Title: Commonly Misused Words...

and how to use them correctly Word Count: 841 Summary: Here are eighteen words which are often misused, explinations, and sentences to show their correct use; written in a fun way. Enjoy! Keywords: Misused, mispelled, mistaken, wrting, writer, writes, write well, speak, speakin g well, speaking confidently, Christ, write Article Body: Here are some commonly misused words, and some examples to avoid repeating the s ame mistakes in your own writing, and speaking. Have fun. 1. affect/effect Affect-to change an outcome/ Effect-the result of change or an event. Ex. The effect of the chili was not felt until the next day. It affec ted me the most. Memory tip- we can affect the effect. 2. accept/except Accept- to agree or receive something. except- to leave somet hing out. Ex. I once saw a website that encouraged me to "except" Christ. They had meant accept (to receive Christ, not except, to leave Christ out!). 3. anymore/ any more Anymore- an adverb meaning now. Any more-signifies somet hing extra. Ex. "I won't eat doughnuts anymore," I announced. Ed jumped up and said, "I will go and make sure there aren't any more in the house." 4. already/all ready All ready- meaning all set Already-meaning something has taken place. Ex. I am all ready for a vacation. In fact, I have already p acked. 5. percent/percentage Percent-use percent when the number is omitted. Percent age-use when the number is known. Ex. Sixty percent off sure sounded like a goo d deal. What percentage of the purchase was within your bu dget? 6. bad/badly Bad-bad is an adjective it describes nouns or pronouns. Badly- i s an adverb that describes verbs or answers the question how. Ex. Ten of the tw elve scouts brought back a bad report from the Promised Land. (Bad-report). Onl y Joshua and Caleb did not speak badly about what they had seen. (Badly- speak) Important note: In English, it seems, there are always exceptions. Use bad wit h verbs of the five senses. Looked bad, feels bad, sounds bad, tastes bad, smell s bad, etc. 7. can/may Can-means "is able to" May-"asks permission to" Ex. Max Lucado ca n write well. May I get a chance to talk with him? 8. farther/further Farther- use farther to denote physical distance. Furtheruse further to denote more or to a greater extent. Ex. I swam farther than Ju dy did. The mustard stain gave further proof that Donna had eaten the evidence. Memory tip: There is a "far" in farther, therefore use farther for distance. 9. fewer/less Fewer-use fewer when the amount can be counted. Less-use less w hen something cannot be defined. Less sense, less courage etc. Ex. Do we have f ewer than ten people present? I had less fear about the situation than I did la

st year. 10. good/well Good is an adjective it describes nouns or pronouns. Well is us ually an adverb that describes verbs and answers the question how. Pete makes g ood Italian dishes. However, he doesn't always clean up well afterwards. Import ant note: Again, with the five senses good would be used. Looked good, smells g ood, etc. Also note: with health use well, since it is the opposite of sick. A fter overeating at the buffet, I didn't feel well. 11. hopefully This is an adverb meaning "full of hope". This has become an o verused word. Do not use hopefully when it has no verb to modify. To test, sub stitute "full of hope" to see if the sentence makes sense. Hopefully, I waited by the mailbox. (Hopefully modifies how I waited, this is correct) Hopefully, the phone will ring with an offer. (In this case the phone cannot be full of hop e. A better sentence would be; I hope my phone will ring with an offer. 12 its/it's Its is a possessive pronoun showing possession of something. "It' s" is a contraction of it is. Ex. The Husky held fiercely onto its end of the " tug of war" rope. It is just too expensive, or it's just too expensive. Memory t ip: Possessive its never splits. 13. nauseous/nauseated Nauseous is an adjective meaning to cause nausea or dis gust. Nauseated is a verb meaning to feel sick or nauseous. If you say you fee l nauseous, it actually means you make others sick when they come in contact wit h you! You should say: I feel nauseated. The smell of sewerage is making peopl e nauseous. 14. regardless/irregardless Regardless of what you've been taught, "irregardle ss" is not Standard English. 15. than/then Use than to show comparison. Use then to show time. Ex. Ed sai d that he was definitely wiser than Pete. I wonder what happened then? 16. their/there/they're "Their" is a possessive pronoun. There shows place, and can begin a sentence. "They're" is a contraction of they are. Ex. Their car is awesome. They're going to give me a ride. What a way to get there. 17. to/too/two "to" helps the form of the verb. I.e. To shout, to sing, to pr aise God's name. "Too" means also. "Two" is of course, the number two. Ex. I asked to go along. Yolanda said I could go too. However, she said there were two conditions. 18. your/you're Your is a possessive pronoun. "You're" is the contraction of you are. Ex. I had never seen your car before. Now I understand why you're alw ays running late! Memory tip: Possessive your, only four (letters). Copyright 2004 Peter D. Mallett Source: Nitty Gritty Grammar Copyright 1998