Grammar Module Two: Spelling and Word Study
I.
II.
III.
Words Often Confused
The Apostrophe - Contractions
The Apostrophe - Possessives
I. Words Often Confused
The following list is not exhaustive, but it does contain the twenty-two most common words often confused.
Spell Check cannot distinguish between words that are spelled correctly but used incorrectly, so you must
be able to distinguish between these words yourself.
1. affect, effect
Affect is a verb and means "to influence." A verb is a word that shows action, so think action-affect.
The freezing rain affected road conditions.
Effect is a noun and means "the result." If the word has "an" or "the" in front of it and makes sense, it is a
noun and therefore should be effect.
The freezing rain had an effect on road conditions.
The above distinction will work nine out of ten times for you, but, if you are a psychology student, or
interested, the following complicates matters for you.
Affect can also be a noun, commonly used in psychology, meaning "behaviour expressing emotional state."
Her affect was disturbing.
Effect can also be used as a verb, meaning "to bring about or accomplish."
The administration effected changes in the structure of the hospital.
2. choose, chose.
The past tense of the verb choose is chose.
Today I choose to wear red; yesterday I chose to wear green.
3. complement, compliment
A complement completes or goes together with something else; therefore, something that complements
something else, completes it or goes together with it.
The yellow in the curtains complements the couch.
Compliment means praise.
She gave him a compliment.
4. it's, its
It's is a contraction and always means "it is" or "it has."
It's clear that the tree struck by lightning foreshadows the fate of Rochester's and Jane's marriage.
Its is a possessive pronoun, showing that something is possessed by or belongs to it:
The committee gave its report. (The report belongs to it [the committee]).
Its is grouped with words like your, her, his, our, their, that show possession: your roof, her roof, his roof,
our roof, their roof, its roof.
Notice that none of these possessive pronouns take an apostrophe.
Tip: When you are writing essays, you shouldn't use contractions. So you never really need to write it's in
university writing.
5. lead, led
The past tense of the verb lead (rhymes with bead) is led.
I know how to lead us home because yesterday I led everyone home.
(The confusion with this word pair stems from the fact that "lead" can also be pronounced "led" when
referring to the metal.)
I keep breaking the lead in my pencil.
6. where, were
Where refers to place.
"Where are you going?"
Were is a form of the verb "to be" in the past.
You were happy when you were a child, weren't you?
Where rhymes with air, and were rhymes with blur. There are some places where both where and were
are pronounced to rhyme with air. That may account for some of the confusion.
7. whether, weather
Whether means "if".
I can't decide whether I should stay or go.
Weather refers to local manifestations of the climate.
The weather outside is frightful.
8. to, too, two
Most people can remember that the number 2 when written is two.
To distinguish between the other two, remember that too means "also" or "as well."
I want to go too.
He too wants to go.
It can also mean "more than enough."
There are too many spelling errors in this essay for it to get an A.
Use to for all other meanings.
9. their, there, they're
They're is a contraction meaning "they are." You should avoid contractions in academic writing, anyway.
Their, like its, is a possessive pronoun, that shows that something is possessed by or belongs to them.
Their house if for sale.
Use there for all other meanings.
10. than, then
Than compares two things. Think compare - than
Morale was lower than ever before.
Then refers to the time when something happens, and is often used to indicate consecutive actions.
Then he started home.
I got up late and then had breakfast.
Then also means "it follows that" or "therefore."
If you don't study, then you will not do well on your exams.
Web Link: Exercise 1 Words Often Confused
http://www.trentu.ca/history/workbook/documents/Exercise1WordsOftenConfused.pdf
II. The Apostrophe - Contractions
Contractions are words that have been made by "contracting" or condensing two words into one by
removing a letter or letters and replacing them with an apostrophe: is not becomes isn't, for example. In
all but one contraction, the apostrophe goes in the precise spot where the letters have been removed. The
exception is that will not becomes won't.
Many words often confused involve contractions: it's and its, they're and their and there, who's and
whose, you're and your. In general, if you are writing a paper, lab or other assignment for university, you
should aim for a somewhat formal level of diction and avoid contractions altogether even though they are
commonplace in everyday speech and informal writing. This may help you avoid some of the most common
spelling mistakes.
The Apostrophe - Possessives
Possessives are nouns (persons, places, things, concepts) or pronouns (words that replace nouns) that
show possession.
1. The apostrophe + s is used to make a singular noun into a possessive:
the car
the car's windshield
The apostrophe + s shows that the windshield belongs to or is possessed by the car.
2. The apostrophe alone is used to make a plural noun into a possessive:
the cars
the cars' windshields
Because most plural nouns end with s already, an apostrophe + s is not added to them: not cars's but
cars'.
3. There are plural nouns that don't end with s, such as women, men, children, data, phenomena, etc.
The rule to remember is that if there is no s at the end of the noun, add apostrophe + s to make it
possessive:
women
women's work
men
men's jobs
If there is alreadys an s there, simply add the apostrophe:
cars
cars' windshiels
girls
girls' shoes
4. If a name ends in a s, such as James or Jones, you have a choice:
James
James's life
or James' life
Bridget Jones
Bridget Jones's diary or Bridget Jones' diary
If you think through these four steps when faced with spelling a possessive, you should get it right.
However, it is important to realize that this process only works with nouns. For pronouns, these rules
do not apply.
Pronouns change form to become possessive:
Pronoun
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
Possessive Pronoun
my or mine
( My house or This house of mine)
your or yours
his
her or hers
its
our or ours
their or theirs
Do not use apostrophes with possessive pronouns. There are no such words as her's, our's, your's, their's,
theirs', etc.
Finally, do not mix up the plural s with the possessive s. In English, s is often added to a word to make it
plural: one boy and two boys. A possessive noun is followed by another noun that belongs to it, and the
apostrophe + the possessive s or apostrophe alone show this relationship: boy's bike, boys' bikes,
mother's present, parents' worries.
Web Link: Exercise 2 The Apostrophe - Possessives
http://www.trentu.ca/history/workbook/documents/HistoryGrammarModuleExerciseTheApostrophe.pdf
The Academic Skills Centre, Trent University
www.trentu.ca/academicskills
acdskills@trentu.ca/705-748-1720