sense/since SENSE/SINCE “Sense” is a verb meaning “feel” ("I sense you near me” ) or a noun meaning “intelligence” ("have some common sense!” ). Don’t use it when you need the adverb “since” ("since you went away,” “since you’re up anyway, would you please let the cat out?” ) List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sense.html03/09/2005 15:39:55 sensual/sensuous SENSUAL/SENSUOUS “Sensual” usually relates to physical desires and experiences, and often means “sexy.” But “sensuous” is more often used for esthetic pleasures, like “sensuous music.” The two words do overlap a good deal. The leather seats in your new car may be sensuous; but if they turn you on, they might be sensual. “Sensual” often has a slightly racy or even judgmental tone lacking in “sensuous." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sensual.html03/09/2005 15:39:56 sentence fragments SENTENCE FRAGMENTS There are actually many fine uses for sentence fragments. Here” s a brief scene from an imaginary Greek tragedy composed entirely of fragments: Menelaus: Aha! Helen! Helen (startled): Beloved husband! Menelaus: Slut! Paris (entering, seeing Menelaus): Oops. ” Bye. Menelaus: Not so fast! (stabs Paris). Paris: Arrggh! Some people get into trouble by breaking a perfectly good sentence in two: “We did some research in newspapers. Like the National Inquirer.” The second phrase belongs in the same sentence with the first, not dangling off on its own. A more common kind of troublesome fragment is a would-be sentence introduced by a word or phrase that suggests it’s part of some other sentence: “By picking up the garbage the fraternity had strewn around the street the weekend before got the group a favorable story in the paper.” Just lop off “by” to convert this into a proper complete sentence. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/fragments.html03/09/2005 15:39:56 service/serve SERVICE/SERVE A mechanic services your car and a stallion services a mare; but most of the time when you want to talk about the goods or services you supply, the word you want is “serve": “Our firm serves the hotel industry." List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/service.html03/09/2005 15:39:56 set/sit SET SIT In some dialects people say “come on in and set a spell,” but in standard English the word is “sit.” You set down an object or a child you happen to be carrying; but those seating themselves sit. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/set.html03/09/2005 15:39:56 setup/set up SETUP/SET UP Technical writers sometimes confuse “setup” as a noun ("check the setup” ) with the phrase “set up” ("set up the experiment” ). List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/setup.html03/09/2005 15:39:57 shall/will SHALL/WILL "Will” has almost entirely replaced “shall” in American English except in legal documents and in questions like “Shall we have red wine with the duck?" List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/shall.html03/09/2005 15:39:57 sherbert SHERBERT SHERBET The name for these icy desserts is derived from Turkish/Persian sorbet, but the R in the first syllable seems to seduce many speakers into adding one in the second, where it doesn’t belong. A California chain called “Herbert” s Sherbets” had me confused on this point for years when I was growing up. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sherbert.html03/09/2005 15:39:57 shrunk/shrank SHRUNK/SHRANK The simple past tense form of “shrink” is “shrank” and the past participle is “shrunk”; it should be “Honey, I Shrank the Kids,” not ”Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” (Thanks a lot, Disney.) “Honey, I've shrunk the kids” would be standard, and also grammatically acceptable is “Honey, I've shrunken the kids” (though deplorable from a child-rearing point of view). List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/shrunk.html03/09/2005 15:39:57 Sierra Nevada Mountains SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS SIERRA NEVADAS Sierra is Spanish for “mountain range,” so knowledgeable Westerners usually avoid a redundancy by simply referring to “the Sierra Nevadas” or simply “the Sierras.” Transplanted weather forecasters often get this wrong. Some object to the familiar abbreviation “Sierras,” but this form, like “Rockies” and “Smokies” is too well established to be considered erroneous. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/sierra.html03/09/2005 15:39:58