Vocabulary general 4 ppt

suppose to SUPPOSE TO SUPPOSED TO Because the D and the T are blended into a single consonant when this phrase is pronounced, many writers are unaware that the D is even present and omit it in writing. You’re supposed to get this one right if you want to earn the respect of your readers. See also “use to." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/suppose.html03/09/2005 15:40:05 surfing the Internet SURFING THE INTERNET “Channel-surfing” developed as an ironic term to denote the very unathletic activity of randomly changing channels on a television set with a remote control. Its only similarity to surfboarding on real surf has to do with the esthetic of “going with the flow.” The Internet could be a fearsomely difficult place to navigate until the World Wide Web was invented; casual clicking on Web links was naturally quickly compared to channel-surfing, so the expression “surfing the Web” was a natural extension of the earlier expression. But the Web is only one aspect of the Internet, and you label yourself as terminally uncool if you say “surfing the Internet.” (Cool people say “Net” anyway.) It makes no sense to refer to targeted, purposeful searches for information as “surfing”; for that reason I call my classes on Internet research techniques “scuba-diving the Internet." However, Jean Armour Polly, who claims to have originated the phrase “surfing the Internet” in 1992, maintains that she intended it to have exactly the connotations it now has. See her page on the history of the term. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/surfing.html03/09/2005 15:40:05 take a different tact TAKE A DIFFERENT TACT TAKE A DIFFERENT TACK This expression has nothing to do with tactfulness and everything to do with sailing, in which it is a direction taken as one tacks—abruptly turns—a boat. To “take a different tack” is to try another approach. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/tact.html03/09/2005 15:40:05 taken back/taken aback TAKEN BACK/TAKEN ABACK When you’re startled by something, you’re taken aback by it. When you’re reminded of something from your past, you’re taken back to that time. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/taken.html03/09/2005 15:40:05 taught/taut TAUGHT/TAUT Students are taught, ropes are pulled taut. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/taught.html03/09/2005 15:40:06 taunt/taut TAUNT/TAUT/TOUT I am told that medical personnel often mistakenly refer to a patient” s abdomen as “taunt” rather than the correct “taut.” “Taunt” (“tease” or “mock” ) can be a verb or noun, but never an adjective. “Taut” means “tight, distended,” and is always an adjective. Don’t confuse “taunt” with “tout,” which means “promote,” as in “Senator Bilgewater has been touted as Presidential candidate.” You tout somebody you admire and taunt someone that you don’t. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/taunt.html03/09/2005 15:40:06 tenant/tenet TENANT/TENET These two words come from the same Latin root, tenere, meaning “to hold” but they have very different meanings. “Tenet” is the rarer of the two, meaning a belief that a person holds: “Avoiding pork is a tenet of the Muslim faith.” In contrast, the person leasing an apartment from you is your tenant. (She holds the lease.) List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/tenant.html03/09/2005 15:40:06 tender TENDER HOOKS TENTERHOOKS A “tenter” is a canvas-stretcher, and to be “on tenterhooks” means to be as tense with anticipation as a canvas stretched on one. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/tender.html03/09/2005 15:40:06 tentative TENTATIVE Often all-too-tentatively pronounced “tennative.” Sound all three “T” s." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/tentative.html03/09/2005 15:40:07 than/then THAN/THEN When comparing one thing with another you may find that one is more appealing “than” another. “Than” is the word you want when doing comparisons. But if you are talking about time, choose “then“: “First you separate the eggs; then you beat the whites.” Alexis is smarter than I, not “then I." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/than.html03/09/2005 15:40:07 [...]... fewest wilted leaves.” When the general class is not being limited or defined in some way, then “which” is appropriate: “He made an iceberg Caesar salad, which didn’t taste quite right.” Note that “which” is normally preceded by a comma, but “that” is not Comments on this issue by Jack Lynch List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/which.html03/09/2005 15 :40 :07 . file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/taken.html03/09/2005 15 :40 :05 taught/taut TAUGHT/TAUT Students are taught, ropes are pulled taut. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/taught.html03/09/2005 15 :40 :06 taunt/taut TAUNT/TAUT/TOUT I. the term. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/surfing.html03/09/2005 15 :40 :05 take a different tact TAKE A DIFFERENT TACT TAKE A DIFFERENT TACK This expression has nothing. another approach. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/tact.html03/09/2005 15 :40 :05 taken back/taken aback TAKEN BACK/TAKEN ABACK When you’re startled by something, you’re taken