Mispronounced Words

Cents Don’t Say: Five cent.. Library Don’t Say: Li-ba-ry.. Strictly Don’t Say: Stric-ly.. Height Don’t Say: Heighth.. Athletics Don’t Say: Ath-a-le-tics.. Government Don’t Say: Go-ver-me

CHAPTER 13 Mispronounced Words

Nothing brands your speaking as “unpolished” faster than mispronouncing words, particularly if they’re common words

In this chapter, we’ll help you with some of the most common pronunciation problems There’s no written test at the end of this unit, because a written test can’t tell you much about how well you’re pronouncing a word Use the time you would have used quizzing yourself to practice saying these words out loud until the correct pronunciations feel more natural to you

149 Air vs Err

Don’t Say: Air

Say Instead: Err (rhymes with “purr”)

Say “err” when you mean the verb “err,” meaning to make

an error, as in the phrase to err is human

150 Anyways vs Anyway

Don’t Say: Anyways

Say Instead: Anyway

“Anyway” never, ever has an “s” at the end

151 A ways vs A way

Don’t Say: A ways

Say Instead: A way

“Way” never has an “s” on the end when it’s being used as part of the expression “a way,” as in she has a way to go

152 Cent vs Cents

Don’t Say: Five cent

Say Instead: Five centS

“Five cent” is perfectly fine as an adjective: a five-cent gumball But when you use it as a noun, you need to add an

“s” to “cent” if you’re talking about more than one: She can remember when stamps cost five cents My parents gave me

25 cents when I lost a tooth, but I have to give my kids a dollar Compare these sentences to: That 99-cent pen will break in three days

153 Libary vs Library

Don’t Say: Li-ba-ry

Say Instead: Li-bRa-ry

Make sure you pronounce both “r”s “Li-bra-ry.”

154 Reconize vs Recognize

Don’t Say: Re-con-ize

Say Instead: Re-coG-nize

Don’t leave out the “g.” It’s “re-cog-nize.”

155 Stricly vs Strictly

Don’t Say: Stric-ly

Say Instead: StricT-ly

Don’t leave out the second “t.” It’s “strict-ly.”

156 Heighth vs Height

Don’t Say: Heighth

Say Instead: Height (rhymes with “bite”)

Perhaps people mispronounce “height” as “heighth” be-cause they’re thinking of the “th” at the end of “width.” But it’s wrong; “height” always ends with a simple “t.”

157 Athaletics vs Athletics

Don’t Say: Ath-a-le-tics

Say Instead: Ath-le-tics (just three syllables)

Leave out the extra “a.” And this goes for the person, too It’s never “ath-a-lete,” it’s always “ath-lete.”

158 Goverment vs Government

Don’t Say: Go-ver-ment

Say Instead: Go-verN-ment

Don’t forget the first “n”—think of the verb, “govern.”

“Go-vern-ment.”

159 Irrevelant vs Irrelevant

Don’t Say: Ir-rev-e-lant

Say Instead: Ir-RELL-e-Vant

Don’t transpose the “l” and the “v.” Think of the “rel” in the words “relevant” and “related.” “Ir-rel-e-vant.”

160 Temperment vs Temperament

Don’t Say: Tem-per-ment

Say Instead: Tem-per-a-ment (say all four syllables)

There’s a little “a” you have to sneak in near before the

“ment.” “Tem-per-a-ment.”

161 Lightening vs Lightning

Don’t Say: Ligh-ten-ing

Say Instead: Light-ning (two syllables)

Say “lightning” when you’re referring to the thing that hap-pens during a storm “Lightening” (three syllables) means that something is becoming lighter

162 Mischevious vs Mischievous

Don’t Say: Mis-che-vi-ous

Say Instead: Mis-chie-vous (three syllables, mis-cha-vuss)

“Mischevious” is not a word Leave out the extra “ee” sound It’s always “mis-chie-vous.”

163 Grevious vs Grievous

Don’t Say: Gre-vi-ous

Say Instead: Grie-vous (two syllables, gree-vuss)

Like “mischievous,” “grievous” is a word people love to stick an extra “ee” sound into—but it’s always “grievous.”

164 Histry vs History

Don’t Say: His-try

Say Instead: His-tor-y (three syllables)

Only an Englishman gets to say “his-try.” You need “tor,”

in there when you’re in America, my friend “His-tor-y.”

165 Nucular vs Nuclear

Don’t Say: Nu-cu-lar

Say Instead: Nuc-le-ar (nu-CLEE-ar)

The word comes from “nucleus.” So you must begin

“nuclear” the same way, with “nu-clee,” never “nu-cue.” It’s

“nuc-lear.”

166 Perscription vs Prescription

Don’t Say: Per-scrip-tion

Say Instead: Pre-scrip-tion (pruh-scrip-shun)

Think of “pre” in its sense as “before.” You need the prescription before you can get better The same thing applies

to the verb—it’s never “per-scribe,” it’s always “pre-scribe.”

167 Prespiration vs Perspiration

Don’t Say: Pre-spi-ra-tion

Say Instead: PER-spi-ra-tion

Don’t substitute “pre” for “per” when you’re talking about perspiring “Per-spi-ra-tion.”

168 Disasterous vs Disastrous

Don’t Say: Di-sas-ter-ous

Say Instead: Di-sas-trous (di-zass-truss, three syllables, not four)

Don’t throw a “ter” in there, even though the word clearly comes from “disaster.” It’s “di-sas-trous.”

169 Accidently vs Accidentally

Don’t Say: Ac-ci-dent-ly

Say Instead: Ac-ci-den-tal-ly (five syllables)

In a flip-flop from the previous explanation, here we need

to keep the “tal” from “accidental” when we make the word

“ac-ci-den-tal-ly.”

170 Representive vs Representative

Don’t Say: Rep-re-sen-tive

Say Instead: Rep-re-sen-ta-tive (five syllables)

Don’t leave out the “ta.” It’s “rep-re-sen-ta-tive.”

171 Preform vs Perform

Don’t Say: Pre-form

Say Instead: Per-form

It’s “per,” not “pre,” to start off words about showing off your talents: per-form, per-for-mance, per-for-ming

172 Asterik vs Asterisk

Don’t Say: As-te-rik or as-te-riks

Say Instead: As-ter-isk (as-tuh-rik)

Boy, does this one give people trouble! The little star you use to tell a reader that there’s a note elsewhere on the page is

an as-te-risk (*), with the word “risk” tacked on to the end Not “as-ter-ix.” Not “as-ter-ick.” It’s “as-te-risk.”

173 Artic vs Arctic

Don’t Say: Ar-tic

Say Instead: Arc-tic

You need the “c” in there—”arc-tic.”

174 Anartica vs Antarctica

Don’t Say: An-ar-ti-ca

Say Instead: Ant-arc-ti-ca

The first syllable is “ant’ with a “t.” The second syllable is

“arc” with a “c.” “Ant-arc-ti-ca.”

175 Expresso vs Espresso

Don’t Say: Ex-pres-so

Say Instead: Es-pres-so (ess-PRESS-oh)

When you’re ordering coffee that will keep you up all night, the first syllable of the word isn’t “ex,” it’s “es.” “Es-pres-so.”