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 I’ll, 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: set up, setup

set up: (phrasal verb) arrange; construct, organize; make ready for use; start (a business) setup: (noun, adjective) organization, organizational; preparation, preparatory As a noun, setup is the result of setting something up. e.g. a great camera setup As an adjective, setup describes something that will be used in setting something …

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