We’ve made it to the final installment of this series.
Today, we’ll look at words beginning with W and Y. Some of these word pairs seem self-evident. However, many people write like they talk a little too often. I’m sure you’ve seen it. So we’ll take a run at these to make sure everyone is clear.
Let’s get to it.
Wait for, wait on
We’ll start with one of those seemingly obvious pairings right away. Wait for means await or be in a state of readiness. Wait on means to serve.
Nancy was waiting for (not waiting on) Bob to pick her up for their third date.
Ways
This one might depend on where you live in the U.S. Where I’m from, you would definitely hear it used to refer to distance. Ways is incorrect. Use just way instead.
The beach was a long way (not ways) from town.
Weather, whether
Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere. Whether indicates a choice between alternatives.
The weather was perfect for a day at the beach.
Nancy couldn’t decide whether to wear her bikini or her one-piece suit.
We’re, were
These two words most often confused for each other when we write too fast and don’t proofread our work. Since we’re is a contraction for the words “we are,” read your sentence with the words “we are” to see if it makes sense. If it does, we’re is correct. If it doesn’t, use were.
We’re surprised Nancy and Bob have made it to their third date. They were even talking about going away for the weekend.
Where
Would you use where in place of that? If you would, stop it now.
I heard that (not where) Nancy gave Bob a chance because he fed her cat for a week while she was out of town.
Who, whom
These two words seem difficult, but they’re really easy to use correctly. First, who is used as a subject, and whom is used as an object. We all know it’s not so easy to tell which is which, though, which is why these words are a problem. So here’s a little shortcut.
Replace who or whom with a pronoun that ends with M, such as him or them. If him or them works in the sentence, then whom is the right word. If it doesn’t work, use who.
My husband thinks the word whom should just go away. He says it’s antiquated. What do you think?
Who’s, whose
Who’s is a contraction for who is. Whose is a possessive. The easiest way to make sure you have it right is to substitute “who is” where you’ve used either word. If “who is” makes sense, use who’s. If it doesn’t make sense, you have a possessive situation. Use whose in that case.
Who’s with Nancy at the beach?
Maybe it’s Bob, whose car is parked in front of her house.
Would of
Don’t use would of. Use would have instead.
Bob would have (not would of) asked Nancy out sooner, but he was secretly terrified of her.
Your, you’re
This pair of words can be especially troublesome. I always do a search to check them when editing, just to make sure I used them right in every case.
Use your to indicate possession. Use you’re as a contraction for you are.
Bob asked Nancy, “You’re at your house, right?”
We’ve reached the end of our journey with confusing words. Now you know which usages to avoid and which are good to go.
And Nancy and Bob have finally gotten together. I’m still not sure what the heck Bob sees in her, but to each his own I guess.
It was fun working through these words with you. If I missed some, let me know so we can all use them right.