"One of the few who (is) or (are)...."

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: "One of the few who (is) or (are)...." singular based on "One" or plural based on "few"?

Answer: I'm not sure everybody agrees with me on this. Plural. Based on "few." "Who" is the subject of the clause that follows "few," relates to "few" and therefore is plural. "She is one of the FEW who ARE experts in understanding statistics."

Rating of Distractiblity: *. Frankly, both usages sound correct. In fact, using the singular sounds more correct than correctly using the plural. I don't think many people will notice. Be more careful, though, in writing.

"Fewer" and "Less"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: When should you use "fewer" and when should you use "less" ?

Answer: Use "fewer" with things you can count as in "fewer people." People who say "less people" should be....

Use "less" with things you can't count: "less money." BUT: "They have fewer dollars to spend."

How do you avoid the supermarket usage, "two items or less"? You can't. "Fewer" not only has two syllables, it sounds uppity, prissy. You could say, "Customers are limited to two items." But supermarket managers are not going to waste time trying to use correct English. Besides, when the English is incorrect, people notice the item and for the supermarket, that's good.

Some day, I'm guessing, the battle between "fewer" and "less" will result in "less" being used for both. The English language always moves toward simplification. Whenever usage requires too much thought, one usage will take over exclusively and the other will be dropped by the wayside. That's what happened to "You," "thou," and "thee."

Rating of Distractibility: ***. This usage gets the "Scratch Nails on the Blackboard" award for one of the most egregious errors in English.

"Everyone" and "Every one"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: Is there a difference between "everyone" (one word) and "every one" (two words)?

Answer: Yes. "Everyone," (one word) means "all." "Everyone is coming to the party."

"Every one" (two words) means each person in a group: "Every one of us will have to vote for our candidate."

Both "Everyone" and "Every one" take a singular verb.

Rating of Distractibility: **. Not many people know the distinction between the two, so not many people will notice if you use one or the other.

"Eminent" and "Imminent"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: I know that someone who is "eminent" is a person who is held in honor, known for great achievements, as an "eminent" actor. And I also know that "imminent" means something that is about to occur as "the explosion was 'imminent.' " My problem is that I never can remember how to spell "imminent."

Answer: Break it down into syllables: IM'MIN ent. Association: MINute and imMINent. "If something is imMINent, it will happen in a MINute."

Rating of Distractibility: ***. I think everyone knows the distinction between "eminent" and "imminent." Confuse the two and almost 100% if your readers will be distracted from following your meaning.

"Emigrate" and "Immigrate"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: I can never distinguish between "emigrate" and "immigrate." Which one is leaving and which one is coming?

Answer: "Emigrate" means to depart. You "emigrate" from Europe.

You "immigrate" and are an "immigrant" when you arrive.

Both take "from" and "to."

Rating of Distractibility: **. Not too many people care which is used. They both have the same idea--you're either coming (to "immigrate") or going (to "emigrate").

"Either" + Verb

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: If I use "Either," will the verb that follows be singular or plural?

Answer: "Either...is...." Either by itself is singular and takes a singular verb.

"Either a plane or a train is a good way to reach your destination." If both subjects, plane or a train, are singular, the verb that follows is singular.

"Either planes or trains are good ways to reach your destination." If both subjects, planes or trains, following Either are plural, planes or trains, then the verb is plural.

Let's simplify: If you have a compound subject, make both subjects plural (followed by a plural verb) or singular (followed by a singular verb).

Rating of Distractibility: ***. The only complication is if you use a singular subject and a plural subject in the compound subject. Then the subject nearer to the verb requires a plural verb if the subject is plural and a singular verb if the subject is singular. But all of that is silly and creates problems. Make both subjects singular or plural and use the appropriate verb. You can't go wrong.

"West" or "west"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: I can never seem to get straight whether to capitalize "east" or "west."

Answer: If it's the section of the country, capitalize. If it is just going in that direction, don't capitalize: "Go west [direction] young man." "The best college football teams seem to be in the West [section of the country], California, for example."

Rating of Distractibility: **.

"Due to" and "Because of"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: What's wrong with, "Due to the snow, school was canceled?"

Answer: Take my word for it. Always use "Because of...." In only one situation is "due to" correct. It would take too much grammatical explanation to tell you why. And, after reading that explanation in The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, I'm not sure I understand it. Even that "Bible" of usage throws its hands in the air and says, "...the needed phrase is almost always 'because of.' "

Rating of Distractibility: **

"Disinterested" and "Uninterested"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: What's wrong with "He appears to be disinterested in what he is doing?"

Answer: If he is "DISinterested," he is objective, able to judge fairly an issue that others care deeply about. It is pretty obvious from the context of this sentence that he is "UNinterested," therefore, bored, therefore not putting much energy into it.

If I want someone to decide an issue that is important to me, like the results of a trial, I am expecting the jury to be impartial, therefore, disinterested. On the other hand, if I am employing someone to work hard at a task, I will be most upset if that person is uninterested in what he is doing.

We all have our pet hates when it comes to English usage. The difference between "disinterested" and "uninterested" is my SECOND most pet hate. The first? "Irregardless." RayS.

Rating of Distractibility: ***.




"Disinterested" = impartial; "uninterested" = bored. (***)

"Different from...." and "Different than...."

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: ***.

Question: Someone criticized me for saying, "He was different than her." Why?

Answer: If a person or thing is different, then it's "different from...." "He was different from her." The grammatical explanation is that "different from" takes an object of the preposition, "from."

"Than" is a conjunction and must be followed by a subject and verb: "He is different than she (is) in his taste for music."

To be practical, the correct expression will almost always be "different from...." And many people will wince when they read or hear "different than...," which sounds wrong even when it is right, i.e., followed by a subject and verb. When in doubt, use "different from...."

Rating of distractibility: ***.

"Criterion" and "Criteria"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: I can't get it straight. Which is it? Criterion or criteria?

Answer: This is an easy one. Criterion is singular: "Which (one) criterion will be most significant?"

Criteria is plural. "Which (multiple) criteria will you be considering?"

Rating of Distractibility: (**). People tend to use "criteria" regardless of whether the standards of evaluation are only one or many. Still, "criterion" means a single standard of evaluation; "criteria" mean two or more standards of evaluation. Can't hurt to be accurate in choice of words. RayS.

"Convince" and "Persuade."

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: I read somewhere that you have to use the right words with "convince" and "persuade." What are they?

Answer: You convince OF or THAT.... "I am convinced OF his innocence." "I am convinced THAT he is innocent."

You persuade TO: "Persuade him TO join the group."

Note: People interchange "convince" and "persuade." If you can keep OF, THAT and TO in mind , you won't. RayS.

Rating of Distractibility: (**).

"Continual" and "Continuous"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: Aren't the words "continual" and "continouous" the same?

Answer: Actually there is a significant difference in meaning between them.

"Continual" means doing something over and over."He had the habit of continually saying 'like' when he talked: 'Like when I said, like, that was a, like, bad thing, like, to do.' "

"Continuous" means an uninterrupted activity. "The waterfall sent foaming water plunging continuously to the rocks below."

Rating of Distractibility: (**). I think fewer and fewer people are making the distinction between these two words. RayS.

"Complement" and "Compliment"

Level of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: I know what a compliment is. But what the heck is a "complement"?

Answer: A compliment, of course, is praise or flattery. "He gave me a compliment on my skill as a jump shooter."

"Complement" means to complete. "The team's hitting complemented the pitcher's excellent performance." Think of "COMPLEment means to COMPLEte."

Rating of Distractibility: (**). Not many people know that "complement" is a word, so its misuse will probably not distract that many readers. RayS.

"Chairwoman," "Chairlady" or "Chairperson."

Level of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: When the leader of a group is not a chairman, but a woman, what do you call her?

Answer: Well, according to the New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, you should use "Chairwoman," but not "Chairlady" or "Chairperson."

Comment: Frankly, all of the choices sound awkward. When in doubt try to write around it, but if you can't, you have the authority of the New York Times for "Chairwoman." I have even resorted to "the Chair." But I try to write around it if I can. In my professional English education journals, I almost always see "Chairperson." RayS.

Rating of Distractibility: (*) No easy answer for this one. They all sound awkward.

"Cannon" and "Canon."

Level of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning = ***.

Question: I keep confusing the spelling of "cannon" with "canon." What is "canon" anyhow?

Answer: "Cannon" is artillery. It has two "n's."

The most frequent use of "canon" today is with literature: the "canon" is a list of literary works that experts believe to be the best that has been written. In short, they are the classics of literature. If you check the dictionary definition of "canon," you will find it related to works in the Christian religion and to law ("canon law"). But today you are most likely to hear the word in reference to the accepted classics in literature.

Rating of Distractibility: ***. Since the words have no relationship in meaning, people are likely to recognize the misuse of one for the other.

Cancel; Canceled; Canceling; Cancellation.

Level of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning = ***.

Question: When do you double the final "l" in the word "cancel"?

Answer: A little known American spelling rule is that if the accent falls on the first syllable, you retain the single final consonant: can'cel, can'celed, can'celing. If the accent falls on a later syllable, you double the final consonant: cancella'tion.

"Can'cel"; "can'celed"; "can'celing"; "cancel'lation": The first three have the accent on the first syllable; therefore, a single "l." The last item has the accent on the third syllable, so the "l" is doubled.

Rating of Distractibility: (*) I don't think most people know this American spelling rule and it gets mixed up with the British habit of doubling final consonants for almost everything. Therefore, I don't think many people will even notice whether you follow the rule. In fact, to me, the single "l" in "canceling" and "canceled" does not look right.

"Bring" and "Take."

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning = ***.

Question: What's the difference between "bring" and "take"?

Answer: "Bring" toward. Example: "Bring it to me."

"Take" away. Example: "Take this to my friend down the street."

Rating of Distractibility: *

Comment: Even I cannot think quickly enough to distinguish between the two when I'm conversing with a friend. Probably more noticeable when I am writing and then I do check to make sure of the distinction. RayS.

"Barred" and "Banned"

Level of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning = ***.

Question: Can you say that people are banned from a place?


Answer: No. People are "barred. " Books are "banned."

Rating of Distractibility: **.

Comment: I wonder how many of my readers knew the distinction between "barred" and "banned"? RayS.