When Bad Grammar Happens to Good People

CHAPTER 13

Mispronounced Words

Nothing brands your speaking as “unpolished” faster than mispronouncing words, particularly if they’re common words. In this chapter, we’ll help you with some of the most common pronunciation problems. There’s no written test at the end of this unit, because a written test can’t tell you much about how well you’re pronouncing a word. Use the time you would have used quizzing yourself to practice saying these words out loud until the correct pronunciations feel more natural to you.

149. Air vs. Err

Don’t Say: Air. Say Instead: Err (rhymes with “purr”).

Say “err” when you mean the verb “err,” meaning to make an error, as in the phrase to err is human.

150. Anyways vs. Anyway

Don’t Say: Anyways. Say Instead: ...