Common Misused Words Among Writers

I have a natural eye for editing.  Whenever I read something my eyes automatically zone in on mistakes, and one commonality I see among a lot of writers is the misuse of homonyms.  Homonyms are words that sound the same, but have different meanings and spellings.  It's easy to make these simple mistakes; however, as a writer with great writing ability, you wouldn't want your work to be discredited because of it.

Last week, I read an article on Ezine.com that talked about the top misused words of the English language, and how making these common mistake can discredit a writer's skills. The article writer comprised a list of words, and gave their meaning and correct/incorrect usage.  I thought it would be very helpful for the writers who read this blog.  Check it out below.

*Reposted from Ezine*

Lose vs. Loose
lose – To be deprived of or cease to have; to cause someone to fail to gain or retain something.
Incorrect: Loose weight in 5 weeks or loose your chance to go to the beach!
Correct: Lose weight in 5 weeks or lose your chance to go to the beach!
loose – Not firmly or tightly fixed in place; to release or set free.
Incorrect: The dog’s collar was lose, so Bob tightened it before the dog got lose.
Correct: The dog’s collar was loose, so Bob tightened it before the dog got loose.

Its vs. It’s
its – Associated with a thing previously mentioned or in reference to an animal without prior knowledge of the animal’s gender.
Incorrect: That monkey will never be a ballet dancer; it’s posture is horrendous.
Correct: That monkey will never be a ballet dancer; its posture is horrendous.
it’s– Contraction of it is or it has.
Incorrect: John bikes to work. Its his favorite part of the day.
Correct: John bikes to work. It’s his favorite part of the day.

Your vs. You’re
your – Possessive form of you (typically used before a noun).
Incorrect: You’re article writing skills have improved!
Correct: Your article writing skills have improved!
you’re – Contraction of you are.
Incorrect: Your an article writing master!
Correct: You’re an article writing master!

Their vs. They’re vs. There
their – Possessive adjective indicating a particular noun belongs to them.
Incorrect: There keys are in the ignition.
Correct: Their keys are in the ignition.
they’re – Contraction of they are.
Incorrect: Where are they? Their at the shop.
Correct: Where are they? They’re at the shop.
there – Reference to the existence of something; a place or position.
Incorrect: Their is a reason why the pie is gone. John ate the last slice over they’re.
Correct: There is a reason why the pie is gone. John ate the last slice over there.

To vs. Too
to – In the direction of or at; used with the base form of a verb to show the verb is in the infinitive.
Incorrect: Susan goes too the store too buy vegetables.
Correct: Susan goes to the store to buy vegetables.
too – Very, as well, also.
Incorrect: Bill drives to fast on his motorcycle to.
Correct: Bill drives too fast on his motorcycle too.

Hopefully this list helps to make you more aware of common mistakes writers make, and gives you a clear understanding of how they can be avoided.

Happy writing!