If you want to gain success either as a writer or a blogger, then master some of the most confusing English words through these 4 tips.
The English language, while spoken and written by a majority of people worldwide, still contains a lot of words and phrases that prove to be challenging to some in terms of usage. If you are an aspiring writer or blogger who wants to gain success, then it is imperative to master these tricky English words. This simple guide will help aspiring storytellers hurdle some of the most common mistakes committed when composing articles, particularly when it involves words that are confusing because they sound almost alike.
 |
| Photo courtesy of pexels.com |
4 top tips to master the most confusing English words
The English language, because of the prevalent use of both its spoken and written form across the globe, can be easy to learn since there are so many materials accessible to interested individuals.
However, while learning English can be fun and enjoyable, one must also put great care in order to master the language because it has words and expressions that can be tricky, even perplexing, to learn.
However, while learning English can be fun and enjoyable, one must also put great care in order to master the language because it has words and expressions that can be tricky, even perplexing, to learn.
Individuals like writers and bloggers whose professions and success are anchored on accurate usage of the English language, must learn and understand the several phrases and expressions that look and sound alike but are used in totally different ways.
Most often, these words that cause mix up are abbreviation of two words, therefore, have meanings that are completely unrelated to one another.
A look at some of the most confusing English words
One of the easiest methods of figuring out which word to use is to look at the conjunction in its full form, which can be done by separating the words and reading the sentence to yourself.
Once you know these words by heart, you can confidently construct sentences that are well-polished and that sound professional.
Once you know these words by heart, you can confidently construct sentences that are well-polished and that sound professional.
Here are some of the most often confused words in the English language, together with their meanings and applications:
1. Know the difference between “Its” and “It’s”
In the English language, two of the words that most writers confuse with one another is “its” versus “it's.”
The word “its” is a possessive form attributed to a non-gender subject. This word is used in a sentence such as “Its cord is damaged so it will have to be replaced very soon.”
On the other hand, “it’s” is the short form of “it is.” This is often used like this: “It’s my ball but you can borrow it for your game tomorrow.” Even though the only difference between the two words is an apostrophe, they work in completely different ways but can often be interchanged.
2. Understand the correct usage of “Your” and “You’re”
The words “your” and “you’re” sound exactly the same and have some relation to the word “you.”
“Your” means that an object belongs to a person. For example, “Your little car is a deep shade of red.”
Meanwhile, “you’re” is the abbreviation of the words “you are.” It can be applied to a sentence such as this: “You’re driving too fast; please slow down.”
“Your” means that an object belongs to a person. For example, “Your little car is a deep shade of red.”
Meanwhile, “you’re” is the abbreviation of the words “you are.” It can be applied to a sentence such as this: “You’re driving too fast; please slow down.”
These two words, when used in the correct form, can make your sentences easy to read and understand.
3. Use “There,” “Their,” and “They’re” correctly
The words “there,” “their,” and “they’re,” because they sound almost alike, can be a baffling combination and sometimes used interchangeably.
However, when their meanings are clearly defined, writers will find out that they are easy to use and can make the message of a sentence quick to understand.
However, when their meanings are clearly defined, writers will find out that they are easy to use and can make the message of a sentence quick to understand.
If you are using the word “there,” it means that you are referring to a specific location away from you. An example would be: “The grocery store that Mom likes to go to is over there by the gas station.”
“Their,” on the other hand, is plural possessive. It refers to something that is owned by a group of people. Its usage in a sentence can be as follows: “Their house is a pretty shade of blue.”
Lastly, “they’re” is the contraction of the words “they" and "are.” This is how it is used in a sentence: “They’re going to the park across the street to play on the monkey bars”.
4. Know when you are supposed to use “To,” “Two,” and “Too”
Differentiating the words “To,” “Two,” and “Too” is fairly easy because, while they all sound alike, they are used in various ways and have totally different meanings.
The word “to” is a functional word that has multiple uses such as indicating direction, possession, and relationship to time. One example of this would be: “I’m going to the baseball game with Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and my brothers.”
In terms of indicating direction, the following sentences are great examples: “You have to turn right at the stop light at the end of the street” and “The key to the car is on my dresser next to the lamp.”
“Two” is a number that comes after one and denotes quantity. For example: “I need two bananas for my bread recipe.”
Finally, “too” means “also” and can be applied as such: “I want to go swimming at the beach with my friends, too.
Epilogue
That’s it. If you often commit mistakes with the words listed above, I hope this post helped clear some of your confusion.
 |
| Photo courtesy of pexels.com |
If you have some more words to add to this post, please feel free to do so in the comment section below.
This post may contain affiliate links, including those from Amazon Associates, which means that if you book or purchase anything through one of those links, we may earn a small commission but at no extra cost to you. All opinions are ours and we only promote products that we use.
Download a free copy of my Churches of Nueva Ecija eBook HERE!
This is a very informative post for who doens't know english so well. You've done a great job. Helpful, thanks for sharing. - Paolo
ReplyDeleteThe very basic and simple English words and yet most of us sometimes forget and mistakenly use it wrong. Thanks for this post.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNot being a native speaker of English, even if I know the language very well, your post is interesting. I take notes!
NAtive English speakers manage to make these mistakes as well! Good post for everyone to refresh themselves on!
ReplyDeleteHope to read more of this interesting post. As blogger, minor grammatical errors should not be ignored.
ReplyDeletewoow....learnt so much from this sharing here, really had a great read, thanks for this. cheers, siennylovesdrawing
ReplyDeleteNice information! I still need to learn a lot for my English.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you mentioned in this article some commonly seen mistakes in English! Now that we usually type instead of writing, the auto finish seems to create even more these mistakes.. Knycx Journeying
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I will have to share it with my ESL students!
ReplyDeleteYes, even native speakers confuse them sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThese are the most confusing dramatical errors most of the people do while writing including us bloggers. Glad you shared about these confusing English words.
ReplyDeleteEnglish is my only language and I still find that I don't speak it right. LOL
ReplyDeleteYes, THOSE words plus some tend to add "s" to words like STUFFS, EQUIPMENTS, ARTS, and other uncountable nouns. Great pointers you got here!
ReplyDeleteVery informative article... We sometimes really gets confused while using these words. Thank you for sharing this article ☺️
ReplyDeleteAwesome tips and differnation of the words. Even as a native speaker, I get confused sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how difficult english can be to learn, I'm a native english speaker and I still get confused between these phrases
ReplyDeleteThat's a very helpful and informative post.
ReplyDelete