Editor's Corner

Is it really Monday today?

Last week’s e-mail about pronunciation brought some interesting responses. I’m with many of you—I think the writer of the article could stand to be less bossy and she needs to get out more. Paraphrasing what a coworker said, “If I pronounced forte as fort, my friends would correct me and think I’d lost it.”

Today we’ll do some homonym pairs and trios, which are pronounced the same regardless of spelling. Note: Words covered in earlier lists have been removed, for example: one and won, rap and wrap. From Spelling, Vocabulary, and Confusing Words:

wade to walk through water
weighed to have put on a scale

wail mournful cry
whale marine mammal

waist narrowest part of the human torso (usually) [KC – Good thing she threw in the “usually.” ]
waste to squander or spend uselessly

wait to be available or ready
weight quantity of heaviness or mass [KC – What is this? The list of nagging homonyms? Weighed, weight, waist…I get it!]

waiver a relinquishment of some right
waver to feel indecisive; vary

warrantee person who is given a written guarantee
warranty written guarantee
manatee large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows
[KC – What a great mascot! The San Diego Sea Cows!]

way direction
weigh to measure mass [KC – You’ve got to be kidding me.]

weak lacking strength
week seven days starting with Sunday

wear to carry on the body
where in what place?

weather state of the atmosphere in a location
whether if

weave to interlace thread or yarn to make a fabric
we’ve contraction for we have

were past tense of are
we’re contraction for we are

wheeled moved on wheels
wield to exercise power; to handle a weapon effectively

which what one?
witch sorceress

while during or in the time that
wile a trick to fool, trap, or entice

whine complaining cry
wine fermented grape juice that becomes an alcoholic beverage

whined past tense of whine, complained
wind what one does to keep a watch ticking on time (pronounced like kind); air current (pronounced like sinned)
wined to supply with wine

whirled spun rapidly
world planet Earth
whorled shaped like a coil

who’s contraction for who is
Example: Who’s at the door?

whose possessive case of who
Example: Whose coat is this?

wood tree trunk material
would expressing an intention

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/01/florida-manatee.html

Kara Church
Senior Technical Editor
619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773
www.symitar.com

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