Left Over vs. Leftover vs. Leftovers (Grammar Rules)
As we head into leftovers season, I want to make sure we’re clear on three different terms that are all closely related, sound similar (if not the same), but are all used in slightly different situations, even if at the same occasion.
So let’s look at when to use left over, leftover, and leftovers.
Left Over vs. Leftover vs. Leftovers
Left over is a phrase used to indicate that there is someone or something still remaining or yet to be used. For instance, I might cook a big dinner with several dinner rolls, so that at the end of dinner there might be three dinner rolls remaining…or left over.
(How and Why to Write About Food in Fiction.)
Leftover, on the other hand, is an adjective that means the same thing, but you turn the phrase into a compound word when placing it before the remaining object. So the three dinner rolls that were left over can also be referred to as three leftover dinner rolls.
Finally, leftovers is a noun that refers to anything that might be described as being left over or leftover. So a person could refer to “three leftover dinner rolls” as simply “leftovers” and mean the same thing.
Make sense?
Here are a few examples of left over, leftover, and leftovers:
Correct: He ate a lot, but there was still some meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans left over.
Incorrect: He ate a lot, but there was still some meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans leftover.
Mostly Incorrect:* He ate a lot, but there was still some meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans leftovers.
Correct: She put away the leftover food after dinner.
Incorrect: She put away the left over food after dinner.
Incorrect: She put away the leftovers food after dinner.
Correct: Maybe I could make a salad and serve it with our leftovers.
Incorrect: Maybe I could make a salad and serve it with our left over.
Incorrect: Maybe I could make a salad and serve it with our leftover.
Not sure the best trick to use, but the first part might just be to remember that leftovers is the noun form, leftover is the adjective form, and left over is the phrase that’s used after. So the leftover food can be called leftovers if it’s the food that is left over after a meal.
(*This could technically be correct if “meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans” are being used as adjectives, which would be kind of weird.)
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No matter what type of writing you do, mastering the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics is an important first step to having a successful writing career.