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Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by lekside05(m): 6:58pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
Learning is a lifetime process. We learn every day (No one is perfect, but proper practice makes perfection). I stormed across the following 'Errors in English' today. Although I knew many of them before, but I was overwhelmingly flabbergasted by some of them. I felt it is worth sharing here on nairaland as I've also benefited immensely from similar post here on nairaland. 1. "A.D." does not mean "after death," as many people suppose. "B.C." stands for the English phrase "before Christ," but "A.D." stands confusingly for a Latin phrase: anno domini ("in the year of the Lord"the year Jesus was born). If the calendar actually changed with Jesus' death, then what would we do with the years during which he lived? Since Jesus was probably actually born around 6 B.C. or so, the connection of the calendar with him can be misleading.Many Biblical scholars and historians, and archeologists prefer the less sectarian designations "before the Common Era" (B.C.E.) and "the Common Era" (C.E.). 2. AM/PM "AM" stands for the Latin phrase "Ante Meridiem"which means "before noon"and "PM" stands for "Post Meridiem": "after noon." Although digital clocks routinely label noon "12:00 PM" you should avoid this expression not only because it is incorrect, but because many people will imagine you are talking about midnight instead. The same goes for "12:00 AM." Just say or write "noon" or "midnight" when you mean those precise times. It is now rare to see periods placed after these abbreviations: "A.M.", but in formal writing it is still preferable to capitalize them, though the lowercase "am" and "pm" are now so popular they are not likely to get you into trouble. 3. ABLE TO People are able to do things, but things are not able to be done: you should not say, "the budget shortfall was able to be solved by selling brownies." 4. ABOUT "This isn't about you." What a great rebuke! But conservatives sniff at this sort of abstract use of "about," as in "I'm all about good taste" or "successful truffle-making is about temperature control"; so it's better to avoid it in very formal English. 5. ABSORBTION/ABSORPTION Although it's "absorbed" and "absorbing" the correct spelling of the noun is "absorption." 6. ACCESS/GET ACCESS TO "Access" is one of many nouns that's been turned into a verb in recent years. Conservatives object to phrases like "you can access your account online." Substitute "use," "reach," or "get access to" if you want to please them. 7. ACCESSORY There's an "ack" sound at the beginning of this word, though some mispronounce it as if the two "C's" were to be sounded the same as the two "SS's." 8. ADDICTING/ADDICTIVE Do you find beer nuts "addicting" or "addictive"? "Addicting" is a perfectly legitimate word, but much less common than "addictive," and some people will scowl at you if you use it. 9. AFTERALL/AFTER ALL "After all" is always two words. 10. AISLE/ISLE An aisle is a narrow passageway, especially in a church or store; an isle is an island. Propose to the person you're stranded on a desert isle with and maybe you'll march down the aisle together after you're rescued. 11. ALL Put this word where it belongs in the sentence. In negative statements, don't write "All the pictures didn't show her dimples" when you mean "The pictures didn't all show her dimples." 12. ALL READY/ALREADY "All ready" is a phrase meaning "completely prepared," as in "As soon as I put my coat on, I'll be all ready." "Already," however, is an adverb used to describe something that has happened before a certain time, as in "What do you mean you'd rather stay home? I've already got my coat on." 13. ALMOST Like "only," "almost" must come immediately before the word or phrase it modifies: "She almost gave a million dollars to the museum" means something quite different from "She gave almost a million dollars to the museum." Right? So you shouldn't write, "There was almost a riotous reaction when the will was read" when what you mean is "There was an almost riotous reaction." 14. ALRIGHT/ALL RIGHT The correct form of this phrase has become so rare in the popular press that many readers have probably never noticed that it is actually two words. But if you want to avoid irritating traditionalists you'd better tell them that you feel "all right" rather than "alright." 15. ALUMNUS/ALUMNI We used to have "alumnus" (male singular), "alumni" (male plural), "alumna" (female singular) and "alumnae" (female plural); but the latter two are now popular only among older female graduates, with the first two terms becoming unisex. However, it is still important to distinguish between one alumnus and a stadium full of alumni. Never say, "I am an alumni" if you don't want to cast discredit on your school. Many avoid the whole problem by resorting to the informal abbreviation "alum." Let me stop here for now. More to come. |
Re: Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by Teacher1776(m): 7:16pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
Good. Unlike the regular number line where we have a zero in between the negative 1 and positive 1, there is no such zero in between BC and CE or AD. Jesus was born around 2 BCE, and not 6 BCE as you speculated. |
Re: Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by Silentscreamer(f): 7:27pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
I just dislike English. It has too many inconsistencies. |
Re: Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by Lucario007(m): 7:27pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
In 2017 AD, at 7:30pm, i was able to read this wonderful article about the absorption of the English language and its access to the accessories of addicting... Em, I will be back with the rest |
Re: Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by Nobody: 8:46pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
IDGAF I don't give a fvck |
Re: Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by oldfoolnigger(m): 10:49pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
OrestesDante:But u just did |
Re: Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by oldfoolnigger(m): 10:51pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
Nice one op. English and its ambiguity |
Re: Common Errors In English Usage. You Would Be Suprised At Many Of Them. by ayourbamie: 11:23pm On Jul 18, 2017 |
Some of these are kinda confusing, e.g nos 3,4,5 |
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