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Grammar Police Monday - What Do Band-aids, Lemonade & Nurse's Aides Have In Common?

They're all a source of comfort. And they all contain a homophone. 

Yep. We're covering more commonly confused words this week...


Aids, aides, and -ades all sound alike, but their meanings are different.
  • Aid can be a verb meaning to help or assist or a noun meaning something that helps or assists. It can also be used when referring to a person, but aide is preferred. 
  • Aide is an assistant, such as a nurse's aide or a senator's aide.
  • And -ade is a suffix, often used in names of fruit drinks. 

(Then, of course, you have Kool-aid, which breaks the rule. But that's because it's a brand name.)

Here are three more: air, err and heir.
  • Air is what we breathe. 
  • Err means to make a mistake. 
  • And an heir is someone who inherits something.

Three more: allude, elude and illude.
  • Allude is a verb that means to casually or indirectly refer to something. Ex: Her husband alluded to her odd behavior and his suspicions, but he didn't accuse her of infidelity outright.
  • Elude is a verb meaning to cleverly avoid capture, but it can also mean to escape understanding. Ex: I stared at the test question for a solid ten minutes, but the answer eluded me. 
  • Illude is a verb that means to deceive or trick. (think: illusion)

That's all I have for today. I hope you found the lesson helpful. 
Thanks for visiting. :) 

Comments

  1. This was a good ade so I don't heir when something alludes me!

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  2. I see allude and elude used incorrectly often. Good list!

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  3. ...Are you alluding to the fact that I err in my manuscripts and require your aid? :P Great post!

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  4. The allude/elude/illude are the tricky ones for me. ;) Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Thanks for these posts, I stumble on a few of these from time to time if I'm not careful. (:

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  6. These are turning into some of my favorite posts! I'm going to be so smart! Love these! :D

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  7. "Illude" Hmmm... that one "eluded" me! I love this post! You're grammar lessons are very helpful. I get so excited by homonyms!

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    1. Wow - thanks. :D
      If you like these, then you'll like GPM. I'll be covering commonly confused words with a good portion of my posts. :)

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  8. This was great! Especially the allude, elude and illude!

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    1. Thanks! This is just the tip of the iceberg. It's amazing how many confusing words there are in the English language. LOL :)

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  9. As always, your lessons hit on something useful! Thanks for teaching me all the grammar I never learned!

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  10. The elusive illusion :) Did I use that correctly? You're so good at this stuff!

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    1. Ha! I think so. LOL
      Thanks for visiting. :)

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