Transcript Commonly Confused Words

Bell Ringer Activity
• Please count how many errors you can find in
the letter below. On your paper, write the
incorrect word that I have used in my letter to
the class. Next, write the correct word that I
should have used. Let’s see how many you can
get correct!
Deer class,
Set down and let’s get started. You’re job is two right
a letter to me explaining how I’ve used incorrect grammar.
Eye want to sea you find all of the troublesome words in
this note eye have written to ewe, sew aye no who nose
how to use correct grammar. You should also ad the
correct word above the incorrect word. I will except youre
activity when it is complete, than eye will grade it and ad
up you’re points to see how many of ewe use grammar the
write weigh.
Thank you,
Mrs. Easter
Commonly
Confused
Words
Here’s what we are learning:
Today we will look at part of
SPI 0601.1.9
Recognize usage errors occurring within context (i.e., double negatives,
troublesome words {to/too/two, their/there/they’re, its/it’s, sit/set,
lie/lay, affect/effect, may/can, leave/let, teach/learn, accept/except,
capitol/capital, principle/principal, between/among}).
Commonly Confused Words
In the English language their/there are some words that
are spelled differently but sound exactly the same (e.g.
too, to, and two), and there/their are some words that
are spelled the same but are pronounced differently
(e.g. read/read). Then/Than, their/there are those words
that do not share the same spelling or pronunciation but
are often confused. These are your/you’re commonly
confused words and today we are going to begin
working on making sure you can recognize and correct
usage errors within context.
Introduction
• Troublesome Words
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Its / It’s
Your / You’re
To / Two / Too
Whose/Who’s
There / Their / They’re
• Confusables
▫
▫
▫
▫
Where / Were/Wear
Then / Than
Except/Accept
Principle/Principal
What we are learning: Making sure you can recognize and
correct usage errors within context.
Its and It’s
• This is one of the most troublesome pairs
because the possessive pronoun ITS does not
carry an apostrophe as in: The cat’s claws.
▫ Since this is a possessive pronoun, it may help to
think of the S in ITS as already belonging to the
word.
• The apostrophe is used in the contraction IT’S
(short for it is).
It’s common for the cat to lick its claws.
Your and You’re
Again, this is a case of a possessive pronoun and
a contraction.
• YOUR shows that something belongs to you.
• YOU’RE is short for You are.
You’re wasting your time with this project.
To, Too, and Two
• TO
▫ preposition
 Walk to the car (toward)
▫ infinitive indicator
 To skate
• TOO can mean also or indicate degree
• TWO is the number following one
The two girls wanted to go to the skating rink
too, but it was too late.
Who’s and Whose
• WHO’S
▫ always means “who is” or “who has”
 Who’s your date for the dance?
 Who’s got my car keys?
• WHOSE
▫ Possessive pronoun: something that belongs to
“who”
 Whose dirty socks are on the floor?
Their , They’re, and There
• THEIR: (possessive pronoun) belonging to
them
• THEY’RE: (contraction) They are
• THERE: (adverb) At or in that place
(primary def.)
They’re leaving their tired dog over there.
Where, Were, and Wear
Similarity in spelling and improper
pronunciation often cause these to be used
incorrectly.
• WHERE : (pronounced w+air or hw+air)
at or in what place.
• WERE : (pronounced wur) past tense of
are
• WEAR: (pronounced w+air)
Where were you hiding?
A Little Trick
HERE
T HERE
W HERE
Think here
If you confuse There / Their, Where / Were and
Here/Hear – Remember that the words that have to do
with place have the word HERE in them.
Then and Than
• Than is a conjunction used in comparisons
• Then is an adverb denoting time.
Landon thought that he
was much braver than the
others. Then, he realized
he wasn’t that brave after
all!
Except and Accept
▫ Except: is a preposition meaning “but” or “leaving
out.” It can also be a verb to mean “to leave out”.
Everyone was tall enough to ride, except for
Logan.
▫ Accept: means “to receive”.
Please accept this gift.
An easy way to remember the difference is that the
“x” eliminates.
Principle and Principal
• Principle is a noun meaning a rule or code of
conduct, a law or fact of nature.
• Principal may be used as either an adjective,
meaning most important , or a noun.,
meaning someone in charge of a school or the
amount of money that is put in a bank to
earn interest.
• As an adjective:
▫ Vegetables are the principal ingredients in this
soup.
As a noun:
Mrs. Jackson is the principal of Midway Middle
School.
OR
A portion of your payment goes to reduce the
principal, and the rest covers interest.
Review: Remember the Difference?
• Homonyms
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Its / It’s
Your / You’re
To / Two / Too
Whose/Who’s
There / Their / They’re
• Confusables
▫
▫
▫
▫
Where / Were/Wear
Then / Than
Except/Accept
Principle/Principal
▫ What we are learning: Making sure you can recognize and
correct usage errors within context.
Next Step:
• In Class B, we will using our confusing words to
create our own sentences and using pictures to
illustrate how they are used. Examples may
include the words we have already discussed or
come up with some of your own…(dear/deer,
bat/bat, etc.). Let’s look at some examples and
then complete our Exit Ticket for Class A.