HORRENDOUS AND HORRIBLE HOMOPHONES
Homophones are words which sound alike, but are spelled differently. eg their, there and they're; know and no; here and hear; and so on. There are literally hundreds of them in the English language, and they can be a right royal pain. (They can also be the source of some wonderfully funny puns.)
Some are quite obscure and so seldom used we need not bother with them. Others pop up all the time and deceive even our spell checks. Words with alternative spelling in British and USA English are not true homophones....just mildly confusing. (eg favor and favour, labor and labour, etc)
What I would like to do is deal with some of the most common homophones and offer examples of their use. If there is an easy way to remember which is which, I shall mention it.
Worst offender would have to be its and it's. Its (without the apostrophe) ALWAYS denotes ownership and it's (with the apostrophe) ALWAYS means it is or it has. So easy, but so terribly frequently misused.
Their means belonging to them, while there is further away than here, and they're always means they are. (Another easy set!)
Stationary means not moving (think of a car for the a) and stationery means writing goods (think of a pen for the e).
Currant refers to what can be eaten, while current (with an e) refers to a flow of water or electricity. Current also means right now, as in the current temperature.
Your means belonging to you and you're always means you are. (Oh yes, and yore is a poetic or story telling term for the past, as in days of yore...and to yaw is for a ship, aircraft or spacecraft to fail to hold a straight course. These last two are rather uncommon, but may be of interest.)
We talk about the weather, referring to cloud, temperature, rain or sunshine each day, while a wether (minus something) is a desexed ram and whether means much the same as if.
Draw and drawer are often confused. To draw is to make a picture, while you can also draw money from the bank, assuming of course you have money in there! A drawer is part of a cupboard or desk, while you can have a chest of drawers. Drawers is also an old fashioned term for underpants, and a drawer is a person who draws money out of a bank.
You hear with your ear, and here is closer than there.
Who's means who is or who has (that awful apostrophe again!), while whose denotes ownership.
Being allowed to do something indicates permission, while aloud is not silent.
In Australia, a meter is a means of measuring, as in a meter box, while a metre is a unit of length.
Threw is the past tense of throw, while you can throw a ball through a window (if you're not careful).
You can walk past a house, but say you have passed a test. The past occurred before the present.
Grizzly refers to a type of bear, and also to grey hair, or even a fretful child while grisly can refer to a gruesome discovery causing horror or terror. Journos and murder mystery writers, take heed!
To, too and two are not all that much a problem is you keep this sentence in mind: It is too cold at two a.m. to get in the car and drive to the beach to swim.
To pray is to speak to God or another deity, while to prey is to follow or hunt and attack or harm.
To brake is to stop, and a brake stops a vehicle. To break is to damage or pull apart or separate, and to break a record (of the non vinyl type) is to do better. A fire break is for protection of property.
Peace is the absence of noise or of war, while a piece is a bit or a part of something. (Try remembering a piece of pie.)
Steak is meat to be cooked and eaten (remember ea), while a stake is a strong thin length of wood used as a support (or to nail a vampire's heart, remember the a in vampire and stake, and it can also mean a gambler's (a again) money.
Which is used to select or make a choice or to specify a particular one. A witch can cast a magic spell or just believe in magic. There is no such word as whitch or wich.
And much as the advertising industry would like us to think otherwise, there is no such word as lite, either. It's always spelled light.
Lastly, if you know something you have knowledge or information about it, while no means the negative, the opposite of yes.
By now, I hope you all know all about homophones!