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Acknowledgments
This book has had a long gestation. The idea was in-
spired by the chapter title “Do You Make These 100 Common
Errors in English?” taken from one of the many books written
by the late Herbert V. Prochnow, former president of the First
National Bank of Chicago.
I am indebted to Edward Rosenheim, the distinguished edi-
tor of this book, for the vision and direction he gave at critical
points in the planning and writing. I am grateful to Tracy Weiner,
associate director of the University of Chicago Writing Pro-
gram, for creating the various test sections, which provide
invaluable reinforcement and a welcome sense of humor. Bar-
bara Stufflebeem, a freelance editor and former student of
Edward Rosenheim’s, also made valuable contributions to the
manuscript.
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Author’s Note
Everyone has bad language habits. We hear language er-
rors on TV, at work, and even from our family—so many times
that the errors might seem correct. But they’re still errors, and
they can make us sound less sophisticated, or even less intelli-
gent, than we really are.
Fortunately, you can form new, good habits the same way
you got stuck with the bad ones: by repetition. This program
will help you do it. Here’s how:
1. Get started: Find out what you know. A pretest
that covers some of the most common language
errors is included in this book. If you get an an-
swer wrong, or if you’re just not sure why you
got it right, the pretest’s key will direct you to the
chapter—or group of related errors—that can
help.
2. Choose where to begin! The chapters are care-
fully organized in a series. The program works
best if you take the units in the order you find
them. However, they can stand alone if need be.
After you take the pretest, you may want to jump
to a particular chapter on a topic of special inter-
est to you.
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3. Practice out loud when working through a unit.
This will help train your ear to hear what is cor-
rect and to get you comfortable using language
or phrases that may feel unfamiliar or downright
wrong at first.
4. Test yourself to see how far you’ve come. Each
chapter is divided into manageable sections, and
each section ends with a test. Take a test when
you think you’ve got a handle on a section’s er-
rors. The test’s key will let you know whether
you’ve mastered the section.
5. Reinforce what you know. To make your new
knowledge a new habit, look for examples of the
things you’ve learned when you’re reading the
paper, watching TV, or listening to a conversa-
tion at work.
6. Test yourself again to make sure a good habit
stays stuck. At the end of the book you’ll find
review tests for the more complex grammatical
chapters. To find out if your good habits have
really sunk in, you might want to take a chapter’s
review tests a week or so after you feel you’ve
mastered the material. If you get it right, con-
gratulations! You’ve formed a good habit!
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Contents
Foreword 17
Introduction: How Do We Learn to Speak Correctly? 21
Pretest 27
Grammar Review 31
Chapter 1: Perplexing Pronouns 55
A Lesson on Pronoun Cases 56
Use the Subjective Case When 57
Use the Objective Case When 58
Use the Possessive Case When 58
Subjective and Objective Cases 59
1. I vs. Me 59
2. She vs. Her 60
3. Who vs. Whom 61
4. Whoever vs. Whomever 62
Test: Subjective and Objective Case 63
Answer Key: Subjective and Objective Case 65
Objective and Possessive Case 67
5. His vs. Him 67
6. Their vs. Them 67
Test: Objective and Possessive Case 69
Answer Key: Objective and Possessive Case 69
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Relative Pronouns: “Which,” “That,” and “Who/Whom” 71
7. Which vs. That 73
Test : Relative Pronouns 73
Answer Key: Relative Pronouns 74
Intensive or Reflexive Pronouns–What They’re for
and Where NOT to Put Them 75
8. Me vs. Myself 76
Test: Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns 76
Answer Key: Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns 77
Chapter 2: Vexing Verbs 79
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 79
9. Lie vs. Lay 81
10. Sit vs. Set 84
Test: Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 85
Answer Key: Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 86
A Lesson on Verb Tenses 86
Forms of the Verb “to Be” Across the Six Tenses 89
“Shall” and “Will” 91
Tricky Verb Tenses 91
11. Do 91
12. Burst 92
13. Dive 93
14. Drink 93
15. Swim 94
16. Ring 94
17. Sing 95
18. Spring 95
19. Hang 96
20. Drive 96
21. Ought 97
22. Be sure and 97
23. Try and 98
Test: Tricky Verb Tenses 98
Answer Key: Tricky Verb Tenses 99
The Subjunctive Mood 100
24. If I Was vs. If I Were 102
Test: The Subjunctive 103
Answer Key: The Subjunctive 103
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Chapter 3: Ambiguous Agreements 105
25. Subjects With Complex Modifiers 106
Agreement With Compound Subjects 107
26. Subjects Joined by “And” 108
27. “Either/Or” and “Neither/Nor” 109
28. Subjects Joined by “Or” 110
Test: Compound Subjects and Verbs 111
Answer Key: Compound Subjects and Verbs 112
Agreement With Indefinite Pronouns 113
29. Each…Are 113
30. None…Is/Are 114
Test: Indefinite Pronouns and Verbs 116
Answer Key: Indefinite Pronouns and Verbs 117
Indefinite Pronouns and Personal Pronouns 118
31. Everyone…Their 118
Test: Indefinite Pronouns and Personal Pronouns 120
Answer Key: Indefinite Pronouns and Personal Pronouns 121
Chapter 4: Mangled Modifiers 123
Adjectives vs. Adverbs 123
32. Bad vs. Badly 123
33. Real vs. Really 124
34. Near vs. Nearly 125
35. Good vs. Well 125
Test: Adjectives vs. Adverbs 126
Answer Key: Adjectives vs. Adverbs 127
Comparatives vs. Superlatives 127
36. Bigger vs. Biggest 127
37. Less vs. Least 128
38. Better vs. Best 128
39. More vs. Most 129
Test: Comparatives vs. Superlatives 130
Answer Key: Comparatives vs. Superlatives 130
Distance/Number/Quantity Modifiers 131
40. Between vs. Among 131
41. Fewer vs. Less 131
42. Farther vs. Further 132
43. Number vs. Amount 132
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44. So far as vs. As far as 133
Test: Distance/Number/Quantity Modifiers 133
Answer Key: Distance/Number/Quantity Modifiers 134
Absolute Modifiers 135
45. Unique vs. Most Unique 135
46. Perfect vs. More Perfect 136
47. Infinite vs. Less Infinite 136
48. Ultimate vs. Penultimate 137
49. Pregnant vs. Less Pregnant 137
Test: Absolute Modifiers 138
Answer Key: Absolute Modifiers 139
Imprecise and Made-up Modifiers 139
50. Hopefully 139
51. Regretfully 140
52. Awful 141
53. Plenty 141
Test: Imprecise and Made-up Modifiers 141
Answer Key: Imprecise and Made-up Modifiers 142
Chapter 5: Problem Prepositions 143
Prepositions Expressing Fine Shades of Meaning 143
54. Agree to vs. Agree with 143
55. Differ with vs. Differ from 144
56. Different from vs. Different than 144
Test: Prepositions That Express Fine Shades of Meaning 145
Answer Key: Prepositions That Express
Fine Shades of Meaning 146
Unidiomatic and Superfluous Prepositions 146
57. Centers around 146
58. Where…at 147
59. As to 147
60. Off of 148
61. Over with 148
62. Type of a 149
Test: Unidiomatic and Superfluous Prepositions 149
Key: Unidiomatic and Superfluous Prepositions 149
Chapter 6: Confused Connections 151
Bookend Expressions 152
63. Not only…But/But also 152
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64. On the one hand…On the other hand 153
65. Either…Or 154
66. Neither…Nor 154
67. As…As 154
68. The Reason…Was That 155
Test: Bookend Expressions 155
Answer Key: Bookend Expressions 156
Imprecise, Pretentious, or Needless Connectors 157
69. Where 157
70. Per 158
71. Plus 158
72. As to whether 159
73. In the event that 159
74. Owing to the fact that 160
75. As vs. Because and Since 160
Test: Imprecise Conjunctions and Connectors 160
Answer Key: Imprecise Conjunctions and Connectors 161
Chapter 7: Puzzling Plurals 163
76. Media 163
77. Data 164
78. Alumni 165
79. Criteria 166
80. Phenomena 166
81. Memoranda 167
Test: Puzzling Plurals 167
Answer Key: Puzzling Plurals 168
Chapter 8: Mixing up Words That Sound the Same 169
82. Accept vs. Except 170
83. Advice vs. Advise 170
84. Affect vs. Effect 171
85. Amoral vs. Immoral 171
86. Averse vs. Adverse 172
87. Beside vs. Besides 173
88. Biannually vs. Biennially 173
89. Climatic vs. Climactic 174
90. Could of vs. Could have 174
91. Elude vs. Allude 175
92. Imminent vs. Eminent 175
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