5 Commonly Misspelled Words On The Internet
I had a high school teacher I will call "Mrs. D." who helped to teach me the difference between words and their use. Some of you who read this blog know exactly who I am referring to because she touched so many of our lives. To say that "Mrs. D" was serious about the English language is an understatement. She ruled the class with an iron fist and I saw the woman only crack a smile one time. That one time was enough to make me fear all that is holy and to know that evil exists in the world. I may be exaggerating just a bit. I am sure you was a very pleasant woman on "the outside", but as a sophomore, I dreaded going to her class because-honestly - she scared the Hell out of me. While I disagreed with her teaching styles, at the time, I now thank her almost every day. When I look at people writing on message boards and on Facebook, I am sorry they never were subjected to her teachings. With that, I give you five commonly misspelled words on the internet. I hope you are smiling at this post, Mrs. D, no matter where you are...
THERE, THEIR, AND THEY'RE
How hard is this? Do you not know the difference between a person, place, or possession?
THERE: This refers to some place or the idea of something. For example, you might say: "Hey! Look over there!" "There is scary clown hiding in the bushes!" This is an example of using there as a place or point of reference. You could follow it up with something a bit more theoretical, such as: "There is no reason to describe Michele Bachmann as a scary clown."
THEIR: In this case, the word their refers to someone else who has possession of an object or idea. "I don't like scary clowns because of their big shoes and excessive makeup." In this case, their refers to the big shoes and the excessive makeup that is owned by scary clowns.
THEY'RE: They're is a contraction of two words, which means "THEY ARE". If you were going to put this into a sentence, it could be something like: "They're (They Are) going to make young children cry if they keep being scary."
LOSE AND LOOSE
This is something that really drives me crazy. It is only one letter to worry about here, but the words mean two different definitions.
LOSE: When you "Lose" something, it means "you didn't win" OR "you did not maintain possession of something". In both cases, you've (note the contraction for YOU HAVE) put yourself in a position where you will not be successful. "I am afraid of the clowns, so I have nothing to lose but fear itself."
LOOSE: This is the act of not being tightly bound or relaxed. The extra "O" stands for "open" and something that is open is often loose. For example: "The scary clowns are now on the loose! Hide!"
YOUR AND YOU'RE
This is the difference between a possession and a contraction, similar to the "There, Their, They're" situation above.
YOUR: This word is possessive. It means that you, personally, own something. "When you were young, you loved going to the circus, but then a clown frightened you and made you lose your cotton candy." See how these words are all coming together?
YOU'RE: This means that you are splitting up the two words YOU and ARE. This is typically directed at a person. "I kept telling that clown, 'You're scaring me! Please stop!'"
ITS AND IT'S
This is possibly the hardest of all of the contraction/misspellings out there. It's a simple three-letter word, but people never know how its proper use.
ITS: Forget about the abbreviation if you are referring to something that is owned or has the properties of something else. "Its red nose was the most frightening. He started laughing and the nose was right in my face!" Notice, when the word its is used, I am talking about the red nose belonging to the scary clown.
IT'S: You want to use this form of the word when you are abbreviating the two words, IT and IS. The world can also mean IT and HAS. "It's (IT IS) not that I am squeamish. It's (IT HAS) got to do with that one incident when I was a child. This was very traumatic."
WHETHER AND WEATHER
One of these words is a conjunction which determines a choice between alternatives. The other decides whether (see that? Do you or don't you?) you need an umbrella.
WHETHER: This conjunction can often be used in indirect questions. It can also be used when you are deciding between two things. For example: "I am not sure whether it is clowns, in general, or people with their faces hidden that scare me the most."
WEATHER: This is in reference to the conditions a meteorologist may talk about on the nightly news. "The weather for tonight will include: snow, rain, sleet, and possibly hail."
If you’re going to teach me a lesson on grammar, you should know the difference between “to”, “too”, & “two”. Number five, which explains “weather” & “whether”, you said “It can also be used when you are describing to things.” I’m pretty sure this was just a silly mistake you made. Just remember to edit more carefully next time!
That’s the beauty of the update…=)