Brandy Ryan and I put together a site out of our frustration from people continually screwing up homophones, the most basic grammar you learn in elementary school. This was a quick project. It’s a single-serving site and meant to be taken as satire, however we’re legit: learn your damn homophones.
About
Logan Leger is currently a computer engineering junior at LSU and an alumnus of LSMSA. He is a cofounder of NewAperio — the makers of Twoschedule, GreenKonnect, Supportbreeze and Newstwit. He often tweets at @lleger and you can find him on facebook and forrst. He's also the curator of LYDH with Brandy Ryan.Search
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Hello!
I was quite gladdened to come across your site, “learnyourdamnhomophones.com” Quite instructive! However, I have one correction.
While “affect” is always a verb, “effect” can in fact be a verb or a noun. The noun form is the most common (“What effect will this comment have on his site, I wonder?”) However, you can also effect things: it essentially means to cause something to happen (“My snarky comment will hopefully effect a hasty edit to the site.”)
I’d like to make it clear that I am in no way criticizing your site, which existence, I assure you, I greatly appreciate. I am only hoping to hone the intellectual razor you have brought to the internet.
I’m aware that affect and effect can be used as both nouns and verbs, but I’m trying to stress basic grammar usage to people who would otherwise hardly use them in their alternative context. I’ve been notified of this by others, and I’ll certainly take this suggestion under advisement for version 2, but I’ll probably just add a clarification: effect is mostly a noun; affect is mostly a verb.
And thanks for your comments. It’s refreshing to have constructive criticism.
Overall I liked your website. However it produced a negative affect in me when it said that “Effect is a noun; affect is a verb”. IMO you should effect the necessary changes to correct this inaccuracy.
And while you’re at it, you might want to add faze/phase and mute/moot.
Thanks for your comments; see above for my comment on effect/affect.
We’re going to add more homophones in the future. I’ll add those to the list for consideration.
somebody posted this on their facebook account and I’m happy I clicked. thanks for creating it! i hate all the idiots that surround us.
Uh oh, I think Phillip called me out on my “affect is always a verb” comment. Though it’s accented differently, he’s right about affect’s usability in meaning attitude, mood or reaction.
Here’s another: want vs wont.
By the way, are lose and loose really homophones? One is said more like “looz” and the other “loos…”
They’re not really homophones, but they’re near homophones. It’s a common mistake, but LYDH is strictly for true homophones.
Here are a few more for the list. I see them often in my work as a magazine editor. I find it amusing that these words are often misused by supposedly erudite writers holding forth on such lofty topics.
• reign (to hold royal office, rule over) | rein (to keep under control, restrain) | rain (obv.) “As the reigning arbiter of all things grammatical, he found it impossible to rein in his penchant for correcting others.” • heirs (beneficiaries of an estate) | airs (affected or condescending manner) “Once the trustees announced that she was among the heirs of her uncle’s vast fortune, she began to put on airs and flaunt her wealth.” • palette (range of colors, thin board on which an artist mixes paints) | palate (roof of the mouth, appreciation for flavors) | pallet (portable platform or skid) “The dining room’s color palette evokes warmth and richness, and the custom-built cellar showcases the host’s discerning palate for wine.” • flair (instinctive aptitude, stylishness) | flare (a gradual widening, a burst of light) “Her flair for fashion extended to the tassels, embroidery, and flared sleeves of her peasant blouse.” | “The pyrotechnics expert showed a flair for shooting off starbursts and flares.”
Have fun with your site. One note: no need to resort to rage and profanity about this issue. It’s been around since long before we were born, and with the rise of the Internet and messaging and the decline of grammar education it’s worsening and will continue to do so. No need to burst a blood vessel about it. If you need a further outlet for your disgust, I suggest you read “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” (if you haven’t already); and there are myriad other books and newspaper columns out there on the subject. Best regards, P@MELA
Thanks for these suggestions. Brandy and I are reviewing submissions tonight and should have some significant updates soon. There’s no rage involved with LYDH; frustration, sure, but no rage—the profanity is there for the humor.
Hey, Logan:
Re: your profile, I don’t believe “swagger” is an adjective (unless it’s U-slang). I like your site and all the cool stuff you’re into. Since you’re a big tweeter, how do you suggest that a non-techno-weenie cut through all the layers and get the most out of Twitter? I’m a member but haven’t used it yet. I’m not likely to use it to chat to friends so much, more to follow media (rather than celebs). Any thoughts? (Sorry for posting this here. I would’ve tweeted it to you, but I don’t know how.)
P@MELA
Haha, yeah swagger is mostly used here as a slang term.
As for getting into twitter, I recommend looking at Newstwit. Yes it is a shameless plug, but we built it for people like you: non-techies looking to filter through the insane amount of information on Twitter.
Thanxxx. I’ll check it out. P@MELA
Hay, Logan: Your well cum. Re: rage/profanity, ohhhhhhhh, then ha-ha-ha-ha! P@MELA
I noticed that you forgot to highlight “dual” and “duel”. I am extremely bothered by this mistake.
Although they’re not really homophones, maybe explaining the difference between suppose and supposed… I see people all the time saying “What was I suppose to do?” Aggghhh!!!
Here’s one that annoys me: conceited vs. conceded. Two very different meanings. Another thing that irritates me more than anything is definately vs. defiantly. Not a homophone, but I still feel like it deserves some attention because it’s so common.
Apple bungled insure & ensure on a recent press release. And, this probably isn’t a common thing, but my washing powder tells me it features ‘soft and gentile cleaning’