Usage Rules

1. Usage Rules

2. Usage Rule #1: Accept/Except Accept… is a verb which means “to receive.” Carolyn was accepted to five colleges. Except… is usually a preposition which means “excluding”; except can also be a verb meaning “to leave out” She got into all of the schools she applied to except for her top choice.

3. Practice Sentences: 1. Everyone turned in his or her homework ____________ for two people. except 2. I cannot possibly ____________ this gift; it is much too expensive. accept 3. Frank told me that he would not _____________ the position, with one __________-ion—if they offered him double his current salary. accept except

4. Usage Rule #2: Adopt/Adapt Adopt… is a verb which means “to take somethingand make it one’s own as it is” The school plans on adopting several new textbooks next year. Adapt… means “to change something in order to be more suitable for personal use” Teachers will be allowed to adapt the lessons that the textbook provides to suit their individual needs.

5. Practice Sentences: 1. When you move to a new country, you must be willing to _________ to the local culture. adapt 2. Tina and Bob are hoping to ________ a little girl from China. adopt 3. Ms. Page often shares her lessons with me and allows me to ___________ them for my classes; I’m lucky that she doesn’t mind if I change them a little bit. adapt

6. Usage Rule #3: Affect/Effect Affect… is a verb which means “to have some sort of influence upon.” Not having a Diet Coke in the morning invariably affects my mood. Effect… is most often a noun which means “the result of some action” If Mrs. Pierce does not have a Diet Coke in the morning, we see the negative effect in her attitude.

7. Practice Sentences: 1. Lisa’s spending habits have had a disastrous ________ on her bank account. effect 2. Losing the game on Friday night really _____________ Billy’s mood for the rest of the weekend. affect-ed 3. Gas prices __________ how much people are willing to drive, because they can have such a negative __________ on someone’s budget. affect/effect

8. Usage Rule #4: Between/Among Use between to… make a comparison of two items, even if one of the items is a large group I have a difficult time deciding between the Republican and Democratic candidates. Use among to… make a comparison of three or more items Among Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PS3, Xbox 360 is probably my favorite.

9. Practice Sentences: 1. _____________ all of the choices on the menu, fettuccine alfredo looks the most appealing tonight. Among 2. The cafeteria is located _____________ the gym and the main entrance to the school. between 3. Because he was so tall, she easily spotted him ___________ the crowd. among

10. Usage Rule #5: Bring/ Take Bring… means “to come carrying something.” Keyword: COME Bring that box over here. Take… means “to go carrying something.” Keyword: GO Take that box down to the basement.

11. Practice Sentences: 1. Liza promised to _________ me the new cassette when she comes to visit. bring 2. Please _________this note to the manager’s office when you go. take 3. __________ your bathing suit when you come visit us at the beach. Bring 4. Would you please _____________the mail to the post office on your way to school? take 5. _____________ your IPOD to your locker and leave it there. take

12. Usage Rule #6: etc./ etcetera Rule: Use of either etc. or et cetera is not appropriate in formal English. Etc. is an abbreviation and etcetera is a Latin word. Avoid this expression in your writing. Use “and so forth” instead. Wrong: The doctor recommends more exercise, fewer fatty foods, etc. Right: The doctor recommends more exercise, fewer fatty foods, and so forth.

13. Practice Sentences: 1. In order to paint the room, we’ll need paint, brushes, thinner, some rags, primer, etc. 2. A conscientious groupie knows all the members of a band: drummer, lead guitar, rhythm, bass, etc. 3. English teachers know everything about literature, grammar, sentences, writing, reading, etc. 

14. Usage Rule #7: Fewer/ Less Fewer… with plural words. Another way to think about: items that you can count. Fewer animals, fewer resources, fewer acres Less… with singular words. Another way to think about: items you can’t count Less rainfall, less diversity, less acreage

15. Practice Sentences: The tree will not die because it has (fewer, less) vines than it did before. fewer (Fewer/Less) students have enrolled this semester. Fewer There will be (fewer/less) competition at Friday’s volleyball tournament. less Our doctor advised my uncle to eat (fewer/less) eggs. fewer

16. We had (fewer/less) snowstorms this year than last. fewer Ed started his dance company with (fewer/less) than ten dancers in New York City in 1958. fewer Our run was quite pleasant because there was (fewer/less) traffic early in the morning. less

17. Usage Rule #8: Imply/ Infer Imply… means “to show, hint at, or suggest,” not to express Writers or speakers imply in the words they use. Imply may be replaced with show, hint, or suggest. He implied in his speech that… Infer… means “to conclude or deduce from evidence or facts.” A listener or reader infers something from the words Hint: YOUR CONTEXT CLUES I inferred from her comment that…

18. Practice Sentences: Josh __________that he would be taking the bus. implied From what the others said, I ___________ that they would be getting rides. inferred When Liza _____________ she was the best candidate for the job, the interviewers ____________ that she was the worst. implied inferred

19. With a partner… • On your outputs, write one quiz question for each rule. • I’m going to assign you a number. The number correlates with the usage rule. • With your partner, you must come up with at least 2 quiz questions • When you are done, put both of your names on the sheet and turn it in to your folder.