Common mistakes we make on similar-sounding words

There is nothing worse than seeing mistakes in something we read. There are some mistakes that keep appearing - take a look at these examples and you'll see what I mean:

• "You will need to visualise your goals, than you will get closer to achieving it."
• "Please don't loose my number!"
• "Please practice your sales pitch so that you will be more confident."
• "Relax your mind - take a deep breathe."
  

Sometimes these mistakes are even found in websites and communication material of well-known brands! Whether in casual or professional communication, would it not be wonderful if we make it a habit to use the right form of the word?

In this post, we will focus on identifying - and correcting - some common mistakes we tend to make in our written communication. (Note: We are using British English convention)

For this group of words, the words look the same, except for the use of ‘s’ or ‘c’. What I find useful is to remember that the word spelled with ‘s’ means it’s a verb (a ‘verb’ is simply an action). When it is spelled with a ‘c’, it’s a noun (a ‘noun’ is simply a thing). Here are some examples:

• Advise: e.g. Please advise me what to do next. - ‘Advise’ is an action!
• Advice: e.g. I need your advice on this matter. - ‘Advice’ is a thing!

• License: e.g. You are not licensed to operate this food stall. - ‘License’ is an action!
• Licence: e.g. He may be my boss, but it doesn’t give him the licence to do as he pleases! - ‘Licence’ is a thing!

• Practise: e.g. To speak good English, I will need to practise every chance I get. - ‘Practise’ is an action!
• Practice: e.g. Have you completed your English practice worksheets? - ‘Practice’ is a thing!

Similarly, for these words, the words look & sound the same, except for the use of ‘e’ . Again, it’s useful to note that when ‘e’ is used, the word becomes a verb (an action). Otherwise , the word becomes a noun (a thing).

• Believe: e.g. What I believe, I can achieve. - ‘Believe’ is an action!
• Belief: e.g. Our beliefs will determine how we run our lives. ‘Belief’ is a thing!

• Relieve: e.g. Priscilla was relieved when she passed her driving test. - ‘Relieve’ is an action!
• Relief: e.g. She sought relief from her work stress by taking morning walks by the beach. - ‘Relief’ is a thing!

• Breathe: e.g. You should learn to breathe well as part of your fitness programme.
  
• Breath: e.g. He may be look good and dress well, but his bad breath is a problem!
  

This last group of words sound the same, but their meanings are very different if you get it wrong! Read on to see what I mean:

• Lose: e.g. I lose control every time I hear her nag. - ‘Lose’ is an action!
• Loose: e.g. My daughter’s tooth became loose last night and made her scared! - ‘Loose’ is a description of something.

• Than: e.g. He is smarter than his colleagues. - ‘Than’ is used purely for comparison.
• Then: e.g. Sarah will attend the meeting then go for lunch. - ‘Then’ is used to link two actions in sequence.

When we make such mistakes in our written communication, it distracts your audience from the message you are trying to bring across. You’re not being fair to fair to yourself, don’t you think?

The beauty of it is that it CAN be avoided. You just need to make small adjustments. The difference between being good and being excellent is not massive - it is the small changes that leave a major impact.

So start making these small changes NOW - I promise you that you will appreciate the results.

I hope this post has brought you some value.


Make it simple. Make it powerful.

cheers,
Harasha Bafana