Homophones and Contractions : Grammar & Editing Tips

Happy Wednesday!

Our language can be tricky. So many grammar and spelling rules have exceptions. Then, there are homophones*: words that sound alike (can be spelled alike or not) but have different meanings.

Examples of ones spelled alike: read (can mean to read a book today or I read a book yesterday) or rose (a flower or to rise past tense).

For today, let's stick with homophones that sound alike but are spelled differently, with a special focus on words with contractions.

They're / Their / There
They're = they are
Their = belonging to them / possession
There = place (like here)

It's / Its
It's = It is
Its = belonging to it / possession

You're / Your
You're = you are
Your = belonging to you / possession

Who's / Whose
Who's = Who is
Whose = possession (Whose bag is this?)

I'll be doing another homophone list and tricks post soon. I focused on these today, because they are (they're) commonly used and misused.

There's good news, though. These are easy to identify. 

Example

You're going to have a wonderful time.

You are going to have a wonderful time.

So, just "un-contract it" to make sure of the spelling. *smiles* 

If you know you struggle with these, do a Search & Find in your document and double-check them.

Is there an editing/grammar issue that's always caused you trouble? If so, share it in the comments so I can feature it in a future post. 

* I used the term homophone for both types to keep it simple. However...

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