Archive for tháng 11 2015

Canon or Cannon

What is the Difference Between Canon and Cannon ?

In this post, I want to go over the differences between canon and cannon. I will use them in example sentences and demonstrate their functions and definitions.

After reading this post, you shouldn’t ever confuse canon vs. cannon again.

When to Use Canon

Canon is a noun that has a few different meanings. The most commonly used ones are,

A corpus of writings.
An established principle.
An ecclesiastical law established by a church council.
The books of the Bible accepted as Holy Scripture.

Here is an example sentence using each meaning of canon.

The book serves as a gateway to the Western canon. (Group of writings)
Your conduct on the field violated the canons of fair play. (Established rule/principle)
The Vatican Council set forth a new set of ecclesiastical canons. (Laws established by a church council)
The Protestant canon has 66 books. (Books of the Bible)

The verb form of canon is canonize.

The church has officially canonize these books.

Here is a cannon

When to Use Cannon

Cannon is also a noun and has one primary meaning: a large mounted weapon that fires heavy projectiles.

The cannons used in the Civil War were extremely advanced for their time.
The cannon on the Navy vessel sank three enemy ships.

Unlike canon, which requires a slight variation to act as a verb, cannon can act as verb without any changes. The verb cannon means to bombard with cannon.

The troops cannoned their enemies during a surprise attack.

Cannon does have a second definition that is very rare to see used but still worth mentioning: the loop at the top of a bell by which it is hung.

Mistakes Involving Cannon vs. Canon

The most common mistake involving cannon vs. canon is to use cannon when you really mean canon. For example,

His remarks in the courtroom last week violated the cannon of ethics for lawyers.

– should read –

His remarks in the courtroom last week violated the canon of ethics for lawyers.

Remember the Difference

A good way to make sure that mistake doesn’t happen in your writing is to remember this trick.

Cannon is the longer of the two words and usually refers to a big gun or mounted weapon. Since cannon is the bigger of the two words, associate it with a big gun.

Cannon is a big gun; for all other uses, use canon.

This isn’t universally true of course, as there are other uses for cannon (see above: the top of a bell), but it will get you by in almost all cases.

Summary

As you can see, one letter can be the difference between a written body of literature and a mounted gun for warfare. Remember this next time you can’t decide, “Is it cannon or canon?”

Canon is a body of written work, rules, principles, or laws.

Cannon is a large gun.

Worse or Worst

Most of the confusion that writers face in English has to do with homophone: words that sound alike when spoken but have different meanings and spellings.

Today, however, we are dealing with a different concept: comparative and superlative adjectives. If you’re not sure what these terms mean, don’t worry. I’ll explain everything in detail below.

What is the Difference Between Worse and Worst ?

In this post, I want to talk about worse vs. worst. I will use both words in example sentences and outline exactly when to use each word.

After reading this post, you won’t ever again second-guess yourself by saying, “Should I use worse or worst?”

When to Use Worse

What does worse mean? Worse is defined as of lower quality or a lower standard.

Worse is what is known as a comparative adjective. A comparative adjective is used to compare two things with each other. For example,

The food was worse than the service.
These headphones are worse than my old ones.
He will look to exploit a Giants secondary that figures to be even worse than it was last season. –New York Times
The strain looks to be a little bit worse than initially diagnosed. –Oakland Press

As you can see in each of the above examples, worse is being used to compare two different things. In other words, something is worse than something else. That is how comparative adjectives work.

When to Use Worst

What does worst mean? Worst is defined as of the lowest quality or the lowest standard.

Worst is what is known as a superlative adjective. A superlative adjective is used when you compare three or more things with one another. For example,

Out of Steve, Bill, and Joe, Steve has the worst score.
This was the worst speech the president has ever made.
An index of REIT stocks is on track for its worst year since 2008 after a six-year rally pushed it up 348%, including dividends, from its financial-crisis-era low, as of Friday’s close. –The Wall Street Journal
Under Will Muschamp, the Gators only had one 1,000-yard rusher (Mike Gillislee in 2012) and the running backs struggled in an offense that ranked among the worst in the country. –Orlando Sentinel

As you can see in each of the above examples, worst is used to compare three or more things. If something is of the lowest quality in a group, it is said to be the worst.

Superlative adjectives can be thought of as the most extreme descriptors. They are super!

Ordering of Worse, Worst

Worse and worst are irregular comparative and superlative adjective which means they don’t follow the typical pattern.

Most comparatives/superlatives look something like this, Large > Larger > Largest. Simply adding an “er” makes the comparative, and adding the “est” makes the superlative.

Worse and worst are irregular, however, so their ordering goes like this, Bad > Worse > Worst.

Then on the opposite end of the spectrum you have, Good > Better > Best (also irregular).

Worse Case or Worst Case ?

How exactly does the popular phrase go? Is it a worse case scenario or a worst-case scenario?

The correct usage would be worst-case scenario. A worst-case scenario is characterized by the worst of the possible foreseeable circumstances. It is the most extreme scenario.

Trick to Remember the Difference

Here’s a good trick to remember when to use worst or worse.

Worst is the least good option. If you are presented with a list of things to do, whatever is worst is the thing you would want to do least. Worst and least both end in “st.”

You could also think of it as being the most extreme (in the case of a storm or natural disaster). Worst and most both end in “st.”

Summary

Worst vs. worse are an example of irregular comparative and superlative adjectives.

Worse describes something that is of lower quality than something else. It is used to compare two things with each other.

Worst describes something that is of the lowest quality of a group of three of more things.

Canon or Cannon

What is the Difference Between Canon and Cannon ?

When to Use Canon

When to Use Cannon

Mistakes Involving Cannon vs. Canon

Remember the Difference

Summary

What is the Difference Between Worse and Worst ?

When to Use Worse

When to Use Worst

Ordering of Worse, Worst

Worse Case or Worst Case ?

Trick to Remember the Difference

Summary

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