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Created by April Turner
UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTION
from Grammar Shots by Mamie Webb Hixon
DICTION
A—used before words and letters with an initial consonant sound
Ex: a CPA, a historical eventAN—used before words and letters with an initial vowel sound
Ex: an MBA, an honorable man
ALOT—incorrect spelling for A LOT
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.
ADVISE—verb
Ex: The protestors were advised to submit a list of
their grievances.
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—adverbEx: We sold almost all the tickets.
MOST—adjective or pronounEx: 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.
AMOUNT—used with singular (mass) nouns
Ex: amount of work, amount of credit
NUMBER—used with plural (countable) nouns
Ex: number of classes, 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.
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
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 definition
Ex: 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 ADJECTIVES
Ex: 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.
PRINCIPAL—noun: chief official; adjective: foremost, major
PRINCIPLE—noun: axiom, rule
Ex: Her principal reasons for resigning were her principles of right and wrong.
REASON IS BECAUSE/REASON WAS BECAUSE—misused for REASON IS THAT/REASON WAS THAT
Ex: The reason he was promoted is that (not because) he worked exceptionally hard.
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 TOTHAN—conjunction
Ex: 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.
ADVICEA employee with a MBA earns more than an internist.
AN employee, AN MBAAlot of students come to college with no clear notion of what they want to do.
A LOTMedical 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 RIGHTMost all the Republicans stood all together to give their support to the proposed amendment.
ALMOST allAmong the two girls, Madison ran faster.
BETWEENThe amount of people in the hall was extraordinary.
NUMBER
My students act like they have acute mental disorders.
AS IFWhenever you’re depressed, you should try and lose yourself in science fiction.
TRY TOI should of backed out of the agreement.
SHOULD HAVEWhy is your copy of the book different than mine?
DIFFERENT FROM
Due to the Presidents’ Day celebration, the library will be closed.
BECAUSE OFDue to the fact that her car wouldn’t start, Charlotte was late for class.
BECAUSEThis drink contains less calories than the sparkling water.
FEWERShe 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.
REGARDLESSAn 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.
LEDThe bank will not loan me the money until I establish credit.
LENDHe laid on the floor, wondering why stupid people should be allowed to vote.
LAYYou are my principle problem.
PRINCIPAL
The reason she left the office is because she forgot something in her car.
IS THATThe curtain was about to raise on the last act of the senior play.
RISEDo set down and tell me all about your summer vacation.
SITDick is suppose to be interviewed by the governor for a position at the state level.
SUPPOSED TOThe trail went farther into the bush then the hunter expected.
THAN