Correct English

The Ultimate Authority

2008-12-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

"You saucy little devils had better learn your lessons. Communicating with rude noises, silly faces, and pointed sticks just won't do, you know. Not any more. I simply won't have it, and that's that."

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

A

2005-04-29T23:00:00.001-07:00

A LOT, ALOT, and ALLOT
Wrong: My teacher corrects my spelling alot.
Correct: My teacher corrects my spelling a lot.
Tip: Your teacher should allot even more time to that thankless task.

12:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.
Wrong: Time of death was 12:00 a.m.
Correct: Time of death was noon (or midnight, depending on the intent).
Tip: Use a.m. between midnight and noon and p.m. between noon and midnight.

5 A.M. IN THE MORNING
Wrong: My breath freshener expired at 5 a.m. in the morning.
Correct: My breath freshener expired at 5 a.m.
Correct: My breath freshener expired at 5 o'clock in the morning.
Tip: The notation "a.m." is Latin for ante meridiem, indicating morning.

AND ALSO
Wrong: And also, I had to take the bus again!
Correct: Also, I had to take the bus again!
Tip: Once is enough

B

2005-04-29T22:45:00.002-07:00

BEG THE QUESTION
Wrong: It begs the question, "why are you so stupid?"
Correct: It prompts the question, "why are you so stupid?"
Tip: Begging the question means to use as proof that which remains to be proven. For example, "he's so stupid because he is so unintelligent" begs the question.

BRING and TAKE
Wrong: I'll bring you a change of underwear.
Correct: I'll take you a change of underwear.
Tip: Bring toward the speaker. Take away from the speaker.

E

2005-04-29T22:00:00.001-07:00

EXACT SAME
Wrong: I ended up in the exact same place.
Correct: I ended up in exactly the same place.
Correct: I ended up in the same place.
Tip: You can save your breath and still say the same thing.

F

2005-04-29T21:45:00.001-07:00

FREE
Wrong: Get a subscription to Illiterates Anonymous for free.
Correct: Get a subscription to Illiterates Anonymous free.
Tip: It's free. That says it all.

H

2005-04-29T21:15:00.001-07:00

HEALTHY and HEALTHFUL
Wrong: I am going to start eating healthy.
Correct: I am going to start eating healthfully.
Tip: You can't eat healthy, but you can eat in a way that promotes your health.

Wrong: I only eat healthy food.
Correct: I only eat healthful food.
Tip: Healthy food is disease-free food. Healthful food is health-promoting food.

I

2005-04-29T21:00:00.001-07:00

I and ME
Wrong: Please join the Reverend and I in praying for your rotten souls.
Correct: Please join the Reverend and me in praying for your rotten souls.
Tip: Join me, not I.

IN THE $90 RANGE
Wrong: These shoes are in the $90 range.
Correct: These shoes are in the $90 to $110 range.
Tip: A range requires two numbers.

IRREGARDLESS
Wrong: This word is right, irregardless of what the spelling checker says.
Correct: This word is right, regardless of what the spelling checker says.
Tip: The prefix "ir" means "not" in this instance.

L

2005-04-29T20:30:00.001-07:00

LOSE and LOOSE
Wrong: I'll loose my hat in the wind if the headband is too lose.
Correct: I'll lose my hat in the wind if the headband is too loose.
Tip: Remember the spelling and sound of "loose as a goose."

M

2005-04-29T20:00:00.001-07:00

MYSELF
Wrong: She and myself went to the basketball game.
Correct: She and I went to the basketball game.
Tip: I went to the basketball game, not myself.

Wrong: They accused Jimbo, BillyBob, and myself.
Correct: They accused Jimbo, BillyBob, and me.
Tip: They accused me, not myself.

Correct: Having murdered the English language, I hate myself.
Correct: I, myself, have no doubt.
Correct: I consider myself innocent.
Correct: If she can't go, I'll go by myself.

MY FATHER HE
Wrong: My father, he slit my throat and burned the bloody house down.
Correct: My father slit my throat and burned the bloody house down.
Tip: Since you wasted twelve years in school, who can blame him?

S

2005-04-29T18:30:00.003-07:00

SIGHT, SITE, and CITE
Wrong: Web sights are good cites to site our living heroes.
Correct: The blind attorney lost his sight on a construction site, years before he learned to cite the law.
Tip: Get more sleep so you can remember this.

SUPPOSABLY and SUPPOSINGLY
Wrong: Supposably, if u cn rd this msg, u cn get a gd job.
Correct: Supposedly, if u cn rd this msg, u cn get a gd job.
Tip: Don't make up words when the right word already exists, or you won't get any job.

T

2005-04-29T18:15:00.001-07:00

THEIR, THERE, and THEY'RE
Wrong: There looking over their for they're dead granny.
Correct: They're looking over there for their dead granny.
Tip: They're is a contraction of they are. Here and there are spelled similarly. What's his and hers is theirs.

THEN and THAN
Wrong: If D's are better then F's, than I graduated from medical school.
Correct: If D's are better than F's, then I graduated from medical school.
Tip: Either way, God help us!

TRY AND
Wrong: I will try and remember this.
Correct: I will try to remember this.
Tip: Thank you. Please do.

TO, TOO, and TWO
Wrong: To bad these too girls don't want two dance with us, Gomer.
Correct: Too bad these two girls don't want to dance with us, Gomer.
Tip: Can you blame them, Jethro?

U

2005-04-29T18:00:00.001-07:00

UNIQUE
Wrong: The Mona Lisa is a very unique painting.
Correct: The Mona Lisa is a unique painting.
Tip: Unique means one of a kind. It can't be qualified further.

V

2005-04-29T17:45:00.001-07:00

VAIN, VANE, and VEIN
Wrong: We searched in vane for the weather vein, then slit a vain.
Correct: We searched in vain for the weather vane, then slit a vein.
Tip: As used here, vain means fruitless, vane is part of a wind direction indicator, and vein is a blood vessel.

W

2005-04-29T17:30:00.001-07:00

WHO and THAT
Wrong: We'll pay you $50 for every person that joins.
Correct: We'll pay you $50 for every person who joins.
Tip: People are always who, not that.

WHO and WHOM
Wrong: Who pays who?
Correct: Who pays whom?
Tip: Whom is the objective case of who.

WHO'S and WHOSE
Wrong: Whose the guy who's face is on the dollar bill?
Correct: Who's the guy whose face is on the dollar bill?
Tip: Who's is a contraction of who is, and whose is the possessive case of who.

WHOLE NOTHER
Wrong: That's a whole nother thing.
Correct: That's something else entirely.
Tip: Let's pretend we've advanced beyond the Neanderthal era, shall we?

Y

2005-04-29T17:15:00.001-07:00

YOUR and YOU'RE
Wrong: Your chewing with you're mouth open.
Correct: You're chewing with your mouth open.
Tip: You're is a contraction of you are.