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Fazed and confused
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Are you fazed by the phases of the moon? What about the phases of life? What about use of the term “unphased”? As you’ve probably guessed, today we’re discussing the difference between the homophones faze and phase. We mostly use “phase” as a noun, as you see it used in the sentences above. But it's also a verb, as in, “The company plans to phase out use of fossil fuels.” “Faze,” meanwhile, is a verb that means to disconcert or daunt. We don't use it as much as we use “phase,” though. So when some people write about being daunted by something, they'll misuse “phase” when they mean to write “faze.” You'll also see “unphased” when it should be “unfazed.” “Faze vs. phase” is just one of the many commonly confused word pairs we cover in our style guide. Before we go, we have something new to share with you: We get so much positive feedback about this newsletter that we want more people to know about it. That's where you come in. Now, you can earn a reward for getting your friends and fellow word nerds to subscribe. See below for your unique referral link to share. Thank you in advance! Questions? You know what to do: Hit reply and let us know. ❤ Team Stylebot
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Hone your writing skills and never use "hone in" again. Get writing tips, have fun with words and learn something new in a one-minute read each week by signing up for Stylebot’s newsletter.
Most of the time, subject-verb agreement comes naturally. We don't second-guess the verbs we use in a sentence such as, "I am going to the park, and she is going to meet me there." But every now and then, as with our "couple" example from a few weeks ago, it gets tricky. You showed in last week's quiz that you're clear on the rule that you need to use "either" with "or" and "neither" with "nor." (Neither "either...nor" nor "neither...or" is correct.) But the subject-verb agreement tripped you...
We're continuing our series on either and neither this week, and you did well on the first quiz: Even though you might hear people use "either side" here, remember "either" means one or the other. You might have a tree on each side, but once you're using the plural "trees," you're probably talking about both sides. All right, like we said last week, we were easing you in with that question. There are some trickier questions when it comes to "either" and "neither." Let's try this one... Which...
TGIF! If someone tells you they're not sad that the workweek is coming to a close, you'd (probably) respond with today's subject line: "Me neither." Or you might say, "Me either," but that phrase is less precise. What you really mean is, "I am not sad that the workweek is ending either," so you need the "n" to keep the negative context. That's our first lesson — or reminder — for the series we're kicking off today on either and neither. We'll ease you in with this quiz: There were trees on...