PowerPoint Created by April TurnerRevised by Mamie Webb Hixon

June 1, 2010

UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTIONfrom Grammar Shots by Mamie Webb Hixon

a n b o c p d q e r f s g t h u I v j w k x l y m z

“May I have (a, an) , please.”

an an a an a a a aan anan an a aan aan a a a a anan aan a

DICTION A—used before words and

letters with an initial consonant sound

Ex: a CEO, a historical event AN—used before words and

letters with an initial vowel sound Ex: an MBA, an honorable

man, an expert ALOT—incorrect spelling for A

LOT

READ THIS STATEMENT ALOUD

a UPS guy an UPS guy

BOTH ARE CORRECT.

a UPS guya U-P-S guy

Use “a” before an initial consonant sound.

an UPS guyAn “ups” guy

Use “an” before an initial vowel sound.

ACCEPT—verb: to take Ex: I graciously accept your

invitation. EXCEPT—verb: to omit;

preposition: but Ex: Mothers of small children are

excepted from jury duty. Ex: Everyone was excused

except Joe.

ADVICE—noun Ex: Most good advice falls on deaf ears.

Thank you for your helpful advice.

ADVISE—verb Ex: The protestors were advised to

submit a list of their grievances. On the advice of legal counsel, I am

dropping the charges.

AFFECT—verb: to influence or to alter Ex: The noise affects my

concentration. EFFECT—noun: result; verb:

to bring about Ex: His speech had a

positive effect on me. Ex: The President has

effected a new tax law.

ALRIGHT—incorrect spelling for ALL RIGHT

ALMOST—adverb Ex: We sold almost all the tickets.

MOST—adjective or pronoun Ex: We sold most of the tickets.

AMONG—used for relationships involving MORE THAN TWO people or things Ex: There is a silent closeness among

the family members. BETWEEN—used for relationships

involving ONLY TWO people or things Ex: Lois and Hattie had only fifty cents

between them. EXCEPTION: Air Force One landed

somewhere between Atmore, Brewton, and Pensacola.

EXCEPTION: Use transitions between paragraphs in a multi-paragraph essay.

AMOUNT—used with singular (mass) nouns Ex: amount of work, amount

of credit NUMBER—used with plural

(countable) nouns Ex: a number of classes, a

number of mistakes

AS, AS IF, AS THOUGH—used before clauses Ex: It looks as if (not like) it’s going to rain. Ex: He acts as though (not like) he has Alzheimer’s

disease or some other form of dementia. LIKE—preposition used to introduce a phrase,

not a clause Ex: His features are unique like a fingerprint. Ex: It looks like rain.

BE SURE AND—misused for BE SURE TO

TRY AND—misused for TRY TO COULD OF—misused for COULD

HAVE SHOULD OF—misused for

SHOULD HAVE MIGHT OF—misused for MIGHT

HAVE WOULD OF—misused for WOULD

HAVE

DIFFERENT THAN—used only when a clause follows Ex: The old plantation is different

than it used to be. DIFFERENT FROM—used

always except when a clause follows Ex: Her hairdo is different from

yours.

DUE TO—used to introduce ADJECTIVE phrases; means “caused by” Ex: His mistakes were due

to carelessness. BECAUSE OF—used to

introduce ADVERB phrases; means “as a result of” Ex: He was dismissed

because of his dishonesty.

DUE TO THE FACT THAT—misused and wordy for BECAUSE

ENTHUSE/ENTHUSED—colloquialisms for ENTHUSIASTIC

FEWER—used with countable nouns Ex: fewer cigarettes, fewer

people LESS—used with mass

nouns or general amounts Ex: less time, less money

LESS THAN—used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, amount, or distance: less than three weeks, less than sixty years old, less than $400 dollars

HOPEFULLY—used as an adverb meaning “in a HOPEFUL MANNER,” not as a sentence modifier Ex: The children waited hopefully for the packages to

arrive. WRONG: Hopefully, the team will win.

IRREGARDLESS—misused for REGARDLESS

IS WHEN/IS WHERE—should NOT be used to introduce an explanation or a definitionEx: Plagiarism occurs when

(not is when) a writer presents the thoughts and ideas of another author as his own.

KIND OF/SORT OF—correctly used preceding NOUNS, NOT ADJECTIVESEx: I enjoy reading this kind

of magazine.WRONG: The movie was

kind of boring.CORRECT: The movie was

rather boring.

LEAD AND LED—Lead (pronounced “leed”) means “to go first.” Its principal parts are lead, leads, led (rhymes with red), and (have) led. Ex: Priests lead lives of celibacy. Ex: The man led a life of celibacy before he became a

priest.

The homonym for led is a noun. Ex: The lead in this pencil is broken.

LEND—verb: to allow the use of (lending, lent, [have] lent) Ex: The credit union lends (not loans)

money to members only. Ex: I lent (not loaned) my book to her

last week. LOAN—noun: something lent for

temporary use Ex: I need to establish credit so that I

can be eligible for a loan.

LIE—verb: to rest (LYING, LAY, [have] LAIN Ex: I lie on the couch every day. Ex: I lay on the couch for hours

yesterday. Ex: The sweater is still lying on the

couch. LAY—verb: to put (LAYING, LAID,

[have] LAID) Ex: Where did he lay my brush? Ex: I must have laid it down

somewhere yesterday. Ex: I’m always laying things down

and forgetting where I laid them.

The ________ expelled the(1)

student for three ________(2)

reasons.

1 – principal, principle 2 – principal, principal3 – principle, principle4 – principle, principal

2 – principal, principal

PRINCIPAL—noun: chief official; adjective: foremost, major

PRINCIPLE—noun: axiom, rule Ex: Her principal reasons for resigning

were her principles of right and wrong. Her principal source of income is her

technical editing job.

REASON IS BECAUSE/REASON WAS BECAUSE—misused for REASON IS THAT/REASON WAS THATEx: The reason he was promoted is that (not

because) he worked exceptionally hard.The reason he was fired is that (not because)

he is incompetent.

RISE—verb: to go up (RISING, ROSE, [have] RISEN) Ex: She must rise early in the

morning to get to work on time.

RAISE—verb: to push up (RAISING, RAISED, [have] RAISED) Ex: The landlord must raise

the rent to cover an increase in taxes.

SIT—verb: to be seated (SITTING, SAT, [have] SAT) Ex: Good students

usually sit on the front row.

SET—verb: to put, to place (SETTING, SET, [have] SET) Ex: Please set the

paperwork on my desk.

Ex: Try to set a positive example for young people to follow.

SUPPOSE TO/USE TO—incorrect spellings for SUPPOSED TO and USED TO

THAN—conjunctionEx: Amy is a better tennis player than I.

THEN—adverb of time (often misused for THAN)Ex: The cashier rang up our sale; then he

gave us our change.

LET’S PRACTICE!!!

I took the advise of my counselor and dropped the class.

ADVICE A employee with a MBA earns more than an

internist. AN employee, AN MBA

Alot of students come to college with no clear notion of what they want to do.

A LOT Medical schools except fewer than half the

students who apply. ACCEPT

At noon, we runners were already to start. When I reached the halfway mark, my body did not feel alright.

ALL READY; ALL RIGHT Most all the Republicans stood all together to give their

support to the proposed amendment. ALMOST all

Among the two girls, Madison ran faster. BETWEEN

The amount of people in the hall was extraordinary. NUMBER

My students act like they have acute mental disorders. AS IF

Whenever you’re depressed, you should try and lose yourself in science fiction.

TRY TO I should of backed out of the agreement.

SHOULD HAVE Why is your copy of the book different than mine?

DIFFERENT FROM

Due to the Presidents’ Day celebration, the library will be closed.

BECAUSE OF Due to the fact that her car wouldn’t start, Charlotte was

late for class. BECAUSE

This drink contains less calories than the sparkling water. FEWER

She was enthused about entering the contest. ENTHUSIASTIC

Hopefully, his pains will subside. I HOPE THAT

Irregardless of the objections, all students in Comp I classes are required to do Lab work.

REGARDLESS An honorarium is when a professional receives a

fee for services rendered. An honorarium IS a fee paid to a professional

for… When I got off the roller coaster, I felt sort of sick.

RATHER, SOMEWHAT

Joanne lead her sister into a sad world of crime. LED

The bank will not loan me the money until I establish credit.

LEND He laid on the floor, wondering why stupid people should

be allowed to vote. LAY

You are my principle problem. PRINCIPAL

The reason she left the office is because she forgot something in her car.

IS THAT The curtain was about to raise on the last act of

the senior play. RISE

Do set down and tell me all about your summer vacation.

SIT Dick is suppose to be interviewed by the governor

for a position at the state level. SUPPOSED TO

The trail went farther into the bush then the hunter expected.

THAN