#common spelling errors

HERE ARE SOME WORDS THAT DO NOT RHYME WITH "DINING":

-grinning

-sinning

-pinning

-winning

HERE ARE SOME WORDS THAT DO RHYME WITH "DINING": -lining -mining -pining

Song of the day: “Lay Down Sally” – Eric Clapton (Unless someone was putting her on that bed, this use of lay is incorrect.)

This is the commonly misused words checklist that when editing. For example, I search for the word “your” and then verify all instances are used correctly. After that, I search for “you’re” and verify it is used correctly as well.

Commonly Misused Words

accept / except

accept – to take or receive

except – to exclude

affect / effect

affect – to influence (If you can substitute “influence”, use “affect”.)

effect – a result ( You can usually put “the” in front of effect and it will still make sense. “He kissed her for the effect.”)

allude / elude

allude – to refer

elude – to avoid

assure / ensure / insure

assure – with confidence

ensure – guarantee

insure – a policy

allusion / illusion

allusion – to make reference

illusion – to deceive

alternate / alternative

alternate – to take turns, a substitute

alternative – a choice

among / between

among – connection with more that two people/objects

between – connection with two people/objects

angry / mad

angry – to be upset

mad – to be crazy  (It has become acceptable to use mad in place of angry, but this is correct.)

assure / ensure/ insure

assure – reassure

ensure – guarantee

insure – a protection policy

bad / badly

bad – an adjective (I feel bad.)

badly – an adverb (He drives badly.)

break / brake

break – to destroy

brake –  a device

to brake – the act of stopping an object

by / buy / bye

by – near

buy – to purchase

bye – goodbye, a bye in sports

capital / capitol

capital – uppercase letters, a seat of government, the primary

capitol – a building

compliment / complement

compliment – praise

complement – pairs well with something

council / counsel

council – a group

counsel – to advise

drag /dragged vs drug /drugged

drag – present tense

dragged – past tense of drag

drug – a chemical (Drug could be used as a past tense of drag but it is not advised. When done, it is generally considered part of a dialect.)

drugged – to have drugged someone

emigrate / immigrate

emigrate – to leave a country

immigrate – to come into a country

further / farther / father

further – a metaphorical distance

farther – a physical distance

father – a dad (This is a common typo or farther.)

its / it’s

its – possessive

it’s – a contraction for it is

lay / lie

lay – setting down an object

lie – you lie on an object

led / lead

lead (pronounced leed) – the present tense

led (pronounced led) – the past tense of lead

lead (pronounced led) – the metal

less / fewer

less – applies to items that cannot be counter

fewer – applies to items that can be counter

one / won

one – a number

won – to have conquered

peak / peek

peak – the top

peek – a look

raise/rise

raise – something is being lifted (I raise my hand. With raised brows.) Past tense is raised.

rise – The object ascends without assistance. (The single is rising up the charts.) Past tense is rose.

rang/rung

rang – past tense of ring (I rang the bell.)

rung – past perfect of ring (I have rung the bell.)

set / sit

set – requires a direct object

sit – to rest, does not require a direct object

shutter / shudder

shutter – covers for a window

shudder – a jitter

sight / site

sight – vision

site – a place, i.e. a website

their / there / they’re

their – belonging to someone

there – a place, point, or state

they’re – they are

then / than

then – an action

than – a comparison

to / too / two

to – a motion toward

too – also

two – a number

wack / whack

wack – as in wack job

whack – to hit

waste / waist

waste – trash

waist – the middle of your body

who / whom

who – the subject of a sentence

whom – the object of a sentence (Whom does he love? Note that HE is the subject, so whom is used.)

whose  / who’s

whose – possessive

who’s – contraction for who is

you and I / you and me

you and I = we  (If you could use we, then use you and I.)

you and me = us  (If you could use us, then use you and me.)

your / you’re

your – possessive of you

you’re – you are

Common Typos

bought / brought breathe / breath cleaver / clever clothe / cloth chose / choose grove / groove knight / night life / live lightening/lightning lose / loose though / thought / through trial / trail

Correct Expressions

What things LIE ahead.

State your PIECE. (The expression means to state your side.)

Common Grammar Issues

Capitalization

Mom (meaning the proper noun) vs my mom OK vs okay – Technically “OK” is an abbreviation, thus “okay” should be used. alright vs all right – Although “alright” is gaining acceptance, the proper way is “all right.”

Punctuation

Make sure that punctuation lands within quotes. Search for ”. and replace it with .”

***

Quotation marks within quotation marks act like brackets in algebra.

While it might seem confusing, this sentence is properly punctuated: “So, I just walk in and say, ‘Hi, Dad.”?”

However, the Oxford Style Manual seems to say that in this particular case, you should drop the full stop, but that is not completely clear. In section 5.13.2 (quotation marks – relative placing with other punctuation) it states: “Usually, only one mark of terminal punctuation is needed. When the requirements of the quotation and the main text differ, use the stronger mark.” So theoretically, if you consider the full stop to be less important to the sense of the sentence as a whole than the question mark is, you should use the question mark. However, the Oxford Style Manual then goes on to say that if the punctuation inside and outside the quotation marks are EQUALLY important to the sense, you should keep both. The example they give is: Did he really shout “Stop thief!”?

So it is a matter of judgment. Consider if the full stop as important to the sense of the sentence as the question mark is. From there, follow the appropriate rule, but basically, yes, “So, I just walk in and say, ”Hi, Dad.”?” is correct.

If you’d like to suggest an addition to this post, please place it in the comments section below, and I’ll pop it in. Thanks!

PEAK VS. PEEK

PEAK IS WHEN YOU HAVE A MOUNTAIN PEAK OR THE HIGHEST POINT OF SOMETHING

PEEK IS WHEN YOU LOOK DISCREETLY OR FURTIVELY AT SOMETHING

THIS AIN'T NO SNEAK PEAK THIS BITCH IS A SNEAK PEEK

PEAK

VS.

PEEK

DEFINITELY

E I I E Y

Five vowels, all separated by a single consonant

E before I, and then I before E

And then end with a Y, but most people figure that part out.

E, I, and Y are the only vowels in definitely.

There is no a.

If it helps, think of the word finite. (Meaning "comes to an end" or "limited.) Now think of the word definite. (Meaning absolutely, certain.)

THIS WORD IS THE ROOT OF DEFINITELY. I don't think any of you spell "definite" as "definate" or "definet", do you?