The capitalization of this holiday isn’t the grammar/writing issue. It’s the spelling!

Of course, like any other holiday, both words are capitalized:

Independence Day

Or if written with the informal name: July 4th.

Spelling independence is a little more of an issue.

You may find long lists of rules for ent/ence vs ant/ance if you begin a study on this–many of which are so confusing and detailed (emphasis on the fourth syllable from the right, use ent!! okay..that’s stretching it…) that an average person cannot decipher them much less memorize them.

When rules are too detailed and confusing, a writer is better off memorizing spellings or using spell check.

I will leave you with two simple rules for ent/ence that I think are actually helpful:

1. Use ent/ence (not ant/ance) if the root you are adding it to ends with c or g:
    diligence, innocent

    This rule actually makes sense because if you used ant/ance, the c would then say kuh (innocant–innokant) and the g would then say juh  (diligant–dili-gant).

2. Use ent/ence if the root you are adding it to ends with d:
    independent

Hope this helps–and hope you have a happy July 4th!

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I can remember learning about affect and effect in school–and being completely confused all of the time. Is that how you feel? Well, get ready to be relieved of your affect/effect phobia!

Generally speaking, you can count on Affect being a Verb and Effect being a Noun. So how does this help you?

That will not AFFECT the outcome–Verb meaning influence or alter

Her job did not AFFECT her college studies—Verb meaning influence or alter

What is the EFFECT of her test scores?–Noun meaning result

This will have no EFFECT on my performance—Noun meaning result

So…just remember RAVEN–and you will always use the proper AFFECT/EFFECT! Remember Affect is a VERB and Effect is a Noun.

Remember
Affect
Verb
Effect
Noun

Note: For you non-nemonic lovers, there is also another way to remember that effect is the noun. If you can remember that an, a, & the are noun markers, that is they mark the noun, telling you that a noun is coming soon. Some programs call these articles. Anyway, if you can remember that that thE is a noun marker then you can probably remember that thE ends with an E and Effect begins with an E: thE Effect.

Teacher Tip: Students often think that the word and, which is a coordinating conjunction, is a noun marker (or article parentheses). Therefore, I like to word the three neon markers in a different way so that the AN is not up against the coordinating conjunction AND. So try teaching the three noun markers with these two things in mind:

1. Order them in this way: and, a, and the. This will keep the AN and AND from being against each other, which makes students think that AND is the noun marker.

2. Also, if you write them on the board, or you are making your own worksheets (or in my case, writing my own English books), do not use the word AND at all in writing. Instead use the symbol: an, a, & the.

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1. People lie; things get laid down—sort of works, but it’s not just people who lie—the sun lies on the horizon; the city lies asleep in the early morning hours; the animal lies in the middle of the road….you get the idea
2. People lie; things get laid down—but it still didn’t help with the sit/set and rise/raise dilemma
3. The past tense of lie (as in yesterday I lay down to take a nap…don’t I wish!) is the same as the current tense of lay (as in I am going to lay the book on the table)—poor kids!
4. And so many more!

1. Consider a rhyme or mnemonic like the one above to reinforce the I’s in sit, rise, and lie—when we remind students that I do those things—and they have I’s in them, we are helping them remember that these do not have objects following them.
2. Do NOT start with lie. It is by far the most confusing of the trio—and I try to do that one after rise and sit (with fewer exceptions, etc.) are established in students’ minds.
3. DO start with sit. Set has the same tense for all—present; past; and past participle. Today I set the table; yesterday I set the table; before that I have set the table.
4. If you are teaching from a Christian standpoint, Jesus and God are prime examples of rise/rose/has risen and raise/raised/has raised:
1. Jesus will rise from the grave. God will raise Jesus.
2. Jesus rose from the grave. God raised Jesus.
3. Jesus has risen from the grave. God has raised Jesus.

5. Suggested order: sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay.

The post Rise/Raise and Sit/Set and Lie/Lay Tips appeared first on Character Ink.

1. Lie has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
1. I lie in bed at midnight wide awake.
2. Yesterday I lay awake half the night.
3. Before that I had lain down when the cat jumped on me.

2. Lie means to stretch out in a flat position—anybody or anything can lie, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT laid)
1. She lies down with a headache every day.
2. The sun is lying low.
3. She has lain down for a nap.

3. Lay must have an object following it—something that it is being laid down.
1. Lay your book on the table.
2. He laid his money down.
3. She has laid the towels in the sun.

1. Base form: lay—I lay the kids’ clothes out every day. (Tricky: lay is the base form of lay (to put something down; it is also the past tense of lie—to stretch out by yourself or itself.)
2. Past simple: laid—Yesterday I laid the pink pants out for Jon.
3. Past participle: laid—Before the dog came in, I had already laid his bones out.
4. Third person singular: lays—He lays the book down every night at ten.
5. Present participle/gerund: laying—I am laying the swim suits out to dry.

1. Again, do sit/set first (all same base word for tenses of set!) or rise/raise (since many people get this pair correct even if they do not know sit/set and lie/lay very well).
2. Do rise/raise after sit/set or sit/set after rise/raise (saving lie/lay for last).
3. Memorize acronym/rhyme to cement the fact that all three with I’s are the ones that are done by someone or something (not to something).
4. When you get to lie and lay, to lie first all by itself until it is memorized. Then do lay. (I am starting to wait a week between the two with lots of practice on lie during that week before moving on to lay.)

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The prefix ir is an interesting prefix for a number of reasons:

1. It means not. There are many prefixes that can mean not, such as de, a, un, non; however, ir also means not, which is interesting to me because I don’t think it sounds like it should mean not! To me, it sounds like it should mean again or repeating or something besides not!

2. It only comes before base words that begin with R. In other words, you do not put ir in front of most any word to mean not, like you often do with un or non. 

3. This isn’t really interesting–but I like to say it whenever I teach about prefixes. A prefix is a letter or group of letters that you “affix” (which is why it and suffixes are called affixes) to the beginning of a word. It is important to remember that a prefix does not change the spelling of the base word. That is especially crucial in spelling ir words because the ir precedes an R already–and you must keep the base word’s spelling, so when you add this prefix to a word, you will ALWAYS have two R’s in a row: irregular, irresponsible, etc.

4. It is most often put before a word that is should never come before: regardless. We hear people constantly say irregardless, which is, of course, an oxymoronic word because less means without (or not) and ir means not. I guess that makes it sort of like using a double negative! You do not put ir before regardless because regardless already means without regard. With ir in front of it, you are saying not without regard, I guess…. Anyway, irregardless is not a word. So don’t use it. Okay? 🙂

Note: It is correct, however, to use irrespective, which is a substitute (some of the time) for when you are tempted to say irregardless.

However, there are many base words that begin with R that can have ir put before them to mean NOT or the opposite of what the base word means before ir is added to it.

Here is a list to get you started. Notice how if you take the ir off, you have a positive base word (or one that means yes–yes regular, yes responsible, yes revocable, etc.) However, with the ir, the word means not—not regular, not responsible, not revocable, etc.

Remember: You know more than you think you know!

And remember: Use what you already know to learn even more!

The post WORDY WEDNESDAY–Prefix ir appeared first on Character Ink.

Oh my word! My tips and tricks for peek, peak, and pique aren’t nearly as cute and memorable as the ones Lisa Rivera has created in the picture above! In our curriculum materials, and on the web, I don’t have access to that kind of graphic representation of words. I might have to look into that in the future!

In the meantime, her picture says a thousand words–okay, well really just three:

1. Peek
    a. Verb meaning a secretive look–And then I am going to peek into the package.
    b. Noun meaning a small glance–She took a peek into the package.
    c. Thus, the two EYES in the middle of the word peek in the graphic. (We do have that in our books, but we just tell it not show it–showing it is so much better!)

2. Peak
   a. Verb meaning to reach the highest point—They said that the dancer was going to peak at just the right time.
   b. Noun meaning the highest point—They reached the mountain’s peak.
   c. Adjective meaning highest point—They were at their peak performance.
   d. Love the graphic with the A being a high, mountainous point. 

3. Pique’
   a. Verb meaning to arouse curiosity–They really tried to pique’ our attention with those pictures.
   b. Noun meaning resentment–He slammed the door in a fit of pique’. (Use it interchangeably with “quick anger.”
   c. Noun or adjective meaning nubby fabric–He wore his pique’ bright yellow polo shirt.
   d. The verb is the most common meaning; and thus, we see the cat at the bottom of the q in the picture because “curiosity killed the cat.” CLEVER!

If you don’t have that great picture above, here are ways to remember these three:

1. Peek–has two e’s, and we have two eyes and peek with our eyes
2. Peak—not two e’s OR They have a lEAK in the pEAK of their roof.
3. Pique’–Ends with que—question begins with que

Happy Wordy Wednesday! If you like our blog, share it with others! Put the FB link on your timeline, so others can learn with Language Lady each week! Smile…

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In my complete language arts books, I have a weekly lesson called “Wacky Words.” When I began writing language arts books for a different publisher fourteen years ago, I did not have this section in my books. 

Then I began testing…and testing…and testing…my materials. As I tested them, I discovered that even mature writers have difficulties with homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings). Then along came message boards, email groups, and FaceBook, and I discovered EVERYBODY has trouble with homophones. From these experiences, the Wacky Word lessons were born.

This week I was thinking of the plays that our daughter is directing for a community youth program called The Young Playwrights. I have seen the word playwrights before, but this week, it struck me that we do not have that word in our Wacky Word lessons with write, right, and rite.

Then, of course, I thought more (thinking is what I do!) and wondered why, if the children are writing plays, the term is not playwrite. So…that takes us to this Wordy Wednesday/Wacky Word post!

The picture above gives us some idea of why the word is playwright and not playwrite. The picture is of a wheelwright shop–that is, a shop in which one crafts wheels.

Though the word “wright” is most commonly associated with crafting with wood (wheelwright), the word “wright” is used in other contexts to indicate crafting or creating as well:

playwright
wheelwright
shipwright
millwright
wainwright

In that way, a playwright is not simply “writing” a play, but he or she is “crafting” something–perhaps he or she is even meticulously creating the script, like a wheelwright meticulously creates wheels.

So our four “Wacky Words” for “Wordy Wednesday” can be remembered with the following tips:

1. Write–to pen or scribe the written word

2. Right–correct; opposite of wrong; from the fight, might, light family, phonetically speaking

3. Rite–a ritual or ceremony; a rite of passage (This makes the Rite-Aid stores all spelled wrong–unless they mean “aid” for a ceremony or passage, which I don’t think they mean. I think they want to say that their stores give the “right” kind of aid/assistance.)

4. Wright–a crafter, especially of wooden creations    

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Are you confused by antidote and anecdote–like I have been a lot of the time?

Remember these tips:
~antidote–has anti in it, like an antibiotic–so it is a treatment, like an antibiotic

~anecdote–a little tidbit of info (an/ec/dote—not ECT….just EC...I often misspelled this one!)

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It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s…..you want to say it is! 

The post When You Want to Say It Is! appeared first on Character Ink.

Anybody out there tired of seeing people give other people adviSe (zuh–wrong one!) and trying to adviCe (suh–wrong one!) them? Yeah, me too.

Generally speaking, when you have two word choices with C and S as their options for spelling, it is because you need two completely different sounds:

-adviCe—The c is here because this word needs the soft sound of C (suh)

-adviSe–The s is here because this word needs the hard sound of s (zuh)

Remember: When a c is followed by an e, i, or y, it usually says its soft sound–suh.

Also remember that when a multi-syllable word has se in it as the end of a syllable, it often makes the zuh sound: please, wise, fuse, close, etc. (though certainly not always).

The real key is that there ARE two spellings–and one is the noun and is soft (adviCe) and one is the verb and is hard (adviSe).

When you set out to adviSe somebody, be sure you have enough wisdom to give sound adviCe….. 🙂

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