E. El inglés: Los principales problemas ortográficos.

1. Secuencias homófonas^[1]

A lot

A lot = synonym of many
*Alot = incorrect

There / Their / They’re

There = adverb; a response to “Where?”
There is/are = phrasal verb to refer to the existence or presence of someone or something; a response to “How many?”
Their = possessive adjective
They’re = contraction of they + are

To / Too / Two

To = preposition used before a verb to express the infinitive form
To = a response to “Where?”
Too = adverb to express degree (too much, too little)
Too = synonym of also
Two = numerical pronoun: 2

Your = possessive adjective
You’re = contraction of you + are

It’s / Its

Its = possessive adjective
It’s = contraction of it + is; contraction of it + has

Where / Were

Where = adverb to express location
Were = verbal form in past tense of verb ‘to be’

Could have vs. *Could of

Could have, should have, would have = verbal forms in past perfect conditional
Could’ve = contraction of could + have
*Could of, *should of, *would of = incorrect

Then / Than

Then = adverb to express time; synonym of next
Than = with more or less in comparisons

Who’s / Whose

Who’s = contraction of who + is; contraction of who + has
Whose = adverb to express possession

Fewer / Less

Fewer = things you can count, like problems
Less = things you can’t count, like happiness

Accept / Except

To accept = a verb synonym of to take, to receive
Except = conjunction; synonym of but, not including

Who / That

Who = reference to people
That = reference to things

Loose / Lose

Loose = adjective opposite of tight
To lose = verb opposite of win
To lose = verb synonym of gone because misplaced

All Ready / Already

All ready = everyone or everything is prepared
Already = adverb of time; synonym of before now

I / Me

I = subject pronoun. It should always be used as the subject pronoun: “Jane and I went to the movies yesterday”
Me = object pronoun. It should always be used when functioning as an object pronoun in the sentence: “Mom cooked dinner for my siblings and me every night.”

Affect / Effect

To affect = a verb synonym of to alter
Effect = a noun synonym of outcome

Everyday / Every day

Everyday = adjective synonym of common, normal, ordinary
Every day = a combination of an adjective (every) modifying a noun (day)

All Right / *Alright

All right = correct for academic writing
*Alright = incorrect for academic writing (you may see it in print all the time, but it’s still considered incorrect for academic writing)