Grammar
Lurking from within Twitter a vicious little creature gazes into my eyes and provokes me to fight it. I have stumbled across him twice today already and many, many times in the past. The misuse of homonyms, my old friend whom I partially hate and partially await to see, almost expecting people to fire it at me. To read about homonyms look up one of my previous articles. One of numerous examples of homonyms are the words affect and effect. Even though they’re similar they carry different meanings.
Affect or Effect?
To affect is a verb and means to influence something or somebody. Effect is a noun which means something that was brought by a cause. A synonym for effect is result. Look at the following example:
Princess Diana's death affected me deeply or: Princess Diana’s death had a deep effect on me.
To effect on the other hand is a verb too although used rarely and means to accomplish something e.g. I’m trying to effect a change in the way we use English.
Two/to/too and There/their/they're
Other examples of homonyms are two/to/too and there/their/they're.Two is a quantifier and simply means 2. To is a preposition and toomeans as well as. Look at the following: I have two brothers who go to school and I go to school too. There indicates location, their means belonging to them and they’re stands for they are e.g. Their sandwiches are there and they’re going to eat them.
- The Importance Of Spaces
You can’t see them, but you know they’re there. I’m talking about spaces. There are some pairs of words that can be used joined together as one word or kept separate with a space. The distinction can be very subtle or very marked. Here are some...
- Rhetorically Speaking 1: Rhetorical Questions
Welcome to the first part of a new series. I shall be following in the sandal-clad footsteps of no less than the great Aristotle with my up-to-date take on rhetoric - the art and study of the use of language with persuasive effect. Used sparingly rhetorical...
- How Baby Words Are Made.
Modern English vocabulary is the result of the mixture of five major linguistic influences: 1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon)2. French (after 1066)3. Norse (Vikings)4. Latin and Greek (mostly from the late Middle Ages onwards)5. Miscellaneous words borrowed...
- Random Quiz - Confusing Words
Sort out those tricky confusable words with these quizzes. Is it affect or effect? lay or lie? rise or raise? When do we use he, she and when do we use him, her etc. All this and more. When you press Start quiz, the program will randomise...
- Energy Islands
Wind turbines at Findhorn, Scotland These are the notes from a lesson about the use of small-scale renewable energy, with examples from the Danish island of Samsø and Scotland. It was originally intended for people working in the energy industry....
Grammar
Avoid common mistakes in English - Part 2
Lurking from within Twitter a vicious little creature gazes into my eyes and provokes me to fight it. I have stumbled across him twice today already and many, many times in the past. The misuse of homonyms, my old friend whom I partially hate and partially await to see, almost expecting people to fire it at me. To read about homonyms look up one of my previous articles. One of numerous examples of homonyms are the words affect and effect. Even though they’re similar they carry different meanings.
Affect or Effect?
To affect is a verb and means to influence something or somebody. Effect is a noun which means something that was brought by a cause. A synonym for effect is result. Look at the following example:
Princess Diana's death affected me deeply or: Princess Diana’s death had a deep effect on me.
To effect on the other hand is a verb too although used rarely and means to accomplish something e.g. I’m trying to effect a change in the way we use English.
Two/to/too and There/their/they're
Other examples of homonyms are two/to/too and there/their/they're.Two is a quantifier and simply means 2. To is a preposition and toomeans as well as. Look at the following: I have two brothers who go to school and I go to school too. There indicates location, their means belonging to them and they’re stands for they are e.g. Their sandwiches are there and they’re going to eat them.
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- The Importance Of Spaces
You can’t see them, but you know they’re there. I’m talking about spaces. There are some pairs of words that can be used joined together as one word or kept separate with a space. The distinction can be very subtle or very marked. Here are some...
- Rhetorically Speaking 1: Rhetorical Questions
Welcome to the first part of a new series. I shall be following in the sandal-clad footsteps of no less than the great Aristotle with my up-to-date take on rhetoric - the art and study of the use of language with persuasive effect. Used sparingly rhetorical...
- How Baby Words Are Made.
Modern English vocabulary is the result of the mixture of five major linguistic influences: 1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon)2. French (after 1066)3. Norse (Vikings)4. Latin and Greek (mostly from the late Middle Ages onwards)5. Miscellaneous words borrowed...
- Random Quiz - Confusing Words
Sort out those tricky confusable words with these quizzes. Is it affect or effect? lay or lie? rise or raise? When do we use he, she and when do we use him, her etc. All this and more. When you press Start quiz, the program will randomise...
- Energy Islands
Wind turbines at Findhorn, Scotland These are the notes from a lesson about the use of small-scale renewable energy, with examples from the Danish island of Samsø and Scotland. It was originally intended for people working in the energy industry....