Little things mean a lot.
Here are some tiny but serious errors in writing that trip up readers. Please consider the corrections tiny gifts for the holidays:
1. Presently does not mean at present. It means soon, as in, "I'll be there presently." If you do mean at present, just say "now." And not "at this point in time."
2. Use "compared to" for positive comparisons; "compared with" for negatives.
3. Comprised/composed: Something is composed of, not comprised of; a larger entity comprises a list of items.
4. We do not "try and do something"; we "try to do something."
5. Two words used as an adjective should be hyphenated:
"The number-one reason" to stop saying "like" every 10 seconds in conversation is to escape condemnation.
6. Because or due to? The New York Times predictor of the outcome of National Football League games wrote this: "The 49ers are red hot and want to show that last season's N.F.C. championship-game loss to the Eagles was because Brock Purdy got hurt."
No matter if football leaves you cold: a grammar lesson lurks within that sentence.
If the verb is a form of to be — is, was, has been — don't follow it with the word "because."
Instead, use "due to," as in "last season's ... loss to the Eagles was due to Brock Purdy's injury."
Using that form, we avoid the bloated "due to the fact that Purdy was injured."
When to use "because"?
"Purdy had to leave the game because he was injured."
7. Finally, for the UMPTEENTH time, placement of the word "only": It goes right next to, or as close as possible to, the thing it refers to.
Correct usage of "only" appears so seldom these days that it jumps off the page. Jumps should occur when placement is incorrect. Example:
"He only caught two passes in yesterday's game."
That means catching those passes was the only thing he did yesterday. He may also have run back a punt for a touchdown.
Correct form: "He caught only two passes in yesterday's game."
Go, Gophers! Beat Bowling Green!
Gary Gilson can be reached through www.writebetterwithgary.com.