The Web Site of Professor Paul Brians

Paul Brians in profile

Paul Brians (1942-) earned his PhD in Comparative Literature at Indiana University and joined the Department of English at Washington State University in 1968. He taught literature, interdisciplinary humanities, and world civilizations courses. He retired in 2008 and now lives on Bainbridge Island.

This is the website featuring Brians’ Common Errors in English Usage, photography, and various study guides and other helpful resources.

Paul Brians’ e-mail: paulbrians@gmail.com

Common Errors in English Usage

What is an error in English?

The concept of language errors is a fuzzy one. I’ll leave to linguists the technical definitions. Here we’re concerned only with deviations from the standard use of English as judged by sophisticated users such as professional writers, editors, teachers, and literate executives and personnel officers. The aim of this site is to help you avoid low grades, lost employment opportunities, lost business, and titters of amusement at the way you write or speak.

Go to list of errors
Book cover: Paul Brians Common Errors in English Usage, Third Edition - Revised and Expanded; forward by "Grammar Girl" Mignon Fogarty

Books by Paul Brians

Most recent updates

  • absorbtion Although it’s “absorbed” and “absorbing” the correct spelling of the noun is “absorption.” But note that scientists distinguish between “absorption” as the process of swallowing up or sucking in something and “adsorption” as the process by which something adheres to the surface of something else without being assimilated into it. Even technical writers often confuse […]
  • please RSVP / Please Reply RSVP stands for the French phrase répondez s’il vous plaît (“reply, please”) so it doesn’t need an added “please.” However, since few people seem to know its literal meaning, and fewer still take it seriously, it’s best to use plain English” “Please reply.” And for those of you receiving such an invitation, yes, you have […]
  • based around You can build a structure around a center, but bases go on the bottom of things, so you can’t base something around something else. Similarly, you can’t base anything off of anything. Something is always based on something else. Back to list of errors
  • seperate/separate “Separate” has two A’s separated by an R. Video created by NBC: Back to list of errors
  • 100’s / hundreds It looks cheesy to spell “hundreds” as “100’s.” And it isn’t reallylogical because “100″ doesn’t mean “hundred”—it means specifically “onehundred.” Back to list of errors

*Disclaimer: This link leads to an external website that is not hosted by the university. The views and content expressed are those of the faculty member and do not represent the official positions of the university.