NOTORIOUS HOMONYMS
Today I will review three pairs of homonyms continually misused in the blogosphere. None of the words are difficult themselves; people just use them incorrectly out of laziness or inattention.
Affect/Effect
A classic among misused homonyms, those guilty of switching affect and effect range from the amateur blogger to the professional journalist. The difference between the two words is simple when you get down to it; it’s simply a difference in describing action. The word “affect” is primarily used as a verb to explain the subject’s influence on an object.
- “The blizzard affected Jeff’s goggles, causing them to mist.”
- “Working in England affected Josh’s American accent.”
Notice how I employed affect as a verb to describe the influence or change of the subject. The word “effect” usually describes the state of the change. When used properly, we primarily use the word in its noun form.
- “Jeff complained about the effect the blizzard had on his goggles.”
- “We were all puzzled by the effect Josh’s trip had on his accent.”
I used examples from the previous sentence to highlight the difference between the homonyms. In the first pair of sentences, “affect” is the verb that explains how the subject of the sentence changed the object. In the second pair, the word “effect” serves as a noun for the change itself.
Principle/Principal
The easiest is way to differentiate these homonyms is to first address the most common mistake people make when they use them. A “principal” runs a school, and during their tenure at a school they may implement new “principles,” or rules, on the campus. This is an easy enough difference to understand: a principal is an administrative position in a school whereas a “principle” refers to a rule or guideline.It’s more difficult to separate “principle” from another meaning of “principal,” which is an adjective meant to describe something of utmost importance.
- “The principal concern right now is the school’s budget.”
Try to remember principal’s other meaning by recalling the noun. The school principal is one of the most important members of a school; you could say that a thing of great importance is “principal” in priority. Think of a principal line in a poem, or a principal idea in a discussion as salient examples of the adjective
in action.
Eminent/Imminent
These homonyms crop up less often that do the previous two examples, but they’re no less significant. The word “eminent” is an adjective that refers to something or someone of high respect or prestige. For instance, in the Catholic Church, people address those who serve as Cardinals as “your eminence.” It’s a word meant for distinguished things and individuals.
- “The eminent governor downplayed the praise from her audience before she spoke about the state’s pressing issues.”
“Imminent,” by contrast, is an adjective that refers to the immediacy of an event. In fact, you could think of the similarities between “imminent” and “immediate” as a means of remembering the meaning of the homonym.
- “The weather forecaster said to anticipate the imminent arrival of thunderstorms throughout the week.”
Thank you Mariana Ashley for the guest post.
