Do you have a perfect score for August? If so, the pressure’s on to close out the month with one more A+. Make your choices.
1. In lieu of/In light of the growing friction between Andrew and Becky, we are assigning him to a different team.
2. Supposably/Supposedly, Carol once performed in an off-Broadway musical, but I am skeptical.
3. I heard the Old Mill Road construction won’t be completed for a while/awhile.
4. Because this year’s convention is within driving distance, we are sending an unusually large contingency/contingent.
The answers
1. In lieu of means “instead of” or “in place of.” Here we want in light of.
2. Supposable (meaning “able to be supposed or imagined”) and supposably are in the dictionary, but most of us will never need either word. We do often want another word for “purportedly,” however, and that would be supposedly – which frequently carries a touch of irony in that something is supposed to be true, but we aren’t buying it.
3. Yes, awhile is a word, but in the above example we want two words: a while. Here’s the difference (grammar alert!): Awhile is an adverb, so it modifies a verb. (“Seeing as the drinks are free, let’s stay awhile.”) But following a preposition like “for” or “after,” we need an object of that preposition, so we want a while. (“We’ve decided to stay for a while.”)
A while is also the choice when we need a direct object. (“Please give me a while to make my decision.”)
4. The word for a delegation or representative group is a contingent, not a contingency. We want contingency when we are expressing uncertainty or referring to something unknown. (“I thought I was prepared, but I hadn’t allowed for that contingency.”)
Note that contingent can also be used to express uncertainty. (“My attendance at the event is contingent on my being in town.”)
In addition to presenting workshops on writing in the workplace, Norm Friedman is a writer, editor, and writing coach. His 100+ Instant Writing Tips is a brief “non-textbook” to help individuals overcome common writing errors and write with more finesse and impact. Learn more at http://www.normfriedman.com/index.shtml.