• weather/whether
• Their/they’re/there
• your/you’re
• since/senSe
• too/two/to
• a/lot/alot/allot
• Were/we’re/where
• Which/witch/wich
• Threw/through/thru
• Then/than
• Whose/who’s
• Advice/advise
• Effect/affect
• every day/everyday
• it’s/its
• could of/would of/should of/might of
• wonder/wander
• lose/loose
• past/passed
• This/these
• sales/sells
• hoping/hopping/hopeing

weather/whether
weather—snow, rain, sunny, cloudy, hot

whether—a questionable condition (questions begin with WH—WHo, WHat, WHen, WHether—note that it has no “a”

Example: I do not know whether the weather will change.

Their/they’re/there
their—ownership—the HEIR who will own the inheritance

they’re—a sound meaning THEY ARE—it is better to write THEY ARE

there—the most common word—used like HERE

thier—no such word—”i” before “e” except after “c” when the sound is “ee”

Example: Their dogs bark when they’re not there.

your/you’re
your—possessive

you’re—a sound when you mean YOU ARE—it is better to write YOU ARE

Example: When your lover cheats on you you’re going to get even.

since/senSe
since—indicates time past or a reason why

senSe—intelligence

Example: Ed hasn’t made sense since the day he tattooed eyeballs on his eyelids.

too/two/to
too—excessive—it has an excessive number of “o’s”—

too—means also—”Is your mother sick too?”

two—2

to—all other meanings of the sound

Example: If she brings her two kids too, there will be two too many at the table.

a/lot/alot/allot
a lot—it gives no information—instead give a number or amount

alot—no such spelling—don’t misspell a word that you shouldn’t even use!

allot—a verb meaning to distribute

Example: It will take a lot of time to allot the money fairly.

Were/we’re/where
were—the verb

we’re—the sound for WE ARE or WE WERE

where—the place—it has the place HERE in it

Example: If we’re not where we were yesterday, go without us.

Which/witch/wich
which—the question

witch—an ex-girlfriend or Halloween creature

wich—use this spelling when you want to appear incredibly ignorant

Example: Which witch is scarier?

Threw/through/thru
threw—past tense of throw

through—a passageway

thru—an unacceptable short spelling except in chat rooms

Example: He threw the lamp through the window.

Then/than
then—means time

than—for comparison

Example: She took a deep breath and then lifted more weight than he had lifted.

Whose/who’s
whose—ownership

who’s—a sound for WHO IS or WHO HAS

Example: Who’s going to tell me whose book this is?

Advice/advise
advice—information

advise—to give information

Example: I advise you to take my advice seriously.

Effect/affect
effect—a result

affect—to cause a result

Example: The movie did not affect me at all; it had no effect whatsoever.

every day/everyday
every day—a time span—(this is the most usual meaning)

everyday—an adjective meaning “ordinary”—(this is the less usual meaning)

Example: Because he is late for class every day, we can call it an everyday occurrence.

it’s/its
it’s—a sound meaning IT IS

its—shows ownership—it is a pronoun like HIS, HERS, and THEIRS—pronouns to not use “’s” to show possession the way that nouns do.

Example: It’s disgusting when your dog licks its bottom.

could of,/would of,/should of,/might of
could of, would of, should of, might of—Which would you write: “I of done it” or “I have done it”? Then why write “I should of done it”? I guess it’s better than shoulda

could have, would have, should have, might have—Write and say have not of

wonder/wander
wonder—to think about something

wander—to move around aimlessly

Example: I wonder why you wander in the woods so much.

lose/loose
loose—not tight

lose—to misplace or to fail to win—this word is misspelled because it is the exception to spelling conventions which ordinarily specify that this spelling should be pronounced to rime with “rose”

Example: That bracelet is so loose you might lose it.

past/passed
past—an earlier time
passed—a forward movement in time, space or effort
Example: I have passed tougher tests in the past.

this/these
this—points out one thing (this book)
these—points out many things (these books)
Example: None of these keys will open this lock.

sales/sells
sales—Stores have sales; A car dealer made five sales today; A car is for sale.

sells—She sells insurance. I am going to sell my car.

Example: When he advertises the products that he sells, he makes more sales.

hoping/hopping/hopeing
hoping—a form of “hope”—”I am hoping you will master these terms.”

hopping—a form of the verb “hop”

hopeing—no such spelling—the rule is drop the “e” and add the “ing” or “ed”

Last updated 9/18/06