SPELLING AND GETTING THE RIGHT WORD
Mis-spelling can sometimes totally alter the meaning of a sentence,
occasionally with comic effect. Even if the meaning is still clear, spelling
mistakes prevent you from creating a good impression on your readers and
may make them less likely to accept the message which you are trying to
convey. Bad spelling and grammar will affect assessment grades. You can
use spell checkers, but make sure they are an English version. Also be aware
that sometimes you may use a word that is spelt correctly but it is the wrong
word for the purpose intended. The following are typical words that are used
incorrectly:
Accept – except
To accept means to receive. Except means to omit or exclude.
Advice – advise
Advice is the noun and to advise, the verb. In use, you may be asked to
advise colleagues. In doing so, you will give them some advice. The same
rule holds true for Practice – Practise and Licence – License.
Affect – Effect
To affect something is to change it or to have an influence or effect on it.
Sometimes affect is used as a noun, used by psychologists to mean ‘mood’.
Effect can also be used as a verb. To effect means to ‘bring about’.
Already – all ready
Already means by this time, while all ready means that all are ready. Are you
all ready? It is lunchtime already.
Are - Our
Are is the present tense of the verb 'to be'. Our denotes possession or
ownership. We are about to visit our grandmother.
Bare – Bear
You bare or uncover your head or sole, while a bear has four legs or is a verb
meaning to carry.
Complement – Compliment
A complement completes something, as in a car and petrol or bread and
butter. A compliment is an expression of praise, such as, you are wonderful.
If you are given free tickets to an event they are complimentary tickets.
Council (councillor) – Counsel (counsellor)
Council is an assembly, as in student council or county council. A councillor is
a member of that assembly. To counsel is to give advice and the counsellor is
the person providing the advice. It may be a legal counsellor giving legal
advice or a student counsellor providing support for students with problems.
Currant – Current
Currants grow on trees. Currents can be found in rivers. The word current
also refers to something of this time, for example, in June 2001, Tony Blair is
the current Prime Minister.
Disinterested – Uninterested
Disinterested means impartial or unbiased. Uninterested means showing no
interest in something.
Ensure – Insure
To ensure means to make sure, while to insure means to take out an
insurance policy.
Hear – Here
Hear has to do with ears while here means in this place.
Imply – Infer
Imply means to hint at. It is done by the ‘sender’. To infer means to draw a
conclusion or inference and is done by the ‘receiver’.
i.e. – e.g. – etc.
These are all abbreviations of Latin phrases: i.e. means ‘that is’, e.g. means
‘for example’ and etc. means ‘and so on’. There is a fairly common school of
thought that none of these abbreviations should be used unless absolutely
necessary.
It’s - Its
It’s is short for ‘it is’. The apostrophe stands for the missing letter. ‘Its’ means
‘belonging to it’, that is it indicates possession. The confusion arises because
most possessives have an apostrophe, as in ‘the cat’s ball’. In old English this
was an abbreviation from ‘the cat his ball’, so that the apostrophe represents
the missing letters. The possessive ‘its’ has no apostrophe!
Lead – Led
The metal is lead. To lead is also the present tense of the verb, as in ‘I
currently lead the badminton league’. Led is the past tense, as in ‘I led the
way home’.
Loose – Lose
Loose means ‘to unfasten’ or ‘not tight’. Lose refers to misplacing something
or not winning.
Moral – Morale
Morals have to do with beliefs about right and wrong and with morality.
Morale is to do with job satisfaction or the mood of the troops. When these
words are interposed and you refer to the poor moral(s) of the workforce, it
conjures up visions of defrauding the customer or carryings on behind the
filing cabinets.
Oral – Aural – Verbal
Oral has to do with the mouth and so refers to speaking or swallowing
medicine. Aural has to do with the ears, while verbal has to do with words,
which might be written or spoken.
Personal – Personnel
Personal means belonging to one or private. Personnel are people, such as
employees.
Principal – Principle
Principal means the most important or the head of something like a school or
college. Principle means an idea, or truth or code of conduct.
Stationary – Stationery
Stationary means not moving. Stationery refers to paper, pens, envelopes
and other office consumables.
There – Their – They’re
There is the place, as in ‘there was nowhere else to look’. Their indicates
possession such as ‘it was their fault that we missed the bus’. They’re is short
for ‘they are’, so the apostrophe stands for the missing letter.
To – Too – Two
Too refers to excess, as in ‘there is too much meat on my plate’. Two is the
number. In all other uses, ‘to’ will be the spelling required.
Were – We’re – Where
Were is the past tense of the verb ‘to be’, as in ‘we were too late to catch the
train’. We’re means ‘we are’. Where is the place as in ‘where have you left
the paperwork?’.
Who’s – Whose
Who’s is short for who is as in ‘who’s coming to the match with me?’. Whose
is another possessive word, as in ‘whose bag is that?’.
You’re – Your
You’re is short for ‘you are’. Your is yet another possessive word, as in ‘have
you brought your photograph with you?’.
Source: The Business Student’s Handbook, Sheila Cameron