GROWING GRAMMAR: WONDER WORDS (as in…I wonder which word to use?)
Would you rather be nauseated or nauseous?
This is extremely important to know. It could, in fact, make or break a relationship.
If you’re nauseated, something is making you ill; perhaps the smell of your recent WIP ablaze in the fireplace where you tossed it in a moment of frustration. If you are nauseous, which I hope you never are, you’re declaring that the very sight of you sickens someone. Ouch.
Here are some other problematic pairs:
among/between/amid
When referring to two, use between. When referring to three or more, use among. When referring to a quantity of something you don’t think of as individual items, use amid. (We lost sight of Penelope amid the shrubs.)
amount/number
If you can count it, use number. If not, use amount. (The amount of ice cream I need is determined by the number of papers still left to grade.)
anxious/eager
When writing, use eager. But if there’s an element of anxiety, use anxious followed by about or for. Eager is followed by to. (Lola is eager to purchase a new computer, but her parents are anxious about the cost.)
as/like
If you’re introducing a clause (no, not Santa…a group of words with both a subject and a verb), then use as. Since it’s a preposition, like introduces phrases. (My brother looks like me, as he should since he’s my twin.)
between you and me
Obviously not a pair, but a troublemaker nonetheless. Between you and I is INCORRECT. Why? The word between is a preposition, so it always takes the objective case pronoun. “I” is a nominative case pronoun; therefore; it should NOT be used.
convince/persuade
Generally, convince is followed by of or that; persuade is followed by to. (My daughter convinced her friend that the party would be fun; she persuaded her to go.)
discreet/discrete
If you’re planning a surprise party, you want to be discreet, which means careful or prudent. If you’re budgeting for the party, you may want to use two discrete (separate, unconnected)checkbooks.
disinterested/uninterested
If you’re judging a contest, please don’t be uninterested because you’d be bored. Being disinterested would mean you were impartial or neutral.
imply/infer
Throw out a suggestion, and you’re implying. To infer is to conclude or take in a suggestion. (Martha implied that she was too busy to spend time with George, but George inferred that Martha had lost interest in him.)
tortuous/torturous
The first means winding, full of turns. The second one means painful. ( My torturous headache was the consequence of my tortuo
