Common Errors in English Usage Daily Entry

only Writers often inadvertently create confusion by placing “only” incorrectly in a sentence. It should go immediately before the word or ...

phantom/fathom Brianna exclaims confusedly, “I can’t phantom why he thought I’d want a coupon for an oil change for Valentine’s Day!” A phan...

in terms of  Originally this expression was used to explain precise quantifiable relationships: “We prefer to measure our football team’s...

laissez-faire  The mispronunciation “lazy-fare” is almost irresistible in English, but this is a French expression meaning “let it be” or, ...

beyond the pail/beyond the pale A pale is originally a stake of the kind which might make up a palisade, or enclosure. The uncontrolled te...

gauge/gouge “Gauge” is an unusual spelling in English, and the word frequently gets misspelled. Your spelling-checker will catch “gague” (b...

Jew/Hebrew These terms overlap but are often distinguished in usage. In the older portions of the Bible the descendants of Abraham and Sara...