These two verbs are too often confused, even by experienced writers. Perhaps the confusion stems from the acceptable use of either in certain contexts. We either convince or persuade someone of the value of a proposition or of the goodness of a certain action. But the two verbs part ways when we try to make them lead into complementary infinitives with to...it works with persuade but does not with convince.
We can convince a person that a statement is correct; we can convince him of its correctness; but we cannot convince (though we can persuade) him to believe it or to act on the belief. In all the examples here, the use of convince is incorrect:
- It was thought to have convinced a considerable number of independents to vote for the less experienced candidate.
- He said that the chairman had been convinced by the reporter to open the doors on the meeting.
- She tried to convince Williams in the interview to apologize to the fans and especially to the line judge.
- We made very attempt to convince the electorate to approve the measure, but without success. All these examples should use persuade (or prevail upon) where they use convince.
Courtesy of ProofreadNOW.com
This Week's Aside: Versus
Spell this word out in ordinary speech and writing:
The proposal to start a water ski club versus proposals to drain the lake and sell the boats went no further than the Subcommittee to Ban Couch Potatoes...
In short expressions, however, the abbreviation vs. is permitted:
The issue of skiing vs. wakeboarding has always been with us. For court cases, use v: Mervin v. Jordan. Source: AP Style Guide.
WORD OF THE DAY:
belles lettres
Pronunciation: bel-letr
Function: noun plural but singular in construction
Etymology: French, literally, fine letters Date: 1710
Definition: literature that is an end in itself and not merely informative; specifically: light, entertaining, and often sophisticated literature
Example: "Although it has been in use since the late 18th century, [the use of 'comprise' to mean compose or constitute] is still attacked as wrong. Why it has been singled out is not clear, but until comparatively recent times it was found chiefly in scientific or technical writing rather than belles lettres."
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