Same sounding word, different meanings, different
spellings…
Ever notice how some words can give you a problem?
When coming upon a word like:
their
home
My brain does a search and my fingers type the first
word on the list stored on my gray matter.
there
home – WHAT? lol
they’re
home
– makes sense but not the right word I need, or is it write?
Now this doesn’t happen all of the time—just mainly
when I’m tired and pushing myself. I have found a few silly typos in revisions.
These words can be tricky to a tired writer’s brain.
WE’RE/
WERE
WEAR/
WHERE – I found this one yesterday in a read through,
or is it threw?
FAIR/FARE
SEA/SEE
TO/TOO/TWO
LED/LEAD
BASE/BASS
YOUR/YOU’RE
– this
one gets me all the time. My brain almost always picks your for you’re
and my fingers just type it. Habit, I guess.
Then we have BOW/a ribbon, BOW/and arrow. That turns
into BOW/bend forward at the waist, then BOW/the front of a ship, and BOUGH/a tree
branch, and somewhere in there you could add BEAU/a boyfriend. Whew! I’m
exhausted!
HOMONYMS, HOMOPHONES, HOMOGRAPHS, AND HETERONYMS – OH MY! Sometimes,
they all blend together.
Be careful, Spell Check doesn't know the difference either. We're on our own, or is it were?
Ever
have problems with these kinds of words? Which one gives you grief?
Between
you, me and the gatepost,
Loree
Don’t
foget—Look for Author, Jocelyn Green to visit The Civil War Bivouac next Monday,
September 17th. I will be asking her a few questions about her new novel Wedded to War.
And…Jocelyn has graciously offered to
give away a signed copy to one lucky commenter. Have a great week!
24 comments:
Great post, Loree. I like your example of bow, bough, and beau - I have never thought about that trio of similar words. Have a great week!
Haha, fun. Yes, like you, it's usually when I'm tired that my brain just goes silly and picks the wrong spelling. :)
Normally they don't mess me up too much but that's about the only thing in writing that doesn't! LOL
The word that gets me all the time is "wind" as in winde the thread in a ball. Only it doesn't have a magic "e" at the end to make you say the long "i" sound. But I always want to put it there, because otherwise I read it wind-breeze :)
LOL, Loree, I so get this. You're/Your is my biggest downfall.
Which is why texting shorthand makes this girl with a built-in editor slightly nuts. Okay. I can handle it in a text, but not on Facebook or anywhere else.
I know. I know. I need more coffee! :)
This made (maid) me giggle. As an editor, I see (sea) this stuff all the time. Hehe.
Chose/choose get me every time.
The funniest word mix up I've come across was when my husband was writing an article about fishing, which he does a lot through his work. He meant to write something about catching a striper (as in a striped bass). He had accidentally written "stripper." There is a huge difference. LOL.
Hi Loree! I'm pretty good at choosing the right word, but every now and then, one will catch me off guard. I can't think of a particular trick word I fall prey to, but the spell check! The spell check always puts the wrong word in... Great post, it really gets you to thinking. No wonder people think English is a difficult language!
Oh yes, similar to Sarah, "you're/your" is my downfall as well (especially when I'm typing too fast!)
Victoria: The bow to bough was a fun one. Have an awesome week, Victoria!
Melissa:It always happens when I'm tired. Then I find them the next day, or months later...lol!
Terri: LOL! Well then you are one of the lucky ones. Terri, love hearing about your new life. I love the picture out your back door - beautiful!
Sandra: Wind and Wind(e)are great examples! They are tricky ones.
Sarah: That's mine too. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Rhonda: I can't even think about the texting...lol! We both need more coffee!
Lindsay:As an editor, I bet you see/sea a lot of interesting typos. I didn't think of maid and made. Great example and play along!
Jenn: Welcome here! So glad you stopped by. Choose and chose are tricky ones. That kind of word can sneak up on you if you're typing fast.
Julie: LOL! A stripper bass?! Funny. Like I just told Jenn, those kinds of word sneak up on us when we're typing fast, or tired...lol!
Gwen: It's just like you said, the spell check puts in the WRONG word...it just doesn't get it either...lol!
Melanie: That's the one that gets me too. And when you find one of these typos...it's like we know the word, but our brains just glitch.
Thanks for stopping in everyone. Loved your comments today!
This problem with words, words, words ramps up the more tired I get.
I pulled the whole here/hear thing the other day on Facebook. Grrr. Yeah, I know it's a little thing ... but it irks the editor in me.
Sometimes I'm so tired I struggle to spell "the."
Oh, my, what troublesome words! Someone gave me a book about those kinds of word pairs. Or is it pares? LOL!
I get affect and effect mixed up.
So (sew) much stuff to keep in mind! Sometimes I confuse myself with accept and except - not (knot) sure why, but they tend to trip me up sometimes.
I plan on stopping by on the 17th to learn more about Jocelyn's novel! Thanks for the heads up. God bless!
The English language is boggling :)
What an entertaining post, Loree!
I have a problem with a number of words, so sometimes my poor crit partners correct the same ones over and over! Yikes!! Aloha! --Cheryl
Beth: Oh, I hate when that happens! But I love the edit button on fb. I hear ya talking about being so tired that you struggle to type "the".
Jeanette: affect and effect is a real troublemaker! I've dealt with that one too!
Maria: accept and except are like affect and effect - troublemakers - all of them! haha
Lynda: LOLOLOL!
Cheryl: My crit partners see the same ones too. Congrats on your book that's soon to be released! Look forward to it.
Thanks for popping in everyone! It means so much!
Instead of just spelling or grammar checks, we need a computer catcher for words like these that are similiar but so not the same. :)
Yes, the English language trips me up on a regular basis. :) Like you, it hits more when I am tired or distracted.
Have a good weekend! :)
Karen
Stacy: I totally agree. Someone should come up with a computer like that! Congrats on the release of your novel last week, Stacy!
Karen: That is exactly when it gets me too...tired eyes and brain. Even coffee doesn't catch it.
Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping in Stacy and Karen!
Hahaaa, yep, these are tricky. I usually don't have a problem with them though, but if I'm tired I might.
On my trip up to Kentucky me and the kiddos stopped at a civil war museum thingy and went through an old underground railroad. It was pretty cool. :-)
I don't usually have problems with these kind of words, but I pity those trying to learn English.
Jessica: Glad you got in some Civil War history on your trip. The history of the Underground Railroad is amazing!
Susan: I agree. It would be hard to be learning English and have to deal with these words.
Thanks for dropping by Jessica and Susan! Love reading your comments.
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