Hello all!

I’m back with another Which Word? segment, and today I’ll be discussing a few words groups that are confusing not because the meanings are closely related but because it’s hard to know which one is spelled which way!

Up first is one of my personal favorites: desert and dessert. We know one of them means an arid section of land and one of them refers to something sugary and delicious, but it can be tough to remember which is which. The trick I was taught to remember is one that makes me smile every time: Just ask yourself, which item would you rather have more of? More arid land or more delicious treat? The one you (probably) want more of gets more s‘s. Thus, desert is the arid land and dessert is the treat.

Next is a grouping that plagues even the best of writers: their, there, and they’re. While all three words sound exactly the same, their spellings and meanings are all different. Their is an indication of possession (their dog, not your dog); there is an indication of place (their dog went over there, while your dog stayed here); and they’re is a contraction of they are (their dog went over there where they’re standing, while your dog stayed here where you’re standing). I am sorry to say that I don’t have any handy tricks for you for remembering this one perfectly, but if you can remember the sentence about the dog and which spelling goes where in that sentence, you’ll have a good shot at figuring it out. And if all else fails, try testing for the contraction first, since it’s the only one with an apostrophe. If you can replace the word in your sentence with they are, then you’re looking for they’re. If not, at least you have a 50/50 shot between the other two!

And speaking of two, that brings me to our final grouping for today: to, too, and two. Once again, we have three words here that all sound the same but have different spellings and definitions. Generally speaking, most people have no problems with to. In fact, the issue I run across is that a lot of people use to all the time, even when the proper word is either too or two. Too is an indicator of something being more than what is possible or wanted (my boss was asking too much of me), while two is the spelling of the number 2. The trick I’d suggest using to remember which of these to use in which case is to run through three quick steps: (1) Ask yourself if it’s a number. If so, use two. (2) Ask yourself if you’re trying to indicate overabundance. If so, use too (easy to remember because is has more o‘s that to…to indicate more!). (3) If you’ve answered questions (1) and (2) in the negative, use to.

I hope that helps clear up some very common confusing word groups. The simplest things can make the biggest difference, and using these words appropriately in your writing will set you above the pack in no small way!

Until next time!

Hello everyone!

I’m back with another confusing word pair: compliment and complement. Today’s pair tends to trip people up because not only are the words’ meanings somewhat related, but their spellings also differ by only one letter–and they’re also pronounced the same way. Yikes! But fear not; the good news is that there’s an easy way to remember which word means what.

Let’s start with the definitions. Compliment functions as both a verb and a noun, meaning to express praise or appreciation (the verb form) or the actual expression of praise or appreciation (the noun form). So, I complimented her on her new haircut or She received a compliment on her new haircut. Complement also functions as both a verb and a noun, but there are actually two different definitions for the noun. The verb form of complement means to complete something or to make it better. One of the noun forms of complement pairs with the verb (like the noun and verb forms of compliment), meaning something that completes something else or makes it better. The other noun form means the usual required number or amount of something. So, Her new earrings complemented her haircut nicely or Her new earrings were a nice complement to her haircut or She received her full complement of haircuts each year to make sure her locks didn’t get too long.

Now that you know the different definitions, how do you remember which definition goes with which word? The trick that works for me is that compliment has one “i” and one “e,” just like the word nice. When you compliment somebody, you’re being nice. The other trick that works for me is that the extra “e” in complement complements the first. So, complement has two e’s because they complete each other, and compliment has an i and an e just like nice because it’s nice to express praise and appreciation!

I hope this helps you keep track of which word to use when. Stay tuned for more tricky word pairs soon!

Hello all!

Today I’m starting a new series of posts to try to answer your burning questions about which word to use! English is a beautiful, descriptive language, but it also contains a whole lot of confusing word pairs. I’m hoping that in the weeks to come, I can help bring clarity to some of that confusion, so you’ll always know which word you’re really searching for.

I’m going to start with one of the most widely used–and misused–pairs: effect and affect. If you find these two words frustrating, rest assured that you’re not alone! Most people wander around never quite sure which is the verb and which is the noun. The reason none of us can seem to keep that straight is probably that they are actually both verbs and both nouns in certain cases. But the good news is that one is usually the noun and the other is usually the verb, so if you can remember that, you’ll be correct 98 percent of the time!

Generally, we use the words affect and effect when we’re talking about something causing something else. In these vast majority of cases, affect is the verb and effect is the noun. So, “One possible effect of global warming is climate change” and “Global warming might affect our planet by causing climate change.” One way to remember which is which is that affect has one “e,” just like the word verb, so affect is the verb. Whatever trick you find to work for you, if you can remember affect as a verb and effect as a noun, you’ll almost always be right.

Now, you might be wondering about those other cases, when affect becomes a noun and effect a verb. Both of those are quite rare, so feel free to ignore those cases and just focus on remembering the rule above! But if you want to know… We use effect as a verb to mean “to bring about an outcome”; it’s most common in the phrase “to effect change.” We use affect as a noun to talk about the mood that someone appears to have; this use is pretty much limited to psychology, to describe things like “he displayed a depressed affect.”

So, which word should you use? Affect (with its one “e”) as a verb and effect as a noun! Go forth, and conquer all your causal writing!

See you next time!