Understanding homophones is an essential part of mastering the English language as it is also an integral part of an individual writing skill. Homophones are pairs of words that sound the same, but have distinctly different meanings and different spellings. Just as you have it in bee (insect producing honey) and be (an auxiliary verb(
We shall take a close look at some common homophone errors:
INCORRECT : The musician is a popular artist
CORRECT: The musician is a popular artiste
*An artist is a person who paints or draws pictures while an artiste is a professional entertainer such as a singer or an actor.
INCORRECT : John, the youngstar will perform at the concert.
CORRECT: John. the youngster will perform at the concert.
*'youngster' means 'a young person.'
INCORRECT : Moses, the songstar is a Nigerian.
CORRECT: Moses, the songster is a Nigerian.
*'songster means a person who sings skilfully.
INCORRECT : He has been arrested. I don't know what his faith will be.
CORRECT : He has been arrested. I don't know what his fate will be.
* 'fate' means destiny while 'faith' means belief.
INCORRECT : On that faithful day, he had an accident.
CORRECT : On that fateful day, he had an accident.
* 'faithful means trustworthy while fateful involves an important, especially bad, effect on future events.
