Common English Grammar Mistakes: Role and Roll

Homophones and Homonyms

Homophones are words that sound like another when spoken but have different meanings and use, different spelling and origin.

Homonyms are words that are spelled like another but of a different meaning.
(e.g., bank= a place where you keep money,
bank= the edge of a river.

Words from the first group are the most common misused words in the English language when writing.

Most of the mistakes I see in writing on websites and blogs are words that are used quite often in the English language. Most of them fall into the homophones category. I see a lot of blogs that contain these common mistakes. Needless to say after a while I quit reading the blogs. So this is a reminder to all bloggers READ what you post and look for these common mistakes. I'm sure your readers will be very thankful.

Word for the week :Phantomnation

Learn a new word every week to expand your vocabulary.

erotem: noun; The symbol used in writing known as a question mark...?

Phantomnation: "rare" noun; a perfect example of a ghost word--a word that exists only in a dictionary and has never actually been used.

neologism: noun ; coining of new words, new word or meaning

enormity: noun;heinousness, evilness, wickedness, monstrous, great size

abscond: verb; to run away and hide, depart hurriedly, avoid arrest.

samizdat: noun; clandestine publication of banned literature

anomaly: noun; something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified; deviation from the normal or common order, or form, or rule; a person who is unusual

obfuscate: verb; To make something obscure or hard to understand. ( Like the tax codes)

quintessence: noun; purest and most perfect form, manifestation, type, or embodiment

Lipogram: noun; A piece of writing that avoids one or more letters of the alphabet. From Greek lipo- (lacking) + gram (something written).]

triskaidekaphobia: noun; Fear of the number 13.

anomalous: adjective; irregular, deviant, abnormal

diatribe: noun; a bitter verbal attack or speech

ennui: noun; mental weariness, boredom

aficionado: noun; devotee of a sport or pastime

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Role and Roll

These homophones seem to be tripping up a few blog writers for some reason even though they sound alike they do have different meanings.

role: noun; a character portrayed by an actor. "Ghandi" was Ben Kingsley's greatest role. "Hamlet" is a difficult role for most actors.

Roll can be a verb meaning to push something along the ground so that it rotates.
Roll out the barrel. Roll up the carpet.

Roll can also be a noun describing something that has been rolled up. Pass me that roll of carpet. Was it a sweet roll you baked today?

2 comments:

D.A.S. said...: First, I'd like to thank you (with a big friendly hug^^) for putting my blog under the 'My Friend's English Learning Blogs'. I was really touched.

Secondly, I would like to say this is really a great post you have here. It's true that a lot of people commit mistakes in English because of homophones and homonyms. In my country, another reason that contributes to this mistake is 'texting' or sending SMS messages where people usually shorten the spellings of words to be able to meet the character limit. This post will be of much help to those who are confused with the correct spelling of words. Thanks for this!; April 19, 2009 8:58 PM
Mini said...: hey hi Shirley, I absolutely love your blog. I think it's extremely helpful with short and very helpful information. It's easy to read and I'm bookmarking it. I will visit again and again and again. Thanks for visiting my site. :); April 27, 2009 2:25 PM