Hello all!

Today we’re tackling two oft-confusing prefixes. Unlike many of the word pairs we’ve been discussing, these two prefixes are not spelled or pronounced similarly; rather, the root of their confusion is due entirely to the fact that they have overlapping meanings. Now, bi and semi have many meanings, but I want to focus on just those that overlap–namely, when they’re being used as prefixes before some measure of time, such as bimonthly, semiweekly, and so on.

We’ll take monthly as our case in point for simplicity’s sake. Now, semimonthly is the simpler of the two because it has only one meaning: twice a month. Bimonthly, on the other hand, can mean either twice a month or every two months. So what’s the best way to distinguish when to use one and when to use the other? I find that, particularly when you need to include both meanings in your writing, it’s easier to use each prefix for only one meaning, and since semimonthly can only mean twice a month, that leaves bimonthly to take on the role of signifying every two months. So, if you stick to using semimonthly to indicate twice a month (or semiweekly to indicate twice a week, etc.) and using bimonthly to indicate every two months (or biweekly to indicate every two weeks, etc.), you’ll be in good shape.

And how can you remember when to use which? If you can remember that semi also means partial, that can remind you to use semi as your prefix when you’re trying to indicate something that happens partway through the period of time. And that will also help your readers, who will no longer have to guess your meaning!

Until next time!

Hello everyone!

I’m breaking from our series of tricky word pairs to present you with this interesting and incredibly useful article that explains the proper order of adjectives before a noun: “opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun” (without the hyphens, of course). As the article explains, most English speakers know when a series of adjectives sounds incorrect, but since we’re not taught any rule governing the order of such an adjectival series, we have trouble explaining why it is incorrect. Not so for non-native speakers, who are taught that rule! So please, take a look, and never have to wonder about adjective order again: http://qz.com/773738/how-non-english-speakers-are-taught-this-crazy-english-grammar-rule-you-know-but-youve-never-heard-of/?utm_source=atlfb

Until next time!

Hello everyone!

I’m back to talk about another often-misused word pair, and today’s culprits are particularly close to my heart. You see, I had a wonderful professor in college who used to rant about people using reference when they ought to be using refer, and so I can’t help but think of him and all he taught me about writing every time I encounter the same error.

The crux of the issue with these two words is that refer is the verb form while reference is the noun form, but it’s become quite popular to use reference as a verb. Now, you might be wondering what’s wrong with that, since you would observe if you looked up reference in the Merriam-Webster dictionary that it is listed as a verb as well as a noun. The problem with relying solely on the dictionary to determine appropriate word usage, however, is that the dictionary is designed to reflect popular usage of words–not to present what is actually correct according to the rules of the language. So while the dictionary’s a great tool to determine word meanings and spellings, it’s better to rely on style guides (Chicago Manual of Style, APA, MLA, and many others) to learn the rules about word usage.

Which brings us back to the fact that refer is the verb and reference is the noun. So, She refers to her style guides frequently, not She references her style guides frequently. Similarly, She uses her style guides as references, not She uses her style guides as refers. And it’s even okay to say She makes reference to her style guides frequently (although I’d advise against that since it adds an unnecessary verb)–the key point is to keep reference as a noun and leave the verb work to refer. I promise that it will make your writing stand out!

Until next time!

Hello everyone!

Today we’re going to examine the difference between hearty and hardy, two similar-looking adjectives that sound even more alike! As with last week’s pair, these two are easy to confuse because their meanings are quite similar, but it will give your writing a real edge if you know the best time to use each one. So let’s dive in!

Hearty means strong, in the sense of being enthusiastic or cheerful; for example, She has a hearty appetite. Hardy also means strong, but in the sense of being robust or able to endure hardship; for example, She was hardy enough to survive the freezing winter. While they both have the same basic meaning (strong), their connotations are drastically different, and so it might give your readers pause to see you talking about somebody’s “hardy” endorsement of a candidate or how the “hearty” young man was able to climb Everest.

So how can you remember which word to use when? The answer this time is in the words themselves! Hearty begins with heart, which can remind you of its indication of cheer and enthusiasm, while hardy begins with hard, which can remind you of its indication of stamina. It’s really as simple as that!

Until next time!

Hello all!

Are you ready to conquer another tricky word pair? Today, we’re going to look at flaunt and flout, which can be confusing because they are similar in almost every way: spelling, pronunciation, meaning, and even part of speech. But there are key differences between the two that make it worth knowing when it’s best to use which one.

Flaunt is a verb meaning to show off, and it usually holds the connotation of showing something off in a manner that violates the rules of politeness in order to attract attention. For example, She flaunted her enormous engagement ring in front of her unhappily single cousin. Flout is a verb meaning to openly break or ignore, and it usually refers to a rule or standard of some sort. For example, She flouted the law when she broke into the jewelry store and stole the ring right in front of the security cameras. Both verbs have a sense of flamboyance about them, where the person completing the action is seeking some form of attention, but flaunt has more the sense of bragging about something while flout has more the sense of scornful disregard for a rule.

And now you can stop flouting the rules and instead flaunt your knowledge of the difference between these two words! Until next time!