From the DBA President: Brief, BUT Proper Ought to be our Goal

by Scott Bonder
President, DeKalb Bar Association

The pervasiveness of common errors does not render them acceptable. Lawyers should be models of proper speech and writing, which were developed to foster clarity and economy of communication. By offering these examples I do not suggest that I am error free. To the contrary, the following are but a few examples of improper usage that I struggle to remove from my communications daily (including those typos and errors that will inevitably and unintentionally end up in this article). Also, these are guidelines and exceptions may exist.

That/Which
That is restrictive, and which is descriptive.

Use that in a restrictive clause, which is a clause necessary to the reader’s understanding of the entire sentence. Without the restrictive clause the sentence will make no sense.

“Answers that are timely filed avoid default.” The restrictive clause “that are timely filed” is required for the sentence to make sense.

In contrast, the information added by which in the following sentence is not necessary to the basic premise, but rather adds additional information.

“Timely filed answers avoid default, which avoids malpractice.”

Nauseate/Nauseous
I am sometimes nauseous, which is to say that at times I inspire others to feel sick and/or vomit. When I feel nauseated, usually after gorging myself on fried food, then I am not feeling well.

Accept/Except
To accept something is to receive it. To except something is to exclude it.

i.e./e.g.
Id est is the Latin term for which i.e. is the abbreviation. Id est means “that is.” So, when you want to describe something using different words “i.e.” is correct, i.e. an analogy or other explanatory device is often helpful. Exempli gratia is the latin phrase meaning “free example.” So, use e.g. when you want to provide an example of the point made in your sentence, e.g. this additional clause which serves only as an example.

It’s/its
It’s is a contraction of “it is” while “its” is possessive. Hence, it’s ridiculous to use “its” in lieu of “it’s” since “its” doesn’t own anything in that intended usage.

Lay/Lie
Lay is a transitive verb, which means that it’s an act you do to something else. E.g., you lay a piece of paper on a table. Lie is an intransitive verb meaning “to recline,” i.e. it is an act one takes on his/her own body, not that one causes on another.

Than/then
Than is a word of comparison. “Than” rhymes more with pan than “then.” Then is an adverb referring to time.

Please, feel free to add more in the comments sections for this article