39 Commonly Misused Words and How to Use Them Correctly ~ Jeff Haden / Inc.

Easy to get wrong. Fortunately, not that hard to get right

Where the mechanics of writing are concerned, Im far from perfect. One example: I always
struggle with who and whom.(Sometimes Ill even rewrite a sentence just so I wont have to
worry about which is correct.)
And thats a real problem. The same way one misspelled word can get your rsum tossed
onto the reject pile, one misused word can negatively impact your entire message.
Fair or unfair, it happens all the timeso lets make sure it doesnt happen to you.
My post 30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Badresulted in readers providing
a number of other examples of misused words, and here are some of them. Once again Ive
picked words that are typically used in business settings, with special emphasis on words
that spell checker wont correct.
Here we go:
Advise and advice
Aside from the two words being pronounced differently (the s inadvise sounds like
az), advise is a verb while advice is a noun. Advice is what you give (whether or not the
recipient is interested in that gift is a different issue altogether) when you advise someone.
So, Thank you for the advise is incorrect, while I advise you not to bore me with your
advice in the future is correct if pretentious.
If you run into trouble, just say each word out loud and youll instantly know which makes
sense; theres no way youd ever say, I advice you to
Ultimate and penultimate
Recently I received a pitch from a PR professional that read, (Acme Industries) provides the
penultimate value-added services for discerning professionals.
As Inigo would say, I do not think it means what you think it means.
Ultimate means the best, or final, or last. Penultimate means the last but one, or second to
last. (Or, as a Monty Python-inspired Michelangelo would say, the Penultimate Supper!)
But penultimate doesnt mean second-best. Plus, I dont think my PR friend meant to say her
client offered second-class services. (I think she just thought the word sounded cool.)
Also, keep in mind that using ultimate is fraught with hyperbolic peril. Are youor is what you
providereally the absolute best imaginable? Thats a tough standard to meet.
Well and good
Anyone who has children uses good more often than he or she should. Since kids pretty
quickly learn what good means, You did good, honey is much more convenient and
meaningful than You did well, honey.
But that doesnt mean good is the correct word choice.
Good is an adjective that describes something; if you did a good job, then you do good
work. Well is an adverb that describes how something was done; you can do your job well.
Where it gets tricky is when you describe, say, your health or emotional state. I dont feel
well is grammatically correct, even though many people (including me) often say, I dont
feel too good. On the other hand, I dont feel good about how he treated me is correct; no
one says, I dont feel well about how Im treated.
Confused? If youre praising an employee and referring to the outcome say, You did a good
job. If youre referring to how the employee performed say, You did incredibly well.
And while youre at it, stop saying good to your kids and use greatinstead, because no one
especially a kidever receives too much praise.
If and whether

If and whether are often interchangeable. If a yes/no condition is involved, then feel free to
use either: I wonder whether Jim will finish the project on time or I wonder if Jim will finish
the project on time. (Whether sounds a little more formal in this case, so consider your
audience and how you wish to be perceived.)
Whats trickier is when a condition is not involved. Let me know whether Marcia needs a
projector for the meeting isnt conditional, because you want to be informed either way.
Let me know if Marcia needs a projector for the meeting is conditional, because you only
want to be told if she needs one.
And always use if when you introduce a condition. If you hit your monthly target, Ill
increase your bonus is correct; the condition is hitting the target and the bonus is the
result. Whether you are able to hit your monthly target is totally up to you does not
introduce a condition (unless you want the employee to infer that your thinly veiled threat is
a condition of ongoing employment).
Stationary and stationery
You write on stationery. You get business stationery, such as letterhead and envelopes,
printed.
But that box of envelopes is not stationary unless its not movingand even then its still
stationery.
Award and reward
An award is a prize. Musicians win Grammy Awards. Car companies win J.D. Power awards.
Employees win Employee of the Month awards. Think of an award as the result of a contest
or competition.
A reward is something given in return for effort, achievement, hard work, merit, etc. A sales
commission is a reward. A bonus is a reward. A free trip for landing the most new customers
is a reward.
Be happy when your employees win industry or civic awards, and reward them for the hard
work and sacrifices they make to help your business grow.
Sympathy and empathy
Sympathy is acknowledging another persons feelings. I am sorry for your loss means you
understand the other person is grieving and want to recognize that fact.
Empathy is having the ability to put yourself in the other persons shoes and relate to how
the person feels, at least in part because youve experienced those feelings yourself.
The difference is huge. Sympathy is passive; empathy is active.
Know the difference between sympathy and empathy, live the difference, and youll make a
bigger difference in other peoples lives.
Criterion and criteria
A criterion is a principle or standard. If you have more than one criterion, those are referred
to as criteria.
But if you want to be safe and you only have one issue to consider, just
say standardor rule or benchmark. Then use criteria for all the times there are multiple
specifications or multiple criterion (OK, standards) involved.
Mute and moot
Think of mute like the button on your remote; it means unspoken or unable to speak. In the
U.S., moot refers to something that is of no practical importance; a moot point is one that
could be hypothetical or even (gasp!) academic. In British English, mootcan also mean
debatable or open to debate.

So if you were planning an IPO, but your sales have plummeted, the idea of going public
could be moot. And if you decide not to talk about it anymore, you will have gone mute on
the subject.
Peak and peek
A peak is the highest point; climbers try to reach the peak of Mount Everest. Peekmeans
quick glance, as in giving major customers a sneak peek at a new product before its
officially unveiled, which hopefully helps sales peak at an unimaginable height.
Occasionally a marketer will try to peak your interest or peek your interest, but in that
case the right word is pique, which means to excite. (Pique can also mean to upset, but
hopefully thats not what marketers intend.)
Aggressive and enthusiastic
Aggressive is a very popular business adjective: aggressive sales force, aggressive revenue
projections, aggressive product rollout. But unfortunately, aggressive means ready to attack,
or pursuing aims forcefully, possibly unduly so.
So do you really want an aggressive sales force?
Of course, most people have seen aggressive used that way for so long they dont think of it
negatively; to them it just means hard-charging, results-oriented, driven, etc., none of which
are bad things.
But some people may not see it that way. So consider using words like enthusiastic,eager,
committed, dedicated, or even (although it pains me to say it) passionate.
Then and than
Then refers in some way to time. Lets close this deal, and then well celebrate! Since the
celebration comes after the sale, then is correct.
Then is also often used with if. Think in terms of if-then statements: If we dont get to the
office on time, then we wont be able to close the deal today.
Than involves a comparison. Landing Customer A will result in higher revenue than landing
Customer B, or Our sales team is more committed to building customer relationships than
the competition is.
Evoke and invoke
To evoke is to call to mind; an unusual smell might evoke a long-lost memory. To invoke is to
call upon some thing: help, aid, or maybe a higher power.
So hopefully all your branding and messaging efforts evoke specific emotions in potential
customers. But if they dont, you might consider invoking the gods of commerce to aid you
in your quest for profitability.
Or something like that.
Continuously and continually
Both words come from the root continue, but they mean very different
things.Continuously means never ending. Hopefully your efforts to develop your employees
are continuous, because you never want to stop improving their skills and their future.
Continual means whatever youre referring to stops and starts. You might have frequent
disagreements with your co-founder, but unless those discussions never end (which is
unlikely, even though it might feel otherwise), then those disagreements are continual.
Thats why you should focus on continuous improvement but only plan to have continual
meetings with your accountant: The former should never, ever stop, and the other
(mercifully) should.
Systemic and systematic

If youre in doubt, systematic is almost always the right word to use.Systematicmeans

arranged or carried out according to a plan, method, or system. Thats why you can take a
systematic approach to continuous improvement, or do a systematic evaluation of customer
revenue or a systematic assessment of market conditions.
Systemic means belonging to or affecting the system as a whole. Poor morale could be
systemic to your organization. Or bias against employee diversity could be systemic.
So if your organization is facing a pervasive problem, take a systematic approach to dealing
with itthats probably the only way youll overcome it.
Impact and affect (and effect)
Many people (including until recently me) use impact when they should
use affect.Impact doesnt mean to influence; impact means to strike, collide, or pack firmly.
Affect means to influence: Impatient investors affected our rollout date.
And to make it more confusing, effect means to accomplish something: The board effected
a sweeping policy change.
How you correctly use effect or affect can be tricky. For example, a board can affect changes
by influencing them and can effect changes by directly implementing them. Bottom line,
use effect if youre making it happen, and affect if youre having an impact on something
that someone else is trying to make happen.
As for nouns, effect is almost always correct: Employee morale has had a negative effect on
productivity. Affect refers to an emotional state, so unless youre a psychologist, you
probably have little reason to use it.
So stop saying youll impact sales or impact the bottom line. Useaffect.
(And feel free to remind me when I screw that up, because I feel sure Ill backslide.)
Between and among
Use between when you name separate and individual items. The team will decide between
Mary, Marcia, and Steve when we fill the open customer service position. Mary, Marcia, and
Steve are separate and distinct, so between is correct.
Use among when there are three or more items but they are not named separately. The
team will decide among a number of candidates when we fill the open customer service
position. Who are the candidates? You havent named them separately, soamong is correct.
And were assuming there are more than two candidates; otherwise youd saybetween. If
there are two candidates you could say, I just cant decide between them.
Everyday and every day
Every day means, yep, every dayeach and every day. If you ate a bagel for breakfast each
day this week, you had a bagel every day.
Everyday means commonplace or normal. Decide to wear your everyday shoes and that
means youve chosen to wear the shoes you normally wear. That doesnt mean you have to
wear them every single day; it just means wearing them is a usual occurrence.
Another example is along and a long: Along means moving in a constant direction or a line,
or in the company of others, while a longmeans of great distance or duration. You wouldnt
stand in along line, but you might stand in a long line for a long time, along with a number
of other people.
A couple more examples: a while and awhile, and any way andanyway.
If youre in doubt, read what you write out loud.
Its unlikely youll think Is there anyway you can help me? sounds right