Purpose: Use this job aid to review the meanings of frequently misused verbs and other words.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| appraise | To assess, or to put a value on something | The company appraised the market share of its competitors. |
| apprise | To tell, or to make someone aware | Please apprise me of any new developments. |
| lay | To put or set down | Lay the books on my desk. |
| lie | To rest, recline, or stay in a horizontal position | Lie here for a while. |
| imply | To suggest or hint | He implied it would be better to leave. |
| infer | To draw a conclusion from facts or premises | I inferred from the report that the project is behind schedule. |
| deduct | To remove, reduce, or subtract | If that's no longer required, I'll deduct it from the budget. |
| deduce | To reason from general principles to specific conclusions | After comparing the specifications, I can deduce that this one is the better product. |
| aggravate | To worsen or intensify | Several labor strikes have aggravated the company's poor performance. |
| irritate | To annoy or bother | His behavior irritates me. |
| precede | To come or go before in time | Careful planning should precede implementation. |
| proceed | Continue doing or move along | We'll proceed with implementation when the planning is complete. |
| can | A physical or mental ability | The technician can work on the problem tomorrow. |
| may | Suggests permission or possibility | He may be finished this afternoon. |
| assure | An assurance in order to remove doubt | I assure you this problem won't happen again. |
| ensure | To make certain or guarantee | To ensure the project was completed on time, team members worked overtime. |
| insure | To protect against loss | We insure our delivery vehicles against accidents. |
In addition to the commonly misused verbs, several words and phrases are frequently misused.
| Frequently misused word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hopefully | In a hopeful manner | I watched the news report hopefully. |
| due to | Interchangeable with caused by or attributable to | The improvement is due to our new quality control process. |
| because of | As a result of | Costs are higher because of increased demand. |
| in lieu of | In place of, instead of | I'll accept a compromise in lieu of leaving the negotiation. |
| irregardless | Irregardless is not a word – use regardless, which means without consideration or without reference to | The project will go ahead regardless of the tight schedule. |
| literally | Exactly as described | The contract doesn't mean literally what it says. |
| unique | One of a kind | This is a unique opportunity. |
| all together | All assembled in one place | The employees are all together in the conference room. |
Course: Business Grammar: Common Usage Errors
Topic: Commonly Misused Verbs and Other Words
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