Words—and their correct use—can be tricky as any content creator knows. We have all probably used words incorrectly, or we have heard others use them in a way that makes us wince.
Thanks to Travis Bradberry for this Entrepreneur article on “10 Misused Words that Make Smart People Look Stupid.”
The word pair I find most enlightening is “ironic and coincidental.” I confess that I’ve misused these words, so I thank Mr. Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and president of Talent Smart for setting me straight.
When something is ironic, it involves a reversal of something you expect. There’s verbal and situational irony, and they both turn expectation on its head. I’m guessing that people use “ironic” pretty frequently when they mean “coincidental.” Here’s the meaning of the two terms, to quote Mr. Bradberry: “If you break your leg the day before a ski trip, that’s coincidental. If you drive up to the mountains to ski, and there was more snow back at your house, that’s ironic.”
Here are the other confusing word pairs:
Affect vs. effect: You can use either as a noun or a verb, which adds to the confusion. In its guise as a verb, affect refers to influence, as in “Your performance was affected by extreme tiredness.” Effect refers to accomplishment, as in “He effected change in less time than anyone expected. Frankly, I tend to avoid using “effect” as a verb, because it sounds a touch formal and there are other words out there that work just as well.
As a noun, effect refers to a cause-and-effect situation, as in “The April rain had a huge effect on May flowers.” And affect refers to an emotional state, as in “Depression made her affect very flat.”
Lie vs. lay: I’ve never had a problem with this one, thanks to my 10th grade English teacher, Miss Thompson. (Not bragging, just testifying to the efficacy of endless grammar and word use drills.) Miss Thompson was a martinet, but I can diagram sentences in my sleep.
As a noun, lie means, hey, a lie.” As a verb, it means to recline as in “Lie down for a couple of hours. You’ll probably feel better.” Lay requires an object such as “Lay the pogo stick down, Humphrey.” The past tense may complicate things. You can say “I lay down for a while and feel better now.” That’s the past tense of lie. “I laid the book down,” which is the past tense of lay.
Accept vs. except: Accept is receptive as in “I accepted the gift on their behalf.” Except excludes as in “I can attend every day except” Mr. Bradberry notes that both except and exclusion begin with “ex.”
Bring vs. take: Here, you’re moving something or someone from one place to another. The distinction is pretty simple. Mr. Bradberry says, “Just remember, if the movement is toward you, use bring; if the movement is away from you, use take.” Here’s an example: “Bring me the pie, and take the cake to your mother.”
Mr. Bradberry’s contention, with which I don’t 100 percent agree, is that smart people look stupid when they misuse these words. I’m not so sure, simply because poor communication is rampant and we’re all talking so doggone much.
Your thoughts?
Kay Paumier says
Good reminders. Frankly, I think whoever came up with the use of “lay” both as a verb (“lay down the book”) and past tense of “lie” (“I lay down.”) was out of his or her mind. English grammar is bad enough without making it more difficult!
Susan Monroe says
True! English is reputed to be the most difficult language to learn, and this example helps us see why.