112
Mrs. Bluezette's Grammar Guide
nauseous/nauseated, loose/lose, irritate/aggravate
Mrs. B wants you to remember that you cannot feel "nauseous."
What you feel is "nauseated" when you see or smell something
"nauseous" or when you experience something that causes "nausea."
v
Mrs. B feels NAUSEATED when she faces the road just driven,
while in the third seat of a station wagon.
v
The smell of the trash burning power pla nt is NAUSEOUS for
some Southsiders.
v
If he mentions NAUSEA, you'd better pull over; he's about to
toss his cookies.
How many times have you seen "loose" in copy and have known the
writer meant "lose."
"Lose" is the opposite of "win."
"Loose," on the other hand, is the opposite of "tight."
And here are a couple that Mrs. B misused for years (it's her
mother's fault).
"Irritate" means to annoy.
"Aggravate" means to make worse.
v
I AGGRAVATE the situation when I IRRITATE the leaders by
asking irrelevant questions.
So, in spite of your mother's scolding, you were not "aggravating"
your sister.
You were "irritating" her.
Don't let Mrs. B catch you IRRITATING or AGGRAVATING
today.
Behave.
