Special Sub-Topic: Which Way is Right? Click Here To Play: Which Way is Right?

Homonyms cause problems for many writers. Which of the following sentences is correct? Looks easy? A great many writers seeking publication don't get it right.

They're taking their manuscripts over there.. "They're" is a contraction, meaning "they are". A worrying proportion of hopeful novelists use "There" instead. "Their" is a possessive, meaning "something that belongs to them". (It belongs to the series: my - your - his - her - its - our).

Which of the following sentences is incorrect? Looks easy? A great many writers seeking publication don't get it right.

He will loose his mind if he isn't careful.. "Lose" is a verb, always. "Loose" is usually an adjective, but is occasionally a verb. To "loose" something is the same as to "let something loose". It is not the same as losing (misplacing) something.

Which of the following sentences is NOT correct? Looks easy? A great many writers seeking publication don't get it right.

He is renown for his courage.. "Renown" is a noun. "Renowned" is an adjective derived from a verb. To say "He is renown for his courage" is as ungrammatical as saying "He is know (sic) for his courage".

Which of the following sentences is correct? Looks easy? Far too many aspiring writers get it wrong.

"We're going to town now," he said.. A speech tag that is not written as a full, stand-alone, sentence is part of the dialogue sentence it supports.

Which of the following sentences is correct? Looks easy? Too many aspiring authors get it wrong.

She lay down on the couch.. "Layed" is not a word. "Lied" means "told an untruth". "Laid" means "put down", as in, "She laid her coat on the bed". You might say "She laid herself down on the couch", but not "She laid down on the couch."

Which is the correct sentence? Looks easy? Too many would-be writers get it wrong.

The cats purr around my ankles.. It is incorrect to add an apostrophe when using s to form a plural. "Cat" is a common noun and needs a capital letter only if used to begin a sentence or if it occurs in a title of a book, film etc.

Which of the following sentences is incorrect? Looks easy, but too many would-be writers get it wrong.

He lead the way down the steps.. Some people seem to think that because read (pronounced "red") is the past tense of read (pronounced "reed"), then "lead" (pronounced "led") must be the past tense of lead (pronounced "leed"). This is not so. The past tense of "lead" is "led". "Lead", (pronunced "led") is a metal.

The words listed can fill the blanks in the sentence below, but which is the correct order? The ship__ will __ a letter, using his __ hand, and will then take part in the __ of marriage.

wright, write, right, rite. The word "wright" is seldom used now. It is echoed in the more common term "wrought iron".

Is the following sentence correct? He was going to the ball he wore a bow tie.

n. This is a 'run on' sentence. To be correct, it needs either a conjunction or punctuation, or both. He was going to the ball, so he wore a bow tie. Because he was going to the ball, he wore a bow tie. He was going to the ball; he wore a bow tie.

How many pages does the typical modern children's picture book (aka picturebook or picture story book) have?

32. Almost all modern picture books have 32 pages, with the text beginning on page 2 or 3.