Toil and trouble

With this bit of text from Macbeth, I'll return to the Shakespeare reference that I used a couple of posts ago when I blogged about the difference between compare to and compare with. Here are a few more commonly confused words and phrases that, once you're aware of the simple rules that accompany them, should trouble you no more:

-- affect/effect: Affect is typically a verb, meaning to influence or cause. "The cold weather affected employees, prompting them to bundle up." Effect usually is a noun, meaning impact or consequence. "One effect of the cold weather is that employees dressed warmer."

-- all right/alright: Just remember this, it's not all right to write alright. Two words, not one.

-- underway/under way: Same here. Two words. "The ambitious project already is under way."

-- over/more than: Though this pair often is used interchangeably, there is a difference. Over refers to a spatial relationship, as in, "The cow jumped over the moon." More than is used when talking about specific numbers or quantities, as in, "More than 15 people missed work the day after the big game."

-- less/fewer: Use less when you're talking about bulk quantities that can't be counted or measured, and fewer when referring to quantities that can be counted or measured. Here's a sentence to help you remember: "I have fewer chores but less energy to do them." Chores, you can count. The amount of energy you have isn't something that can be counted or measured.

-- can/may: Use can when you want to establish a subject's ability to do something. "Can you win the race?" May is used to denote possibility or permission, as in, "May I have this dance?"

-- lend/loan: Lend is a verb, meaning to give someone something temporarily. "If you lend me your car, I'll put gas in it." Loan is usually a noun referring to a bank's providing you money that you agree to pay back.

Did you ever imagine there would be so many rules? There's plenty more, too.No wonder English has such a notorious reputation as being a difficult language to learn.