Common Mistakes in English

 

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SPELLING MISTAKES

 

1.     accept / except

 

    INCORRECT: Please except this gift.

    CORRECT: Please accept this gift.

 

Except, as a verb, means to exclude or leave out. As a preposition it means "with the exception of." Accept means "to receive willingly." For example: We visited every landmark except the Eiffel Tower. The school is accepting only those students who have had their shots; all others are excepted.

 

2. advice / advise

 

    INCORRECT: He refused to take my advise.

    CORRECT: He refused to take my advice.

 

Advise is a verb. The s has the sound of "z." Advice is a noun. The c has the sound of "s."

 

3.all right / alright

 

    INCORRECT: He's alright after his fall.

    CORRECT: He's all right after his fall.

 

Although arguments are advanced for the acceptance of the spelling, alright is still widely regarded as nonstandard. Careful writers avoid it.

 

4. awhile / a while

 

    INCORRECT: I'll be staying in Paris for awhile.

    CORRECT: I'll be staying in Paris for a while.

 

Awhile is an adverb that means "for a while." While is a noun that means "a period of time." A while is a phrase that means "for a period of time." Because awhile means "for a while," to say for awhile is like saying "for for a while.”

 

5. alot / a lot

 

    INCORRECT: I like you alot.

    CORRECT: I like you a lot.

 

Despite being used widely, "alot" is not a word. A lot is the correct spelling.

 

6. allude / elude / illude

 

    INCORRECT: The writer eluded to the Odyssey.

    CORRECT: The writer alluded to the Odyssey.

 

Elude means "to escape," usually by means of swift or clever action. Allude means "to refer to indirectly." Illude is an obsolete spelling for delude and elude.

 

7. cannot / can not

 

    INCORRECT: I can not go with you today.

    CORRECT: I cannot go with you today.

 

In speech and informal writing, cannot is frequently contracted as can't. In writing the uncontracted form, cannot is preferred.

 

8. complement / compliment

 

    INCORRECT: I want to complement you on your writing style.

    CORRECT: I want to compliment you on your writing style.

 

Complement, most frequently used as a verb, means "to complete." Compliment, used as a verb, means "to make a courteous remark." As a noun, it means "a courteous remark." For example: The illustrations complement the text. She complimented his singing. Sallie has difficulty accepting compliments.

 

9. effect / affect

 

    INCORRECT: His death really effected me.

    CORRECT: His death really affected me.

The most common use of effect is as a noun meaning "something produced by a cause." The most common use of affect is as a transitive verb meaning "to act upon." For example: The disease had a lasting effect on the child. The family's lack of money affected his plans.

 

10. every day / everyday

 

    INCORRECT: Dan walks the dog everyday at six p.m.

    CORRECT: Dan walks the dog every day at six p.m.

 

Everyday is an adjective that means "daily." Every day is a phrase that combines the adjective every with the noun day. For example: Walking the dog is an everyday occurrence. I practice the flute every day.

 

11. forty / fourty

 

    INCORRECT: She made the check out for fourty dollars.

    CORRECT: She made the check out for forty dollars.

 

The number 4 is spelled four. The number 40 is spelled forty.

 

12. its / it's

 

    INCORRECT: Put the saw back in it's place.

    CORRECT: Put the saw back in its place.

 

It's is a contraction that represents two words: it is. Its is a one-word third-person singular possessive adjective, like his. For example: The man lost his hat. The dog wagged its tail.

 

 

13. irregardless / regardless

 

    INCORRECT: I want you here at six a.m., irregardless of how late you go to bed tonight.

    CORRECT: I want you here at six a.m., regardless of how late you go to bed tonight.

Although listed in dictionaries and widely used colloquially, the word "irregardless" is to be avoided as nonstandard usage.

 

14. *inquire / enquire

 

These are two spellings of the same word. Enquire tends to be more common in British usage, while inquire is more common in American usage. The British newspaper The Guardian prefers inquire, and the Oxford English Dictionary considers enquire to be “an alternate form of inquire.” The forms inquire and inquiry are the safe choices when no official writing guidelines are being followed.

 

15. *license / licence

 

    license: verb, “to grant permission

    licence: noun, “permission, liberty”

 

In British usage, licence is the spelling of the noun; license is the spelling of the verb. In American usage, both the noun and the verb are spelled license.

 

16. lightning / lightening

 

    INCORRECT: The hen house was struck by lightening last night.

    CORRECT: The hen house was struck by lightning last night.

 

Lightning means the flashing caused by an electrical discharge in the atmosphere. Lightening means "state of becoming brighter," or "lessening the weight of something." Mixing in some white is one way of lightening the dark blue paint. The camel driver is lightening the load by removing the trunk.

 

17. loose / lose

 

    INCORRECT: I'm afraid you'll loose your way in the dark.

    CORRECT: I'm afraid you'll lose your way in the dark.

 

As an adjective, loose means "not tight." Lose is a verb with such meanings as "go astray from," "fail to keep up with," "suffer deprivation." For example: Athletes prefer loose clothing for exercise. He frequently loses his car keys. Note: The s in loose has a soft sound. The s in lose has the sound of z.

 

18. passed / past

 

    INCORRECT: The car past the train.

    CORRECT: The car passed the train.

 

Past is used as an adverb of place, or as a preposition. Passed is the past tense of the verb to pass. For example: The past few days have been hectic. The deadline has passed. He passed her the biscuits. The boys ran past the gate. As we stood in the doorway, the cat ran past.

 

19. pore / pour

 

    INCORRECT: The students were up until midnight, pouring over their books.

    CORRECT: The students were up until midnight, poring over their books.

 

Pore is a verb meaning "to look at attentively." Pour is a verb meaning "to cause to flow."

 

20. prescibe / proscribe

 

    INCORRECT: What did the doctor proscribe for your headache?

    CORRECT: What did the doctor prescribe for your headache?

 

Prescribe in this context means "to give directions for." Proscribe means "to condemn or forbid as harmful." The use of any kind of drug is proscribed in the workplace.