Common_Errors_in_English_usage

Both of these adjectives are based on the image of plunging over the
brink of a precipice, but "precipitate" emphasizes the suddenness of the
plunge, "precipitous," the steepness of it. If you make a "precipitate"
decision, you are making a hasty and probably unwise one. If the stock
market declines "precipitously," it goes down sharply.
PRECURSE/FORETELL, FORESHADOW, PREFACE, ANTICIPATE, PRECEDE
Tempted to "precurse" that guy who looks like he might be going to cut
into the lane ahead of you? Until recently "precurse" as a verb was a
rare archaic word, but lately people have been using it to mean "be a
precursor to." Use a more ordinary and precise word like "foretell,"
"foreshadow," "preface," "anticipate," or "precede."
PREDOMINATE/PREDOMINANT
"Predominate" is a verb: "In the royal throne room, the color red
predominates." "Predominant" is an adjective: "The predominant view
among the touts is that Fancy Dancer is the best bet in the third race."
PREDOMINATELY/PREDOMINANTLY
"Predominantly" is formed on the adjective "predominant," not the verb
"predominate"; so though both forms are widely accepted, "predominantly"
makes more sense.
PREEMPTORY/PEREMPTORY
"Peremptory" (meaning "imperative") is often misspelled and
mispronounced "preemptory" through confusion caused by the influence of
the verb "preempt," whose adjectival form is actually "preemptive."
PREFERABLY
Although some US dictionaries now recognize the pronunciation of
"preferably" with the first two syllables pronounced just like
"prefer"­­first "E" long and the stress on the second syllable­­the
standard pronunciation is "PREFFerublee," with the first syllable
stressed, just like in "preference." The alternative pronunciation
sounds awkward to some people.
PREJUDICE/PREJUDICED
People not only misspell "prejudice" in a number of ways, they sometimes
say "he's prejudice" when they mean "he's prejudiced."
See also "bias/biased."
PRE­MADONNA/PRIMA DONNA
The leading soprano in an opera is the "prima donna" (Italian for
"leading lady"). As an insult, "prima donna" implies that the person
under discussion is egotistical, demanding, and doesn't work well as