APPENDIX C
Common Pronunciation
and Usage Errors
For a speaker, pronunciation and usage errors are impediments
to intelligibility and credibility. Well-reasoned points and lively
descriptions can lose their impact if a mispronounced or misused
word lands with a clunk to interrupt the concentration and attention
of your listeners. In this resource we list just a few of the common
errors that can crop up; references at the end describe many more
usage and word choice snares to which you should be alert. You can
find a list of books about pronunciation in 34c.2. Also note that the
Merriam-Webster online dictionary includes an audio pronunciation
of each word (http://www.merriam-webster.com).
Problems in Pronunciation
Word
Proper
Improper
get
get
git
just
just
jist
across
a cross
a crost
nuclear
nu clee ar
nu cyou lar
perspiration
pers pir a tion
press pir a tion
strict
strict
strick
escape
es cape
ex cape
compulsory
com pul sory
com pul so rary
recognize
rec og nize
reck a nize
library
li brar y
li berry
mischievous
mis che vous
mis chee vious
theater
THEE a ter
thee A ter
picture
pic tchure
pit chure
surprise
sur prise
sup prise
comparable
COM per able
com PARE able
larynx
lar inks
lar nix
relevant
rel a vant
rev a lant
drowned
drowned
drown ded
et cetera
et cet era
ek cet era
February
feb roo ary
feb you ary
temperature
temp per achure
temp achure
athlete
ath leet
a thuh leet
err
ur
air
Common Pronunciation and Usage Errors
Word Choice Errors
Wrong Use
adverse/averse
“I would be adverse to adopting
this plan.”
alternative/alternate
“Or, we could adopt an alternate
plan.”
Comments
Because the speaker is talking about an aversion to
something, the proper adjective is “averse.” When
describing feelings, use averse; when describing things,
use adverse—e.g., “Without restructuring, we shall end
up working in adverse conditions.”
“Alternate” means to switch back and forth between
two things. In this case, the speaker should have said
“alternative,” meaning a second choice.
affect/effect
“The affect of the plan could be very Usually “affect” is a verb. Properly, this sentence should
beneficial.”
use “effect” in its definition of “result.”
bi/semi
“Under this plan, paychecks will be
distributed bimonthly on the 1st
and 15th.”
disinterested/uninterested
“Some of you may be disinterested
in the workings of this plan.”
One should use bi for “every two” and semi for “twice a,”
so in this case it should be “distributed semimonthly on
the 1st and 15th.”
“Disinterested” means having no stake in the outcome,
or neutral, as in “a disinterested third party will
judge the results.” If you mean “lack of interest,” use
“uninterested.”
nonplussed/nonchalant
“The opponents of this plan seem
When one is nonplussed, one is bewildered or
remarkably nonplussed in their calm perplexed, not “nonchalant” or “calm.”
acceptance of the status quo.”
tortuous/torturous
“The torturous logic of the
opponents of this plan is hard to
fathom.”
Because the speaker means “twisted or complex”—not
“painful”—in this context, “tortuous” would have been
the better choice.
imply/infer
“I’m not inferring this plan will solve Imply means to suggest something that has not been
everything.”
stated explicitly and infer means to draw a conclusion
from something not stated explicitly. So, correct use
would be either “I’m not implying this plan will solve
everything,” or something like, “You may have inferred
that I think this plan will solve everything; that is not
the case.”
less/fewer
“There are less opponents to this
plan than supporters.”
If something can be counted in discrete units, it should
be modified by “fewer” rather than “less.” So, “there
Common Pronunciation and Usage Errors
Wrong Use
Comments
are fewer opponents” is correct. Note that changing to
“there is less opposition than support” makes the usage
correct, too.
ironic/coincidental
“It’s ironic that, after working on
this plan, Alexis and I discovered
we both changed our original
positions.”
comprise/compose
“Let’s look at the three actions that
comprise this plan.”
flaunt/flout
“One thing about this plan is that it
makes it less easy for users to flaunt
our guidelines.”
i.e./e.g.
“Some parts of this plan, i.e.,
restructuring, won’t take place
immediately.”
Irony is more than mere coincidence. There has to be
some incongruity rising from a result that was different
from the one expected. So, unless the speaker and Alexis
had both vowed repeatedly that they were going to be
steadfast in their original positions, a better sentence
would have been, “Coincidentally, Alexis and I discovered
we both changed our original positions after working
on this plan.”
A whole comprises its parts, so this sentence is backward
with “comprise” in it. Compose or constitute would be
correct. For “comprise” to be correct, the sentence might
look like, “The plan comprises three actions; let’s look at
them now.” Also, using “is comprised of” is not correct.
“Flaunt” means to show off ; “flout” means to treat with
disregard or scorn. They are not interchangeable.
This is wrong at two levels. First, i.e. is an abbreviation
of the Latin id est, meaning “that is.” It does not mean
“for example”—that role is taken by e.g., from the Latin
exempli gratia. Second, a speaker should not use these
abbreviations orally, but should use plain English “that
is” and “for example” instead.
Some Grammar and Usage Problems
Wrong Use
Dangling/Misplaced Modifier
“Having failed twice before, I wouldn’t
support any more attempts by the Baker
committee to come up with a plan.”
Comments
As constructed, this sentence makes the
speaker the one who has failed twice. To be
grammatically correct, and certainly less
confusing, the sentence could be, “Having
failed twice before, the Baker committee
won’t get my support for any more attempts
to come up with a plan,” or “I wouldn’t support
any more attempts by the Baker committee to
come up with a plan because they have failed
twice before.”
Common Pronunciation and Usage Errors
Wrong Use
Comments
Subject-Verb Agreement
“The source of these failures are to be found
in the incomplete research done.”
Misuse of Reflexive Pronoun
“The people who looked over the plan were
David, Carla, and myself.”
Misuse of Pronouns in the Subjective Case
“The composition of the Baker committee
came as a surprise to Alexis and I.”
“Of these failures” is a phrase that modifies the
singular subject of the sentence “ source,” and
the fact that the noun in the phrase is plural
has no impact on the verb. Because the subject
is singular, the verb should be singular as well:
“The source of these failures is to be found in . . . ”
“Myself” is the reflexive form of the pronoun,
and the reflexive ordinarily is used only
where the object of a sentence is the same
as the subject (“I overworked myself on this
project”); an object of a preposition that
refers to the subject (“I worked on this project
by myself”); or to emphasize the subject
(“Although others helped with the research,
I wrote the plan myself”). The sentence in
this case should use the objective case for the
pronoun: “The people who looked over the
plan were David, Carla, and me.” Be alert to
the misuse of other reflexive pronouns like
himself, herself, yourself, themselves.
“I” is reserved, as a pronoun in the subjective
case, for use as the subject of a sentence
such as,“ Alexis and I were surprised by the
composition of the Baker committee.” For a
sentence in which the speaker is the object of
the verb, the objective case is appropriate: “The
composition of the Baker committee came as
a surprise to Alexis and me.” A preposition (to,
by, from, etc.) is usually a dead giveaway to
use the objective case of a pronoun.
Here are two good resources for information on correct usage
and word choice:
The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005.
Brians, Paul. Common Errors in English Usage. Wilsonville, OR:
William, James & Co., 2003.
Website: www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html