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59 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Subject-Verb agreement |
Singular or plural always agree |
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Intervening phrases |
Should not determine if singular or plural, subject should (there are some exceptions that are obvious) LOOK FOR PREPOSITIONS and PARTICIPLES |
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Each and Every |
Always results in a singular verb |
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Either....or Neither...nor |
When using these "correlative conjunctions" the subject closest to the verb modifies the verb. |
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False singulars (sound singular but are plurals) |
Data are (singular is datum) criteria (singular is criterion) media (singular is medium) phenomena (singular is phenomenon) |
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False plurals (sound plural but is singular) |
Mumps measles measurements of a singular substance |
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There Here |
The subject modifies the verbs |
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The number A number |
The number = always singular A number = always plural |
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and vs as well as |
and mean equal value in a series as well as (prep) means less value
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one...who |
must modify the part of that is being represented he is one of those dogs going to the park it was one of those days that were like a dream |
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None |
take both sing and plural |
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percentages and units |
verb take the subject not the percentage 40% of a pie is good 40% of pies are good 20 mg of juice was given 20 mg of BR and R were given |
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Affect / effect |
Affect: Usually a verb, to have influence or produce an effect Effect: Usually a noun |
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Principal / principle |
Principal: the main or primary one of a group (principal investigator, principal effect of...) Principle: premise, a basic truth, general assumption |
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Proved / proven |
Both used to mean the same thing |
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Ability / capacity |
Ability: To be able to do or have the power to do Capacity: the amount that something can contain |
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Although / though |
Although: Will introduce a dependent clause Though: used like however and can't introduce a dependent clause |
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Alternate / Alternative |
Alternate: to take turns Alternative: either offering choices |
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Cases / patients |
Cases: is an instance of a disease or disorder, it's evaluated, documented, and reported also managed Patients: is a person who is receiving medical care, they are examined, undergoes testing, is treated and cared for Note: conditions, diseases etc are diagnosed, evaluated, identified NOT Patients |
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Comprise / compose |
Compose: Starts from the whole and moves toward the parts, think symphony then notes Comprise: Starts from the parts and moves to whole NEVER USE "is comprised of" |
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Continual / continuous |
Continual: at intervals Continuous: uninterrupted |
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Different from / different than |
Different from is used most of the time |
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Due to / because |
Due to: can replace with "caused by" Because: use if caused by can't be replaced |
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Fewer / less |
Fewer: modifies nouns that can be counted (how many) Less: things that can be measured (how much) |
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Following / After / Post |
Following: must be used as an adjective After: used as a preposition Post: not grammatically correct |
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if / whether |
Whether: is usually correct If: used with conditional statements (if....then) |
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imply / infer |
Imply: to suggest, hint, intimate; Speakers and writers imply by what they say or write Infer: to conclude, deduce, guess, or surmise; Listeners and readers infer things from what they hear or read |
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Major / main |
Major: When there are two comparatives Main: to describe when not having two comparatives |
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Prior to / before |
Should use before
prior to |
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quantify / quantitate / measure |
Quantify: used to give a numerical value to something that can't be measured scientifically Quantitate: jargon don't use measure: for things that can be measured |
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Suspicious / suspected |
Typically both words are used incorrectly. |
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Use / utilize |
Use is almost always preferable. Utilize means to turn something into a practical use. |
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Author (as a verb) |
Should never be used. |
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Biopsy (as a verb) |
Should never be used |
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Impact (as a verb meaning affect) |
Should never be used. (impact as a verb means to pack tightly or hit something with force) |
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Likely (as an adverb) |
Should never be used, use probably instead as an adverb Can be used with "most" only if using as an adverb. |
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Pronouns rule |
Must be used in the proper case (I/me, he/him, we/us/our, they/them/their AND number (singular and plural) |
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Pronoun cases |
Subjective: When the pronoun is the subject (ex. I) Objective: When the pronoun is the object (ex. him) Possessive: When the pronoun is a possessive (ex. their) |
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Who / whom |
Use whom when the pronoun is the object. Tip: if you can substitute the pronoun with he use who, if you can substitute him use whom |
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Vague antecedent |
Avoid, this is when the pronoun can represent multiple nouns |
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Pronoun Antecedent Disagreement |
Avoid Ex. Every patient must bring their...should be Every patient must bring his/her All patients must bring their |
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Reflexive pronouns |
Are always objects, never subjects |
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Restrictive elements |
Are necessary to the meaning of the sentence and are NOT set off by commas |
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Unrestrictive elements |
Are added info that aren't necessary for meaning and that are set off by COMMAS |
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Appositive |
A noun (or noun phrase) that indicates an immediately proceeding noun ex, His son, Tom, is an intern. |
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that, which |
relative pronouns That: restrictive Which: unrestrictive |
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Misplaced Modifiers (a word, phrase, or clause that modifies another w, p, or c) |
When a modifier exits but it far from and improperly placed / separated from the thing it's modifying. *A modifier should be as close as possible to the thing it's modifying. Ex: Participants smoked a single marijuana cigarette during each of three sessions, each containing THC. Should be: Participants smoked a single marijuana cigarette containing THC during each of three sessions. |
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Dangling modifier |
When a modifier exits and the thing being modified is missing Ex. As a pediatric oncologist, the opportunity to work with these children is wonderful. Should be: As a pediatric oncologist, I have the wonderful opportunity to work with these children. |
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Misplaced participle (verb phrase as adj) |
When a participle exits but it far from and improperly placed / separated from the thing it's describing. *Should be as close as possible to the thing it's describing. Ex. We studied serum samples from participants stored in the departmental lab. Should be: We studied participants' serum samples stored in the departmental lab. |
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Dangling participle |
When a participle exists and the thing being described is missing. Ex. Working carefully to avoid errors, the data will be transferred from the patients' charts to a computerized spreadsheet. Should be: Working carefully to avoid errors, we will transfer the data from the patients' charts to a computerized spreadsheet. |
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Three participles are that are most often misused |
Based on Using Compared |
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"Based on" example |
Based on the results of this study, we recommend increasing the dosage of the investigational drug. Should be: Based on the results of this study, our recommendation is that the dosage of the investigational drug be increased. |
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"Using" example |
Dr. Young treated the patients using antidepressants Should be: Dr. Young treated the patients by giving them antidepressants. Dr. Young used antidepressants to treat the patients. |
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Compared to / compared with |
AMA style says: Compared with is used when the similarities or differences between 2 things are compared in detail Compared to: is used when one important similarity or difference is discussed. |
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First degree of comparison |
Use "as....as" when comparing (never should there be another word in place of as, like as...than) Is used when an adj. or adv. is in it's normal (positive) state, like big, tall, fat ex. He is as tall as that guy. |
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Second degree of comparison |
Use "than" when comparing Is used when and adj. or adv. is in it's comparative state, like bigger, taller, fatter, more ex. Her shoes were cuter than mine. The patients seem to like me more than you. |
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Third degree of comparison |
Use "most" and "est" ex. He is best at spinning the ball. She is the fastest skater. It's the most common. |
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Comparing things that can't be compared is a common problem. |
ex: In clinical trials, the side effects of this drug were similar to placebo Should be: In clinical trials, the side effects associated with taking this drug were similar to those associated with taking a placebo. |
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Writing absolute statements as comparisons is a common problem |
ex: This trial involved 48 patients compared to the pilot study, which involved only 19. Should be: This trial involved 48 patients; the pilot study involved only 19.
This trial involved 48 patients whereas the pilot study involved only 19. |
