Here are some common writing errors. If you know that you frequently make mistakes in your writing, remember to always proof-read so that you can pick up on them! This should serve as a quick reference guide if you're not sure whether or not something in your writing is erroneous.
Common spelling mix-ups
Accept, to agree or receive something, and except, meaning "but" or "exclude".
• I accept that you like her more than me.
• I will accept your gift.
• We must except dolphins from this example.
• I would happily leap on the dance-floor, except I have two left feet.
Advice is a noun meaning "recommendation", while advise is a verb meaning the act of giving a recommendation.
• My advice is to slow down.
• I would advise that you slow down.
Affect is a verb meaning "to influence". Effect can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it means an influence or result; as a verb it means "to bring about" or "to cause".
• What you say has no effect on me.
• How can you let that affect your decision?
• Money had an effect on her attitude.
Allowed, to give permission, and aloud, where something is spoken.
• You're grounded, which means you're not allowed to go out.
• He was just thinking aloud.
Bare means naked or uncovered. Bear can mean "to carry", "to endure", "to maintain a direction" or it can refer to the mammal.
• She paddled in the lake with bare feet.
• This tree bears many apples in the summer.
• I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you!
• Bear left at the next junction.
• Help! The bear is going to kill us!
By, meaning "next to"; buy, meaning "to purchase"; and bye, a short form of "goodbye".
• Go and sit by that tree.
• I'll buy you a doughnut if you're good.
• Bye! See you later!
Click, the sound, and clique, a social group.
• The door made a 'click' sound as it shut behind her.
• The jocks at school are a clique.
Loose, the opposite of tight, and lose, the opposite of win or a form of "lost".
• I like my hoodies loose and comfortable.
• Did you lose your slippers?
• Don't lose this game; we need a win!
American vs British spelling
There are pronounced differences in the grammar, punctuation and spelling between British-English and American-English. Both forms are correct in their respective countries and there is so much cross-over that it doesn't really matter which form you use, but with spelling at least you should be consistent. For a quick, simple guide to basic spelling differences, see the Oxford Dictionary guide.
Their, there, they're
There refers to a place. Their is possessive, meaning something is belong to "them", and they're is an abbreviation for "they are".
• I like that horse over there.
• I like their horses.
• They're nice horses.
Your, you're
Your is the possessive form of "you", and you're is an abbreviation for "you are".
• I like your horse.
• You're very good at horse-riding.
Possession, plurals and the apostrophe: cats, cat's, cats'
Apostrophes seem to scare people a bit, but they're really quite simple. The golden rule for apostrophes is to use them to indicate possession, not to indicate plural. Possession means something belongs to something else, while plural means that there is more than one of something.
In the sentence There are many cats, the word "cats" is plural. There is no possession in this sentence because nothing owns anything, so we don't need an apostrophe.
However, for the sentence The cat's ball is red, the cat is owning the ball. Therefore, we need an apostrophe. The apostrophe sits at the end of the singular word "cat", before the s.
Simple enough. Where people get confused is when there is both possession and plural. The rule for this is really easy: the apostrophe goes at the end of the plural word. In the sentence The cats' toys are red, there is more than one cat and all of them are owning toys, so the apostrophe goes after the s.
Some more examples:
• I have four dogs.
• My horse's name is Bertie.
• My friends' parents are cool.
• Rudolph's nose is red.
With some names that end in s, the owner of the name sometimes prefers to omit the additional s which possession would place at the end. For example, with the character Mallos, the sentence would read Mallos' children are abundant, not Mallos's children are abundant. This is simply because "Malloses" is quite an awkward sound to make. This occurs only with names which end in s, and depends purely on the preference of the name's owner. You should always imitate that person and adhere to their preference.
Finally, just to confuse the issue... an apostrophe can also be used to indicate an abbreviation, usually of the word "has" (which is another form of possession). Thus in the sentence Kevin's got nine fingers, the apostrophe is used to abbreviate "Kevin has". The sentence could just as well read Kevin has got nine fingers. If you're unsure about where to put the apostrophe in an abbreviation, simply don't abbreviate.
Whose, who's
Whose is the possessive form of who. Who's is short for "who is" or "who has".
• Whose shoes are those?
• Who's that person over there?
• Who's got my shoes?
Its, it's
Everything you just learnt about the apostrophe does not apply to its/it's. Its is the possessive form of it, meaning "belonging to it". It's is an abbreviation of "it is" or "it has". There is no such word as its', because it is a singular form.
• It's a good day today.
• Its saliva was dangling from its gaping jaws.
• It's got to get better than this.
Should of, should have, should've
"Should of" is not a correct term. People who write "should of" do so because they have misheard the word should've, which is an abbreviation for should have. Any use of "should of" is incorrect. This applies equally to other words such as could and ought.
• She should've gone to Spec-Savers!
• She should have gone to Spec-Savers!
More abbreviations and their meanings
Don't = do not
Can't = can not
Shouldn't = should not
Could've = could have
Couldn't've = could not have (not really considered a 'real word', but is perfectly acceptable in dialogue or informal writing)
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