Self improvement
Words you might be misusing
It looks really bad when people get these common words wrong!
I’m sure you know the feeling — the slight cringe when someone uses a word wrong. It can be almost painful.
Recently, I’ve been interviewing candidates for a course. Despite the fact that the people in the interviews were graduates, almost every one used a word incorrectly (and most were native speakers of English).
This shows that it’s not a sign of lower intelligence. But if nobody tells you that you’re making a mistake, then how can you correct it? That’s why I want to share some of the most common errors I’ve seen in these situations.
Here goes…
- c̶r̶i̶t̶e̶r̶i̶a̶s̶
Criteria are plural, so there is no need for this version! Also, the singular is ‘criterion’, and it also sounds bad to use criteria as a singular (e.g. i̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶p̶ ̶c̶r̶i̶t̶e̶r̶i̶a̶).
And if we want to get technical about things, data are plural, too!
2. l̶i̶t̶e̶r̶a̶l̶l̶y̶
Okay — literally is a word, so perhaps I shouldn’t cross it out. But it is one that is very widely misused. It should only be part of a phrase if something is true, and never in a figure of speech. So it might be fine to say “I was literally on the edge of my seat” if you really were sitting very far forward! But if you say “I was literally blown away”, it presents a very weird image indeed. Lose this word, and let the figure of speech breathe (not literally!).
3. u̶n̶a̶m̶i̶t̶y̶
Sorry, what? This might be partly a pronunciation thing, but some people struggle to say this word properly! It should be unanimity.
4. b̶i̶a̶s̶
Again, this might be partly because it is hard to hear the difference in speech, but the adjective is biased, while bias is the noun. So you should be saying “I want to be unbiased”, and not “I̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶u̶n̶b̶i̶a̶s̶”.
5. i̶r̶r̶e̶g̶a̶r̶d̶l̶e̶s̶s̶
It’s not a word. The word is regardless.
Overall, it pays to practice interview answers before you walk in to the real situation. And I’d strongly recommend that you do so with someone who can give you good, honest feedback on your speaking skills.
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