How well you use words can
make a lasting impression on people. Wield those words skillfully and
people may perceive you in any number of positive lights — as intelligent,
poised, persuasive, funny, to name a few. But even one little grammatical slip
can have the opposite effect.
Here are 10 incorrectly used words that can make you look bad.
1. Irregardless and unthaw
These are not words.
"Regardless" and "thaw" are sufficient and don't need any
senseless prefixes mucking them up.
2. Bring and take
When using these words as
commands think in terms of direction. People bring things toward you and take
things away from you. Correct examples: "Please bring your report to my
office" and "Please take this report to the receptionist."
3.
Alot and a lot
Fortunately, spell-check
catches this one most of the time, but know this: If you're trying to say you
have an abundance of something there should be a space in "a lot."
4.
I, me, and myself
The question of how to refer to
yourself along with other people is commonly misunderstood. Most people know to
say the other person's name first when it happens at the beginning of the
sentence: "Mark and I went to the meeting." But when this same phrase
happens at the end of a sentence people get confused, often thinking the same
usage of "I" is appropriate, which it isn't.
Instead, it should be "The
CEO met with Mark and me." The easy way to remember this one is to imagine
removing the other person's name. It would sound weird to say The CEO met with
I," right?
As for "myself," only
use it if "me" or "I" would sound awkward in its place,
such as "I kept the secret to myself." Saying "Mark and myself
will attend the meeting" makes a speaker look silly when a simple
"I" would have sufficed.
5.
Impact, affect, and effect
Using "impact" as a
verb has become so ubiquitous I've pretty much given up on this one, but if you
want to say things like "The cutbacks greatly impacted the bottom
line" know that the grammar geeks of the world may cringe. Why? Because
"affected" is what you really mean and once upon a time
"impact" was used strictly as a noun. Maybe you've never mastered the
difference between "affect" and "effect" and use
"impact" just to be safe. If that's you, it's time to understand
these words now. "Affect" is a verb that means to do something that
causes an "effect," which is noun. Just think of the "a" in
"affect" also is used in "action," which is what verbs do.
6.
Loose and lose
The first one means your dog
escaped his kennel, your change is clinking in your pocket, or your clothes are
too big. "Lose" is what happened to you when you can't find your
keys, you have to settle a bet, or were beaten in a game.
7.
Overuse of apostrophes
Apostrophes indicate one of two
things: possession or letters missing, as in "Sara's iPad" and
"it's" for "it is" (second "i" missing). They
don't belong on plurals. When you have more than one of something there's no
need to add an apostrophe. Same thing with your last name. If you want to refer
to your family but don't want to list everyone's first name write "The
Johnsons" not "The Johnson's." Years also shouldn't have
apostrophes. For example, "1980s" is correct but "1980's"
is not.
8.
Principle and principal
These words are easily
confused. One definition for "principle" is "a moral rule or
belief that helps you know what is right and wrong and that influences your
actions," according to Merriam-Webster. As for "principal" think
of the person who presides over a school — someone who's first in rank. Here's
a trick for keeping the two straight: The "a" in principal is first
in the alphabet, just like a principal is someone who's first in rank.
9.
Lay and lie
Generally, if you can replace
the word in question with some variant of "put" or "place,"
use "lay." If not, use "lie." So, it should be "I need
to lie down" and "He laid his keys on the table." "Lying
down" gets confusing when you're talking about doing it in the past,
however. For example, it should be "Mark lay on the bed after coming home
from work yesterday." Take heart, even Grammar Girl has a hard time with
this one. Check out her advice for navigating this minefield.
10.
Borrow and lend
Some people incorrectly use the
word borrow instead of lend. It would be wrong to say "He borrowed me his
car for the afternoon" or "Can you borrow me a dollar?" The
correct way: "He lent me his car" or even "He loaned me his
car," although be warned that some grammar snobs take issue with using
loan as a verb.
Someone doesn't borrow
something to someone, but from someone, as in "I borrowed her
calculator." Likewise, lending is something only a giver does. Just
remember, the person doing the giving lends and the person receiving something borrows it.
By: Christina Desmarais
Image: madamenoire.com
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