Common Errors Ch 03

Errors occur every day in the manner in which words are used. Let's talk about some of the most common.

APPRAISE / APPRISE

APPRAISE

is a verb that means to estimate the value of an item or a person. The value doesn't always have to be tangible. Some examples of this are:

I need to have my grandmother's jewelry

appraised

or The

appraised

value of the land is much less than the client thought.

The word,

APPRISE

, is another verb and means to give people information about a situation.

It's my job to keep him

apprised

of the situation

is a good example of how to use this word.

INTERMENT / INTERNMENT

These are another set of words that are confused with each other.

INTERMENT

is a noun that means burial.

Grandpa's

interment

will be at Woodlawn Cemetery

is a proper way to use this word.

INTERNMENT

is a noun that means jailing or imprisonment and an example of this is:

Josh will complete his

internment

at Stark County Prison.

ORDINANCE / ORDNANCE

The word,

ORDINANCE

, is a noun and means a rule that is set forth as a standard to be closely followed.

The watering

ordinance

states that you can only water your lawn on Thursday

or

He's being fined daily according to the yard cleanliness

ordinance

are two examples of how to use this word.

ORDNANCE

is a noun and refers to military weapons or equipment, such as guns, ammunition, etc. An example of the proper use of this word would be:

Ray was going to get a good price on the

ordnance

from the Army/Navy store.

BARE / BEAR

BARE

is an adjective or a verb that means naked, visual to the naked eye or to strip naked. Some examples are:

I decided to

bare

my soul to my boyfriend and tell him that I cheated

or

I wished I had a sweater to cover my

bare

arms.

The word,

BEAR

, is a noun or a verb. As a noun, it is an animal and as a verb, it means to support.

The

bear

chased me up the tree

or

He didn't think that the chair would

bear

the weight of the fat woman.

AMORAL / IMMORAL

Another commonly confused set of words.

AMORAL

is an adjective and it means not having any morals. An example of the proper use of this word would be:

The General was hired because of his

amoral

qualities.

The word,

IMMORAL

, is an adjective and usually refers to a person's behavior.

Her

immoral

behavior put the custody of her children at risk.

TAUGHT / TAUT

The word,

TAUGHT

, is the past or future past tense of a verb and in present tense, means to teach.

I will have

taught

all his letters by next week

or

My grandfather

taught

me how to fish

are two examples of how to use this word.

TAUT

is an adjective that means tight. It can describe an actual object, such as a rope or it can describe an invisible object such as your nerves. Examples of its usage are:

The promise of danger drew his nerves

taut

like the string of a bow

or

She pulled the strings

taut

and picked up the duffle bag.

STATIONERY / STATIONARY

I can honestly say that this is on the top ten list of confused words.

When you write letters to your family or friends, you use

STATIONERY

. It is a noun and it describes the particular paper that you use to write letters.

My mother bought me

stationery

to use while I was at camp

or

The prince's

stationery

displays the family crest

are two examples of the use of this word.

The word,

STATIONARY

, is an adjective and describes the non-moving state of an item. One of the verb forms of this word is

STATION

E

D

and when I was learning it, it helped me to remember that it didn't use the same

E

as the verb form. So it wouldn't be

STATIONED/ STATIONERY

. I hope it helps you!

Some examples of using the word would be:

He chose the

stationary

position on the side of the hill

or

From her

stationary

post, Gwen sold furs to the Indians.

ROUT / ROUTE

ROUT

is a noun or a verb and can be used to describe complete dominance or the act of completely dominating someone or something. An example is:

The football team suffered a

rout

at the hands of the biggest competitors

.

The word

ROUTE

is a noun and means a path used to get from one place to another.

Route

66 is a famous road

or

The

route

she planned to take was closed due to road work.