Usage Note

Four common usage errors are cropping up in what I read, perhaps because writers think the usage lends gravitas to their writing and allows them to feel that they are better writers than their skill level indicates.

The first is plethora; the dictionary says plethora is superabundance or excess. As a noun, it can be used with a "a ... of" phrase, as in a plethora of ideas about recycling.

The second is myriad; the dictionary says myriad is an adjective that indicates an indefinite number. Since myriad is an adjective, it is correct to say myriad butterflies filled the sky with beautiful colors, with myriad (an indefinite number) modifying butterflies, the noun. It would be incorrect to say a a myriad of butterflies, because myriad is a noun in that sentence construction, and myriad is an adjective that modifies a noun.

My pet peeve is the use of off of, such as take your jacket off of the kitchen table. We either take things off or we put things on, but we don't take things off of nor put them on of. Off is an adverb and has a long list of correct usage in a standard dictionary, but the dictionary specifically warns that ... particularly in written usage, off should not be followed by of or from. Of is a preposition and is often used in constructing prepositional phrases, such as "of the people, by the people, for the people."

And, finally, there is a word that takes the place of writing that someone is in "a state of anxiousness": anxiety. There is no need for the phrase when one word suffices.

What difference does usage make? It's the difference between being a good writer and just slapping some words/phrases onto a page and calling yourself a good writer.