Have you ever gotten an e-mail where someone asked you to confirm your shipping address to insure that your package arrives on time? What about a message telling you that your vote could drastically effect the outcome of a race?
These types of mistakes are all too common. In fact, as I type this in Word, its spell-checking system recognizes that one of the examples above is wrong, but not the other.
Here is a list of some of the worst offenders I've seen lately:
Affect/effect
Affect means to influence: Lena's giggle affected her coworkers and made them laugh with her.
Effect (the verb) means to produce: Megan's cursing effected a pinch from her mother.
Effect (the noun) is the result: The effect of the pinch turned out to be a sore arm.
Every day/Everyday
Every day is an adverb and refers to how often something happens. Call the supplier every day until he returns your call.
Everyday is an adjective, a modifier: This is my everyday outfit. Kerri's everyday route to work is under construction.
There/their/they're
There is a demonstrative word to show location.
Their is a possessive personal pronoun.
They're is a contraction for "they are".
They're upset because their favorite neighbors are moving away from the house over there.
Further/farther
Further refers to additional time, quantity or degree: Laura can further explain the election process if you need more information.
Farther refers to physical distance: Texas is farther from Tennessee than Kentucky.
Insure/ensure
Insure means to get an insurance policy for, or to guarantee against loss or damage: Lynne chose to insure her bike against theft.
Ensure means to secure or make certain: Using top-notch writers and designers helps to ensure that the magazine redesign will be a success.
Capital/capitol
Capital refers to a city or money: Patrick needs to raise more capital before buying new printer cords.
Capitol refers to the building: The capitol of Tennessee is in the capital city of Nashville.
Its/it's
Its is the possessive form of it: The dog scratched its leg.
It's is the contraction of "it is": It's not nice to talk about John that way.
Whose/who's
Whose is the possessive pronoun: Whose car did Barbara hit in the parking garage?
Who's is the contraction for "who is": Who's riding the party bus after dinner?
Your/you're
Your is the possessive pronoun: Let's have the party at your house instead of mine.
You're is the contraction for "you are": You're the best friend a girl could have.
Our brains trick us into hearing one word for what could be three different words. So, the rule is simple: Look it up! If your spell-checker is only going to tell you that you're wrong half of the time, and your brain hears what it thinks is correct, better grab the dictionary and be sure.
Comments (1)
The capital/capitol choice can be particularly tricky, depending on what the writer means to say. E.g., The small business owners went to the capital to lobby. Meaning, they converged on the capital city, but maybe they talked with people in a variety of buildings.
The small business owners went to the capitol to lobby. Meaning they went to the building where the legislature meets, and usually the governor has an office.
Posted by Bill Hudgins | April 30, 2008 9:28 AM
Posted on April 30, 2008 09:28