3 mistakes learners make with homophones, each one named and explained.
Words that sound identical are chosen by what they do in the sentence, never by ear.
The explorers walked threw the jungle.
The ear hears the right word, and the hand writes its twin.
Question. The explorers walked blank the jungle: through, threw or thorough?
A common answer. Threw
The answer. Through
Why. Through means from one side to the other. Threw is the past of throw, and thorough means careful and complete. They sound close but do different jobs.
Say what the word must mean in this sentence, then check the spelling matches that meaning.
'The weather will effect the match' or 'a big affect on the result' is chosen.
They differ by one letter and sound almost identical in ordinary speech, and both are about something changing.
Question. The weather will ___ the match.
A common answer. effect
The answer. affect
Why. Affect is the doing word here: the weather does something to the match.
Affect is the action, effect is the result. If 'the' fits in front of it, use effect.
'Their going to leave there coats over they're' is chosen.
All three are identical in speech, so nothing you hear can tell you which one to write.
Question. ___ going to leave ___ coats over ___.
A common answer. Their going to leave there coats
The answer. They're going to leave their coats over there
Why. They're is they are, their shows belonging, and there is a place.
Try 'they are'. If it fits, it is they're. If something belongs, it is their. Otherwise there.
WAJD spots these patterns in your child's answers and names the one behind their wrong answers, instead of just marking them wrong.