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Ok, ok, I know I am the apostrophe harpy...
I just thought it might be a good idea to open a forum thread where common misspellings can be explained.
1- apostrophes
a) If a person owns something, I will have to say "the person's thing", apostrophe first, "s" second. You can decide if you are talking about a possession by substituting the person with a pronoun: can I use "he, she" here, or would it have to be "his, her"? If the latter is the case, you need the apostrophe.
b) If several persons own something, I will have to say "the persons' thing", "s" first, apostrophe second. You can substitute "their" for the persons if you need the apostrophe.
c) If "it" owns something, no apostrophe is needed. I will have to say "its thing" then. The "it's " is a contraction for "it is". Test: substitute the long form of the contraction ("it is") for your "it's". If the sentence makes sense, you should use "it's", if it doesn't, go for "its".
d) The same goes for "your" vs. "you're". If you can substitute the long form "you are", it should be "you're". "Your", on the other hand, implies possession.
I think it might be a good idea to use the long form instead of contractions in general.
And now, my personal nemeses or is it nemesisses? ;)
2- "lose" vs. "loose"
I always have to make a conscious effort to remember which one is spelled with double "o" and which one isn't. The verb is "lose", the adjective "loose". So, I can "lose" something, or I can have a "loose" screw...
I believe I have screwed this one up countless times.
3- "aw" vs. "ow"
As a German native speaker, I don't hear much difference between those two. If you ever find such a mistake, do tell me, please, or I will never learn!
Everyone is more than welcome to post their own explanations for common mistakes or to share their own personal "spelling nemesis" and ask for help.
Cheers,
Nina
I just thought it might be a good idea to open a forum thread where common misspellings can be explained.
1- apostrophes
a) If a person owns something, I will have to say "the person's thing", apostrophe first, "s" second. You can decide if you are talking about a possession by substituting the person with a pronoun: can I use "he, she" here, or would it have to be "his, her"? If the latter is the case, you need the apostrophe.
b) If several persons own something, I will have to say "the persons' thing", "s" first, apostrophe second. You can substitute "their" for the persons if you need the apostrophe.
c) If "it" owns something, no apostrophe is needed. I will have to say "its thing" then. The "it's " is a contraction for "it is". Test: substitute the long form of the contraction ("it is") for your "it's". If the sentence makes sense, you should use "it's", if it doesn't, go for "its".
d) The same goes for "your" vs. "you're". If you can substitute the long form "you are", it should be "you're". "Your", on the other hand, implies possession.
I think it might be a good idea to use the long form instead of contractions in general.
And now, my personal nemeses or is it nemesisses? ;)
2- "lose" vs. "loose"
I always have to make a conscious effort to remember which one is spelled with double "o" and which one isn't. The verb is "lose", the adjective "loose". So, I can "lose" something, or I can have a "loose" screw...
I believe I have screwed this one up countless times.
3- "aw" vs. "ow"
As a German native speaker, I don't hear much difference between those two. If you ever find such a mistake, do tell me, please, or I will never learn!
Everyone is more than welcome to post their own explanations for common mistakes or to share their own personal "spelling nemesis" and ask for help.
Cheers,
Nina