Common Errors E

E.G./I.E.

When you mean "for example," use e.g. It is an abbreviation for the
Latin phrase exempli gratia. When you mean "that is," use "i.e." It is
an abbreviation for the Latin phrase "id est." Either can be used to
clarify a preceding statement, the first by example, the second by
restating the idea more clearly or expanding upon it. Because these uses
are so similar, the two abbreviations are easily confused. If you just
stick with good old English "for example" and "that is" you won't give
anyone a chance to sneer at you. If you insist on using the
abbreviation, perhaps "example given" will remind you to use "e.g.,"
while "in effect" suggests "I.E."

Since e.g. indicates a partial list, it is redundant to add "etc." at
the end of a list introduced by this abbreviation.

EACH

"Each" as a subject is always singular: think of it as equivalent to
"every one." The verb whose subject it is must also be singular. Some
uses, like "to keep them from fighting, each dog has been given its own
bowl," cause no problem. No one is tempted to say "have been given." But
when a prepositional phrase with a plural object intervenes between
subject and verb, we are likely to be misled into saying things like
"Each of the children have to memorize their own locker combinations."
The subject is "each," not "children." The tendency to avoid specifying
gender by using "their" adds to pressure toward plurality; but the
correct version of this sentence is "Each of the children has to
memorize his or her own locker combination." One can avoid the entire
problem by pluralizing throughout: "All the children have to memorize
their own locker combinations" (but see the entry on singular "they").
In many uses, however, "each" is not the subject, as in "We each have
our own favorite flavor of ice cream" which is correct because "we" and
not "each" is the subject of the verb "have".

"Each other" cannot be a subject, so the question of verb number does
not arise; but the number of the possessive creates a problem for some
writers. "They gazed into each other's eyes" is correct and "each
others'" is incorrect because "each other" is singular. Reword to "each
gazed into the other's eyes" to see the logic behind this rule. "Each
other" is always two distinct words separated by a space although it
functions grammatically as a sort of compound word.

EARLY ADAPTER/EARLY ADOPTER

An "early adopter" is a person who quickly adopts something new
quickly--usually a technological innovation. If you just have to rush
out and buy the latest and coolest gadget, you're an early adopter. If
it meant anything, an "early adapter" would be someone who reworked
something first for his or her own purposes; but most of the time this
version of the phrase is just a mistake.

EARTH, MOON

Soil is lower-case "earth." And in most uses even the planet itself
remains humbly in lower-case letters: "peace on earth." But in
astronomical contexts, the Earth comes into its own with a proud initial
capital, and in science fiction it drops the introductory article and
becomes "Earth," just like Mars and Venus. A similar pattern applies to
Earth's satellite: "shine on, harvest moon," but "from the Earth to the
Moon." Because other planets also have moons, it never loses its
article.

EASEDROP/EAVESDROP

The area under the eaves right next to the front of a building used to
be called the "eavesdrop," and somebody listening in secretively from
such a position came to be called an "eavesdropper." Unfortunately, so
few people distinctly pronounce the V in "eavesdrop" that many are
misled into misspelling it "easedrop."

ECOLOGY/ENVIRONMENT

"Ecology" is the study of living things in relationship to their
environment. The word can also be used to describe the totality of such
relationships; but it should not be substituted for "environment" in
statements like "improperly discarded lead batteries harm the ecology."
it's not the relationships that are being harmed, but nature itself: the
batteries are harming the environment.

ECONOMIC/ECONOMICAL

Something is economical if it saves you money; but if you're talking
about the effect of some measure on the world's economy, it's an
economic effect.

ECSTATIC

Pronounced "eck-sta-tic," not "ess-ta-tic."

ECT./ETC.

"Etc." is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase et cetera, meaning "and
the rest." ("Et" means "and" in French too.) Just say "et cetera" out
loud to yourself to remind yourself of the correct order of the "T" and
"C." Also to be avoided is the common mispronunciation "excetera." "And
etc." is a redundancy.

NEEDS -ED/-ING

In some dialects it is common to say "my shoes need shined" instead of
the standard "my shoes need shining" or "my shoes need to be shined."

-ED/-T

You have learnt your lessons only in UK-influenced countries, you've
learned them in the US There are several common verbs which often have
"T" endings in Britain which seem a little quaint and poetic in American
English, where we prefer "-ED." Other examples: "dreamt/dreamed,"
"dwelt/dwelled," "leant/leaned," "leapt/leaped," and "spelt/spelled."
However, the following alternatives are both common in the US:
"burned/burnt" and "kneeled/knelt."

EFFORTING/TRYING

Among the new verbs created out of nouns, "efforting" is one of the most
bizarre and unnecessary, and has been met with a chorus of objections.
You are not "efforting" to get your report in on time; you are trying to
do so. Instead of saying "we are efforting a new vendor," say "we are
trying to find a new vendor."

EI/IE

The familiar rule is that English words are spelled with the "I" before
the "E" unless they follow a "C," as in "receive." But it is important
to add that words in which the vowel sound is an "A" like "neighbor" and
"weigh" are also spelled with the "E" first. And there are a few
exceptions like "counterfeit," "seize, and "weird."

See also "neice/niece."

EITHER/OR, NEITHER/NOR

When making comparisons, "either" goes with "or" and "neither" with
"nor": "I want to buy either a new desktop computer or a laptop, but I
have neither the cash nor the credit I need."

"Either" often gets misplaced in a sentence: "He either wanted to build
a gambling casino or a convent" should be "He wanted to build either a
gambling casino or a convent." In this example, both things are wanted,
so "either" comes after the verb.

But if the action is different in regard to the things compared, the
"either" has to come before the verb: "He wanted either to build a
casino or remodel a convent." Here two different actions are being
compared, so the "either" has to precede both actions.

EITHER ARE/EITHER IS

As a subject, "either" is singular. It's the opposite of "both," and
refers to one at a time: "Either ketchup or mustard is good on a hot
dog." But if "either" is modifying a subject in an "either . . . or"
phrase, then the number of the verb is determined by the number of the
second noun: "Either the puppy or the twins seem to need my attention
every other minute."

ELAPSE/LAPSE

Both these words come from a Latin root meaning "to slip." "Elapse"
almost always refers to the passage of time. "Lapse" usually refers to a
change of state, as in lapsing from consciousness into unconsciousness.
Here are examples of the correct uses of these words you might get in
the mail: "Six months have elapsed since your last dental appointment"
and "You have allowed your subscription to Bride Magazine to lapse."
Occasionally "lapse" can be used as a synonym of "elapse" in the sense
"to slip away." Substituting one for the other is dangerous, however, if
you are a lawyer. Insurance policies and collective bargaining
agreements do not elapse when they expire, they lapse.

ELECTROCUTE/SHOCK

To electrocute is to kill using electricity. If you live to tell the
tale, you've been shocked, but not electrocuted. For the same reason,
the phrase "electrocuted to death" is a redundancy.

ELICIT/ILLICIT

The lawyer tries to elicit a description of the attacker from the
witness. "Elicit" is always a verb. "Illicit," in contrast, is always an
adjective describing something illegal or naughty.

ELLIPSES

Those dots that come in the middle of a quotation to indicate something
omitted are called an "ellipsis" (plural "ellipses"): "Tex told Sam to
get the . . . cow out of the bunk house." Here Tex's language has been
censored, but you are more likely to have a use for ellipses when
quoting some source in a paper: "Ishmael remarks at the beginning of
"Moby Dick," 'some years ago . . . I thought I would sail about a
little' --a very understated way to begin a novel of high adventure."
The three dots stand for a considerable stretch of prose that has been
omitted. If the ellipsis ends your sentence, some editorial styles
require four dots, the first of which is a period: From the same
paragraph in Moby Dick: "almost all men . . . cherish very nearly the
same feelings. . . ." Note that the period in the second ellipsis has to
be snug up against the last word quoted, with spaces between the other
dots.

Some modern styles do not call for ellipses at the beginning and ending
of quoted matter unless not doing so would be genuinely misleading, so
check with your teacher or editor if you're uncertain whether to use one
in those positions. It is never correct to surround a quoted single word
or short phrase with ellipses: "Romeo tells Juliet that by kissing her
again his 'sin is purged'" (note, by the way, that I began the quotation
after the first word in the phrase "my sin is purged" in order to make
it work grammatically in the context of the sentence).

When text is typeset, the spaces are often but not always omitted
between the dots in an ellipsis. Since modern computer printer output
looks much more like typeset writing than old-fashioned typewriting, you
may be tempted to omit the spaces; but it is better to include them and
let the publisher decide whether they should be eliminated.

An ellipsis that works perfectly well on your computer may "break" when
your text is transferred to another if it comes at the end of a line,
with one or more of the dots wrapping around to the next line. To avoid
this, learn how to type "non-breaking spaces" between the dots of
ellipses: in Word for Windows it's Control-Shift-Spacebar; on a Mac,
it's Option-Spacebar. When writing HTML code to create a Web page, make
a nonbreaking space with this code:

EMAIL/E-MAIL

Although the spelling "email" is extremely popular, many people prefer
"e-mail," which follows the same pattern as "e-commerce." The "E" stands
for "electronic."

EMBARESS/EMBARRASS

You can pronounce the last two syllables as two distinct words as a jog
to memory, except that then the word may be misspelled "embareass,"
which isn't right either. You also have to remember the double R:
"embarrass."

EMERGENT/EMERGENCY

The error of considering "emergent" to be the adjectival form of
"emergency" is common only in medical writing, but it is becoming
widespread. "Emergent" properly means "emerging" and normally refers to
events that are just beginning--barely noticeable rather than
catastrophic. "Emergency" is an adjective as well as a noun, so rather
than writing "emergent care," use the homely "emergency care."

EMIGRATE/IMMIGRATE

To "emigrate" is to leave a country. The E at the beginning of the word
is related to the E in other words having to do with going out, such as
"exit." "Immigrate," in contrast, looks as if it might have something to
do with going in, and indeed it does: it means to move into a new
country. The same distinction applies to "emigration" and "immigration."
Note the double M in the second form. A migrant is someone who
continually moves about.

EMINENT/IMMINENT/IMMANENT

By far the most common of these words is "eminent," meaning "prominent,
famous." "Imminent," in phrases like "facing imminent disaster," means
"threatening." It comes from Latin minere, meaning "to project or
overhang." Think of a mine threatening to cave in. Positive events can
also be imminent: they just need to be coming soon. The rarest of the
three is "immanent," used by philosophers to mean "inherent" and by
theologians to mean "present throughout the universe" when referring to
God. It comes from Latin "manere," "remain." Think of God creating "man"
in his own image.

When a government exercises its power over private property it is
drawing on its eminent status in society, so the proper legal phrase is
"eminent domain."

EMPATHY/SYMPATHY

If you think you feel just like another person, you are feeling empathy.
If you just feel sorry for another person, you're feeling sympathy.

Sometimes people say they "emphasize" with someone when they mean they
"empathize" with him or her.


EMPHASIZE ON/EMPHASIZE

You can place emphasis on something, or you can emphasize it, but you
can't emphasize on it or stress on it, though you can place stress on
it.

EMULATE/IMITATE

People generally know what "imitate" means, but they sometimes don't
understand that "emulate" is a more specialized word with a purely
positive function, meaning to try to equal or match. Thus if you try to
climb the same mountain your big brother did, you're emulating him; but
if you copy his habit of sticking peas up his nose, you're just
imitating him.

ENAMORED BY/ENAMORED OF

If you're crazy about ferrets, you're enamored of them. It is less
common but still acceptable to say "enamored with"; but if you say you
are enamored by ferrets, you're saying that ferrets are crazy about you.

ENDEMIC/EPIDEMIC

"Endemic" is in danger of losing its core meaning through confusion with
"epidemic." An endemic condition is one characteristic of a particular
region, population, or environment: "sore thumbs are endemic among teen
text-messagers." A condition need not affect a majority or even a very
large number of people in a population to be endemic. In biology, an
endemic disease is one that is maintained locally without the need for
outside influence: "Cholera is endemic in Kolkata." It keeps recurring
there, but still only a small minority of the population gets cholera.

An epidemic condition is widespread, rampant: " Overindulgence in fatty
foods is epidemic throughout the world." The dominance of the noun
"epidemic" ("the threat of a flu epidemic") may make people reluctant to
use it as an adjective ("flu may become epidemic") but both uses are
legitimate. It's best to stick with "epidemic" unless you have a
specific need for the technical term "endemic."

ENGINE/MOTOR

People who work on them distinguish between the electrically powered
unit called the "motor" and the engine which it starts; but even
in auto-parts stores the stuff which by that logic should be called
"engine oil" is marketed as "motor oil." Similarly, the English go
motoring on motorways. In everyday American discourse, the terms are
often interchangeable (you can buy a powerful engine for your
motorboat), but you'll embarrass yourself if you don't make the
distinction when talking to your mechanic.

ENJOY TO/ENJOY -ING

The expression "enjoy to" (or "enjoyed to") is nonstandard, influenced
by "like to." You don't enjoy to jog; you either enjoy jogging or like
to jog.

ENORMITY/ENORMOUSNESS

Originally these two words were synonymous, but "enormity" got whittled
down to meaning something monstrous or outrageous. Don't wonder at the
"enormity" of the Palace of Versailles unless you wish to express horror
at this embodiment of Louis XIV's ego. "Enormity" can also be used as a
noun meaning "monstrosity."

END RESULT/END

Usually a redundancy. Most of the time plain "result" will do fine.

ENQUIRE/INQUIRE

These are alternative spellings of the same word. "Enquire" is perhaps
slightly more common in the UK, but either is acceptable in the US

IN ROUTE/EN ROUTE

"En route" is a French phrase meaning "on the way," as in "En route to
the gallows, Lucky was struck by lightning." Don't anglicize this
expression as "in route."

ENSUITE

Americans who have wandered chilly London hallways in the middle of the
night in search of a toilet will appreciate learning the peculiar
British meaning of the word "ensuite."

In French, a set of two rooms or more forming a single accommodation can
be advertised as rooms "en suite" (forming a suite). But the single word
French word "ensuite" means something entirely different: "then, later."
Around the middle of the 20th century English landlords and hoteliers
began to anglicize the phrase, placing it before the noun, so that
traditional "rooms en suite" became "en suite rooms," Ads read "bath
ensuite" or "toilet ensuite" as if the phrase meant "in the suite." The
phrase "en suite" came to be used solely to designate bathrooms attached
to a bedroom.

Following standard English patterns, they hyphenated the phrase as
"en-suite bath" and often made the phrase into a single word: "ensuite
bath." These have become standard British usage; but hoteliers often go
a step further by writing "all rooms ensuite" (Americans would write
"all rooms with bath").

It is clearly nonstandard to use "ensuite" as if it were a noun
synonymous with "toilet" or "bathroom": "I went to the ensuite to take a
shower." You may puke on your suit, but not into "the ensuite."

ENTHUSE

"Enthuse" is a handy word and "state enthusiastically" is not nearly so
striking; but unfortunately "enthuse" is not acceptable in the most
formal contexts.

ENTOMOLOGY/ETYMOLOGY

Entomology is the study of insects, like ants ("ant" looks like "ent-")
but etymology is the study of the history of words (from Greek,
originally meaning "the true meaning of words").

ENVELOP/ENVELOPE

To wrap something up in a covering is to envelop it (pronounced
"enVELLup"). The specific wrapping you put around a letter is an
envelope (pronounced variously, but with the accent on the first
syllable).

ENVIOUS/JEALOUS

Although these are often treated as synonyms, there is a difference. You
are envious of what others have that you lack. Jealousy, on the other
hand, involves wanting to hold on to what you do have. You can be
jealous of your boyfriend's attraction to other women, but you're
envious of your boyfriend's CD collection.

ENVIROMENT/ENVIRONMENT

The second N in "environment" is seldom pronounced distinctly, so it's
not surprising that is often omitted in writing. If you know the related
word "environs" it may help remind you.

EPIC/EPOCH

An "epoch" is a long period of time, like the Pleistocene Epoch. It
often gets mixed up with "epic" in the sense of "large-scale." Something
really big has "epic proportions," not "epoch proportions."

EPICENTER

The precise location where the earth slips beneath the surface in an
earthquake is its hypocenter (or focus) and the spot up on the surface
where people feel the quake is its epicenter. Geologists get upset when
people use the latter word, designating a point rather removed from the
main action, as if it were a synonym of "epitome" and meant something
like "most important center." The British spell it "epicentre."

EPIGRAM/EPIGRAPH/EPITAPH/EPITHET

An epigram is a pithy saying, usually humorous. Mark Twain was
responsible for many striking, mostly cynical epigrams, such as "Always
do right. That will gratify some of the people, and astonish the rest."
Unfortunately, he was also responsible for an even more famous one that
has been confusing people ever since: "Everyone is a moon, and has a
dark side which he never shows to anybody." it's true that the moon
keeps one side away from the earth, but--if you don't count the faint
glow reflected from the earth--it is not any darker than the side that
faces us. In fact, over time, the side facing us is darkened slightly
more often because it is occasionally eclipsed by the shadow of the
earth.

An epigraph is a brief quotation used to introduce a piece of writing or
the inscription on a statue or building.

An epitaph is the inscription on a tombstone or some other tribute to a
dead person.

In literature, an epithet is a term that replaces or is added to the
name of a person, like "clear-eyed Athena," in which "clear-eyed" is the
epithet. You are more likely to encounter the term in its negative
sense, as a term of insult or abuse: "the shoplifter hurled epithets at
the guard who had arrested her."

EPITOMY/EPITOME

Nothing makes you look quite so foolish as spelling a sophisticated word
incorrectly. Taken directly from Greek, where it means "abridgement,"
"epitome" is now most often used to designate an extremely
representative example of the general class: "Snow White is the epitome
of a Disney cartoon feature." Those who don't misspell this word often
mispronounce it, misled by its spelling, as "EP-i-tohm," but the proper
pronunciation is "ee-PIT-o-mee." The word means "essence," not "climax,"
so instead of writing "the market had reached the epitome of frenzied
selling at noon," use "peak" or a similar word.

EPONYMOUS/SELF-TITLED

It has become popular among certain critics to call recordings named
after their performing artists "eponymous." Thus the album by the
Beatles titled "The Beatles" would be an eponymous album. (Don't
remember it? It's the one most people call "The White Album;" the title
was embossed on the cover rather than printed on it.) This pretentious
term is not only so obscure as to be almost useless, these writers are
not using it in its original sense; it was the person who was eponymous,
not the thing named after the person. I prefer the usage of critics who
call such recordings "self-titled." It's an awkward phrase, but at least
it's easy for the reader to figure out what is meant.

ERROR/ERR

When you commit an error you err. The expression is "to err is human."

-ES

Latin-derived terms whose singular form ends in "-is" and whose plurals
are made by changing the "-is" to "-es" such as "thesis" (plural:
"theses") have their final syllables pronounced "eez." This pattern
causes some people to do the same in other words without a Latin
singular "-is" form, like "processes" whose last syllable should sound
like "says."

ET AL.

"Et al.' is a scholarly abbreviation of the Latin phrase "et alia,"
which means "and others." It is commonly used when you don't want to
name all the people or things in a list, and works in roughly the same
way as "etc." "The reorganization plan was designed by Alfred E. Newman,
General Halftrack, Zippy the Pinhead, et al.; and it was pretty
useless." The "al." in this phrase needs a period after it to indicate
it is an abbreviation of "alia"; but it is incorrect to put a period
after "et."

ETHICS/MORALS/MORALE

Strictly speaking, ethics are beliefs: if you have poor ethics, you have
lax standards; but your morals are your behavior: if you have poor
morals, you behave badly. You can have high standards but still fail to
follow them: strong ethics and weak morals. "Morale" formerly had both
these meanings and you will find them attached to the word in some
dictionaries, but you would be wise to avoid it in either of these
senses in modern writing. By far the most common current use of "morale"
is to label your state of mind, particularly how contented you are with
life. A person with low morals is bad; but a person with low morale may
be merely depressed.

ETHNIC

it's misleading to refer to minority groups as "ethnics" since everyone
has ethnicity, even a dominant majority.

EVERY

"Every," "everybody" and "everyone" and related expressions are normally
treated as singular in American English: "Every woman I ask out tells me
she already has plans for Saturday night." However, constructions like
"everyone brought their own lunch" are widely accepted now because of a
desire to avoid specifying "his" or "her." See "they/their (singular)."

EVERYONE/EVERY ONE

"Everyone" means "everybody" and is used when you want to refer to all
the people in a group: "Everyone in my family likes spaghetti
carbonara."

But if you're referring to the individuals who make up a group, then the
phrase is "every one." Examples: "God bless us, every one" (may each
individual in the group be blessed). "We wish each and every one of you
a Merry Christmas" (every single one of you). In the phrase "each and
every one" you should never substitute "everyone").

For "everyone" as singular or plural, see "every."


EVER SO OFTEN/EVERY SO OFTEN

In UK English people sometimes speak of something that happens
frequently as happening "ever so often."

But when something happens only occasionally, it happens "every" so
often.

EVERY SINCE/EVER SINCE

The expression is not "every since" but "ever since."

EVERYDAY

"Everyday" is a perfectly good adjective, as in "I'm most comfortable in
my everyday clothes." The problem comes when people turn the adverbial
phrase "every day" into a single word. It is incorrect to write "I take
a shower everyday." It should be "I take a shower every day."

EVERYTIME/EVERY TIME

"Every time" is always two separate words.

EVIDENCE TO/EVIDENCE OF

You can provide evidence to a court, even enough evidence to convict
someone; but the standard expression "is evidence of" requires "of"
rather than "to" in sentences like this: "Driving through the front
entrance of the Burger King is evidence of Todd's inexperience in
driving." You can also omit the pronoun altogether by using "evidences"
or "evidenced": "his driving evidences (or evidenced) his inexperience."

EVOKE/INVOKE


"Evoke" and "invoke" are close together in meaning, and are often
confused with each other.

The action of "invoking" is usually more direct and active. It
originally involved calling upon or summoning up a god or spirit. An
invocation calls upon whatever is invoked to do something or serve a
function. "Invoke" now can also be used to mean "to appeal to, to cite":
"in his closing argument, the lawyer invoked the principle of
self-defense."

"Evoke" is usually less purposefully active, more indirect, often used
to mean "suggest." If you invoke the spirit of Picasso, you're trying to
summon his soul up from the grave; but if your paintings evoke the
spirit of Picasso, it means their style reminds viewers of that artist's
work.

EXACT SAME/EXACTLY THE SAME

In casual speech we often say things like, "The fruitcake he gave me was
the exact same one I'd given him last Christmas," but in formal English
the phrase is "exactly the same."

EXALT/EXULT

When you celebrate joyfully, you exult. When you raise something high
(even if only in your opinion), you exalt it. Neither word has an "H" in
it.

EXCAPE/ESCAPE

The proper spelling is "escape." Say it that way too.

EXASPERATE/EXACERBATE

People get exasperated (irritated); situations get exacerbated (made
worse).

PAR EXCELLANCE/PAR EXCELLENCE

Photoshop is the picture-editing software par excellence. We often
italicize this phrase--meaning roughly "finest or most characteristic of
its type," "exemplary"--to indicate it is French. The French pronounce
the final syllable "-ahnss" (with a nasalized N which is hard for
English-speakers to master), but that is no justification for
misspelling the word as "excellance." Although they pronounce it
differently, they spell "excellence" the same way we do.

EXCRABLE/EXECRABLE

When you execrate (detest) something, you find it execrable. The second
syllable is not often clearly pronounced, but that's no excuse for
leaving it out when you spell the word.

EXCEPTIONAL/EXCEPTIONABLE

If you take exception (object) to something, you find it
"exceptionable." The more common word is "exceptional," applied to
things that are out of the ordinary, usually in a positive way: "these
are exceptional Buffalo wings."

EXORCISE/EXERCISE

You can try to exorcise evil spirits using an exorcist; but when you
give your body a workout, it's exercise.

EXHILERATION/EXHILARATION

"Exhilaration" is closely related to "hilarious," whose strongly
accented A should help remind you of the correct spelling.

EXPATRIOT/EXPATRIATE

An expatriot would be somebody who used to be a patriot; but that's not
how people use the term. Instead, it is a common misspelling of
"expatriate," meaning someone who chooses to live abroad.

EXPONENTIAL

Something grows exponentially when it repeatedly grows by multiples of
some factor in a rapidly accelerating fashion. Don't use the word
loosely to refer to ordinary rapid, but steady, growth.

See also "orders of magnitude."

EXPRESSED/EXPRESS

One of the meanings of "express" is "explicit": "Izaak claimed that his
old boss had given him express permission to shop on eBay for fishing
rods during work hours." Some people feel the word should be
"expressed," and that form is not likely to get anyone into trouble; but
if you use it you should not presume to correct others who stick with
the traditional form: "express permission" (or orders, or mandate, or
whatever).

EXPRESSES THAT/SAYS THAT

"In her letter Jane expresses that she is getting irritated with me for
not writing" should be corrected to "In her letter Jane says that. . . "
You can express an idea or a thought, but you can't ever express that.
In technical terms, "express" is a transitive verb and requires an
object.

EXPRESSO/ESPRESSO

I've read several explanations of the origin of this word: the coffee is
made expressly for you upon your order, or the steam is expressed
through the grounds, or (as most people suppose--and certainly wrongly)
the coffee is made at express speed. One thing is certain: the word is
"espresso," not "expresso."

While you're at an American espresso stand, you might muse on the fact
that both "biscotti" and "panini" are plural forms, but you're likely to
baffle the barista if you ask in correct Italian for a biscotto or a
panino.

EXTEND/EXTENT

People often write "to a great extend" or "to a lesser extend." "Extend"
is a verb only, and should not be used as a noun. It's "to a great
extent," and "to a lesser extent."

EXTRACT REVENGE/EXACT REVENGE

The use of a rare sense of "exact" confuses people, but the traditional
phrase is "exact revenge", not the seemingly more logical "extract
revenge" or "enact revenge."