Confusion-o-nyms

Confusion-o-nyms

After the stir in the classroom with certain irregular usages in Grammar, this is a humble attempt to categorize some of the most popular confusables.  Though this list may go on and on, this is a start to categorise some of the most notorious and commonly tested words/usages. I hope to add more words, time permitting, in days/weeks to come. Here it goes:

1: Apprise / Appraise

Apprise : This is a verb and is used with an object. It means to inform, to advise( and not advice), to give/bring to the notice of.

You were expected to apprise me of the cancelled class.

Appraise:  This is a verb and is used with an object. It means to determine the worth of( remember your ‘appraisal meetings’ with your managers J)

My boss appraised me with a rating of 2.

The officer appraised the property to be worth 2 crores.

2: Lay / Lie

Lay: This is a verb and is used with an object. ( verb form: laid, laying)

www.dictionary.com identifies 24 meanings to the word !! We would identify the most common ones and how is ‘lay’ different from ‘lie’

Lay means to put in a horizontal position of rest( like when you sleep).

It may also mean to knock down. The blast laid him low.

Common usages: lay bricks, lay hands upon sth,  etc.

Lie: can be used as a verb and a noun

Lie means a false statement. The ones used in generic reasoning based questions on True/False conditions refer to this ‘lie’. Lie, however, also has a unique reaction when it is used in the present tense. In a sentence, if the subject is acting on another object, you should use lay.

Lay down the gun that you are holding. Or, Lay down the pen that you are holding. Here the subject( “you”) is acting on the gun and the pen respectively.

If, however, the subject doing something on his/her own, prefer Lay.

The doctor asked the patient to lie down. I lay down on doctor’s advice.

3. Majority is/are

This is a classic example from the plethora of words that can be either singular or plural, depending on the context of the sentence( Did I hear groans?).

In the sentence, if the idea conveyed talks about a group of individuals, then the verb would be rather plural.

The majority of the players are not satisfied with the unhygienic conditions at the sports village.

However, if the idea talks of a collective group, then the rule that applies for collective noun applies here as well. Remember, collective nouns are always singular. Therefore, the sentence would be:

A 50% majority is mandatory for a bill to be passed in the parliament.

4. Substitute for/with

You may substitute Virat Kohli for Virendar Sehwag in the Indian squad for the West Indies tour. Many students erroneously use ‘substitute with’ instead. This may, perhaps, be influenced by a closely related expression ‘replace with’.

When we use replace- it is replace with

When we use substitute- it is substitute for

5. Continuous / continual

Continuous is used as an adjective. This means without interruptions.

Continual is also an adjective that means constantly of frequently occurring.

Continuous and continual can both roughly mean ‘without interruption’ ( three months of continuous/continual effort), but continuous is much more prominent in this sense and can be used to refer to space as well as time as in the development forms a continuous line along the coast.

Continual, on the other hand, generally means happening frequently, with intervals in between, as in the bus service has been disrupted by continual breakdowns.

6. Disinterested / Uninterested

Disinterested is an adjective that simply means impartial or not influenced by concerns of personal gains or advantage, ala, conflict of interest or office for profit fame.

Uninterested, on the other hand, means one who is not interested or concerned or bothered.

The difference between the words is thus. According to the Oxford dictionary and the traditional guidelines, disinterested should only be used to mean ‘impartial’ and should not be used to mean ‘not interested’, or as a synonym for uninterested.

In fact, the earliest recorded sense of disinterested is for the disputed sense and it is in wide use today. However, it could be avoided in careful writing.

The judge should be disinterested in the case.

The student looked uninterested in the experiment. 

More of it later. 
Image credit: allkidsnetwork.com