English, like most languages,  include words that sound similar, or even identical – yet when written, they  are not spelled the same way.  Not  knowing the difference when writing them can cause problems.  Hopefully, this installment of the Editor’s  Corner will correct the worst offenders. 

An acquaintance recently unveiled a new line of women’s wear to sell online.  One of her shirts displayed this caption: “You’re better then they say you are”.  The majority of  the feedback she received was that there was a misspelled word on her new creation.  It was most unfortunate.

It should have read “You’re better than they say you are”.  The words then and than sound  almost the same when we speak them.  They  are, though, very different words when written, and we had better know the  difference. 

Then is  usually an adverb, though sometimes it’s used as an adjective.  In both cases, the word describes either the  action or the subject of a sentence or phrase:  We went to Gettysburg to visit the battlefield,  then stopped for lunch.   (The word  describes the action verb stopped.)  For an adjective, the word might be  expressed:  The Civil War  was America’s great tragedy, especially for the President then, Abraham Lincoln.  (The word then describes President.  One could also render it “ especially for  the then-President …” but a hyphen is needed.)

Than is a  conjunction.  It connects phrases or  sentences (among other conjunctions such as and, when, between, after,  etc.):  The exam took  much longer than I expected. 

At least the fledgling clothier  spelled “you’re” correctly on the shirt.  The error of mixing the words your and you’re is  another common written mistake.  The word your is a possessive pronoun, meaning that something belongs  to you:  Your  interpretation of Pickett’s Charge was impressive or I appreciate your thoughtful gift.

You’re is a  contraction, a combination of two words, you and are ,  shortened for fluidity:  We’ll go as  soon as you’re ready.  We employ many  contractions in our daily speech:  He’s, she’s,  we’ll, they’ll, it’s, isn’t, doesn’t, couldn’t, I’ve, we’re, should’ve, could’ve and  so on.  This problem continues with words  like should’ve – which is the contraction of the two words should have.  Sometimes it is incorrectly written should of.  Of is a preposition, not a verb.  The correct way  is:  I should’ve  told you where we were going.

It’s is another commonly misspelled  word.  It’s a tricky one, as the  apostrophe is only used in the word it’s when  using it is as a contraction:  It’s going to be a hot  day. 

When  using its as a possessive pronoun, we drop the apostrophe:  The map is the best option; we  need to follow its directions.   We only use the apostrophe for possessives when using a noun rather than  a pronoun:  a summer’s day,  Jane’s house, Shakespeare’s play.   When using pronouns, like ours, theirs, hers or its , we  don’t write the apostrophe.

Recently I spotted a landscaping  truck in a parking lot.  On its side the  various services were displayed, and among them the word “ boarders ” was  written.  It sounds just like the word borders ,  which was the word that should’ve been used.   Both words are nouns, but they have different meanings.  A border is an edge or a boundary:  The Mason Dixon Line has long  defined the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland.  A boarder is a person who pays for lodging  and meals (room and board) at a home, hotel, or hostel:  During the Great Depression,  many homeowners made ends meet by taking in boarders.

The next two words aren’t  identical in speech, but we see them misspelled in writing all the same:  the words lose and loose.  The word lose is a  verb.  To lose something means we can’t  find it or no longer have it:  I was frantic  to lose my wallet on the trip.   The word loose is usually an adjective (sometimes a  verb, adverb, or even a noun) and all of them imply the opposite of the words tight, or tied, bound, restricted or  careful:  This outfit is  too loose (adjective).  The dog broke  loose from the yard (adverb), so he’s on the loose (noun).  The Victorian  era attempted to put a stop to loose morals (an adjective implicating unrestricted  or a carefree, unrighteous morality code).   We often use the words lose and loose;  unfortunately, we often misspell them.

A final caveat is reserved for  the triple threat of the words to , too , and two.  Identical in  sound, these three little words are significantly employed in both speech and  writing.  The first one, to, is  a preposition that usually aids with direction:  We are going to Gettysburg.  The second, too, is  an adverb that denotes an excessive amount:  These prices are too high.  This meal is too much.   The word too also  means, well, also:  We want to go too.  The third, two, is the number, or integer, two :  We saw not one, but two sets  of identical twins.  Thankfully, we  don’t misspell the number two very often.   We do, however, forget to add that extra “o” when we think we are “to busy” or  “to late” – it’s too busy, and  it’s too late.

Hopefully, it’s  not  too late to correct ourselves.  The good part is that we only have to concern  ourselves with our written words – at least when speaking, it doesn’t make any  difference.

Let's  do away with misspelled words, in spite of the vagaries!  Pass it on!