misspelled as well as mispronounced. Say /DAY-IS/ not /d?-is/. 16. dilate -- The word has two syllables, not three. Say /DI-LATE/, not /di-a-late/. 17. drowned -- This is the past participle form of the verb drown . Notice that there is no D on drown . Don't add one when using the word in its past form. Say /DROWND/, not /drown-ded/. 18. et cetera -- This Latin term is often mispronounced and its abbreviation is frequently misspelled. Say /ET CET-ER-A/, not /ex cet-er-a/. For the abbreviation, write ETC., not ect. 19. February -- Just about everyone I know drops the first r in February. The spelling calls for /FEB-ROO-AR-Y/, not /feb-u-ar-y/. 20. foliage -- The word has three syllables. Say /FO-LI-UJ/, not /fol-uj/. 21. forte -- English has two words spelled this way. One comes from Italian and the other from French. The Italian word, a musical term meaning "loud," is pronounced with two syllables: /FOR-TAY/. The French word, an adjective meaning "strength" or "strong point," is pronounced with one syllable: /FORT/. 22. Halloween -- The word for the holiday Americans celebrate with such enthusiasm on October 31 derives from "Hallowed Evening," meaning "evening that has been made holy." The word "hallow" comes from Old English halig, meaning "holy." Notice the a in the first syllable and say /HAL-O-WEEN/, not /hol-lo-ween/. 23. height -- The word ends in a /T/ sound, not a /TH/ sound. Say /HITE/, not /hith/. 24. heinous -- People unfamiliar with the TV show Law and