Month: June 2008

“Loose” vs. “Lose”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Verbs, Versus

Many people write “loose” when they mean “lose” instead.

Problem:
The verb “lose” does not look like it would be pronounced with the oo sound, so many people mistakenly choose the “oo” word (“loose”) instead.

Explanation:
As I’ve written in an earlier post, it’s true that “loose” can be used as a verb as well as an adjective.

However, when used as a verb, “loose” does not mean “stops having”; this definition belongs to the verb “lose” instead.

If you look up the origins of these two words, you see that:

  • “lose” — pronounced [looz] — is derived from Old English losian;
  • “loose” — pronounced [loos] — is derived from Middle English los, loos.

Knowing the origins of these two words does not help me to remember the correct spelling. In fact, I don’t know how I keep them straight (no mnemonic comes to mind), but I do.

Solution:
Simply memorize that the verb “lose” is spelled with one ‘o’.

“Capable” vs. “Able”

Adjectives, Versus

I have wondered on occasion about the distinction between these two words.

Problem:
These two adjectives are not quite synonyms.

Explanation:
The primary definitions of the adjectives “capable” and “able” speak to the same concept: having adequate power to do something.

The primary definition of “able” is having the necessary power: “The truck is able to pull a two-ton load.”

The primary definition of “capable” is having power; competent: “She was a capable museum lecturer.”

Here is the distinction between these two adjectives:

  • “able” refers to having power equal to the effort required;
  • “capable” refers to having power to meet ordinary requirements.

Solution:
Favor using “capable” when referring specifically to ordinary requirements; otherwise, use “able” instead.

“… content assessable from the home page”

Adjectives, Devolution toward Simpler, Mispronunciations

I saw this in a PowerPoint document.

Problem:
The word “assessable” makes no sense in this phrase.

Explanation:
The PowerPoint document was about online support content. The slide in which this appeared was about providing a link to support content from the home page of the website.

The adjective “assessable” means capable of being assessed (e.g., for the purpose of taxation).

The PowerPoint author probably mispronounces — or at least hears mispronounced — “accessible” as “assessable” instead.

If you cannot imagine this, then think of the way that Jo Frost on the ABC TV show “Supernanny” mispronounces “That’s not acceptable.” as “That’s not asseptable.” instead.

I believe that this kind of mispronunciation — mispronouncing a “k” sound followed by an “s” sound as simply an “s” sound — is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis.

Solution:
“… content accessible from the home page”