Witch Words Are Which?
The air’s getting crisp, the candy aisles are chaotic, and every writer knows what that means: spooky season is here — the one time of year we can slip “witch” into a headline and get away with it.
But while everyone else is debating costumes and carving pumpkins, I’d like to summon something scarier: the curse of confusing words that sound the same but aren’t.
Homophones — words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings — are grammar’s trickiest little gremlins. They sneak into even the most careful writing and cackle as they make you look like you meant your when you needed you’re.
So, grab your cauldron, writers. Let’s mix up a potion of clarity and finally get these “witch words” straight once and for all.
Witch vs. Which
Let’s start with the obvious.
Witch: a spell-casting, broom-flying individual, often spotted near black cats.
Which: a pronoun used to specify one or more items from a set.
Example: “Which witch cursed my copy?”
If you can swap it with what one, it’s which. If it wears a hat and owns a cauldron, it’s witch.
Your vs. You’re
The vampire of grammar mistakes — it keeps coming back no matter how many times you stake it.
Your: possessive. It shows ownership.
“Your pumpkin spice latte is strong enough to summon the dead.”You’re: contraction of you are.
“You’re about to post that caption with a typo, aren’t you?”
Pro tip: If you can replace it with you are and it still works, it’s you’re.
There, Their, and They’re
Ah, the zombie trio. Hard to kill, easy to confuse.
There: refers to a place or existence. (“There’s a ghost in the grammar guide.”)
Their: possessive, belonging to them. (“Their haunted house won best décor.”)
They’re: contraction of they are. (“They’re terrified of run-on sentences.”)
A mnemonic: There has here in it → location. Their has heir → ownership. They’re has the apostrophe → contraction.
It’s vs. Its
This one haunts editors at 3 a.m.
It’s: contraction of it is or it has. (“It’s been a frightfully long day.”)
Its: possessive, showing ownership. (“The ghost lost its sheet.”)
Remember: possessive pronouns (his, hers, its) don’t need apostrophes. Apostrophes are for missing letters, not possessions.
Then vs. Than
Then: relates to time or sequence. (“We wrote the post, then we proofread.”)
Than: used for comparisons. (“This edit is scarier than last year’s.”)
If it involves time, use then. If it’s a comparison, use than.
The Final Spell
Homophones are tricky little shape-shifters — harmless in conversation but capable of turning your polished prose into a spooky mess online.
So, before you hit publish this week, take one last look through your writing and ask yourself:
“Witch word am I really using here?”
Because clarity, like candy, is best when you don’t have to guess what you’re getting.
Now go forth and edit, word-witch. May your commas be sharp, your tenses consistent, and your ‘its’ forever unpossessed.