How to Instantly Improve Grammar With Homonyms

Everyone makes grammatical errors from time to time. If they didn’t, there would be no need for correction fluids, erasers or the delete or backspace key. The simple and most common problem people have with their grammar is the use of Homonyms, or words that sound the same, but have different spelling. Once these words are distinguished and committed to memory, they will never be hard to use again. Knowing the simple differences can make you appear smarter and more eloquent, and on resumes can often make the difference between getting the job or not.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. First, we will discuss There/Their/They’re. This is probably one of the most common mistakes. “There” refers to a destination or event. For example, “I am here but they are there”; “There will be a party on the same day there should be a storm.” In both cases, “There” is an occurrence that is not here either at present or in this specific location. “Their” is possessive, belonging to a group of people. For example, “This is their dog.” “They’re” is a contraction of “They are”. For example, “They’re coming later.” To use them all in one sentence, “There will be a storm at the party, but they’re using their umbrellas there.”

2. “To” indicates a direction, such as “I went to the store, which is to the left of the old house.” “Two” is the number, which is self-explanatory. “Too” is another word for "also," such as “I like clean socks too.” It can also be an indicator of excess amounts, such as “These socks have too many holes.” To use all three in a sentence: “I went to the store wearing two socks with too many holes in them.”

3. Another common mistake is Your/You’re. “Your” is possessive of one person, the person you are speaking to. “You’re” is a contraction of “You are.” For example, “You’re going to have to make your crazy grandmother quiet down.” There are many other confusing words like these, but these are by far the most common. If you are ever in question of which to use, look up both words in a dictionary and see which one more accurately represents what you are trying to say.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice using all of these in a sentence. First try each sentence with one word, then try to fit them all into one. The more you practice, the better you will become!