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Graduate Writing Assistant
Graduate Writing Assistant

Quick Fixes for the most common writing problems

Effect and Affect
In the most commonly used sense, Effect is a noun and Affect is a verb; although, there are some instances in which Effect may be used as a verb, as well.

The Noun
The effect was incredible. It was not quite the effect I wanted. The serum’s effect was immediate. I wonder what effect this will have.
As Verbs
Both of these words can be used as verbs, but they do not mean the same thing:
Affect means “to produce an effect upon” (Merriam-Webster):
Her insomnia affected her profoundly. I wonder how the new variable will affect the outcome of my research. All the participants seemed greatly affected by the presence of the child.
Effect means “to cause to come into being” or produce (Merriam-Webster):
Her insomnia effected a profound change in her. In effect, Marx was able to effect a total intellectual revolution.
It's and Its
This confuses people solely because of the apostrophe. It’s is a contraction; Its is a possessive pronoun.
It + Is = It’s
It’s (it is) a nice day outside. It’s (it is) never a good idea to trust spell check.
It + Possession = Its
The data is conclusive; its (the data’s) meaning is clear. The study no longer held her interest. After all, its (the study’s) great mystery had been solved
However, Therefore, Thereby, Thus, Moreover, and Also
These words are actually adverbs and NOT conjunctions. While they cannot be used to link two independent clauses, they do indicate logical link between clauses; thus, they should be set of by commas:
It was a good day; it was not, however, a great day. The data was insufficient; moreover, it was biased. There appeared a 99.98% consistency among all test subjects; the conclusion, therefore, seemed obvious.
Lay and Lie

PRESENT TENSE

PAST TENSE

PAST PERFECT
Direct
Object		 Now I lay me down to sleep.

Please lay that binder on the stack of papers.

Subject A lays the pen next to his paper.		 I just laid those papers down on my desk yesterday! Well, let’s see now; I think I had laid those papers on the desk yesterday.
No Direct
Object		 I lie [not lay] down on the floor to stretch out after my workout.

Please lie [not lay] down on the table.

Jerry just comes home and lies [not lays] in the hammock on the porch.		 Yesterday I lay [not laid] on the floor to stretch out after my workout. Earlier I had lain [not laid] on the floor to stretch out after my workout.

Adapted from barelybad.com

Less and Fewer
Less = Not as much
Fewer = Not as many
Abbey has fewer apples than she has oranges. Abbey has less time than she needs.
There were fewer than thirty test subjects. There was less than data than we needed.
Exception - Less can be used for time, mass quantity, or degree.
It was less than perfect. Please respond in twenty words or less. We have less than thirty minutes.
Might and May
In the present and future tense, these two words may, essentially, be used interchangeably. In the past tense, however, there is a difference. While may is fine dancing at the present and future tense parties, might is the right in the past. The word might is also the past tense of the verb may; thus, might should always be used to denote possibility or speculation in the past. The present and future may be addressed with either word, correctly.
The word May denotes the possibility that something is occurring or will occur. The word Might denotes the possibility that something is occurring, will occur, or did occur.
The participant may/might be in minor discomfort. The participant may/might be in minor discomfort tomorrow. The participant might have been in minor discomfort before the treatment.
Regardless and Irregardless
Never use irregardless.
Regardless means “without regard.” For example, you might go skiing regardless of the bitter cold.
If we break down the word Irregardless, it could essentially mean “without without regard” or even "not without regard."
Always use regardless.
That and Which
The most important distinction between the usage of that and which is not a question of correct and incorrect usage so much as it is in the meaning.
The data that supported my thesis was included.
Meaning: Only the data that supported my thesis was included.
The data, which supported my thesis, was included.
Meaning: All the data was included, and it supported my thesis.
Their, They're, and There
These are three different words, and they cannot be used interchangeably.
Their is the possessive form of the pronoun they.
Give them back their test materials, please. Their recent activities suggest a familiarity with war. Theirs will always be the better way.

They’re is a contraction of they and are.
They’re going to be fine. The rest of the participants appear nervous when they’re present. Can you get those files for me—they’re on the desk.

There is relative adverb/pronoun/noun/adjective, depending on the usage.
There are no significant correlations between them. We conducted our first inquiry over there. It’s been said that he’s just not all there.

Then and Than
Then refers to time, Than indicates comparison.

We went to the baseball game, then the aquarium, and then the park.
We went to the park rather than fighting the crowd at the baseball game.
Test Group A proved more hostile than Test Group B.

Who and Whom
These words two forms of the same pronoun, but they are not interchangeable.

Whom is used when the pronoun is the direct object (the word receiving the action).
Who is the subject form. Use who when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence.
Who are you? To whom are you speaking? Who is this subject? He is the very embodiment of our study. We set out to discover whom the test group would identify as “the educator.”
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This page was last revised: 5/12/2009