Troublesome Words and Terms

The following words and terms are often misused.

A, an
Use the article "a" before consonant sounds.

Right: a historic event, a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with a "w"), a united stand (sounds like "you" rather than "uh," as in "an utter disappointment")


Use the article "an" before vowel sounds:

Right: an energy crisis, an honorable man (the "h" is silent), an NBA record (sounds like it begins with the letter "e"), an 1890s celebration


Affect, effect
"Affect," as a verb, means to influence.

Right: The game will affect the standings.


"Affect" as a noun is best avoided. It is occasionally used in psychology to describe emotion or emotional response, but there is little need for it in everyday language.

"Effect," as a verb, means to cause:

Right: He will effect many changes in environmental policy.


"Effect" as a noun, means result:

Right: The effect was overwhelming.
Right: He underestimated the effect of his actions.


A lot
Always two words. Should never be spelled "alot."

All right
Do not use the disputed term "alright."

Adviser, advisor
"Advisor" is the preferred St. Olaf spelling.

Alumnus, alumna, alumni
The word "alumnus" indicates a man who has attended or graduated from a school; an "alumna" is a woman who has done so. When referring to a group of men and women who have attended or graduated from St. Olaf or to more than one alumnus, use the word "alumni." When referring to an exclusively female group, use the word "alumnae." Do not use the phrase "alumni/ae" to refer to mixed groups. Use "alums" only in informal text and very sparingly.

Disc, disk
The preferred spelling for CDs and CD-ROMs (optical or laser-based media) is "disc." "Disk" is preferred for floppy and hard drives (magnetic storage media).

E.g. or i.e.
"e.g." means "for example." Do not confuse it with "i.e.," which means "that is." Both "e.g." and "i.e." are usually followed by a comma.

Ensure, insure
"Ensure" means to guarantee or make certain. (We will ensure that all funds are used wisely.) "Insure" refers to insurance. (We will insure the diamond for its full worth.)

Entitled, titled
"Entitled" means having the right to do or have something. (She was entitled to the promotion.) "Titled" means the name of a book, poem, musical composition, etc. (The book was titled Gone With the Wind.)

Fax
The word "fax" is not capitalized except when it appears at the beginning of a sentence or is denoted in small caps in college stationery.

First-come, first-served
This is the correct form of this cliché, but you'd do better to rewrite the idea.

Right: Early applicants receive top priority.
Avoid: Acceptance of applications is on a first-come basis.


Fewer, less
In general, use "fewer" for individual items that you can number, "less" for bulk or quantity.

Right: Fewer than 10 applicants called. (Individuals.)
Right: I had less than $50 in my pocket. (An amount.)
Right: I had fewer than 50 $1 bills in my pocket. (Individual items.)
Wrong: The trend is toward more machines and less people. (People in this sense refers to individuals.)
Wrong: The house was fewer than 60 years old. (Years in this sense refers to a period of time, not individual years.)


It's, its
"It's" is a contraction for "it is" or "it has"; "its" is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun.

Right: It's been a long time.
Right: The company celebrated its 125th anniversary.
Wrong: Its up to the bank to recover it's assets.


Kings' Room
The Kings' Room complex at St. Olaf is plural AND possessive. Do NOT use the phrase "the King's Room."

Lifelong
A single, compound word, without a hyphen, as in "a lifelong passion for grammar."

Over, more than
Generally use "over" when referring to spatial relationships: "The ball flew over the wall." While "over" may, at times, be used with numerals ("He is over 30." "She paid over $2,000 for the auction item."), you should generally use "more than" with numbers and quantities ("She raised more than a million dollars."). Let your ear be your guide in these cases.

Percent
Percent is always one word. Do not use per cent. Do not use % except in charts or tabular material.

Premier, premiere
See Music Terminology

Résumé
The preferred spelling is résumé. Most word processors have a keystroke option which will add the accent marks. It is acceptable in online publications to spell the word without the accent marks, but be sure to be consistent throughout the publication.

Theater, theatre
When referring to the dramatic arts in general or to theatrical performance spaces, use the American spelling "theater" — except where a formal name uses the British spelling, "theatre,"e.g., the Shubert Theatre and the Children's Theatre, but the Guthrie Theater.

The names of the theaters at St. Olaf are the Kelsey Theater and the Haugen Theater, located in the Speech-Theater Building, and the Viking Theater, located in Buntrock Commons.

The name of the academic department at St. Olaf is the Department of Theatre or Theatre Department. When text refers to activities of the department or of its faculty and staff, use the British spelling, usually with a capital letter. When text refers to the department's discipline or to the places in which performances occur, use "theater."

Right: The Guthrie Theater, which opened on May 7, 1963, with a production of Hamlet directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie, became a prototype for an important new kind of theater in contrast to the commercial environment of Broadway.
Right: She found her vocation at St. Olaf in Theatre 110, "Introduction to Theater." Theatre Department faculty provided an overview of theater history, as well as exposure to works of great dramatic literature.


Till, until
Either spelling is fine. Do not use "'til" (that usage is for poetry).

Who, whom, that, which
Use "who" and "whom" in referring to people and to animals with a name.

Right: He threw the ball to Timmy, who threw it to Lassie, who placed it under the nose of the horse.
Right: John Smith is the man who helped me.
Right: She didn't notice to whom the package was addressed.


Use "that" and "which" in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name.

Right: She hugged him and the puppy which he was holding.
Wrong: She threw the Frisbee to the dog who was standing by Timmy.
Right: The government awarded the contract to the companies that were based in California.
Right: The government awarded the contract to two women who lived in California.


"That" is used in a defining or essential clause, "which" in a non-defining or non-essential clause. "Which" generally requires a comma. Consider the difference in meaning between these statements:

Right: The department that offers writing-intensive courses is superior.
Right: The department, which offers writing-intensive courses, is superior.


Worldwide, nationwide, citywide
Single, compound, unhyphenated words.

ZIP code
ZIP stands for Zoning Improvement Plan. Use all caps for "ZIP" but lowercase the word "code" unless it is being used in a title.