Words of Confusion

There are four sets of words that confuse many persons concerning their usage. You may be one of them. Here are the words and information on how to use them.

advise and advice
a lot and alot
lose and loose
memento and momento

The word advise means to give someone helpful information. The word rhymes with wise.
Example: one should not advise a friend unless they ask for advice.

Advice is helpful information one gives to another if they ask for it. This word rhymes with rice.
Example: The advice I received from my parents proved invaluable. Unfortunately, there were times I did not take it until it was too late.

The words a lot mean a large amount of something. There is no such word as alot. It is very bad usage to try to use this non-existent word. The words a lot are akin to slang. It would be better to say a great deal of, or a large quantity of.

To lose something means to mislay it. The word rhymes with shoes. And example of the use of this word is, "I need to lose ten pounds before summer arrives."

The word loose means that something is not tight. The word rhymes with goose. An example of the word's use is, "The wheel on the wagon became loose and fell off."

The word memento refers to an object of remembrance. Its spelling begins the same way the word memory begins. The word should never be spelled momento. There is no such thing as a momento.

The following conversation between Jim and Mary help explain the usages of the four sets of words listed above.

Jim: Mary, do you have any advice on the kind of memento I can purchase to remember this beautiful city?

Mary: Thanks for asking for my advice Jim. I usually don't advise anyone about anything unless they ask for it. How much would you like to spend?

Jim: Would you say ten dollars would be adequate? I don't have a lot of money for a memento.

Mary: I can offer advice on something that would not cost a lot. How about a small wallet for holding loose change?

Jim: That sounds good, Mary. This way it would be hard to lose loose coins. How to carry loose coins is often a problem. It's easy to lose some of them. Thanks for the advice.

Mary: The memento could have the name of the city embossed on its surface.

Jim: Yes, that would add a lot to the value of the memento. Thanks for the advice, Mary. I'm glad I asked you to advise me.