Common Errors Ch. 04

Errors occur every day in the manner in which words are used. Let's talk about some of the most common.

MEDDLE / METTLE

MEDDLE is a verb and generally means to mess with.I don't want him tomeddle with meor He likes tomeddle with all the girls are two examples of how to use this word properly.

The word,METTLE, is a noun that I haven't seen used that often but it's a great word that means courage. A few examples of the proper use of this word are:He entered the tournament to test hismettleorHermettle was very helpful in becoming a Marine.

ALLUDE / ELUDE

The usages I've seen of this have mostly been misspellings, not as many as with the actual meaning of the word.ALLUDE is a verb and means to refer to. An example of the proper usage would be:She used toallude to her husband's time in the service when she talked about security.

The word,ELUDE is a verb and means to escape detection.He hid behind the shrubs in order toelude the police is an example of using this word.

EMIGRATE / IMMIGRATE

These are two commonly confused words that I have problems with myself.EMIGRATE is a verb and it describes a person that is leaving a country.During the Gulf War, a lot of people were forced toemigrate to nearby countries is one way to properly use this word.

The word,IMMIGRATE, is a different matter altogether. It is a verb that means to moveinto a country.People in the Southwest are upset about the amount of people that are allowed toimmigrate to the United States from Mexico.

PALATE / PALETTE / PALLET

These are three words that sound alike and are used incorrectly. Let's start withPALATE. This word is a noun and describes a part of your mouth: the roof of your mouth that is separated into two parts, the hardpalate and the softpalate. I'm sure if you stick a finger in there (not too far, though), you'll be able to discern which is which. An example of the correct usage of this word is:Peanut butter always sticks to thepalate of my mouth.

PALETTE is a noun which anyone who is an artist or knows an artist should be familiar with. Apalette is usually a flat wooden board that an artist uses to mix paints on and is portable, enabling the artist to leave the table where the paints are stored. It can also be used to describe someone who has an assortment of skills or tools at their disposal. Some examples of the proper usage of this word are:He cleaned hispalette so that he could use some new colorsorShe sings, she dances ... she has apalette of talents to work from.

The final word in this set isPALLET, which is also a noun and has two meanings that are most commonly used. It can mean a bed that is made up and usually placed on the floor or it can mean a wooden structure built to withstand the weight of heavy objects and to provide support when shipping the objects.He put the tines of the forklift under thepallet and lifted the computers onto the truckis a good example of its usage.

CORE / CORPS

CORE is a noun or a verb that means the center or heart of an object or to take the center of an object out. It can be used in the following ways:To make an apple pie, you have tocore the apples first orThecore of the art show was her sculpture.

The word,CORPS, is a noun that is derived from French and is pronounced in the same way thatcore is. Acorps is an organization or group and some examples of the usage of this are:Thecorps of the ballet was ready for practice orA lot of young men and women join the PeaceCorps in college.

SUITE / SUIT

The word,SUITE, is a noun and can be pronounced two different ways with each pronunciation.

With using the pronunciation that sounds like 'sweet', it can mean a group of rooms or a single room split into separate chambers which are all usually opulent.The Queen occupies asuite of rooms at any hotel she visitsor We had the HoneymoonSuite on our wedding night are good examples of using this word.

When using the pronunciation that sounds like 'suit', it can mean a group of pieces of an item. An example of this usage is:The tallboy, four-poster bed and vanity were all part of the bedroomsuite.

SUIT is a noun and means articles of clothing that when put together, constitute asuit.He checked to make sure that each piece of thesuit was present before he paid for it is an example of how to use this word properly.