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 :)