by Victoria Bowen

Created on: March 09, 2008   Last Updated: March 10, 2008

Don't take this personally as in "you". The "you" is almost everyone. There are certain specific words that are used incorrectly, I've noticed, in all forms of writing, from Helium articles to articles by professionals in books and newspapers. Some of these are: your, you're; loose. there, their, they're; breathe, breath

The key to knowing when to use "you're" is to understand, it is a contraction of "you are", therefore you would not write, "This must be you are book". It would be "This must be your book". When proof-reading, look for these "mistakes". I put mistakes in parentheses because I have discovered that they occur most often when I write in a hurry. It's like my brain isn't taking the time to sort out the right words.

The word "loose" is used by mistake when trying to say, "He didn't mean to loose his virginity." It is, "He did mean to lose his virginity". The mnemonic to help your brain recognize which is the correct word to use: "Loose" is pronounced with a soft es and the es in lose is pronounced liked booze. "Loose" is you have a squirrel running loose in your kitchen" and "lose" would be used when you think, "I hope I don't lose my temper and get my shotgun".

"There", of course, is a place, as in "They're over there, trying to stop their mother from shooting the squirrel". "Their" is indicating more than one person has ownership of something. "They're" is, again, a contraction that if you say it out, it will let you know if you have used it incorrectly. "It's they are problem, not mine"

Don't hold your breathe, because you should be holding your breath. When looking over what you've written, the key to this misuse is, again pronunciation; when you "breathe", it sounds like grieve and when you hold your breath, it sounds like death. The more horrific the images you attach, the more likely you will be to remember them.

Images or other words are what mnemonics do to help us sort out what we've written when our brains start operating at warp speed. The choosing of ways to remember things is part of the fun of writing and, for that fact, in day-to-day life. Yes, I have arrived at that age where I arrive in a room in my house and have to stand there for a few minutes to try to remember why I'm there. I often go back to where I was to see if the same surroundings from which I left will trigger the reason why I went somewhere else. It usually works. No, it's not a form of dementia; it is part of being a human being with a brain that sometimes goes too fast and has to be controlled like a manic squirrel.

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