Common Word Mix-Ups That Make You "Wander"

We all come across typos. We've all witnessed the forgotten period, and that seemingly endless run-on stuck in the middle of a paragraph. As regular readers and writers, it's to be expected. But something I've come to expect much more often than any of these things are common word mix-ups made by both beginning and experienced writers alike. And I'm not just talking about there, their, and they're. Check these guys out:

• "loose" vs. "lose" --> loose : adjective ; lose : verb

Though to be fair, switching these up could also be a typo.

Examples of Correct Usage:
Timmy thought he'd tied his shoes, but the second the laces came loose he knew he must have done something wrong.

I know Dad thinks he would never lose his wallet, but since it's not in his pocket at the moment, he's not really convincing Mom any.

• "your" and "you're" --> your : possessive; you're : contraction for you are

Apostrophes can be tricky suckers. Similar to its vs. it's.

Examples of Correct Usage:
Matters of the heart is a subject I've never fully understood. But when it comes to your heart, I could learn all day and never get bored.

"You're hopeless," she huffed. But I begged to differ; I hadn't given up hope quite yet.

• "accept" vs. "except" --> accept : verb; except : preposition

What's the difference? They both sound like "x".

Examples of Correct Usage:
I've come to accept who I am, despite my faults. But I'm still finding others aren't so accepting.

Except for that one kid, everybody (and I mean everybody) gets their picture in the yearbook. Even me.

• "dessert" vs. "desert" --> dessert : noun; desert : noun

Wait a sec, if they're both nouns, then what's the problem? One's a tasty treat, while the other is an arid landscape.

Examples of Correct Usage:
The waiter plops the dessert menus down in front of us, and I don't know about my date, but if those prices I'm reading are right, then I think I'm going to puke.

It was hotter than Hades, I was hallucinating, and I was desperately trying to drink my saliva. Yep, I was sure without a doubt that we had entered the desert.

• "wonder" vs. "wander" --> wonder : verb; wander : verb

Yes, but typically you wonder with your mind and wander with your body (hey, I said typically). This is one of my all-time favorites (I know, I'm very strange). You'd be surprised just how many times I've come across this one.

Examples of Correct Usage:
He could tell she was wondering whether he'd invite her over to study, but he just couldn't find the words.

"There's just something about that cat," my grandma says. "He just keeps wandering off."

The worst of it is spell-check can't help you with these guys (ah, tricky!).

Anybody else have any word mix-up horror stories? Or maybe you've grown as a reader/writer through some word mix-up experiences of your own. Feel free to share in the comments!
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Photo Credit: striatic