{"id":3024,"date":"2015-02-23T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=3024"},"modified":"2015-02-23T10:16:12","modified_gmt":"2015-02-23T10:16:12","slug":"4-commonly-misused-words-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/4-commonly-misused-words-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Words In English You Might Be Misusing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FourCommonlyMisusedWordsEnglish<\/a><\/p>\n

The English language, like any living language, is fluid. It changes to adapt to the needs of the speakers that use it \u2013 old words get thrown out, new ones get tossed in, and meanings get jumbled and confused. It can be frustrating for the language sticklers of the world when so many people misuse a word so often that it starts to become somewhat acceptable. And though at some point they\u2019ll have to accept that words and their meanings can change, for now, here are four words that you might be misusing.<\/p>\n

For those of you still learning English, nip these bad habits in the bud and <\/i>contact us<\/i><\/a> to find an expert English tutor near you!<\/i><\/h4>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Affect\/Effect:<\/b><\/h2>\n

These two are very similar, and they\u2019re often confused with one another, but there are a couple of rules you can follow that might help you out.<\/p>\n

Usually, not always, affect<\/b> is used as a verb and effect<\/b> as a noun. For instance: \u201cThe leftover Mexican food I ate for lunch <\/i>affected<\/i><\/b> my stomach for days.<\/i>\u201d versus, \u201cThe <\/i>effects<\/i><\/b> of the leftover Mexican food I ate for lunch lasted for days.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

However, there are exceptions \u2013 a board of directors at a company can <\/i>effect<\/i><\/b> a change in the leave policy for their employees.<\/i><\/p>\n

For the most part, though, follow the rule: affect<\/b> = verb; effect<\/b> = noun; and if you\u2019re worried that you might have it wrong, check with an expert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Decimate:<\/b><\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s a word that\u2019s interestingly used incorrectly \u2013 although, it\u2019s one of those that\u2019s more than likely going to change in just a few years \u2013 and most people don\u2019t even realize it.<\/p>\n

Commonly used as a synonym for annihilate<\/i> \u2013 as in, to utterly destroy \u2013 its historical definition stems from ancient Rome<\/a>. Back in the day, decimation was a form of military punishment for capital offences that involved large groups \u2013usually hundreds \u2013 of soldiers. It comes from Latin meaning \u201cremoval of a tenth\u201d. Wrongdoers were divided into groups of ten and forced to do a lottery draw. Whoever pulled the short stick was beaten to death by the remaining nine offenders.<\/p>\n

Ancient Rome was hectic. Nowadays, most people don\u2019t use it this way \u2013 they probably classify that as cruel and unusual punishment in the justice system\u2013 and online thesauruses list it as a synonym for exterminate<\/i>, but if you\u2019re worried, try devastate <\/i>instead.<\/p>\n

Already have a good grasp on the English language? Test your skills with our <\/i>free English level test<\/i><\/a>!<\/i><\/h4>\n

Nauseous\/Nauseated: <\/b><\/h2>\n

We can all be culprits of this little linguistic faux pas. Just to quickly clarify: nauseous:<\/i> something that inspires you to regurgitate your lunch, nauseated:<\/i> the feeling of wanting to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fumes emanating from the garbage can on the street corner were <\/i>nauseous<\/i><\/b>, and <\/i>nauseated <\/i><\/b>by them, I decided to pass on the Mexican food for lunch.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

You can use them interchangeably and whomever you\u2019re speaking to will get the gist, but if you\u2019re looking to be grammatically correct, think: nauseated<\/b> = how you feel; nauseous<\/b> = the thing making you feel nauseated<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Flammable\/Inflammable:<\/b><\/h2>\n

These two are in here not because people use them incorrectly, but because most people don\u2019t actually know the difference between the two. And why is that? Because there is no difference. That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

Flammable <\/i><\/b>and inflammable\u00a0<\/i><\/b>both mean something is capable or easy to burn or ignite. The reason for both of them? Well, it turns out inflammable<\/i><\/b> was around first \u2013 it can be traced back as far as 1605 <\/a>\u2013 but sometime in the 1920<\/a>s, the National Fire Protection Association started urging people to use flammable<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n

Because of the prefix in-<\/i>, which commonly refers to the Latin un<\/i>-<\/i>meaning non<\/i>, <\/i>the association was concerned that people might start thinking inflammable<\/i><\/b> meant something that would not catch on fire. And a dangerous mistake that would be. Inflammable <\/i><\/b>actually comes from the Latin i<\/i><\/b>n<\/i> <\/i>meaning \u201cin\u201d in English and flamma<\/i> meaning \u201cflames\u201d \u2013 literally \u201cin flames.\u201d<\/p>\n

Better safe than sorry though, wouldn\u2019t you say? So, now either one is technically accurate when you\u2019re talking about something that can catch on fire. And for the record, if you mean it can\u2019t catch on fire,\u00a0non-flammable<\/i><\/b> is the way to go.<\/p>\n

***<\/b><\/p>\n

Learning a language can be hard, and English has all kinds of irregularities that make it difficult, but if you keep these bad boys in mind, you\u2019ll be that much closer to mastering it. And for those of you for whom English is your native language (or even if it\u2019s not!) \u2013 think about all the fun words speakers of other<\/i> languages use incorrectly, and check out our list of language courses <\/a>that are available near you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The English language, like any living language, is fluid. It changes to adapt to the needs of the speakers that use it \u2013 old words get thrown out, new ones get tossed in, and meanings get jumbled and confused. It can be frustrating for the language sticklers of the world when so many people misuse(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,236,27,1],"tags":[59,66,31],"class_list":["post-3024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language-learning","category-must-know","category-humour-offbeat","category-uncategorized","tag-english","tag-language","tag-words"],"yoast_head":"\n4 Words In English You Might Be Misusing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the English language as fluid as it is, at some point, we'll have to accept that words and their meanings can change. 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