How to Use Commonly Misused Words (1)

"Affect" and "Effect"

Effect

1."Effect" is a noun referring to something that happens as a result of something else, e.g., "The antibiotic had little effect on the illness."

2."Effect" is also a verb meaning to bring something about, e.g., "I have decided to effect a change in the scope of this article."

Affect

1.The verb "affect" means to change something in some way, e.g., "His steady gaze affected my ability to breathe."

2.The noun "affect" is used fairly rarely. It refers to a display of an inner state of mind, e.g., "Her affect is subdued this evening."


"Anxious" and "Eager"

"Anxious" should refer to anxiety and not pleasant feelings such as enthusiasm or excitement. It should be followed by a gerund (the "–ing" verb form), not an infinitive ("to" and the verb). Use "eager" with the infinitive.

•"He was anxious about becoming the President." (He had an uncomfortable feeling about it.)

•"He was anxious to become the President."

•"He was eager/ready to become the President." (He was happy about it.)

•"He was waiting to become the President."




"Convince" and "Persuade"

You convince a person of the truth or validity of an idea; you persuade a person to take action. "Convince" is usually followed by "that" or "of" whereas "persuade" is followed by an infinitive.

•"The teacher convinced her students that good grammar could aid in communication."

•"The teacher persuaded her students to use good grammar."







 



"Could of" and "Could have"

Modals ("could," "would," "should," "may," "might," "must") use the auxiliary verb "have," not the preposition "of." The auxiliary can be contracted as "'ve" (as in "could've" and "couldn't've").

•"She must of done it."

•"She must have (or "must've") done it."

 


"Decimate" and "Devastate"

"Decimate", a great word from ancient Rome, means "kill one of every ten soldiers." Using creative license, you would be correct in saying that the flu decimated Larry's sixth grade class, if ten percent of the class were home sick. Remember that "decimate" is similar to "decimal," which refers to counting by tens.

Oftentimes, "decimate" is misused to mean "devastate," which means "overwhelm or lay waste to." Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but did not decimate its population.