Confusing Words

COM 303 Editing

Brian Carroll
 Who vs. Whom
Who
– Substitutes for the subject
– Example: Who let the dogs out?

Whom
– Substitutes for objective pronouns (him, her)
– Example: Whom did he question?
– And serves as the object of a preposition
– Example: Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
 That vs. Which

That
– Use with essential phrases
– Example: Go to the door that reads, “Clinic 1.”

Which
– Use with non-essential phrases
– Example: The test, which was given Thursday, was
difficult.
 Among vs. Between
Between
– Use with two.
– Example: He split the Calzone between Tim and Susan,
because it was bigger than Tim’s head.

Among
– Use with three or more.
– Example: We divided the money among the five children.
 Affect vs. effect

Affect
– A verb that means influence
– Example: The drought will affect the color of the
fall foliage.

Effect
– A noun that means result
– Example: The medicine has unpleasant side
effects.
 Compose vs. comprise

Compose
– Means to make up
– Example: The class is composed of 25 students.
Comprise
– Means to include
– Example: Our class comprises five women and six
men.
Making sense of sentences

Avoid
– Fragments
– Run-on sentences
– Faulty parallelism
– Modifier misplacement
 Fragments

He waited but.
The man in the plaid suit said.
A march for justice.
 Run-ons
We visited the hospital, and we saw the
doctor, and he said to come back
tomorrow, and we did, and then he said
to come back the next day, and we did,
and then he said we were too late, so
we went home.
 Faulty parallelism:
Some more examples
He planned his story, wrote the article and
turned in his paper on time.
He enjoys reading and to go skiing.
Our trip includes stops in:
– London, England
– A stop in Paris, France
– Washington, D.C.
 Misplaced modifiers
The tourists saw a herd of sheep on their
way to their hotel.
 On their way to their hotel, the tourists saw a
herd of sheep.
 Needing oil, the mechanic drove the car into
the garage.
 The car needed oil, so the mechanic drove it
into the garage.
Confusing Words

COM 303 Editing

Brian Carroll