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Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day than (4). Today: “Than whom.” In the awkward and (fortunately) now-rare inverted construction (e.g., T.S. Eliot, than whom few critics could be considered better), one might expect the nominative “who” to be the preferred pronoun. “Than” is treated as a conjunction in formal usage, not a preposition, so the […]

than (2). Today: For “then.” This error is so elementary that one might fairly wonder whether it is merely a lapse in proofreading. But it occurs with some frequency — e.g.: “Mr. Bennett did wake up several times, hoping to hear good news, if not about himself, than [read ‘then’] at least about the two

than (1). Today: Verb Not Repeated After (“than is,” “than has”). Often it’s unnecessary (though not ungrammatical) to repeat “be”-verbs and “have”-verbs after “than,” especially when a noun follows — e.g.: o “Jonathan Lipnicki . . . became a national favorite as the too-cute son in ‘Jerry Maguire.’ He’s still cute, probably more so than

Miscellaneous Entries. text, vb. ; texting. As a verb, “text” (= to send a text message) has sprung into favor with the popularity of instant-messaging systems — e.g.: “If you’re shopping for a new plan, analyze your calling, texting and data-download patterns.” Liz F. Kay, “Finding New Ways to Trim Your Cell Phone Expenses,” Baltimore

territory; dependency; commonwealth. The distinctions in American English are as follows: “Territory” = a part of the United States not included within any state but organized with a separate legislature (Webster’s 11th). Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are territories of the United States; Alaska and Hawaii were formerly territories. “Dependency” = a land or

tenure; tender. “Tenure” (= [1] a holding by right, as of an elected office; [2] the time spent in such an office; or [3] an entitlement to a professional position, esp. at a university, with protection against dismissal) is sometimes used where the intent was “tender,” vb. (= to offer something, esp. in settlement of

tenterhooks. A tenter is a frame for stretching cloth to dry, and tenterhooks are the hooks or nails placed in the tenter to hold the cloth. The set phrase “on tenterhooks,” then, refers to being stretched, therefore strained and nervous. Because the unfamiliar word “tenterhook” is rarely seen outside that phrase, it is prone to

tentative. “Tentative” (/TEN-tuh-tiv/) is often mispronounced, and therefore mistakenly written, as if the word were *”tenative” — e.g.: o “At the all-star break, he was making 42 percent (126 of 300) of his field goals, looking tenative [read ‘tentative’] with the ball.” David Aldridge, “Harvey Grant Has Found That He Could Get to Like Starting

Miscellaneous Entries. termagant (= a quarrelsome, overbearing woman) is pronounced /TUHR-muh-guhnt/, not /-juhnt/. terminus; terminal, n. “Terminus” = the place at the end of a travel route, esp. a railroad or bus line. The plural is “termini” or (much less commonly) “terminuses.” “Terminal” = a station on a transportation route. terra cotta. The noun is

Tenses (6). Today: Threatened Obsolescence of Perfect Tenses. Perhaps the heading here is overdrawn, but a distressingly large number of educated speakers of English seem at least mildly hostile to perfect tenses. There are three: the present perfect, the past perfect (or pluperfect), and the future perfect. And they’re worth some attention. First, the present

Tenses (5). Today: Sequence Errors with “seemed” and “appeared.” The infinitive-related problem with sequence of tenses occurs frequently with the verbs “seemed” and “appeared” — e.g.: o “Ripken appeared to have enjoyed [read ‘appeared to enjoy’] passing Kinugasa more than he enjoyed passing Gehrig.” Mark Maske, “Officially, Ripken Is on Top of the World,” Wash.

Tenses (4). Today: Sequence Errors with Infinitives. An exceedingly common sequence-of-tenses problem occurs with infinitives, which, when put after past-tense verbs, are often wrongly made perfect infinitives — e.g.: o “Remembering how busy General Maxwell Taylor must have been as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1963, how would you have liked to

Tenses (3). Today: Errors in Sequence of Tenses. Examples may be readily found in which the primary sequence of tenses is mangled — e.g.: “Mrs. Yager faces a possible sentence of up to 60 years in prison, although neither side expects that the maximum sentence would [read ‘will’] be imposed if she was [read ‘is’]

Tenses (2). Today: Sequence of Tenses. The term “sequence of tenses” refers to the relationship of tenses in subordinate clauses to those in principal clauses. Generally, the former follow from the latter. In careful writing, the tenses agree both logically and grammatically. The basic rules of tense sequence are easily stated, although the many examples

Tenses (1). Today: Generally. The following shows the basic tenses in English with the verb “be” conjugated in the indicative mood, showing the singular and plural forms for the first, second, and third person. Present Tense 1st person: I am / We are 2nd person: You are / You are 3rd person: He, she, or

Miscellaneous Entries. tenderfoot (= a newcomer or beginner) forms the plural “tenderfoots,” as the majority of dictionaries recommend. tendinitis; *tendonitis. “Tendinitis” = inflammation of a tendon. *"Tendonitis" is incorrectly arrived at by association with the spelling of the noun “tendon.” Tennessean; *Tennesseean. The first is standard; the second is a variant spelling. Although the final

Tennyson. The formal name of the 19th-century poet laureate is “Alfred, Lord Tennyson.” But writers often mistakenly write *”Lord Alfred Tennyson” — e.g.: o “Harrogate had become the culture capital of Northern England, attracting such celebrities as Charles Dickens, Lord Alfred Tennyson [read ‘Alfred, Lord Tennyson’], George Bernard Shaw and Sir Edward Elgar, as well

tenet. “Tenet” (= a doctrine or basic belief, dogma) is sometimes confounded with the similar-sounding “tenant” (= [1] one who has a leasehold, a lessee; or [2] an inhabitant, dweller). The result is linguistically untenable — e.g.: o “The Clinton legislation, which embraces many of the tenants [read ‘tenets’] supported in education legislation passed in

tendentious (3). Today: For “tendinitis.” A surprising error is the substitution of “tendentious” for “tendinitis” (= inflammation of tendons in a joint). It probably results from trigger-happy users of spell-checkers — e.g.: o “‘However, I don’t think my body can go another year at this intensity. I have had some lower back problems and patellar

tendentious (2). Today: For “contentious.” “Tendentious” (= one-sided) is occasionally confused with “contentious” (= combative) — e.g.: o “The structure represents Selig’s vision for his sport — the opportunity to soar beyond the tendentious [read ‘contentious’] labor struggles that have bedeviled baseball for decades and into an era of not only prosperity, but peace.” Teri