ecstatic ECSTATIC Pronounced “eck-sta-tic,” not “ess-ta-tic.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ecstatic.html03/09/2005 15:37:45 ect. ECT. ETC. “Etc.” is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase et cetera, meaning “and others.” (Et means “and” in French too.) Just say “et cetera” out loud to yourself to remind yourself of the correct order of the “T” and “C." Also to be avoided is the common mispronunciation “excetera.” “And etc.” is a redundancy. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ect.html03/09/2005 15:37:46 -ed/-t -ED/-T You have learnt your lessons only in U.K influenced countries, you’ve learned them in the U.S. There are several common verbs which often have “T” endings in Britain which seem a little quaint and poetic in American English, where we prefer “-ED.” Other examples: “dreamt/dreamed,” “dwelt/ dwelled,” “leant/leaned,” “leapt/leaped,” and “spelt/spelled.” However, the following alternatives are both common in the U.S.: "burned/burnt” and “kneeled/knelt.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/edet.html03/09/2005 15:37:46 -ed/-ing -ED/-ING In some dialects it is common to say “my shoes need shined” instead of the standard “my shoes need shining” or “my shoes need to be shined.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/-ed.html03/09/2005 15:37:46 ei/ie EI/IE The familiar rule is that English words are spelled with the “I” before the “E” unless they follow a “C,” as in “receive.” But it is important to add that words in which the vowel sound is an “A” like “neighbor” and “weigh” are also spelled with the “E” first. And there are a few exceptions like “counterfeit,” “seize,” and “weird.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ei.html03/09/2005 15:37:46 either EITHER “Either” often gets misplaced in a sentence: “He either wanted to build a gambling casino or a convent” should be “He wanted to build either a gambling casino or a convent.” Put “either” just before the first thing being compared. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/either.html03/09/2005 15:37:47 either are/either is EITHER ARE/EITHER IS As a subject, “either” is singular. it’s the opposite of “both,” and refers to one at a time: “Either ketchup or mustard is good on a hot dog.” But if “either” is modifying a subject in an “either . . . or” phrase, then the number of the verb is determined by the number of the second noun: “Either the puppy or the twins seem to need my attention every other minute.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/eitherare.html03/09/2005 15:37:47 eighteen hundreds/nineteenth century EIGHTEEN HUNDREDS/NINETEENTH CENTURY "Eighteen hundreds,” “sixteen hundreds” and so forth are not exactly errors; the problem is that they are used almost exclusively by people who are nervous about saying "nineteenth century” when, after all, the years in that century begin with the number eighteen. This should be simple: few people are unclear about the fact that this is the twenty-first century even though our dates begin with twenty. Just be consistent about adding one to the second digit in a year and you’ve got the number of its century. It took a hundred years to get to the year 100, so the next hundred years, which are named “101,” “102,” etc. were in the second century. This also works BC. The four hundreds BC are the fifth century BC. Using phrases like “eighteen hundreds” is a signal to your readers that you are weak in math and history alike. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/nineteenth.html03/09/2005 15:37:47 electrocute/shock ELECTROCUTE/SHOCK To electrocute is to kill using electricity. If you live to tell the tale, you’ve been shocked, but not electrocuted. For the same reason, the phrase “electrocuted to death” is a redundancy. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/electrocute.html03/09/2005 15:37:47 elicit/illicit ELICIT/ILLICIT The lawyer tries to elicit a description of the attacker from the witness. “Elicit” is always a verb. “Illicit,” in contrast, is always an adjective describing something illegal or naughty. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/elicit.html03/09/2005 15:37:48