Most commonly misused English words.
There are several English words that are commonly used incorrectly by native speakers.
presently
Actual meaning: soon
Intended meaning: now
penultimate
Actual meaning: next to last
Intended meaning: superlative for "superultimate" or beyond ultimate
Are there any words commonly misused like this in Spanish?
21 Answers
An original meaning of presently was "at the present time; currently."
I use presently to mean now, currently, at the present time.
P.s. I was an English major for four years and now I'm an editor for a legal newspaper, so I'm pretty confident in my use of the word.
These are ones that I mess up a lot, especially when growing up:
there vs their vs they're
accept vs except
While they sound similar, except is a preposition that means "apart from", while accept is a verb that means "agree with", "take in", or "receive". Except is also rarely used as a verb, meaning to leave out.
* Standard: We accept all major credit cards, except Diners Club.
* Standard: Men are fools... present company excepted! (Which means, "present company excluded")
* Non-standard: I had trouble making friends with them; I never felt excepted.
* Non-standard: We all went swimming, accept for Jack.
affect vs effect
The verb affect means "to influence something", and the noun effect means "the result of". Effect can also be a verb that means "to cause [something] to be", while affect as a noun has technical meanings in psychology, music, and aesthetic theory: an emotion or subjectively experienced feeling.
* Standard. This poem affected me so much that I cried.
* Standard. Temperature has an effect on reaction spontaneity.
* Standard. The dynamite effected the wall's collapse.
* Standard. He seemed completely devoid of affect.
* Non-standard. The rain effected our plans for the day.
* Non-standard. We tried appeasing the rain gods, but to no affect.
adverse vs averse
Adverse means unfavorable, contrary or hostile. Averse means having a strong feeling of opposition, antipathy, or repugnance.
* Standard: They sailed despite adverse weather conditions.
* Standard: He was averse to taking his medicine.
* Non-standard: He is not adverse to having a drink now and then.
allusion vs illusion
An allusion is an indirect or metaphorical reference to something; an illusion is a false picture of something that is there; a hallucination is the seeing of something that is not there.
diffuse vs defuse
To diffuse is to disperse randomly, whereas to defuse is to remove the fuse from a bomb, or in general to render a situation less dangerous. Diffuse can also be used as an adjective, meaning, "not concentrated".
* Standard: The situation was defused when Sandy explained that he was gay, and had no interest in Frank's wife.
* Standard: The smell of gasoline slowly diffused into the still air of the hall.
* Standard: The spotlights were turned off, leaving the stage lit by the diffuse glow of the lanterns.
set vs sit
When used as a verb, to set means "to place" or "to adjust to a value", whereas to sit means, "to be seated".
* Standard: Set the pot upon the stove.
* Standard: Set the temperature-control to 100 °C.
* Non-standard: Set down over there.
* Non-standard: Sit the pot on the stove.
* Standard: Sit on the chair.
Good and Well.
How are you? - I am good.
presently Actual meaning: soon Intended meaning: now
This may be a bit misleading as the word "presently" can mean both "soon" and "now."
From Webster's New World Dictionary:
presently adv 1 in a little while; soon. 2 at present; now 3 [archaic] at once; instantly
penultimate Actual meaning: next to last Intended meaning: superlative for "superultimate" or beyond ultimate
"Beyond ultimate." Now there's an oxymoron for you. Is that like "being 1000% sure" about something (as though being 100% wasn't enough) or like being "better than the best."
Incidentally, I often misuse penultimate, but not for the reasons you have listed. When I am in the middle of writing something that would require the use of a word like ultimate, acme, pinnacle, etc., I often vacillate between "ultimate" and "pinnacle," and for some reason it comes out "penultimate."
When it comes to English dictionaries be careful when using Mr Websters dictionary.
He was one of a group of people who wanted to create "American English" as distinct from "British English" following independence.
They failed but introduced a lot of anomolies that has resulted in the phrase "two nations separated by a common language"
A bit of background on Mr Webster
Noah Webster, the Father of American Christian education, wrote the first American dictionary and established a system of rules to govern spelling, grammar, and reading. This master linguist understood the power of words, their definitions, and the need for precise word usage in communication to maintain independence. Webster used the Bible as the foundation for his definitions.
This standard reference tool will greatly assist students of all ages in their studies.
No other dictionary compares with the Webster's 1828 dictionary. The English language has changed again and again and in many instances has become corrupt. The American Dictionary of the English Language is based upon God's written word, for Noah Webster used the Bible as the foundation for his definitions. This standard reference tool will greatly assist students of all ages in their studies. From American History to literature, from science to the Word of God, this dictionary is a necessity. For homeschoolers as well as avid Bible students it is easy, fast, and sophisticated.
Thought I should add this about the Oxford Dictionary - note it was first published many years AFTER the Webster dictionary.
How it began When the members of the Philological Society of London decided, in 1857, that existing English language dictionaries were incomplete and deficient, and called for a complete re-examination of the language from Anglo-Saxon times onward, they knew they were embarking on an ambitious project. However, even they didn't realize the full extent of the work they initiated, or how long it would take to achieve the final result.
The project proceeded slowly after the Society's first grand statement of purpose. Eventually, in 1879, the Society made an agreement with the Oxford University Press and James A. H. Murray to begin work on a New English Dictionary (as the Oxford English Dictionary was then known).
Keeping it current
An exhilarating aspect of a living language is that it continually changes. This means that no dictionary is ever really finished. After fifty years of work on the first edition, the editors must have found this fact exhausting to contemplate.
Oh, I forgot the one I most dislike:
loose and lose
When you lose something it is lost.
You set something loose or you loosen something.
I have previously read the "Usage Note" that you are quoting and I have also read contradictory statements elsewhere that contend that the use of "presently" to mean "now" has been in continuous use since the 15th century. Not only that, language is not some static monolith that defines our reality but rather it is the use of language that defines the language itself. It is organic in the sense that it grows, develops and changes along with peoples and cultures. That being said, in your own quote you have asserted that roughly half of the "experts" on the Usage Panel in the 1999 survey agreed with its usage. That appears at best to be a stalemate. Yet I would contend that if 1). the word is in common usage, 2). it means the same thing as the original meaning of the word, 3) it has been in continuous use for any substantial amount of time, 4) neither the Oxford English Dictionary nor Webster's notes any irregularities in this usage, and 5). about half of all "experts" surveyed agreed that it was reasonably used in this way , it is difficult to make a case against its use in this way or to contend that this usage is in some way incorrect.
The English word that "gets my goat" is "momentarily" .
This is used all the time on CNN for example to mean "soon" - it does not mean "soon" it means "for a short while" "for a short period of time"
There are many others that I can't think of just now.
As far as commonly misused words/phrases in Spanish, you might be interested in this thread: errores comunes en español
One of my pet peeves with incorrect English is saying or writing very unique.
Unique is unique. Nada mas, nada menos...
Does the same error occur in Spanish?
Por ejemplo: muy unico... O, muy excepcional...
I agree! I also have a pet peeve along those lines. I have never understood the use of the very common phrase "fun loving". I mean, honestly, who doesn't love to have fun? It's a little redundant. Isn't the definition of having fun doing something that you love to do?
I think this explanation from Urbandictionary.com (okay, not the best source, I know 
) sums up my thoughts completely:
fun-loving
The most ridiculous, pointless, and redundant adjective that has ever existed. The definition of fun, is something that is a source of enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure. Therefore, the fact that something fun is enjoyable or pleasurable is built-in to the very meaning of the word. Hence, it is completely redundant and illogical to say "fun-loving". How else is someone going to feel about fun? Fun-hating? The very notion is contradictory at best, and ludicrous at worst.
One of my pet peeves with incorrect English is saying or writing very unique.
Unique is unique. Nada mas, nada menos...
Does the same error occur in Spanish?
Por ejemplo: muy unico... O, muy excepcional...
You have to be careful and acknowledge that where it originated is not where it is now...you can always trace the origins even further back than England you know, but it would be pointless to do so as meanings change over time as language evolves
So too, it would be pointless to characterized a language that is "presently" (sorry - I couldn't resist 
) used by rules and standards that were in place at the language's inception
"At present he is not here but he will return presently" OK
"Presently he is not here but he will return presently" UGH!
I would say "ugh!" to the redundancy in both sentences. Not to mention the lack of variation in construction that you have chosen to apply to your ugh! sentence and are not a fair comparison. Who would say something like this?
In your second sentence, it would sound much better if you were to say
"Presently, he is not here, but he will return shortly"
In fact, for both sentences "shortly" sounds better to my ears. Even so, using two "-ly" adverbs consecutively in the same sentence as you have is what really contributes to the dissonance that is generated by these sentences. It would sound less harsh to use a word like "soon" or "in a little while" to avoid such cacophony.
"Presently, he is not here, but he will return soon/in a little while."
If you were purposely trying to yield awkward sentences you could also say, "He is not present, but he will return presently" - what an strange use of English. Why you would use two adverbs based upon the same word in the same sentence to mean different things is beyond me (unless of course you are trying to be poetic such as is evident in much of the writings of William Shakespeare).
I'm sure that you are aware that words will often have more than one meaning depending on context. Composing strange sentences that were purposely contrived to be unaesthetic to "prove" that a particular usage of the word is not correct seems odd. It would seem that if there is an appropriate example of the use of the word then it would cut into any argument against its use, especially if these arguments are predicated on purposely awkward usages such as the one contrived above.
The morpheme "-ly" when used as a suffix to form an adverb is commonly used to mean at a (specified) time or place, so it should not be odd that "presently" could be used to mean "at the present."
I am presently working at the computer
It should seem more odd how an adverb formed from the word "present" (right now) can mean something that will occur in the future (shortly, in a little while, soon).
I will presently arrive Ugh! (although "I will arrive presently" does sound better but still sounds better if you were to use a word such as "soon" or "shortly")
What about other words such as very that can mean both 1). in a high degree; extremely; exceedingly and 2). truly, really, the same.
I don't think that it would be incorrect to say either:
That's the very hat that he lost
That hat is very old
but to purposely juxtapose these words in a sentence, just like you have done with your "presently/presenly -ugh!" example, would create a weird sentence that could and should be said differently so that the presentation is more pleasing.
The very old hat is the very hat he lost
He will return presently as presently he is not here
Both constructs (as I have stated previously) are somewhat odd unless your intent was to be poetic, but both would be possible sentences.
Wow 
This whole time, I thought you were arguing against the use of presently to mean "now" (until I read the following comments).
Not in English English. It isn't logical. "I am doing it presently" is present continuous and means "now" "I will do it presently" means in a short while. It us used as you say but "gets up my nose" everytime I hear it.
I will not go so far as to say that this is an incorrect usage, but what I will say is that using it in this manner seems to be (or probably at least originated in) a use of hyperbole. For example, if someone asks, "Have you started typing your reports yet," you could reply "No, but I will start them right now/right away/presently." This is not to say that you will actually do them "at this very moment," but is a way to state (using hyperbole) that you will get to them very soon.
A common mistake in English: "plethera" is a noun, "myriad" is not "..
a myriad of choices" (wrong) "They had myriad complaints" (right) or "I had a plethera of choices." (right)
I too am curious when this occurs in Spanish.
A common mistake in English: "plethera" is a noun, "myriad" is not "..
a myriad of choices" (wrong) "They had myriad complaints" (right) or "I had a plethera of choices." (right)
According to Websters New World and (for those who don't trust Daniel Webster's handling of the English language) the OED, the word "myriad" is correct as both an adjective and as a noun and its usage is more a matter of stylistic differences than anything.
Here is a post to a word forum that discusses this idea: myriad
