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Printed from https://writing.com/main/books/item_id/890221/action/archive
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Rated: 13+ · Book · Writing · #890221
A library featuring commonly committed errors of the English language.
Those who have received reviews from me, or have at least seen one of the many public reviews I have written, know that I strive to put a great deal of thought and effort into each and every one of them. I typically separate my reviews into three sections: Comments, Common and/or Recurring Technical Issues, and Other Notes. When I wrote reviews in the past, I repeated many of the Common and/or Recurring Technical Issues multiple times, continually writing out detailed descriptions of the problem(s) at hand. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, seeing as how the entire spirit of that segment of the review is to highlight mistakes that occur frequently. It took quite a while to happen, but the idea finally struck me: why not create an item featuring these explanations already written and ready to go and then simply link to them from my reviews?

Using this journal as a supplement to my reviews was the original motivation to create it, but I think it can stand alone as a general reference as well. This will be a perpetual work in progress, at least for quite a while, since I will continue to add more entries as they come to mind. Needless to say, this is not a complete guide to the English language; you still need to learn the basics elsewhere. This is merely intended to assist those who possess otherwise sound mechanics with some of the more obscure and difficult-to-grasp rules of writing.

If I direct someone here from a review, then I will provide a direct link to the pertinent entry. However, for anyone who simply wishes to peruse the database for his or her own purposes, I have organized this to the best of my abilities. The entries are separated into two categories:

Basic Word Choice: This section contains examples of words that are commonly confused with one another. Some of them are homophones, while others are words with different pronunciations that have come to be used in the incorrect context.

General Grammar: This section will deal with punctuation, capitalization, and other broad issues.


Immediately below is an outline of the entries. Clicking on their titles from there will open them in a new browser window, and accessing them from the actual list farther below will open the entry in the current window. Use the Search box just above the entry list as an index; it will search the title and body of every entry for the word(s) you choose. The most recent five entries will display the date they were added.

Basic Word Choice
         "Affect vs. EffectOpen in new Window.
         "All right vs. AlrightOpen in new Window.
         "Amount vs. NumberOpen in new Window.
         "Capital vs. CapitolOpen in new Window.
         "Complement vs. ComplimentOpen in new Window.
         "E.g. vs. I.e.Open in new Window.
         "Farther vs. FurtherOpen in new Window.
         "Fiancé vs. FiancéeOpen in new Window.
         "It’s vs. ItsOpen in new Window.
         "Lay vs. LieOpen in new Window.
         "Lead vs. LedOpen in new Window.
         "Loose vs. LoseOpen in new Window.
         "Peak vs. Peek vs. PiqueOpen in new Window.
         "Prophecy vs. ProphesyOpen in new Window.
         "Than vs. ThenOpen in new Window.
         "Their vs. There vs. They'reOpen in new Window.
General Grammar
         "AppositivesOpen in new Window. *Note5* 6/16/07
         "ClausesOpen in new Window. *Note5* 2/14/07
         "ColonsOpen in new Window. *Note5* 6/17/07
         "Comma Splices and Fused SentencesOpen in new Window.
         "Compound ModifiersOpen in new Window.
         "Coordinate AdjectivesOpen in new Window.
         "DialogueOpen in new Window.
         "Discourse Markers and MoreOpen in new Window.
         "Double Predicates and Other Double ElementsOpen in new Window.
         "EllipsesOpen in new Window.
         "Nominative and Objective PronounsOpen in new Window.
         "Participial PhrasesOpen in new Window.
         "Personal TitlesOpen in new Window.
         "Relative ClausesOpen in new Window. *Note5* 2/25/07
         "Subjunctive MoodOpen in new Window. *Note5* 5/31/07

If you have suggestions for topics or have any other thoughts, then feel free to contact me.
#31. Affect vs. Effect
ID #324100 entered on February 25, 2007 at 2:56pm
#30. All right vs. Alright
ID #486654 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:48pm
#29. Amount vs. Number
ID #318060 entered on March 2, 2007 at 6:37pm
#28. Capital vs. Capitol
ID #306905 entered on March 10, 2007 at 6:37pm
#27. Complement vs. Compliment
ID #486652 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:49pm
#26. E.g. vs. I.e.
ID #314271 entered on March 10, 2007 at 6:59pm
#25. Farther vs. Further
ID #408649 entered on May 31, 2007 at 1:20am
#24. Fiancé vs. Fiancée
ID #306904 entered on July 21, 2012 at 5:25pm
#23. It’s vs. Its
ID #306910 entered on April 10, 2007 at 5:43pm
#22. Lay vs. Lie
ID #306908 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:56pm
#21. Lead vs. Led
ID #307719 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:50pm
#20. Loose vs. Lose
ID #367751 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:56pm
#19. Peak vs. Peek vs. Pique
ID #352725 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:50pm
#18. Prophecy vs. Prophesy
ID #408347 entered on February 15, 2007 at 1:00pm
#17. Than vs. Then
ID #318062 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:51pm
#16. Their vs. There vs. They're
ID #390703 entered on February 15, 2007 at 12:52pm
#15. Appositives
ID #515619 entered on June 16, 2007 at 10:27pm
#14. Clauses
ID #488112 entered on February 25, 2007 at 8:53pm
#13. Colons
ID #515742 entered on June 17, 2007 at 6:26pm
#12. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
ID #306938 entered on June 17, 2007 at 6:43pm
#11. Compound Modifiers
ID #407314 entered on February 15, 2007 at 1:08pm
#10. Coordinate Adjectives
ID #458319 entered on February 15, 2007 at 1:05pm
#9. Dialogue
ID #369110 entered on April 3, 2007 at 5:45pm
#8. Discourse Markers and More
ID #487375 entered on February 15, 2007 at 1:05pm
#7. Double Predicates and Other Double Elements
ID #486868 entered on June 17, 2007 at 7:38pm
#6. Ellipses
ID #308027 entered on February 15, 2007 at 1:07pm
#5. Nominative and Objective Pronouns
ID #306909 entered on April 7, 2007 at 2:03am
#4. Participial Phrases
ID #408975 entered on February 15, 2007 at 1:06pm
#3. Personal Titles
ID #370386 entered on February 15, 2007 at 2:52pm
#2. Relative Clauses
ID #490601 entered on February 25, 2007 at 8:52pm
#1. Subjunctive Mood
ID #512005 entered on June 16, 2007 at 5:39pm


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