Word Usage, Idiom & Commonly Misused Expressions
Key Takeaways
- Usage items test whether the right word was chosen, which is a different skill from spelling: 'affect' and 'effect' are both spelled correctly in every sentence that misuses them.
- Fewer and less split on countability - fewer applies to items you can count and less to quantities you measure.
- Colloquial forms such as 'could of', 'should of', and 'irregardless' appear on the exam precisely because they sound acceptable in speech but are not standard written English.
- Redundant expressions such as 'each and every' and 'return back' are usage errors even though every individual word in them is correct.
Word Usage, Idiom & Commonly Misused Expressions
Spelling and usage are separate skills, and the HSPT tests both. A spelling item asks whether the letters are right. A usage item asks whether the word itself is right - and in a usage error every word on the page is spelled perfectly. The medicine had a positive affect on his recovery contains no misspelling at all; it contains the wrong word.
Confused Pairs Beyond the Classic Homophones
| Pair | Distinction | Correct Use |
|---|---|---|
| fewer / less | count versus measure | fewer errors, less time |
| among / between | three or more versus two | among the twelve finalists, between the two captains |
| amount / number | measured versus counted | the amount of water, the number of bottles |
| farther / further | physical distance versus degree | drove farther, explained further |
| imply / infer | speaker suggests, listener concludes | the coach implied; the players inferred |
| lend / borrow | give versus receive | lend me a pencil; borrow a pencil from me |
| bring / take | toward versus away | bring it here; take it there |
| beside / besides | next to versus in addition to | beside the door; besides the cost |
| than / then | comparison versus time | taller than; and then he left |
| may / can | permission versus ability | may I leave; can you lift it |
| who / that | people versus things | the student who asked; the book that arrived |
| its / it's | possessive versus contraction | its cover; it's raining |
The fewer/less test: ask whether you would count the noun one, two, three. Cookies are counted, so fewer cookies. Sugar is measured, so less sugar. The same logic sorts number from amount.
Standard Prepositional Idioms
English fixes certain verbs and adjectives to specific prepositions. There is no rule to derive them - they are memorized, and the HSPT tests the common ones.
| Standard | Nonstandard |
|---|---|
| different from | different than |
| independent of | independent from |
| capable of | capable to |
| responsible for | responsible of |
| interested in | interested about |
| agree with a person, to a proposal | agree on a person |
| comply with | comply to |
| superior to | superior than |
| prefer X to Y | prefer X than Y |
| in regard to | in regards to |
Colloquialisms That Fail in Writing
These forms are common in speech, which is exactly why they appear as distractors.
| Nonstandard | Standard | Why It Happens |
|---|---|---|
| could of, should of, would of | could have, should have, would have | the contraction could've sounds like could of |
| irregardless | regardless | ir- and -less both negate; the word is a double negative |
| alot | a lot | two words, always |
| anyways, anywheres | anyway, anywhere | no final s in standard usage |
| being that | because, since | informal substitute for a subordinating conjunction |
| try and finish | try to finish | the standard idiom uses the infinitive |
| the reason is because | the reason is that | because duplicates the reason |
| had ought to | ought to | ought takes no helping verb |
| this here, that there | this, that | the demonstrative already points |
Redundancy
A redundant phrase says the same thing twice. Each word is correct; the combination is not.
| Redundant | Concise |
|---|---|
| each and every student | every student |
| return back to the classroom | return to the classroom |
| repeat again | repeat |
| free gift | gift |
| advance planning | planning |
| close proximity | proximity or close to |
| past history | history |
| final outcome | outcome |
| unexpected surprise | surprise |
| combine together | combine |
| at this point in time | now |
| basic fundamentals | fundamentals |
Redundancy items show up most often in the composition portion of the Language subtest, where the question asks which version expresses the idea best. When two choices are both grammatical, the shorter one that loses no meaning is nearly always the intended answer.
Wordiness
Beyond outright redundancy, HSPT composition items reward directness.
| Wordy | Direct |
|---|---|
| due to the fact that | because |
| in the event that | if |
| for the purpose of studying | to study |
| has the ability to | can |
| make a decision | decide |
| is in agreement with | agrees with |
| there are many students who believe | many students believe |
A caution: shortest is not automatically best. A choice that drops necessary information or introduces a grammatical fault loses even if it is the briefest. Test for meaning first, brevity second.
How Usage Items Are Presented
Usage faults appear in both Language formats:
- Error identification. One of three underlined segments contains a misused word, or the answer is No error. Because nothing is misspelled, you must read for sense: does the chosen word actually mean what the sentence needs?
- Sentence revision. Four versions of a sentence differ by one word or phrase, and you select the standard-English version.
A quick scan protocol for these items:
- Locate any word from a confused pair (fewer, among, farther, imply, than, its).
- Locate any preposition attached to a verb or adjective and check the standard partner.
- Listen for a colloquial form - could of, irregardless, the reason is because.
- Check for a phrase that says something twice.
Why This Block Rewards Study
Usage errors cannot be caught by sounding out the sentence, because the misused forms are exactly the ones that sound normal in conversation. That makes this the most learnable part of the Language subtest: the confused pairs, idioms, colloquialisms, and redundancies above are a finite list, and working through them a few at a time converts a category of near-invisible errors into ones you spot on sight.
Which sentence uses 'fewer' and 'less' correctly?
Which sentence is standard written English?
Which sentence uses the standard prepositional idiom?
Which revision best eliminates redundancy without losing meaning?