Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Words that trip me up


There are some words in the English language that I stumble on when writing them. These tend to be words I can’t replace with another, even though I may spend hours trying. I’m sure you’re dying for examples so here are a few.

Drank vs. drunk
Pat vs. patted
Towards vs. toward
Dove vs. dived
Farther vs. further
Leapt vs. leaped
Its vs. it’s
Lay vs. Laid vs Lain
Who vs. whom

I wrote this post with no intention of clearing up these words for anyone, not even myself. Only because when I look them up and then understand them for the moment, I somehow find that I’ve lost that clarity when I need to use the word again.

English can be a little confusing.

Do you have any words that you get mixed up?


12 comments:

  1. Yes and I hate it when that happens.

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  2. I'm right there with you and the "lay, laid, lain, lie". *Smacks forehead*

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  3. Lol, even though I now edit, I still have to check up on these and other words. Yes, the English language is never straightforward.

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    Replies
    1. It would be nice if it was, but would we appreciate it as much?

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  4. Then vs. Than - Than is one thing over another and then is when somethings happens, but when we're writing and typing fast, 'then" is the word I tend to use in all my sentences.

    Just remember 'Lay" is the past tense of 'lie.' Easier said "than" done :)

    I have this cheater chart hanging near where I write, otherwise, I'd be lost.
    http://grammarist.com/usage/lay-lie/

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    Replies
    1. Good one, Debbie. I stole the cheater chart. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. LOL my dear. I get you perfectly. It happens to me too especially with menopause setting in.

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  6. Ahhhh yes. Even worse when you have American English vs British English and the way they do things different like color vs colour.

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