English Language FAQ

Why is spelling, grammar, and vocabulary important anyway?
Well, that's because we are a text-based RPG, which means that our story is completely dependent on writing. Your writing, our writing, and the writing of anyone who contributes to the story! High quality writing requires a good grasp on spelling, grammar, and word usage. We all know English can be rather confusing at times, so here are some frequently asked questions and answers to help you hone your writing skills. That being said, if you can think of other common mistakes or questions people ask, feel free to add to this list.
What's the difference between "defuse" and "diffuse"?
*Defuse is always a verb and means to remove the fuse from (an explosive device) in order to prevent it from exploding. It can also mean to reduce the danger or tension of a difficult situation. 
**Cracking a good joke is often an effective way to defuse an awkward situation.
*Diffuse can be an adjective or a verb, meaning spread out or thin, or to cause something to become more spread out or thin. It is also often used in science to refer to the intermingling of one substance with another via movement in a specific direction. 
**Oxygen molecules diffuse across membranes in the gills of a fish.
As you can see, these are two very different words, and should be used accordingly.
What's the difference between "phase" and "faze"?
*Phase can be a noun or a verb, referring to different stages of a process or to carry out something in a series of steps or stages.
**The moon is in its full phase tonight.
*Faze is always a verb, meaning to cause discomfort or disconcert.
**The crash did not appear to faze him.
Again, these are two very different words, and should be used according to their true definitions.
Is it "would've" or "would of"?
It's "would've". This is the proper spelling of the conjunction for the phrase "would have". "Would of" is grammatically incorrect and therefore should never be used. The same goes for "could" and "should".
What's the difference between "your" and "you're"?
*Your is the possessive form of "you".
**Your races are very entertaining.
*You're is a conjunction of "you" and "are".
**You're going to the race tomorrow.
The same principle applies to "their" and "they're", "it's and "its", "whose" and "who's". "Their" is the possessive form of "they", and "they're" is a conjunction of "they" and "are". "It's" is a conjunction of "it and "is", whereas "its" is the possessive form of "it". "Whose" is the possessive form of "who", while "who's" is a conjuncton of "who" and "is". 
What's the difference between "tragedy" and "travesty"?
* Tragedy is always a noun, meaning a terrible event or story about a terrible event. 
** The destruction of Nyon was a tragedy of historic proportions.
* Travesty can be a noun or a verb and refers to an absurd or false representation of something, or to terribly misrepresent something.
**The Senate's twisted punishments for those who dared oppose them was a terrible travesty of justice.
These words can actually be used interchangeably in some situations, but not always--so be careful! Try to give yourself time to review your poses before you send them.
What is the correct verb form to use in a conditional "if" clause?
This depends on whether the statement is referring to a hypothetical or unreal situation, or if it is referring to a probable situation that might have been true. If the former, then the plural form is always used. If the latter, then the normal rules for the use of plural and singular verb forms is used. 
* If Cybertron were real, I would love to visit it.
* I deeply apologize if I was rude to you.
When I do use "lay" vs. "lie"?
The general rule of thumb here is that if there is a direct object, then a form of "lay" is appropriate. If there is no direct object, then "lie" is appropriate. However, this can get tricky because the past tense of "lie" is "lay", not "lied". "Lied" is past tense of the homonym "lie", meaning to tell a fallacy. So while it sounds like you are using "lay" in these cases, you are actually using a form of "lie". 
* He has been lying in the repair bay for five megacycles. - No direct object, therefore, present participle tense of "lie" is appropriate.
* They laid the foundation for the new outpost on Clemency. - In this case, "foundation" is the direct object, therefore, past tense of "lay" is appropriate.
* She lay on the ground, motionless. - No direct object, therefore the past tense of "lie" (lay) is used, not the past tense of "lay" (laid).
Does it matter if my apostrophe is after or before the "s"?
Yes, very much so! An apostrophe before the "s" indicates the singular possessive form of a noun, whereas an apostrophe after the "s" indicates the plural possessive form.
* The Autobot's badge was red. - This sentence is indicating that a single Autobot had a red badge.
* The Decepticons' badges were purple. - This sentence indicates that a group of more than one Decepticon had purple badges.
Am I being too redundant or wordy?
Check over your pose. Are you using the same words over and over again? Try not to use more words than necessary to describe or refer to one thing. If the sentence is already clear, don't add more words to it. 
* Do you know where Garrus-1 is at? - The word "at" is not necessary and is being used incorrectly. It should begin a prepositional phrase, not end a sentence. The question is already clear enough with "where" and "is", but if one wanted to specify a reference to physical location, "at" could be replaced with "located".
What is the difference between "affect" and "effect"?
"Effect" is typically used as a noun to refer to a change in and of itself, whereas "affect" is a verb used to describe the act of changing. Now, "effect" can be used a verb too, but not in the same way as "affect". The verb form of "effect" means to cause or bring about. 
* Megatron's rhetoric affected many Cybertronians' view of society. - This sentence indicates that the rhetoric actively changed the Cybertronian populace's views.
* Megatron's rhetoric had a profound effect on many Cybertronians' view of society. - This time, "effect" is used as a noun and refers to the change itself.
* Megatron wrote "Towards Peace" with the hope that his words would effect change in the Cybertronian world order. - In this case, "to effect change" means to cause change. This is an example of the verb form of "effect".
When do I use "who" vs. "that" vs. "which"?
The basic rule for this is simple. If you are referring to a person, use "who". If you are referring to an object or thing, use "that". However, sometimes this can get confusing if the subject of the sentence is followed by some modifying phrase. Take a look back at the subject being referred to, and determine if it is a person or a thing. 
* Minimus Ambus is a load-bearing point-one percenter who chose to take on the mantle of Ultra Magnus. - In this case, "who" is appropriate, because the subject of the modifying phrase is a person, Minimus Ambus, not a thing. 
* Minimus Ambus wore armor that resembled Ultra Magnus. - This time, the subject is a thing, "armor". Therefore, "that" is appropriate.
So where does "which" come into this? The word "which" is used to introduce a non-defining clause, or a phrase that provides extra information, but does not diminish the meaning of the sentence if removed. 
* The Ultra Magnus armor, which was created by Chief Justice Tyrest, will be passed on to another load-bearer when its current wearer dies. - If you remove the "which" clause, the meaning of the sentence is still the same.
What's the difference between "ensure" and "insure"?
* Ensure means to make certain of something.
** Blast Off wanted to ensure that Sky Lynx would be rescued.
* Insure means to acquire or arrange for compensation in the case of a loss or damage to a person or property. This is where the word "insurance" comes from.
** In most states, it is required by law that all automobiles be insured. 
What's the difference between "discrete" and "discreet"?
* Discreet means cautiously with respect to one's circumstances, especially in order to gain an advantage or advance an agenda. 
** One must be discreet when attempting to avoid detection during an undercover assignment.
* Discrete means separate and distinct. 
** A series of discrete pings could be heard coming from the distress beacon.
What's the difference between "defiantly" and "definitely"?
* Defiantly comes from the world "defiant" and means openly disobedient or rebellious. 
** Starlock glared at her Decepticon captors defiantly.
* Definitely comes from "definite", referring to something assured, specific, certain, or decided.
** Grimlock is definitely larger than Ravage.
What's the difference between "loose" and "lose"?
* Loose is an adjective that refers to something that is not tight or strict.
** The malfunction was due to a loose cable in the control room.
* Lose is a verb that means to cease to have or be deprived of something or someone. 
** His age had caused him to lose his edge.
What's the difference between "principle" and "principal"?
* Principle is a noun that refers to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
** The necessity of order above all else was one of the principles that gave rise to the caste system.
* Principal is an adjective describing sometimes that is first or the most important. 
**Sentinel Prime was the principal leader of the Cybertronian military while the Senate was in power.
What's the difference between "than" and "then"?
* Than is used in comparisons. 
** Ravage is smaller than Grimlock.
* Then means at the time, or indicates something that followed or occurred afterward. It usually answers the question of "when?". 
** Blurr won the first race; then many victories followed.
What's the difference between "were" and "where"?
* Were is the plural form of the past tense "to be" verb. 
** The Decepticons were winning the battle at Polyhex.
* Where is an adverb that describes a place or position. 
** Hot Rod sat down among the ruins where his home used to be.
What's the difference between "quiet" and "quite"?
* Quiet is an adjective describing something silent, or not noisy or loud. 
** Swivel sometimes needed a quiet place to retreat to, away from the war.
* Quite is an adverb, and is used to describe something that is to the fullest extent, or to a fair or significant extent. 
** The ruins of what was once the city-state of Harmonex are quite depressing to look upon.
Commonly misspelled words
Here is a list of words I have often seen spelled wrong with the correct spelling first followed by common misspellings. 
A
* acquaintance – acquaintence, aquaintance
* accidentally/accidently – accidentaly
* acceptable – acceptible
* advisable – adviseable, advizable
* a lot – alot (must be two words), allot
* awful – awfull, aweful
B
* beginning – begining
C
* calendar – calender
* camouflage – camoflage, camoflague
* committed – commited, comitted
* concede – conceed
* conscientious – consciencious
* conscious – concious, consious
D
* deceive – decieve
* definitely – definitly, definately, defiantly
* disastrous – disasterous
E - H
* exceed – excede
* equipment – equiptment
* existence – existance
* fascinating – facinating
* harass – harrass
* humorous – humerous
* hypocrisy/hypocrite – hipocrit
I - K
* independent – independant
* jewelry (UK: jewellery) – jewelery
* judgment – judgement
* kernel – kernal, distinct from homophone "colonel"
L-O
* lightning – lightening
* maintenance – maintainance, maintnance
* memento – momento
* millennium – millenium, milennium
* minuscule – miniscule
* mischievous - mischievious, mischevous, mischevious
* misspell – mispell, misspel
* noticeable – noticable
* occasion – occassion
* occurrence – occurrance, occurence
P-Q
* perceive – percieve
* perseverance – perseverence
* plagiarize – plagerize
* precede – preceed
* privilege – privelege, priviledge
* pronunciation – pronounciation
* publicly – publically
* queue – que 
R-S
* readable – readible
* receive – recieve
* recommend – recomend, reccommend
* relevant – relevent, revelant
* repetition – repitition
* secretary – secratary, secretery
* seize – sieze
* separate – seperate
* supersede – supercede
T-Z
* tomorrow – tommorow, tommorrow, tomarrow
* upholstery – upholstry
* vacuum – vaccuum, vaccum, vacume
* weird – wierd
* whether – wether
* withhold – withold
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