Plain Words (10 page)

In spite of Fowler and Jespersen, some trace still lingers of the idea that what is illogical ‘must' be wrong, such as condemnation of
under the circumstances
and of the uses of a plural verb with
none
. The truth, in the words of Logan Pearsall Smith, is that

a language which was all idiom and unreason would be impossible as an instrument of thought; but all languages permit the existence of a certain number of illogical expressions: and the fact that, in spite of their vulgar origin and illiterate appearance, they have succeeded in elbowing their way from popular speech into our prose and poetry, our learned lexicons and grammars, is a proof that they perform a necessary function in the domestic economy of speech. (
Words and Idioms
, 1925)

Circumstances

It used to be widely held by purists that to say ‘under the circumstances' must be wrong because what is around us cannot be over us.
In the circumstances
was the correct expression. This argument is characterised by Fowler as puerile. Its major premiss is not true (‘a threatening sky is a circumstance no less than a threatening bulldog') and even if it were true it would be irrelevant, because, as cannot be too often repeated, English idiom has a contempt for logic. There is good authority for
under the circumstances
, and if some prefer
in the circumstances
(as I do), that is a matter of taste, not of rule.

Compare

There is a difference between
compare to
and
compare with
. The first is taken to liken one thing to another: ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' The second is to establish that the resemblances
and differences between two things are about to be weighed. Thus: ‘If we compare the speaker's note with the report of his speech in
The Times
…'.

Consist

There is a difference between
consist of
and
consist in
.
Consist of
denotes the substance of which the subject is made: ‘The writing desks consist of planks on trestles'.
Consist in
defines the subject: ‘The work of the branch consists in interviewing the public'.

Depend

It is wrong in formal writing, though common in speech, to omit the
on
or
upon
after
depends
, as in: ‘It depends whether we have received another consignment by then'.

Different

There is good authority for
different to
, but
different from
is today the established usage. ‘Different than' is not unknown even in
The Times
:

The air of the suburb has quite a different smell and feel at eleven o'clock in the morning or three o'clock in the afternoon than it has at the hours when the daily toiler is accustomed to take a few hurried sniffs of it.

But this is condemned by orthodox commentators, who would say that
than
in this example should have been
from what
.

Doubt

Idiom requires
whether
after a statement of positive doubt, and
that
after one that is negative or rhetorical. ‘I doubt whether he will come today' implies an active state of doubt as to whether or not he will come. ‘I doubt that he will come to day' implies that there is no expectation that he will come.

Either

Old-fashioned purists argue that
either
means one or other of two. But it has been used to mean each of two throughout its history, as in Tennyson's lines:

On either side the river lie

Long fields of barley and of rye

or in, ‘The concert will be broadcast on either side of the nine o'clock news'. As this usage (each of two) remains common, there does not seem to be any good ground for Fowler's dictum that it is ‘archaic and should be avoided'.

First

There used to be a popular rule that you must not write
firstly
; your enumeration must be
first
,
secondly
,
thirdly
. It was one of those arbitrary rules whose observance was supposed by a certain class of purist to be a hallmark of correct writing. This rule, unlike many of the sort, does not even have logic on its side. Of late years there has been a rebellion against these rules, and I do not think that any contemporary commentator will mind much whether you say
first
or
firstly
, or indeed
first
,
second
,
third
.

Follows (as Follows)

Do not write ‘as follow' for
as follows
, however numerous the things that follow. The
OED
states that ‘The construction in
as follows
is impersonal, and the verb should always be used in the singular'.

Got

‘Have got' for
possess
or
have
, says Fowler, is good colloquial but not good literary English. Others have been more lenient. Dr Johnson, in his
Dictionary
, said:

he
has got
a good estate
does not always mean that he has acquired, but barely that he possesses it. So we say
the lady
has got
black eyes
, merely meaning that she has them.

When such high authorities differ, what is the ordinary person to think? If it is true, as I hold it to be, that superfluous words are an evil, we ought to condemn ‘the lady has got black eyes' (for ‘the lady has black eyes'), but not ‘the lady has got a black eye' (someone hit her). Still, in writing for those whose prose inclines more often to primness than to colloquialisms, and who are not likely to overdo this use of
got
, I advise them not to be afraid of it.

Hard and Hardly

Hard
, not
hardly
, is the adverb of the adjective
hard
.
Hardly
must not be used except in the sense of ‘scarcely'.
Hardly earned
and
hard-earned
have quite different meanings. Thus ‘their reward was hardly earned': they were rewarded but did little to deserve it; ‘their hard-earned reward': the reward they went to great lengths to earn. (
Hardly
, like
scarcely
, is followed by
when
in a sentence such as: ‘I had hardly begun when I was interrupted'. Sometimes
than
intrudes – ‘hardly begun
than
I was interrupted'—from a false analogy with ‘I had no sooner begun than I was interrupted'.)

Help

The expression ‘more than one can help' is a literal absurdity. It means exactly the opposite of what it says. ‘I won't be longer than I can help' means ‘I won't be longer than is unavoidable', which is to say, longer than I
can't
help. But it is good English idiom. Sir Winston Churchill writes in
The Gathering Storm
: ‘They will not respect more than they can help treaties extracted from them under duress'. Writers who find the ridiculousness of the phrase more than they can stomach can always write ‘more than they must' instead.

Inculcate

One
inculcates
ideas into people (as one might urge ideas upon them), not people with ideas.
Imbue
would be the right word for that. A vague association with
inoculate
may have something to do with the mistaken use of ‘inculcate with'.

Inform

Inform
cannot be used with a verb in the infinitive, and the writer of this sentence has gone wrong: ‘I am informing the branch to grant this application'. This should have been
telling
or
asking
.

Less and Fewer

The following is taken from
Good and Bad English
(1950) by Whitten and Whitaker:

Less
appertains to degree, quantity or extent;
fewer
to number. Thus,
less
outlay,
fewer
expenses;
less
help,
fewer
helpers;
less
milk,
fewer
eggs.

But although ‘few' applies to number do not join it to the word itself: ‘a fewer number' is incorrect; say ‘a smaller number.'

‘Less' takes a singular noun, ‘fewer' a plural noun; thus, ‘less opportunity,' ‘fewer opportunities.'

Prefer

You may say ‘He prefers writing to dictating' or ‘he prefers to write rather than to dictate', but not ‘he prefers to write than to dictate'.

Prevent

You may choose any one of three constructions with
prevent
: prevent
them from coming
, prevent
them coming
and prevent
their coming
.

Purport (verb)

The ordinary meaning of this verb is ‘to profess or claim by its tenor' (
OED
), e.g. ‘this letter purports to be written by you'. The use of the verb in the passive is an objectionable and unnecessary innovation. ‘Statements which were purported to have been official confirmed the rumours' should be ‘statements which purported to be official confirmed the rumours'.

Unequal

The idiom is unequal
to
, not
for
, a task.

Note
. As well as discussing the use of
ise
and
ize
, Gowers gave a few examples of words that sometimes cause confusion because, though spelt differently, they sound the same (known as
homophones
). He did not cite pairs where the words are likely to be mistaken through sheer carelessness, such as
here
and
there
and
hear
and
their
, but ones where the distinct meanings of the paired words are not always understood. The list has been very slightly expanded. ~

Ise or Ize

On the question whether verbs like
organise
and nouns like
organisation
should be spelt with an
s
or a
z
the authorities differ. The
OED
favours universal
ize
, arguing that the suffix is always in its origin either Greek or Latin, and in both languages is spelt with a
z
. Other authorities, including some English printers, recommend universal
ise
. Fowler stands between these two opinions. He points out that the
OED
's advice over-simplifies the problem, as there are some verbs (e.g.
advertise
,
comprise
,
despise
,
exercise
and
surmise
) that are never spelt
ize
in this country. On the other hand, he says, ‘the difficulty of remembering which these
ise
verbs are
is the only reason for making
ise
universal, and the sacrifice of significance to ease does not seem justified'. This austere conclusion will not recommend itself to everyone, and the round advice to end them all in
ise
is a verdict with which I respectfully agree.

Complement /Compliment

One thing
complements
another if it fulfils or completes it. A report on efficient new ways to kill rats might
complement
a report on the estimated number of rats infesting London's Underground system. A
compliment
is an expression by which one offers praise (‘Both reports were excellent').

Note
. These days to
complement
is often used as though it means no more than to ‘match' or ‘go well with': ‘She wore ruby earrings to complement her red shoes'. This dispenses with the word's more precise meaning, which the following sentence preserves: ‘She wore rubies to complement her red outfit'. ~

Dependant /Dependent

In the ordinary usage of today
dependant
is a noun meaning ‘a person who depends on another for support, position, etc.' (
OED
).
Dependent
is an adjective meaning relying on or subject to something else. Dependants are dependent on the person whose dependants they are.

Discreet /Discrete

Someone who is
discreet
is quiet, tactful, unobtrusive, circumspect. A
discrete
entity is one that is separate or self-contained. In the greater difficulty of selling an undesirable house, one might face the
discrete
problem of its having a leak in the roof.

Enquiry /Inquiry

Enquiry
and
inquiry
have long existed together as alternative spellings of the same word. In America
inquiry
is dislodging
enquiry
for all purposes. In England a useful distinction is developing:
enquiry
is used for asking a question and
inquiry
for making an investigation. Thus you might ‘enquire what time the Inquiry begins'.

Forego/Forgo

To
forego
is to go before (‘the foregoing provisions of this Act'). To
forgo
is to go without, to waive (‘I will forgo my right').

Principal/Principle

Principal
means primary, leading or most important. Matters of
principle
are matters of fundamental moral belief. (‘The principal point at issue is not what he did, so much as that in doing it he broke his word. It is against my principles to accept this.')

Proscribe/Prescribe

To
proscribe
is to ban or exclude. To
prescribe
is to authorise a course of action or lay down a rule. Doctors
prescribe
medicines, but a responsible person might proscribe the use of pills prescribed by a quack.