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 Starlight Beacon 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 Empire's harsh 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 Coruscant 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 ill in the infirmary for over thirty cycles. - No direct object, therefore, present participle tense of "lie" is appropriate.
• They laid the foundation for the new outpost on the Outer Rim planet. - 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 Sith lord's lightsaber was red. - This sentence is indicating that a single Sith lord had a red lightsaber.
• The Jedi Knights' lightsabers were blue. - This sentence indicates that a group of more than one Jedi Knight had blue lightsabers.
  
  

Am I being too redundant or wordy?

Check over your pose. Are you using the same words over and over again? This often happens with pronouns or names when describing multiple different people's actions or multiple actions of a single person. If you see too many repeated words, try replacing them with synonyms or descriptive phrases that fit the context, as this can sometimes make it hard to tell who is doing what. Are you describing a character's combat maneuvers? Try using "the combatant" or "opponent" instead of just "he" or "she" once. 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.

• He draws his lightsaber and deflects his blaster bolts. - This sentence is very unclear. Who drew the lightsaber? Whose blaster bolts were they? Try replacing the second instance of "his" with something else, like "the enemy combatant's": He draws his lightsaber and deflects the enemy combatant's blaster bolts. Much better, right?

• Do you know where the Senate Rotunda 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": Do you know where the Senate Rotunda is 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.

• Galen Erso's plans to secretly sabotage the Death Star drastically affected the course of the Galactic Civil War. - This sentence indicates that Erso's plans actively changed the the course of the Galactic Civil War.
• Galen Erso's plans to secretly sabotage the Death Star had a profound effect on the course of the Galactic Civil War. - This time, "effect" is used as a noun and refers to the change itself.
• Galen Erso designed the Death Star with a deliberate vulnerability, hoping that his actions would effect change in the course of the Galactic Civil War. - 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.

• Cal Kestis is a young Jedi who survived Order 66. - In this case, "who" is appropriate, because the subject of the modifying phrase "young Jedi" is a person, Cal Kestis, not a thing.
• Cal Kestis destroyed a holocron that contained the names of many Force sensitive children throughout the galaxy. - This time, the subject of the modifying phrase "contained the names..." is a thing, "holocron". 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 holocron, which was hidden away in a vault on Bogano, required Cal to pass many trials before obtaining it. - 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.
  • Anakin wanted to ensure that Padme would survive childbirth.
• 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.
  • Princess Leia glared at her Imperial captors defiantly.
• Definitely comes from "definite", referring to something assured, specific, certain, or decided.
  • A Venator class star destroyer is definitely larger than a Tie fighter.
    
    

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 drove many to remain loyal to the Galactic Empire.
• Principal is an adjective describing sometimes that is first or the most important.
  • Grand Master Yoda was the principal leader of the Jedi Order for hundreds of years before the Clone Wars.
    

What's the difference between "than" and "then"?

• Than is used in comparisons.
  • Bonbraks are much smaller than most other sentient species.
• Then means at the time, or indicates something that followed or occurred afterward. It usually answers the question of "when?".
  • The Empire lost the first Death Star during the Battle of Yavin; then the second at Endor.
    
    

What's the difference between "were" and "where"?

• Were is the plural form of the past tense "to be" verb.
  • The rebels were winning the battle at Jakku.
• Where is an adverb that describes a place or position.
  • Where a glittering metropolis once thrived, only desolate ruins remained.
    
    

What's the difference between "quiet" and "quite"?

• Quiet is an adjective describing something silent, or not noisy or loud.
  • Santari Khri retreated to the quiet of the Temple Archives.
• Quite is an adverb, and is used to describe something that is to the fullest extent, or to a fair or significant extent.
  • Coruscant is quite a large city, covering the entire surface of the planet.
    
    

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