Which Word?: Accept vs. Except

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Hello all!

I’m back with another tricky word pair. This week’s pair is accept and except, which are often confused because they sound the same, even though they have very different spellings and meanings. In fact, they almost have opposing meanings: Accept is a verb that means to receive, while except is a preposition that means not including or other than (per Merriam-Webster). So, She accepted the flowers he gave her and He remembered everything except his wallet.

So how can you remember which is which when they sound the same? The answer lies in the spelling. Except has an X in it, which we tend to use to indicate that something is not or should not be included. So, the word with the X in it is the one that indicates that something is not included.

I hope this was another helpful hint you can use to improve your writing! Until next time!

Which Word?: Advice vs. Advise

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Hello everyone!

This week’s word pair is advice and advise. These two can be tricky because their meanings–like their spellings and pronunciations–are very similar. They both refer to the provision of guidance or encouragement to somebody else, but one word is a verb and one is a noun. Advice (pronounced with an “s” sound) is the noun form, referring to the actual guidance or encouragement provided. Advise (pronounced with a “z” sound) is the verb form, referring to the act of providing that guidance or encouragement. So, I gave my friend some advice and I advised my friend.

The best way I can think of to remember which is which is to think alphabetically. Advice comes before advise in the alphabet, just like noun would be alphabetized before verb. It’s not a perfect method, but hopefully it will help you distinguish between the two. At worst, as long as you remember that the noun and the verb forms are different, you can look up which you should use in that instance of your writing.

I’ll be back next time with another word pair. Until then!

Which Word?: Disinterested vs. Uninterested

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Hello all!

I’m back with another tricky word pair. Today’s culprits are disinterested and uninterested. These words can get confusing not because they look or sound the same but because they appear to mean the same thing. We’re used to interpreting the prefixes dis- and un- to both indicate the opposite of the word to which they’re attached. For example, the dis- in disappear causes that word to mean the opposite of appear, and the un- in undo causes that word to mean the opposite of do. So, we would tend to think that both disinterested and uninterested mean “not interested.”

In this case, however, only the un- functions in its usual capacity. Uninterested is the word that actually means “not interested”; disinterested, by contrast, means “impartial” or “objective.” Rather than a complete removal of interest, the dis- in this case indicates simply a removal of preference. Someone can be interested in a sporting event while still being disinterested in its outcome, but that person cannot be both interested and uninterested in that event.

It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one for your writing. You can entirely change the meaning of a sentence by using one word instead of the other. I hope this explanation has helped clarify this word pair for you!

Until next time!

Which Word?: Opposites Attract

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Hello everyone, and Happy New Year!

Earlier this week, I ran across a fascinating article on mental_floss that lists 25 words that are their own opposites. If you’re anything like me, you tend to just use words in the context you need them without thinking much about their other meanings. But one of the best ways to make sure that you clearly convey your meaning to your reader is to use unambiguous words in your writing. So, today, I want to suggest that you check out this article, and use it as a springboard to keep alternate meanings of words in mind as you write this year: http://mentalfloss.com/article/57032/25-words-are-their-own-opposites.

Until next time!

Which Word?: Words of the Year

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Hello everyone!

Since 2015 is drawing to a close, I thought I’d do a slightly different Which Word? segment this week and bring your attention to the 2015 Words of the Year, as decided by the Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, and dictionary.com. I find all three particularly interesting this year…you can decide which word is your favorite!

Dictionary.com’s word is identity, which seems a highly relevant selection in light of the many aspects of identity and their significance that appeared in the news this year. As a word that has been widely debated and largely redefined in both the popular and political spheres, identity was the subject of many dictionary.com searches–and dictionary.com actually rewrote their definition of it (and related terms, such as identify) to remain in line with current events. Interestingly, identity is the only Word of the Year that is actually a word.

Merriam-Webster’s word is not a full word, but instead a suffix: -ism. Merriam-Webster selected this suffix to represent the many words ending in -ism that spiked in lookups this year. In a year full of so many charged political conversations, it’s not surprising that many people were curious about the exact meanings of many -isms.

While Merriam-Webster leaned toward the political side in its Word of the Year selection, Oxford English Dictionary’s word is firmly in the popular realm. I use the word “word” here loosely, as the OED Word of the Year is not a word at all, but rather an emoji (one of the highly popular face icons used to express emotion in typed text). It is the “face with tears of joy” emoji, seen as tears-of-joy-emoji. While dictionary.com’s and Merriam-Webster’s words both indicate society’s wrestling with core ideological issues, the OED’s choice of an emoji for its word illustrates how the nature of language itself is changing. As today’s world becomes increasingly united and blended, overcoming geographical separations through technological advances, so language and art are coming together to form a new (and more thorough) form of expression–and categorizing an emoji as a Word of the Year brings home just how pervasive that change is.

So which word is your favorite? Which word best expresses your year?

Happy New Year! Until next time!

BodyWHealth Release!

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Hello everyone!

It is my pleasure to announce the release of a book that has the power to change all of our lives for the better. Written by prominent doctor and life coach Roddy Carter, BodyWHealth: Journey to Abundance is a beautiful mix of accessible science, the author’s own life experience, and encouragement. Through the mechanism of seven Keys that unlock WHealth, Roddy tells his readers how to tap into their innate capacity for health, happiness, and prosperity–allowing anyone the ability to live life abundantly. Much more than a self-help book, BodyWHealth promotes simple lifestyle changes to bring you complete physical, emotional, and mental health.

The book is now available in hardcover, softcover, and e-book formats, in bookstores and online at Amazon. There will also be a San Diego book signing on Wednesday, January 6, at 7:30pm, at Warwick’s in La Jolla (http://www.warwicks.com/event/roddy-carter-2016). For more information about the author or the book, please visit the official BodyWHealth website at http://www.bodywhealth.org/.

I’ll be at the book signing to get my copy, and I hope you’ll join me…there’s no better way to start a new year than by giving yourself the gift of WHealth!

Which Word?: Problematic Possessiveness

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Hello all!

Today I’d like to talk about two word pairs that I see confused in somebody’s writing at least once a day: its/it’s and your/you’re. I’ve noticed among writers both pro and amateur a strong tendency to use it’s where they should use its and you’re where they should use your.

Why?

My theory is that these pervasive errors can be chalked up to possessiveness and the fickle rules of the English language. You see, these two word pairs violate the general English rule that possession is indicated using the ‘s. For almost everything in English, we indicate possession by adding ‘s to the end of the noun: Bobby‘s pencil, the school‘s playground, the couple‘s wedding. So it makes sense to us that it’s and you’re would indicate possession. But that’s not the case!

The apostrophes in it’s and you’re are actually indicating contractions, not possession. Thus, it’s actually means it is and you’re actually means you are. It’s the other half of the pairs that indicate possession: its and your, with no apostrophes. So, the dog wanted to play with its ball and it’s the dog’s ball, and you’re planning to wear your red dress tonight, right?

I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any particularly clever way for you to remember which word to use when for these word pairs, except bearing in mind that they violate the usual ‘s rule of possession. But hopefully simply having the issue brought to your attention will help you remember to check your its/it’s and your/you’re usage. And just avoiding that error alone will separate your writing from the crowd’s–and make your readers appreciate you that much more!

Until next time!

Which Word?: Quote vs. Quotation

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Hello everyone!

I’m back with another confusing word pair. Today’s set falls into the category of errors that are made so commonly that most people don’t even realize they are prone to making those errors! That’s because the English-speaking world has largely started using quote as both noun and verb. We see a lot of both May I quote you? and The following quote from Mark Twain shows why he’s the best author ever. And since that’s become what’s known as “common usage,” it’s actually considered acceptable to use the word quote exclusively, and never quotation.

In more formal writing, however–and just as something that’s good to know so that you can make a conscious choice about what to use in your own writing, whatever level of formality–“correct usage” comes into play. The correct usage is that quote is the verb and quotation is the noun. So, May I quote you? is correct, but The following quote from Mark Twain… is incorrect. Instead, the correct phrase would be The following quotation from Mark Twain shows why he’s the best author ever.

So now you know, and you can decide which way you’d like to use this word pair! I’ll be back next time with more!

Until then!

A Pause for Thanks

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Hello everyone!

I’ll be resuming the Which Word? series next time, but with Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I wanted to take a moment today to reflect on thankfulness.

There seems to be a growing trend in the USA where we move straight from Halloween to Christmas. It’s long since been the case that stores start carrying Christmas items as early as August, but I’ve noticed that in the past few years, more and more signs of Christmas have started emerging on November 1. This year in particular, I saw many declarations of “The Christmas season has arrived!” the day after Halloween. And while I certainly understand the desire to jump into what is one of my personal favorite times of year, it makes me a bit sad to think of how that sort of leaves Thanksgiving by the wayside. We end up jumping from candy and costumes to presents and carols without leaving any space for gratitude in between.

And we have so much to be thankful for. Any of us with a safe place to sleep tonight can be thankful for that, particularly in light of the recent terrorist attacks across the world and the thousands of refugees currently without a home. Any of us with a job that allows us to meet our basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter can be thankful for that. Any of us with families or friends to share in our joys and divide our sorrows can be thankful for that. Any of us with generally good health can be thankful for that. Any of us able to indulge in leisure activities, travel, and the latest electronic gadgets can be thankful for that. Any of us who live somewhere with the freedom to practice any religion we choose; to speak our minds; to vote; to associate with any political party we choose; to protest peacefully without fear for our lives; to be tried by a fair court for any crimes of which we are accused; to marry whomever we choose; to receive an education regardless of our race, socioeconomic status, or gender; to work at any job we choose; and to own property–we can be thankful for that.

I hope that you will join me in taking a moment to pause tomorrow to give thanks for all the blessings in your life. We all have something to be thankful for.

Until next time!

Which Word?: Spelling Stumbles

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Hello all!

I’m back with another Which Word? segment, and today I’ll be discussing a few words groups that are confusing not because the meanings are closely related but because it’s hard to know which one is spelled which way!

Up first is one of my personal favorites: desert and dessert. We know one of them means an arid section of land and one of them refers to something sugary and delicious, but it can be tough to remember which is which. The trick I was taught to remember is one that makes me smile every time: Just ask yourself, which item would you rather have more of? More arid land or more delicious treat? The one you (probably) want more of gets more s‘s. Thus, desert is the arid land and dessert is the treat.

Next is a grouping that plagues even the best of writers: their, there, and they’re. While all three words sound exactly the same, their spellings and meanings are all different. Their is an indication of possession (their dog, not your dog); there is an indication of place (their dog went over there, while your dog stayed here); and they’re is a contraction of they are (their dog went over there where they’re standing, while your dog stayed here where you’re standing). I am sorry to say that I don’t have any handy tricks for you for remembering this one perfectly, but if you can remember the sentence about the dog and which spelling goes where in that sentence, you’ll have a good shot at figuring it out. And if all else fails, try testing for the contraction first, since it’s the only one with an apostrophe. If you can replace the word in your sentence with they are, then you’re looking for they’re. If not, at least you have a 50/50 shot between the other two!

And speaking of two, that brings me to our final grouping for today: to, too, and two. Once again, we have three words here that all sound the same but have different spellings and definitions. Generally speaking, most people have no problems with to. In fact, the issue I run across is that a lot of people use to all the time, even when the proper word is either too or two. Too is an indicator of something being more than what is possible or wanted (my boss was asking too much of me), while two is the spelling of the number 2. The trick I’d suggest using to remember which of these to use in which case is to run through three quick steps: (1) Ask yourself if it’s a number. If so, use two. (2) Ask yourself if you’re trying to indicate overabundance. If so, use too (easy to remember because is has more o‘s that to…to indicate more!). (3) If you’ve answered questions (1) and (2) in the negative, use to.

I hope that helps clear up some very common confusing word groups. The simplest things can make the biggest difference, and using these words appropriately in your writing will set you above the pack in no small way!

Until next time!