UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTION

UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTION from Grammar Shots by Mamie Webb Hixon PowerPoint Created by April Turner Revised by Mamie Webb Hixon June 1, 2010

an an a an a a a a an an an an a a an a an a a a a an an a an a 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.”

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 guy • a U-P-S guy • Use “a” before an initial consonant sound. • an UPS guy • An “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.

BESUREAND—misused for BE SURE TO • TRYAND—misused for TRY TO • COULDOF—misused for COULD HAVE • SHOULDOF—misused for SHOULD HAVE • MIGHTOF—misused for MIGHT HAVE • WOULDOF—misused for WOULD HAVE

DIFFERENTTHAN—used only when a clause follows • Ex: The old plantation is different than it used to be. • DIFFERENTFROM—used always except when a clause follows • Ex: Her hairdo is different from yours.

DUETO—used to introduce ADJECTIVE phrases; means “caused by” • Ex: His mistakes were due to carelessness. • BECAUSEOF—used to introduce ADVERB phrases; means “as a result of” • Ex: He was dismissed because of his dishonesty.

DUE TO THE FACTTHAT—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

ISWHEN/ISWHERE—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. • KINDOF/SORTOF—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 ANDLED—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, principal 3 – principle, principle 4 – 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 WASBECAUSE—misused for REASON IS THAT/REASON WAS THAT • Ex: 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/USETO—incorrect spellings for SUPPOSED TO and USED TO • THAN—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 adviseof 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; ALLRIGHT • 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 lesscalories than the sparkling water. • FEWER • She was enthusedabout 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 honorariumIS a fee paid to a professional for… • When I got off the roller coaster, I felt sort of sick. • RATHER, SOMEWHAT

Joanne leadher 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 raiseon 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

UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR DICTION