17. Exact Words

What if you read that a leading citizen is a pillow of the community? Good writing depends on knowing what words mean and how to use them precisely.

17a Choose words for their connotations as well as their denotations.

The denotation of a word is its basic meaning — its dictionary definition. Excited, agitated, and exhilarated all denote a similar state of physical and emotional arousal. The connotations of a word are the shades of meaning that set it apart from its synonyms. You might be agitated by the prospect of exams next week, but exhilarated by your plans for the vacation afterward. When you choose one of several options, you base your choice on connotation.

IMPRECISE Advertisers have given light beer a macho image by showing football players sipping the product with enthusiasm.
REVISED Advertisers have given light beer a macho image by showing football players guzzling the product with gusto.
17b Avoid clichés.

A cliché is a trite expression, once vivid or figurative but now worn out from too much use. When a story begins, “It was a dark and stormy night,” then its author is obviously using dull, predictable words. Many a strike is settled after a marathon bargaining session. Fires customarily race and gut. And when everything is terrific, a reader will suspect that it isn’t. Clichés abound when writers and speakers try hard to sound lively but don’t bother to invent anything vigorous, colorful, and new.

COMMON CLICHÉS
a sneaking suspicion last but not least
above and beyond the call of duty little did I dream
add insult to injury make a long story short
beyond a shadow of a doubt stab me in the back
come hell or high water that’s the way the ball bounces
cool as a cucumber through thick and thin
few and far between tip of the iceberg
hard as a rock tried and true
17c Use idioms in their correct form.

Every language contains idioms, or idiomatic expressions: phrases that, through long use, have become standard even though their construction may defy logic or grammar. For example, although fender bender may suggest the outcome of a minor collision between two cars, someone unfamiliar with that expression might struggle to connect the literal words with the idiomatic meaning. In addition, many idioms require us to choose the right preposition. We work up a sweat while working out in the gym. We argue with someone but about something, for or against it. And someone who decides to set up a meeting doesn’t expect to be upset. Sometimes we must know which article to use before a noun —if any. We’re occasionally in a tight spot but never in a trouble. Idioms also can involve choosing the right verb: we seize an opportunity, but we catch a plane. The dictionary can help you choose the right idiom. Look up agree, for instance, to find examples for using agree to, agree with, or agree that.

ESL Guidelines: In, On, At: Prepositions of Location and Time

preposition: A transitional word (such as in, on, at, of, from) that leads into a phrase such as in the bar, under a rickety table

Location Expressions

Elaine lives in Manhattan at a swanky address on Fifth Avenue.

  • In means “within” or “inside of” a place, including geographical areas, such as cities, states, countries, and continents.

    I packed my books in my backpack and left to visit my cousins in Canada.

  • Where in emphasizes location only, at is often used to refer to a place when a specific activity is implied: at the store (to shop), at the office (to work), at the theater (to see a play), and so on.

    Angelo left his bicycle in the bike rack while he was at school.

  • On means “on the surface of” or “on top of” something and is used with floors of buildings and planets. It is also used to indicate a location beside a lake, river, ocean, or other body of water.

    The service department is on the fourth floor.

    We have a cabin on Lake Michigan.

  • In, on, and at can all be used in addresses. In is used to identify a general location, such as a city or neighborhood. On is used to identify a specific street. At is used to give an exact address.

    We live in Boston on Medway Street.

    We live at 20 Medway Street.

  • In and at can both be used with the verb arrive. In indicates a large place, such as a city, state, country, or continent. At indicates a smaller place, such as a specific building or address. (To is never used with arrive.)

    Alanya arrived in Alaska yesterday; Sanjei will arrive at the airport soon.

Time Expressions

  • In indicates the span of time during which something occurs or a time in the future; it is also used in the expressions in a minute (meaning “shortly”) and in time (meaning “soon enough” or “without a moment to spare”). In is also used with seasons, months, and periods of the day.

    He needs to read this book in the next three days. [During the next three days]

    I’ll meet you in the morning in two weeks. [Two weeks from now]

  • On is used with the days of the week, with the word weekend, and in the expression on time (meaning “punctually”).

    Let’s have lunch on Friday.

  • At is used in reference to a specific time on the clock as well as a specific time of the day (at night, at dawn, at twilight).

    We’ll meet again next Monday at 2:15 p.m.

ESL Guidelines: To, For: Indirect Objects and Prepositions

These sentences mean the same thing:

I sent the president a letter.

I sent a letter to the president.

indirect object: A person or thing affected by the subject’s action, usually the recipient of the direct object, through the action indicated by a verb such as bring, get, offer, promise, sell, show, tell, and write: Charlene asked you a question.

In the first sentence, the president is the indirect object: he or she receives the direct object (a letter), which was acted on (sent) by the subject of the sentence (I). In the second sentence, the same idea is expressed using a prepositional phrase beginning with to.

  • Some verbs can use either an indirect object or the preposition to: give, send, lend, offer, owe, pay, sell, show, teach, tell. Some verbs can use an indirect object or the preposition for: bake, build, buy, cook, find, get, make.

    I paid the travel agent one hundred dollars.

    I paid one hundred dollars to the travel agent.

    Margarita cooked her family some chicken.

    Margarita cooked some chicken for her family.

  • Some verbs cannot have an indirect object; they must use a preposition. The following verbs must use the preposition to: describe, demonstrate, explain, introduce, and suggest.
    INCORRECT Please explain me indirect objects.
    CORRECT Please explain indirect objects to me.
  • The following verbs must use the preposition for: answer and prepare.
    INCORRECT He prepared me the punch.
    CORRECT He prepared the punch for me.
  • Some verbs must have an indirect object; they cannot use a preposition. The following verbs must have an indirect object: ask and cost.
    INCORRECT Sasha asked a question to her.
    CORRECT Sasha asked her a question.

Two-Word Verbs: Particles, Not Prepositions

Many two-word verbs end with a particle, a word that can be used as a preposition on its own but becomes part of a phrasal verb. Once the particle is added, the verb takes on a new idiomatic meaning that must be learned.

break up: to separate; to end a romantic relationship; to laugh

decide on: to select or to judge a person or thing

eat at: to worry or disturb a person

feel for [a person]: to sympathize with another’s unhappiness

see to: to take care of a person or situation

take in [a person]: to house a person; to trick by gaining a person’s trust