Mrs. Lamontagne

Can Versus May

Can is for ability:
"Can you drive a car with a standard shift?"

May is for permission or possibility: 
"You may borrow my car next week." (Permission)
"I may arrive late." (Possibility)

     Let's say that you are a three-hundred pound Olympic power-lifter, and you are boarding an airplane.  You see a petite, elderly person in front of you struggling to get a small case into the overhead compartment.  You ask the elderly gentleman, "Can I help you with your case?" and he replies, "Although I am not an expert in physics or physiology, I think you probably could lift this case," and continues struggling.  Now let's say you try it again, but this time you ask, "May I help you with your case?" and the gentleman gratefully replies, "Oh, yes! I do need a little help, and you are so kind to offer your assistance!" 

     Of course this example is only to make a point: that "can" and "may" have different meanings.  The verb "can" roughly means to be able to do something, while "may" in this case means to have permission to do it.  So if you ask someone if you can do something it's like asking, "In your opinion, do you think I am able to do this?" while if you ask if you may do it, it's like asking, "Would it be OK with you if I did this?"

Two wives are too many to have.

Each of the 'to' words is pronounced exactly the same.  We do not know why.  Each is spelled differently and has a different meaning.  That we can understand. 

• two: the name of the number 2 (dos, deux, zwei); acts as an adjective in sentences.

• to: a preposition meaning 'in the direction of' or 'towards' - to the store, give it to Jim, I'm going to bed; also part of the infinitive form of a verb - to swim, to ride, to write.

• too: an adverb with two different uses. 1) meaning more than enough, an extra amount - too much money, too difficult, too many people; 2) meaning also or as well as - I am going, too.  Give me some bread, too.

Homonyms created by contractions:

Some of the most commonly misused words are the homonym pairs made up of a possessive pronoun and a contraction.

• its: possessive pronoun indicating that something belongs to 'it'. "The dog broke its leash."

• it's: a contraction made up of it + is, in which the second 'i' is left out and replaced by an apostrophe ( ' )

• your: possessive pronoun indicating that something belongs to 'you'.  "Is this your wallet?"

• you're: a contraction made up of you + are, in which the 'a' is left out and replaced by ( ' )

• whose: possessive pronoun indicating something belongs to 'who'. "Whose gum is this under the desk?"

• who's: a contraction made up of who + is.  "Who's responsible for this mess?"

· Use there when referring to a place, whether concrete ("over there by the building") or more abstract ("it must be difficult to live there").

• There is an antique store on Camden Avenue.
• The science textbooks are over there on the floor.

· Use their to indicate possession. It is a possessive adjective and indicates that a particular noun belongs to them.

• My friends have lost their tickets.
• Their things were strewn about the office haphazardly.

(the two vowels together (ie) are friends)

· Remember that they're is a contraction of the words they and are. It can never be used as a modifier, only as a subject (who or what does the action) and verb (the action itself).

• Hurry up! They're closing the mall at 6 tonight!

Affect Versus Effect

It's actually pretty straightforward. The majority of the time you use affect with an “a”  as a verb (just remember if you flip the “A” upside down it makes v for verb), and effect with an e as a noun.

Affect

Affect with an a means "to influence," as in, "The arrows affected Ardvark," or "The rain affected Amy's hairdo." Affect can also mean, roughly, "to act in a way that you don't feel," as in, "She affected an air of superiority."

Effect

Effect with an e has a lot of subtle meanings as a noun, but to me the meaning "a result" seems to be at the core of all the definitions. For example, you can say, "The effect was eye-popping," or "The sound effects were amazing," or "The rain had no effect on Amy's hairdo."

Good Versus Well

The general rule with good and well is that well is an adverb and good is an adjective. What this means is that well modifies verbs, adjectives and other adverbs and good modifies nouns.

Good

Good is an adjective, which means that it modifies nouns.

This is a good movie

What a good idea!

You speak good English

Good can be used with copular verbs (that is, verbs which express a state of being, such as to be, to seem, and to appear), but it is still an adjective modifying a noun, not a verb.

This movie is good

His ideas are good

Your English is good

Well

Well is an adverb, which means that it modifies verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Did the movie do well at the box office?

It was a well-defined idea

You speak English well

Well can be used as an adjective to mean "in good health."

You look well

I don't feel well

 
The Bottom Line

The confusion between good and well comes from their similar meanings, and a general confusion between adjectives and adverbs. Take a moment to think about what the word is modifying: if it's a verb, you'd do well to use well; otherwise, the good choice is good.