:salam2:
Such as:
**1. YOU’RE and YOUR
**If you have no idea when to use which … well, you’re not on your own. This is perhaps the most common mistake of all. Heaven knows why. The distinction is really quite simple:
You’re is used to substitute the words you are.
Your is a word you use when referring to something that belongs to the person you’re speaking to. “Your purse,” “your coat,” and so on—and not “Your late!” or “Your wrong!”
**2. IT’S and ITS
**Close cousins of you’re and your, it’s and its suffer about the same amount of misuse.
It’s (with an apostrophe) replaces It is or It has. (It’s easy to remember!)
Its (with no apostrophe) refers to something that belongs to “it.” (Its meaning is clear!)
**3. THEY’RE, THEIR, and THERE
**
Ah, the triple treat … or terror, as the case may be:
They’re is short for They are.
Their refers to something that belongs to “them.”
And there is simply “not here.”
“They’re going to their house, which is over there.”
**4. TO and TOO
**When you mean overly, please remember to add the extra O—or face the consequences. I once received a heated text message that was meant to make me angry: “TO BAD!” it shouted in loud, aggressive capitals. I ended up in uncontrollable giggles instead. Too bad indeed.
- **LOOSE and LOSE
**
This one really drives me batty. And when I lose my mind, I often let loose a string of expletives. When what you want to say is the opposite of find, then lose the extra O. Loose (with two o’s) is the opposite of tight.
Like I said, these little confusions are pretty common. They don’t actually bother me half as much as the non-words I often find littering notes, emails … even official business memos. Words like:
**6. IRREGARDLESS
**Hundreds of people use this word (often with passion!), both in speech and writing, every day—but the truth is, it doesn’t exist! The real word is regardless.
**7. ALOT
**Anyone who insists this is a word is spouting ALOT of baloney. If you’ve ever written this non-word, what you probably meant was either a lot (meaning “many”) or allot (to ration or allocate).
**8. AHOLD
**Boy, would I love to get a hold (two words, not one) of the person who decided to just forget the space and make up “ahold new word.”
P.S. as received by email.
