Choose the correct spelling (answers follow below):
- Johnny [use to / used to] go to all his alma mater’s football games.
- [Based on / Based off of] your most recent visit to our restaurant, how would you rate the service you received?
- I take vitamins and walk two miles [everyday / every day].
- Flan is Jose’s favorite dessert. He eats it [a lot / alot].
- The Joneses arrived at the park early to [set up / setup] the food and games for the party.
(1) used to. It’s past tense, so we add the -d. I understand that the d and t are blended together when we say it, but remember to add the d when spelling it. Always. I repeat: always.
(2) It’s based on (or upon) something, not based off of something, no matter how prevalent the misusage is. Standard English is based on.
(3) The correct form here is every day. Keep the words separate. You use the closed compound word everyday, an adjective, when describing something ordinary or run-of-the-mill: “Wear your everyday shoes.” “Brushing one’s teeth is an everyday chore.” (And I do brush my teeth every day.)
(4) a lot. Jose eats flan a lot. Sometimes we see these words fused together (alot), likely because it’s confused with the very different word allot, which means “to assign as a share or portion.” (We often see allot used in its noun form: allotment.)
(5) Set up refers to an action; setup is a noun. The Joneses arrived to set up (verb) the food and games. During the party, one guest commented, “What a nice setup (noun) you have here!”
Now you know. Remember to practice every day.
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