definitions to help

[My Erotic Trail]

except and accept


I accept your proposal to drag me into bed by the hair.


We will use all the toys in the box except the feather duster.


there, does that help?

I use to have a hard time with this one! (~_*)

 

[RhymeFairy]

desert and dessert

very basically...

The Sahara is a desert.

A banana is for dessert.

Gotcha ~

Sheepishly raises hand ... I was caught, red handed ~

Thank You ~

 

[My Erotic Trail]

Gotcha ~

Sheepishly raises hand ... I was caught, red handed ~

Thank You ~

red hand?
from spanking your muse <grin


Originally Posted by wildsweetone
desert and dessert

very basically...

The Sahara is a desert.

A banana is for dessert.

and deserted? deserting?

 

[MyNecroticSnail]

i meant the 'you' generally and probably should have used my brains and left it out altogether. my apologies.


can we not make this thread useful, interesting and fun for those of us who need the help? i intended it to be useful but didn't think to try making it fun using puns. would you be willing to share some time and some of your good skills here?

I would but my horse is hoarse, and his vocab is coarse of course, and I am made out of wood.
~Homer

 

[wildsweetone]

I would but my horse is hoarse, and his vocab is coarse of course, and I am made out of wood.
~Homer

What a tragedy, to imagine Mr Ed hoarse.

Wasn't it the horse that was made of wood?

 

[LeBroz]

Doing a Great Job Here!

.
Thanks WSO for putting up this thread. While most {I hope} know the basics, it is depressing at times to see talented writers making so many fundamental mistakes. I'm sure most never even look at the Writer's Resources. Your thread provides a valuable service, especially for the new writers that keep arriving here with so much to learn {or relearn}. And perhaps some will eventually look over some of the very informative pieces in the Resource center.

I saw Angeline's comment about 'lose' and 'loose' and I can relate. I would add 'loss' to the mix. It's easy to see how this confusion can arise. Just look at the 'oo' sound that is in 'moon' or 'noon' and without thinking {or looking in the dictionary}, carry this reasoning over to mispronouncing 'loose' this way.

It's too easy to dismiss writers' problems with usage or spelling by telling them to check out the Writer's Resources, or Strunk and White, or even a dictionary. Some need a mnemonic to learn a lesson, such as:

That girl's so loose she'll lose her virginity. She slapped her boyfriend when he said, "No big loss."

But all the mnemonics in the world won't solve the problem of incorrect usage/spelling unless the reader and writer work to understand the points being made.
.

 

[RhymeFairy]

.
That girl's so loose she'll lose her virginity. She slapped her boyfriend when he said, "No big loss."
.

This one is good !!

 

[vampiredust]

This thread is useful to both new and experienced poets. We all slip up sometimes when writing poetry and threads like this serve as useful reference tools. Not all of us may be as well educated as others, MNS. WSO should be congratulated for her initiative and enthusiasm.

 

[Liar]

our and are

I worked with a company once, trying to tweak a voice recognition software to handle English with Scandinavian and German accents. "Our" vs "are" must have been the single most tricky word to get right. Especially for zee Germans. It took five times as many sample recordings until the program started to hear the difference.

 

[champagne1982]

BUT a conjunction linking words, clauses and/or phrases.

BUTT to strike, thrust or shove against, often with head or horns (one of the myriad definitions of the word butt as taken from WordReference.com English Dictionary).

 

[My Erotic Trail]

has some one yet touched on


can not
cannot
can't

or does
does not
doesn't

when should there be a difference of (does not and doesn't)(can not and can't)

 

[wildsweetone]

I can't see a comment I posted yesterday.

MET
has some one yet touched on


can not
cannot
can't

or does
does not
doesn't

when should there be a difference of (does not and doesn't)(can not and can't)

can't and doesn't, don't, didn't, daren't, etc are called 'contractions'

mostly i find contractions are used in dialogue (speech). we use it in our day to day language and it is found in good dialogue in prose writing. occasionally i'll see it in poetry.

you use contractions where they fit/portray the character who is speaking.

i.e.

"I can't find my lucky red sox!" screeched Ginny as she raced through the house grabbing her baseball cap from the hook and snatching a twinkie from the bench. "I don't know where I've left them!"

Can you imagine Ginny saying more sedately, "I can not find my lucky red sox" or, 'I do not know where I've left them"?