Short and Sweet #8
by Annette Dammer
Proofreading For Errors &
Commonly Confused Words
HEAR vs. HERE
HEAR has an ear in it... - as in I HEAR you talking to me.
HERE is in there - as in here, there and everywhere!
THEIR vs. THERE vs. THEY'RE
THEIR has an I in it - just like people. As in... I like to see THEIR eyes.
THERE has a HERE in it. As in... HERE, THERE, and EVERYWHERE!
But what, you ask, about THEY'RE???? Why, you need.....THE OTHER ONE!!!!
THE OTHER ONE RULE
First, proof your work by
reading aloud to yourself. Especially CONTRACTIONS - READ THEM ALOUD as the two words they really are.
You use an apostrophe ANYTIME you combine two words...
YOU ARE=YOU'RE
IT IS = IT'S
THEY ARE = THEY'RE
In other words, an apostrophe means there are letters - even a WORD missing.
So, if you think it's (read, IT IS) a contraction, read it aloud as TWO WORDS.
If it works/sounds right in TWO WORDS, use an apostrophe.
If not, it's (read IT IS) THE OTHER ONE.
Read WE'RE leaving as, WE ARE leaving. Very different from were.
Read THEY'RE kind as, THEY ARE kind. Very different from, "There are many types of people."
This fixes the MOST COMMON problem.
Read IT'S as, " IT IS" As in, IT IS (it's) OK to still be confused.
It's all right to hate grammar. (IT IS = correct. Use an apostrophe for the missing letters.)
Its all right to hate grammar.(No apostrophe is WRONG here... You need two words/IT IS to fix it.)
Or... The dog chased its tale. (IT IS tale? - wrong. Two words sounds silly - so no apostrophe.)
See? So, if IT IS doesn't work, IT IS the other one... ITS.
Works for all contractions...
One more... It's time to buy a new car = It is time to buy a new car.
The car blew its tire = The car blew IT IS tire... NOT! No missing letters/not two words. NO APOSTROPHE.
If you're (read, YOU ARE) still having trouble, it's (read, IT IS) a good idea
to print this out!
Just keep our name, www.writershelper.org, on there (NOT THEY ARE) & we'll (WE WILL) all be OK...
Copyright
2003 Annette Dammer
publisher@teenlight.org
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