Today’s guest is KC Sprayberry, and she talks about something that, as an editor and teacher, makes me absolutely froth at the mouth! Thanks for stopping by, KC!
Those Mixed up Words!
You post a status on Facebook. Or drop a tweet into Twitter, and you’re immediate reaction is “Did I really do that?” Just what do you think is right in the sentence you just wrote, or perhaps wrong?
Maybe you blew it with one of the many homophones in our language. You know homophones – those words that sound exactly alike, but have meanings nowhere near each other. And now you’re at risk of the Grammar Police nagging you until you do an edit, but what word do you use? How fast can you get this corrected? After all, no one wants a grammar cop on their case. Oh, you’ve seen people make fun of them, but those folks don’t have one stalking them right this very minute.
How do you avoid these mistakes? There are some very simple rules to follow, and we’ll go over some of the most mixed up words known to man today.
You’re/Your:
You’re is the contraction of you are, as in: You’re a great friend.
Your is the possessive of an adjective or an indication of a group or person, as in: Let’s go to your house.
Than/Then:
Than is a conjunction, a word that joins other words, like and, as in: I’d rather go here than there.
Then has many meanings, but it’s popularly used as next or afterward, as in: Then we’ll pick up Jack.
Accept/Except:
Accept means to receive, admit, or regard as true, as in: Accept was Susie’s first thought when she ripped open the thick envelope from Stanford.
Except means to exclude, as in: The whole class except Bill, Jane, Joe, and Teresa will go on the field trip next Tuesday.
To/Too/Two:
To is used as a preposition before a noun or as an infinitive before a verb, as in: He went to work, even though his friends took off for the beach.
Too is a synonym for also, as in: I’d like one, too.
Two is a number, as in: Jane picked up two oranges.
Their/There/They’re:
Their – third person plural, possessive adjective for things belonging to them, as in: Their horses cantered across the field.
There – a verb meaning opposite of here or a pronoun to introduce the noun or clause, or an adjective that emphasizes which person, as in: There is a problem with your car.
There is the contraction of they are, as in: They’re leaving now.
Passed/Past:
Passed – the past tense of pass, as in: He passed the accident, after gazing at the destroyed vehicles.
Past is related to time, as in: Long ago and far away, in a time long past, humans had no idea machines would rule their world.
Bare/Bear:
Bear – to carry, endure or tolerate, or maintain direction, or several other things, including a rather mean animal, as in: She lost the dignity she bears once the grizzly bear made its presence known.
Bare – uncovered, naked, or exposed, as in: Your low pants bare far more of your anatomy than I want to know about.
Its/It’s:
Its – possessive of it, as in: The door bang shut. Its slam echoed through the house.
It’s – a contraction of it is, as in: It’s a dog, but there is a cat running fast in the other direction.
Do/Due/Dew/Doo:
Do – a verb meaning to carry out, as in: I have so much to do.
Due – payment or a date something must be turned in, as in: The term report is due tomorrow.
Dew – moisture or condensation, as in: There was heavy dew this morning.
Doo – is slang for a hairstyle, as in: My new doo is so great.
Till/’til:
Opinion is mixed on this word, however if you write about historical fiction or even historical non-fiction, you might want to remember this difference.
Till – a cash drawer, as in: He opened the till.
’til – is the contraction of until, as in: Wait ’til we get there.
Pique/Peak/Peek:
Pique – a verb meaning to arouse or stimulate, as in: The invitation piqued his interest.
Peak – is a verb meaning to reach a high point, or a noun meaning high point, as in: They climbed for hours before reaching the mountains peak.
Peek – a noun meaning a quick look or a verb meaning to take a quick look, as in: Her quick peek caused the soufflé to fall.
These aren’t all of the mixed up words, or homophones as they’re properly called, but they are the most abused. SO, the next time … excuse me. There’s someone at the door.
Oh, goodness! That was the leader of the Grammar Police. He just gave me a shiny new badge, and then he swore me into their corps! You too can earn one of these badges by watching out for mixed up words.
Bio:
I am happily married to a man I met while in the Air Force. We recently celebrated our 18 years of marriage. Our teen, the youngest of 8, keeps us on our toes with his band activities. Writing is something I’ve done since I was very young. At first, it was in a diary and then I poured all my energies into English compositions, earning praise from my Advanced Composition teacher in high school for an extremely visual project. While in the Air Force, I placed second in the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge’s annual contest and from then on, was hooked. However, the reality of a military career and raising children forced me to put off attempting publication until my husband and I moved to Georgia. It was after the birth of our now teen that I began taking courses through The Institute of Children’s Literature, Long Ridge Writer’s Group, and Writers Digest in an effort to make my life’s dream come true.
We live in Northwest Georgia, in a small town, where I write Romance, Westerns, Young Adult, and Middle Grade stories, both short and book length. More than a dozen of my short stories have appeared in magazines such as Listen Magazine, Brio, and The Pink Chameleon website. I also have two short stories in anthologies, Passionate Hearts Anthology and Mystery Times Ten. My westerns have garnered interest by avid readers and appear on The Western Online and Frontier Tales.
My work appears under the pen names of KC Sprayberry and Kathi Sprayberry. Softly Say Goodbye, a young adult novel, was my NaNoWriMo winning project for 2010. This story was inspired by a quote from a song and hearing of an auto wreck involving teens and drinking.
Links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/KC-Sprayberry/331150236901202
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kcsowriter
Blog: http://outofcontrolcharacters.blogspot.com/
Google +: https://plus.google.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kcsprayberry/boards/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5011219.K_C_Sprayberry
JacketFlap: http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=kathispray
Website: http://www.kcsprayberry.com/
Blurb:
Erin Sellers, an eighteen-year-old high school senior, hates teen drinking. She and her three friends – Bill, her guy, Shari and Jake – decide to use Twitter to stop a group, the Kewl Krew, from using their high school as the local bar. But the members of this group are just as determined to stop anyone from messing up their fun. Despite veiled threats to her safety, Erin continues her crusade.
To make matters worse for her, the stress of school and extra curricular work mounts and suddenly, shockingly, booze-fuelled tragedy strikes. Erin is now under greater pressure as she spends all hours to produce a mural and other work to commemorate the death of a teen friend. Bill, Jake and Shari support her in all this…
But more tragedy lurks nearby… until it’s time to softly say goodbye.
Buy Links:
Solstice Publishing: http://store.solsticepublishing.com/softly-say-goodbye/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/softly-say-goodbye-kc-sprayberry/1113669521?ean=2940015893175
A Biblio Paradise 
Thanks KC for all the great tips, and sharing and telling us all about yourself. Happy Writing!
I know the differences but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve typed your instead of you’re without noticing it. I’m bookmarking this list for a reminder.
Well, I definitely didn’t know the bare/bear one. Guess I’ve been putting a lot of naked people in my stories for years! lol
Good list KC, I’ve had to drill several of those into my head. My big one that I still stumble on? Wonder vs. Wander. I know the difference, but when typing quickly, I often insert the wrong one. Congrats on the new badge!