Glossary

“Can” indicates ability; “may” indicates permission. Although ability may depend on permission, it is polite to use “may,” especially when a person is asking permission:

INFORMAL: Can I be excused?

POLITE: May I be excused?

INFORMAL: Can I have some of your popcorn?

POLITE: May I have some of your popcorn?

For more information, see the entry on “may, would, can” and the accompanying Grammar Tip on modal verbs.

cannot

Never spelled as two words in modern standard usage.

caring

For formal usage, the Keables Guide recommends more precise words than “caring,” which has a ring of informality and sentimentality. Some of the many alternatives are “kind,” “compassionate,” “attentive,” “considerate,” “thoughtful,” “sympathetic” and “charitable.”

VAGUE: Jane Bennet naively assumes that everyone is as caring as she is.

BETTER: Jane Bennet naively assumes that everyone is as tenderhearted as she is.

cause, because

“Cause” is a verb or a noun, but never a conjunction.

WRONG: I ate it cause it was good.

RIGHT: I ate it because it was good.

center around

Overused and illogical. How can a “center” be “around” something? Find more specific phrasing.

cliché

Although the use of “cliché” as an adjective and “clichéd” as a past participle are widespread, they still strike some listeners as vulgar Americanizations of a noun derived from French. Purists will not object if you use “cliché” only as a noun, never add a “d” to the end, and stick to words like “trite” or “hackneyed” when you need an adjective. “Cliché” refers primarily to overused phrases, but it is sometimes used for ideas and for elements of an artistic work (such as plot devices and stock characters).

INFORMAL (used as adjective): The movie was so cliché.

INFORMAL (used as past participle): The dialogue was all clichéd.

FORMAL: The dialogue is full of clichés like “I’ve got your back” and “Sounds like a plan.”

climactic, climatic

The former derives from “climax” (“climactic scenes”), the latter from “climate” (“climatic conditions”).

comedic, comic, comical, comic relief

“Comedic” is a needless inflation of “comic.” Calling a funny movie “comedic” is like calling a sad one “tragedic.” The only justification for “comedic” is to distinguish something literary or theatrical from something that is merely funny, but the word “comical” already makes the distinction. Calling a humorous incident “comic” is harmless, because the point is that the incident was metaphorically like a scene from a comedy. Not all comic strips or comic books are funny, yet we get along perfectly well without using “comedic” to describe the ones that are.

The Keables Guide makes four recommendations.

1. Use “comic” for the literary definition (“of or pertaining to a comedy”).

RIGHT: My Theater teacher assigned my group to perform a comic scene.

2. Do not use “comedic” at all.

NOT RECOMMENDED: My Theater teacher assigned us to perform a comedic scene.

3. Use “comical” for the non-literary definition (“funny”), especially if there is a danger that your meaning will be unclear.

RIGHT: Our club meeting degenerated into a comical scene.

4. Do not say “comic relief” when all you mean is “comedy.”

complement, compliment, praise

Two errors are common.

1. Do not confuse “complement” with “compliment.” A compliment is a flattering remark. As verbs, “complement” means “to complete or go well with” and “compliment” means “to pay a compliment to.”

Her shoes complemented her outfit.

I complimented her on her good taste in clothes.

2. Do not confuse “compliment” with “praise.” They are not always interchangeable. For a direct, face-to-face expression, “compliment” (especially as a verb) is appropriate. “Praise” is usually indirect. You can praise a person or a thing, but you can compliment only people. “Compliment” is better suited to an act of courtesy, especially if it refers to an individual’s manner or appearance. “Praise” is usually a more formal judgment. It would sound offensive for a minister to say, “Compliment the Lord.” In each of the examples below, the other word would be wrong:

In his Inaugural Address, the President offered praise for the work of our troops overseas.

She received many compliments for her new dress.

The teacher praised the well-supported argument in my term paper.

“No matter what she makes,” my mom counseled, “compliment your girlfriend’s mother on her cooking.”

(in) conclusion

A vague, overused transitional phrase, and often a dangling modifier. Avoid it.

conflict

An important term for literary criticism. Use it carefully. The Keables Guide recommends avoiding “conflicted” in formal writing and finding more precise phrasing.

VAGUE (as participle): Huck Finn is conflicted about helping Jim.

Nothing “conflicts” Huck; he is in a conflict. “Conflict” is an intransitive verb; it has no passive form.

CLEAR (noun): Huck Finn faces a conflict over his desire to help Jim.

CLEAR (verb): Huck Finn’s wish to help Jim conflicts with the teaching of his racist society.

In the noun form of “conflict,” the accent falls on the first syllable: CON-flict. In the verb form, the accent is on the second syllable: con-FLICT.

conscience, conscious, consciousness

Only “conscious” is an adjective.

NOUN: My conscience would not let me cheat.

NOUN: The boxer slowly regained consciousness.

ADJECTIVE: I am not conscious of having said anything to offend him.

contact

The use of “contact” as a verb, although widespread nowadays, still has a ring of informality. Purists claim that it should only be a noun. Writers may wish to avoid using it as a verb when there are easy alternatives:

INFORMAL: Reporters were unable to contact his agent.

FORMAL: His agent did not respond to messages from reporters.

However, an argument in its defense is its convenience when the method of communication is irrelevant or unknown:

Reunion organizers contacted about two-thirds of the members of the class.

continual, continuous

“Continual” means “repeated”; “continuous” means “uninterrupted.”

Journalists face continual deadlines.

CNN has a continuous news broadcast.

continue to

A self-evident, often redundant phrase that almost always makes a sentence worse. If you find yourself beginning a paragraph by saying “After the opening battle, the sides continued to fight,” find a real transition instead.

contrast

An important word for analytical writing. Learn its proper idiomatic usage. If you use it as a verb, use one of two patterns:

Pattern 1 (intransitive verb): X contrasts with Y.

Pattern 2 (transitive verb): Person (writer, artist, speaker) contrasts X with Y.

Avoid the clumsy word contrastingly.

WRONG: The hare contrasts the tortoise.

RIGHT: The hare contrasts with the tortoise.

RIGHT: Aesop contrasts the hare with the tortoise.

The correct idiom is “contrast with.”

WRONG: The hare contrasts to the tortoise.

RIGHT: The hare contrasts with the tortoise.

costumer, customer

A costumer makes costumes for actors; a customer shops.

council, counsel

A “council” (never a verb) is a group that advises or governs (“the city council”). “Counsel” is a verb meaning “advise” (“my mentor counseled me well”) or a noun meaning “advice” (“offered wise counsel”) or “lawyer” (“court-appointed counsel”). Councils offer counsel. Councilors serve on councils. Counselors counsel people who need advice (such as students).

(a) couple

Not an adjective; it must be followed by “of.” However, the use of “couple” to mean “a few” is informal. The Keables Guide recommends using it only to mean a pair of lovers.

WRONG (used as adjective): It is located a couple miles from here.

INFORMAL: It is located a couple of miles from here.

RIGHT: It is located a few [or several] miles from here.

RIGHT: Several couples strolled arm-in-arm in the moonlight.