Attention: You Need To Stop Using These 10 English Words Incorrectly
I have good punctuation — I’m never late! (punctuality) He is the very pineapple of politeness! (pinnacle)
These are a few notable instances of Mrs. Malaprop’s claim to fame. Malapropism is a literary device, which owes its origins to Mrs. Malaprop- a humorous character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 comedy, “The Rivals”. She is famous for providing comic relief by using similar sounding, but incorrect words.
However, it carries a negative connotation as it gives the impression of being dim or ignorant. In fact, verbal faux pas committed by celebrities or politicians, have reduced them to a laughingstock, as is evident by Bushism.
So, unless you are auditioning for Mr. or Mrs. Malaprop, it’s time you clear your confusion regarding these 10 commonly misused words:
1. ACCEPT/EXCEPT
- Accept (verb) — to receive or agree ; give an affirmative reply; regard favourably
- Sagarika Ghatge accepted Zaheer Khan’s proposal.
- Except (conjunction) — apart from or excluding; unless;
- Pappu passed in all the subjects, except for English.
2. AFFECT/ EFFECT
- Affect (verb) — to have an effect on; influence; to be moved emotionally
- The breakup affected his health adversely.
- Effect (noun) — result or consequence of an action
- The effect of the poison was immediate.
3. TO/TOO/TWO
- To (preposition) : expressing reaching a location, direction or time; expressing outcome or cause ;
- Hitler was a threat to world peace
- Too (adverb) : to an excessive degree ; also
- It is too late now to say sorry?
- Two : Number 2 (the number that equals 1+1 )
- I would like two orange bars.
4. THEIR/THERE/THEY’RE
- Their (adjective) : conveys ownership.
- My roommates left their clothes on my bed.
- There (noun) : shows location or times
- There are twelve trophies in my cabinet
- They’re = they + are.
- I can’t believe they’re growing up so fast.
5. THAN/THEN
- Than (conjunction) : used for comparisons.
- Hrithik is more popular than Shahid.
- Then (adverb) : in reference to time
- Finish studies first, then you can think about getting married.
6. COMPLEMENT/COMPLIMENT
- Compliment (noun) : praise or flattery
- She complimented him for his good looks.
- Complement (noun) : to make it complete
- The curtains perfectly complement the wallpaper
7. ITS/IT’S
- Its (possessive pronoun and requires no apostrophe) : Belonging to or made by
- The bread is past its expiration date
- It’s = It + is
- It’s so humid
8. PRINCIPAL/PRINCIPLE
- Principal (noun) — head or governing authority of a school; (adjective) — first in rank, authority, degree, etc.
- The students met with the Principal on their first day.
- Principle (noun) — a foundational truth, law, doctrine etc
- French Revolution propagated the principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
9. YOUR/YOU’RE
- Your (adjective) — belonging to you
- Is this your phone?
- You’re = you + are
- You’re a great writer.
10. ADVISE/ADVICE
- Advise (verb) :to give suggestion or counsel
- Doctor advised him to take rest
- Advice (noun) : Propose a plan of action
- Xi Jinping offered advice to Trump regarding North Korea.
How many of these did you know correctly? Share with us :)