Some frequent corrections
- Details
- Published on 15 May 2007
These are several other words and phrases that we need to deal with regularly,
because they are either vague, informal (I), or simply not correct (x).
More examples of redundant or wordy formulations (R) are also listed
with a possible correction.
| The phrase to question | Error? | The correction or suggested changes |
| Those related to the use of a pronoun (multi-word verbs and expressions) | ||
| To depend of/dependent of | x | To depend on/dependent on |
| Independent on | x | Independent of |
| Evidenced by | x | Shown by |
| Evidence for | Evidence of (the main choice of preposition) | |
| Comparable with | x | Comparable to |
| Useful to determine A tool to determine |
Useful for determining A tool for determining |
|
| Typical for | x | Typical of |
| Impossibility to do X | Impossibility of doing, but It is impossible to do | |
| To allow/enable/permit to do | x | Transitive verbs require a
direct object, so: To allow/enable someone to do something |
| Suited for | x | Suited to (for most contexts) |
| Originate from | R | Originate in |
| Penetrates in/into X | x, R | Penetrates X |
| Dominates over X | x | Dominates X |
| We detail X | I | We explain in detail, We describe, etc. |
| We describe in detail X ... in details ... |
x x |
We describe X in detail ... in detail ... |
| Take into account something | Take something into account (a separable multi-word phrase meaning "to consider") | |
| Of order | x | Either (i) "on the order of" (US) or "of the order of" (UK) to mean "approximately" or else (ii) within an order of magnitude |
| In case of | In the case of (meaning, in this example here, not "In case" which means "if") | |
| In a timescale / Of a timescale | x | On a timescale of ... |
| Variation of/in To vary by |
OF indicates the amount of variation while IN indicates what is varying, not by how much: "a variation in amplitude of 5%"; the verb use: "The amplitude varies by 5%" | |
| Associated to | Associated with | |
| Adjacent with | x | Adjacent to |
| Increase of/in | As above, "of" is how much (increase of 15% = increased by 15%), "in" is the preposition for what increases, not by how much. | |
| To result from | I | To stem from, come from,
is the result of; To result in |
| To benefit of | x | To benefit from (benefit
as a verb) To get the benefit of (noun use) |
| To emphasize on X | To emphasize X/emphasise X
(a transitive verb) To put emphasis on X (noun use) |
|
| The search of X | x | Search for X (but "in search of X") |
| A clue on X | x | A clue to X |
| A hint to X | A hint of / to hint at something | |
| To discriminate X and Y | x | To distinguish/differentiate between X and Y |
| In order to do X, we use Y | R | We use Y to do X |
| Possibility to use | x | Possibility of using (OR: is possible to use) |
| In the last 5 years | I | In the past 5 years ("past" is preferred for time phrases, "last" for all the others: "my last wife" or "my former wife". Even then, it can be ambiguous: the final or the former? If you mean the second here, use a clearer phrasing: "my former wife"). |
| Till | I | Until |
| Both X as well as Y | x | Both X and Y |
| Modelised | x | Modelled or modeled |
| Evolutionary history | History (redundant) or evolution | |
| To study the occurence of the X phenomenon | R | Study X; or study the X phenomenon; or Study the X phenomenon |
| To perform a fine tuning (or: an analysis) of X | R | To fine-tune X |
| Occurence, etc. | x | Occurs, occurred, occurrence |
| Sun, solar | Sun, solar (if ours), as for Earth and Moon | |
| To explicit | x | Not an english verb, but suggests either "to make explicit" ot "to explain in detail" |
| galactic bulge, (our) galaxy | Galactic bulge, Galaxy | |
| The mentioned authors (i.e., mentioned earlier in the paper) | The authors (or if too far in the article, rename them) | |
| Least squares technique | x | Least-square technique |
| Close-by | An adverb only ("He lives close-by"), so for an adjective use either "close" or "nearby" | |
| Like for example | R | Such as |
| Latter ( for a list of 3+) | x | This word is used to refer to the second of 2 previous elements, not more. Use "last" or another pronoun alone ("this" or "these") |
| Included also X; other phrases where "also" is understood, such as "In addition, ... also..." | Included X; "In addition," or "also"; | |
| ... but or however ... | R | These express the same thing, so use one or the other |
The high/low vs. large/small or strong/weak problem: the left-hand column goves the attribute, the right-hand one the words that use them.
NB, some show up in two places.
| High or low | Most words that are typically indicated by up/down graphs: |
| Value, rate, redshift, degree, temperature, metallicity, luminosity, speed, velocity, contrast, energy, frequency, level, density, shear, extinction, pressure, eccentricity, inclination, proportion, abundance, fractionation, flux, background (or strong?) | |
| Big/large or small | Scale, correlation (?), broadening (?), opacity, amplitude, mass, momentum, uncertainties, diffusivity, |
| Can be either high/low or large/small | It depends on the emphasis: number, frequency, dispersion (both?), coefficients (or only large?) |
| Short or long | Time, length, timescale |
| Strong or weak | Pulse, current, correlation, gradient, flow, shear, dependence, velocity field, asymmetry, contrast, constraint, turbulence, instability, acceleration, anisotropy |
| Tight or loose | Often the same as "strong/weak": relationship, correlation |
Expressions used too often: either jargon or simply wordy, but useful in its place.
| Is in agreement with | Agrees with (This phrase is standard and clear, but do use it sparingly for very technical comparisons or where the normal phrase is awkward) |
| In this paper | Use only to contrast with another's paper or else in the abstract in the first sentence, if useful; otherwise, it is understood. Simply use the personal "we" when you feel it might not be clear you mean your own article. |
| Quite, rather, somewhat | These quantifiers are very imprecise; for instance, does "quite small" mean "very small" or "somewhat small"? In most cases the simple adjective is clearer and just as correct ("small"). Most scientists know that a quantifier without close measurement is inexact, so the adverbial quantification is not needed. |
| In order to | Rather than use only this phrase, vary with others, including the simple infinitive. There are places it is the only choice, so reserve it for these cases. |
| Relative to; with respect to | Some authors use this constantly and in different contexts, especially when meaning either "compared to" or "related to". This non-technical use makes the phrase very ambiguous, if not incorrect. As these are fairly technical expressions, we cannot always tell whether you mean the normal "compared to" and may query its use, just to have you check your context. |
| Further: e.g., "It adds a further layer" | This is being overused where "more", "another" ("It adds another layer"), "earlier", or even "then" is what is meant and is standard English. It means "more extended" not just a greater number of. |
| Such or such as | Being overused where "this" or "those" is what is meant. |
| Non negligible | "significant" or "of low significance" |
| "Metal-poorer" or "More metal-poor"? | Both are accepted, but why not the more standard ''is richer/poorer in metals'' in some cases? |