10 Common Mistakes

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We’ve shared some of these tips on Facebook and Twitter over the last few months, but we thought it would be useful to round up these easy-to-avoid mistakes for those of you who don’t use social media.

  1. YOUR vs. YOU'RE.
    Can the word you want to use be replaced with 'you are'?
    If so, use 'you're'.
     
  2. ITS vs. IT'S.
    Can the word you want to use be replaced with 'it is'?
    If so, use 'it's'.
     
  3. WHOSE vs. WHO’S
    Can the word you want to use be replaced with ‘who is’?
    If so, use ‘who’s’.
     
  4. THERE vs. THEIR vs. THEY’RE
    There = a place.
    Their = a person.
    They’re = they are.
     
  5. ‘TOM AND I' vs. ‘TOM AND ME’
    Try replacing the ‘Tom and ____’ part of the sentence with either the word ‘we’ or the word ‘us’.

    If the sentence makes sense with the word ‘we’, you need to use ‘Tom and I’. If it doesn’t make sense, you need to use ‘Tom and me’.

    If the sentence make sense with the word ‘us’, you need to use ‘Tom and me’. If it doesn’t make sense, you need to use ‘Tom and I.”

    Let’s practise this using the following sentences:
     
    • Tom and ____ are going to the cinema.

      We are going to the cinema. vs. Us are going to the cinema.

      The sentence starting in ‘we’ is the one that makes sense, so you know you need to use ‘Tom and I’: Tom and I are going to the cinema.
       
    • Would you like to go to the cinema with Tom and ____?

      Would you like to go to the cinema with we? vs. Would you like to go to the cinema with us?

      The sentence ending in ‘us’ makes sense, so you know you need to use ‘Tom and me’: Would you like to go to the cinema with Tom and me?

      Watch out: It’s easy to mix these up because ‘we’ and ‘me’ rhyme! Remember WE = AND I, and US = AND ME.
       
  6. THEN vs. THAN.
    'Then' is used to indicate a time, while 'than' is used to indicate a comparison.

    Think of 'then' as comparable to another word that indicates time: 'when' - both words are spelt with the letter 'e'.
     
  7. AFFECT vs. EFFECT
    ‘Affect’ describes an action, whereas ‘effect’ describes the end consequence.
     
  8. COULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, WOULD HAVE
    NEVER ‘could of’, ‘should of’, or ‘would of’! Click here to read about using apostrophes to replace missing letters.
     
  9. E.G. vs. I.E.
    E.g. = for example.
    I.e. = in other words/that is 10)
     
  10. IMPLY vs. INFER
    Imply = to suggest indirectly
    Infer = to draw a conclusion
     

We also have a list of all our articles on Commonly Confused Words over on Facebook, or you can find them by visiting our blog archive.

Which pairs or groups of words do you often mix up? Let us know and we’ll include them in our Commonly Confused words series.

Have a good week!


15 Jul 2014
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"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."

Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's Hill