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ellipses ELLIPSES Those dots that come in the middle of a quotation to indicate something omitted are called an “ellipsis” (plural “ellipses”): “Tex told Sam to get the . . . cow out of the bunk house.” Here Tex’s language has been censored, but you are more likely to have a use for ellipses when quoting some source in a paper: “Ishmael remarks at the beginning of Moby Dick, ‘some years ago . . . I thought I would sail about a little’ —a very understated way to begin a novel of high adventure.” The three dots stand for a considerable stretch of prose that has been omitted. If the ellipsis ends your sentence, some editorial styles require four dots, the first of which is a period: From the same paragraph in Moby Dick: “almost all men . . . cherish very nearly the same feelings. . . .” Note that the period in the second ellipsis has to be snug up against the last word quoted, with spaces between the other dots. Some modern styles do not call for ellipses at the beginning and ending of quoted matter unless not doing so would be genuinely misleading, so check with your teacher or editor if you’re uncertain whether to use one in those positions. It is never correct to surround a quoted single word or short phrase with ellipses: “Romeo tells Juliet that by kissing her again his ’sin is purged’” (note, by the way, that I began the quotation after the first word in the phrase “my sin is purged” in order to make it work grammatically in the context of the sentence). When text is typeset, the spaces are often but not always omitted between the dots in an ellipsis. Since modern computer printer output looks much more like typeset writing than old-fashioned typewriting, you may be tempted to omit the spaces; but it is better to include them and let the publisher decide whether they should be eliminated. An ellipsis that works perfectly well on your computer may “break” when your text is transferred to another if it comes at the end of a line, with one or more of the dots wrapping around to the next line. To avoid this, learn how to type “non-breaking spaces” between the dots of ellipses: in Word for Windows it’s Control-Shift-Spacebar; on a Mac, it’s Option-Spacebar. When writing HTML code to create a Web page, make a nonbreaking space with this code:   List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ellipses.html03/09/2005 15:37:48 embaress EMBARESS EMBARRASS You can pronounce the last two syllables as two distinct words as a jog to memory, except that then the word may be misspelled “embareass,” which isn’t right either. You also have to remember the double R. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/embaress.html03/09/2005 15:37:48 emergent/emergency EMERGENT/EMERGENCY The error of considering “emergent” to be the adjectival form of “emergency” is common only in medical writing, but it is becoming widespread. “Emergent” properly means “emerging” and normally refers to events that are just beginning—barely noticeable rather than catastrophic. “Emergency” is an adjective as well as a noun, so rather than writing “emergent care,” use the homely “emergency care.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/emergent.html03/09/2005 15:37:48 emigrate/immigrate EMIGRATE/IMMIGRATE To “emigrate” is to leave a country. The E at the beginning of the word is related to the E in other words having to do with going out, such as “exit.” “Immigrate,” in contrast, looks as if it might have something to do with going in, and indeed it does: it means to move into a new country. The same distinction applies to “emigration” and “immigration.” Note the double M in the second form. A migrant is someone who continually moves about. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/emigrate.html03/09/2005 15:37:49 eminent/imminent/immanent EMINENT/IMMINENT/IMMANENT By far the most common of these words is “eminent,” meaning “prominent, famous.” “Imminent,” in phrases like “facing imminent disaster,” means "threatening.” It comes from Latin minere, meaning “to project or overhang.” Think of a mine threatening to cave in. Positive events can also be imminent: they just need to be coming soon. The rarest of the three is “immanent,” used by philosophers to mean “inherent” and by theologians to mean “present throughout the universe” when referring to God. It comes from Latin manere, “remain.” Think of God creating man in his own image. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/eminent.html03/09/2005 15:37:49 empathy/sympathy EMPATHY/SYMPATHY If you think you feel just like another person, you are feeling empathy. If you just feel sorry for another person, you’re feeling sympathy. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/empathy.html03/09/2005 15:37:49 emphasize on EMPHASIZE ON EMPHASIZE You can place emphasis on something, or you can emphasize it; but you can’t emphasize on it or stress on it, though you can place stress on it. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/emphasize.html03/09/2005 15:37:49 emulate/imitate EMULATE/IMITATE People generally know what “imitate” means, but they sometimes don't understand that “emulate” is a more specialized word with a purely positive function, meaning to try to equal or match. Thus if you try to climb the same mountain your big brother did, you're emulating him; but if you copy his habit of sticking peas up his nose, you're just imitating him. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/emulate.html03/09/2005 15:37:49 end result END RESULT Usually a redundancy. Most of the time plain “result” will do fine. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/end.html03/09/2005 15:37:50 enormity/enormousness ENORMITY/ENORMOUSNESS Originally these two words were synonymous, but “enormity” got whittled down to meaning something monstrous or outrageous. Don’t wonder at the “enormity” of the Palace of Versailles unless you wish to express horror at this embodiment of Louis XIV’s ego. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/enormity.html03/09/2005 15:37:50