Writing tips: Word usage

If your having trouble picking you’re words, its okay. We won’t think your a looser if you never seem too chose the write words. Righting has it’s hazards hear and their, and that can sometimes tie you up in nots. Luckily, there knot to hard too overcome.

If the above looked okay to you, then we need to talk!

Spell-Check is a wondrous tool for the writer. In MS Word, for example, when you misspell a word, a red squiggly line appears beneath the word. You can then correct your error, or let the software suggest the correct word.

There is one potential problem– Spell-check doesn’t always catch usage errors. A usage error is when you use the wrong word– “your” instead of “you’re”, “there” instead of “their”, etc. If you use the wrong word, but spell it correctly, your mistake probably won’t be caught by Spell-Check.

Here are some words that often cause confusion.

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FREQUENTLY MISUSED WORDS

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Your- something that belongs to you. Your house, your idea.

You’re- contraction of “you are”. You’re fired! You’re pretty.

Yr- Don’t even think about using this!

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Its- something that belongs to something else. The tree sheds its leaves in autumn. Life has its difficult moments.

It’s- contraction of “it is”. It’s cold out. It’s true.

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Their- something that belongs to them. Their house. Their dog.

They’re- contraction of “they are”.  They’re on vacation. They’re a cute couple.

There- a location. He’s over there. Stay right there.

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Hear- to use your ears. I hear what you’re saying. Did you hear the news?

Here- a location. I’m over here! Well, here we are.

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Right- correct; something you’re entitled to. That’s right. I know my rights!

Write- to put words together. Write a blog. I write the songs that make the whole world sing.

Rite- a ceremony or ritual. The rites of spring.

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We’re- contraction of “We are”. We’re on our way! We’re so happy to see you!

Where- a location. Where are you? Leave it where I can find it.

Wear- to put on, or to cause stress. I think I’ll wear the red dress. That old joke is beginning to wear thin.

Were- past tense. You were just a baby then. Were you serious when you said that?

Ware- a product. Hardware. Warehouse. Selling his wares.

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THIS MIGHT HELP YOU REMEMBER:

In a contraction, the apostrophe (‘) stands in for one or more missing letters.

it’s = it is

we’re = we are

you’re = you are

Loose- not tight; free. My pants are too loose. Wild animals are on the loose!

Lose- opposite of win; or to misplace. Lose the extra “o” in “loose”. You lose! Don’t lose your keys.

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Choose- to pick. Which candidate will the voters choose? Choosy moms choose Jif.

Chose- past tense of choose; picked. I think I chose the right one. He chose Mary over Sally.

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to- a preposition. I’m going to the store. Here’s to you. Give that toy back to your brother.

two- a number between one and three. I’ll be back in two minutes. Two can be as bad as one.

too- also; an excessive amount. Me, too! I had too much to drink.