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Language · 5 guides

Language errors

The words, spellings and phrases that trip up careful writers — with memory tricks that actually stick.

LanguageCommonly confused wordsAffect or effect? Then or than? A skimmable table of 45 commonly confused English words with meanings, examples and memory tricks that actually stick.LanguageCommon grammar mistakesThe grammar mistakes that actually cost you credibility, from comma splices to 'between you and I', plus the fake rules you can safely ignore. With fixes.LanguageCommonly misspelled wordsSeparate, definitely, accommodate, embarrass: a table of 50 commonly misspelled English words with the usual wrong spelling, why it happens and a memory trick.LanguageCommonly mispronounced wordsNuclear, espresso, February, often, GIF: which pronunciations dictionaries call nonstandard, which are fine, and the linguistics behind each one.LanguageMisused idioms and phrasesFor all intents and purposes, couldn't care less, begs the question, irregardless, literally: the real forms, their origins and what dictionaries say.

Why the same mistakes keep happening#

Most language errors are not about intelligence or education. They come from English itself: words that sound identical but are spelled differently (their, there, they’re), spellings borrowed from several languages at once, and fixed phrases that people learn by ear before they ever see them written. When a phrase is heard as “for all intensive purposes,” nothing in conversation corrects it. The error only shows up on the page.

Spellcheckers help with outright misspellings, but they are much weaker at catching a real word in the wrong place. Loose and lose are both correctly spelled, so a typo that swaps them sails through. That is why the guides in this section focus on pairs, patterns and context, not just lists.

How to use this section#

  • Proofreading something now? Use the big table in commonly confused words and search the page for the word you are unsure about.
  • Fixing a habit? Each guide includes a memory trick. Pick the three errors you make most and learn only those.
  • Prescriptive vs. descriptive: where dictionaries and style guides disagree (think literally or irregardless), we say so and link the sources, rather than pretending there is one rule.

Typos are a motor skill as much as a knowledge problem. If your errors come from fast fingers rather than uncertain spelling, deliberate practice helps: the free typing trainer from allthingsN has graded lessons for accuracy before speed.