Here are the answers to the short practice exercises that accompany each set of words (beginning L through Q) in our Glossary of Usage.
- Last and Latter
(a) "After carefully considering everything, I found myself confronted by the cruel but unavoidable alternatives, of showing disrespect to Madame d'Epinay, Madame d'Houdetot, or myself: I chose the last." (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
(b) "The world still consists of two clearly divided groups: the English and the foreigners. One group consists of less than 50 million people; the other of 3,950 million. The latter group does not really count." (George Mikes) - Later and Latter
(a) "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." (Thomas Jefferson)
(b) Merdine told Gus a joke, and two minutes later he began laughing. - Lay and Lie
(a) The cat always lies* curled up under the table.
(b) Don't shout when you lay your cards down.
(c) Linda lay down for a nap after yoga last night.
* The past tense of lie--lay--would also be correct. - Lead and Led
(a) Your advice will lead me into trouble.
(b) Your advice has led me into trouble many times before. - Leave and Let
(a) Don't leave the children unattended.
(b) Don't let the children play near the grill. - Lend and Loan
(a) "Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth." (Erma Bombeck)
(b) Gus asked Merdine for a loan. - Lessen and Lesson
(a) To lengthen your life, lessen your meals.
(b) "Life is a long lesson in humility." (James M. Barrie) - Liable and Libel
(a) While libel and slander are regulated by law in the real world, in the cyberworld almost anything goes.
(b) An employer can be held liable even for unintentional discrimination. - Lightening and Lightning
(a) She considered lightening her load by donating her winter clothes to charity.
(b) Electricity is really just organized lightning. - Literally and Figuratively
(a) Some students are getting swept out of the library, figuratively speaking.
(b) "When I say I'll murder my baby's mother, maybe I wanted to, but I didn't. Anybody who takes it literally is ten times sicker than I am." - Loath and Loathe
(a) I loathe people who dress their pets.
(b) Merdine was loath to get out of bed. - Loose and Lose
(a) The button on my sleeve is loose.
(b) If I lose that button, I'm in trouble. - Many and Much
(a) Many reviewers praised Emma's first novel.
(b) Emma's first novel received much praise from the reviewers. - Marital and Martial
(a) The couple tried to resolve their marital difficulties.
(b) The king declared martial law. - Maybe and May Be
(a) I'm not sure, but I think Gus may be hiding in the shed.
(b) Maybe Merdine is hiding with him. - Media and Medium
(a) "I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information." (David Ogilvy)
(b) "The news media are, for the most part, the bringers of bad news." (Peter McWilliams) - Miner and Minor
(a) Minor burns, unlike more serious ones, usually heal without leaving a scar.
(b) Mr. Castle is the grandson of a miner from the Kentish coalfields.
(c) At the time of the offense, on his 16th birthday, Paul was still a minor. - Moot and Mute
(a) Because medical bills ate up his estate, the inheritance issue became a moot point.
(b) She has been mute since suffering the trauma of losing her parents. - Moral and Morale
(a) "A nation as a society forms a moral person." (Thomas Jefferson)
(b) Morale is self-esteem in action. - Obsolescent and Obsolete
(a) Senate and House conferees are considering a bill to close obsolete military bases.
(b) Although CD writers are obsolescent, writable CD discs continue to sell by the billions. - Pair, Pare, and Pear
(a) On cold days I wear an extra pair of socks.
(b) When you travel, try to pare down your belongings to the essentials.
(c) A fresh, ripe pear is intensely sweet. - Passed and Past
(a) We drove past the exit five minutes ago.
(b) We passed the exit five minutes ago.
(c) In the past, students wore caps and gowns to classes.
(d) In past years, students had to do kitchen chores. - Peace and Piece
(a) "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
(b) I never met a piece of chocolate I didn't like. - Perquisite and Prerequisite
(a) The perquisites of her job almost made up for the low salary.
(b) A high degree of emotional intelligence may be a prerequisite for outstanding achievement. - Persecute and Prosecute
(a) A Turkish prosecutor is considering whether to prosecute the publisher.
(b) As a practical matter, governments have always had to consider the question of which groups and practices to tolerate and which to persecute. - Personal and Personnel
(a) "Most people in big companies are administered, not led. They are treated as personnel, not people." (Robert Townsend)
(b) "Pessimism is an excuse for not trying and a guarantee to a personal failure." (Bill Clinton) - Perspective and Prospective
(a) The lawyers from both sides questioned the prospective jurors.
(b) Studying history can help put the problems of our own time in perspective. - Pore and Pour
(a) "Pore down your warmth, great sun!" (Walt Whitman)
(b) She poured over the small print on the medicine label. - Precede and Proceed
(a) After keeping us for an hour, the guard let us proceed.
(b) The storms of April precede the gentler rains of May. - Prescribe and Proscribe
(a) In no state are psychologists permitted to prescribe medication.
(b) China's laws tightly proscribe public demonstrations. - Principal and Principle
(a) Mr. Bill retired as school principal.
(b) His principal ambition now is to tend to his garden.
(c) The principle of gardening is the same as the principle of teaching: to provide nourishment. - Quell and Quench
(a) Riot police were called in to quell the violence.
(b) Fog rolled in from the ocean to quench the flames. - Quiet, Quit, and Quite
(a) Henry needed peace and quiet.
(b) He quit his job and moved to the woods.
(c) Now he is quite content. - Quotation and Quote
(a) Merdine began each of her essays with a familiar quotation.
(b) When he can't think of an answer, Gus quotes from a popular song lyric.
