Grammar police!!!

Alright! I must make a confession. I know, a confession on a blog, (gasp!) how original!

My confession is simply this: when I write I often right in conversational tones.

What do I mean by that? I mean that by altering my usage of punctuation I can infer pauses where they ought to be better than what would be strictly proper.

Here's an example:

a.) C'mon Rob.....what on earth are you waiting for?

b.) C'mon Rob, what on earth are you waiting for?

In example a., you can hear and feel the pause in your inner dialogue. It would be even more pronounced if you were reading it aloud.

In example b., the pause would not be as noticeable and it would be easily glossed over.

I think a. represents the dialogue in a clearer manner.




So...now that I've confessed my own writing deficiency, I must now disclose my single, biggest pet peeve when reading and editing other's writings: homophone abuse.

The problem with homophone abuse is rampant!

People hit spellcheck and assume all is well when it comes back clean but homophones are tricky!

They are words that are sound similar or even alike but have differing meanings and spellings.

Yes, homophones are truly nefarious! You may very well believe all is well with what you wrote but later you realize you've used the wrong 'there'! You meant possessive 'their' but instead you wrote 'there'! Spellcheck won't help you! No, it can't help you! You've fallen into a homophone trap!

I edit other people's writings and must confess that homophone abuse drives me to distraction! 'Loosing' means to 'make loose', not 'lose' something! Lose and loose are very different words with very different meanings and I swear that it's the most abused homophone; even more so than the there, their, they're claptrap!

As a matter of fact, I need to define them clearly for everyone's benefit. (definitions from thefreedictionary.com)

loose (ls)

adj. loos·er, loos·est

1. Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks.

2. Not taut, fixed, or rigid: a loose anchor line; a loose chair leg.

3. Free from confinement or imprisonment; unfettered: criminals loose in the neighborhood; dogs that are loose on the streets.

4. Not tight-fitting or tightly fitted: loose shoes.

5. Not bound, bundled, stapled, or gathered together: loose papers.

6. Not compact or dense in arrangement or structure: loose gravel.

7. Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; idle: loose talk.

8. Not formal; relaxed: a loose atmosphere at the club.

9. Lacking conventional moral restraint in sexual behavior.

10. Not literal or exact: a loose translation.

11. Characterized by a free movement of fluids in the body: a loose cough; loose bowels.

adv.

In a loose manner.

v. loosed, loos·ing, loos·es

v.tr.

1. To let loose; release: loosed the dogs.

2. To make loose; undo: loosed his belt.

3. To cast loose; detach: hikers loosing their packs at camp.

4. To let fly; discharge: loosed an arrow.

5. To release pressure or obligation from; absolve: loosed her from the responsibility.

6. To make less strict; relax: a leader's strong authority that was loosed by easy times.

v.intr.

1. To become loose.

2. To discharge a missile; fire.


lose (lz)

v. lost (lôst, lst), los·ing, los·es

v.tr.

1. To be unsuccessful in retaining possession of; mislay: He's always losing his car keys.

2.

a. To be deprived of (something one has had): lost her art collection in the fire; lost her job.

b. To be left alone or desolate because of the death of: lost his wife.

c. To be unable to keep alive: a doctor who has lost very few patients.

3. To be unable to keep control or allegiance of: lost his temper at the meeting; is losing supporters by changing his mind.

4. To fail to win; fail in: lost the game; lost the court case.

5. To fail to use or take advantage of: Don't lose a chance to improve your position.

6. To fail to hear, see, or understand: We lost the plane in the fog. I lost her when she started speaking about thermodynamics.

7.

a. To let (oneself) become unable to find the way.

b. To remove (oneself), as from everyday reality into a fantasy world.

8. To rid oneself of: lost five pounds.

9. To consume aimlessly; waste: lost a week in idle occupations.

10. To wander from or become ignorant of: lose one's way.

11.

a. To elude or outdistance: lost their pursuers.

b. To be outdistanced by: chased the thieves but lost them.

12. To become slow by (a specified amount of time). Used of a timepiece.

13. To cause or result in the loss of: Failure to reply to the advertisement lost her the job.

14. To cause to be destroyed. Usually used in the passive: Both planes were lost in the crash.

15. To cause to be damned.

v.intr.

1. To suffer loss.

2. To be defeated.

3. To operate or run slow. Used of a timepiece.

There are also many other tricky homophones to watch out for! As a public service, I will list a few here for both your curiosity and conveinence.

List of common homophones borrowed from all-about-spelling.com:

acts/ax ad/add ads/adds/adz aid/aide ail/ale air/heir/err aisle/isle/I'll all/awl all ready/already all together/altogether allowed/aloud alter/altar ant/aunt arc/ark assent/ascent assistance/assistants ate/eight aural/oral away/aweigh aye/eye bail/bale bait/bate ball/bawl band/banned bard/barred bare/bear baron/barren base/bass bases/basis bazaar/bizarre be/bee beach/beech beat/beet beau/bow bell/belle berry/bury billed/build berth/birth bite/byte blew/blue bloc/block boar/bore board/bored boarder/border bode/bowed bolder/boulder born/borne bough/bow bouillon/bullion boy/buoy bread/bred brake/break brewed/brood brews/bruise bridle/bridal broach/brooch browse/brows but/butt buy/by/bye cache/cash callous/callus cannon/canon canvas/canvass capital/capitol carat/carrot/caret/karat carol/carrel cast/caste cede/seed ceiling/sealing cell/sell cellar/seller censor/sensor cent/scent/sent cents/scents/sense cereal/serial cession/session chance/chants chased/chaste cheap/cheep chews/choose chic/sheik chilly/chili choral/coral choir/quire chute/shoot chord/cord cite/sight/site clause/claws click/clique close/clothes/cloze coal/cole coarse/course colonel/kernel complement/compliment coo/coup coop/coupe core/corps correspondence/correspondents council/counsel creak/creek crews/cruise cruel/crewel cue/queue currant/current curser/cursor cymbal/symbol dam/damn days/daze dear/deer defused/diffused desert (abandon)/dessert dew/do/due die/dye disburse/disperse discreet/discrete doe/dough/do (musical note) done/dun draft/draught dual/duel earn/urn ewe/you/yew eye/I faint/feint fair/fare faun/fawn

faze/phase feat/feet find/fined fir/fur flair/flare flea/flee flew/flu/flue flour/flower flocks/phlox for/four/fore foreword/forward fort/forte forth/fourth foul/fowl friar/fryer gait/gate gene/jean gild/guild gilt/guilt gnu/knew/new gored/gourd gorilla/guerilla grate/great grease/Greece groan/grown guessed/guest hail/hale hair/hare hall/haul halve/have hangar/hanger hay/hey heal/heel/he'll hear/here heard/herd heed/he'd hertz/hurts hew/hue/Hugh hi/high higher/hire him/hymn hoard/horde hoarse/horse hole/whole holey/holy/wholly hoes/hose hold/holed hostel/hostile hour/our idle/idol illicit/elicit in/inn insight/incite instance/instants intense/intents its/it's jam/jamb colonel/kernel knap/nap knead/kneed/need knight/night knit/nit knot/not know/no knows/nose laid/lade lain/lane lay/lei leach/leech lead/led leak/leek lean/lien leased/least lee/lea lessen/lesson levee/levy liar/lier/lyre lichen/liken lie/lye lieu/Lou links/lynx load/lode loan/lone locks/lox loot/lute low/lo made/maid mail/male main/mane/Maine maize/maze mall/maul manner/manor mantel/mantle marry/merry/Mary marshal/martial massed/mast maybe/may be meat/meet/mete medal/metal/mettle/meddle might/mite mince/mints mind/mined miner/minor missed/mist moan/mown mode/mowed moose/mousse morn/mourn muscle/mussel mustard/mustered naval/navel nay/neigh none/nun oar/or/ore ode/owed oh/owe one/won overdo/overdue overseas/oversees pail/pale pain/pane pair/pare/pear palate/palette/pallet passed/past patience/patients

pause/paws pea/pee peace/piece peak/peek/pique peal/peel pearl/purl pedal/peddle/petal peer/pier per/purr pi/pie plait/plate plain/plane pleas/please plum/plumb pole/poll pore/pour pray/prey presence/presents prince/prints principal/principle profit/prophet rack/wrack rain/reign/rein raise/rays/raze rap/wrap rapped/rapt/wrapped read/red read/reed real/reel reek/wreak rest/wrest retch/wretch review/revue right/rite/write ring/wring road/rode/rowed roam/Rome roe/row role/roll root/route rose/rows rote/wrote rough/ruff rung/wrung rye/wry sail/sale scene/seen scull/skull sea/see seam/seem seas/sees/seize serf/surf sew/so/sow shear/sheer shoe/shoo shone/shown side/sighed sighs/size slay/sleigh sleight/slight slew/slue/slough soar/sore soared/sword sole/soul some/sum son/sun staid/stayed stair/stare stake/steak stationary/stationery steal/steel step/steppe stile/style straight/strait suite/sweet surge/serge tacks/tax tail/tale taught/taut tea/tee team/teem tear/tier tern/turn their/there/they're theirs/there's threw/through thrown/throne thyme/time tic/tick tide/tied to/too/two toad/towed toe/tow told/tolled trussed/trust vain/vane/vein vale/veil vary/very vial/vile vice/vise wade/weighed wail/whale waist/waste wait/weight waive/wave want/wont ware/wear/where way/weigh/whey ways/weighs we/wee weak/week we'll/wheel weather/whether we'd/weed we've/weave wet/whet which/witch while/wile whine/wine who's/whose wood/would yoke/yolk yore/your/you're you'll/Yule

Please! Kind and gentle readers, I implore you, please re-read what you write before you hit send...see if it makes sense! If you're unsure, I have some advice: look it up!

I will leave you now with one last resource regarding homophones: homophone.com
This website will help you determine if you are using the right version of the word that you actually mean to use.

Thank you for indulging my grammar rant!
-michchick, aka Jen