|
Tackling More Tricky Word Choices: Issue vs. Problem
|
|
Several of our articles to start the year have focused on tricky word
choices, ones that may throw us off simply because we might not be aware of
or pay attention to their subtleties and differences.
Another pair of tricky, freely swapped words is issue and problem. Most often, we’ll use issue to mean problem, not realizing its main definition intends to convey
something else. Let’s take a closer look at these words.
The primary meaning of issue is “a point or matter of
discussion, debate, or dispute between two or more parties.” Other
relevant definitions include “a matter of public concern” and
“a misgiving, objection, or complaint.”
Problem, on the other hand, communicates “a question raised for inquiry,
consideration, or solution,” “an intricate unsettled
question,” “a source of perplexity, distress, or
vexation,” and “difficulty in understanding or
accepting.”
Some dictionaries have helped blur the distinction by allowing the
concept of problem to trickle into definitions of issue. Within dictionary entries, appearances of problem under meanings of issue range from near the
top to much farther down.
For example, the online American Heritage Dictionary
introduces problem in its second definition of issue, immediately following the first and more weighted one. Conversely, the online Oxford English Dictionary
does not mention problem as related with issue until
the sixteenth definition.
Merriam-Webster
alludes to problem in definition six. Dictionary.com does not
introduce the idea of problem at all.
So what, then, do careful writers do when common usage and even
dictionaries muddy our mission for precision? We recommend an even greater
focus on using issue and problem as we’ve
distinguished them here. This will help reinforce the exactness English
offers us.
We acknowledge that issue and problem will still be
exchanged in spoken communication. At the same time, now that we better
understand the difference, we can lead more-accurate usage by keeping their
intended primary meanings within our own speech.
|
|
View this article on our website
|
|
Pop Quiz
Choose either issue or problem as it fits by its main
definition in each sentence.
1) I think we have a serious (issue / problem) with the balance sheet.
The numbers are way off.
2) Do you think he has (an issue / a problem) with his focus during
meetings?
3) The main (issue / problem) here is whether we should allow the empty
twenty acres west of Route 45 to be rezoned for commercial use.
4) The council will soon discuss the (issue / problem) of a proposed
hike in water rates.
|
Free BONUS Quiz for You!
[[firstname]], because you are a subscriber to the newsletter, you get access to one of the Subscribers-Only Quizzes. Click here to take a Confusing Words and Homonyms Quiz and get your scores and explanations instantly!
We will be adding many more quizzes this year to our already substantial list of quizzes. If you have suggestions for topics we have not yet covered, please send us a message at help@grammarbook.com.
|
Hundreds of Additional Quizzes
at Your Fingertips
Subscribe now to receive hundreds of additional English usage quizzes not found anywhere else!
For Instructors and Employers, you may assign quizzes to your students and employees and have their scores tallied and organized automatically! Let GrammarBook.com take the hassle out of teaching English!
"Fun to test my Skills"
"The explanations really help ... thanks!"
"I download the quizzes for my students who don't have computer access."
|
|
Don't need all the quizzes?
You can now purchase the same quizzes individually for ONLY 99¢ each.
Purchase yours here.
|
If you think you have found an error in a quiz, please email us at help@grammarbook.com
|
 |
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern |
The Authority on English Grammar! Eleventh Edition Now Available
An indispensable tool for busy professionals, teachers, students, homeschool families, editors, writers, and proofreaders.
Available in print AND as an e-Book! Over 2,000 copies are purchased every month!
The publisher of The Blue Book, Jossey-Bass, A Wiley brand, is offering a 35 percent discount for those of you who order the book through Wiley.com. Shipping and tax are not included. Simply go to bit.ly/1996hkA and use discount code E9X4A.
Offer expires December 31, 2018.
|
Wordplay
More fun for our lexophiles:
• Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
• I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
• I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, then it dawned on me.
• When chemists die, they barium.
• I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.
Pop Quiz Answers
1) I think we have a serious (issue / problem) with
the balance sheet. The numbers are way off.
2) Do you think he has (an issue / a problem) with his
focus during meetings?
3) The main (issue / problem) here is whether we
should allow the empty twenty acres west of Route 45 to be rezoned for
commercial use.
4) The council will soon discuss the (issue / problem)
of a proposed hike in water rates.
|
 |
English In A Snap:
68 One-Minute English Usage Videos FREE |
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch.
|
|
