Month: February 2008

“Historic” vs. “Historical”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Versus

I frequently see one of these used when the other is required.

Problem:
The adjectives “historic” and “historical” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
The adjective “historic” means important in history or well known.

The adjective “historical” means characteristic or pertaining to history, belonging to the past, or concerned with history.

Therefore, all historic events are historical, but all historical events are not necessarily historic.

A “historical house-restoration project” would be a project involving the restoration of a house in such a manner as to be concerned with the history of the house.

In contrast, a “historic house-restoration project” would be a house-restoration project that is noteworthy for the techniques used in the project, for the accomplishments of the project, or for something else important about the project that will be remembered in the future.

Solution:
Use “historical” when modifying a noun or noun phrase so as to relate it to history. Use “historic” when modifying a noun or noun phrase so as to relate it to something important in history.

“at least 16-years of age”

Adjectives, Hyphens, Nouns

My wife saw this in an email message yesterday.

Problem:
The hyphenation is incorrect.

Explanation:
Here is the phrase as it appeared in the full sentence: “Please ask students who you think would really benefit from this experience and who are at least 16-years of age to complete the information.”

This phrase should not have a hyphen.

When a number modifies a noun (or noun phrase) to tell you how many, there should be no hyphen between the number and the noun (or noun phrase) that the number is modifying.

In the problematic phrase, the number “16” is modifying “years of age” (a noun phrase), so one should not insert a hyphen between them.

I believe that the writer of the email message was distracted by the fact that hyphens are required when one writes something such as “the 16-year-old student”. The reason for this requirement is that “16-year-old” is modifying “student”; the hyphens effectively glue “16” and “year” and “old” together to create a modifier of “student” (the noun).

Solution:
“at least 16 years of age”

“Intent” vs. “Intention”

Adjectives, Nouns, Versus

Something I saw made me investigate these two words.

Problem:
These two words are not quite synonyms but are sometimes used as synonyms.

Explanation:
“Intent” is both a noun and an adjective. “Intention” is only a noun.

“Intent” as an adjective means earnest, steadfast, focused, or concentrated.

“Intent” as a noun is sometimes used as a synonym for “intention”; however, the former is stronger than the latter.

“Intent” as a noun means deliberateness. “Intention” means anticipated outcome.

Solution:
Use “intention” when talking about actions that one proposes to take. Use “intent” when talking about aim or purpose or when you need the adjective.