COMMONLY MISUSED WORDS & TERMS
P (Continued)
Southern California Spell out Southern California, do not use So Cal.
principal, principle Principal is a noun and an adjective meaning some- one or something first in rank, authority, importance or degree.
T
that, which Use that for essential clauses, important to the mean- ing of a sentence. Do not use commas. I remember the day that we met. Use which for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary, and use commas. n
She is the school principal.
n
n He was the principal player in the trade.
Money is the principal problem.
n
Principle is a noun that means fundamental truth, law, doctrine or motivating force.
n The team, which finished last a year ago, is in first place.
n They fought for the principle of self-determination.
Tip: If you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of the sentence, use which ; otherwise, use that
He is standing on principle.
n
theater Use theater unless the proper name is Theatre (e g , Irvine Barclay Theatre) . their, theirs Their/theirs is a possessive, plural pronoun. Its should be used for possessive, singular pronouns. then, than Then means it came next. Than is used for compari- sons.
R
RSVP Always use RSVP , not rsvp or R.S.V.P.
ribbon-cutting Hyphenated as a compound modifier.
n The ribbon-cutting ceremony is at 2 p.m.
She attended the ribbon-cutting.
n
n We announced the opening, then welcomed visi- tors.
S
Earth is closer to the sun than Saturn.
n
smartphone Smartphone is one word.
till Do not use till or ‘til; use until .
stationary, stationery Stationary means to stand still.
toward There is no s at the end of toward .
n The car collided with a stationary vehicle.
Correct Usage: toward Incorrect Usage: towards
Stationery is writing and other office materials.
n The thank you note was written on stationery.
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