{"id":522,"date":"2015-02-19T11:45:32","date_gmt":"2015-02-19T11:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/?p=522"},"modified":"2016-03-15T07:04:30","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T07:04:30","slug":"commonly-confused-homophones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/commonly-confused-homophones\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonly confused homophones"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two words that sound the same when they are pronounced are called homophones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Homophones<\/strong> have different meanings. They may also have different spellings. There are several homophones in English and they are often confused.<\/p>\n

There \/ They\u2019re \/ Their<\/h3>\n

There is an adverb. It indicates location.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • There is<\/strong> a spider on the roof.<\/li>\n
  • There are<\/strong> holes in my tights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Sometimes \u2018there is\u2019 is written as \u2018there\u2019s\u2019. In the same way, \u2018there are\u2019 can be written as \u2018there\u2019re\u2019.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • There\u2019re few apples on the tree. (= There are few apples on the tree.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Their and theirs<\/h3>\n

      They are both possessive words. Their is a possessive adjective. It goes before a noun.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • I have been to their<\/strong> home. (Here the possessive adjective \u2018their\u2019 modifies the noun home.)<\/li>\n
      • They live with their<\/strong> parents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Theirs<\/strong> is a possessive pronoun. It is not followed by a noun.<\/p>\n

          \n
        • That blue car is theirs. OR Their car is blue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          They\u2019re<\/h3>\n

          They\u2019re<\/strong> is the contraction for they are.<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • They\u2019re my friends. (= They are my friends.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Two\/Too\/To<\/h3>\n

            Two is a numeral adjective.<\/p>\n

              \n
            • He owns two cars.<\/li>\n
            • I have two children.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Too<\/strong><\/p>\n

              Too<\/strong> is an adverb. It can mean \u2018more than enough\u2019.<\/p>\n

                \n
              • I ate too much.<\/li>\n
              • It is too late.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Too<\/strong> can also mean \u2018likewise\u2019. In this case, it can act as a substitute for the words also<\/strong> and as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

                Compare:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • I like reading. I also like writing.<\/li>\n
                • I like reading. I like writing too.<\/li>\n
                • He can play the violin. He can also play the guitar.<\/li>\n
                • He can play the violin. He can play the piano too.<\/li>\n
                • He can play the violin. He can play the guitar as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Note that too<\/strong> and as well<\/strong> usually go at the end of a clause.<\/p>\n

                  To<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  To<\/strong> can be a preposition. It shows direction.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • I am going to the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    To<\/strong> can also be used as an infinitive marker.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • I want to go.<\/li>\n
                    • I would like to understand his motives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      Whether \/ Weather \/ Wether<\/h3>\n

                      Weather<\/strong> is a conjunction. It means more or less the same as if<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • I don\u2019t know whether she will come. (= I don\u2019t know if she will come.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        Weather<\/strong><\/p>\n

                        The word weather<\/strong> is used to refer to the state of atmosphere at a particular time and place.<\/p>\n

                        Wether is not a real word.<\/p>\n

                        Then\/Than<\/h3>\n

                        Then<\/strong> is an adverb. It refers to time and order.<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        • I waited till six. Then<\/strong> I went home.<\/li>\n
                        • The last bus has gone. Then<\/strong> we will have to walk home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          Than<\/strong> is used to compare things.<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          • Walking is healthier than cycling.<\/li>\n
                          • I am better than you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            Its\/It’s<\/h3>\n

                            These words are always confused probably because we associate the apostrophe with possession.<\/p>\n

                            It\u2019s<\/strong> is not a possessive word. It is the contracted form of it is<\/strong> or it has.<\/strong><\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • It\u2019s my bag. (= It is my bag.)<\/li>\n
                            • It\u2019s gone. (= It has gone.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              Its<\/strong> is a possessive word.<\/p>\n

                                \n
                              • The cat has had its<\/strong> kittens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                Two words that sound the same when they are pronounced are called homophones. Homophones have different meanings. They may also have different spellings. There are several homophones in English and they are often confused....<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-commonly-confused-expressions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":523,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions\/523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}