Author: Kirk

“Verbal” vs. “Oral”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Versus

I often hear “verbal” — as in “verbal agreement” — when people mean “oral”.

Problem:
The adjective “verbal” should not be used when one specifically is referring to something spoken.

Explanation:
The adjective “verbal” means of or pertaining to words. The primary definition of the adjective “oral” is uttered by the mouth.

Many will refer to “verbal agreements” when what they really mean is “oral agreements” (i.e., spoken agreements, not written agreements). Saying that something is a “verbal agreement” does not say much; it simply means that it is an oral or written agreement.

Solution:
Use “verbal” when you’re talking about words in general; use “oral” when you’re talking about spoken words.

“Between” vs. “Among”

Common English Blunders, Prepositions, Versus

I often hear people use “between” when they mean “among”.

Problem:
The preposition “between” should not be used when expressing a relationship for three or more items.

Explanation:
The preposition “between” means in the space separating (two people, objects, etc.) or intermediate to. The primary definition of the preposition “among” is in the midst of.

If you look up the origin of “between”, you see that the tw in “between” is related to the tw in “two”. You can use this as a mnemonic to remind you that you should use “between” when expressing a relationship for two items and therefore that you should use “among” otherwise (for three or more items).

Solution:
Use “between” when you’re talking about two items; use “among” when you’re talking about three or more items.

“Second of all,”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders

My wife heard this on the radio.

Problem:
The phrase “Second of all,” sounds strained and is otherwise problematic.

Explanation:
The phrase “First of all,” is a popular way to introduce an enumeration because “of all” stresses that one is about to provide an enumeration. For example, First of all, I don’t like beef. stresses to the listener or reader that there will be an enumeration and that what followed “First of all,” was the first item (“I don’t like beef.”) in the enumeration.

Following a use of “First of all,” with a use of “Second of all,”

  • sounds strained,
  • reduces the power of “First of all,” by making the listener or reader wonder whether every item in the enumeration will include “of all”, and
  • does not add anything to saying or writing “Second,”.

Note that it is not appropriate to introduce the second item in an enumeration with the adverbial form “Secondly,” (just as “Firstly,” is not appropriate for beginning the first item in an enumeration).

Solution:
“Second,”