Difference between revisions of "Homophones: some examples"

Revision as of 18:13, 23 April 2007

A homophone is a word that sounds like another word, but is spelled differently.

To, too or two?

Two is the number ’2’.

Too (pronounced long) means:

1. • as well, also. "I like coffee. I like tea too."
2. • over much, surplus. "The weather is too hot for me."

To is the spelling for all other meanings of words that sound like this. It tends to be pronounced very short. Sometimes it sounds like ’teh’, or can be written (in slang) as ’gotta’

Your or you’re? Their, they’re or there?

First, some patterns of spelling: Words that mean ’a place’ (here, there, everywhere, etc.) are all formed like here.

1. • If you mean ’in this place’, say here. (But note: you hear with your ears.)
2. • If you mean ’in that place’, use there (th + (h)ere).
3. • If you mean ’which place’, use where (wh + (h)ere). This applies to everywhere too.

Words that are contracted (short) forms of are (you’re, we’re, they’re, etc) all show the shortening [(a)re] by an apostrophe (’). You are → you’re, we are → we’re, etc.

Second, some simple guides:

1. • Their = of them. "have you seen their house?"
2. • They’re = they are. "they’re moving in today."
3. • There is the spelling for all other meanings of words that sound like this. "I left it there, in that chair". "There are three things I want you to remember." "There, there, have you hurt yourself?" "There’s no chance you can get a ticket?"
4. • Your is like their. It means ’belonging to’, or ’of’, you. "It’s your turn"; "Your assignment this week is …"
5. • You’re is like they’re. It means ’you are’. "You’re doing well". "You’re to write an essay about …"
6. • Where is a place, like here.
7. • Were is like was. So Where were you is the right way round.
8. • Its = of it
9. • It’s = it is

Some commonly confused words

These are a few of the pairs that are often used wrongly. There are many of these. Some are more commonly met in some subject areas, and rare outside them. Keep your own list of the homophones you need to be careful of.

Compliment or complement? A compliment, or a complimentary remark, is something you pay someone when you want to be nice: "What a nice dress!", "That’s very clever", "You played very well" etc. Sometimes complimentary means ’free’: e.g. complimentary tickets. A complement, or a complementary thing, is something that completes something: e.g. a ship’s complement is her crew; her assignment has a complementary Guide to experimental techniques; yin is complementary to yang.

Principle or principal? A principle is an underlying idea, or a moral belief, etc. A principal is either a Head (e.g. a sort of Head-teacher); or an adjective describing the most important thing, "The principal point in this lecture is…"

Practice or practise? A practice is a noun – something that you do, "there is a football practice tonight"; "I did 5 hours’ piano practice yesterday"; "my usual practice is to warm up for five minutes first"; "she is in General Practice". (If you can say "a practice" in your sentence, then it is practice.) To practise is a verb – to do something, e.g. "I practised my vocabulary last night"; "he practised his speech in front of a mirror."

Affect or effect? To affect is a verb – to do something, e.g. "she was affected deeply by the death of her husband"; "to raise taxes affects everyone". An effect is a noun – a thing, or result. Cause and effect are opposites. "The effects of the war were…". Sometimes effects means possessions: "Carry your personal effects with you". (There is a verb – which you are advised to avoid – to effect. It means, roughly, to carry out, or to put into effect: "You will effect my orders immediately.")

Found or Founded? To find is a verb, roughly the opposite of to lose. Its past tense is found. "Yesterday I found a five pound note"; "He found the reference in his textbook". Confusingly, there is also a verb to found, which means to lay the foundations of, or to begin. Its past tense is founded. "Robert Owen founded the socially experimental community of New Lanark"; "King Alfred is supposed to have founded the British Navy"; "Bill Gates founded Microsoft".

Lie or lay – or laid? To lie is an intransitive verb – i.e. it has no Object. You lie down. To lay is a transitive verb – i.e. it has an Object; you lay something down Confusingly, the past tense of to lie is lay: "she lay down for a moment at three o’clock". The past tense of to lay is laid: "They laid down their weapons".