Donner's Helpful Hints

[Donner]

its and it's--

Its is the possessive form of 'it'. You use it when 'it' shows ownership of something. Example: The store closed its doors early.
It's is the contraction for 'it is' or 'it has.' Example: It's too cold for this time of year. It's been far warmer the past few weeks that it is now.

There, their, and they're--

There is either an adverb (Stand over there.), a pronoun (There shall come a time; Hi there.), a noun (You take it from there.), or an adjective (Those men there can tell you.).
Their shows possession. Example: I bought their couch. And it's spelled 'their.'
They're is the contraction for 'they are.' Example: They're through with the car; They're on their way over there. Heh.

To, too and two--

To indicates movement or direction. Examples: She drove to the city. She ran to and fro.
Too means also, excessively or very. Example: The house cost too much.
Two is '2.' Example: I want two cookies.

Sight and site--

Sight is what you see or the sense of sight. Example: He was quite a sight for sore eyes.
Site is a location. PFFA is a terrific poetry site!

Did I forget any other glaring ones?

[This message has been edited by Donner (edited 04-11-2001).]

[Andrea345]

I swear I have to open Strunk & White for this one every single, cotton-picking time - and I'm quoting:

"Lay. A transitive verb. ...do not misuse it for the intransitive verb lie.The hen, or the play, lays an egg; the llama lies down. The playwright went home and lay down."
lie; lay; lain; lying
lay; laid; laid; laying

rats. I'm not sure how to fully punctuate this quote either with this stupid list. Now I have to pull out the MLA book of style as well.

Strunk, William and E.B. White. _The Elements of Style. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1979 p. 51.

[Melanie]

How about the one that wasn't detected until it was locked up Outside and someone had to urgently contact a moderator and ask her to fix it?
You can delete this if you like, after "your" done reading.

[Howard Miller]

affect/effect:

Pollen affects him badly.
He suffers from the effects of pollen.


accept/except:

We accept Mastercard.
We accept all cards except American Express.


imply/infer:

You imply that you don't like fish.
I infer that you don't like fish.


amount/number:
The amount of sand in my shoe is annoying.
The number of people in this room is 37.

everyday/every day:

This is my everyday sweater.
I wear this sweater every day.


Howard


[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 04-11-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 04-11-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 04-11-2001).]

[Kemmer]

And remember that while less may indeed be more, it's not necessarily fewer.

Anyone want to take on the like/as thing? There's this ad for a diet supplement that has "protein like in fish" that drives me nuts.

Kemmer

[JohnBoddie]

re:

"There's this ad for a diet supplement that has "protein like in fish" that drives me nuts."

That is really awful. It should be "protein like, you know, in fish." A clear sign that MTV is shirking its educational responsibility.

JB

[Donner]

Originally posted by Melanie:
How about the one that wasn't detected until it was locked up Outside and someone had to urgently contact a moderator and ask her to fix it?
You can delete this if you like, after "your" done reading.

Heh, that's why I'm the edit queen.

Your and you're--

Your is like 'its', shows possession. Your dog is eating my shoe.

You're is the contraction for 'you are' or 'you were.' You're going to have to pay for a new pair of shoes.

[jeney]

Thank you, Donner, for mentioning one of my pet peeves. I have been asked to correct so many poems, papers, and stories written by people who can't tell the difference between "your" and "you're."

You are now my personal hero.