Note from Audra: Kate Asbury Larkin is a friend of mine from my hometown of Opelika, Alabama. I have been truly inspired and completely entertained by her grammar lessons posted on Facebook this month. I read more email than you can imagine so I see grammar mistake pet peeves more often than most. I also write to large audiences for a living…..so I’m always hyper aware of what I type and mortified when I discover I’ve made a spelling error or grammar mistake. I was an International Business Major by the way…not an English Major!
Kate’s posts are witty, supremely hilarious, and educational. Here’s the first one…I’ll post others every day this week and perhaps beyond! Thank you Kate for letting me share!
Kate’s first grammar post from August 2, 2017: Since school begins this month, I’m going to give a grammar tip every day of August. I’m already a day behind so, I’ll start with two today…
To, too, two
This is really an easy one and most people don’t have problems with “to” and “two,” but “too” gets the shaft. “To” and “too” mean two totally different things (did you see what I did there?). “Too” means “also” or to excess (like too big or too fast) and, really, it doesn’t take any time to add another “o” to “to.” Try it.
Break and brake
Again, two totally different meanings. A noun or a verb, a brake is a mechanism used to stop a vehicle that is moving, i.e. the brake on your car. Break can also be a verb and a noun; as a verb, it means to shatter, to crack, to make unusable; as a noun, it means an action or action of breaking.
Now, don’t you feel smarter already?
