In elementary school, my teacher told us about homonyms: those words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and mean different things. These poor words are often abused, used incorrectly, and can distort the meaning of your work. So, I've made up a list of some of the most common ones and their meanings.
accept & except
Accept is a verb which means 'to adapt to,' 'to receive,' or 'to agree to' something. Except is used the same way as 'unless.'
Susie accepted the award with a handshake and a smile.
They were all covered in dirt, except him.
alter & altar
Alter means 'to change.' An alter is a table upon where religious ceremonies are held (like altars at weddings).
The altered dress fit like a glove.
Ursala stood in white at the altar, wondering if she had left the stove on.
by, bye & buy
Buy means 'to purchase.' By indicates nearness. Bye is a shortened form of 'goodbye,'
meaning farewell.
Ian buys way too many shoes.
Isobel's house is by the seaside.
"Bye!" she called, as Oliver disappeared down the street.
desert & dessert
A desert is a dry, sandy area, but a dessert is the sweet stuff in the last course of a meal.
The desert winds twisted the sand up into a whirlwind.
We ate tiramisu and fruit kebabs for dessert.
its & it's
This is the most common one. Simply put, it's is a contraction of it is, but its is the possessive form of it. Everyone thinks that the possessive form is with the apostrophe, but that's incorrect. Examples:
It's only twenty degrees out. (It is only twenty degrees out.)
Its fur was the color of burnt oranges.
past & passed
Passed is the past-tense form of the verb pass. Past is, well, history.
She passed Timothy the carrots.
"I don't want to talk about your past, okay?"
peace, piece & peas
Peas are vegetables. Peace is the opposite of war. A piece is a part of something.
Yvette likes her peas frozen.
One day, we'll achieve world peace.
The glass window shattered to pieces.
scents, sense, & cents
Scents is the plural of scent, or smell. A sense is a feeling (think our five senses). It can also be a verb. And cents are US currency.
All the scents in the air were perfume.
His spidey-sense was tingling.
In Benedetto's wallet she found twenty dollars and thirteen cents.
they're, their & there
Another common mistake: they're is a contraction of they are, their is the plural form of they, and there is a position or a place.
They're getting angry now! (They are getting angry now!)
I took their hat, sorry.
You go and stand over there.
too, to & two
Two is a number. Too means 'as well as' or 'also.' To is used with a direction.
"Two pills every day for a week, John."
He gets a banana? I want a banana too!
Richard is going to Phoenix tomorrow.
you're & your
Your is the possessive form of you, but you're is a contraction of you are. Please memorize this one. I can't count how many times I've seen this mistake.
Your pants are on fire.
You're incredibly cute.
Hope this helps! xx
Gender: