Browse A–Z
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A
- a / an
- a historic / an historic
- a lot / alot
- a while / awhile
- a.m. / p.m. style
- abbreviation / acronym / initialism
- abbreviations: periods and spacing
- abide / abided / abode
- ability / capacity
- abjure / adjure
- above / over
- abrogate / arrogate
- absolute adjectives
- absolute phrases
- abstruse / obtuse
- accede / exceed
- accept / except
- access / excess
- accord / accordance
- accrue / incur
- across from / opposite
- active voice / passive voice
- acute / chronic
- ad hominem
- adapt / adopt / adept
- adherence / adhesion
- adjacent / adjoining
- adjective order
- adjective / adverb after linking verbs
- admission / admittance
- advance planning
- adventurous / adventuresome / adventuristic
- adverb placement
- adverse / averse
- advice / advise
- advisor / adviser
- aesthetic / ascetic
- affect / effect
- affective / effective
- afflict / inflict
- aged / age-old
- agenda: singular, plural, and agreement
- ages: hyphenation and numerals
- aggravate / irritate
- aging / ageing
- agreement by proximity
- agreement with compound subjects
- agreement with fractions and percentages
- agreement with titles and quoted words
- aid / aide
- ain’t
- alibi
- all intents and purposes / all intensive purposes
- all of a sudden / all of the sudden
- all ready / already
- all right / alright
- all together / altogether
- allude / elude
- allude / refer
- allusion / illusion
- almost / most
- along with / together with
- also / too / as well placement
- altar / alter
- alternate / alternative
- alumna / alumnus / alumni / alumnae
- ambiguous / ambivalent
- amend / emend
- amiable / amicable / amenable
- among / between
- among others / amongst
- amoral / immoral
- amount / number
- ampersand
- amuse / bemuse
- analog / analogue
- and also
- and/or
- anecdote / antidote
- anniversary for months
- anti / ante prefixes
- anticipate / expect
- anxious / eager
- any more / anymore
- any one / anyone
- any way / anyway
- anybody / anyone agreement
- anyways
- apostrophe
- apostrophe in decades
- apostrophe plurals
- apostrophe possessive
- appendix / appendices / appendixes
- apposite / opposite
- appositive / apposition
- appraise / apprise
- apt / liable / likely
- arbiter / arbitrator / mediator
- article use with institutions
- articles with geographic names
- artist / artiste
- as / like
- as far as…is concerned
- as follow / as follows
- as per
- as to
- as well as agreement
- as yet / yet
- ascent / assent
- ask as noun
- assignment / assignation
- assume / presume
- assurance / insurance
- assure / ensure / insure
- astronomy / astrology
- at the end of the day
- ATM machine
- attorney / lawyer
- auger / augur
- aught / naught / nought / ought
- aural / oral
- author as verb
- automaton / automata
- autonomy / autarky / autarchy
- auxiliary verbs / helping verbs
- avenge / revenge
- average / mean / median / mode
- await / wait
- awake / awaken / wake / waken
- awful / awesome
B
- bacillus / bacilli
- back-formations
- backslash / slash
- backup / back up
- backward / backwards
- bacteria / bacterium
- bad / badly
- bail / bale
- baited / bated
- barbaric / barbarous / barbarian
- bare / bear
- bare infinitive
- based around
- based off of / based on
- basically filler
- bazaar / bizarre
- because / since / as
- because of / because
- beg the question
- beginning sentence with numeral
- being as / being that
- bellwether / bellweather
- beside / besides
- beside the point
- better than any / any other
- between 1 to 5
- between each
- between you and I
- biannual / biennial / semiannual
- bias / biased
- bible / Bible capitalization
- bit / bitten
- biweekly / bimonthly
- black / white (racial labels)
- blackmail / extortion
- blatant / flagrant
- bloc / block
- blond / blonde
- blood is thicker than water
- boarder / border
- bona fide
- boor / bore
- born / borne
- both alike
- both…and
- bough / bow
- boughten
- braces
- brackets
- brackets: editorial insertions and nested material
- brake / break
- brand names: when to capitalize
- breach / breech
- bridal / bridle
- bring / take
- broach / brooch
- broadcast / broadcasted
- burglary / robbery / theft
- burned / burnt
- bus / busses / buses
- but however
- by accident / on accident
- by means of
C
- cache / cachet
- cacti / cactuses
- calendar / calender
- callous / callus
- can / may
- canceled / cancelled
- cannon / canon
- cannot / can not
- canvas / canvass
- capital / capitol
- capitalization after a colon
- capitalization in hyphenated compounds
- capitalization of academic degrees
- capitalization of government bodies and offices
- capitalization of languages, nationalities, and religions
- capitalization of titles and headings
- capitalization: sentence case / title case
- carat / caret / karat
- careen / career
- case and point / case in point
- case in compound and coordinated pronouns
- cavalry / Calvary
- cement / concrete
- censor / censure / censorious
- center on / center around / centre
- cereal / serial
- ceremonial / ceremonious
- cf.
- checkout / check out
- childish / childlike
- chomping at the bit / champing
- chord / cord / accord
- cite / sight / site
- classic / classical
- cleft sentences
- clench / clinch
- climactic / climatic
- close proximity
- coarse / course
- collaborate / corroborate
- collaborate together
- collective nouns agreement
- collective possessives
- colon
- colon after an independent clause
- colon and semicolon with quotation marks
- colon before lists
- colon with quotations and subtitles
- come to a head / bring to a boil
- comma
- comma before a coordinating conjunction
- comma before because
- comma before quoted speech
- comma splice
- comma with dates, addresses, and place-names
- comma with however
- comma with introductory elements
- comma with nonrestrictive clauses
- comma with quotation marks
- common / mutual
- comparative and superlative forms
- compare and contrast
- compare to / compare with
- comparison: as … as / than
- complement / compliment
- complementary / complimentary
- completely destroyed
- compose / comprise / comprised of
- compound possession: shared and individual ownership
- compound predicates: comma use when verbs share a subject
- concave / convex
- concerning / about / regarding
- conditional sentences
- condole / console
- confidant / confident
- congenial / congenital
- conjunctive adverbs and semicolons
- connote / denote
- consensus building
- consensus of opinion
- consequent / subsequent / consequent result
- contact as verb
- contagious / infectious
- contemporary / contemporaneous
- contemptible / contemptuous
- continual / continuous
- contractions and apostrophes
- convince / persuade
- coordinate adjectives: commas between equal modifiers
- coordinate and cumulative adjectives
- core / corps / corpse
- correlative conjunctions and parallelism
- could care less / couldn’t care less
- could of / could have
- council / counsel
- councilor / counselor
- count / noncount nouns
- credible / creditable / credulous
- crescendo
- criterion / criteria: number and agreement
- critique as verb
- cue / queue
- currant / current
- currently / presently
- curriculum / curricula / curriculums
- cut and dry / cut and dried
D
- dairy / diary
- dangling modifier
- dash in interrupted speech
- dashes vs. hyphens
- data / datum / data point
- date formats
- deaf / Deaf
- decent / descent / dissent
- deceptively + adjective ambiguity
- decimal and comma
- decimate
- deep-seated / deep-seeded
- deer / fish / sheep
- definite / definitive
- defuse / diffuse
- delegate / relegate
- delusion / illusion
- demur / demure
- dependent / dependant
- dependent clause / independent clause
- dependent clauses: when to use a comma
- deprecate / depreciate
- desert / dessert
- desert island / just deserts
- device / devise
- diagnosis / prognosis
- dice / die
- differ from / differ with
- different from / different than / different to
- dilemma
- direct address: commas around a name or title
- directions capitalization
- disassemble / dissemble
- disburse / disperse
- discreet / discrete
- disinterested / uninterested
- distinct / distinctive
- dive / dived / dove
- DM as verb
- do’s and don’ts
- done meaning “finished”
- dosage / dose
- double comparative / double superlative
- double copula / is is
- double down
- double genitive
- double negative
- drank / drunk
- dreamed / dreamt
- drunk / drunken
- dual / duel
- due diligence
- due to / because of
- due to the fact that
E
- e.g. / i.e.: meaning and punctuation
- each / every / each and every
- each other / one another
- each other possessive
- earth / Earth
- eatable / edible
- economic / economical
- economical with the truth
- effective / efficient
- egoism / egotism
- either…or agreement
- either: number and agreement
- eke out
- elder / older
- elicit / illicit
- ellipsis
- ellipsis in hesitation and trailing speech
- ellipsis points: spacing and punctuation
- elusive / illusive
- em dash
- em dash with quotation marks
- em dash: spacing and capitalization
- email / e-mail
- emigrate / immigrate / migrate
- eminent / imminent / immanent
- emoji / emojis
- emotive / emotional
- empathy / sympathy
- empty / vacant
- en dash
- end result
- endemic / epidemic / pandemic
- enormity / enormousness
- enquire / inquire
- enslaved person / slave
- enthuse / enthused
- entitled / titled
- entomology / etymology
- envelop / envelope
- enviable / envious
- envy / jealousy
- epigram / epigraph / epitaph / epithet
- epitome
- equable / equitable
- equally as
- erupt / irrupt
- especially / specially
- essay / assay
- et al. / etc.
- euphemism / euphuism
- every day / everyday
- every one / everyone
- evidence / proof
- evoke / invoke
- exacerbate / exasperate
- exalt / exult
- exclamation point
- exclamation point overuse
- expletive it / anticipatory it
- explicit / implicit
- exponential: literal and figurative meanings
- extant / extent
- extract revenge / exact revenge
F
- facetious / factious / fictitious
- facilitate
- factoid
- faint / feint
- fair / fare
- false pretense / pretenses
- false range
- far from the madding crowd
- farther / further
- fatal / fateful
- faulty parallelism
- faze / phase
- fearful / fearsome
- feasible / possible
- few / a few / quite a few
- fewer / less
- fiance / fiancee
- fictional / fictitious
- final completion
- first / firstly; first, second, third
- first annual
- first come first serve / served
- fit / fitted
- flair / flare
- flammable / inflammable
- flaunt / flout
- flounder / founder
- focus / foci / focuses
- for free
- forbear / forebear
- forcible / forceful
- forecast / forecasted
- forego / forgo
- foreword / forward
- formally / formerly
- former / latter
- formula / formulas / formulae
- forth / fourth
- fortuitous / fortunate
- foul / fowl
- fractions: agreement, hyphenation, and style
- fragment / complete sentence
- free gift
- free rein / free reign
- from whence
- fulsome
- functional shift
- fungus / fungi
- future plans
G
- gait / gate
- gamut / gauntlet
- gender / sex
- generic he / singular they
- genus / genera
- gerund / infinitive after verbs
- gerund / present participle
- gibe / jibe / jive
- gift as verb
- gild the lily
- god / God
- going forward
- good / well
- gorilla / guerrilla
- got / gotten
- gourmet / gourmand
- graduate: transitive and prepositional use
- graffiti / graffito
- gray / grey
- grisly / gristly / grizzly
- grow as transitive
H
- hail / hale
- half of agreement
- hand and hand / hand in hand
- hanged / hung
- hardly / scarcely
- healthy / healthful
- historic / historical
- HIV virus
- hoard / horde
- Hobson’s choice
- hole / whole
- home in / hone in
- homogeneous / homogenous
- homograph / homophone / homonym
- hopefully
- hot water heater
- hove / heaved
- human / humane
- hyperthermia / hypothermia
- hyphen
- hyphen in compound modifiers
- hyphen in compound numbers and fractions
- hyphen with adverbs ending in -ly
- hyphen with ages and measurements
- hyphen with prefixes
- hyphenated nationalities
I
- I / me / myself
- if / whether
- if I was / if I were
- ignorant / stupid
- ilk
- illegal / illicit
- impact as verb
- impassable / impassible
- imperial / imperious
- imply / infer
- important / importantly
- in regards to / in regard to
- in terms of
- in to / into
- incentivize
- incidence / incidents
- incomplete comparison
- incredible / incredulous
- inculcate / indoctrinate
- indefinite article with initialisms
- index / indexes / indices
- indict / indite
- Indigenous capitalization
- individual / person
- informant / informer
- ingenious / ingenuous
- inhuman / inhumane
- injured / damaged
- innings / inning
- insidious / invidious
- instinct / intuition
- intense / intensive
- intensive pronouns / reflexive pronouns
- inter / intern
- interface as verb
- internet / Internet
- internment / interment
- intrigue: meaning and pronunciation
- ipso facto
- ironic
- irregardless
- it is I / it is me
- italics / quotation marks for titles
- its / it’s
J
K
L
- large majority
- last / past week
- later / latter
- lay / lie / laid / lain
- LCD display
- lead / led
- leaped / leapt
- learn / teach
- learned / learnt
- lend / loan
- lessee / lessor
- liable / likely
- libel / slander
- lighted / lit
- lightening / lightning
- like as quotative
- literally
- loath / loathe
- log in / login
- loose / lose
- luxuriant / luxurious
M
- mantel / mantle
- marital / martial
- masterful / masterly
- material / materiel
- matrix / matrices
- may / might
- media / medium
- memorandum / memoranda / memorandums
- meretricious / meritorious
- metal / mettle
- millennium / millennia
- miner / minor
- minuscule / miniscule
- misplaced modifier
- mixed metaphor
- modal verbs
- momentarily
- moral / morale
- more honored in the breach
- more importantly
- mucus / mucous
- myself as polite subject
N
- names ending in s: possessive
- nauseated / nauseous
- naval / navel
- neither…nor agreement
- new innovation
- noisome / noisy
- nominalization
- non sequitur
- none is / none are
- nonplussed
- not only … but also
- notable / notorious
- nucleus / nuclei
- number of / the number of
- number ranges: words vs. dashes
- numbers: cardinal / ordinal
- numbers: commas, decimals, and thousands
- numbers: when to spell them out
O
- oasis / oases
- off of
- official / officious
- OK / okay
- on behalf of / in behalf of
- one and the same
- one of those who
- one…one’s
- opening interjections: comma after yes, no, oh, and well
- oral / verbal
- ordinance / ordnance
- orient / orientate
- outside of
- overexaggerate
- overt / covert
- Oxford comma (serial comma)
P
- parallel structure
- parentheses
- parentheses vs. dashes vs. commas
- parentheses with terminal punctuation
- parenthesis / parentheses
- participle / participial phrase
- passed / past
- past history
- patience / patients
- peace / piece
- peak / peek / pique
- pedal / peddle
- peer / pier
- penultimate / ultimate
- per se
- percent agreement
- period
- period with quotation marks
- periods with initials and abbreviations
- perpetrate / perpetuate
- perquisite / prerequisite
- personal / personnel
- personal opinion
- perspective / prospective
- perspicacious / perspicuous
- phenomena / phenomenon
- phrasal verbs
- PIN number
- plead / pleaded / pled
- Please RSVP
- plural of years and abbreviations
- poisoning the well
- pore / pour
- possessive before a gerund
- possessives of compound nouns
- practicable / practical
- pray / prey
- precede / proceed
- precedence / precedents
- predicate adjective / predicate nominative
- premier / premiere
- preposition at end of sentence
- prescribe / proscribe
- preventive / preventative
- principal / principle
- pronoun agreement with indefinite pronouns
- pronoun case after than / as
- pronoun case in appositives
- pronoun reference ambiguity
- pronoun shift in person or number
- prostate / prostrate
- proved / proven
- pull yourself up by your bootstraps
- purposely / purposefully
Q
R
- racial and ethnic labels
- raise / raze
- raise / rise
- rational / rationale
- ravage / ravish
- reach out
- reason is because
- reason why
- rebut / refute
- regimen / regiment / regime
- regretful / regrettable
- reign / rein
- reluctant / reticent
- respectfully / respectively
- restive / restless
- restrictive / nonrestrictive appositives
- restrictive / nonrestrictive clauses
- retch / wretch
- revert back
- rifle / riffle
- right / rite / write
- ring / rang / rung
- role / roll
- run-on sentence / fused sentence
S
- safe haven
- same exact
- sank / sunk
- SAT test
- sc. / scilicet
- seasonable / seasonal
- seasons capitalization
- seeing as / seeing that
- semicolon
- semicolon between independent clauses
- semicolons: lists with commas inside the items
- sensuous / sensual
- sentence adverbs
- sequence of tenses
- series singular plural
- set / sit
- set up / setup
- sew / sow
- shall / will
- shear / sheer
- shine / shined / shone
- should of
- showed / shown
- shrank / shrunk
- sign up / signup / sign-up
- simple / simplistic
- since for because
- slash
- slash in prose
- slay / slew / slain / slayed
- sleight / slight
- slippery slope
- smelled / smelt
- snuck / sneaked
- sole / soul
- some time / sometime / sometimes
- somehow or another / other
- sort of / sorta
- spaces after period
- species singular plural
- spelled / spelt
- spilled / spilt
- spitting image / spit and image
- split infinitive
- spoiled / spoilt
- sprang / sprung
- squinting modifier
- stank / stunk
- state names and postal abbreviations
- stationary / stationery
- statue / statute / stature
- steep learning curve
- stimulus / stimuli
- storey / story
- straight / strait
- strategy / tactics
- stratum / strata
- straw man
- strive / strove / striven / strived
- subject-verb agreement
- subjunctive mood
- subordinate conjunction / preposition
- sufficient enough
- supererogatory
- suppose to / supposed to
- supposedly / supposably
- swim / swam / swum
- syllabus / syllabi / syllabuses
- symposium / symposia
T
- taut / taught
- tense consistency
- terminal punctuation with abbreviations
- than / then
- that / which in relative clauses
- the exception proves the rule
- the fact that / the fact is that
- their / there / they’re
- there is / there are
- thesis / theses
- thorough / through / threw
- thou / you historical
- thrive / thrived / throve
- till / until / ’til
- time of day: numerals, noon, and midnight
- time ranges en dash
- titles before and after names
- titles: choosing italics or quotation marks
- to / too / two
- tortuous / torturous
- toward / towards
- track / tract
- transitive / intransitive verbs
- transpire
- traveled / travelled
- trooper / trouper
- try and / try to
- turbid / turgid
U
V
W
- wait on / wait for
- waive / wave
- waked / woke / woken
- warrantee / warranty
- wary / weary
- weather / whether
- web / Web
- what-clause agreement
- where / that / in which in relative clauses
- whether or not
- while / whilst
- who / whom
- who vs. that for people
- who’s / whose
- whoever / whomever
- whose for things
- with regards to
- would of
- wove / weaved
- wreak havoc / wreck havoc
- wreath / wreathe