trick words 1

For centuries, these words have tripped up speakers of English because they are exceptions to the rules, particularly the homonyms and other words that are simply confusing.See how well you know them.

continual, continuous, all together, altogether, foregoing, forgoing, a while, and awhile

Continual: repeated regularly and frequentlyword in context: She was annoyed when her computer suffered continual breakdowns. I was continually being interrupted by the telephone. TIP: Think off and on, especially in terms of nuisance.

Continuous: Extended or prolonged without interruption.Word in context: The car alarm wailed continuously for 15 minutes. Her migraines became continuous. TIP: a good mnemonic device to help you remember this is to think of a siren, which has a sustained sound. Siren- sustained-sound. The word you want for that has an "s" in it-continuous.

All together: everyone gathered.Word in context: We want to get our family all together.

Altogether: completely or entirely.Word in context: We are not altogether sure we can get our family all together for Christmas.

Foregoing: previously said or written; preceding.Word in context: Please ignore the foregoing instructions. The foregoing is an alert to watch for a memo.

Forgoing: This means "giving up," "abstaining from," "doing without."Word in context: He said he would be forgoing dessert. I think I will forgo the party and get a good night's sleep.

A while: this is a noun with its article "a."Word in context: We can stay for a while. TIP: if you use "for" or another preposition, use the two-word version: a while.

Awhile: this is an adverb modifying a verb meaning "some time."Word in context: We can stay awhile. Stick around awhile and meet the professors. Walk awhile and try out these shoes.

After studying the words above, use each one in the appropriate sentence below.

1. I am _ the trip during spring break to work on my paper for my history class.
2. She said she would be ready in __, so we will wait for her.
3. I am not _ convinced that his policies are the best ones.
4. The car horns honked off and on __ all night long.
5. Will we be __ in the same cabin on our trip?
6. She called me _ ago, wanting my opinion.
7. The __ is a preamble to the document I am writing.
8. The siren sounded __ for ten minutes and drove me crazy.

Finally, you can check your answers.

1. forgoing
2. a while
3. altogether
4. continually
5. all together
6. awhile
7. foregoing
8. continuously