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Commonly confused words.
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Commonly confused words. |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration 
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For whatever reason, one of the largest occurances of errors here in the forums has to do not with spelling, but rather with word usage. I'm including this here in the hopes that perhaps some will be able to understand the difference between these words. In this short glossary, I am going to list the one's that I've noticed seem to be most common. Please feel free to add any that you've noticed or think should be here as well! accept, except- Accept is a verb meaning "to recieve." Except is usually a preposition meaning "excluding." I will accept all the packages except that one. Except is also a verb meaning "to exclude." Please except that item from the list. affect, effect- Affect is usually a verb meaning "to influence." Effect is usually a noun meaning "result." The drug did not affect the disease, and it had several adverse side effects. Effect can alo be a verb meaning "to bring about." Only the President can effect such a change. anyone, any one- Anyone an indefinite pronoun, means "any person at all." Any one, the pronoun one preceded by te adjective any, refers to a particular person or thing in a group. Anyone from Chicago may choose any one of the games on display. lie, lay- Lie is an intransitive verb meaning "to recline or rest on a surface." Its principal parts are lie, lay, lain. Lay is a transitive verb meaning "to put or place." Its principal parts are lay, laid, laid. set, sit- Set is a transitive verb meaning "to put" or "to place." Its principal parts are set, set, set. Sit is an intransitive verb meaning "to be seated." Its principal parts are sit, sat, sat. there, their, they're- There is an adverb specifying place; it is also an expletive. Adverb: Sharon is lying there unconscious. Expletive: There are two apples left. Their is a possesive pronoun. They're is a contraction of they are. Sharon and Ron finally washed their car. They're later than usual today. your, you're- Your is a possesive pronoun; you're is a contraction of you are. Is that your new poem? You're on the list of finalists! Those are a few of the one's that I've noticed the most. Please feel free to add to the list. If there are some that aren't clear enough, don't hesitate to ask for clarification! [This message has been edited by Christopher (edited 02-14-2000).] |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Don't you think the chatroom/ICQ method of writing spills over into the poetry and prose here? I find myself loathe to capitalize words after being on ICQ for some time as it's too time consuming. What do you think? |
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Mistikman Senior Member
since 2000-01-10
Posts 682San Jose, CA, USA |
Well, You Could Always Do As I Do And Not Use A Standard Method Of Typing. The Way I Type Hardly Slows Me Down To Type Caps  I dont type in the way they teach you in school. Mine is a modified version of hunt and peck that doesnt use a set finger on each letter, I merely use the finger closest to the letter hitting shift doesnt seem to slow me down more than 5 words a minute or so I can type at about 60 words a minute. It confuses the hell out of both my parents, who use the standard style of typing. They cant seem to see how I can type without looking at the keyboard, and without keeping my hands in a set position on the keyboard. Sometimes its cool to be me [This message has been edited by Mistikman (edited 02-17-2000).] |
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chic Member
since 2000-01-26
Posts 245yellville, Ar, U.S. |
The caps thing bothers me to especially when they don't capitalize the I's. So this is good To be or not to be...that is the question.[hamlet] |
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jbouder Member Elite
since 1999-09-18
Posts 2534Whole Sort Of Genl Mish Mash |
Christopher: Just my two cents. I have found a certain book titled "Elements of Style" by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (yes, the "Charlotte's Web" E. B. White) to be an excellent, easy to use tool for avoiding the misuse of commonly confused words. The book also addresses common grammatical mistakes and the appropriate uses of commas, semi-colons, colons and other forms of punctuation. What is best about this book, however, is that the thing is barely 100 pages long and costs under $10.00. I had English professors who hated "Elements of Style" and others that loved it but, regardless of their differing opinions, it has been of tremendous use to me. Later. Jim |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
Strunk and White is also on-line. Why would any professors be against this book? I'm confused. Brad |
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jbouder Member Elite
since 1999-09-18
Posts 2534Whole Sort Of Genl Mish Mash |
Brad: Actually, I think a little bit of professional snobbery influenced their opinion. Strunk liked things concise. I think these professors thought that English grammar had to be more complicated. Who knows. I like the book though. Jim |
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Nicole Senior Member
since 1999-06-23
Posts 1835Florida |
 to: I am going to the store. What have you been up to? Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today 'cause they made me mad.  two: There are two cookies left. Look at those two dogs! It takes two to tango. too: That is way too cool!! You are just too much. Your house is too far away.  |
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