Learn Some English (Part 1)
Tagged as: May 28I don’t like when people use English words or phrases without knowing how to use them. I started compiling a list after reading some blogs and noticing errors in their English. And these were not blogs started in foreign countries. These were supposedly English language based blogs! In any case, peruse the list and see if you’re guilty of any of these mistakes:
- maybe/may be - “Maybe” means perhaps while “may be” means could be. Okay okay I know that using “be” in the definition is not good. Nevertheless, there is a definite difference between the phrases. Examples: “Maybe I’ll go tonight” vs “She may be going tonight”
- they’re/their/there - This difference between words is pretty well-known, and yet it is still often misused. The first is a contraction of “they are” so you have to be able to substitute “they are everywhere you use “they’re.” “Their” is possessive. “There” indicates location. Examples: “They’re going to eat food” vs “I’m going to eat their food” vs “We are going to eat food there”
- its/it’s - This happens so often it’s sickening. Haha I just used “it’s.” Anyways “its” is a possessive of a previously mentioned inanimate object while “it’s” is a contraction of “it is.” Examples: “Don’t judge a book by its cover” vs “Look around the city in the fall and see how it’s all changing”
- site/sight - The difference between these words is that “site” means location and “sight” means something that is seen. Examples: “Why don’t we go to the construction site to see how things are going” vs “Boy those fireworks over the water sure are a sight to see.”
- buy/by/bye - “Buy” means “to purchase”, “by” is a preposition that has a number of meanings including “of or near to” or “through a particular medium”, “bye” is either a shortening of the common greeting “goodbye” or the opportunity for a team to not have to play another team in a sports tournament.
In any case that list is not, by an means, exhaustive. I think that I actually don’t mind it when people know that they are not experts at English. However, I think that I have the most problem with people when they make it seem as if they have a complete idea of what they’re saying. Such is life, huh? So try to learn what you can. Oh and stop by the Word of the Week to learn some good vocabulary.
“‘by’ is a preposition that has a nuber of meanings”
Nice spelling Professor Webster. LMAO
@Trevor
Haha good point, good point. I must admit that’s pretty laughable. You would think with Firefox and its inline spelling that mistakes would be held to a minimum. In any case, thanks for ridiculing my ironic mistake. Much thanks.
oooh… one of my pet peeves! i hate “might as well” when spelled/pronounced as “mine have been” or “mind as well”…
@chil
Yeah I thought of how we talked about this before when I was writing this. I definitely think that a lot of what you reference goes on. People can hear someone else say something and then repeat it as if they know what it means. When they write it out, however, it definitely will show that they don’t exactly know what they are doing. And that is just unfortunate!
Let’s not forget then/than!
I’m more particular about words that are actually misspelled. The cases you mention don’t get picked up by spell check. I know how easy it is to get in a hurry and have your fingers type the wrong word, when your brain knows exactly what you mean. But, there isn’t any excuse for a really misspelled word….unless you are from Texas, where our spelling is different anyway (lol). It’s a good list of ones to remember to check. I’ll have to keep the list beside me.
@HMTKSteve
Oh that’s a good one!
@This Eclectic Life
Yeah I definitely can understand how irritating it is when people completely misspell a word. Of course, that’s why it’s even more amusing that I misspelled “number” as Trevor pointed out in the comments. Nevertheless, I think that these are even more of a pitfall for those that may hear or talk a lot but not necessarily write down things. It’s something that I see far too often, that’s for sure!