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drug DRUG DRAGGED “Well, look what the cat drug in!” Unless you are trying to render dialectical speech to convey a sense of down-home rusticity, use “dragged” as the past tense of “drag.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/drug.html03/09/2005 15:37:43 dual/duel DUAL/DUEL “Dual” is an adjective describing the two-ness of something—dual carburetors, for instance. A “duel” is a formal battle intended to settle a dispute. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dual.html03/09/2005 15:37:43 duck tape DUCK TAPE DUCT TAPE A commercial firm has named its product “Duck Tape,” harkening back to the original name for this adhesive tape (which was green), developed by Johnson & Johnson during World War II to waterproof ammunition cases. It is now usually called “duct tape,” for its common use in connecting ventilation and other ducts (which match its current silver color). List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ducktape.html03/09/2005 15:37:43 due to the fact that DUE TO THE FACT THAT BECAUSE Although “due to” is now a generally acceptable synonym for “because," "due to the fact that” is a clumsy and wordy substitute that should be avoided in formal writing. “Due to” is often misspelled “do to.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dueto.html03/09/2005 15:37:43 dyeing DYEING/DYING If you are using dye to change your favorite t-shirt from white to blue you are dyeing it; but if you don’t breathe for so long that your face turns blue, you may be dying. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/dyeing.html03/09/2005 15:37:44 e.g./i.e. e.g./i.e. When you mean “for example,” use e.g. It is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase exempli gratia. When you mean “that is,” use “i.e.” It is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase id est. Either can be used to clarify a preceding statement, the first by example, the second by restating the idea more clearly or expanding upon it. Because these uses are so similar, the two abbreviations are easily confused. If you just stick with good old English “for example” and “that is” you won’t give anyone a chance to sneer at you. If you insist on using the abbreviation, perhaps “example given” will remind you to use “e.g.,” while “in effect” suggests “I.E.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/e.g.html03/09/2005 15:37:44 each are EACH “Each” as a subject is always singular: think of it as equivalent to “every one.” The verb whose subject it is must also be singular. Some uses, like “to keep them from fighting, each dog has been given its own bowl,” cause no problem. No one is tempted to say “have been given.” But when a prepositional phrase with a plural object intervenes between subject and verb, we are likely to be misled into saying things like “Each of the children have to memorize their own locker combinations.” The subject is “each,” not “children.” The tendency to avoid specifying gender by using “their” adds to pressure toward plurality; but the correct version of this sentence is “Each of the children has to memorize his or her own locker combination.” One can avoid the entire problem by pluralizing throughout: “All the children have to memorize their own locker combinations” (but see the entry on singular “they" for more on this point). In many uses, however, “each” is not the subject, as in “We each have our own favorite flavor of ice cream” which is correct because “we” and not “each” is the subject of the verb “have.” “Each other” cannot be a subject, so the question of verb number does not arise; but the number of the possessive creates a problem for some writers. “They gazed into each other’s eyes” is correct and “each others’” is incorrect because “each other” is singular. Reword to “each gazed into the other’s eyes” to see the logic behind this rule. “Each other” is always two distinct words separated by a space although it functions grammatically as a sort of compound word. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/each.html03/09/2005 15:37:44 earth, moon EARTH, MOON Soil is lower-case “earth.” And in most uses even the planet itself remains humbly in lower-case letters: “peace on earth.” But in astronomical contexts, the Earth comes into its own with a proud initial capital, and in science fiction it drops the introductory article and becomes “Earth,” just like Mars and Venus. A similar pattern applies to Earth’s satellite: “shine on, harvest moon,” but “from the Earth to the Moon.” Because other planets also have moons, it never loses its article. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/earth.html03/09/2005 15:37:45 ecology/environment ECOLOGY/ENVIRONMENT “Ecology” is the study of living things in relationship to their environment. The word can also be used to describe the totality of such relationships; but it should not be substituted for “environment” in statements like “improperly discarded lead batteries harm the ecology.” It’s not the relationships that are being harmed, but nature itself: the batteries are harming the environment. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ecology.html03/09/2005 15:37:45 economic/economical ECONOMIC/ECONOMICAL Something is economical if it saves you money; but if you’re talking about the effect of some measure on the world’s economy, it’s an economic effect. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/economic.html03/09/2005 15:37:45