There are more negatives than just the obvious no, not, never, neither, and nor.Remember that hardlyand barelyare negatives, too. If you are using those words, you have a negative, so you do not need to double up.
● GOOF-PROOF SAMPLES ● NEGATIVES
Incorrect: We hardly never see movies.
Correct: We hardly eversee movies.
Incorrect: There aren’t no tickets left.
Correct: There aren’t anytickets left.
Incorrect: Mary doesn’t like neither of those books.
Correct: Mary doesn’t like eitherof those books.
Incorrect: Vegans don’t eat dairy products nor meat.
Correct: Vegans don’t eat dairy products ormeat.
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[ QUIZ ]
Circle only the sentences that are correct. The answers can be found on page 175.
1. We barely didn’t catch the train.
2. Lee didn’t have nothing to say at the meeting.
3. Don’t give up on your puppy; he just needs more training.
4. Heather never went nowhere on vacation.
5. I didn’t know which book to consult.
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RULE #40: Don’t Make Spelling Mistakes
Spelling mistakes and the business world do not mix. Strive to improve your spelling skills, always use the spelling tools at your fingertips, and never knowingly send out a document with a typo.
● GOOF-PROOF IT! ●
Spelling errors in business writing are embarrassing, and can make you seem unprofessional. They can also be costly. Menus, brochures, and advertising campaigns with misspellings are expensive wastes of money.
On a smaller scale, the repeated misspelling of simple words in your e-mails, memos, letters, or reports take away from the seri- ousness of your writing. Spelling errors can make you appear careless, lazy, and unintelligent. Learn and use the following rules, and your spelling will improve.
Putting in a little time will improve your spelling quickly. You can learn simple spelling rules that cover the few dozen mistakes that account for the majority of errors. In addition, you can become a more proficient user of your computer’s spell check feature.
• Basic Spelling Rules: I Before E
I before E except after C, or when sounding like A (as in neighbor or weigh).
Though it has a few exceptions, this simple rule is worth remembering. The majority of the time, it works.
Some examples of the exceptions:
After C: ceiling, conceive, deceive, perceive, receipt, receive, deceit, conceit
When sounding like A: neighbor, freight, beige, sleigh, weight, vein, weigh
Others: either, neither, feint, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure, weird, seize, andseizure
• Basic Spelling Rules: Doubling Final Consonants
When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant, you double the consonant if:
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➤ the ending begins with a vowel (such as –ing, –ed, –age, –er, –ence, –ance, and –al)
➤ the last syllable of the word is accented and that sylla- ble ends in an single vowel followed by a single con- sonant (words with only one syllable are always accented). Stopbecomes stopping, stopped, stoppage, or stopper because stop has only one syllable (so it is accented), and it ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel.
Here are some other examples of words that meet the doubling requirements:
run: running, runner slam: slamming, slammed nag: nagged, nagging incur: incurred, incurring kid: kidding, kidder
plan: planned, planning, planner begin: beginning, beginner set: setting
transmit: transmitting, transmittal, transmitted
• Basic Spelling Rules: Dropping Final E’s and Y’s
When adding an ending to a word that ends with a silent e, drop the final e if the ending begins with a vowel, such as advancingand surprising.
If the ending begins with a consonant, keep the final e, as in advancementand likeness.
However, if the silent e is preceded by another vowel, drop the e when adding any ending: argument, argued, truly.)
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● GOOF-PROOF RULE OF THUMB ●
● Exceptions to the Rules
To avoid confusion and mispronunciation, the final e is kept in words such as mileageand words where the final eis preceded by a soft g or c: changeable, courageous, manageable, manage- ment, noticeable.The word management, for example, would be pronounced with a hard gsound if not for the eafter the g.If the root word ends with a silent e, and the suffix begins with a vowel, then take off the silent e and add the suffix.
come + ing = coming
If the root word ends with a consonant followed by the letter y, change the yto iand add the suffix.
reply + ed = replied
• Basic Spelling Rules: Plurals
Most words are made plural by simply adding an s.
However, if a word ends in xor s, -shor -ch, the suffix -es must be added to form a plural.
church/churches box/boxes plus/plusses
If the word ends in a consonant plus -y, change the -y into -ie and add an -sto form the plural.
enemy/enemies baby/babies
When in doubt, look up the singular form in the dictionary, where you will also find the plural listed.
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● GOOF-PROOF LIST ●