Basic Spelling Rules
From singular nouns to plural
Generally you just add s. (bird � birds)
In cases where a word ends in s or x, you add es. (Bus � Buses)
Change verb tenses in verbs ending with y
Drop the y and add ies or ied. (Carry � carries)
Use i before e except after c
Not before �c�: sieve, brief, yield
Before �c�: receive, receipt, deceive.
Exceptions: being, foreign, leisure, neighbour, their, vein, weigh, weight, weird.
Some words have silent letters
Examples: subtle, autumn, column, palm.
Double such consonants as �n�, �p�, etc before �ed or �ing suffixies
Examples: beginning, shopped, ocurring, permitted.
Drop the �e� before �able suffixes
Examples: valuable, excitable, lovable.
Exceptions: noticeable, Changeable.
Grammar
Punctuation
Period: The period is used at the end of an indicative sentence. It can also indicate an abbreviation. ( . ) (Ont.)
Question Mark: The question mark is used at the end of an interrogative sentence. It turns the statement into a question. ( ? ) (Where are you?)
Exclamation Mark: An exclamation mark at the end of a sentence adds emphasis to a statement or command. It turns a sentence into an exclamatory sentence. ( ! ) (My Gosh!)
Comma: The comma separates phrases or clauses from the rest of the sentence, to mark a pause at the end of a segment, or break a thought. ( , )(The danger, I believe, is real.) When the two main clauses of a sentence are joined with and, or, but, the conjunction is normally followed by a comma. (I like him, but he's weird.)
Semi-colon: The semi-colon indicates a break in thought and is a more definite pause than a comma. It can also be used to joint clauses. ( ; ) (The room was crowded; the noise was deafening.)
Colon: The colon precedes explanatory material like examples. ( : ) (She liked berries: strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.)
Dash: The dash links an afterthought or an added comment to the main idea. ( - )(Debris from the crash-broken glass mostly-littered the street.)
Parentheses: Parentheses are used to set aside material that requires complete separation from the rest of the sentence. [ ( ) ] [Chocolate pie (which is my favourite) was on sale.]
Apostrophe: the apostrophe is used to indicate possession. ( ' ) (That's Bob's dog.) The apostrophe can also be used as a single quotation mark when it is a quotation within a quotation. ("It was true like the book said, 'don't do it.'" Apostrophes also are used to indicate omissions. (don't)
Hyphen The hyphen is used between syllables of a word when the word must be broken down at the end of a line. Also, they are used to join two words which are normally independent to make a single word. (high-school dance)
Common Grammatical Errors
.:.Sentence Fragments.:.
A sentence must contain a complete thought, usually expression with a subject and predicate. An incomplete thought is a sentence fragment.
Sentence Fragment: After everyone left.
Correction: After everyone left, I went to sleep.
.:.Run-on Sentence.:.
A good sentence must have unity. When two ideas which should be expressed in different sentences are put together (usually by a comma), the result is a run-on sentence or a comma splice. Grammatical errors occur usually when a writer places a comma where a period, semi-colon, or a conjunction word should be. This error is called a comma-splice.
Comma Splice: Bob walked to the store, he bought some food, then left.
Correction: Bob walked to the store. He bought some food and then left.
.:.Dangling or misplaced modifiers.:.
The function of modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, etc) is to qualify information supplied by some other word. They depend on that word to complete their meaning. When no appropriate word is supplied in the sentence, they dangle loosely.
Dangling Modifier: Coming home when the war was over, their lives hand been disrupted.
Correction: Coming is a dangling participle because there is no appropriate word in the sentence for it to modify.
Misplaced Modifier: He told her that he had scored six goals while they were eating lunch.
Correction: This modifier was misplaced as it now seems to tell us he scored goals at lunch, yet it means when they were having lunch, he told his friend about scored goals he got.
.:.Missing Antecedent.:.
A pronoun is a word which takes the place of a noun. The word it replaces is its antecedent. Even though it doesn't have to be in the same sentence, it should be identifiable. Sometimes, the antecedent may be there, but it is not clearly identifiable. Errors like this are called indefinite reference.
Missing Antecedent: I watched TV last night. it was a funny show.
Correction: Although we know it is referring to a TV show, we do not know which one.
Indefinite Reference: It was always a race to see whether the boy or the dog would get there first. Usually he won.
Correction: The he may be either the dog or the boy, we can't tell.
.:.Lack of agreement.:.
A verb must agree in number and person with its subject. "He don't" is grammatically incorrect as the subject is singular and the verb is plural. Pronouns must also agree. Common mistakes are seen when dealing with "Neither-nor" constructions and when dealing with words like "both" and "Each".
Neither-Nor: Neither of them are in working condition.
Correction: Neither of them is in working condition - "Neither-nors separates the subject concerned into individuals and requires a singular verb.
Each: Each of them are responsible for their own luggage.
Correction: Each of them is responsible for his and her own luggage.
.:.Faulty Parallelism.:.
When two or more items are listed in parallel structures, the expectation is that the same grammatical structure will be used for additional items that are also similar. When the similarity is there, but the structure changes, the parallelism is faulty.
Faulty Parallelism: I love playing hockey, riding horses, and to go swimming.
Correction: I love playing hockey, riding horses, and swimming.
Commonly Misspelled Words
Absence
Absorption
Accessory
Accidentally
Accommodation
Accompanying
Accumulate
Achieve
Acknowledgement [or] Acknowledgment
Acquaintance
Acquire
Acquisition
Across
Actually
Address
Adjacent
Adolescence
Advantageous
Advertisement
Advisor [or] Adviser
Advisory
Affiliated
Against
Aggressive
Alleged
All right
Amateur
Among
Analyze [or] Analyse
Analysis
Answered
Anxious
Apologize
Apparent
Appearance
Appropriate
Argument
Article
Assistance
Athletics
Attendance
Author
Autumn
Available
Barely
Basically
Beginning
Behaviour [or] Behavior
Believe
Benefit
Biassed [or] Biased
Boundary
Breathe
Brilliant
Brochure
Business
Calendar
Campaign
Catalogue [or] Catalog
Category
Certain
Cheque [or] Check
Chief
Children
Chronological
Clothes
Coincidence
Collage
College
Colonel
Column
Commitment
Committee
Compatible
Completely
Concede
Condemn
Conscience
Conscientious
Conscious
Consensus
Contradiction
Convenience
Correspondent
Courageous
Courtesy
Cried
Criticism
Curiosity
Debt
Decision
Definitely
Describe
Desirable
Desperately
Destroy
Development
Different
Dilemma
Disappointed
Disastrous
Discipline
Doesn't
Dying
Eighth
Eligible
Eliminate
Embarrassed
Emphasize
Entrepreneur
Environment
Escape
Especially
Eventually
Exaggerate
Excellence
Exercise
Existence
Experience
Extraordinary
Extremely
Fallacy
Familiar
Fascinating
February
Finally
Foreign
Foresee
Foreshadowing
Fortunate
Forty
Fulfil [or] Fulfill
Gesture
Goddess
Government
Grammar
Guarantee [or] Guaranty
Handkerchief
Harassment
Heroes
Honourable [or] Honorable
Humorous
Illegible
Immediately
Incidentally
Incredible
Independent
Inevitable
Innuendo
Insistent
Instalment [or] Installment
Intelligent
Interesting
Interfere
Irrelevant
Irresistible
Jealous
Jeopardy
Jewellery [or] Jewelry
Judgement [or] Judgment
Knowledgeable [or] Knowledgable
Laid
Leisure
Liar
Library
Likable [or] Likeable
Literature
Loneliness
Losing
Manner
Marriage
Married
Meant
Miniature
Miscellaneous
Mischievous
Misspell
Mortgage
Naive
Necessary
Neighbour [or] Neighbor
Niece
Ninety
Ninth
No one [or] No-one
Noticeable
Nowadays
Nuclear
Occasion
Occurrence
Offence [or] Offense
Omission
Opinion
Optimistic
Paid
Parallel
Paralyse [or] Paralyze
Parliament
Particular
Pastime
Peculiar
Perseverance
Persistence
Personal
Personnel
Persuade
Phenomenal
Piece
Plagiarism
Playwright
Portrays
Possession
Preceding
Preferable
Preferred
Prejudice
Presence
Presumptuous
Pretence [or] Pretense
Previously
Privilege
Probably
Procedure
Professor
Psychology
Pursue
Questionnaire
Realistically
Realize
Receipt
Receive
Recommend
Referring
Reinforce
Related
Relevant
Remembrance
Resemblance
Restaurant
Rhyme
Rhythm
Saskatchewan
Schedule
Science
Scissors
Seize
Sense
Separate
Shakespeare
Similar
Sincerely
Skilful [or] Skillful
Soldier
Soliloquy
Souvenir
Speech
Spirited
Stereotype
Straight
Strength
Subconscious
Subtle
Succeed
Summary
Supposed
Surprise
Suspense
Technique
Temperamental
Temperature
Tempt
Tendency
Theatre [or] Theater
Theory
Therefore
Thoroughly
Together
Tragedy
Tragic
Transferred
Traveller [or] Traveler
Tries
Truly
Tuesday
Ultimately
Unconscious
Undoubtedly
Unfortunately
Unique
Unnecessary
Usage
Usually
Vacuum
Vegetable
Vehicle
Vicious
View
Villain
Wednesday
Weird
Wherever
Whole
Writer
Writing
Yield
Commonly Confused Words
A/An
A is used before nouns starting with consonants.
Ravi had a dream.
An is used before nouns starting with vowels.
Susan ate an apple.
Accept/Except
Accept is a verb meaning receive.
The actor will accept the award.
Except is usually a preposition meaning "other than".
Everyone except John is going.
Advice/Advise
Advice is a noun.
The host gave advice about relationships.
Advise is a verb.
The government will advise students of their marks on exams.
Affect/Effect
Affect is most often a verb meaning "influence".
The hospital closure will affect the community.
Effect is usually a noun meaning "result".
Television can have the effect of making people materialistic.
Aggravate/Irritate
Aggravate in formal English means "make worse".
Scratching a bug bite will aggravate the swelling.
Irritate means "annoy".
That mosquito isirritating me.
Allude/Refer
Allude means "make an indirect reference".
That remark about trees alluded to the incident at the picnic.
Refer means "make a direct reference".
He referred to the play's second act in order to make his point.
Allusion/Illusion
Allusion means "reference to something well-known".
On the Simpsons, there was an allusion to Edgar Allan Poe's, "The Raven."
Illusion mean "false idea".
The mirage created the illusion of water.
Alot/A lot
Alot is a misspelling
A lot is the correct spelling Already/All Ready
Already is an adverb meaning "by this time".
It is already too late to go to the beach.
All Ready is an adjective meaning "completely ready".
The sprinter was all ready for her track event.
Alright/All Right
Alright is informal spelling for "all right".
All Right is the formal spelling.
Altogether/All Together
Altogether means "completely" or "all things considered".
Altogether, there were four touchdowns.
All Together emphasizes all things in a group.
The teachers brought the students all together in the gym.
Among/Between
Among implies more than two people or things
There were celebrities scattered among the large crowd.
Between refers to only two in number.
Jameel and I split the chips between us.
Amount/Number
Amount is used to refer to something in a mass.
We ordered a large amount of topsoil for the garden.
Number is used to refer to individual, countable items.
We ordered a large number of plants for the garden.
A Part Of/Apart From
A Part Of means "a member of," "a section of," or "a piece of".
A part of the airplane fell from the sky.
Apart From means "separate" or "isolated from".
The neon green man stood apart from the crowd.
Assure/Ensure/Insure
Assure means "restore confidence".
The doctor will assure you that nothing is wrong.
Ensure means "make certain or safe".
A bank safe deposit box can ensure the safety of your jewellery.
Insure means "arrange payment to cover loss".
You ought to insure your house and car.
Bear/Bare
Bear is either a noun referring to a large furry mammal, or a verb meaning "put up with".
Facing a grizzly bear so soon after a cougar attack was more than I could bear.
Bare is often an adjective meaning "uncovered," "naked," or "empty".
Bare skin freezes quickly in the arctic conditions of bare tundra.
Beside/Besides
Beside means "by the side of".
The grass beside the fence needs cutting/
Besides means "in addition to".
Who is coming besides us?
Board/Bored
Board is usually a noun referring to wood, a group of people, or a chalkboard.
Each school board member wrote his or her name on the bulletin board.
Bored is the past tense of the verb "bore", and means "tired" or "uninterested".
The students were bored with the lecture.
Beak/Brake
Break is most often used as a verb meaning "damage" or as a noun meaning "pause" or "welcome change in activity".
The child will likely break the toy.
After the coffee break, they discussed the upcoming spring break.
Brake is commonly used in its noun form, referring to a tool or machine part for stopping the motion of a moving object.
Step lightly on your car brake when approaching an intersection.
Breath/Breathe
Breath is a noun.
Take a deep breath.
Breathe is a verb.
Breathe normally while the doctor checks your chest.
Burned/Burnt
(note: Although these terms are often used interchangeably, burned is more formal)
Burned is frequently to be used as a verb.
The child burned her hand.
Burnt is more likely to be used as an adjective.
Most meat-eaters do not prefer burnt steak.
Buy/By
Buy is a verb meaning "purchase".
When you start your first job, you can buy your own clothes.
By is a preposition meaning "beside" or "through the act of".
He was standing by the theatre where Hamlet written by Shakespeare was playing.
Can/May
Can means "able to".
People can do anything they put their mind to.
May suggests possibility, opportunity, or permission.
May I bring the umbrella because they say it may rain later today.
Cannot/Can Not
Cannot reflects common pronunciation.
Can Not is preferred for emphasizing the negative.
Child/Kid
Child is the preferred formal version.
They adopted a child.
Kid is informal and sometimes derogatory.
Natasha was just a kid.
Childish/Childlike
Childish means "immature like a child," and has negative connotation when applied to an adult.
The man was childish in his attitude and behaviour.
Childlike means "innocent like a child," and has positive connotations when applied to an adult.
The man had a childlike respect for his elderly parents.
Choose, Chose, Choice
Choose is a present tense verb.
Choose your partner carefully.
Chose is a past tense verb.
I chose
to finish the course.
Choice is a noun.
Bob had to make a difficult choice.
Conscience/Conscious
Conscience is a noun meaning "awareness of right or wrong".
The criminal had no conscience.
Conscious is an adjective meaning "aware".
Michelle was not conscious of her friend's jealous nature.
Could Of/Could Have
Could Of is the informal conversational form.
Could Have is formal.
Couple/few/Several
Couple always refers to two in number.
A couple of months went by before their subscription expired.
Few may refer specifically to three or not many more than that.
A few players did not like their hot-tempered coach.
Several usually refers to more than a few, but not many (like from 4 to 7)
I chose several books from the library.
Course/Coarse
Course is a noun meaning "series of studies," or "direction taken".
We found the calculus course challenging.
Coarse is an adjective meaning "rough" or "crude".
Some people use coarse language on the bus.
Credible/Credulous/Creditable
Credible means "capable of being believed".
A lie can be credible.
Credulous means "willing to believe".
He remained credulous, even when we told ridiculous lies.
Creditable means "worthy of being believed".
A lie should not be creditable.
Disinterested/Uninterested
Disinterested means "neutral and fair".
A disinterested onlooker agreed to referee the game.
Uninterested means "not interested".
She was uninterested in watching the movie.
Due To/Because Of
Due To refers to schedules and timelines.
The train is due to arrive before midnight.
Because Of is the more formal general expression meaning "as a result of".
Because of his broken collarbone, he missed a few weeks of school.
Etc./Ect./And So Forth
Etc. written in full as et cetera, mans "and so forth".
We sell office supplies like pens, pencils, books, etc.
Ect. is the incorrect spelling of etc.
And So Forth is the formal usage of etc.
People judge others on their appearance, language, actions, and so forth.
Everyone/Every One
Everyone is the general expression.
Everyone is going to the dance.
Every One means the same thing, except there is emphasis.
Every one of us is expected to make a contribution.
Farther/Further
Farther refers to physical distance.
They skied farther down the mountain that they ever had before.
Further relates to general amount or quantity.
He took further action on the complaint.
Fewer/Less
Fewer refers to things which can be counted or itemized.
There were fewer votes than the last election.
Less refers to general amounts.
Edmonton receives less snow than Winnipeg.
Funny/Strange
Funny is used as an informal term meaning "odd" or "strange"; but strictly speaking, it refers to something which is hilarious or laughable.
Charlie Chaplin is on of the best-known funny men of film.
Strange is a more limited term referring to unfamiliar or unnatural.
His close encounter of the third kind was a strange experience.
Good/Well
Good is an adjective.
Is this a good way to go?
Well is an adverb.
You write well.
Great/Grate
Great is a commonly used adjective meaning "large" or "important"
Terry Fox and Mother Teresa are both great humanitarians.
Grate is used as a noun referring to framework of iron bars used in fired, or as a verb meaning "wear down" or "annoy"
The grate in the fireplace will grate on your ears if it is dragged across the bricks.
Here/Hear
Here is used as an adverb or subject and means "in this place".
Here in the dog school, dogs learn the command "come here."
Hear is a verb referring to the act of listening.
Do you hear the sound of marching feet?
Hole/Whole
Hole is commonly used to mean "�an opening" or "hollow".
Alice fell down the rabbit hole.
Whole means "complete" or "entire thing".
The whole class ate the whole pie.
Imply/Infer
Imply means "suggest".
Her expression implied that she disagreed with me.
Infer means "draw a conclusion".
I inferred from her smile that she was happy.
It's/Its
It's is a contraction of "it is" or "it has".
It's a lesson too late for learning.
Its is a possessive pronoun.
Look at the dog it's got my show in its mouth.
Knew/New
Knew is a verb meaning "was familiar with" or "had knowledge of".
Kajtek knew the quickest way to get to out house.
New is an adjective meaning "never before used".
The new cars had arrived at the showroom.
Later/Latter/Former
Later refers to time.
The buses were running later than usual.
Latter refers to the last-mentioned item.
Kennedy and Nixon were both American presidents; the latter resigned after the Watergate scandal.
Former refers to the first or previously mentioned.
Kennedy and Nixon were both American presidents; the former was assassinated.
Lay/Lie/Laid/Lain
Lie, Lay, Lain are intransitive verbs (lacking objects) meaning "recline".
The poodle owner told Pepper to lie down.
He lay down in the shade under the trees.
The cat has lain around the house all day.
Lay, Laid, Laid are transitive verbs meaning "set in place".
Lay down your weapons.
We laid the rumour to rest.
This is the goose that has laid the golden egg.
Lead/Led
Lead can be used as a verb meaning "guide" or as a noun meaning a kind of metal.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
Led is the past tense of the verb to lead
He led the girl to the park.
Learned/Learnt/Teach
Learned is frequently used as a verb and is more formal.
We learned about the government yesterday.
Learnt is more likely to be used as an adjective and more informal.
Language arts includes the learnt skills of listening, viewing, and representing.
Teach means "present lessons".
Teach me how to fly.
Leave/Let
Leave is often used as a verb meaning "go away" or "give".
Leave at your own chosen speed.
Let is a verb meaning "allow".
It's said to be best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Like/As/Similar To
Like can be used as a preposition.
Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will lay me down.
As can be used as an adverb.
The pony ran as fast as the wind.
Similar To is a more formal phrasing of like.
The daughters were similar to their mother in physical appearance.
Loan/Borrow
Loan can be used as a verb meaning "allow someone the use of", or as a noun meaning "payment" or "something borrowed".
The library can loan us books and the bank gave us a loan on our mortgage.
Borrow is a verb meaning "use someone else's property or money".
May I borrow your extra pen?
Lose/Loose/Loss
Lose (pronounced like looz) is a verb meaning "be defeated".
Loose (pronounced like looss) is an adjective meaning "not contained".
Don't let loose the alligator.
Do you have any loose change?
Loss (pronounced like lawce) is a noun referring to defeat.
How did the home team take the loss?
Mad/Angry/Insane
Mad can means both "upset and annoyed"
The stress of modern living can cause one to go mad.
Insane also means "upset and annoyed" by also reflects more of the original meaning.
Lady Macbeth became increasingly insane from guilt after she assisted in a murder.
Angry is a more specific, formal way of saying "upset" or "furious".
I was very angry and disappointed with him.
Man/Guy
Man is more formal.
The man was definitely a hero.
Guy is informal and may even be derogatory.
He was just some guy she met.
No-One/ No One
No-One is a much less commonly used, though acceptable, hyphenated form of No One.
No one will know if you don't want them to.
Off Of/Off
Off Of is an extremely informal expression for Off
The fork fell off the table.
OK/O.K./Okay
These are informal expression for the more formal "all right".
Is it OK to leave early?
Passed/Past
Passed is a past tense verb.
The car passed us on the highway.
Past is used as a noun, adjective, or preposition.
The past comes well before the future.
Her past life caught up with her when she drove past the exit.
Patience/Patients
Patience is usually a desirable character quality.
Patience is a virtue.
Patients are people who have a doctor.
The doctor had many patients to attend to.
Payed/Paid
Payed is a misspelling of Paid.
The manager paid his employees.
Phase/Faze
Phase is a noun meaning "period" or "spell".
Depression is a phase many people experience.
Faze is an informal verb meaning "bother" or "upset".
Nothing could faze the concentration of the figureskater.
Piece/Peace
Piece refers to a section or portion.
Please give me a piece of chocolate cake.
Peace refers to quiet, or a state of non-war.
He knew no peace after his secret identity had been discovered.
Plane/Plain
Plane is a noun most often describing a shortened spelling for airplane.
The plane had lift off.
Plain is used as an adjective to mean "obvious", "ordinary-looking", or "simple".
It was plain to see that the man was plain-looking.
Plus/&/And
Plus and & should only be used in mathematics or in informal writing. Writers sometimes make the mistake of using Plus at the beginning of a sentence to mean "also".
The wind and cold temperatures created hazardous driving conditions. Also, the road has black ice on it.
Principal/Principle
Principal can be used as a noun meaning "head of a school" or as an adjective meaning "main".
Mrs. Brown, the principal, is the principal reason why this school is successful.
Principle is a noun which refers to fundamental belief.
Honesty is a guiding principle in his life.
Prejudice/Prejudism
There is no such word as Prejudism.
We need to set aside our own prejudice.
Proceed/Precede
Proceed means "go ahead".
Proceed to the nearest exit.
Precede means "come before"
The police motorcycle will precede the Prime Minister's motorcade.
Quite/Quiet/Quit
Quite is an adjective meaning "really", "completely", "actually", or "positively".
Shireen was quite upset.
Quiet is an adjective meaning "still", "peaceful", "without noise".
Try to be quiet in the library.
Quit is a verb meaning "stop" or "leave".
The losing candidate quit his campaign and the quit the party.
Raise/Rise
Raise mean "lift up".
There was a plan to raise the Titanic.
Rise means "get up".
Are you early to rise in the morning?
Real/Really
Real is an adjective.
What's the real story on this cover-up?
Really is an adverb.
I swam really fast.
Regardless/Irregardless
There is no such word as Irregardless.
The went swimming regardless of the bad weather.
Role/Roll
Role is a noun which refers to a part played.
What role did you get in Romeo and Juilet?
Roll is often used as a verb meaning "turn over", or as a non referring to a bread food.
Roll the ball to me.
Do I get a roll with my soup?
Saw/Seen
Seen is sometimes used interchangeably and wrongly with Saw as in "I seen the two movies". Seen can be used correctly when used with the auxiliary verbs "have" or "had"
I saw the two movies.
I have seen the two movies.
Set/Sit
Set is a verb indicating placement and arrangement.
The table was set for twelve.
Sit is a verb meaning "rest on the buttocks".
Sit down and make yourself at home.
Should Of/Should Have
Should Of is the informal conversation pronunciation of the formally correct Should Have.
I should have known better.
Sight/Site/Cite
Sight refers to something seen.
Did you sight the U.F.O?
Bobby was quite a sight at the party.
Site refers to a place or center.
The construction site was almost ready.
Cite is a verb meaning "indicate a reference".
Did you cite the dictionary in your essay?
Sneaked/Snuck
Snuck is the informal, conversational version of Sneaked.
The child sneaked into the bedroom.
Soul/Sole
Soul[/b[ is a noun that refers to spirit.
Claudius'soul was ensnared with guilt.
Sole is an adjective meaning "only", or a noun referring to a type of fish.
The sole reason for my not ordering the sole is that I don't like fish.
Sure/Surely
Sure is an adjective meaning "certain" or "definite".
The police were sure he was innocent.
Surely is an adverb meaning "�certainly" or "without fail"
Surely the jury will see through the lies of the accused.
Than/Then
Thanis used for comparison.
Surprisingly, the gymnast was more agile than the older competitors.
Then is an adverb meaning "at the time" or "soon afterward".
Then he came into the room and screamed.
That/Which/Who
That can refer generally to both persons or things.
The people that were in the elevator were trapped for hours.
Which refers specifically to things.
The voting rights of the people, which are guaranteed by the law, make democracy work well.
Who refers specifically to persons.
She was the woman who had her cell phone stolen.
There/Their/They're
There is an adverb meaning "at that place".
Go there.
Their is a possessive pronoun meaning "belonging to them".
We saw the Singhs at their house.
They're is a contraction for "they are".
They're always right.
Through/Threw
Through is used as a preposition meaning "from one side to another", "over", or "by means of".
The rock crashed through the window when the executive when through his aerobic exercises.
Threw is the past tense of the verb "throw" which means toss or hurl.
The pitcher threw the ball to the catcher.
Till/Until
Till is informal.
The floodwaters kept rising till the banks gave way.
Until is preferred at the beginning of sentences.
Until she finished high school, she never had a regular job.
To/Too/two
To is most often a preposition meaning "in the direction of"
The went to the park.
Too is an adverb meaning "also" or "more than enough".
I'm going, too.
There are too many people here.
Two is the word for the numeral 2.
Two players are needed for table-top tennis.
Uninterested/Disinterested
Uninterested refers to being bored or not paying attention.
The six year-old boy was uninterested in the love story.
Disinterested refers to having a neutral interest or being impersonal.
A referee is suppose to be disinterested in the outcome of the game.
Where/Wear
Where is an adverb meaning "in (at/to/from) what place".
Where are you going?
Wear is a verb meaning "put on the body", or a noun and verb both referring to damage done to something.
What should we wear to the party?
The back tires were showing signs of wear.
Whether/Weather
Whether is a conjunction suggesting choice and is often followed by or not.
She did not know whether or not to make the phone call.
Weather is a noun referring to atmospheric conditions.
We watch the weather very closely in case it rains.
Which/Witch
Which is the more common word; it is a pronoun used to ask questions.
Which route should we take?
Witch is a noun referring to a woman supposed to have magic powers.
On Halloween, my sister dressed up as a witch.
Who's/Whose
Who's is a contraction which means "who is" or "who has".
Who's on my side?
Who's got the puck?
Whose is a possessive pronoun expressing ownership.
Whose line is it anyway?
Would Of/Would Have
Would Of is an informal, conversational version of the formally correct Would Have.
We would have attended the concert, but Mary was sick.
You're/Your
You're is a contraction for "you are".
You're embarrassing me.
Your is a possessive pronoun meaning "belonging to you".
your dog wants to go for a walk.
All credit goes to Yukito Yu.
