Monday Muddle: duck, duct

duck: (noun) a type of waterbird; meat from that waterbird; a heavy cotton or linen fabric used to make sails and duck tape, now called duct tape unless referring specifically to the brand Duck Tape ® duct: (noun) an enclosed channel that allows the passage of a substanceFor example: heating …

Monday Muddle: you’re, your, yore

you’re: (subject pronoun + verb) contraction of you are

your: (possessive pronoun) shows that you own something;
it belongs to you

yore: (noun) a time long ago

The term yore is not commonly used anymore except in Christmas carols and some literary contexts. It is preceded by the preposition “of” and is used in expressions like days of yore or knights of yore.

Monday Muddle: I’ll, ill

Some people like to put apostrophes into words where they aren’t necessary, but others don’t want to be bothered with the extra keystroke. If you leave the apostrophe out of ill, it will look sickly. 🤪

I’ll: (subject pronoun + verb) contraction of I will

ill: (adjective) unwell, sick;
(adverb) badly, hardly;
(noun) harm, misfortune

Monday Muddle: aisle, isle, aile

aisle: (noun) a passage between rows of seats or between shelves

isle: (noun) island

aile: (noun) French for wing

Unless you are talking about French birds or airplanes, you need an S in your word. If you are talking about the Emerald Isle (St. Patrick’s Day is coming), you do not need an A in isle.

Monday Muddle: forth, fourth

March 4th is National Grammar Day because it is the only date that is also a complete sentence. How will you celebrate? forth: (adverb) forward or outward from a starting point fourth: (adjective, noun) ordinal number; number four in a series; (noun) 25% of the whole

Monday Muddle: woman, women

If you are going to try to impress a woman for Valentine’s Day, you might want to be careful about this one. For example, don’t say “For the women I love” unless that’s really what you mean. woman: (noun) ONE singular female human women: (noun) MORE THAN ONE female human

Monday Muddle: cloth, cloths, clothe, clothes

cloth: (noun) fabric; material made by joining fibres cloths: (noun, plural) small pieces of cloth, often used for washing clothe: (verb) to put garments on; to dress clothes: (noun, plural) garments; items you wear, usually made of cloth; (verb) the third person singular form of the verb to clothe

Monday Muddle: marinade, marinate

marinade: (noun) an acidic liquid, typically made of vinegar or wine with spices, used for soaking food to flavour or tenderize it marinate: (verb) to soak something in a marinade The increased use of marinade as a verb in the last decade has led some dictionaries to accept it as …