School time!

A few years back "Parrothead" started a thread about words and phrases that are commonly misused here on the forum... It was actually helpful for anyone interested in bettering their writing, especially ESL folks. Being a highschool English teacher, PH was well qualified for the task. I, on the other hand am sadly unqualified. Even so there are many simple mistakes that I see over and over again that stick out like a wrong note in a good song.

* Hanger vs. Hangar. (PH's pet peeve) The first is for hanging things on, the second is for storing aircraft.

* Apart vs. A part. Complete opposites. Many claim to love being "apart" of something without realizing it means they are separated from it while "a part" means they are with the in-crowd.

* a while vs. awhile. The first is a noun meaning a a span of time. The second is an adverb which qualifies an action.

* there, their, they're. They're all there in their places.

* To, Too, Two. The two of you can walk to the store unless it's too far.


Hopefully some folks who are more qualified than myself will contribute...

PH's original post:

ParrotHead wrote: Ok boys and girls,

Welcome to class! I hope you all had a wonderful summer, but it is now a new school year. Judging from recent posts, it is quite obvious that many of us have forgotten our studies, if we ever even learned them at all. In this thread we will address commonly confused, misused and misspelled words and phrases.

Our first lesson: Hangars vs. Hangers

Although these two words are pronounced in such a way that they sound identical, they are really two very different things.

Hanger- This noun is used to describe a device which allows people to suspend their cloths from a rod in their closets. They are usually constructed of metal wire, plastic or wood. Please see the photos below, inserted as a visual aid.

Hangar- This is also a noun. It is a generic term which describes a variety of buildings or enclosures used to store aircraft. These were usually constructed of a wooden frame and covered with a tent-like canvas in World War I. In the world of DogFight, these are the targets we attempt to destroy or protect in a Bomb The Base mission. Please see additional photos below.

Still with me? Good! Ok, here's the tricky part. When attempting to spell either of the words, keep these definitions in mind.

Hanger- h-a-n-g-E-r (that's the one in your closet). And....
Hangar- h-a-n-g-A-r (that's the targets in the game)

That's all for today folks. Please stay tuned for more lessons later and thanks for joining.

Next lesson: Loss, Lose & Loose... It'll blow your mind!

Lately I've seen a lot of people writing alot, rather than a lot.

{GI} E*A*G*L*E wrote: Lately I've seen a lot of people writing alot, rather than a lot.

Yep, I've seen alot of that too!




P.S.- I actually had to force the forum not to automatically correct that so I have no idea how people use it as often as they do.

i was expecting to see a Nazi grandma lol