Chronicle Editor
Charles Dube
LAST week’s article was quite informative judging from responses received, but, unfortunately we could not cover as much ground as we would have wanted. Before exploring other areas let me just touch on a few more examples on words commonly confusing. Do not mix up licence and license. “License” is a verb — it is spelt with an “s”.
Bars are licensed to sell alcohol. He was told to get his shop licensed before he could commence operations. “Licence” is a noun — it is spelt with a “c”. He has a licence to sell alcohol as well. No one is allowed to drive a car without a licence. Remember a noun is a naming word for people, places and things. Verbs are doing words or action words since they describe action. Watch out for the following three words.
(There, their, and they’re) “there” goes with “where” — it is about places and positions. You will find your cattle there — pointing to a place where your cattle are. “Their” means possession. It means it belongs to them. They took their books with them. “They’re” is short for “they are”. They’re fond of each other. “They’re” is too informal for examinations — use “they are” instead.
“Here” and “hear”. “Here” is the opposite of “there”. Here is something close to me. Come here. She is not here. “Hear” is when you listen. Can you hear the sound of the bus? Watch out for “though”, “thought”, “through” and “thorough”. These words look similar so it is easy to write the wrong one by mistake but it could cost you if you do. He passed the examinations, though with a struggle. “Though” means ‘however’ in this context.
“Thought” is the past tense of the word “think”. I thought about the issue afterwards. A thought can be an idea — I had a thought. “Through” means going from one side of something to the other. The tennis ball went through the window. “Thorough” means careful or in depth. She was thorough in her work. Do not mix up “piece” and “peace”. “Piece” means part of. He just got a piece of cake at the party. There was peace after the protracted war ended. Here “peace” means an end of war.
“Whether” and “weather” are a challenge to most people as they often get mixed up. “Whether” means “if”. I do not know whether she is coming. We can swap whether with “if” in the cited example. I do not know if she is coming. We have wet weather these days. Only use “weather” when you are talking about the climate (meteorological conditions).
Note that it is also easy to confuse “buy”, “by”, and “bye”. “Buy” is what you do when you pay for something. They went to buy groceries at the shops. “Buy” means to purchase here. “By” is a linking word. It usually means beside or due to. Soil erosion is caused by running water. Here soil erosion is made by running water. “Bye” is the shortening of goodbye. She shouted, “bye” to her children when she left for work. Do not use “them” when you mean “those”. “Them” is a pronoun — never use it with the noun it replaces. I dislike them sweets. In this example, “them” has been used when it should be “those”. You cannot use “them” and “sweets” together.
But you can say: “I dislike those sweets”. I dislike them is also correct as long as the reader knows what “them” refers to. “Send” and “sent”. “Send” is the present tense of “sent”. Send a message to her now. He sent a message to her an hour ago. In addition to words which are commonly mixed up there is also a problem with spelling tricky words. No matter how hard you practise, there will always be some words that you struggle to spell correctly.
Spelling mistakes are really obvious to the examiner, so you have to eliminate most of them. You can use some of these spelling tips. Keep a list of the words that you find tricky. Practise spelling them until you get them right every time. Use flashcards and write the spelling on the front, and put the meaning on the back. That way you can test the spelling as well as the meaning. Learn spelling rules — the “i”- before “e” rule.
Here are some made-up rules which can help you remember spelling tricky words: Funny sentences can remind you of spellings you keep forgetting. These sentences help you remember the bits in the words that are often misspelt. There is a rat in separate. There is a lie in belief. The secretary has a secret. Rules for words which sound the same. Stationery is for things like pencils and paper. Stationary is for things that are not moving, like a parked car. Complement adds something to make it enough. Compliment puts you in the limelight.
Go on and make your own spelling rules to produce better work.
For views link with [email protected] or sms to 0772113207.
Bongani Ndlovu