There are some words in the English language that are misspelled or misused pretty often, and they aren't always differentiated by definition due to similar spelling. It's very easy to mix some of these words up; it happens to everyone at some point! I'm really passionate about English and grammar, and that's the reason I've thought about becoming a teacher (though I'm not sure if I'll pursue that route or not). So without further ado, here are the most common words, and how to use them in an accurate manner.
You're: This is a contraction of you are. An example of this word in a sentence is: "You're beautiful." A good way to decipher between this spelling or the word "your" instead, is that any sentence where you must use the word you're instead of your, you can always say, "you are," in place of "you're." Therefore, you can say, "You are beautiful," but you can't say "Your beautiful," unless you are describing something, like a characteristic. You can say, "Your beautiful smile lights me up," because you're talking about something else, but you cannot end a sentence without picking something else to describe.
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There: In a sentence, the spelling of this word describes a place or positioning, whether literal or figurative. "You do NOT want to go there," or "Set your bag over there, by the door."
Their: This word describes two or more people, and possibly their belongings. It is generally used in a sentence to describe something, and it's basically the plural version of your. "Their cats hate being held," or "Those girls live with their grandmother across the street," are both good examples of how to properly use this word in a sentence.
They're: Here's another word that is the plural form of you're, and is properly used in sentences such as, "Those chocolates are full of caramel, and they're so beautifully decorated," or "They're going to their senior prom this evening."
Since: Not to be confused with sense, which is like the five senses of your body, since is a word that describes a time period, or as a synonym for "because," "considering," or "after all." Sentences such as, "Since you've been around, my life has become ten times better than it used to be," or, "I haven't seen her since we graduated college," are great ways to use it.
Definitely: This word is used to agree, or to add more confirmation to a statement. "I will definitely be there," and "Definitely; count me in," are two excellent sentence-usage examples. Also, the word defiantly is a form of the word defiance, meaning to defy, or to go against something. Spelling the word definitely, like defiantly, will not give you the correct message you are trying to convey! You may have to correct your auto-correct on this one :)
Cease: Means to relinquish, let go of, or stop. It's brother, "seize," sounds similar, but means to grasp hold of or to capture, so technically it's the opposite, or an antonym of the word you want to use. It can be used in sentences such as, "You never cease to amaze me," and "She asked her boys to cease their Nerf gun fire and eat their dinner."
Too: This word is sometimes confused with its neighbor, to. "To" is used referring to a place, like, "You always have someone to come home to, if you need a friend." Too means additionally, also, or as well, and is often found at the end of a sentence or phrase. You'll probably use it to say, "You can come too," or "Bring me some chocolate too, please."
Where: This word is used to ask about a place, or location, and is occasionally mixed up with "were." Sentences in which where is used may include, "Where do you live?" or "We go where no one else has gone before." "Were" is a past-tense word, and is generally used to document connections or events, especially in sentences such as, "We were best friends ten years ago," or "We were going to go to the beach last week, but we had to cancel because of the rain." Another word that where gets mixed up with, is its cousin, "wear," which can refer to something becoming worn out, or an article or object that someone has on. "The rug is really starting to show wear," or "You know that one shirt that you love to wear? Can I borrow it sometime?"
Affect: A good key here to differentiate between this one, and "effect," is to remember that affect is usually an action word, "His anger towards her affected her in the worst way possible." However, effect is usually a subject or noun, and a few examples are "The special effects made the play even more incredible," or "The negative effects from this medication that I'm taking are not outweighing the benefits."
It's: This guy sometimes gets confused with the word "its." He doesn't cause as much difficulty as his friend, who occasionally can cause a little more trouble. However, a pretty understandable way to tell which one is the best to use, is to know that using the word "its" is to restate an object/something you stated before, "The cat licked its paws clean," and the word "it's" is a contraction of "it is."
Hopefully this is helpful, especially with the start of this next semester!
