15 Words that Are
Commonly Confused

By Aaron Nielsenshultz

What did I say? When the word you used was not the word you meant.

We can’t avoid doing it. Heck, we’ve been guilty of inadvertently committing this offense ourselves! It’s not our fault that the language has these words that are easy to confuse, but we’re here to help.

It’s/its
The apostrophe trips many people up in this word pair. The apostrophe in it’s designates a contraction, though, and not possession. It’s means it is, while its is possessive.

Replace its in your sentence with it is. If it works, use the apostrophe. If not, don't.

Your/you’re
The same concept is at work in this pairing. You’re means you are, while its counterpart indicates possession.

Test for correctness by saying you are, and if it fits, use the apostrophe.

Altogether/all together
Altogether means completely or entirely, while all together means in a group. Your family can be altogether all together during the holidays, for example.

Lose/loose
A victim of fast typing, loose means not tight. It’s not the indicator of a thing missing or of an opportunity gone.

Here’s a memory device: lose has “lost” the second 'o'.

Their/there/they’re
These words are classically confused, but for good reason. Their is possessive, there indicates a place, and they’re is a contraction that means, they are. Use the replacement trick again:

Write out there are when you want to use they’re.
Replace there with here.
Substitute my for their in order to check possession.

Than/then
While then is an indicator of time, than indicates a comparison: “She sings better than I do,” or, “He is younger than I.”

Test by adding “Compared to” to the sentence. If the sentence makes sense, use than.

Could have/could of
This set shows how aural and oral our language has become. Since most people speak quickly, the phrase could have, contracted to could’ve, ends up sounding like could of. Could of, though, has no meaning.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Yara and Aaron Nielsenshultz, the Writing "Peppers" and founders of Red Pepper Writing, teach ambitious Coaches, Consultants, and other Solopreneurs how to use powerful writing to get more clients and make more money. For FREE weekly writing tips, visit http://www.redpepperwriting.com.

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15 Words that Are Commonly Confused

What did I say? When the word you used was not the word you meant.

15 Words that Are
Commonly Confused