Common Errors N

N'/'N'

In your restaurant's ad for "Big 'n' Juicy Burgers," remember that the
apostrophes substitute for both omitted letters in "and"--the A and the
D--so strictly speaking it's not enough to use just one, as in "Big n'
Juicy."

By so doing, you'll improve on the usage of McDonald's, which has
actually created the registered trademark "Big N' Tasty."

DEATH KNELL, NAIL IN THE COFFIN

"Death nail" is a result of confusing two expressions with similar
meanings.

The first is "death knell." When a large bell (like a church bell)
rings--or tolls--it knells. When a bell is rung slowly to mark the death
of someone, it is said to sound the death knell. But "death knell" is
more often used figuratively, as in "his arrest for embezzlement sounded
the death knell for Rob's campaign to be state treasurer."

Another way to describe the final blow that finishes someone or
something off is "put the last nail in the coffin," as in "a huge budget
cut put the last nail in the coffin of the city's plan to erect a statue
of the mayor's dog." Something not yet fatal but seriously damaging can
be said to "drive another nail" in its coffin.

NAME, PRONOUN

In old English ballads, it is common to follow the name of someone with
a pronoun referring to the same person. For instance: "Sweet William, he
died the morrow." The extra syllable "he" helps fill out the rhythm of
the line.

Though this pattern is rare in written prose it is fairly common in
speech. If you say things like "Nancy, she writes for the local paper";
people are less likely to think your speech poetic than they are to
think you've made a verbal stumble. Leave out the "she."

The same pattern applies to common nouns followed by pronouns as in "the
cops, they've set up a speed trap" (should be "the cops have set up a
speed trap").


NAUSEATED/NAUSEOUS

Many people say, when sick to their stomachs, that they feel "nauseous"
(pronounced "NOSH-uss" or "NOZH-uss") but traditionalists insist that
this word should be used to describe something that makes you want to
throw up: something nauseating. They hear you as saying that you make
people want to vomit, and it tempers their sympathy for your plight.
Better to say you are "nauseated," or simply that you feel like throwing
up.

NAVAL/NAVEL

Your belly button is your navel, and navel oranges look like they have
one; all terms having to do with ships and sailing require "naval."

NEAR/NEARLY

Some dialects substitute "near" for standard "nearly" in statements like
"There weren't nearly enough screws in the kit to finish assembling the
cabinet."

NECK IN NECK/NECK AND NECK

When a race is very tight, it's described not as "neck in neck" but
"neck and neck."

NEICE/NIECE

Many people have trouble believing that words with the "ee" sound in
them should be spelled with an "IE." The problem is that in English (and
only in English), the letter I sounds like "aye" rather than "ee," as it
does in the several European languages from which we have borrowed a
host of words. If you had studied French in high school you would have
learned that this word is pronounced "knee-YES" in that language, and it
would be easier to remember. Americans in particular misspell a host of
German-Jewish names because they have trouble remembering that in that
language IE is pronounced "ee" and EI is pronounced "aye." The
possessors of such names are inconsistent about this matter in English.
"Wein" changes from "vine" to "ween," but "Klein" remains "kline."

NEVADA

"Nuh-VAH-duh" is a little closer to the original Spanish pronunciation
than the way Nevadans pronounce the name of their home state, but the
correct middle syllable is the same "A" sound as in "sad." When East
Coast broadcasters use the first pronunciation, they mark themselves as
outsiders.

NEVER THE LESS, NOT WITHSTANDING\NEVERTHELESS, NOTWITHSTANDING

For six centuries we have been spelling "nevertheless" and
"notwithstanding" as single words, and today it is definitely not
standard to break them up into hyphenated or non-hyphenated multiword
phrases.

NEVERMIND/NEVER MIND

The standard spelling of this phrase is as two words: "never mind." The popularity of the alternative one-word form "nevermind" was certainly enhanced by its use in 1991 as the title of a bestselling Nirvana album. "Nevermind" can look immature or slangy to some readers. You can still be cool by imitating the vocabulary choice in the title of another famous album: "Never Mind the Bollocks: Here's the Sex Pistols."

In expressions like "pay him no nevermind" where the word means "attention" it's always one word, but those expressions are both slangy and old-fashioned.

NEW LEASE OF LIFE/NEW LEASE ON LIFE

Reinvigorated people are traditionally said to have been granted not a
"new lease of life" but a "new lease on life." After all, you take out a
lease on a house, right? Same thing.

NEXT/THIS

If I tell you that the company picnic is next Saturday it would be wise
to ask whether I mean this coming Saturday or the Saturday after that.
People differ in how they use "next" in this sort of context, and
there's no standard pattern; so it's worth making an extra effort to be
clear.

In the UK the distinction is made clear by saying "Saturday next" or
"Saturday week."

NEXT STORE/NEXT DOOR

You can adore the boy next door, but not "next store."

NIEVE/NAIVE

People who spell this French-derived word "nieve" make themselves look
naive. In French there is also a masculine form: "naif"; and both words
can be nouns meaning "naive person" as well as adjectives. "Nieve" is
actually the Spanish word for "snow." "Naivete" is the French spelling
of the related noun in English.

If you prefer more nativized spelling, "naivety" is also acceptable.

NIGGARD

"Niggard" is a very old word in English meaning "miser" or "stingy
person." Americans often mistakenly assume it is a variant on the most
common insulting term for dark-skinned people. You may embarrass
yourself by attacking a writer for racism when you see it in print; but
since so many people are confused about this it might be better to use
"miser" and "stingy" instead of "niggard" and "niggardly."

NINTY/NINETY

"Nine" keeps its E when it changes to "ninety."

NIP IT IN THE BUTT/NIP IT IN THE BUD

To nip a process in the bud is to stop it from flowering completely. The
hilariously mistaken "nip it in the butt" suggests stimulation to action
rather than stopping it.


NO SUCH A THING/NO SUCH THING

Some say "there's no such thing as bad publicity"; but in phrases like
this it's much less common to insert an "a" after "such" so that the
phrase becomes "no such a thing."

This variation followed by a phrase beginning with "as" will probably
not be noticed in most contexts, but it tends to sound more obviously
nonstandard when the phrase stands by itself as a simple negation: "Eric
told me the grocery store was handing out free steaks. No such a thing."
It sounds better to most people to say instead "no such thing."

NOBLE PRIZE/NOBEL PRIZE

Nobel laureates may indeed be intellectual nobility, but the award they
get is not the "Noble Prize" but the "Nobel Prize," named after founder
Alfred Nobel.

NONE

There's a lot of disagreement about this one. "None" can be either
singular or plural, depending on the meaning you intend and its context
in the sentence. "None of the pie is left" is clearly singular. But
"None of the chocolates is left" is widely accepted, as is "None of the
chocolates are left." If it's not obvious to you which it should be,
don't worry; few of your readers will be certain either.


NONPLUSSED

"Nonplussed" means to be stuck, often in a puzzling or embarrassing way,
unable to go further ("non"="no" + "plus"="further"). It does not mean,
as many people seem to think, "calm, in control."

NOONE/NO ONE

Shall we meet at Ye Olde Sandwyche Shoppe at Noone? "No one" is always
two separate words, unlike "anyone" and "someone."

NO SOONER WHEN/NO SOONER THAN

The phrase, "No sooner had Paula stopped petting the cat when it began
to yowl" should be instead, "No sooner had Paula stopped petting the cat
than it began to yowl."

NOT

You need to put "not" in the right spot in a sentence to make it say
what you intend. "Not all fraternity members are drunks" means some are,
but "All fraternity members are not drunks" means none of them is.

NOT ALL

The combination of "not" and "all" can be confusing if you're not
careful about placement. "All politicians are not corrupt" could
theoretically mean that no politician is corrupt; but what you probably
mean to say is "Not all politicians are corrupt" When "not all is a
minority, it's sometimes better to replace "not all" with "some." "The
widescreen version is not available in all video stores" can be made
clearer by saying "The widescreen version is not available in some
stores."

NOT ALL THAT/NOT VERY

The slangy phrase "not all that" as in "the dessert was not all that
tasty" doesn't belong in formal writing. "Not very" would work, but
something more specific would be even better: "the pudding tasted like
library paste."

NOT HARDLY/NOT AT ALL

"Not hardly" is slang, fine when you want to be casual--but in a formal
document? Not hardly!

NOTATE/NOTE

To notate a text is to write annotations about it. This technical term
should not be used as a synonym for the simple verb "note." It is both
pretentious and incorrect to write "notate the time you arrived in your
log."

NOTORIOUS

"Notorious" means famous in a bad way, as in "Nero was notorious for
giving long recitals of his tedious poetry." Occasionally writers
deliberately use it in a positive sense to suggest irony or wit, but
this is a very feeble and tired device. Nothing admirable should be
called "notorious."

The same goes for "notoriety," which also indicates a bad reputation.

NOW AND DAYS/NOWADAYS

Although it used to be hyphenated on occasion as "now-a-days," this
expression is nowadays usually rendered as a single unhyphenated word.
Some folks mistakenly think the expression is "now and days," which
makes no sense.

NUCLEAR

This isn't a writing problem, but a pronunciation error. President
Eisenhower used to consistently insert a "U" sound between the first and
second syllables, leading many journalists to imitate him and say
"nuk-yuh-lar" instead of the correct "nuk-lee-ar." The confusion extends
also to "nucleus." Many people can't even hear the mistake when they
make it, and only scientists and a few others will catch the
mispronunciation; but you lose credibility if you are an anti-nuclear
protester who doesn't know how to pronounce "nuclear." Here's one way to
remember: we need a new, clear understanding of the issues; let's stop
saying "Nuke you!"

NUMBER OF VERB

In long, complicated sentences, people often lose track of whether the
subject is singular or plural and use the wrong sort of verb. "The
ultimate effect of all of these phone calls to the detectives were to
make them suspicious of the callers" is an error because "effect," which
is singular, is the subject. If you are uncertain about whether to go
with singular or plural condense the sentence down to its skeleton: "The
effect . . . was to make them suspicious."

Another situation that creates confusion is the use of interjections
like "along with," "as well as," and "together with," where they are
often treated improperly as if they meant simply "and." "Aunt Hilda, as
well as her pet dachshund, is coming to the party" (not "are coming").

A compound subject requires a plural verb even if the words which make
it up are themselves singular in form: "widespread mold and mildew
damage [not damages] the resale value of your house."

NUMBERS

If your writing contains numbers, the general rule is to spell out in
letters all the numbers from zero to nine and use numerals for larger
numbers; but there are exceptions. If what you're writing is full of
numbers and you're doing math with them, stick with numerals.
Approximations like "about thirty days ago" and catch-phrases like "his
first thousand days" are spelled out. Large round numbers are often
rendered thus: "50 billion sold." With measurements, use numerals: "4
inches long." Never start a sentence with a numeral. Either spell out
the number involved or rearrange the sentence to move the number to a
later position.

See also "50's."

NUPTUAL/NUPTIAL

"Nuptial" is usually a pretentious substitute for "wedding," but if
you're going to use it, be sure to spell it properly. For the noun, the
plural form "nuptials" is more traditional.