RRRR…Confusing R Words

We are now back to our confusing words series and on the letter R. Some of these are pretty easy, but others might still be problematic.

1. rain/reign/rein – Easy ones. Rain is wet. Reign is royal. Rein is leather. It is supposed to rain today. The king has reigned for 40 years. Hold on tight to the reins, so you don’t fall off the horse.

2. raise/raze/rise – To raise is to make something higher. To raze is somewhat the opposite, meaning to tear down or demolish. Rise and raise are related. Raise takes a direct object, but rise doesn’t. You must raise something (kind of like lay and lie).  I raise my hand. They will raze the old school house to make room for office buildings. The sun rises in the East.

3. rapped/rapt/wrapped – They all sound the same, all spelled quite differently and with different meanings. Rapped, the past tense of rap, means to strike quickly as on a door. Rap is also a music style, and rapped is to have sung it. Rapt is an adjective, meaning fully engrossed in something.  Wrapped is the past tense of wrap, as in gifts. She rapped loudly on the door before anyone answered. The kids were rapt during the entire horror movie. I wrapped the birthday gift in newspaper, since I haven’t been out to buy wrapping paper in a year.

4. real/really – This one does get confused. Real is an adjective; therefore it is generally used to describe nouns. Really is an adverb, generally used to modify verbs (or adjectives or other adverbs). Is this a real diamond? I did really well on the test. I really cannot ride a bike. 

5. reality/realty – This mistake would probably just be a typo. Reality is what is real. Realty is property.  He has no grasp on reality. She sells realty in Florida.

6. reason is because/reason is that – Do not use the construction “reason is because.”   The reason I am late is because I was stuck in traffic (no). The reason I am late is that I was stuck in traffic (yes). If you really want to use because you can say it this way: I am late because I was stuck in traffic.

7. reference/reverence – Reference is a noun or verb meaning a mention or to mention something. Reverence is a noun meaning  great respect. I will reference some historical events in my speech. He treats his wife with great reverence.

8. regimen/regiment –  A regimen is a routine that someone follows. A regiment is a group of ground forces in the military. I follow a beauty regimen that takes a lot of my time. The regiment marched down the road in the military parade.

9. regretful/regrettable – Regretful is, as the word implies, full of regret. Regrettable means to be regretted. Circumstances are referred to as regrettable. I am regretful that I wasn’t kinder to my sister. It is regrettable that my sister and I didn’t get along better. 

10. respectfully/respectively – Respectfully means full of respect. Respectively means “in the order given.”  She sat respectfully and listened to the sermon.  I have English, math, and Spanish, respectively, today. (English, then math, then Spanish)

11.retroactive from/retroactive to – Do not use retroactive from.  Retroactive to means extending back to some time in the past when certain conditions existed.  The pay raise will be given in June, but it will be retroactive to January.

12. riffle/rifle – Riffle is a verb meaning to turn hastily. Rifle is a noun and we all know what it is.  She riffled through her English book without paying much attention to what was written. The rifle was not loaded.

13. rite/right/write – Another easy one. A rite is a formal ceremony or customary activity. Right isn’t wrong. And write requires a pen, pencil, crayon, etc.  A bar mitzvah is a rite of passage. She always thinks she is right when she writes or says anything.

14. role/roll – Role is a noun that usually refers to a part in a play or movie, or just a part someone plays. Roll is a verb meaning to turn over or a noun meaning something to eat. She plays the role of Annie in the play. My dog just learned to roll over. I had two rolls for breakfast.