The title — Confuzzled by these English words — obviously contains a word that is made up. But I think it conveys the truth: Many words in English are tough to understand! In English, these words are known as homophones,…
Homophones: Principal and Principle
I was talking on LinkedIn recently with Tom Dietzler, who wondered if I could help with two words — homophones — that he kept getting mixed up. Of course, he’s in great company; a lot of writers confuse these two.…
Tuesday Tricksters: Helpful Hacks
Here are some helpful hacks to use with Tuesday Tricksters! For the last three years, I have posted on most Tuesdays about words that make many writers look bad: homophones. They’re the ones that sound like another word (or nearly,…
Morning — Musth
It’s been a few months since my last Tuesday Tricksters post, and I’m not sure why I stopped posting this series. Because each post shows my readers words in English that are easy to misuse (no matter whether English is…
Tuesday Tricksters, Missal — Mode
You thought I’d abandoned these, right? Nope. Not a prayer. Just got very busy the last couple of weeks. But I’m baaaaaaack! Using the correct words, to me, is the hallmark of good writing — knowing the difference between you’re…
Bloggers of the World: Untie!
How many of you are bloggers? How many of you can’t believe the title of this post? How many of you saw the goof right away? How would you feel if it were yours? A couple of years ago, I…
Tuesday Tricksters, Mil–Minks
It was a lazy, hazy, snowy morning here at the Grammar Goddess abode; the dogs were sleeping, and I was lazily gazing out through the snow-covered windows to the snow-covered trees, when suddenly I realized it’s TUESDAY! Yikes. I hadn’t…
Tuesday Tricksters, Mews–Might
It’s (its) another Tuesday, and time (thyme) to (too, two) (re)learn five more (moore) pairs (pears) of tricky words that can make even the best writers look not so smart. They’re (their, there) known as homophones, words that sound the…
Tuesday Tricksters, Medal — Mewl
So here it is: the last day of February. How did this come on so quickly? It’s also a Tuesday, which means I have another chance to remind writers about an important fact: Spellcheck, for all its wonderfulness, does only…
Tuesday Tricksters, Me — Meatier
So today is the day of love — around the world. It’s St. Valentine’s Day, at least here in the U.S. Love is in the air. Cupid is shooting his arrows, sometimes hitting the wrong people. Those who are not…
Tuesday Tricksters, Marten — Maw
Who hasn’t written the wrong word, thinking one (won) that sounded like it was the right (rite) one? Learning English, with its (it’s) homophones (words that sound alike or nearly so) can be (bee) really tough. This Tuesday Tricksters series…
Homophones Licker – Limn
It’s Tuesday again! Time for more difficult words — homophones — that we all need to pay attention to! They’re the ones that sound the same (or nearly so), but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Licker (n.): one…
Lesser — Liken
More homophones: lesser and liken. Homophones: tough words (aka homophones) in English that sound the same (or nearly so, anyway), but mean something different and are spelled differently. And it doesn’t matter how much English we know; these words bedevil…
Leave — Lesson
It’s (Its) time (thyme) again for Tuesday Tricksters! It’s a quick peek (peak/pique) at some (sum) words that sound the same but (butt/butte) are not (knot/naught) the same! They have different meanings and different spellings. Smart writers remember that spellcheck…
Tricksters Leak — Leased
It’s Tuesday, so here’s another edition of Tricksters, those words that sound alike (or nearly so, anyway) and can make us writers look bad when we misuse them. Spellcheck will never help here; the words are spelled correctly, but used…
Homophones Lea — Leaf
The homophones lea — leaf are among today’s tricky words. Yes, it’s Tuesday, and that means another edition of the Tuesday Tricksters, words called homophones that sound the same as another one (or nearly so, anyway) but mean something different…
Fun With Jeopardy!
I love Jeopardy! I really, really LOVE this show! I don’t know if it’s shown anywhere except the U.S., but I hope it is. The premise of the show is that the contestants (and everyone watching) are given the answers,…
Knead . . . Knob
Here we go again, dear readers! More Tuesday Tricksters (aka homophones) to delight and bedevil us (if we’re not carefully reading what we wrote, that is). These words have the power to make any one of us look bad, so…
Jinks – Karat
Once again here is an edition of Tuesday Tricksters! I keep publishing these because I know how hard it can be to remember all the variations of words that sound alike (or nearly so), but aren’t spelled the same and…
Jalousie — Jibe
Here is the latest installment of Tuesday Tricksters, words (homophones) that sound alike (or nearly so), but mean something different and are spelled differently. Remember that spellcheck will not help you here; if you spell the word correctly, spellcheck won’t…
Innocence – Its
Good Tuesday morning, folks! Here’s the latest installment of my Tuesday Tricksters series – in a new format. Because I’m now publishing on several platforms, I’m trying to make it easier for anyone reading this post to see the words…
Passed & Past
Today’s edition of Wednesday Words & Woes comes thanks to Paul Croubalian, who suggested the words, two of the tougher ones to learn because they’re true homophones. And as we all know, spellcheck will not help us here. The…
To, Too, Two
Sometimes I get lucky and a bunch of readers ask for help on the same homophones — you know, those pesky words that sound the same (or nearly so) but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Quite a few…
Pried and Pride
Yes, these words sound alike; they’re homophones, after all! But they mean two different things, and since I recently saw one of them in a post when the other one was meant, I figured we might as well take a…
Compose and Comprise
OK, folks — fasten your seat belts! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride here. I’m about to take away a favorite phrase you may be writing or saying, one you probably have never given any real thought to. You may…
Everyday and Every Day
Who is NOT familiar with this brand? Raise your hand . . . Hmmm. I don’t see many hands up, probably because for a long time, the Martha Stewart Everyday brand was ubiquitous. You couldn’t open a magazine or a…
Lead and Led
English is really tough language. I realize many others may be as well, but I only know this one (and good for all of you who manage more than one!). A while ago I published a post on the most…
Forward & Foreword
I’m amazed at how much I always learn when I write posts about the English language and its various words that are so easy to misuse. These two words were going to be in yesterday’s grouping, but there is too…
Coarse & Course
Of course we’re going to learn two more words today: It’s Wednesday! And these two are featured today because I saw one of them misused in a post recently and realized that again — someone depended on SPELLCHECK to do…
Breath, Breathe, Breadth
Good Wednesday morning! It’s the middle of the week, Hump Day, and also time for another edition of Words & Woes. I was reading another blog a few days ago — an excellent one — and the author used breath…
A Lot, Allot, Alot
As you’re reading this — before you see the picture below with the answers — look at the headline again. Do you know which of the three in the headline is not a real word? Hmmm? How did another Wednesday…
Quiz on Lie and Lay
OK, folks – are you ready for a truly tough quiz? The verbs to lie and to lay are probably the most confusing verbs in English, primarily because they borrow from each other. And too many speakers and writers do not know…
Complement / Compliment
Once again, Tuesday’s Tricksters strives to help us remember there are often many ways to write a word that sounds like another. Two I want to focus on this morning, thanks to a comment made by Sarah Elkins a few…
American Grammar Checkup: Pronunciation
So, today’s lesson isn’t exactly about grammar; it’s more about our wacky and weird English language. If nothing else, it should be a reminder of how difficult it is to learn English, no matter which country or system you follow.…
Spell Check: Devil or Angle?
Sharp-eyed readers are already wondering – what the heck? Doesn’t she know she goofed RIGHT IN THE HEADLINE? Yes. I do know that. I did write “angle,” and spell check accepted it. Why not? It’s a perfectly good word, and…
Irregular Plurals Prove a Point
Have you ever heard someone say, “Why doesn’t she just learn to speak English!”? Every time I hear or read that, I’m tempted to ask that person how easy they think it would be to learn another language if they…
The “Meaning” of Words
Have you ever noticed how much humor is rooted in culture and understanding of the local language? A word that means one thing to person A might mean something completely different to person B. An expression that might horrify one…
It’s Time to Master These Two Words!
Dear Readers — Here are two more words in a continuing series of almost homophones — those pesky words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings — that confuse so many of us. Many English words are written…
Money Down the Drain
OK, I know I’m a crank, but my crankiness has a purpose. Right now I’m banging my head against a wall — figuratively, although it may get literal — because I just read the first three paragraphs of a post…