Mixed Up Words

I know this is not an exciting blog, but nonetheless, I think it should be said.  Actually, it should be repeated.  This is not something new, but it is something in need of reinforcement.

Twice today, on national television no less, I heard one of my pet peeves.  That is the misuse of badly.  Badly is an adverb.  Bad is an adjective.  So, if you are modifying a noun or a pronoun, please use bad and not badly.  Here are some examples. “He was feeling badly today.”  This implies that his tactile sense was not working well.  If we mean that he was a little under the weather, or not quite up to his usual state of health, then we need to say, “He was feeling bad today.”

Watch for sentences in which you really want the adjective “bad” to modify a noun or pronoun.  Carefully avoid using the adverb “badly” which needs to modify a verb.  “The pilot was in a bad mood, so he was handling the boat badly.” “Bad” modifies a noun, his “mood,” so we need an adjective.  “Badly” modifies a verb, “was handling,” so we need an adverb.

Effect and affect are words where mistaken identity crops up frequently.  (I’m putting these in because I often have trouble with those.)  Effect means to bring about something.  “You can effect good grammar by study.”  Or, “Grammatical mistakes have a bad effect on the buyer.” Affect means to influence, or pretend. “Grammatical mistakes affect the buyer.” (It’s easy to see why these two give some of us a lot of trouble.) “You can affect your students.”  Or, “He affected surprise, but I knew he had expected it.”

Of course, we all know the difference between “your” and “you’re.”  Still, it is amazing how many times you see those words used incorrectly in a book. Carelessness?

Similarly, “their” and “they’re” and even “there” are often misused.  No need to explain those here.  Again, mistakes involving these words are usually just a result of haste or carelessness.

Easier to understand, but just as incorrect, it the misuse of “its” and “it’s.”  Just remember that “it’s” is an abbreviation for “it is.”  Remember, the ‘ takes the place of the “i” in the “is.”  Try reading “it’s” as “it is.”  If that doesn’t make sense, it’s the wrong word.  (“Its cover was torn,” doesn’t make sense if you were to read it as, “It is cover was torn.)

“Lose” and “loose” often get mixed up.  Lose is the opposite of win.  Loose is the opposite of tight.

“Alot” is not a legitimate word.  “A  lot” is correct.

And lastly, “farther” and “further.”  Both can be adjectives or adverbs.  But “farther” means at a greater distance.  His house is farther from the fire station than my house. He ran farther than I did.  “Further” means to a greater extent.  Further study is required.   I will investigate the matter further. His demeanor made us believe there would be further repercussions.

This distinction is easy to remember.  FARther refers to distance.

I apologize for my ramblings on such matters.  These words pop up often in our writing, and we should be careful they are not used incorrectly. “But their misuse of the word “badly” always effects me badly (or has a bad effect on me) and it’s obvious the book needs its editors to do further work or they’re going to lose a lot of readers farther down the road.”

I know I’ve made some mistakes in this post.  Let me know about them. And I won’t say bad things about you, even though I write badly.  (Okay, I know that was bad, or written badly.)