Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog entry, let's discuss the difference between Discuss vs. Discus. Do you know when to use each one? Most people will say they do know the difference. And yet, I see this mistake repeatedly in written copy ranging from school papers and published articles to blogs and social media posts. So, let's talk about it a little bit. And maybe by the end of this, we'll all be less confused. Discuss (with the double "s") simply

I had the privilege of doing a short Zoom presentation this week for students at the University of North Texas. The topic: your vs. you're. On paper, this might sound like an easy lesson to grasp. But this is the one grammar mistake I continue to see everywhere. It doesn't matter if it's included in a text message, social media post, a magazine or newspaper article, or in a class assignment – the confusion over when to use your or you're wages on seemingly without an end in s

Today, we have an Edit This® grammar lesson based on a specific question from one of our loyal readers! This reader would like to know the difference between Premier vs. Premiere. Do you know when to use each one? Premier and Premiere are examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. And they trip more people up than you think. So, here is the quick answer: Premier refers to someone or something that is the best or first in posi

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog, let's discuss the difference between Principal vs. Principle. Do you know when to use each one? Most of you might be saying, "Why, yes, I do!" But for others, it's not that easy – even for a veteran writer and editor. Principal and Principle are examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings – and they trip more people up than you think. In today's post, I'll be going

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog, let's discuss the difference between Bail vs. Bale. Do you know when to use each one? Most of you might be saying, "Why, yes, I do!" But for others, it's not that easy – even for a veteran writer and editor like myself. For example, I was editing a few articles at the Denton Record-Chronicle when I came across this sentence: "I’d probably jump on hay bails because that was really hard for me to do when I was littl

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog post, let's discuss the difference between Than vs. Then. Do you know when to use each one? Most of you might be saying, "Why, yes, I do!" But for others, it's not that easy. These are perfect examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings – and they trip more people up than you think. But don't worry. We are here to clear up the confusion. Than is used as a comparison.

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog post, let's discuss the difference between Here vs. Hear. Do you know when to use each one? Most of you might be saying, "Why, yes, I do!" But for others, it's not that easy. These are perfect examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings – and they trip more people up than you think. But don't worry. We are here to clear up the confusion. Here is used to refer to the

If you're a fan of the Edit This® blog or at least stop by to read our fun content every once in a while, then you know we have a fascination with homophones. And that fascination is warranted, too. Homophones are those words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings (roll and role, reign and rein, flair and flare, etc.). They are everywhere in the English language, and their subtle nuances are enough to trip up even the savviest of us writers and editors

Do you find yourself reading about grammar rules all day? Well, if you do, then this is the post for you! At Edit This®, we'd like to think we know our way around the English language and have placed all our grammar articles in one convenient post. Take a gander, and don't forget to let us know if there's a post you'd like to see in the future. Edit This Grammar Lesson: Flair And Flare When we use flair, we are referring to someone or something with a distinctive style or nat

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog post, let's discuss the difference between Flair and Flare. Do you know when to use each one? Most of you might be saying, "Yes, I do!" But for others, it's not that easy. These are perfect examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings – and they trip more people up than you think. Here is how to use Flair and Flare. When we use Flair, we are referring to someone or so

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog post, let's discuss the difference between Fair and Fare. Do you know when to use each one? Most of you might be saying, "Why, yes, I do!" But for others, it's not that easy. These are perfect examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings – and they trip more people up than you think. But don't worry, as we are here to clear up the confusion. Fair is the one option out

It's time once again for an Edit This® grammar lesson. Today, we discuss the difference between Dual and Duel because, to be completely honest, these homophones trip me up from time to time. Do you know the difference? First things first, you may be wondering what a homophone is. Simply put, these are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Read more of our grammar lessons about homophones here. In the meantime, let's dive in. When we use dual in

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. In today's blog post, we will discuss the difference between Altar and Alter. Do you know the difference? These are perfect examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings – and they tend to trip a lot of people up. But don't worry, as we are here to clear up the confusion. So let's dive in, shall we? When we say altar, we are referring to the elevated table or structure used as a cente

If you had to pick one grammar mistake that drives you up the wall when you see it, what would it be? I'll give you a few minutes to decide, but I already know what mine is. For me, it's when people misuse your and you're. Honestly, there isn't a day that goes by where I don't see someone confuse the two in a business document, blog, website page, text message, social media post, etc. Case in point, just before I typed this sentence, a good friend of mine who shall remain nam

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson, where we'll be talking about the difference between Buy, By, and Bye. These are perfect examples of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Do you find yourself getting confused? Don't worry, here's a quick rundown. Buy typically refers to when we acquire or purchase something with money. It can also mean to accept or believe, bribe, hire, etc. Related words include bought and buying. * Yo

Welcome to another Edit This® grammar lesson. I know what you're probably thinking: "Oh man, I've stumbled upon another blog post on the difference between your and you're. Make it stop!!" I have to agree on that point. There's a ton of information on the web on this topic, including a few funny memes and pictures like the one below. But with all due respect, if the general public weren't so confused over the difference between your and you're, then there wouldn't be anything

I did a grammar lesson two weeks ago on the difference between last and past. It turned out to be a popular post, so I've decided to do another one. Compliment vs. Complement – What's the difference? This is a perfect example of homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. As you can see, compliment is spelled with an "i" and complement is spelled with an "e." Homophones are strewn throughout the English language and can cause quite a bit

I recently wrote a volleyball game story for the Denton Record-Chronicle, and in it, I wrote that the losing team "... now has lost five of its last eight matches." Can you spot the grammar mistake? I didn't when I submitted the article to the copy desk for review. But there was an eagle-eyed editor who did and quickly replaced the word last with past. The new sentence read "... now has lost five of its past eight matches." Last vs. Past – What's the difference? As my editor