{"id":25651,"date":"2016-05-09T16:51:38","date_gmt":"2016-05-09T21:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=25651"},"modified":"2016-05-09T16:51:38","modified_gmt":"2016-05-09T21:51:38","slug":"commonly-confused-words-part-v","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2016\/05\/commonly-confused-words-part-v\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonly Confused Words, Part V"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve previously posted on words that writers, particularly lawyers, commonly confuse. Those posts are here<\/a> (that\/which\/who, more than\/over, few(er), less, amount\/number, farther\/further, since\/because\/as, among\/between, who\/whom, attain\/obtain), here<\/a> (a\/an\/the, counsel\/council, e.g.,\/i.e., it\u2019s\/its, principal\/principle, then\/than, utilize\/use, you\u2019re\/your, affect\/effect, tortious\/tortuous, tack\/tact, capitol\/capital, motioned\/moved, flesh\/flush), here<\/a> (although\/while, assure\/insure\/ensure, complement\/compliment, rational\/rationale), and here<\/a> (a couple, a few, some, several, and many).<\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019ll cover seven more pairs of commonly confused words.<\/p>\n

Born\/borne<\/u> \u2013 Both words are past participles of \u201cto bear\u201d; however, only one relates to birth. Use \u201cborn\u201d when referring to literal or figurative birth, such as: She was born in California <\/em>or Wisdom is born from years of experience.<\/em> \u201cBorne,\u201d on the other hand, refers to the other meanings of \u201cto bear\u201d: such as, to carry, to produce, or to bring about. \u201cBorne\u201d would be proper in the following: Costs associated with this litigation will be borne by the defendant<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Good\/well<\/u> \u2013 \u201cGood\u201d is an adjective, \u201cwell\u201d is an adverb. That is, \u201cgood\u201d describes and \u201cwell\u201d modifies or qualifies. A good lawyer writes well.<\/em> \u201cGood\u201d in that sentence describes the noun, \u201clawyer.\u201d (What kind of lawyer? A good one.) \u201cWell\u201d qualifies the verb \u201cwrites.\u201d (How does the lawyer write? Well.) The exception to this good\/well distinction involves health. If you\u2019re asked How are you?<\/em>, the grammatically correct answer would be I am well <\/em>(i.e., your health is good).<\/p>\n

Do not use \u201cgood\u201d to modify a verb. We might say That lawyer is good at writing<\/em>, but we certainly wouldn\u2019t say That lawyer writes good<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Lay\/lie<\/u> \u2013 My wonderful colleagues Anne Enquist and Laurel Currie Oates from Seattle University have best explained the distinction between these two words in their book<\/a> Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer <\/em>(4th ed. 2013). I am drawing from their explanation nearly verbatim but for style changes to fit the form here.<\/p>\n

\u201cLay\u201d means to \u201cput, place, or set down.\u201d \u201cLay\u201d is a transitive verb, which means it must have an object. Something must be put, placed, or set down. For example: Just lay the file on my desk.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTo lie\u201d means \u201cto recline or remain.\u201d \u201cLie\u201d is an intransitive verb, which means it does not have an object. Someone or something reclines or remains. For example: The file will lie unopened on my desk until the bill is paid.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pair\/pare\/pear<\/u> \u2013 A \u201cpair\u201d is a set of two objects. \u201cPare\u201d is a verb that means to trim something or to reduce its size. A \u201cpear\u201d is a piece of fruit. Anna needs to pare down her brief before she files it <\/em>means that Anna has to make some cuts or changes to reduce the length of her brief. She would not \u201cpair down\u201d or \u201cpear down\u201d her brief.<\/p>\n

Peak\/peek\/pique<\/u> \u2013 I always give mental bonus points to the people who correctly use \u201cpique.\u201d It\u2019s so often misused. \u201cPeak\u201d is a noun that means the highest point, like the peak of a mountain or the peak of a career. \u201cPeek\u201d is a verb that means a quick glance, like Let me take a peek at the bill before you pay it.<\/em> These two often get mixed up, but when you add \u201cpique,\u201d things really get mixed up. \u201cPique\u201d as a noun means a fit of resentment; as a verb it means to annoy or to arouse interest.\u00a0 So, for example, after an argument, I might be in a pique (a noun). More often, though \u201cpique\u201d is used as a verb and here\u2019s where it gets oh-so-mixed up with the other two words. If I\u2019ve written something particularly compelling, my writing might pique the reader\u2019s interest. That is, it might have aroused her interest. I do not peak her interest.<\/p>\n

Precedent\/precedence<\/u> \u2013 I\u2019ve seen a number of students write something like, The court should follow precedence and hold for plaintiff.<\/em> Such a usage is incorrect. For lawyers, \u201cprecedent\u201d refers to a case that has preceded (come before) the case with which the lawyer is currently dealing, and that previous case may guide a current court on the same issue. Courtney is researching precedent on that issue. <\/em>\u00a0Plural \u201cprecedent\u201d is \u201cprecedents,\u201d though it seems to me that lawyers tend to use \u201cprecedent\u201d in cases of singular and plural cases. The sentence above is a good example. Courtney may be looking for a single case, but she may be looking for a number of previous cases.<\/p>\n

However, law students (and some lawyers) might be confusing the plural form \u201cprecedents\u201d with \u201cprecedence.\u201d Hence: The court should follow precedence and hold for plaintiff.<\/em> \u201cPrecedence\u201d has to do with ranking in order of importance or urgency, with something more important or urgent having \u201cprecedence\u201d over something less important or urgent. My brief takes precedence over Jim\u2019s brief because my brief is due earlier. <\/em>That is, I\u2019m saying my brief is more important or urgent.<\/p>\n

Now that we\u2019ve established the difference, let\u2019s fix the sentence I started with: The court should follow precedent and hold for plaintiff.<\/em><\/p>\n

Whether\/whether or not<\/u> \u2013 The word \u201cwhether\u201d expresses some doubt, and it is often used with \u201cor not,\u201d as in We should find out whether or not the law firm is hiring. <\/em>In that sentence, it is unknown if the law firm is hiring. Maybe it is. Maybe it\u2019s not. The word \u201cwhether\u201d itself, though, because it expresses doubt, implies an \u201cor not\u201d; thus, the \u201cor not\u201d is redundant. It\u2019s more concise to simply say We should find out whether the law firm is hiring. <\/em>Maybe it is. Maybe it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

I can think of only one circumstance where \u201cwhether or not\u201d is useful and that is where the writer is expressing not doubt but certainty. That is, I\u2019m going to the conference whether or not Stephen attends<\/em>. That sentence shows the writer\u2019s certainty: it doesn\u2019t matter if Stephen goes to the conference; the writer definitely is. However, where the writer is using \u201cwhether\u201d more equivocally, \u201cor not\u201d is unnecessary in writing.<\/p>\n

Next week, I\u2019ll cover another set of commonly confused words!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve previously posted on words that writers, particularly lawyers, commonly confuse. Those posts are here (that\/which\/who, more than\/over, few(er), less, amount\/number, farther\/further, since\/because\/as, among\/between, who\/whom, attain\/obtain), here (a\/an\/the, counsel\/council, e.g.,\/i.e., it\u2019s\/its, principal\/principle, then\/than, utilize\/use, you\u2019re\/your, affect\/effect, tortious\/tortuous, tack\/tact, capitol\/capital, motioned\/moved, flesh\/flush), here (although\/while, assure\/insure\/ensure, complement\/compliment, rational\/rationale), and here (a couple, a few, some, several, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,42,122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-practice","category-legal-writing","category-public","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}