Linguists will say if a word's meaning is understood, it wasn't used improperly. On the contrary, it is blasphemy to an English professor to hear the ever-so-popular response "good" in place for "well" when someone is asked how he or she is doing.
Even worse than losing points with an established grammar Nazi is mistakenly using one word for another and unintentionally offending the listener - possibly a future employer. All in all, the hideous truth is that people are judged for the words they use or don't use, and even more so perhaps, the way in which they use them. And in a time period so crucial to lifelong success, college students are notorious for ransacking advisers and professionals that lay claim to the secrets to success. Welcome then, Rod L. Evans
Hired-professional Evans works for the test preparation company Kaplan, preparing student for the SAT and TOEFL. Even better, his newest book is four times less expensive than the average price of any Kaplan program and will have readers using the English language the way it's suppose to be used.
"The Artful Nuance, A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language" will hit shelves Feb. 3., just in time to sort out the most commonly confused words before that big internship interview. But, just to be sure it's worth your money, try your hand at this.
Do you know the difference between "beside" and "besides?"
"Beside" is only a preposition, whereas "besides" can be a preposition, adverb or adjective. For example: "You are standing beside her," whereas, "No one besides you will be dressed in formal wear."
What about the difference, or even the real meaning, behind "E.G." and "I.E.?"
E.G. is an abbreviation for the Latin exempli grati meaning "for example," and I.E. is the Latin abbreviation for id est meaning "that is." So, in usage, it goes much like this: "Amanda has many interests, e.g., reading, writing and running," versus "John is a vegetarian, i.e., he doesn't eat meat."
The book even reaches out to the southern crowd by differentiating between a "Hoedown," a social event featuring organized square dancing, and a "Hootenanny," a social event stressing the playing of musical instruments.
The best feature of this book, besides its apparent teaching ability, is that it is set up in dictionary format and reads like a conversation. The differences between the misused words are made clear in an easy to read and understandable fashion, without making readers feel like the author knows exactly how many times they slept through high school grammar.
Furthermore, reading every page down to every article isn't necessary to gain value from the book. Merely skimming the pages will have readers using English much more precisely.
After all, as Evans chosen dedication to the book so perfectly quotes Mark Twain, "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is a really large matter - it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning."
Or between Brandy and Cognac, but you'll have to buy the book to figure that one out.
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