Its and it's

Its is a possessive word.

The dog has had its breakfast. (NOT The dog has had it's breakfast.)

It's the contracted from of it is or it has.

Have you seen my phone? It's disappeared. (= It has disappeared.)

It's not worth reading. (= It is not worth reading.)

Whose and who's

Whose is a possessive word. It is used both as a determiner and as a pronoun.

Whose book is this?
Whose is this book?

Who's is the contracted form of who is or who has.

Who's your father?

Their, they're and there

Their is a possessive word like his or your.

Their daughter is my classmate.

They're is the contracted form of they are.

They're waiting for us.

There is an adverb of place.

There is somebody at the door.

Your and you're

Your is a possessive word like their and his.

Where is your umbrella?

You're is the contracted form of you are.

You're my best friend.

No one and none

No one (also written as no-one in British English) means the same as nobody.

I waited for hours, but no one came.

None expresses the idea 'not a single one'. It can be followed by of.

None of my friends wished me a happy birthday.

No one cannot be followed by of.

Any one and anyone

Anyone means the same as anybody. Any one means 'any single one'. It can refer to both persons and things.

Does anyone know where Jane works?
You can borrow any one book at a time. (NOT You can borrow anyone book at a time.)

Sometime, some time and sometimes

Sometime means 'one day'.

We will be visiting you sometime next week.

Some time means 'a considerable amount of time'.

It will take some time to repair the car.

Sometimes means 'on some occasions'.

Sometimes I wonder what life is all about.

Quite and quiet

Quite is an adverb of degree. It means 'completely' or 'entirely'. It is pronounced like 'white'.

You are quite wrong.

Quiet means 'silent', 'peaceful' and similar ideas. It is pronounced like 'diet'.

She is a quiet girl.

Whether and weather

Weather means 'climate'.

In May the weather is hot.

Whether is a conjunction used to introduce yes/no questions.

I asked whether he had come.

Later and latter

Later is the opposite of earlier. It is pronounced like waiter.

I will see you not now but later.

Latter means 'second'. It is the opposite of former. Latter is pronounced like 'matter'.

I think the latter part of the film is more interesting than the former.

Lose and loose

Lose is an irregular verb. It is pronounced like choose. Its past tense and past participle forms are: lost and lost.

Lose / lost / lost

You will lose your dog if you don't tie it up.

Loose is pronounced like goose. It is the opposite of tight.

This knot is loose and will soon come undone.

Manjusha Nambiar is an ESL tutor and content developer. Her blog GrammarEnglish gives free English Grammar lessons and printable grammar worksheets http://grammarenglish.org/english-grammar-worksheets.

[Edited by Administrator (admin) Wed, 06 Jul 2011, 02:50 PM]