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 jewelryappraised or Theappraised 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 himapprised 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'sinterment 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 hisinternment 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 wateringordinance states that you can only water your lawn on Thursday orHe's being fined daily according to the yard cleanlinessordinanceare 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 theordnance 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 tobare my soul to my boyfriend and tell him that I cheated orI wished I had a sweater to cover mybare 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.Thebear chased me up the tree or He didn't think that the chair wouldbear 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 hisamoral qualities.

The word,IMMORAL, is an adjective and usually refers to a person's behavior.Herimmoral 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 havetaught all his letters by next weekor My grandfathertaught 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 nervestaut like the string of a bow orShe pulled the stringstaut 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 useSTATIONERY. It is a noun and it describes the particular paper that you use to write letters.My mother bought mestationery to use while I was at camporThe prince'sstationery displays the family crestare 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 isSTATIONED and when I was learning it, it helped me to remember that it didn't use the sameE as the verb form. So it wouldn't beSTATIONED/ STATIONERY. I hope it helps you!

Some examples of using the word would be:He chose thestationary position on the side of the hill orFrom herstationary 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 arout at the hands of the biggest competitors.

The wordROUTE is a noun and means a path used to get from one place to another.Route 66 is a famous roadorTheroute she planned to take was closed due to road work.