1. HOMOPHONES & OTHER FREQUENTLY MISUSED WORDS

2. TO, TOO, TWO  TO : 1. A PREPOSTION MEANING “TOWARDS” 2. USED WITH A VERB (TO SEE, TO WIN) 2. USED WITH A VERB (TO SEE, TO WIN) EX: I AM GOING TO SCHOOL TO LEARN.  TOO : 1. ALSO 2. MORE THAN ENOUGH/VERY EX: I WANTED ANOTHER PIECE OF CAKE TOO, BUT I ATE TOO MUCH ALREADY.  TWO : THE NUMBER EX: I HAVE TWO BROTHERS, TERRY AND CASEY.

3. THERE, THEIR, THEY’RE  THERE: SHOWS LOCATION EX: PLEASE PUT YOUR HOMEWORK OVER THERE.  THEIR: OWNERSHIP EX: THEIR COUSIN WAS HERE TO VISIT.  THEY’RE: “THEY ARE” CONTRACTION EX: THEY’RE GOING TO VISIT THEIR COUSIN OVER THERE.

4. WERE, WE’RE  WERE: PAST TENSE OF “ARE”. EX: WE WERE GOING TO GO TO THE MALL, BUT WE HAD NO MONEY.  WE’RE: “WE ARE” CONTRACTION EX: WE’RE GOING TO THE MALL NOW.

5. ITS, IT’S  ITS: SHOWS POSSESSION. EX: THE CAT PLAYED WITH ITS TOY.  IT’S: “IT IS” OR “IT HAS” CONTRACTION EX: IT’S SUPPOSED TO RAIN TODAY. IT’S BEEN RAINING FOR TWO DAYS STRAIGHT.

6. YOUR, YOU’RE  YOUR: A PRONOUN SHOWING OWNERSHIP/POSSESSION. EX: PLEASE TAKE YOUR HOMEWORK SERIOUSLY.  YOU’RE: A CONTRACTION FOR “YOU ARE”. EX: YOUR SMELLY SOCKS ARE GAGGING ME, SO YOU’RE GOING TO PUT THEM IN THE WASHER, RIGHT?

7. WHOSE, WHO’S  WHOSE: THE POSSESSIVE FORM OF “WHO”. SHOWS OWNERSHIP. EX: WHOSE BINDER IS THAT OVER THERE?  WHO’S: CONTRACTION OF “WHO IS” OR “WHO HAS” EX: WHO’S GOING TO OFFER TO COLLECT THE BOOKS?

8. THAN, THEN  THEN: USED TO TELL WHEN OR IN A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS. EX: I TOOK MY MATH TEST, THEN MY SCIENCE TEST, THEN I WENT TO CROUCH’S CLASS AND FELL ASLEEP.  THAN: USED IN COMPARISONS. EX: I LIKE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM BETTER THAN VANILLA.

9. “I” OR “ME”  BOTH “I” & “ME” ARE PRONOUNS. “I” IS A SUBJECT PRONOUN WHILE “ME” IS AN OBJECT PRONOUN.  I: USE “I” WHEN IT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE; THE “DOER” OF THE ACTION. EX: TONY AND I WENT TO SEE “AVATAR.”  ME: USE “ME” WHEN IT IS THE RECEIVER OF THE ACTION. EX: TONY THREW THE BALL TO ME.

10. “I” & “ME”  OK… FOR YEARS YOUR MOM HAS CORRECTED YOU BY SAYING, “NO HONEY. IT’S NOT “ANN AND ME”, IT’S “ANN AND I.” WELL, SORRY, MOM. SOMETIMES THIS IS TRUE, YET OTHER TIMES THIS IS NOT THE CASE.  INCORRECT: YOU SHOULD COME OUT TO DINNER WITH ANN AND I.  CORRECT: YOU SHOULD COME OUT TO DINNER WITH ANN AND ME. HERE’S THE RULE: TAKE OUT THE OTHER PERSON AND THE CONJUCTION AND SEE WHICH PRONOUN SOUNDS RIGHT!! HERE’S THE RULE: TAKE OUT THE OTHER PERSON AND THE CONJUCTION AND SEE WHICH PRONOUN SOUNDS RIGHT!!