While some would like to think themselves smart, well-rounded people that are completely prepared for the world at large, no one can really claim this until they've learned a little about English.  It's the language we all speak and write in North America, and the lingua franca of many other industrialized nations.  I know it's not everyone's favorite subject, but when you're about to send off an important letter or document, bad spelling and especially improper usage or confusion can often give off a bad impression to the person reading it.  Think about it for a moment: how does your letter, document, or resume reflect on you or the company you work for?

One thing that people commonly get confused about is homophones: words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things.  It's always the most common words that seem to be confused this way (and noticed!) rather than more complicated things like "capital" and "capitol" or "complement" and "compliment."  Here's a few clarifications to help anyone purge their writing of homophone errors, seem more educated in the process, and just make the world a slightly better place!  Enjoy!


Accept - to receive
ex. He accepted the award.
Except - to take or leave out
ex. Please shred all of these files except those filed under W.

Affect - to influence
ex. He was greatly affected by the loss of his brother.
Effect - n. result; v. accomplish
ex. Sunlight has the added effect of aiding in vitamin D production.
ex. Can the school effect such a change without disrupting classes?

A lot - (two words) many
ex. There are a lot of birds in the corn field.
Alot - (one word) this isn't even a word
Allot - to distribute by portion; to appropriate for a special purpose
ex. Each month, I allot a certain portion of my paycheck toward retirement.

Breath - n. air inhaled or exhaled
ex. I could see my breath in the cold air.
Breathe - v. to inhale or exhale
ex. It hurts your lungs to breathe secondhand smoke.

Cite - to quote or document
ex. I cited Chaucer in my term paper.
Site - position or place
ex. Bob made a preliminary visit to the construction site.
Sight - vision
ex. The eye doctor said I have perfect sight.

Its - of or belonging to; possessive of the pronoun it
ex. The dog loves its bone.
It's - contraction for it is
ex. It's not feasible to go through with this plan.

Than - use with comparissons
ex. John is taller than me.
Then - at that time or next
ex. Stop at the hardware store first, then go to the grocery store.

There - indicates location
ex. I saw the man you described over there.
They're - contraction for they are
ex. They're out for the evening.
Their - possessive form of they
ex. Their car broke down.

Through - by means of; finished; into or out of
ex. I had to go through a toll both.
Threw - past tense of thrwo
ex. His dad threw him the baseball.

To - toward
ex. I am going over to Jerrome's house.
Too - also; excessively
ex. He had too many beers and couldn't drive home.

Waist - the middle section of a person's body
Vivian Leigh had an 18 inch waist.
Waste - n. discarded material or refuse; v. to wear away; to fail or neglect to use
ex. Recycle plastic bottles instead of putting them in the waste basket.
ex. Don't waste your natural talent.

Who's - contraction of who is
ex. Who's going to the park with me?
Whose- the possessive of who used as an adjective
ex. Whose umbrella is this?


Your - possessive of you
ex. Your fly is unzipped.
You're - contraction of you are
ex. You're a very pretty girl.