The American Heritage book of English usage

926 Pages·1996·2.48 MB·English

by  American Heritage Dictionaries. Editors

The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English 1996
1. Grammar
Traditional Rules, Word Order, Agreement, and Case

THIS chapter treats traditional problems of grammar and problems
involving word order, grammatical agreement, parts of speech,
conjunctions, pronouns, and verbs. Problems that are inherent to
individual words or entail a choice between words are generally treated
under Word Choice. If you cannot find the word or subject you are
looking for, check the indexes at the end of the book.
1. absolute constructions
2. absolute terms
3. adjectives
4. adverbs, comparison of
5. adverbs, position of
6. agreement
7. ain’t
8. also
9. and
10. any
11. anyone
12. as
13. as far as
14. auxiliary and primary verbs
15. because
16. better / best
17. but
18. can
19. cannot
20. collective noun
21. dangling modifiers
22. dare
23. double negative
24. double passive
25. each
26. either
27. every
28. gerund
29. had better
30. hardly
31. have to
32. however
33. like
34. may
35. more than one
36. must
37. need
38. neither
39. none
40. nor
41. not
42. nothing
43. one
44. only
45. or
46. ought
47. participles
48. plus
49. possessive constructions
50. prepositions
51. pronouns, agreement of
52. pronouns, personal
53. pronouns, reflexive and intensive
54. rather
55. scarcely
56. shall / will
57. should
58. so
59. split infinitive
60. subject and verb agreement
61. subjunctive
62. that
63. there
64. this
65. used to
66. verbs, mood of
67. verbs, principal parts of
68. verbs, tenses of
69. verbs, transitive and intransitive
70. verbs, voice of
71. very and past participles
72. what
73. whatever
74. when
75. where
76. which
77. whichever
78. who
79. whose
80. would
The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin
Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
3. Word Choice
New Uses, Common Confusion, and Constraints

THIS chapter treats usage problems that are inherent to individual words
or entail a choice between words. It provides guidance on traditional
difficulties such as when to use between instead of among, what the verb
decimate means, and whether politics takes a singular or plural verb. It
sorts out commonly confused words like founder and flounder or blatant
and flagrant. And it assesses new usages, such as the verbs empower and
interface, that have some popular appeal but may be seen as trendy or
pretentious. Problems involving pronouns and conjunctions are treated
under Grammar.
1. a / an
2. able
3. about
4. not about to
5. above
6. access
7. accompany
8. acquiesce in / acquiesce to
9. act / action
10. admission / admittance
11. adopted / adoptive
12. advance / advancement
13. adverse / averse
14. advise
15. affect / effect
16. affinity
17. affirmative
18. agenda
19. aggravate
20. alibi
21. all
22. alleged
23. all right / alright
24. allude / allusion refer reference
25. alongside / alongside of
26. alternative
27. although / though
28. altogether / all together
29. anticipate
30. unanticipated
31. antidote
32. anxious
33. apparent
34. arrant / errant
35. assure ensure insure
36. auger / augur
37. aural / oral
38. author
39. awhile / a while
40. backward / backwards
41. bad / badly
42. baited / bated
43. baleful / baneful
44. barbarism / barbarity
45. beside / besides
46. better
47. between
48. bimonthly / biweekly semimonthly semiweekly
49. blatant / flagrant
50. boast
51. born / borne