Distinguish between commonly confused words

Here are a few words that are commonly confused, especially in business writing:

among vs between

Between introduces two items; among more than two: “The host divided the pie between Don and Phil.” vs “The host divided the pie among Peter, Paul, John, George and Mary.” Also note the correct use of “between ... and …” in this sentence: “I had a choice between sugar and sweetener”. There’s no such thing as “between ... or …”

can vs may

Can refers to the ability to do something, and may refers to authorisation, permission and sometimes possibility; e.g. “They can finish the project by March.”; “May I have an extra week to finish the project?” May is almost always the correct word in a question.

like vs such as

Use such as to denote categories. Use like to give specific examples of members of a group; e.g. “The Clean Water Act could harm marsh inhabitants such as fish, waterfowl and amphibians.” and “The Clean Water Act could harm marsh inhabitants like the great heron, the kingfisher and the giant toad.”

will vs shall

The old rule dictated that we use shall for the first person (I shall leave when I am ready) and will for second and third (Both you and he will want to know what happened). But in modern English, shall is outdated and pretentious. Use will across the board.

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