Am I using the right words?

Occasionally when I’m writing something, I will stop in mid-sentence and wonder whether or not I’ve used the correct word or words. Perhaps I’m choosing between two homonyms, or a word that doesn’t exactly look like it’s spelled correctly. Or maybe it’s not even a real word (a la Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness” or Sarah Palin’s “refudiate”).

Luckily for me, a quick online search usually answers my question, rather than having to lug out and flip through a hardbound dictionary.

Here is a list of words and terms I often double-check:

Later vs. Latter – Later refers to happening after a particular time, whereas latter refers to the second of two things mentioned. So, if you’re wondering whether you should use later or latter when referring to the second in a list, use the latter (see what I did there?).

Myriad vs. Myriad Of – As an adjective, myriad means countless or extremely great in number. You wouldn’t say “I saw countless of stars,” so leave off the “of” and just go with myriad.

Afterwards vs. Afterwords – Unless you’re referring to concluding sections in books, afterwards is the correct word to connote at a later time.

Staff Is vs. Staff Are – Staff is a collective noun that can take either a singular or plural verb depending on the usage in a sentence. If the staff (group) is acting as a single unit, use “staff is.” If the intent is to highlight the actions of individuals within the group, use “staff are.” So, “the staff are preparing for the big meeting” (individuals) but “the staff is meeting now” (group). One trick I like to use to avoid this confusion is to occasionally use “staff members” or “members of the staff” when referring to individuals.

Baited Breath vs. Bated Breath – I get this one wrong all the time. I usually go with baited, as in setting a bait, but the actual term is “bated breath,” as in with your breath held.

Traveler vs. Traveller – I always want to go with two l’s but Merriam-Webster says traveler with one l is the American variation of the correctly spelled British term traveller. Even spell check on Microsoft Word doesn’t recognize traveller when set to U.S. English.

Farther vs. Further – In common American English, farther refers to physical distance while further refers to metaphorical or figurative distance. For example, “Driving farther than 500 miles a day will push Ted further into aggravation.”

For All Intents and Purposes – This one is completely on me. For years, I misheard it as “For all intensive purposes….”

Hors d’oeuvre – Yeah, I always have to look this one up.

Camaraderie vs. Comradery – I’ve seen the former more frequently, but apparently the latter is acceptable as well.

Attorneys General vs. Attorney Generals – When referring to more than one, it’s attorneys general.

Quick help

If you find yourself in similar grammatical quandaries when composing written communications, here are some good online grammar guides to help you:

• www.dailywritingtips.com/
• www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
• www.wordnik.com/
• http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
• www.merriam-webster.com/

What are some words and terms that you continually find yourself double-checking?