The English language is a minefield where spelling and pronunciation are concerned. It’s no wonder it’s one of the most difficult languages to learn.
We have words that are spelt the same or pronounced the same but have different meanings (homonym) and words that are spelt differently but pronounced the same and have different meanings (homophone).
Just to recap here:
Homonym = Two or more words spelt the same or pronounced the same but having different meanings.
Do you have nuts?I saw this sign outside a restaurant recently:
“Please advise us if you have nuts and other allergies”.
At first glance they’re talking about two distinctly separate subjects: nuts and allergies. As if they’re expecting you to take the nuts with you to the restaurant and tell them you’ve got them.
I suppose it is obvious that this sign should have read: Continue reading
An apostrophe used to show possession of something to someone can be a complicated thing. Do not confuse a possessive apostrophe with one used for a contraction of two words.
For clarity you should always consult a good style guide, such as New Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide or The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.
If you are submitting work to a publisher it is advisable to ask for their own house style as some of the examples in this article may differ from one publisher to another.
What would you of done?
In England, particularly, the word have is often pronounced to sound like of, as in, “What would you of done?” or “I could of done something about it”. This is also how people will write it!
Actually, in that very English of ways, what people are really saying is, “I could ‘av done something about it”. They’ve dropped the h in have and it sounds like of.
It doesn’t take much investigating to reveal that of is the wrong word to be using given the context demonstrated above.
The dictionary definition of the word of is as follows: Continue reading
How do you remember whether to use ‘to’ or ‘too’ in a sentence?
They both sound alike, but I’m not sure they qualify as being a homonym as they are pronounced slightly differently; too having a slightly longer stress on the oo than to.
Getting them mixed up is a common mistake, but one that is easily avoided if you remember a few simple rules.
It implies motion whether physical or metaphorical. From one place to another or from one state to another: “We are going to Tooting”; “His mood swung from bad to good”. ‘To’ can also be a connecting word, as in, “He was handcuffed to the policeman”.
It can also be used to express purpose or intent, “I went out to do some shopping” and to indicate a desired or advisable action as in, “The instruction leaflet explains how to make it”.
‘Too‘ is used to increase something, whether the thing itself or the meaning of something: “There’s too much porridge on my plate”; “No job too big”. It implies excessiveness.
It is also used to add something to a statement, sometimes in place of ‘as well’, or ‘also’: “Jane is coming too“.
I always remember that the more letter Os there are in the word, the more it is a more word, an increased thing.
To a place/somewhere (We’re going to the cinema)
To a thing (Handcuffed to a pillar)
To a person (That was an awful thing you did to her)
To a feeling (From one feeling to another)
Too little too late
Too far to go
I’ve got too much
It’s too hard
What method do you use to remember which to/too to use?
The English language is a strange affair at times. Meaning is usually gathered from the words we use in the literal sense; the words and the order they are placed in a sentence tell you what the sentence as a whole means. But we don’t talk and write literally, neither do we hear or read, and consequently understand, literally.
I take it you are catching my drift so far? (I’m not really taking anything or expecting you to catch a drift, but I presume you know what I mean.) Continue reading
Here’s a fun one. While researching the meanings of homophones, homonyms, homographs and such, I came across the word oronym.
Until I discovered it I had no idea there was such a name for a concept I was more than familiar with. Given the way the English language is structured and spoken, it should have come as no surprise.
Homophones are words that sound alike but don’t necessarily have similar meanings; they could have totally different definitions.
However, there are some that not only sound alike but also have similar meanings. That’s what I want to tackle here.
Continue reading