The 25 most commonly misspelled words
Now I know why Mike F and Scott and DJ (among others) are always correcting my spelling. I did bad on this test.
I allways thout I was a decsent speeler.
Language
Common Errors in English Usage
Here are a few examples:
Duck Tape or Duct Tape? A commercial firm has named its product “Duck Tape,” harking back to the original name for this adhesive tape (which was green), developed by Johnson & Johnson during World War II to waterproof ammunition cases. It is now usually called “duct tape,” for its supposed use in connecting ventilation and other ducts (which match its current silver color). Note that modern building codes consider duct tape unsafe for sealing ducts, particularly those that convey hot air.
Koala Bear: A koala is not a bear. People who know their marsupials refer to them simply as “koalas.” Recent research, however, indicates that pandas are related to other bears.
Gonna: How do you pronounce “going to” in phrases like “going to walk the dog”? “Gonna,” right? Almost everyone uses this slurred pronunciation, but it’s not acceptable in formal writing except when you’re deliberately trying to convey the popular pronunciation. In very formal spoken contexts you might want to (not “wanna”) pronounce the phrase distinctly. I use ‘gonna’ all the time. I’m gonna try to do better.
Internet: “Internet” is the proper name of the network most people connect to, and the word needs to be capitalized. However “intranet,” a network confined to a smaller group, is a generic term which does not deserve capitalization. In advertising, we often read things like “unlimited Internet, $35.” It would be more accurate to refer in this sort of context to “Internet access.” I didn’t know ‘Internet’ should be capitalized.
Different than: Americans say “Scuba-diving is different from snorkeling,” the British often say “different to” (though most UK style guides disapprove), and those who don’t know any better say “different than.” However, though conservatives object, you can usually get away with “different than” if a full clause follows: “Your pashmina shawl looks different than it used to since the cat slept on it.”
It’s / Its: The exception to the general rule that one should use an apostrophe to indicate possession is in possessive pronouns. Some of them are not a problem. “Mine” has no misleading “s” at the end to invite an apostrophe. And few people are tempted to write “hi’s,” though the equally erroneous “her’s” is fairly common, as are “our’s” and “their’s”—all wrong, wrong, wrong. The problem with avoiding “it’s” as a possessive is that this spelling is perfectly correct as a contraction meaning “it is.” Just remember two points and you’ll never make this mistake again. (1) “it’s” always means “it is” or “it has” and nothing else. (2) Try changing the “its” in your sentence to “his” and if it doesn’t make sense, then go with “it’s.”
More Common Errors in English Usage
Punctuation is very important
Notice the effect of the following Dear John love letter with different punctuation:
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy –will you let me be yours?
Gloria
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is . All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
yours,
Gloria
How to say that name
Have you ever picked up the phone to call someone, only to realize that you didn’t know how to pronounce that person’s name? Have you ever read a name but had no clue how to say it? Is your name commonly mispronounced? If you have ever been in any of these situations, we have the solution for you. Our database lets you learn how to pronounce names as a native speaker would say them. Not sure how to pronounce the name “Nguyen”? Listen to a native Vietnamese speaker pronounce it. If you can’t find a name you need to know how to pronounce, let us know. We are constantly adding more names and languages to our expanding database.
Unusual origins fo words we use
Who knew that marmalade, for instance, while eternally associated in my mind with Paddington Bear, is in fact Portuguese? So here is an A-to-Z of some of my favourite English words that have been absorbed from and inspired by other languages.
Here are a few examples:
A is for…
Avocado, which comes from Nahuatl, a language spoken by the Aztecs. Their name for it, ahuacatl, also meant ”testicle”.
C is for…
Coleslaw. Supposedly eaten in ancient Rome, it comes from the Dutch kool-salade (”cabbage salad”).
O is for…
Onslaught, from the Dutch aanslag – related to a word in Old High German for a shower.
S is for…
Sabotage. Supposed to derive from the tendency of striking workers to damage machinery by throwing shoes into it – sabot being an old French word for a wooden shoe.
Y is for…
Yogurt, a mispronunciation of a Turkish word. (It doesn’t say what that Turkish word is.)
A-Z of English words with surprising origins
BlahblahFish
BlablaFish trandslates from English to another language that you select and then translates that back into English… sometimes with hillarious results.
For example, lets translate the following: Bits and Pieces. We scour the web so you don’t have to.
Here are a few results:
Filipino: Bits and piece. we scour the web so you don’t sick.
Latin: Bits and Pieces. We to wipe woven cloth so you don’t fui when.
Welsh: Bits I go Pieces. We scour ‘ group web like you dress tower I have to.
Serbian: Bits and Chip. Us ablution the texture so you don’t must.
Czech: Bits plus Segment. We scour the sea web thereabouts you don’t hold to.
Russian: Bits and part. We scrape off cobweb so you dont.
Ductch: Pieces and scraps. We scour this way the web you dont must.
At the end of the day, it’s not rocket science
A top 10 of irritating expressions has been compiled by researchers at Oxford University.
Heading the list was the expression ‘at the end of the day’, which was followed in second place by the phrase ‘fairly unique’.
The tautological statement “I personally” made third place – an expression that BBC Radio 4 presenter John Humphreys has described as “the linguistic equivalent of having chips with rice.”
Also making the top 10 is the grammatically incorrect “shouldn’t of”, instead of “shouldn’t have”.
The top ten most irritating phrases:
1 – At the end of the day
2 – Fairly unique
3 – I personally
4 – At this moment in time
5 – With all due respect
6 – Absolutely
7 – It’s a nightmare
8 – Shouldn’t of
9 – 24/7
10 – It’s not rocket science
Don’t you just love the English language?
- The bandage was wound around the wound.
- The farm was used to produce produce.
- The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse
- We must polish the Polish furniture.
- He could lead if he would get the lead out.
- The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
- Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
- A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
- When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
- I did not object to the object.
- The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
- There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
- They were too close to the door to close it.
- The buck does funny things when the does are present.
- A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
- To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
- The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
- After a number of injections my jaw got number.
- Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
- I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
- How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?