Glossary

G.1: Write the phrase you misused and the rule.

Do not write just “G” or “Glossary.”

tend to, have a tendency to

Inflated expressions. Avoid them. Instead of “I exhibit a tendency to procrastinate,” write “I procrastinate” or “Sometimes I procrastinate.”

that, who, which

Errors result from the violation of three rules:

1. Use “who” and “whom” to refer to people; use “which” and “that” to refer to things:

WRONG: the boy that she likes.

RIGHT: the boy whom she likes.

Exception: use “that” with some words for groups of people (“the class that is graduating”).

2. No comma is used before “that,” whereas “which” may or may not have a comma:

WRONG: the class, that is graduating.

RIGHT: the class that is graduating.

In other words, “that” is always restrictive, but “which” may be restrictive or nonrestrictive. For more information on restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses, see C.Wh and CXE in Part Four.

3. Avoid the vague use of “that” as a demonstrative pronoun (see “this, these, those, that” below).

VAGUE: I told him the test would be hard if he did not study, but that is just what he did.

What did he do? Study? Not study?

CLEAR: I told him the test would be hard, but he ignored my warning instead of studying.

their, there, they’re

“Their” is a possessive pronoun; “there,” an adverb meaning “in the specified place”; “they’re,” a contraction of “they are.”

They’re sitting over there in their seats.

their, them, they

Errors of pronoun agreement are common when people use the plural pronouns “they,” “them” and “their” to refer to singular words. The most common errors involve the use of one pronoun to refer to another:

WRONG: Each girl wore their hair the same. “Each” is singular and “their” is plural.

RIGHT: Each girl wore her hair the same.

RIGHT: All girls wore their hair the same. “All” and “their” are plural.

The errors are harder to correct if you do not want to specify male or female gender:

WRONG: You can ask an expert, but they may not understand your situation.

STILL WRONG: You can ask an expert, but he may not understand your situation.

WRONG: Everyone has their own opinion.

STILL WRONG: Everyone has his own opinion.

AWKWARD: One has one’s own opinion.

Three handy patterns solve many problems with indefinite pronouns:

WRONG: As long as one keeps up with the homework, they can pass.

RIGHT (plural): As long as students keep up with the homework, they can pass.

RIGHT (“who”): Any student who keeps up with the homework can pass.

RIGHT (plural indefinite pronoun): All students who keep up with the homework can pass.

Most errors of pronoun agreement involve indefinite pronouns that are singular. “They” and “their” are plural, but words like “any” and “everyone” are singular. The list below is incomplete:

Singular indefinite pronouns

theme

The Keables Guide Glossary of Literary Terms offers a definition:

theme: A word used in many ways. As a literary term, it refers to the main idea (not necessarily the subject) of a work of literature, an idea which a work explores, or an argument that a work advances. A theme can be identified in a complete sentence (“Power corrupts”), a noun phrase (“the corrupting influence of power”), or a single word (“power”).

Four errors are common in student essays on literature:

1. Do not say a writer “uses” a theme. A theme is not a writing technique (like irony or imagery). Depending on the context, a better verb might be “develop,” “examine,” “explore” or “study.”

WRONG: Thomas Hardy uses the theme of the individual’s struggle against a hostile fate.

BETTER: The struggle against a hostile fate is a theme of Hardy’s fiction.

BETTER: Hardy’s novels depict individuals struggling against a hostile fate.

2. Be careful in using clichés like “common theme,” “recurring theme,” “overarching theme” or “underlying theme.”

ILLOGICAL: Love is a recurring theme in Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet.

Droughts, dreams and chronic illnesses “recur.” How can anything “recur” in a fourteen-line poem that takes a minute to read? Calling a theme “common” implies that it is trite. “Overarching” and “underlying” are vague and overused metaphors. Has anyone ever seen a theme underarch? Or overlie? Motifs or images may recur in a single work, but only if the work is long (usually a novel or a play). If something is a theme, it is a central idea of the work as a whole. The phrase “common theme” or “recurring theme” is useful mainly in talking about many works.

WRONG: The danger of pride is a common theme in Oedipus Rex.

RIGHT: The danger of pride is a common theme in Greek tragedy.

3. Do not confuse themes with subjects:

Odysseus’s arduous return home from the Trojan War is the subject of the Odyssey.

Hospitality is one of the themes of the Odyssey.

4. Do not confuse themes with other elements of literature, such as images, motifs and tone. A theme is an idea.

WRONG: The horizon is a recurring theme in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

RIGHT: The horizon is a recurring image in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

WRONG: Young people facing the loss of a parent is a theme in Hamlet.

RIGHT: Young people facing the loss of a parent is a pattern in Hamlet.

themself, theirselves

Not standard English. Use “themselves,” which is always plural.

then

Three errors are common. Identify which error you committed:

1. Avoid “then” as a vague modifier. Usually “then” means “I’m too lazy to think of a good transition.” Often it only states the obvious. If the writer of the following sentence had omitted “then,” would readers think they had eaten breakfast before they woke up?

SELF-EVIDENT: We woke up and then ate breakfast.

BETTER: We woke up and ate breakfast.

2. Do not use “then” as a conjunction. It is an adverb; it cannot join clauses or phrases on its own. A full stop (period or semicolon) is necessary before “then.” Usually a better solution is to restructure the sentences.

WRONG (comma splice): I go to school, then I go to practice.

CORRECT: I go to school; then I go to practice.

BETTER: I go to practice after school.

3. Do not confuse “then” with “than.” “Than” is a conjunction used in comparisons (“older than you”); “then” is an adverb meaning “at the specified time.”

there is, there are

Beware of overusing these constructions, which sap energy from sentences by substituting wordy noun phrases for action verbs:

WORDY: There is a bird singing.

BETTER: A bird sings.

If you do use the construction, remember that the verb agrees with the noun or nouns that follow:

SINGULAR: There is a bird singing.

PLURAL: There are birds singing.

therefore

Often mispunctuated. If your teacher marks “therefore” in your writing, do not replace it; use it correctly. Often it creates commas splices and fused sentences:

WRONG: I think, therefore, I am.

WRONG: I think, therefore I am.

WRONG: I think therefore I am.

RIGHT: I think; therefore, I am.

A comma links “therefore” to the clause it modifies; a semicolon or period separates it from the other clause. “Therefore” provides transition between clauses but does not make them one sentence. It is not a conjunction like “although” or “but.” It is a conjunctive adverb, like “nevertheless,” “moreover” and “however.” “Therefore” can be placed at different points within the clause it modifies, but if it is not at the beginning or end, it requires two commas:

WRONG: She is, therefore my idol.

RIGHT: She is, therefore, my idol.

RIGHT: Therefore, she is my idol.

RIGHT: She is my idol, therefore.

thing

Often a lazy word. Expand your vocabulary. In the following sentence, “explanation” would be better:

He wondered why he had no visitors, and the only thing he could think of was his pet python.

think to (one)self, thought to (one)self

Redundant. Unless you have mental telepathy, you can think to no one except yourself.

REDUNDANT: “I wish I were somewhere else,” he thought to himself.

BETTER: “I wish I were somewhere else,” he thought.

this, these, those, that

Demonstrative pronouns (those which demonstrate or point out rather than defining) are useful in speech, for it is simpler to say “Mail this” than “Mail the letter addressed to the Internal Revenue Service.” However, in formal writing demonstrative pronouns are often vague. Academic writing requires precision. Medical school textbooks do not say “If the surgeon does this to this, the patient will not die.” Either supply a clear noun phrase or rephrase the sentence. Do not merely add a noun after “this.” Here is a sentence from a student’s college essay:

VAGUE: I kept practicing tennis despite my sore wrist. This has helped me in my studies.

What has helped? The sore wrist? Practicing tennis?

STILL VAGUE: This trait has helped me in my studies.

Neither a sore wrist nor tennis practice is a trait.

CLEAR: The perseverance I learned in sports has helped me in my studies.

Even if the general idea is apparent, precise rephrasing can helpfully sum up the thought:

VAGUE: Odysseus taunts the Cyclops, who angrily hurls a boulder that nearly capsizes the ship. This teaches him the danger of pride.

STILL WEAK: This taunting teaches him the danger of pride.

CLEAR: His brush with disaster teaches him the danger of pride.

Rarely is there any need to use “this” as an adjective. Often it can simply be replaced by “the”:

UNNECESSARY “THIS”: This belief turned out to be false.

BETTER: The belief turned out to be false.

The same rules apply to “these” and (when they are used demonstratively) to “those” and “that.”

UNCLEAR: Those are good ideas. That is a good idea. Those ideas are good.

though, although

Often used interchangeably as a subordinating conjunction, but the Keables Guide recommends using “although” or “even though” as a conjunction and “though” as a transitional adverb set off by commas:

Although it rained, we went on with our picnic.

We held our picnic even though it rained.

The rain made it miserable, though, and we regretted our decision.

threw, through, thorough

“Threw” is the past tense of “throw”; “through” is a preposition meaning “passing in and out of ”; “thorough” (two syllables) is an adjective meaning “complete.”

I threw the ball through the ring.

You did a thorough job.

till, until

In formal writing, “until” is preferred. Do not write “’til.”

to, too, two

“To” is a preposition; “too,” an adverb meaning “also”; “two,” a number.

WRONG: Do you know her? I do to.

RIGHT: Do you know her? I do too.

tone, attitude

Important terms for students of literature. Literary critics use them inconsistently. The Keables Guide suggests a basic distinction. Think of attitude as intellectual; it is a judgment which an author, character or work expresses. Tone is emotional; it is the emotion with which attitudes are expressed. The words that you use for both should reflect the distinction. The tone of a love poem might be awestruck, pleading, self-pitying, bitter, or many other things. It may involve more than one emotion, for often in good poetry the tone is mixed and the attitude complex. Here are two lines from a poem by World War I writer Siegfried Sassoon; he addresses a wounded soldier.

POEM: “Does it matter?—losing your legs? / For people will always be kind.”

Here is a comment from an essay on the poem:

WRONG: The tone is questioning and the attitude is cheerful consolation.

The writer is wrong in several ways. Questioning is not an emotion, cheerful consolation is not a judgment, and the lines are neither cheerful nor consolatory. The writer has missed the point of Sassoon’s rhetorical question. Of course it matters to lose your legs! The sentence below defines the tone (pity and irony) and the attitude (“rejection . . . them”).

BETTER: Sassoon expresses a tone of profound pity for war victims and bitter irony in his rejection of the shallow consolations that people offer them.

It is incorrect to say that a writer “uses tone.” Tone is not a device like metaphor, allusion or irony; it is an effect that a literary work produces on the reader.

WRONG: Sassoon uses a tone of bitter irony.

RIGHT: Sassoon’s tone is bitterly ironic.

It is possible to talk about the “attitudes” that an author or work of literature expresses. However, “tone,” when used as a literary term, is a mass noun, not a count noun. Do not use it in the plural.

WRONG: The poem changes tones.

RIGHT: The poem changes tone.

WRONG: The poems have different tones.

RIGHT: The poem are different in tone.

totally

A vague intensifier, often redundant (“totally destroyed”) and usually unnecessary.

toward, towards

Interchangeable, but “toward” is much more common in American usage, and “towards” in British usage. Be consistent.

track, tract

A “track” is a path; a “tract” is an area of land. “On the right track” and “one-track mind” are the correct idioms.

try and

Informal. “Try to” is more appropriate for formal usage.