Common Misspellings

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Common Misspellings

There are a lot of common misspellings found in online
communication. Here's a list of the most frequent ones, including
explanations and examples.

"It's" vs. "Its"

The apostrophe in "It's" indicates that it is a contraction of
the two words "It" and "is" or "It" and "has". Therefore "It's"
is being used correctly when it can be replaced with the words
"It is" or "It has".

Example: "It's a nice day today". Replacing "It's" with "It is"
you get "It is a nice day today." The sentence still makes sense,
therefore "It's" is used correctly.

Example: "It's been raining since this morning.". Replacing
"It's" with "It has" you get "It has been raining since this
morning.". The sentence still makes sense, therefore "It's" is
used correctly.

On the other hand the word "Its" without the apostrophe is a
possessive pronoun, indicating possession of something. It is the
neutral version of "his" or "hers".

Example: "The dog raised its right hind leg." Try replacing "its"
with his or hers. The sentence still makes sense, so the correct
word is indeed "its". But if you replace "its" with "it is" or
"it has" it doesn't make any sense.

"They're" vs. "Their" vs. "There"

This is similar to the "It's" vs. "Its" situation. "They're" is a
contraction of the words "They" and "are". If you can substitute
"They are", then you can use "They're".

Example: "Look at the children. They're on the way to school."
Replace "they're" with "They are", the sentence still makes
sense.

"Their" is a possessive pronoun and indicates possession of
something. Is it the plural version of "his" or "hers".

Example: "Most kids eat their french fries with lots of ketchup."
In this case, "their" indicates that the fries belong to the
kids.

"There" usually indicates a location.

Example: "Look over there. There is a free parking space."

"You're" vs. "Your"

This is also similar to the "It's" vs. "Its" situation. "You're"
is a contraction of the words "You" and "are". If you can
substitute "You are", then you can use "You're".

Example: "You're on the way to the mall." Replace "You're" with
"You are", the sentence still makes sense.

"Your" is a possessive pronoun and indicates possession of
something.

Example: "This is your sandwich." In this case, "your" indicates
that the sandwich belong to you.

A common misspelling is "Your welcome." The correct spelling is
"You're welcome."

"Then" vs. "Than"

"Then" is used to indicate a time line, puttings things in a
certain order.

Example: "First I put on my seat belt, then i start the car's
engine."

"Than" is used to compare two things.

Example: In the summer it is warmer than in the winter.

"Loose" vs. "Lose"

Another common point of confusion. "Loose" is an adjective that
describes the state of something.

Example: "The bracket is not mounted securely. It is loose."

"Lose" is the verb that describes the process of something being
misplaced, a game not won, etc.

Example: "They will lose the game." or "If you lose your keys,
you won't be able to open the door."

"Know" vs. "Now"

While pronounced differently, these two are often mixed up when
written. "Now" describes the present point in time.

Example: "We have to leave now in order to make the train."

"Know" is the verb that describes having knowledge or
understanding of something.

Example: "I know how to fix this problem."

"Affect" vs. "Effect"

This is another favorite. "Affect" is usually used as a verb that
means to produce an influence on something, to cause something
else to be impacted.

Example: "If the flight is canceled, it will seriously affect my
travel schedule."

"Effect" on the other hand is a noun that describes a result of
some action, the way something acts upon another.

Example: "The flight being canceled had the effect that I missed
my meeting in New York."

Yes, there are other meanings for these words, but these are the
most commonly used and misspelled ones.

"Accept" vs. "Except"

Two different spellings, but almost identical pronunciation make
these two words hard to differentiate. "Accept" is a verb that
means to receive something willingly, to agree with something, to
put up with something.

Example: "He went up to the podium and accepted his award."

"Except" describes something that does not follow a pattern, an
alternate condition.

Example: "The store is open all week except for Sunday
afternoon."

"Moot" vs. "Mute"

"Moot" means obsolete, irrelevant, something that doesn't apply
anymore.

Example: "Since Joe was laid off, evaluating his performance is a
moot point."

"Mute" means silent, without sound.

Example: "The TV is mute because the volume is turned to 0."

"To" vs. "Two" vs. "Too"

"To" is a preposition with many uses, such as indicating
movement, purpose, addition, relation, etc.

Example: "He drove to the beach." - "He likes to eat." - "The
sequel sucked compared to the first movie."

"Two" is how you spell the number 2.

Example: "Most people have two ears."

"Too" means also, as well.

Example: "I want to go to the movies, too!"

"Assure" vs. "Ensure" vs. "Insure"

"Assure" is a verb and means to convince somebody that something
is true.

Example: "The clerk assured her that it was the correct price."

"Ensure" means to make certain, to verify.

Example: "Before you jump out of that plane, please ensure that
your parachute is in working condition."

"Insure" means to purchase or provide insurance on an item to be
covered in case of its loss.

Example: "Please insure the package when you mail it at the post
office."

"Receive" vs. "Recieve"

A popular typo. The correct spelling is "Receive".

"Weird" vs. "Wierd"

Another popular typo. The correct spelling is "Weird".

(excerpted from http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/bettercomm1.html)

[Truman]

Well, I am one of these english language newbies, but I am working hard on it.