Common slip-ups

You're saying it wrong! These are the 10 most common grammar mistakes

Image: JESHOOTS.COM

We all slip up from time to time, but it turns out that some errors are more common than others, especially when it comes to reading and writing. Of course, there is no "unique" way to use language, but even if we've spoken English since childhood, there are still common "mistakes" that native speakers tend to make. Read on to see if you make any of these too!

Image: Nick Fewings

Ever received a message that reads, "I love they're new house"? Homophones are words that sound the same (or very, very similar), and this is the case with "there," "their," and "they're," which is why many native speakers tend to confuse them.

However, these three words have quite different meanings and functions. "There" can be used with the verb to be, as in "There's a problem with your order," or as an adverb to indicate place: "I found the cat; it's there!" On the other hand, "their" functions as a possessive, indicating ownership, as in "I love their new house." Finally, "they're" is a contraction of "they are," as in "They're a lovely couple."

Image: Markus Spiske

You've probably written or read something like "I think your right about that" or "I'd love to meet you're parents." These usages are considered incorrect, but don't worry—you’re not alone! Like the words in the previous entry, "your" and "you're" are homophones, meaning they sound identical when spoken.

To understand them better, remember that "you're" is a contraction of "you are" (pronoun + verb), as in "You're the best friend I ever had." Meanwhile, "your" is a possessive adjective, which indicates that something belongs to "you."

Image: the blowup

This case is different from the previous ones. The common confusion between "fewer" and "less" has nothing to do with pronunciation but rather with meaning, as both are quantifiers used for comparisons and indicate a smaller quantity.

The key is knowing which type of noun each word should be used with. "Fewer" is used with countable nouns (things you can count individually), as in "He made fewer mistakes this time." On the other hand, "less" is used with uncountable nouns (things you can't count individually, as they are considered a whole), such as in "You drank less water today than yesterday."

Image: Thought Catalog

Another case of commonly confused words is "affect" and "effect." In addition to their similar pronunciation, these two terms also have related meanings, making it even more challenging to distinguish between them.

"To affect" is a verb meaning "to cause a change" or "to influence." For example, you can say, "Cold weather affects my mood." On the other hand, "effect" is a noun that indicates the consequence of an action or change, as in "The storm had a devastating effect on the city." To simplify: "affect" is the action, while "effect" is the result.

Image: mohammad takhsh

Many times, we tend to say things like, "The teacher gave an assignment to Lily and I." While that's quite common, it's actually a grammatical error.

We know it’s difficult to tell them apart: both are pronouns used to refer to oneself. However, each has a different function. "I" is used as the subject of the sentence (the one performing the action), as in "Sarah and I went to the store." "Me," on the other hand, is used as the object of the sentence (the one receiving the action), as in, "The doctor told Lucas and me to drink more water."

Image: Jozsef Hocza

Another pair of very, very similar words: lose and loose. The key to distinguishing them is understanding what kind of word each one is.

"Lose" is a verb, meaning it always indicates an action (and can be expressed in the past, present, or future tense). For example: "I don't want to lose my keys" or "Joan lost the remote control." On the other hand, "loose" is an adjective, meaning it describes the characteristics, state, or condition of something, as in "I prefer loose pants; tight ones make me uncomfortable."

Image: René Porter

"I slept well last night" or "I slept good last night"? (Spoiler: it's the first one!) But why? While both "well" and "good" are used to describe something positively, they are different types of words.

"Well" is an adverb, meaning it describes the verb. In the sentence "She sings well," the adverb modifies the verb "sings." Meanwhile, "good" is an adjective, so it describes a noun, as in "She's a really good singer!"

Image: Ben Mullins

The confusion between "could have" and "could of" is so widespread that many of us sometimes don’t even notice it. This error usually occurs because of the way they sound when pronounced.

When said quickly in conversation, "could have" can sound like "could of." But there's only one correct form: "could have" ("could of" has no grammatical meaning). For example, "I could have done better on the test" is correct, while "I could of done better on the test" is not.

Image: Vladislav Muslakov

Ok, homophones really can cause chaos, and this is the case with the words "lay" and "lie," which also have similar meanings. We must warn you: If you say, "I need to lay down," you're officially guilty!

While both words have to do with position, "lay" requires a direct object (something being placed), whereas "lie" does not. In other words, "lay" means to put something down (it needs an object), while "lie" means to recline or rest (no object needed).

Image: Randy Tarampi

Finally, we have a word that has often been used incorrectly or exaggeratedly in recent times: "literally" — or just "lit" if you're really cool.

According to the dictionary, "literally" means something happened exactly as stated, without exaggeration. However, in modern slang, it's often used to emphasize or dramatize a situation. For example, you might hear someone say, "I literally died laughing." Of course, if they're saying it, then luckily, they didn't literally die!

EVEN THE MOST STRANGE NAMES MEAN SOMETHING

What Do The Names Of These 10 Martial Arts Mean?

Image: Uriel Soberanes

The most famous martial arts often have mysterious, exotic names, reminding us of their remote origins. But these disciplines had to start somewhere and their names, while unusual to us, have meanings that are more straightforward than we might believe. Read on to find out what karate, kung fu, or jiu-jitsu means.

Image: Jason Briscoe

One of the most famous martial arts in the whole world, karate’s physical aspects seek the development of defensive and counterattacking body movements. The themes of traditional karate training are fighting and self-defense, though their mental and moral aspects target the overall improvement of the individual.

The word karate is a combination of two Chinese characters (kanji): kara, meaning ‘empty,’ and te, meaning ‘hand;’ thus, karate means "empty hand."

Image: Marc Chong Seng

Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art that has become a global sport, gaining an international reputation and standing among the official games in the Olympics.

The term "Taekwondo" is composed of three parts as shown in the English spelling, though it is one word in Korean. Tae means ‘foot,’ ‘leg,’ or ‘to step on;’ Kwon means ‘fist,’ or ‘fight;’ and Do means ‘the way’ or ‘discipline.’

Image: Thao LEE

Kung Fu is a martial art practiced all over the world by people from many different cultures. The term Kung Fu is made up of two characters: the first, Kung, can mean ‘skillful work,’ ‘hard training,’ or ‘endeavor.’ The second, Fu means ‘time spent.’ Together they mean "time spent at skillful work, endeavor, or hard training."

Image: Thao LEE

Sipalki is a Korean martial art with Mongolian roots. It is a fast street self-defense system that uses all body parts including pressure points, grabs, hands and legs counter-attacks, immobilizations, and angles of movement.

The name is the translated expression of the Korean word Sib Fal Gui, which means "the eighteen techniques", referring to the 18 techniques that make up the core of the martial art.

Image: Nathan Dumlao

Krav-Maga is an Israeli self-defense systemknown for its focus on real-world situations. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques from Aikido, Boxing, Judo, Karate, Wrestling, and other martial arts.

Krav-Maga is a term in Hebrew, composed of two words; Krav, which means 'combat', and Maga, which means 'contact.’ So, the literal translation of the term Krav-Maga is "contact-combat."

Image: Hermes Rivera

Savate is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons, combining elements of English boxing with kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed, unlike some systems such as Southeast Asian boxing or kickboxing, which allow the use of the knees or shins. However, strikes to any part of the body are permitted.

Savate is a French word for "old shoe or boot". Savate fighters wear specially designed boots. A male practitioner of savate is called a tireur while a female is called a tireuse.

Image: Samuel Castro

A martial art with Soviet origins, Sambo is an internationally practiced combat sport developed and used by the Soviet Red Army in the early 1920s to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities.

The word sambo is an acronym of samozashchita bez oruzhiya, which literally translates to "self-defense without weapons."

Image: Richard Bustos

Judo is a modern Japanese martial art and combat sport, that first originated in Japan. Its main feature is its competitive aspect, where the objective is to either throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking the elbow or by applying a choke. The word judo means "gentle way".

Image: Nando García

Aikido is a modern Japanese martial art now practiced in around 140 countries. It was originally developed to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attackers from injury.

Aikido is often translated as "the way of unifying (with) life energy" or as "the way of harmonious spirit."

Image: Nolan Kent

The word jiu-jitsu derives from the Japanese Jū meaning ‘gentle’ and Jutsu meaning ‘art.’ Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a predominantly ground-based martial art, using the principles of leverage, angles, pressure, and timing, as well as knowledge of the human anatomy to achieve a non-violent submission of one’s opponent.