In the previous article, (see are website www.rgilearning.com for past articles) I discussed removing the “extra” words that clutter our sentences and paragraphs.  In this article, I want to clear up some confusion about which word is the right word.

Some are common mistakes and some you may have never even thought about and don’t appreciate the confusion it may cause when the wrong word is used. I suggest you create a cheat sheet for yourself of words you know you use frequently but may not be sure of the meaning.  I also suggest you find a good reference such as Technically Write! by Blicq and Moretto(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pearson Education, 2004)or Woe is I by Patricia O’Conner (New York, Riverhead Books, 2003)

There are many of these “mixed up” words; I’ve selected only some of those I see commonly misused in engineering reports.

accept/except
Accept means to receive:  He accepted the conditions of employment. Except generally means to exclude:  The subcontractor corrected all infractions except the rewiring.

averse/averse
Adverse means unsatisfactory or unsuitable: Driving conditions were adversely affected by the snow. Averse means in opposition to:  The staff were averse to working overtime.

affect/effect
Affect is an action verb meaning to influence: The rain affected the construction progress. Effect (as a verb) means to cause or accomplish: To effect change…(as a noun) it means the result: a negative effect on the environment.  It also refers to personal property:  Personal effects.

all ready/already
All ready means prepared; already means previously.

alternate/alternative
Alternate means to take turns or every other. Alternative means a choice.

any one/anyone
If you can substitute anybody, then the single word anyone is correct.  (Anyone can use the waterstage manometer to measure lake levels.) Otherwise, use two words any one. (Any one of the engineers is capable.)

any way/anyway
Any way (two words) means in any manner (The work may be done in any way you wish.) Anyway (one word) means in any case or in any event (The results may be tainted, but we want to keep them anyway.)

appraise/apprise
Appraise  means to evaluate; apprise means to inform. He apprised me of the appraisal.

assume/presume
Assume  is more like suppose and presume is more like believe.

avert/avoid
Avert means to prevent; avoid means shun or to stay clear of.

bi/semi
Bi is a prefix meaning two or twice as in biannually (twice a year). Semi is a prefix meaning half.  But this is tricky and dictionaries often contradict. My advice is to avoid using them and spell it out: Twice a month  or every two years. Here’s how the confusion begins:  biennial= every two years  biannual= twice a year and in some dictionaries, every two years. Semiannual=every half-year semimonthly=every half-month.  See what I mean.  Spell it out.

can/may
Can means able to; may means permitted to.  Check out may/might too.

continually/continuously
Continually means it happens frequently but not all the time. Continuously means it goes on and on without stopping.

convince/persuade
You convince someone of something.   You persuade someone to do something. We convinced the client that we were the best team for the job.  They persuaded us to start the work before September 10.  Notice that convince is usually followed with of  or that.  Persuade is usually followed by to.

discreet/discrete
Discreet means prudent or discerning.  His answer was discreet. Discrete means separate or individually distinctive.  We used discrete channels.

eg/ie
These are often confused so I recommend avoiding them.  Eg means for example and ie means that is.  You will see them with or without periods and the comma afterwards is optional.

farther/further
Farther means greater distance. Further means a continuation of or to advance.  He traveled farther to further his education.

fewer/less
Use fewer to refer to items that can be counted (fewer firms than expected) and less to refer to general quantities (less cloud cover than predicted)

historic/historical
If something has a place in history it is historic. If something has to do with the subject of history it is historical.
 
if/whether
When you show choices, use whether (but never weather!) However, if there is a whether or not choice, replace it with if.

imply/infer
Speakers and writer can imply something; listeners and readers infer something from what they hear or read.

may/might
May is used with another verb to indicate the possibility of something happening:  may happen; may expire.  Might is a weaker form of may:  it might happen; it might expire.  Both can be used in the past or present tense (The firm may win the award.  The firm might win the award.) But if there are other verbs in the past tense in the same sentence, stick to might. (The project manager was excited that the firm might win the award.)

than/then
If you are comparing or contrasting things, use than (more than or less than) If one thing follows or results from another, use then. (If we win the contract, then we will hire additional engineers.)

through/thru
They mean the same thing: in one side and out the other.  Thru is a shortened form of through  and is often seen as a colloquialism or slang.  Try to avoid it.

will/would
Will is much more confident than would.  (We will take 329 measurements.  We would take 329 measurements.)  When used with a second verb, use will to indicate present tense and would to indicate past tense.  (The consultant says she will deliver the course in July.  The consultant said she would deliver the course in July.  Both examples have the course occurring in the future (July) but the time the person made the comment happens either in the present or past.)