This was originally part of chapter one, but I decided to split it up instead since there are quite a few of these. I actually used this during my final and it helped my immensely lol
I will come back from time to add more clarifications.
Some of these words or spellings are commonly confused, but there are some that are commonly used that I will point out as flat-out wrong and shouldn't be used.
There are several sections to this chapter: phrases & terms and words. When I say phrases & terms, I don't mean me things like expressions or proverbs. This isn't a section with me telling you things like how the phrase "nip it in the butt" is actually "nip it in the bud". I'm talking things like the difference between "there are times where" and "there are times when".
These sections contain subsections. While words are obviously terms, too, in the first section, when I say "terms", I am generally referring to things like when "that" should be used and when "which" should be used.
The second section is a about words you've different spellings of (e.g. "bare" & "bear"), words that sound extremely similar (e.g. "compliment" & "complement"), words you've heard two versions of (e.g. "toward" & "towards"). Words that have differences and a detailed explanation of when which should be used will automatically be put in the first section. Note that it includes a vulgarity at one point, only because I'm so annoyed seeing it misspelled all the time.
Even if you're looking for something in particular, I recommend skimming all the phrases, terms, and words. You may find there are some you don't even know you're using wrong!
Note:
n. — noun
v. — verb
adj. — adjective
adv. — adjective
pro. — pronoun
det. — determiner
prep. — preposition
cnj. — conjunction
abbrv. — abbreviation
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Section 1: What to Use?
Phrases
"Firstly", "second of all", "third", "Lastly", etc.
First... — "First of all" is a phrase I'm pretty sure I don't need to define for you, and I'm sure you know when it is used. You have also likely heard "first" & "firstly" used in cases where you might expect to see "first of all" used. Well, all three of these terms are acceptable to use in such cases.
Second of all — Second of all", "third of all", etc. are phrases you've likely heard used after the previously mentioned terms. However, these terms are incorrect and should not be used. Instead, use "secondly", "thirdly", etc. These are the correct terms to use, though they tend to be less popular with Americans.
Third... — And of course, you might have just heard "third", "fourth", etc. These are also correct, but less formal.
"Also" is also correct, but can get repetitive.
Lastly: "Lastly", "Last", "And last but not least", and "Finally" are all correct. I suppose you could say "also", but we don't really know it's your last point until you start talking.
