Common_Errors_in_English_usage

ATHIEST/ATHEIST
An atheist is the opposite of a theist. "Theos" is Greek for "god." Make
sure the "TH" is followed immediately by an "E."
ATHLETE
Tired of people stereotyping you as a dummy just because you're a jock?
One way to impress them is to pronounce "athlete" properly, with just
two syllables, as "ATH­leet" instead of using the common
mispronunciation "ATH­uh­leet."
ATTAIN/OBTAIN
"Attain" means "reach" and "obtain" means "get." You attain a
mountaintop, but obtain a rare baseball card. "Attain" usually implies a
required amount of labor or difficulty; nothing is necessarily implied
about the difficulty of obtaining that card. Maybe you just found it in
your brother's dresser drawer.
Some things you obtain can also be attained. If you want to emphasize
how hard you worked in college, you might say you attained your degree;
but if you want emphasize that you have a valid degree that qualifies
you for a certain job, you might say you obtained it. If you just bought
it from a diploma mill for fifty bucks, you definitely only obtained it.
ATTRIBUTE/CONTRIBUTE
When trying to give credit to someone, say that you attribute your
success to their help, not contribute. (Of course, a politician may
attribute his success to those who contribute to his campaign fund, but
probably only in private.)
AUGUR/AUGER
An augur was an ancient Roman prophet, and as a verb the word means
"foretell"­­"their love augurs well for a successful marriage." Don't
mix this word up with "auger," a tool for boring holes. Some people
mishear the phrase "augurs well" as "all goes well" and mistakenly use
that instead.
AURAL/ORAL
"Aural" has to do with things you hear, "oral" with things you say, or
relating to your mouth.
AVAIDABLE/AVAILABLE
Many people mispronounce and misspell "available" as "avaidable," whose
peculiar spelling seems to be influenced by "avoidable," a word which
has opposite connotations.
"Avaidable" is avoidable; avoid it.