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enquire/inquire ENQUIRE/INQUIRE These are alternative spellings of the same word. “Enquire” is perhaps slightly more common in the U.K., but either is acceptable in the U.S. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/enquire.html03/09/2005 15:37:50 enthuse ENTHUSE STATE ENTHUSIASTICALLY “Enthuse” is a handy word and “state enthusiastically” is not nearly so striking; but unfortunately “enthuse” is not acceptable in the most formal contexts. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/enthuse.html03/09/2005 15:37:50 envelop/envelope ENVELOP/ENVELOPE To wrap something up in a covering is to envelop it (pronounced “enVELLup” ). The specific wrapping you put around a letter is an envelope (pronounced variously, but with the accent on the first syllable). List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/envelop.html03/09/2005 15:37:51 envious/jealous ENVIOUS/JEALOUS Although these are often treated as synonyms, there is a difference. You are envious of what others have that you lack. Jealousy, on the other hand, involves wanting to hold on to what you do have. You can be jealous of your boyfriend’s attraction to other women, but you’re envious of your boyfriend’s CD collection. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/envious.html03/09/2005 15:37:51 enviroment ENVIROMENT ENVIRONMENT The second N in “environment” is seldom pronounced distinctly, so it’s not surprising that is often omitted in writing. If you know the related word “environs” it may help remind you. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/enviroment.html03/09/2005 15:37:51 epic/epoch EPIC/EPOCH An “epoch” is a long period of time, like the Jurassic Epoch. It often gets mixed up with “epic” in the sense of “large-scale.” Something really big has “epic proportions,” not “epoch proportions.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/epic.html03/09/2005 15:37:51 epigram/epigraph/epitaph/epithet EPIGRAM/EPIGRAPH/ EPITAPH/EPITHET An epigram is a pithy saying, usually humorous. Mark Twain was responsible for many striking, mostly cynical epigrams, such as “Always do right. That will gratify some of the people, and astonish the rest.” Unfortunately, he was also responsible for an even more famous one that has been confusing people ever since: “Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” It’s true that the moon keeps one side away from the earth, but—if you don’t count the faint glow reflected from the earth—it is not any darker than the side that faces us. In fact, over time, the side facing us is darkened slightly more often because it is occasionally eclipsed by the shadow of the earth. An epigraph is a brief quotation used to introduce a piece of writing (see this example from Shakespeare) or the inscription on a statue or building. An epitaph is the inscription on a tombstone or some other tribute to a dead person. A collection of epitaphs. In literature, an epithet is a term that replaces or is added to the name of a person, like “clear-eyed Athena,” in which “clear-eyed” is the epithet. You are more likely to encounter the term in its negative sense, as a term of insult or abuse: “the shoplifter hurled epithets at the guard who had arrested her.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/epigram.html03/09/2005 15:37:52 epitomy EPITOMY EPITOME Nothing makes you look quite so foolish as spelling a sophisticated word incorrectly. Taken directly from Latin, where it means “abridgement,” “epitome” is now most often used to designate an extremely representative example of the general class: “Snow White is the epitome of a Disney cartoon feature.” Those who don’t misspell this word often mispronounce it, misled by its spelling, as “EP-i-tohm,” but the proper pronunciation is “ee-PIT-o- mee.” The word means “essence,” not “climax,” so instead of writing “the market had reached the epitome of frenzied selling at noon,” use “peak” or a similar word. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/epitomy.html03/09/2005 15:37:52 ethnic ETHNIC it’s misleading to refer to minority groups as “ethnics” since everyone has ethnicity, even a dominant majority. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ethnic.html03/09/2005 15:37:52 every EVERY “Every,” “everybody” and “everyone” and related expressions are normally treated as singular in American English: “Every woman I ask out tells me she already has plans for Saturday night.” However, constructions like “everyone brought their own lunch” are widely accepted now because of a desire to avoid specifying “his” or “her.” See “ they/their (singular).” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/every.html03/09/2005 15:37:52