VANCOUVER, BC, April 05, 2013 (Press-News.org) We wrote last week about the difference it makes to your employment and career opportunities if you have good grammar. There are a few words that many people confuse and that - used correctly - will show that you know your grammar while - used incorrectly - may suggest that you are not as careful or detail-oriented as you would wish.
1. compliment/complement
Complement means to go well with something or to complete it - the spelling is the clue here! A compliment is something nice that you say to someone.
Therefore the perfect wine complements the meal but you offer your compliments to the chef on a well-cooked repast.
Additionally, if something is offered free of charge it is complimentary (with our compliments).
2. dessert/desert
Dessert is the fruit or sweet course that comes at the end of a meal. A desert is a place with limited precipitation. If someone gets what they deserve, you can say they 'got their just deserts' - one 's' only - unless you are suggesting they skipped the main course and only had the apple pie!
3. effect/affect
While both these words can be used differently, the most common usage is affect as a verb and effect as a noun. Eating poorly and not exercising can affect your health OR it can have a bad effect on your health.
4. fewer/lesser
Many supermarkets fall foul of this one with their express checkouts for '10 items or less' signs. Items is a count noun - it takes a plural - so it should be '10 items or fewer'. Use less for non-count nouns only: less information, less milk, less aggravation, etc. but fewer people, fewer mistakes and fewer phone calls.
5. its/it's
The confusion here seems to spring from the apostrophe and the fact that we have been taught that apostrophes show possession. However 'its' is a possessive pronoun (like theirs and yours - no apostrophe) whereas 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'.
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Prompt Proofing's Grammar Tips: The 5 Words You Should Not Confuse
There are a few words that many people confuse and that - used correctly - will show that you know your grammar while - used incorrectly - may suggest that you are not as careful or detail-oriented as you would wish.
2013-04-05
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[Press-News.org] Prompt Proofing's Grammar Tips: The 5 Words You Should Not ConfuseThere are a few words that many people confuse and that - used correctly - will show that you know your grammar while - used incorrectly - may suggest that you are not as careful or detail-oriented as you would wish.