majority are/majority is
“Majority” is one of those words that can be either singular or plural. Common sense works pretty well in deciding which. If you mean the word to describe a collection of individuals, then the word should be treated as plural: “The majority of e-mail users are upset about the increase in spam.” If the word is used to describe a collective group, then consider it singular: “A 90% majority is opposed to scheduling the next meeting at 6:00 AM.” If you are uncertain which you mean, choose whatever form sounds best to you; it’s not likely to bother many people.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
Ghandi/Gandhi: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, April 29, 2013
Ghandi/Gandhi
Mohandas K. Gandhi’s name has an H after the D, not after the G. Note that “Mahatma” (“great soul”) is an honorific title, not actually part of his birth name. The proper pronunciation of the first syllable should rhyme more with “gone” than “can.” Among Indians, his name is usually given a respectful suffix and rendered as Gandhiji, but adding Mahatma to that form would be honorific overkill.
Mohandas K. Gandhi’s name has an H after the D, not after the G. Note that “Mahatma” (“great soul”) is an honorific title, not actually part of his birth name. The proper pronunciation of the first syllable should rhyme more with “gone” than “can.” Among Indians, his name is usually given a respectful suffix and rendered as Gandhiji, but adding Mahatma to that form would be honorific overkill.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
greatful/grateful: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Sunday, April 28, 2013
greatful/grateful
Your appreciation may be great, but you express gratitude by being grateful.
Your appreciation may be great, but you express gratitude by being grateful.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
conservativism/conservatism: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Saturday, April 27, 2013
conservativism/conservatism
The conservative spelling of this word is “conservatism.”
The conservative spelling of this word is “conservatism.”
Friday, April 26, 2013
exponential: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday, April 26, 2013
exponential
Something grows exponentially when it repeatedly grows by multiples of some factor in a rapidly accelerating fashion. Don’t use the word loosely to refer to ordinary rapid, but steady, growth.
Something grows exponentially when it repeatedly grows by multiples of some factor in a rapidly accelerating fashion. Don’t use the word loosely to refer to ordinary rapid, but steady, growth.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
for goodness’ sakes/for goodness’ sake: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Thursday, April 25, 2013
for goodness’ sakes/for goodness’ sake
Picky folks point out that since the mild expletive “for goodness’ sake” is a euphemism for “for God’s sake” the second word should not be pluralized to “sakes”; but heavens to Betsy, if little things like that are going to bother you, you’ll have your dander up all the time.
Picky folks point out that since the mild expletive “for goodness’ sake” is a euphemism for “for God’s sake” the second word should not be pluralized to “sakes”; but heavens to Betsy, if little things like that are going to bother you, you’ll have your dander up all the time.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
artic/arctic: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Wednesday, April 24, 2013
artic/arctic
Although some brand names have incorporated this popular error, remember that the Arctic Circle is an arc. By the way, Ralph Vaughan Williams called his suite drawn from the score of the film Scott of the Antarctic the Sinfonia Antartica, but that’s Italian, not English.
Although some brand names have incorporated this popular error, remember that the Arctic Circle is an arc. By the way, Ralph Vaughan Williams called his suite drawn from the score of the film Scott of the Antarctic the Sinfonia Antartica, but that’s Italian, not English.
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