate. Use averse (generally followed by to) to suggest the idea of being against something.

Even though I had an adverse [unfavorable] reaction the first time I tasted the guacamole-raisin-crunch ice cream, I have changed my mind and am no longer averse to [against] the idea of introducing the flavor next summer.

Memory key. Never ADd to an ADVERSE reaction.

AFFECT & EFFECT: Influence game

Guideline. Use affect (almost always a VERB) when expressing the action that means “to influence” or “have an impact upon.” Don’t confuse it with either the NOUN form of effect, which means “result,” or with the verb form of effect, which means to “produce a result.”

The speech Dimitri gave after dinner last night had a strong effect [impact] on all of us, especially Inga.

Inga’s tearful reply to Dimitri’s speech affected [had an influence on] us even more.

And:

Thanks to the conversation we had with Dimitri, we were able to effect [bring about] a major change in the plan in a matter of hours.

A closer look. Affect can operate as a noun, but only as a psychological term. It is used to differentiate a feeling or an emotion from a thought or action.

Memory key. To keep in mind that effect is usually a noun, remember the phrase NOW IN [noun] EFFECT.

AMONG & BETWEEN: Beyond the numbers

Guideline. Use between when you are drawing a connection involving only two persons or things. Use among when three or more persons or things are involved.

Jesse and Frank were hoping to divide the money between the two of them [only two involved], but Billy and Cole wanted the money to be distributed among all the people [more than two involved] who took part in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Word Wise
• 2. Avoiding Pronoun Paranoia
• 3. Coming to Agreement
• 4. End Games
• 5. Points Well Taken
• 6. Spellbound
• 7. Changing Times
• 8. Finishing Touches
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright