University of Indiana
UNIVERSITY OF INDIANA
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
There is no such place as “the University of Indiana”; it’s “Indiana University.” I should know; I went there.
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unrest
UNREST
Journalists often use this mild term to describe all manner of civil disorders, but it’s silly to call
mayhem or chaos merely “unrest” when there are bullets flying about and bodies lying in the streets.
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upmost
UPMOST
UTMOST
The word is “utmost,” and is related to words like “utter,” as in “The birthday party was utter chaos.” “Upmost” may seem logical, but it’s a sure sign of
a person who knows spoken English better than written English.
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use to
USE TO
USED TO
Because the D and the T are blended into a single consonant when this phrase is pronounced, many writers are unaware that the D is even present and
omit it in writing. See also “suppose to."
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vague reference
VAGUE REFERENCE
Vague reference is a common problem in sentences where “this,” “it," "which” or other such words
don’t refer back to any one specific word or phrase, but a whole situation. “I hitchhiked back to town,
got picked up by an alien spacecraft and was subjected to humiliating medical experiments, which is

why I didn’t get my paper done on time.” In conversation this sort of thing goes unnoticed, but more
care needs to be taken in writing. There are lots of ways to reorganize this sentence to avoid the
vague reference. You could replace “which is why” with “so,” for instance.
Sometimes the referent is only understood and not directly expressed at all: “Changing your oil
regularly is important, which is one reason your engine burned up.” The “which’refers to an implied
failure to change oil regularly, but doesn’t actually refer back to any of the specific words used earlier
in the sentence.
Sometimes there is no logical referent: “In the book it says that Shakespeare was in love with some ”
dark lady” .” This is a casual way of using “it” that is not acceptable in formal written English. Write
instead “Arthur O. Williams says in The Sonnets that Shakespeare. . . ."
A reference may be ambiguous because it’s not clear which of two referents is meant: “Most women
are attracted to guys with a good sense of humor unless they are into practical jokes.” Does
“they’refer to "women” or “guys"? It would be clearer if the sentence said “Most women are attracted
to guys with a good sense of humor, though not usually to practical jokers."
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various
VARIOUS/SEVERAL
Many people say “she heard from various of the committee members that they wanted to cancel the
next meeting.” “Several of the committee members” would be better.
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vary
VARY/VERY
“Vary” means “to change.” Don’t substitute it for “very” in phrases like "very nice” or “very happy."
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veil of tears
VEIL OF TEARS
VALE OF TEARS

The expression “vale of tears” goes back to pious sentiments that consider life on earth to be a series of sorrows to be left behind when we go on to a
better world in Heaven. It conjures up an image of a suffering traveler laboring through a valley ("vale” ) of troubles and sorrow. “Veil of tears” is poetic
sounding, but it’s a mistake.
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verb tense
VERB TENSE
If the situation being described is an ongoing or current one, the present tense is needed, even in a
past-tense context: “Last week she admitted that she is really a brunette” (not “was” ).
Pairs of verbs that go together logically have to be kept in the same tense. “Patricia described her trip
to China and writes that the Great Wall really impressed her.” Since “described” is in the past tense,
and the writing contains her descriptions, “writes” should be “wrote."
Lots of people get into trouble with sentences that describe a hypothetical situation in the past: “If he
would have packed his own suitcase, he would have noticed that the cat was in it.” That first “would
have” should be a simple “had": “If he had packed his own suitcase he would have noticed that the
cat was in it.” Also "The game would have been more fun if we had [not “would have"] won." This
sort of construction consists of two parts: a hypothetical cause in the past and its logical effect. The
hypothetical cause needs to be put into the past tense: “had.” Only the effect is made conditional:
“would have.” Note that in the second example above the effect is referred to before the cause.
Students summarizing the plot of a play, movie, or novel are often unfamiliar with the tradition of
doing so in the present tense: “Hester embroiders an ” A” on her dress.” Think of the events in a
piece of fiction as happening whenever you read them—they exist in an eternal present even if they
are narrated in the past tense. Even those who are familiar with this pattern get tripped up when they
begin to discuss the historical or biographical context of a work, properly using the past tense, and
forget to shift back to the present when they return to plot summary. Here” s how it’s done correctly:
“Mark Twain” s days on the Mississippi were long past when he wrote Huckleberry Finn; but Huck”
s love for life on the river clearly reflects his youthful experience as a steamboat pilot.” The verb
“reflects” is in the present tense. Often the author” s activity in writing is also rendered in the present
tense as well: “Twain depicts Pap as a disgusting drunk.” What about when you are comparing events
that occur at two different times in the same narrative? You still have to stick to the present: “Tom

puts Jim through a lot of unnecessary misery before telling him that he is free.” Just remember when
you go from English to your history class that you have to shift back to the past tense for narrating
historical events: “Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo."
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verbage
VERBAGE
VERBIAGE
"Verbiage” is an insulting term usually meant to disparage needlessly wordy prose. Don’t use it to mean simply “wording.” There is no such word as
“verbage."
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verses/versus
VERSES/VERSUS
The “vs.” in a law case like “Brown vs. The Board of Education” stands for Latin versus (meaning
“against” ). Don’t confuse it with the word for lines of poetry—"verses"—when describing other
conflicts, like the upcoming football game featuring Oakesdale versus Pinewood.
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