Grammar Moses: Words that begin with the letter C

I could probably write a column each week devoted to problems with words that start with one letter of the alphabet.

Well, maybe not Z.

Come to think of it, I might just try that.

But I won't start with A, because that would reflect an organized mind. Nope, I'll start with C, because I've been hearing many issues of late with words that start with that letter.

Conscious or conscience?

I've heard a number of people say something like, “I cannot in good conscious eat an entire pecan pie.”

“Conscious” is an adjective, for starters. If you are conscious of something you are aware of it. If you are cost-conscious, you are deliberate about your spending.

“Conscience” is a noun meaning one's sense of right and wrong. One cannot, in good conscience, eat an entire pecan pie — at least as an appetizer.

Comment or commentate?

I had a tough time accepting “commentate” as a word, mostly because it seems wasteful to me. One “comments” on your Facebook post or the cut of your jib. “

Comment” suggests a discrete action, while “commentate” suggests something ongoing.

The verb to describe the act of running commentary — say by a sports color person, such as WGN's Jim Deshaies — is “commentate.”

While “commentate” is there in black and white in every dictionary, it still hurts my ears. It is a back-formation from “commentator,” according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.

Other examples of back-formed words are “administrate” and “observate,” where the noun form with a “-tion” suffix is reduced to a verb form. Why not simply “administer” or “observe”?

It's best to be mindful of words that end with “-ate.”

In some cases, they aren't legit. In even more cases, the suffix is unnecessary.

My advice: Save your breath and use the root word.

Compliment or complement?

Given that these are homophones, I haven't actually heard people mix these up. But I've seen it done often.

Both words are either nouns or verbs.

“Compliment” is a polite expression of praise, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

“I complimented Sean on his vast collection of science fiction-related bobbleheads.”

The primary definition of “complement” is something that enhances or improves something else.

“A glass of cabernet sauvignon was the perfect complement to his prime rib dinner.”

Continual? Continuous? Constant?

Something that is “continual” is regularly occurring: trains leaving the station; your co-worker blowing her nose during cold and flu season. Things that are “continuous” are uninterrupted: the flow of a river; the rotation of Earth; permutations of “Law and Order.”

Can something be “almost continuous”?

According to “Garner's Modern American Usage,” that's a signal the word you're looking for is “continual.” As with uniqueness or pregnancy, you either are or you aren't. There are no shades of “continuous.”

So, you might ask, where does “constant” fit in? I wish I could give you a definitive answer on that, but my thinking is it's better to use “continual” or “continuous” to describe the frequency of something and “constant” to describe its unchanging nature.

Capital or capitol?

Here is another pair of homophones.

While “capital” has multiple definitions — an asset being a big one — the primary distinction between “capital” and “capitol” is the former is the city in which government is centered and the latter is the building in which government business is done.

If you can't remember that, remember the O in “dome.” That seems to help.

Write carefully!

• Jim Baumann is assistant vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at facebook.com/baumannjim.