Ten homophones that will ruin your life
Nov 28th, 2008 | By Jennifer Roach | Category: GrammarWe already did a post about commonly confused words. This list deals specifically with homophones that are easily mistaken. Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. (No wonder English is the hardest language to learn!) These sets of homophones can trick even the most talented of writers.
1. addition/edition
Addition is the act of adding, such as 1 + 1 = 2. An edition is one of a series of something, usually books; however, it can refer to anything in a series, printed or not.
The publishing house is stressing over the addition of a new edition of Shakespeare’s plays.
2. weather/whether
Weather is the stuff going on outside: snow, rain, sleet, sunshine, etc. Whether is a conjunction used to introduce two or more alternatives.
I don’t know whether to trust the weather channel or my own eyes.
3. witch/which
A witch is a woman with magical powers. Which can be either a pronoun or an adjective that means “what one?”
Which witch turned you into a newt?
4. principal/principle
Remember when you were in elementary school, and they taught you that the principal is your princiPAL? Of course, there can be other principals besides a school principal: anyone who is the chief or head of something is the principal. A principle is a rule or law of conduct, or a law or truth that other truths are derived from.
My principal taught me to be a person of good moral principles.
5. patience/patients
Patience is a virtue. Seriously. It’s the ability to wait for something calmly and without complaint. Patients are people who are being seen by a medical doctor.
The patients in the waiting room displayed amazing patience while they waited for the doctor to return from golfing.
6. bear/bare
A bear (noun) is an animal, one that usually can be found either stealing picnic baskets or putting out forest fires. To bear (verb) can either mean to support, bring forth, or endure. Bare can either be an adjective meaning naked or uncovered, or a verb meaning to reveal.
I cannot bear to bear another child in my bare feet.
7. morning/mourning
The morning is that time of day that comes after night, when the day star stirs you from your bed and sends you stumbling to the coffee pot. Mourning is the act of grieving a deceased person.
The morning after my cat died, I was mourning the loss of Mr. Fluffypants.
8. dear/deer
When you call someone dear, you’re calling them beloved or precious. If you call them deer, you’re calling them a woodland creature that hunters like to kill and mount on walls.
My dear child, I don’t think you’d want to watch a movie about a deer whose mother is shot.
9. sight/site
Sight is the ability to see. A sight can also be a thing to see. A site is an area or location.
While taking in the sights in New York, we visited the site of the 9/11 attacks.
10. wave/waive
To wave is to make a back and forth gesture, either with your hand or an object. To waive is to give up or relinquish.
He waived his right to live when he waved that gun in my face.
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This article was written by Jennifer Roach Jennifer is a fiction writer, blogger, and freelance editor/proofreader. You can follow her on Twitter or on . To see more posts click here |
