20 Writing Mistakes Even Native Speakers Make (Infographic)
Incite vs. Insight
Just like any other homophones (words that sound alike and have different meanings, but have different spellings), the terms incite and insight sometimes cause confusion among writers. Today, we will determine their difference and how they should be used in a sentence.
The word incite is used as a verb which means “to encourage or stir up violent or unlawful behavior” or “to urge or persuade someone to act in a violent or unlawful way.”
Business leaders concerned ACTU comments could incite violence
The Australian Financial ReviewGreat Yarmouth man tried to incite teenage girls in America to send him explicit photos
Norfolk Eastern Daily PressConcordia bomb threat suspect charged with inciting fear of terrorism
Montreal Gazette
On the other hand, the term insight is used as a noun referring to “the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing,” “the power or act of seeing into a situation,” or “the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively.”
Creativity Weekend workshops inspire insight, imagination and invention
Sarasota Herald TribuneBuilding Customer Engagement In The Cognitive Era: Insight From IBM’s Amplify Conference
ForbesEGYPTAIR chooses SITA airfare insight to manage fare pricing
Travel Daily News International
Now that you’ve known the difference between the two terms, you can try to test your understanding by filling in the blanks below:
The leader of the protest group tried to ……………… a riot by throwing a tomato toward the guest speaker.
Mary gave her ……………… on the issues faced by the current university school council.
In her speech, the student activist condoned those who _____ violence toward members of minority group.
Hopefully, the discussion above, as well as the exercise, would eliminate the urge to incite violence towards the misuse of the terms now that you have a better insight on how to use them in your writing.
Too, Enough and So…That
The adverbs too and enough are used to indicate excess or sufficiency.
In these sentence structures, enough is always placed after the adjective it qualifies while too is placed before the adjective. Enough and too are followed by infinitive phrases (to + verb). Sometimes they are also followed by a phrase beginning with for.
Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word or phrase.
1. She wasn't .......................... to be discouraged by some of her teachers.
2. She soon grew ......................... to manage without a hearing aid.
3. The task was ............................ for any teenager fresh from a Scottish farm.
4. Rahul was .......................... busy that he could not talk to me.
5. The car is ........................... to seat six people.
6. He walked ............................ fast that I could not catch up with him.
7. She is ............................ to buy a car.
8. He was ......................... proud to apologize.
9. None of the mangoes is .............................. to be eaten.
10. She has ............................. many students in her class that she cannot give them individual attention.
11. He is ................................ to solve the problem.
12. The light was not .............................. for one to see things clearly.
Answers
1. She wasn’t weak enough / too weak to be discouraged by some of her teachers.
2. She soon grew too deaf to manage without a hearing aid.
3. The task was daunting enough for any teenager fresh from a Scottish farm.
4. Rahul was so busy that he could not talk to me.
5. The car is large enough to seat six people.
6. He walked so fast that I could not catch up with him.
7. She is rich enough to buy a car.
8. He was too proud to apologize.
9. None of the mangoes is ripe enough to be eaten.
10. She has so many students in her class that she cannot give them individual attention.
11. He is intelligent enough to solve the problem.
12. The light was not bright enough for one to see things clearly.
2. She soon grew too deaf to manage without a hearing aid.
3. The task was daunting enough for any teenager fresh from a Scottish farm.
4. Rahul was so busy that he could not talk to me.
5. The car is large enough to seat six people.
6. He walked so fast that I could not catch up with him.
7. She is rich enough to buy a car.
8. He was too proud to apologize.
9. None of the mangoes is ripe enough to be eaten.
10. She has so many students in her class that she cannot give them individual attention.
11. He is intelligent enough to solve the problem.
12. The light was not bright enough for one to see things clearly.
