This page was created because of the misuse of grammar in chat, the shameful part being it requires a 17 year old to teach you all the basics, of these common mistakes.
Part 1:
their
there
they're
you're
your
The basics are:
Their refers to possession,
e.g. it is THEIR compound.
There refers to a position,
e.g. it is over THERE, THERE it is
They're is short for they are
e.g. THEY'RE growing (they are growing)
Your, again refers to possession,
e.g. it is YOUR compound
You're is short for you are
e.g. you're growing quickly
Ok then that was just the basics, if you still don't think you get it, try this site, to test out how well you do know these, and maybe the examples may help you learn
http://www.better-english.com/easier/there.htm
Definition from mangled mondays
- Their: The possessive case of “they.” (”Then he stole all their gold and gave it to the poor.”)
- They’re: A conjunction combining the words “they” and “are.” (”Hurray, they’re here!”)
Part 2:
Too, to and two. These 3 words have very different meanings and its time people learnt them. This isn't as annoying hence why it is a secondary.
So here it is:
two:
*If you want to mention 2 things, e.g.
2 eggs, this may be written as
TWO eggs, not to, or too.
Now then the more tricky and confusing part, the difference between to and too.
Too:
This is used to describe an excessive amount or to mean also/as well.
e.g. That is
too much flour
e.g. I
too am unemployed = I am also unemployed
To:
This word is used to show direction or as part of a verb.
e.g. He gave the sword
to his brother
e.g. I have
to give this back – (have to is the verb)
Example from a website:
the word “too” is used to refer to an amount, like “too much” or it can be used to mean also, i.e “i like you, too”.
the word “to” has a few meanings, such as a direction, as in “going to the store” or it can be joined with a verb to connect phrases, such as “I want to go home” or “I'm going to bed”.
The test:
http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/homophones3.htm – even has an explanation on top :)
Part 3:
Use of apostrophes, special request from shimizu.
The apostophe is used for 2 main reasons, contractions (shortening of words) or to show possession.
Contractions is the use of apostrophes to shorten words or to shorten multiple words into a single word.
e.g. Will not, becomes won
't
e.g. I will, becomes I
'll
To show possession with an apostrophe, is very simple. When an object is owned by the pronoun of a sentence, add
's to show possession. If the subject is a personal pronoun (him, her, it, you, me, them), no apostrophe is used.
e.g. Jane's guild is growing quickly.
e.g. The Fighter's tools are very important
Exceptions to this rule:
1. When a word ends in an s, the use of
's can just become
', either is acceptable, though with out S is more common
I.e. «the boys' guild is good or the boys's guild is good
2. An apostrophe may be used as a plural only if you are placing the plural of a single letter.
e.g. There are too many s
's or That is a lot of a
's
If you have anything you want to see on this page message me, and any spelling mistakes please tell me –
I do handle other people's pet peeves, they're just as important :)
An and A
I know a lot that is a lot of a's right, but it is quite simple.
A – comes before a word where the first letter is a consonant, or has a consonant sound.
e.g. a warrior, a guild, a five (a 5)
An – This comes before a word, where the first letter is a vowel or has a vowel sound.
e.g. An elephant, or an eight (an 8)
The use of Accept or Except
Accept is a verb meaning “to receive” or “to approve.”
e.g. “I accept your stone blocks.”, “I accept your decision”
Except is a preposition meaning “excluding” or “leaving out.”
e.g. “He liked everything the guild had except the members.”
Except can also be a verb meaning “to leave out” or “to exclude.”
e.g. “He excepted all guilds apart from a few certain guilds.”
Forgot to say, message dsmitts
Grammar is important. For instance, commas save lives: Let's eat grandpa. Lets eat, grandpa.
