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Pled v. Pleaded & Enormity Defined

Today I will answer a couple of questions I received from radio listeners when I was a guest.

Question: Should you say “pled guilty” or “pleaded guilty”? Answer: Either one is considered correct.

Question: Does “enormity” mean “something monstrous” or “something important”? Answer: Both

Enormity

Definition: something outrageous or heinous, as an offense.

Example: The bombing of the defenseless population was an enormity beyond belief.

Definition: greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity.

Example: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.

Posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

On to vs. Onto

Rule 1: Use onto as one word if you can add up before on.

Example: He climbed (up) onto the roof.
Example: She held on to her child in the crowd. (She did not hold up her child.)

Rule 2: Use onto when you mean fully aware of; informed about.

Example: We canceled Julia’s surprise party when we realized she was onto our plan.

Click here to learn hundreds of distinctions between common words.

Posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 8:53 am

Advice vs. Advise

The word advice is a noun. It means recommendation.

Example: My sister gave me great advice about applying to colleges.

The word advise is a verb. It means the act of giving a recommendation.

Example: Can you advise me about colleges that offer bioengineering degrees?

Pop Quiz

  1. The principal gave the graduating seniors advice/advise about how to be happy, not just successful.
  2. I would advice/advise against studying all night before a test.
  3. What advice/advise would you give to someone who is learning English as a second language?

Pop Quiz Answers

  1. The principal gave the graduating seniors advice about how to be happy, not just successful.
  2. I would advise against studying all night before a test.
  3. What advice would you give to someone who is learning English as a second language?

Posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 10:07 am

Clearing Up Confusing Words

Many words in English cause confusion because they sound or look alike. Here are a few rules to help you with some common but tricky words.

Rule 1: The word accept means to agree; to receive.
The word except means but, with the exception that.

Examples:
I accept your apology.
I’ll eat anything except cottage cheese.

Rule 2: The word allusion means an indirect mention of something.
The word illusion means false perception.

Examples:
In her novel, the author made an allusion to her own childhood. OR The author alluded to her own childhood.
The magician created the illusion that the rabbit disappeared right before our eyes.

Rule 3: The word complement means completing part.
The word compliment means praise.

Examples:
Their algebra textbook won awards because her math skills complemented his writing skills beautifully.
I want to compliment you on your beautiful singing voice.

Click here to see many more Confusing Words and Homonyms clarified with examples.

Pop Quiz

  1. I cannot accept/except the fact that he doesn’t want to invest in real estate with me.
  2. Einstein was the first scientist to point out that the perception of time as linear is an allusion/illusion.
  3. My husband gave me such a nice complement/compliment when he said that my proofreading skills were as sharp as his editor’s.

Answers to Pop Quiz

Correct answers are indicated in bold type and by an asterisk (*).

  1. I cannot *accept/except the fact that he doesn’t want to invest in real estate with me.
  2. Einstein was the first scientist to point out that the perception of time as linear is an allusion/*illusion.
  3. My husband gave me such a nice complement/*compliment when he said that my proofreading skills were as sharp as his editor’s.

Posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 9:52 am

Into vs. In To

How does one know when to use into or in to?

One of the main uses of the preposition into is to indicate movement toward the inside of a place.

Examples
The children jumped into the lake for a swim.
Mom drove the car into the garage.

In to is the adverb in followed by the preposition to.

Examples:
He turned his paper in to the teacher.
The administrators wouldn’t give in to the demands of the protesters.

We will explore into vs. in to in more depth in a future blog.

Pop Quiz

  1. As a child, I was too afraid to go into/in to the Halloween haunted house.
  2. I’m going to turn the wallet I found into/in to the police.
  3. If your battery is running low, you’ll need to plug your power cord into/in to the socket.

Answers

  1. into
  2. in to
  3. into

Posted on Saturday, July 18th, 2009 at 10:02 pm

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