You say tomato, I say tomahto . . .

A few common word misusages I've seen recently in the news.

1) amount/number - amount is used for something you can't count individually; number is used for something that can be counted individually.

"It required a large amount of sand to make the number of marbles in that bag."

2) accept/except - accept is to take something offered by another; except is something left out.

"I accept your job offer, except for the part where I work for nothing."

3) corroborate/cooperate - corroborate is to bolster the testimony of another; cooperate is to work with another to accomplish a goal.

"The witness corroborated the policeman's account that the prisoner was not cooperating with him."


4) their/there/they're - their is a possessive pronoun; there means "over yonder"; they're is a contraction for "they are."

"They're pointing over there where their car is."


5) your/you're - your is a possessive pronoun; you're is a contraction for "you are."

"You're sure your dog didn't chase my cat?"

How did a professional journalist make it through journalism school without knowing these basics?

And then I heard this mispronunciation by a news anchor on Dallas' Channel 8:

She was reporting on pharmaceuticals found in the drinking water. She said they included "a-nal-a-jesics." It took me a minute, but I figured it out ---- analgesics.