Grammar Brigade: Commonly Confused Terms

Sometimes, the things we say mix up the things we write. Today, we'll be looking at some commonly misused words and phrases. Included in the lesson will be:

kind vs. kinds (what kind of fish do you have, what kinds of fish do you have)
should of vs. should have

further vs. farther
like vs. such as
toward vs. towards
number vs. amount

Kind vs. KindsQuiz! Which is a proper answer to this question:
"What kind of fish do you have in that aquarium?"
A) African Black Knife fish, Elephant Noses, and Baby Whales
B) Great white sharks
C) My cat, some angel fish, a couple of goldfish, and a guppy - wait, no more guppy.
D) A dolphin

If you answered B) Great white sharks, you are correct!

"Kind" refers to a single type. So, "What kind of fish" means you can only answer with a single type of fish.

Kinds, on the other hand, refers to multiple kinds of fish. So if I had asked, "What kinds of fish do you have?" you would have had to answer with A) African Black Knife fish, Elephant Noses, and Baby Whales.

Ex: What kind of pet do you have? A dog.
Ex: What kinds of pets do you have? A dog, a cat, and a fire-breathing mongoose. No snakes.

Should of vs. Should Have

Should have. "Should of" is a mistake - this common error comes from hearing the contraction "should've" and assuming the verbal 've transcribes to of. Always use should have, could have, may have, etc.


Further vs. farther

Farther refers to distances.

Further continues an idea or a process. It's metaphorical - no physical distance involved. It can also mean "in addition."

Ex) He moved farther away from the city than Electra did.
Ex) The asteroid continued to move farther from Earth over the rest of the week.
Ex) Further involvement by the FBI was unnecessary.
Ex) There was lots of evidence in his room. Further, the dead body of a guppy was found in the litterbox.

Personally, I prefer to use furthermore for the "in addition" definition. Furthermore, the dead body of a guppy was found in the litterbox.

Like vs. such as

Most people won't hunt you down for these. But, if you plan on writing for a grammar stickler, I'd use "such as" in inclusive lists:

I wear many cool accessories, such as red shoes, gold earrings, and dragon-scale purses.

To many people, like means "similar to" - a comparison that does not include. She looks like a dog (but is not a dog); it's like that time we shot the sheriff (but we didn't shoot the sheriff again).

Pop quiz: Which is correct?
1.
A) Xena hopes no more stalker-glorifying books like Twilight will be published.
B) Xena hopes no more stalker-glorifying books such as Twilight will be published.
2.
A) Amber loves stories such as Twilight, in which handsome boys obsess over clumsy girls.
B) Amber loves stories like Twilight, in which handsome boys obsess over clumsy girls.
3.
A) Luke likes to feed his cat strange things, like sparkly vampires, guppies, and blue gorillas.
B) Luke likes to feed his cat strange things such as sparkly vampires, guppies, and blue gorillas.

Answers: 1(A), 2(Either, depending on context. If Amber likes Twilight, then A. If she does not like Twilight, then B.) 3(B).

Toward vs. towards

No mistake. They're interchangeable. Grammar Girl suggests that towards is more British, and toward may be more American, but both are correct.


Number vs. amount

"Number" is used for things that can be physically counted. "The number of shoes in my closet," "the number of teaspoons of salt," etc.

"Amount" is used for money and for things that cannot be physically, individually counted. "The amount of water" is a common use, or "the amount of love."

Liquids are usually amounts, but not containers or measurements of liquids.

All of these are correct:

I want an amount of milk in my glass, or I want a number of milliliters in my glass.
Pay him some amount of money to make him go away.
The amount of time it would take to run to the store for sugar is too long. I'll just use this salt instead.
The number of minutes in an hour changed yesterday to forty.

Sources:

should have vs. should of
further vs. farther
like vs. such; like vs such
toward vs. towards
number vs. amount; number vs. amount

 Note: "What kinds of pet" would be incorrect. Since I used "kinds," my subject must be plural. Kinds has an -s, so add an -s to your subject. Unless you're talking fish, sheep, or another irregularly pluralized item.