MEPX
Chapter 9 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Sound alike
  2. 2Look alike
  3. 3Meanings people get wrong
  4. 4Who is doing what
  5. 5Grammar-driven pairs
  6. 6Words misused at work
  7. 7Phrases people mangle
  8. 8British and American differences
  9. 9Checking yourself
  10. 10Why it matters

Chapter 9 of 10

Checking yourself

Tests that take seconds.

Substitution

Replace the word with its expansion or a simpler synonym. It is for it's, they are for they're, him for whom, count for fewer. If the sentence still works, the choice is right.

  • Read the sentence aloud; the ear catches what the eye skips.
  • Search a finished document for your own known problem pairs.

Keep a personal list

Almost everyone has five or six pairs they get wrong repeatedly. Writing those down and checking for them beats trying to remember every pair in this course.