Use the correct word. Look it up. Is this really what you meant to say? Watch out for confusable words. Some common ones are listed here.
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Its means belongs it it; it's means it is.
If you can substitute it is, then use it's.
If you can substitute his or hers, then use its.
Notice that neither his nor hers (nor theirs) has an apostrophe. Neither does the word its, meaning "belongs to it."
It's that simple. Really.
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Lay/Lie
The verb lay is transitive. It denotes action that is transferred to a recipient, or object.
The verb lie is intransitive (no transitive). Someone or something is acting.
This table shows why the two are often misused.
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
|
lie |
lay |
lain |
|
lay* |
laid |
laid |
*requires an object
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Lose/ Loose
Loose means unrestricted, not tight, physically or morally.
Lose means to not win, not earn money, or to not find.
Remember the saying, "Loose laces lose races."
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Affect and effect mean different things in different uses.
Affect as a verb means "to influence."
Effect as a verb means "to bring to pass."
Affect as a noun is a specialized term in psychology.
Effect as a noun means "result."
Impact as a verb is jargon, not usually your best choice in formal writing.
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They're, their, there
Their means belongs to them.
There means a place (notice the word here inside it?).
They're means they are (because it's a contraction of they are, of course).
Confuse them and you embarrass yourself.
Put them together and you get the the name of an indie punk band.
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Everyday/ Every day
Every day means each day, or day by day.
Everday means normal, average.
You will see these confused all around you. Don't go along with the crowd.
Example:
John went to the gym every day. It was an everyday thing to see him there in spinning class.
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All right, already, altogether, and all together are all different.
Alright is NOT a word. It is never correct, even though the spelling dictionary in Word accepts it.
All right means OK.
Already means in time.
All ready means prepared.
All together means gathered.
Altogether means entirely.
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Two/ To / Too
Two means the number 2.
Too means more than enough or in addition.
To is a preposition (as in to a shoe store) or part of infinitive (as in to wear).
More than two to's is too many—especially if they are wearing tutu's.
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Then/ Than
Then is about time.
Than is about comparisons.
One way to remember this is to remember that the word time has and E in it, while the word comparison does not—and does have an A.
Example:
Amy was taller than Ethan until they reached junior high; then Ethan had a growth spurt and towered over her.
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