Grammar and Spelling 101

The English language is one of the most difficult languages to master. There are so many words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Their and there? There are several spelling and grammar mistakes people commonly make. Here's a little brush-up on them.

Its and It's

This is a very common mix-up. The difference between its and it's is that its is a possessive pronoun. What that means is, its shows a form of possession. For example, let's use this sentence: The dog carried its bone. The bone belongs to the dog, so it is a possession. On the other hand, it's is a contraction, or a shortening of two words, this one being it is. So, if you can use it is, it's is the proper one to use. For example, let's use this sentence: It's going to rain today. You can replace it's with it is, therefore, the contraction it's would be the proper term to use.

Your and You're

Once again, you're is a contraction. If you can replace it with you are, it is the correct usage. You're going to get in trouble. You are going to get in trouble. On the other hand, your is another possessive pronoun. It shows possession. Those are your shoes. They belong to you, so your is the proper word to use.

Lay and lie

This is a tricky one for many people. The difference between lay and lie is this: lay means to put something down. A direct object is receiving an action. You lay down your backpack. You are actually putting down an object, whereas, the word lie means "to recline". Lie down on the couch. No object is receiving an action.

Lose and Loose

The word lose means to misplace something, to fail to win, or to be deprived of something. Don't lose your lunch money. The opposing team is going to lose today! She's going to lose her friends with that attitude. The word loose means not restrained, fastened or contained, such as the sentence: The dog got loose this morning, or it could mean not tightly fitting, such as the sentence: The dress is too loose.

Then and Than

Than is a conjunction that indicates difference, or compares something to something else. Jan is taller than her friend Sue. You are comparing Jan's height to Sue's height. Better late than never. Then is an adverb. One use of then is for a sequence. I went to the bank, and then I went to the market. Put the milk in, then mix the batter. It also can be used for a point in time. Back then, I was in better shape. To make is simple, you only use than as a comparison.

Accept and Except

Accept is a verb, and except is a preposition. So, what's the difference? Except means all, but, or excluding. Everyone except Bill went to the movies. Accept means to receive or to admit/approve. I accept this award. That college agreed to accept me.

A lot and Alot

There is no such thing as alot. (My spell checker and auto corrector are going haywire) A lot is two words, period. Repeat after me...there is no such thing as alot....

I before E except after C

Blatantly put. This isn't the best rule to implement, because there are so many exceptions to the rule. The basic rule says that you use 'I' before 'e' except after 'c'. Words that follow this rule include thief, believe, and priest. The 'after c' words include receive, perceive, and receipt. Some exceptions to that rule are, if either "eye" or "ay" sounds are made, like in Einstein (EYEnstein), weigh (wAY), vein (vAYn), etc.

Comma Splices

I'm not sure why, but people nowadays are comma happy, but they don't use them properly. They seem to think they can stick a comma anywhere. A common comma problem is the comma splice. A comma splice occurs when you use a comma to join two complete sentences without placing an appropriate joining word between them. I went to the store, I got some eggs. This sentence needs to be adjoined by a joining word. I went to the store, and I got some eggs. Or, you could go with two separate sentences. I went to the store. I got some eggs. If you have two complete sentences, there is no need to separate them with a comma.

There you have it; my list of common (and frustrating!) grammatical and spelling mistakes. Hope this enlightens a bit!