1. Lose and Loose
Kids, and even adults make the mistake of using these two words interchangably. They must remember "You can lose your keys if you put them in your very loose pants!"
2. Affect and Effect
"Affect" is a verb while "effect" is a noun. Use them in the correct way. For instance, "If this incident affects your mood, it has an effect on you."
3. Semi-colons
Semi-colons are not commas, neither are they colons. A semi-colon is used between closely related independent clauses not conjoined with any coordinating conjunction.
For example,
"I went to visit John at the hospital; I was told that no visits are allowed."
Or between items in a series that has its own punctuation:
"I have three good buddies, Jackie, who is sister; Lea, who is my cousin; and Liming, who is my classmate.
4. It's and Its
The two are not interchangeable. "It's" is short for "it is". "Its" is the possessive form of "It." Thus, "It's a great day for roller-blading at East Coast Park." and "Leave the dog alone. Its tail was crushed by roller-blades at East Coast Park and it needs rest now."
5. Let's and Lets
The two are not interchangeable. "Let's" is short for "Let us". "Lets" is singular verb for "let". Thus, "Let's go swimming together." and "Mum lets me go swimming with my friends."
6. Then and Than
"Then" describes what happens next. "Than" is used in comparing two items. Hence, "I love painting more than drawing." and " I am going to draw first, then paint later.
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2 comments:
Very good blog! Congratulations!
Eduardo
I like learning English. It's great to read this post. I always use those words in writing my articles but I never take a look at closely in case I make mistakes in using them. It was very helpful.
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