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The two words share a common root, but they are not considered interchangeable in Standard English. Because they are homophones, misuse is usually only apparent when observed in writing. Standard: The Netherlands is well known for its elaborate system of levees. Standard: This statute allows the state to levy a 3% tax.
Teachers and textbook writers often invent rules which their students and readers repeat and perpetuate. These rules are usually statements about English usage which the authors imagine to be, as a rule, true. But statements of this kind are extremely difficult to formulate both simply and accurately.
The Elements of Style (also called Strunk & White) is a style guide for formal grammar used in American English writing. The first publishing was written by William Strunk Jr. in 1918, and published by Harcourt in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage," ten "elementary principles of composition," "a few matters of form," a list of 49 "words and expressions commonly misused," and a ...
8. Confusing 'nor' and 'or' Use "nor" before the second or farther of two alternatives when "neither" introduces the first. Think of it as "or" for negative sentences.
A aggravate – Some have argued that this word should not be used in the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse". According to AHDI, the use of "aggravate" as "annoy" occurs in English as far back as the 17th century. In Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were used. Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's usage panel approves of its use in "It's the ...
A list of commonly misused phrases would include "begs the question" and other phrases. The examples could be considered original research . The definitions are also on dangerous ground: too close to the source and it is plagiarism, to far and it is original research.
No one has perfect mastery of the English language, but these 15 commonly misused words make even the smartest people sound silly.
In the English language, there are grammatical constructions that many native speakers use unquestioningly yet certain writers call incorrect. Differences of usage or opinion may stem from differences between formal and informal speech and other matters of register, differences among dialects (whether regional, class-based, generational, or other), difference between the social norms of spoken ...