Homonyms – Did You Sea/See Them Their/There?

 By Cindy K. Sproles

I love editors. They are a breed all their own. A bit OCD and leaning toward a perfectionist’s mentality, they are the eyes that make our writing spotless. Clean. Grammatically … spit-shined. Without them, many of us would be—well, let’s just say we wouldn’t look as good as we do. But if you want to have some fun with an editor, mess with a homonym and watch their eyes begin to roll.

Homonyms are, in some ways, tricky, but for the most part, it’s our lack of attention to them that causes us to look bad. Really bad. A writer’s fingers key letters faster than their brains work and it happens. The wrong word is chosen. Even Microsoft Word in all its glory can only search for misspelled words. In the case of a homonym, the words aren’t misspelled, making spell check useless. This is when due diligence is important.

I recently reviewed a critique at a conference. This is what I saw:

She called there home. Sent them notes. But it wasn’t until Meg knocked on there door to bare her indiscretions, that Jon realized her fear.

Those pesky homonyms reared their ugly heads and in this case, made an advanced writer look sloppy.

Some homonyms are easily confused, such as bear and bare, especially when portions of their meaning are similar.

Bear – an animal; give testimony (bear false witness); give birth

Bare – to support or uphold; naked; basic and simple

Then there are those homonyms that prove to be writer laziness or unwillingness to proof and correct.

For example: Their – possessive case of they; belonging to, and there – a place.

Whatever the case, homonyms are basic mechanics in writing and a vital part of the self-editing process. Practice due diligence and professionalism in your writing by watching carefully for homonyms.

Below is a short list of commonly misused homonyms. Check out

www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html for a more complete listing.

there – a place OR their – relating or belonging to

capital – most important OR capitol – a center of government

discreet – confidential OR  discrete – individual

threw – to propel by hand  OR  through – from end to end

too – also OR to – toward

pare – cut down OR pair – set of two

reign – sovereign rule OR rein – horse’s steering wheel

wreak – to inflict OR reek – to smell

elude – to escape OR illude – to deceive

then – past OR than – comparison

How many of you caught the error in the first graphic. To cease the day would be to stop it or bring it to an end. The correct usage is to seize the day, or to make the most of it.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.

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Homonyms are basic mechanics in writing and a vital part of the self-editing process. via @Cindydevoted (Click to tweet.) 

Cindy K. Sproles is proud of her Appalachian Mountain heritage and loves to share it with others. She is an author, speaker, and conference teacher, teaching across the country. Cindy is the co-founder of Christian Devotions Ministries, and she has served as a managing editor for two publishing houses. Cindy is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference, held each February at the Cove, Asheville, NC. She is married and has four adult sons and two grands.