Write It Right: Homonym Fun!

Every night before I sleep, I pray to the grammar gods to grant me one more inch of knowledge. No matter how many times I look up a rule in STRUNK & WHITE or THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, I can't retain it.

Even though I call myself a writer, I sit and wait for someone to knock on my door and say, "The gig's up, lady. If you don't know the difference between lie and lay, get out of the game!"

So far, no one has shown up. This leads me to the conclusion that writers don't need to be lords or ladies of the Oxford comma or champions of the ellipsis.

Hi, my name is Ellen and I misuse grammar.

Lucky for me--and the rest of you!--there is the internet.

Today, we will practice with my favorites: homonyms.

First, it helps to know this:

The prefix  homo- means "one and the same."

The root graph means "word or story."

The root nym means "name or word."

The root phone means "sound."

Thus:

HOMOGRAPH: each of two or more words having the same spelling but different meanings (lead the parade/lead pipe; fly away fly).

HOMOPHONE:  each of two or more words pronounced the same but having different spellings or meanings (new/knew; red/read).

Both of these types of words are known as homonyms because they share something the same--spelling or pronunciation.

Fun with homographs:

You can bank on me putting this money in the bank.
He refused to back the horse with the broken back.
A tear rolled down her cheek after seeing the tear in her wedding gown.

Have your own fun with these: digest, type, match

Fun with homophones:

John won one rose for his sweetheart.
She stared into the sun as her son flew his kite.
"Wait!" she cried. "I don't want to see my weight today."

Try your fun with these: cell/sell; tea/tee; bare/bear

It's pretty near impossible to know how to use every word in the English language. Give yourself a break. Write because you love to write and let the Internet and grammar gods help you with the rest.

You are a fantastic writer because you can tell a story, not because you know the proper use of bare .

What are your grammar gripes? Let's talk.
Write on!

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