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Blog posts : "Grammar"

arise, arose, arisen

arise is an irregular base verb (present tense)

arose is past tense

arisen is past participle (use with “has”, “had” or “have”)

You never know when another opportunity will arise.

Out on the lawn arose such a cladder.

She has arisen from her slumber.

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Prescience, Precedence

prescience- foresight

precedence- priority

You have to study all of your vocabulary list unless you have the prescience to know which words will be on the test.

Doing your homework takes precedence over going out to play.

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arise vs arose vs arisen

arise is an irregular base verb (present tense)

arose is past tense

arisen is past participle (use with "has", "had" or "have")

You never know when another opportunity will arise.

Out on the lawn arose such a cladder.

She has arisen from her slumber.

Read more

prescience vs precedence

prescience- foresight

precedence- priority

You have to study all of your vocabulary list unless you have the prescience to know which words will be on the test.

Doing your homework takes precedence over going out to play.

Read more

onomatopoeia

onomatopoeia- a word the imitates the sound it is describing.

meow, bang, crash

♦ Being from the Midwest, everyone I know says "pop" (for soft drink). To me, "pop" is an onomatopoeia, not a beverage, which is why I've always used "soda" instead.

palindrome

palindrome- a word (or phrase) read the same forward as backward

racecar, level, mom, dad, civic, radar, kayak

"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!"

"Madam, I'm Adam"

antonym vs synonym vs homonyn

antonyms- words with opposite meaning

fast/slow

young/old

♦Think of "anti" as in "not"

synonyms- words with similar (same) meaning

sick/ill

wrong/incorrect

♦Think of the "s" as in "same"

homonym- words that are spelled the same and sound the same but have different meanings

incense (per…

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evoke vs invoke vs provoke

invoke- to call upon (for inspiration) from another source usually a higher power; to cite as an authority.

When using invoke think of prayer or even magic.  You can invoke the memory of someone or some instance to make a point.

evoke- to call forth a feeling, emotion or memory

* Many American c…

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travesty vs tragedy

I think most people simply avoid using the word "travesty" out of confusion.

A travesty is a spoof or a parody of something.

"travesty of justice"

A tragedy is a disaster.

straight vs strait

something that does not curve is "straight"

a narrow passage between two bodies of water is a "strait"

set foot vs step foot

If you refuse to go into a location, you refuse to "set foot" inside,  not "step foot" inside.

shear vs sheer

shear- to cut;

You shear a sheep with a pair of shears.

sheer- to be see through also means to be without restriction

You need to wear a slip under a sheer skirt.


try and vs try to

If you are going to try something you are going to try to do it.

You should never say "try and" it should always be "try to".

Could you try to keep quiet?

I want to try to run faster than you.

tick vs tic

The blood sucking little creature that can cause Lyme Disease is a "tick".

Like the hilarious cartoon character "The Tick".

But a spasm is a "tic".

Like a not so funny "facial tic".

these ones

Yeah, stop saying that.

If you want to make "this one" plural just say "these" and drop the "one" do not change it to "ones" making the dreaded "these ones".

Which ones are they? They are these.

thank-you vs thank you

You say, "Thank you."

You write "thank-you" notes.

taunt vs taut vs tout, taught

My stomach is not "taunt". Even if it was tight it would be "taut".

The fact that my stomach is not "taut" gives reason for someone to "taunt" me.

If my stomach was "taut"  not only could you not "taunt" me about it but I would "tout" it.

Now I can say that I "taught" you the differences between…

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tattletail vs tattletale

Someone who tells is a "tattletale" having nothing to do with their "tail" but instead their "tale".

simplistic

simplistic is always meant in a negative manner to mean "overly simple".  Do not use it to mean that something is "easy" or "very simple". Nor should you use the word "overly" before simplistic as it is already implied.

He has a simplistic view of the world.

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shone vs shown

the past tense of shine is shone

The sun shone bright that day.

the past tense of show is shown

That movie was shown yesterday.

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