Bill of Writes III
An occasional series dedicated to making you a better writer. All of these things are my opinion only and may or may not converge with standard practice. I make these mistakes too.
1. oasis, nemesis, etc.
If a word ends in -sis, its plural is -ses.
2. punctuation:
We are probably all familiar with the example from Lynne Truss's somewhat prescriptivist book:
A bear that eats shoots and leaves vs. A bear that eats, shoots and leaves conjures up two completely different images on the basis of the inclusion of a single comma.
See also:
What is this thing called love? vs. What is this thing called, love?
See also © Zach Galifianakis:
She had a crack baby vs. She had a crack, baby.
For the ladies:
A woman. Without her, man is nothing.
For the gents:
A woman without her man is nothing.
For the fans of aburdist misogynistic anti-Nazi theatre:
A woman without. Herman is nothing.
The point is: yes, it does matter. Although mostly it just makes you look sloppy, it can dramatically interfere with the meaning of your sentences, so just get into the habit of punctuating your sentences properly. Even something as simple as a missing space can play havoc with your intent. For instance, you would expect very different things from videos entitled "Asian cheerleader in action" and "Asian cheerleader inaction".
3. beg the question:
To beg the question means to include something as part of its own proof. For instance, this diagram is a never-ending cycle of begging the question. It has nothing to do with begging or questions (in other news, guinea pigs are neither pigs nor from Guinea). It's a stupid term for what it is, but there you have it. It is NOT something which causes you to ask a question. The phrase you're looking for in that case is "prompts the question".
More than once I have come across people who think that someone who disagrees with their opinions are, ipso facto, "begging the question". You can't make up your own definitions for established terms and then carry on as though everyone was inside your head and knew what your new definitions were. For a quick run-down on terms like these, see my page on common debating errors. I say this a lot, but every day I am reminded that I don't say it enough: Do not use any words or phrases that you don't understand.
4. Words with mutually exclusive definitions:
Some words have meanings that are so complicated that they actually mean the opposite to their own definition. Examples are egregious (which can mean really good or really bad), cleave (which can mean to split apart and to stick together) and sanction (which can mean to officially forbid something or to officially permit something). Never use these words, or any words, unless you're sure of both what they mean, and of the meaning you are trying to convey. In most cases ("sanction" presents problems), you're probably better off using a different term.
5. affect, effect:
To affect something means to influence it, or to make someone emotional (hence affection): The movie affected me. (It can also mean to pretend, as in affecting a Southern accent (hence affectation), but you don't see much of that).
To effect something means to make it happen, to put it into effect: He effected his plan last week. If that usage looks strange to you, then just don't use effect as a verb.
Effect can also be used as a noun, meaning something that happens as a result of something else: The Doppler Effect; special effects; the desired effect; etc. Never use affect as a noun.
As ever, if any of this is unclear, don't use the word at all, and find a different way to communicate your idea.
6. good, well:
Listen up, America! No one did "good". They did well. The adjective is good and the adverb is well. If you are talking about a noun, use good; if you are talking about a verb, use well. No exceptions.
He smells good uses the adjective, and hence it must refer to the noun "He": you are saying that his aroma is pleasing to you. He smells well uses the adverb, and hence it must refer to the verb "smells": you are saying that he is good at smelling. Maybe he has a big nose, I don't know.
Related: Bill of Writes and Bill of Writes II
1. oasis, nemesis, etc.
If a word ends in -sis, its plural is -ses.
2. punctuation:
We are probably all familiar with the example from Lynne Truss's somewhat prescriptivist book:
A bear that eats shoots and leaves vs. A bear that eats, shoots and leaves conjures up two completely different images on the basis of the inclusion of a single comma.
See also:
What is this thing called love? vs. What is this thing called, love?
See also © Zach Galifianakis:
She had a crack baby vs. She had a crack, baby.
For the ladies:
A woman. Without her, man is nothing.
For the gents:
A woman without her man is nothing.
For the fans of aburdist misogynistic anti-Nazi theatre:
A woman without. Herman is nothing.
The point is: yes, it does matter. Although mostly it just makes you look sloppy, it can dramatically interfere with the meaning of your sentences, so just get into the habit of punctuating your sentences properly. Even something as simple as a missing space can play havoc with your intent. For instance, you would expect very different things from videos entitled "Asian cheerleader in action" and "Asian cheerleader inaction".
3. beg the question:
To beg the question means to include something as part of its own proof. For instance, this diagram is a never-ending cycle of begging the question. It has nothing to do with begging or questions (in other news, guinea pigs are neither pigs nor from Guinea). It's a stupid term for what it is, but there you have it. It is NOT something which causes you to ask a question. The phrase you're looking for in that case is "prompts the question".
More than once I have come across people who think that someone who disagrees with their opinions are, ipso facto, "begging the question". You can't make up your own definitions for established terms and then carry on as though everyone was inside your head and knew what your new definitions were. For a quick run-down on terms like these, see my page on common debating errors. I say this a lot, but every day I am reminded that I don't say it enough: Do not use any words or phrases that you don't understand.
4. Words with mutually exclusive definitions:
Some words have meanings that are so complicated that they actually mean the opposite to their own definition. Examples are egregious (which can mean really good or really bad), cleave (which can mean to split apart and to stick together) and sanction (which can mean to officially forbid something or to officially permit something). Never use these words, or any words, unless you're sure of both what they mean, and of the meaning you are trying to convey. In most cases ("sanction" presents problems), you're probably better off using a different term.
5. affect, effect:
To affect something means to influence it, or to make someone emotional (hence affection): The movie affected me. (It can also mean to pretend, as in affecting a Southern accent (hence affectation), but you don't see much of that).
To effect something means to make it happen, to put it into effect: He effected his plan last week. If that usage looks strange to you, then just don't use effect as a verb.
Effect can also be used as a noun, meaning something that happens as a result of something else: The Doppler Effect; special effects; the desired effect; etc. Never use affect as a noun.
As ever, if any of this is unclear, don't use the word at all, and find a different way to communicate your idea.
6. good, well:
Listen up, America! No one did "good". They did well. The adjective is good and the adverb is well. If you are talking about a noun, use good; if you are talking about a verb, use well. No exceptions.
He smells good uses the adjective, and hence it must refer to the noun "He": you are saying that his aroma is pleasing to you. He smells well uses the adverb, and hence it must refer to the verb "smells": you are saying that he is good at smelling. Maybe he has a big nose, I don't know.
Related: Bill of Writes and Bill of Writes II