A very good website for Common Errors in English Usage.
First / Firstly
This is from Lynch's Guide to Grammar and Style:
'The jury is still out on whether to use first or firstly, second or secondly, etc. Traditional usage had firstly, secondly, but this is too inconsistent for modern taste. Most guides prefer just plain old first, second, and so forth, without the -ly ending.'
Affect and Effect
The majority of the time we use affect with an a as a verb and effect with an e as a noun.
Affect means "to influence" as in, "The arrows affected Ardvark," or "The rain affected Amy's hairdo". Effect has a lot of subtle meanings, but to me the meaning "a result" seems to be at the core of all the definitions. For example, "The effect was eye-popping," or "The rain had no effect on Amy's hairdo".
Bought / Brought
Bought relates to buying something. Brought relates to bringing something. For example, I bought a bottle of wine which had been brought over from France.
Toward / Towards
Both of them are correct. As the word acts as a preposition, not a noun, adding the “s” doesn’t make it plural. The only distinction between the two is that “toward” is used more often in American English, while “towards” is used more often in British English.
Quotation Marks, Commas and Periods
Universal American usage places commas and periods inside the quotation marks, regardless of logic.
e.g., "Diane," she said, "put the book down and go outside for a little while."
This rule applies even when the unit enclosed at the end of the sentence is just a single word rather than an actual quotation:
e.g., To get to the next page, just press the little button marked "Enter."
However, British are inclined to place commas and periods logically rather than conventionally, depending on whether the punctuation belongs to the quotation or to the sentence that contains the quotation.
e.g,
Have you read the assigned short story, "Flowering Judas"?
No, but I did finally get around to reading last week's assignment, "Where Are They Now?"
Correct Forms
First / Firstly
This is from Lynch's Guide to Grammar and Style:
'The jury is still out on whether to use first or firstly, second or secondly, etc. Traditional usage had firstly, secondly, but this is too inconsistent for modern taste. Most guides prefer just plain old first, second, and so forth, without the -ly ending.'
Affect and Effect
The majority of the time we use affect with an a as a verb and effect with an e as a noun.
Affect means "to influence" as in, "The arrows affected Ardvark," or "The rain affected Amy's hairdo". Effect has a lot of subtle meanings, but to me the meaning "a result" seems to be at the core of all the definitions. For example, "The effect was eye-popping," or "The rain had no effect on Amy's hairdo".
Bought / Brought
Bought relates to buying something. Brought relates to bringing something. For example, I bought a bottle of wine which had been brought over from France.
Toward / Towards
Both of them are correct. As the word acts as a preposition, not a noun, adding the “s” doesn’t make it plural. The only distinction between the two is that “toward” is used more often in American English, while “towards” is used more often in British English.
Quotation Marks, Commas and Periods
Universal American usage places commas and periods inside the quotation marks, regardless of logic.
e.g., "Diane," she said, "put the book down and go outside for a little while."
This rule applies even when the unit enclosed at the end of the sentence is just a single word rather than an actual quotation:
e.g., To get to the next page, just press the little button marked "Enter."
However, British are inclined to place commas and periods logically rather than conventionally, depending on whether the punctuation belongs to the quotation or to the sentence that contains the quotation.
e.g,
Have you read the assigned short story, "Flowering Judas"?
No, but I did finally get around to reading last week's assignment, "Where Are They Now?"
Correct Forms
- "I hope this helps" or "I hope this will help" instead of I hope this help.
- Most of the time when one says “I could care less”, he/she mean to say “I could not care less”.
