Homophones: Affect vs. Effect
Homophones can be confusing. Luckily, there’s an easy way to remember affect vs. effect.
I see it all the time: affect and effect mixed up as if they were completely interchangeable.
But they’re not.
These two homophones may sound exactly alike, but they don’t even belong to the same parts of speech! If you’ve ever been typing along and come to one of these words, and scrunched up your eyebrows wondering whether to spell it with an a or an e, then this grammar lesson is for you!
Affect vs. Effect
In the ongoing wars between homophones, affect vs. effect is one of the most brutal fights on the battlefield. One is usually a noun (but not always) and the other is usually a verb (but not always). So the war wages on, and in the meantime misspellings and typos run rampant whenever one of these two words appears in print.
To Affect
Affect is almost always a verb. It is something that happens. You are affected or you affect. This word is never preceded by an article such as an or the because it’s not a thing, it’s an action. When writing, or speaking for that matter, and unsure of the spelling, ask yourself if the word is being used as an action. If it is, then go with affect.
a = action
a = affect
An Effect
Effect is a noun, and that is a thing. It’s not something you do, it’s something you have, or give, or something that just is. We hear this word most commonly in reference to fancy film making — you know — special effects. “The special effects in that movie were groundbreaking!” Note the use of the article, the, as in the effect. See that? Easy!
the = article
effect = noun
Also note that if used with an adjective or noun phrase, it’s effect (with an e):
- After effect
- Special effect
- Greenhouse effect
- Sound effect
- Effects of alcohol
- In effect…
- Adverse effects
- Positive/negative effects
- Cause and effect
- Side effects
More Homophones?
That’s all for today! Do you think the battle of affect vs. effect can be won? Will we eventually learn how to spell these two homophones correctly or will they someday merge into a single word?
Do you have any homophones that you need clarified? Or are there any homophones out there that you just can’t seem to remember? Leave a comment and I’ll try to come up with a clever mnemonic device just for you! If you’re too shy to leave a comment, go ahead and use the contact form!
And if you have any tips or tricks for remembering how to spell affect vs. effect, then please share your knowledge. Or, if you are stuck on any homophones, drop a comment. There’s a good chance your grammar question will be answered in an upcoming post.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in January, 2008, but has been updated with new information and therefore republished for your reading pleasure.
Homophones: Accept and Except
The English language is fraught with sound-alike words that look nothing alike on the page, or the screen. These homophones have given many students headaches as they agonize over word choice while composing essays and even short stories.
Accept and except are two such words. Though not among the most commonly confused homophones, these two words do occasionally find themselves getting mixed up and used incorrectly.
Here’s a quick way to remember the difference between accept and except.
Accept
Accept means to take or receive, agree or consent, undertake responsibility, or reconcile oneself to something. In a sense, it means to acknowledge. You can’t really accept something without acknowledging it, except in some very far out circumstances. Since both words start with ac, it should be easy to remember whether accept belongs in your sentence.
I accept your proposal.
I except your proposal.
Is the proposal acknowledged? Then choose accept.
Except
You know what’s special? The letter x. It’s special because it’s so rarely used. Wouldn’t you agree? We could almost say that the letter x is an exceptional letter. Remember this letter and these words together: x, exceptional, except. Because except always indicates something that is special, or different from the others. It means with the exclusion of, with exception, or otherwise. It marks something unique.
Everyone accept me had read the book.
Everyone except me had read the book.
Does this sentence indicate something or someone that is unique, like one person who didn’t do something that everyone else did? Mark it with an x and use except.
Accept and Except, and Other Homophones
What other homophones can you come up with besides accept and except? Are there any that you find especially perplexing? Share them in the comments!
Homophones: Which witch?
Recently, Kris of no known web site commented:
I have trouble with witch/which (and even so, I am not sure I have those right) and weather/wheather [sic]. any good ideas on how to keep them straight???
Well, Kris, I do have an answer for you, and some tips to help you remember how to toggle comfortably between these two pairs of homophones. For today, we’ll start with which witch.
First, We Spell Our Homophones
All too appropriate, since we are discussing witches (Get it? Spell.). The first step is to memorize the correct spelling of both words:
which
witch
Which witch?
Which witch? These two words sound exactly alike but they are totally different. In short, one of these is a person who casts spells. The other is not a person at all; in fact it is merely a pronoun. How to remember?
- Who, what, and where are also pronouns that start with the letters wh — just like the word which as in which pronoun do you like best?
- A person may itch but a pronoun may not, and like the word itch, the witch that is a person has a t in its spelling.
- If you can memorize the phrase which witch itches?, it may help you to remember since each witch will belie its meaning in context. The itch doesn’t hurt either, considering the previous tip.
Homophones are challenging for lots of people but you can find easy tricks that will help you remember the difference between words that sound alike but are spelled differently.
Next time someone asks which witch? You’ll know exactly what to tell them.
Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs
They perplex us, confuse us, and make our heads spin. If you thought learning how to correctly spell words that sound alike was difficult, wait till you try to learn the terms for describing those words.
Homophones
Homophones are words that are pronounced alike but have different meanings. Some examples are accept and except, affect and effect, and triplets too and to and two, along with they’re and their and there.
Homophones may also refer to words that are spelled and pronounced the same, but differ in meaning, for example lie (lie down) and lie (an untruth).
These words are a major source of frustration for many writers, students, and professionals who struggle to memorize variant spellings for words that sound alike but have different meanings. English teachers and other spelling perfectionists wince when homophones are written incorrectly.
Worst of all, spell check won’t catch the error when incorrect homophones are used because alternative spellings are legitimate.
Homonyms
And to confuse matters further, there are other words called homonyms, which are spelled and pronounced alike but have different meanings. Examples include words like stalk, which could refer to the stem of a plant (a stalk of corn), or the act pursuing or approaching prey (the cat stalked the mouse).
Another example of a homonym is lie – as in lie down or telling a lie or untruth.
That’s right, some homophones can also be classified as homonyms – if they’re spelled the same.
Confused yet? Wait. There’s more.
Homographs
Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. They may be pronounced the same or they could be pronounced differently from one another.
This means that some homographs are homophones and homonyms.
A good homograph example is record (a disc that plays audio) and record (to save or register something – in writing, audio, video, etc.).
How To Remember Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs
It’s not easy but it can be done. You can remember the difference (what difference there is) between homophones, homonyms, and homographs by breaking each word down and recalling the meaning of its root suffix and prefix. Also, try remembering each term separately to start, and don’t worry about which homophones are homonyms and which homonyms are homographs.
The root homo means “the same.” For all of these words something is the same – the spelling or the pronunciation.
- Homophones sound alike. That’s the only rule and you can remember by the suffix phone, a word you can surely relate to sound. They may be spelled alike or not but they must sound alike.
- Homonyms are spelled alike. Same name. Name = nym. Like the words “same” and “name” they also sound alike.
- Homographs look alike (same spelling). Like graphs, they are visual. With the prefix homo, they are visually the same.
Easy enough? Sure it is!
Do you have your own tricks for remembering homophones, homonyms, and homographs? Do you find any of them especially confusing? Share your tips, ideas, and questions in the comments.
Homophones: They’re, There, and Their
Homophones are such trouble makers. They confuse kids, slip past spell check, and pop up all over the place as typos and misspellings.
Homophones sound exactly alike when pronounced out loud but have completely different meanings. And as an added pain just for writers, many homophones have different spellings, which means spell check ignores them, since alternate spellings are correct, despite the fact that they may be used in the wrong context.
These little devils of the English language give readers headaches and copyeditors nightmares, so it’s up to us as writers to learn how to use homophones correctly. If we can do that, we can spread proper homophone spelling and usage to the far corners of the planet.
They’re, There, and Their
I’m willing to bet that they’re, there, and their are among the most commonly misspelled and misused words in the English language. You see it all the time – in newspapers and magazines, on blog posts and comments, even on signs and advertisements – there is used where their should be, and vice verse. Throw they’re into the mix and you’ve got a big linguistic spelling mess.
It can be pretty disheartening.
But there are some extremely easy ways to remember which homophone is correct when you’re using they’re, there, and there. And for those of you who already know how these three homophones should be used properly, let this be a reminder that we cannot rely on spell check.
They’re
This is the easiest of the three because it’s a contraction, which means that the word itself is actually two words shortened and joined by an apostrophe:
They + are = they’re
If you can say “they are” in place of “they’re” then you are using it correctly. But if “they are” just doesn’t work, then you’ll need to look to one of the other spellings of this word.
There
The trick to remembering how to use there is hidden inside the word itself. There refers to a distant location.
She put her books over there.
In the example above, there refers to a place. Another word that refers to a place is here, which refers to a nearby location.
She left her books here.
If you’re using there to indicate a location (i.e. over there), make sure you use the spelling that has the word here tucked inside: T H E R E
Their
Their is a possessive pronoun. This means it’s a word used to show that someone owns something. For example:
The Smiths just washed their car.
The car belongs to them (the Smiths), and their demonstrates ownership. How to remember? Well, look at the spelling: t-h-e-i-r. Within this word is another word, and as luck would have it, this other word also implies (future) ownership. The word inside is heir.
If you’re using their to indicate ownership or possession, check to see if the word heir is within the spelling: T H E I R
Get in on the Homophones Challenge
Here are a few more sets of homophones:
- Too, two, to
- which, witch
- whether, weather
Can you think of any other homophones to add to this list?
Homophones: Its vs. It’s
Twitter has lots of great fodder for conversation. People even tweet about homophones. Heather Armstrong, also known as Dooce, recently tweeted:
Really? Your pet peeve is the incorrect usage of “its” vs. “it’s”? That’s funny, because I was just talking to Jon about assholes.
I laughed as I read this tweet and thought, Well, I guess that makes me an asshole.
Pet Peeves
On a serious note, Heather’s comment got me thinking about pet peeves. While there are many legitimate pet peeves that one might find offensive or annoying, I think misuse of its vs. it’s should fall fairly low on the scale of what’s wrong with the world and the people in it. If seeing these words used improperly sends you into a fit of rage, then you probably need to get your priorities in order. You probably are, in fact, an asshole.
Generally speaking, my pet peeves usually involve people mistreating each other and being inconsiderate. Block a doorway and refuse to step aside when someone says “excuse me,” or stand there gawking when someone has fallen and can’t get up. Yep, those are my real pet peeves.
But if we’re talking about the pet peeves we have as readers and writers, then its vs. it’s definitely rank, even though these two words are homophones.
Is That Harsh?
Just because the confusion of its vs. it’s makes me crinkle my nose and think “Get thee to a dictionary!” does not mean that if I see this mistake I’m going to stop reading your blog or throw your novel into the recycling bin. It’s really not that big of a deal and is exactly the kind of typo that’s outweighed by good, strong writing.
Maybe I’m not an asshole after all.
However, I feel that writers need to take a little pride in their work. That means learning how to spell small, three-letter words, and spell them correctly.
But I get it. Its and it’s are among the most difficult homophones to learn. I remember back in high school, I avoided using them altogether – simply because I was too lazy to look them up and memorize them. To make matters even more confusing, these two rebellious homophones thwart the standard rules of good grammar and proper English with a big exception to those rules we were all taught and diligently memorized.
Its vs. It’s
According to Wikipedia, the word it is a “third-person singular neuter (it) – used for objects and animals whose sex is unknown and as a dummy subject, e.g. ‘It is raining.’”
One of the most common spelling mistakes happens when people try to add possession or pluralization to the word it. Interestingly, this word cannot be pluralized, but it can be paired with the word is (it is) and then contracted (it’s).
Confused yet? Let’s clarify.
“Its” – the Exception to the Rule
Normally we add an s to words that we want to pluralize, and we add an apostrophe-s to show possession. A third form is adding an s followed by an apostrophe to show plural possession.
Luckily, it is always singular, so we need not ever worry about making it plural. That means we can also skip over the plural possession entirely.
But what about when it owns something?
You’d expect that to show ownership, you’d simply add apostrophe-s to the word it. But that’s not the case. As I mentioned earlier, it has chosen to forgo the normal rules of grammar. So, we do it in reverse.
When it owns something, we add the s without the apostrophe, and we get its.
Example:
There is the car. It has wheels. Its wheels are round.
See? No apostrophe when something belongs to “it.”
It’s Not Plural or Possessed
The word it’s is neither plural nor possessive. When the apostrophe-s is added to the word it, you’ve got a contraction, or a shortening of two words. In this case, the phrase it is is being shortened or contracted.
If you have a hard time remembering this, try saying your sentence or phrase by replacing its or it’s with it is. If it is works, then you have a contraction and the apostrophe is required. If not, then you have possession and just an s, without the apostrophe, will do.
Got any handy tips for remembering its vs. it’s? Share yours in the comments!
Tweet Me Some Good Stuff and Homophones
By the way, you can connect with me on Twitter if you’d like: twitter.com/melissadonovan. Maybe your next tweet will inspire my next post. Oh, and tweet me some homophones please?
Are there any homophones that constantly confuse you? How about ones that grate on your nerves when others use them incorrectly? Talk about it in the comments.
Homophones: Two, Too, and To
Recently, one of our readers wrote in to ask about homophones too and to:
I was trying to find something on how and when to use “to and too” I am having trouble in that area. I have trouble with that a lot and I tend to mess up with that. Can you help and do you already have something posted about that? I can’t find anything on it.
There’s actually a third homophone in this group, which sounds like too and to, although it’s not mixed up with them as often as they are mixed up with each other. That would be the word for the numeral 2, which is two.
The Difference Between Two, Too, and To
Luckily, each of these three homophones belong to different parts of speech. As such, the way we use these words in sentences varies considerably, and that makes them a little bit easier to remember. The first step in learning to differentiate between two, too, and to is to understand their meanings.
Two
Two is a noun and it’s a numeral, a word that stands for the number 2.
Example: I have two dogs.
Too
Too is an adverb, and it’s most commonly used to mean also, an excessive extent, more than should be, or very.
Examples:
Also: You’re writing? I’m writing, too.
An excessive extent: There are too many homophones.
More than should be: She bought too much food.
Very: He was not too pleased with the results.
To
To is a preposition that indicates a direction or motion towards a direction, including physical distance, abstract distance, and distance in time.
Examples:
I’m going to the store.
She works from nine to five.
Mnemonic Devices for Homophones
When you have a hard time remembering homophones, or anything else for that matter, try developing a mnemonic device that will help you recall information quickly and easily. Sometimes you can use images, other times you can use words and sentences.
For example, to remember the names of the nine planets in order from the sun outward, I was taught the sentence: My very educated mother just served us nine pizzas. This helped my classmates and me remember that the planetary order was: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.
Pluto’s no longer a planet, so the elementary school teachers are going to have to tweak that sentence a bit, but it gives you an idea of how you can develop tricks for remembering things, and homophones are no exception. Images and word associations are also helpful for mnemonics.
How to Remember Homophones Two, Too, and To
Remember Two with a Three
All three of these homophones have the letters t and o in them. Only one has the letter w. If you turn w on its side (counterclockwise), it looks a lot like a three (3), which is a number that comes right after number two (t30).
Remembering the Difference Between Too and To
Remembering the difference between too and to is a little more difficult than remember that two is a number. But there’s a solution. One of these words has one o and the other has two o’s. That’s right, the word too has too many o’s. If you can remember the phrase “too many o’s,” you can also remember that if the “too” you’re using means “in excess” or “also” (all so many), then you’re good to go.
Do you have problems with any particular homophones? Got an idea for a post about homophones? Leave a comment or submit a guest post.
Homophones: Weather and Whether
Homophones are words that sound alike but have different meanings. They confuse readers and writers, and are often the source of frustrating spelling mistakes.
There are lots of tricks available, which will help you differentiate between homophones. In some cases, you can use mnemonics to remember which spelling to use. In other cases, you just have to memorize the words, their meanings, and their spellings.
In any case, it helps to understand the structure of language so that you can more easily recognize words and how to use them properly.
For example, knowing how to diagram a sentence and being able to identify parts of speech will give you an advantage when it comes to telling the difference between homophones.
Weather and Whether
The words weather and whether are typical homophones and especially confusing ones. They sound exactly alike and are spelled quite similarly. A third, incorrect spelling often appears, which is a combination of the two spellings (wheather). Luckily, they have vastly different meanings and there are some tricks we can use to remember all of them.
Wheather is NOT a word
It would make perfect sense if the spelling w-h-e-a-t-h-e-r was used for the word that refers to the climate outdoors because embedded in that spelling is the word heat. Unfortunately, this spelling simply does not exist. There is no heat. So if you’re using either of these homophones, remember that the letter string h-e-a-t should not appear. No heat.
Weather
This word is a NOUN and it deals with sunshine and storms. It may not be 100% tangible but we can certainly feel the weather on our skin when we step outside.
Ever notice that the weather affects your appetite? On cold days soup sounds tasty and hot days, nothing hits the spot like an ice cream or an icy slush. Yes, the weather may help you decide what to eat. Notice that the word eat is conveniently buried inside the word weather.
Whether
This word is a conjunction, close relative of the famous and, or, but, and yet, and it’s often used to determine something: tell me whether or not you’ve finished this blog post.
Using the phrase whether he writes or not, we can form a mnemonic device that will help us remember how to spell this conjunction.
You see, the only difference in spelling between the two homophones weather and whether is that after the w, one has the letters ea and the other has the letters he. As I’m sure you realize, he is an actual word (ea is not, in case you were wondering).
If you can remember the phrase, whether he writes or not, you can easily recall that whether, which is a conjunction, has he within its spelling. Say it over and over: whether he, whether he, whether he. You’ll have it memorized in no time.
More Homophones
Got any tips you’d like to add for remembering how to tell the difference between these homophones? Have a grammar question of your own or a set of homphones that give you aches and pains? Leave a comment!
