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1. advice (n. opinion or counsel) / advise (v. to offer advice) Be wise when you advise. 2. aid (v. or n. help) / aide (n. an assistant or helper) An aide is by your side. 3. beach / beech A beach is by the sea. A beech is a tree. 4. breath (n.) / breathe (v.) Breathe with ease. 5. capital (city that is the seat of government; material wealth, assets; first and foremost; first-rate, excellent) / capitol (building where the legislature meets) Cash is a form of capital. The capitol building has a dome. 6. cavalcade (ceremonial procession) / cavalry (mounted troops) / Calvary (hill outside Jerusalem; a great ordeal) The cavalry were valiant. 7. coarse / course We’ve lost our course. 8. compliment (praise, congratulation) / complement (complete or make up the whole) A complement completes. I like compliments. 9. desert (dry sandy place) / dessert (yummy food at end of meal) The desert is sand. A just desert is what you deserve. Strawberry shortcake is dessert. 10. discreet (prudent, careful; modest and restrained [noun is ‘discretion’]) / discrete (separate and distinct) The ‘t’ separates the ‘ee’s. 11. passed / past (no longer current, gone by, over) The ass passed me. Last year is in the past. 12. principal (main or first) / principle (basic rule or doctrine) The principal is your pal. A principle is a rule. 13. stationary (unmoving) / stationery (writing paper) A stationary object stands still. Stationery is paper. |
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Here's another one that often trips up people:
ReplyDeleteaffect/effect (influence/cause a result/end result/)
This one's a triple whammy because 'effect' can be a noun and a verb.
Cold weather affects me.
To effect a change in comfort, I go inside.
The resulting effect is warmth from hot chocolate.
Not a very good mnemonic, I'm afraid. I seldom see 'effect' used as a verb much any more. It's a more formal use of the word. But I often see 'affect/effect' misused.
It's amazing how many times I have to stop and think about some of these words no matter how many times I use them. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love tips and tricks to remember grammar. Makes it so much fun!
ReplyDeleteThe two that I always have to stop and think about are:
ReplyDelete1. practice/practise (although I'm not sure if US spelling negates this issue, actually!)
and
2. rein/reign.
With this one I have *such* a mental block, but it only works one way. If I'm writing about a king's rule, I always get it right. When I'm writing about horses, I always get it wrong. No idea why. Obviously my parents' fault because they never bought me a pony when I was a child LOL.
Another one that I see a LOT, even occasionally in some published books:
ReplyDeletelose/loose
You lose (verb) an item. The waistband on a skirt is loose (adjective).