Thursday, February 25, 2010

Homonyms

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Homonyms are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Homonyms can also be words that sound the same when you pronounce them, but have different meanings. I know most of you know these words and their different meanings; it's just kind of fun to see them and realize how many homonyms there are in the English language. Here's a sampling (there are so many more!):

aid – to help or assist
aide – assistant

affect – change
effect – result or consequence

air – atmosphere (the stuff we breathe)
err – to make a mistake

aisle – walkway
I’ll – I will
isle – island

allowed – permitted
aloud – out loud

ant – picnic pest
aunt – relative, as in your mom’s sister

ate – chewed up and swallowed
eight – number after seven

bank – embankment
bank – place where money is kept

bare – uncovered
bear – grizzly animal

berry – fruit from a bush
bury – to put underground

base – bottom part
bass – deep or low

be – to exist
bee – buzzing insect

beach – sandy shore
beech – type of tree

beat – to pound
beet – type of edible plant

berth – tie up
birth – to be born

bite – nibble
byte – 8 bits (computer data)

blew – past of blow
blue – color of ocean

boar – pig
bore – not interesting

borough – area or district
burrow – dig through
burro – small donkey

bough – branch
bow – bend or curtsy

buoy – floater
boy – young man

brake – stop pedal
break – smash

bread – bakery food
bred – form of breed

broach – mention
brooch – pin

brows – eyebrows
browse – look around

buy – purchase
by – beside
bye – short for goodbye

cell – compartment
sell – vend

cent – penny coin
sent – did send

cereal – breakfast food
serial – sequential

Chile – country in South America
chili – bean stew
chilly – frosty

chord – musical tone
cord – rope

cite – quote
site – location
sight – view

complement – enhance; go together
compliment – praise

council – committee
counsel – guidance

creak – squeak
creek – stream of water

crews – gangs
cruise – ride on a boat

dear – darling
deer – woodland animal

dew – morning mist
do – operate
due – payable

die – cease to exist
dye – color

doe – female dear
dough – uncooked bread

dual – double
duel – battle

ewe – female sheep
you – second-person personal pronoun

eye – sight organ
I – me

fair – equal
fare – price

fairy – elf-like creature with wings
ferry – boat

faze – impact
phase – stage

feat – achievement
feet – plural of foot

fir – type of tree
fur – animal hair

flea – small biting insect
flee – run

flew – did fly
flu – illness

flour – powdery, ground up grain
flower – blooming plant

for – on behalf of
fore – front
four – one more than three

forth – onward
fourth – number four

knew – did know
new – not old

gorilla – big ape
guerrilla – warrior

groan – moan
grown – form of grow

hair – head covering
hare – rabbit-like animal

hall – passageway
haul – tow

hay – animal food
hey – interjection to get attention

heal – mend
heel – back of foot

hi – hello
high – up far

hoarse – croaky
horse – riding animal

hole – opening
whole – entire

holey – full of holes
holy – divine
wholly – entirely

hour – sixty minutes
our – belonging to us

knead – massage
need – desire

knight – feudal horseman
night – evening

knot – tied rope
not – negative

know – have knowledge
no – opposite of yes

lead – metal
led – was the leader

lessen – make smaller
lesson – class

loan – lend
lone – solitary

made – did make
maid – servant

mail – postage
male – opposite of female

marry – to wed
merry – very happy

meat – animal protein
meet – encounter

none – not any
nun – woman who takes special vows

oar – boat paddle
or – otherwise
ore – mineral

oh – expression of surprise or awe
owe – be obligated

one – single
won – did win

overdo – do too much
overdue – past due date

pail – bucket
pale – not bright

pain – hurt
pane – window glass

peace – calm
piece – segment

peak – highest point
peek – glance

plain – ordinary
plane – flight machine or flat surface

pole – post
poll – survey

poor – not rich
pour – make flow

pray – implore God
prey – quarry

principal – most important
principle – belief

rain – water from sky
rein – bridle

rap – tap
wrap – drape around

real – factual
reel – roll

right – correct; not left
write – scribble

ring – encircle
wring – squeeze

role – function
roll – rotate

rose – flower
rows – lines

sail – move by wind power
sale – bargain price

scene – landscape
seen – viewed

sea – ocean segment
see – observe with eyes

seam – joining edge
seem – appear

sew – connect with thread
so – as a result
sow – plant

soar – ascend
sore – hurt place

sole – single
soul – essence

some – a few
sum – amount

steal – swipe
steel – alloy

tail – animal’s appendage
tale – story

their – belonging to them
there – at that place
they’re – they are

to – toward
too – also

toe – foot appendage
tow – pull along

vary – differ
very – much

wail – howl
whale – huge swimming mammal

waist – area below ribs
waste – squander

wait – kill time
weight – measurable load

war – battle
wore – did wear

warn – caution
worn – used

way – path
weigh – measure mass

we – us
wee – tiny

weak – not strong
week – period of seven days

weather – climate
whether – if

which – that
witch – sorcerer

your – belonging to you
you’re – you are


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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Vocabulary


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Increase your vocabulary with not-very-common and/or not-frequently-used words.



Today's word is: TRUCULENT, and its pronunciation is: truk-yuh-lunt

Truculent is an adjective meaning: feeling or displaying ferocity; deadly or destructive; scathingly harsh; aggressively self-assertive.

The small country is ruled by a truculent dictator who punishes anyone who publicly disagrees with his policies.



Thursday, February 18, 2010

Effective Writing

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There are countless grammar rules and writing guidelines; below are eight easy rules to help you write effectively.

Rule 1. Use concrete rather than vague language.

Examples:
Vague: The weather was of an extreme nature on the west coast.
Concrete: California had very cold weather last week.

Rule 2. Use active voice whenever possible. Active voice means the subject is performing the verb.

Examples:
Active: Barry hit the ball.
Passive: The ball was hit.

Notice that the responsible party may not even appear when using passive voice.

Rule 3. Avoid overusing there is, there are, it is, it was, and so on.


Example: There is a case of meningitis that was reported in the newspaper.
Correction: A case of meningitis was reported in the newspaper.
Even Better: The newspaper reported a case of meningitis. (Active voice)

Example: It is important to signal before making a left turn.
Correction: Signaling before making a left turn is important.
OR
Signaling before a left turn is important.
OR
You should signal before making a left turn. (Active voice)

Example: There are some revisions which must be made.
Correction: Some revisions must be made.
Even Better: Please make some revisions. (Active voice)

Rule 4. To avoid confusion, don't use two negatives to make a positive.


Incorrect:
He is not unwilling to help.
Correct: He is willing to help.

Rule 5. Use similar grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called parallel construction.


Correct: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Incorrect: You should check your spelling, grammar and punctuating.

Rule 6. If you start a sentence with an action, place the actor immediately after or you will have created the infamous dangling modifier.

Incorrect:
While walking across the street, the bus hit her.
Correct: While walking across the street, she was hit by a bus.
OR
She was hit by a bus while walking across the street.

Rule 7. Place modifiers near the words they modify.


Incorrect: I have some pound cake Mollie packed in my lunch bag.
Correct: In my lunch bag, I have some pound cake that Mollie baked.

Rule 8. A sentence fragment occurs when you have only a phrase or weak clause but are missing a strong clause.

Example of Sentence Fragment: After the show ended.
Example of Sentence: After the show ended, we had coffee.



Source: Blue Book of Grammar

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Thoroughness Challenge



A Brief History of Presidents Day


The Thoroughness Challenge is a post consisting of paragraphs that contain spelling and/or grammatical errors. The paragraphs with the errors corrected and highlighted in red can be found at the end of the post.

Note: The purpose of the Challenge is thoroughness. You're only looking for errors in spelling and/or grammar. Names and places will NOT be misspelled, nor will there by any changes to punctuation or sentence structure. In addition, if there is a word that may have more than one accepted spelling, those also will not be changed.


Your Challenge today is: A Brief History of Presidents Day, and contains 8 errors. Good Luck!

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If you live in the United States than you will know that yesterday was Presidents Day; also known as Washington’s Birthday. Presidents Day is a federal holiday in the US and is celebrated on the third Monday in Febuary.

The federal holiday titled as Washington’s Birthday, was originally implimented by the United States Congress in 1880 for the goverment offices in the District of Columbia, but then expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices.

As it was the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was originally celebrated on George Washington’s actual birthday – February 22nd. It was on January 1, 1971 that the day got shifted to the third Monday in Febuary.

That date than fell between February 15th and the 21st, which would never actualy fall on Washington’s Birthday. A draft of the Uniform Holiday Bill of 1968 would have had the holiday renamed as Presidents Day, to honor both Washington and Lincoln.

That proposal unfortunately failed in commitee at that time, so the name Washington’s Birthday was kept. The first attempt to create the day as a Presidents Day came in 1951; however, it wasn't until the mid-1980’s that the term Presidents Day began being used.


Now, let's see how thorough you are!

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If you live in the United States then you will know that yesterday was Presidents Day; also known as Washington’s Birthday. Presidents Day is a federal holiday in the US and is celebrated on the third Monday in February.

The federal holiday titled as Washington’s Birthday, was originally implemented by the United States Congress in 1880 for the goverment offices in the District of Columbia, but then expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices.

As it was the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was originally celebrated on George Washington’s actual birthday – February 22nd. It was on January 1, 1971 that the day got shifted to the third Monday in February.

That date then fell between February 15th and the 21st, which would never actually fall on Washington’s Birthday. A draft of the Uniform Holiday Bill of 1968 would have had the holiday renamed as Presidents Day, to honor both Washington and Lincoln.

That proposal unfortunately failed in committee at that time, so the name Washington’s Birthday was kept. The first attempt to create the day as a Presidents Day came in 1951; however, it wasn't until the mid-1980’s that the term Presidents Day began being used.


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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Fifteen Punctuation Facts You Need To Know



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Who knew there was so much to learn about punctuation marks? To make it as easy as possible, review the following fifteen rules from time to time and you'll be a punctuation pro:


1. A period shows where sentences end, separates the initials of some acronyms, and ends many abbreviations.

2. Don't double-space after a period at the end of a sentence; the word processing program will adjust the space for you.

3. Commas, signaling natural pauses and adding clarity to what you're writing, should be used before conjunctions and before the final or or and in a series.

4. Semicolons (weak periods) separate two thoughts of equal rank; these are thoughts that could be turned into independent sentences.

5. Colons are used to do the following: introduce lists, separate thoughts (when one further explains the other), distinguish hour and minutes, cite chapter and verse, separate title and subtitle, and end formal salutations.

6. Ellipses indicate that words or sentences have been omitted, or a thought has trailed off . . .

7. Apostrophes show possession, not plurals (except for its [possession] and it's [it is]), as well as indicating missing letters when a verb has been contracted.

8. Quotation marks indicate that someone is speaking or that material has been taken from another source.

9. In American English, commas and periods are usually inside the quotation marks; colons and semicolons are outside; and dashes, question marks, and exclamation points are inside or outside depending on usage.

10. Exclamation points follow interjections, and you should use them sparingly. Please!

11. Question marks show that an answer is requested or that the writer is unsure of a specific fact.

12. Hyphens connect words with prefixes, suffixes, or other words.

13. Dashes, which are about the length of the letter m, signify a dramatic break in thought, while shorter dashes, known as en dashes, which are the length of the letter n, are used between a range of dates, times, or numbers.

14. Parentheses enclose figures in a numbered list within a sentence or set off explanatory material (facts that add substance).

15. Brackets indicate editorial comments, corrections, or clarifications – or further set off text within a parenthetical phrase.

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Source: The Gremlins of Grammar



Monday, February 8, 2010

Over the Top Award

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I'd like to thank Mason of Thoughts In Progress for presenting me with the Over the Top Award this past Saturday, and Cassandra at Cassandra Jade In the Realm for honoring me with it today! The award stipulates that I answer questions with one-word answers and pass the award on. Mason and Cassandra each had a different set of questions; Mason's list was shorter, so I chose to go with hers! LOL!

Your Hair?
- Blonde
Your Favorite Food? - Salad
Your Hobby? - Reading
Your Fear? - Spiders
Your pets? - KITTIES!
Something You Aren't? - Insensitive
Where Did You Grow Up? - California
Your Life? - Blessed
Your Mood? - HAPPY!
Your Favorite Color? - PURPLE!


And...the people I'm passing this award on to are:

Chris - CC Chronicles
Allysa - Random Thoughts of a Tangled Mind
Lorel Clayton - I'm Blogging Drowning Here
Southpaw (Holly) - Scribbles and Splashes
Erin Pagan Spirits

Thanks again to Mason and Cassandra for thinking of me! If you haven't been to any of the blogs of those I've passed the award on to, please check them out, they're Over the Top!

Enjoy your day and go spread some HAPPY!



Thursday, February 4, 2010

Spelling Challenge


Misspellings
It's time for a Spelling Challenge! So, grab a sticky note and a pen and write down the correct spelling for the ten words below!

NO PEEKING!
Peek


1. chauvenism
2. presumtuous
3. aquire
4. irrasible
5. seige
6. nausious
7. misoginy
8. inadvertant
9. diarama
10. liquify


If you spell all ten words correctly, you get the beautiful sparkling gold glitter star! Good Luck!

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ANSWERS:

1. chauvinism
2. presumptuous
3. acquire
4. irascible
5. siege
6. nauseous
7. misogyny
8. inadvertent
9. diorama
10. liquefy


Whether or not you got your star, everyone gets this spray of PURPLE glitter stars for your efforts! Have a marvelous day!

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Swum


We all know that "swam" is the past tense of "swim." What about "swum?" It sounds peculiar and you rarely hear or see it used; however, "swum" is a word. It's the past participle of "swim." You use it when writing in certain tenses.

A trick to help you remember when to use "swum" is that past participles always come after a helping verb such as "have" or "had."

I have swum. (present perfect tense)
I had swum. (past perfect tense)
I will have swum. (future perfect tense)

Personally, I would re-word the sentence rather than use "swum." What about you? Does swum work for you?

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Source: Grammar Girl Podcast


There are other such words that (in my opinion) just don't sound right. When they come up, I'll do a similar post on them.

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Because today's post is a mini lesson, I decided to include the following words of wisdom. I thought Steve's Three Rules of Life merited sharing with everyone.


Steve Jobs' Three Rules of Life ...

1. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

2. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.

3. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition - they somehow already know what you truly want to become.




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