Spelling

Many words are commonly misspelled, but Granny doesn't really want to go into that big a territory. True misspellings generally will be picked up by any good spell-checker program.

The misspellings Granny wants to mention are the ones that result from confusing, sound-alike words, like affect or effect, then or than, there-their-they're, and others, as listed below.

These usually are not found by spell-check utilities because they are not being misspelled; they're simply being misused. Some grammar checkers might find them, but only if you use one.

Take this test to see how well you know the difference between these sound-alikes:

• Your - you're
• There - their - they're
• Then - than
• Affect - effect
• Rap - wrap
• Do - due - dew
• To - two - too
• Passed - past
• Except - accept
• Poring - pouring
• Stationary - stationery
• Bus - buss
• Witch - which
• Piece - peace
• Site - sight - cite
• Wreak - reek
• Pique - peak - peek
• Lose - loose (This one really gets me; they aren't even pronounced the same!)
• Calvary - cavalry
• Brake - break
• Bazaar - bizarre
• Council - counsel
• Already - all ready
• Predominant - predominate
• Its - it's

There are many MANY more of these confusions, but Granny is tired of typing them right now. Keep an eye on the list as more are added later. And always use your dictionary to be sure you are using the correct term.