Page 9 - The MIL Connection: Summer 2023

pAGE HEADER

Commonly Misused Words

Advise v. to suggest or recommend Further refers to degree of distance in
Active vs. Passive Voice: time or space

Active Voice means the subject Advice n. guidance about a course Than use after a comparison
of the sentence is performing an of action
action. Use Active Voice when Affect v. to influence Then next (I went to the store, then
you want to be direct, you require home.)
action, or you want to push an Effect n. a result They’re They are
issue.
Example: The administration v. to cause to happen
closed the outpatient clinic to cut All right adv. Satisfactory; fairly Their possessive pronoun (We went
costs on next year’s budget. well, correct to their house.)
Passive Voice means the subject adj. satisfactorily,
is receiving an action. Use Passive acceptable
Voice to avoid direct blame or to Alright slang for ok There referring to place (My car is
soften bad news. over there.)
Example: The outpatient clinic A lot slang for many To prep. showing placement (to
was closed by the administration him, to school)
to help cut costs on next year’s v. infinitive form of a verb (to
budget. run, to play)

Alot incorrect spelling Too adv. also, as well
Altogether completely Who he, she
All Together collectively Whom him, her
Assure v. to make confident Who’s who is
Ensure v. to make certain Whose pronoun showing possession
Numbers and Dates: Insure v. to buy insurance Will deliberate, certainty (I will
have that report to you today.)
Spell out numbers one through e.g. – for example
nine, use figures for 10 and above. i.e. – in other words, that is
Exceptions: Farther refers to physical distance Would probably (I would like to have
» Use figures when writing that report to you today.)
percentages or dates, e.g. 1% or
Jan 9 th Proofread
» If a number begins a sentence, » Read your first draft backwards. Read it sentence by sentence, this will force
write it out, or reword the your eyes to stop on each word and require your mind to determine if it’s spelled
sentence so the number appears and used correctly.
elsewhere » Increase font size to 150%-200% so it is easier to read.
Use correct punctuation and » If you’re writing about a controversial or negative issue, step away from your
abbreviation for dates: writing for 10 minutes, then come back and reread it. This will help prevent you
» September 15, 2017 (spelled out from sending something that is emotionally, instead of professionally, charged.
with comma) » Do not trust grammar/spell check to catch all mistakes. A word may be spelled
» Sep. 15, 2017 (period and comma) correctly but used in the wrong context-and not be correct. Have someone else
proofread if possible.

summer 2023 | the MIL connection | 9