Blog 6: Word scramble

If only I could tell you how many times I've been corrected for using certain words incorrectly, but let me tell you I have been a lot more careful since I have been in college. In reality, as we've come to learn this week, it is easy for these mix-ups to occur.  

The two words I always have to think twice about before I use them are affect and effect. The majority of the time you use affect as a verb and effect as a noun. Affect means to influence. Effect means a result of something. A fun memory trick I found online is the word RAVEN.

R

A- affect

V- verb

E- effect

N- noun

There are many other words that can easily be confused. I don't often use the words chic or sheik. The spelling of these two words is critical to the meaning of a sentence. Chic, is a french word, meaning conforming to the current fashion or being stylish. While sheik has a completely different meaning. Sheik is an Islamic religious official. 

As I've mentioned before it is easy to misspell words and to use them incorrectly. The English language has many homonyms and homophones. 

I have many friends who are learning English and it is interesting to listen to them and hear how confusing some words sound. Earlier today a friend saw the word "bear" and asked me what that word means. I told her that in that context it meant to carry but that spelling is also for the animal. My friend laughed and said, "I thought they said 'beer' like the drink." It was a funny moment, but I was reminded of the difficulty of words that sound the same and mean something completely different.