What happens when words sound the same? Far too often, the transition from the spoken word to the written word (coupled with the “advent” of the automatic spell checker) ends up providing us with a plethora of errors. Such is frequently the case with “here” and “hear.”
When spoken, these two words are uttered in exactly the same way. However, their respective meanings could not be more different. I don’t find people mixing up “here” and “hear” quite as often as I find them mixing up there, their, and they’re, but it still happens much more frequently than it should. As mentioned above, it doesn’t help that the spell check utility in word processors and web browsers won’t pick it up as a mistake. It is spelled correctly… just for the wrong word.
Two Words, Different Meanings
Here can take on a few different parts of speech: noun, adverb, adjective, and interjection. In its most common usage, though, it is a word that refers to the present location or the current place (whether physically or figuratively). You would tell your dog to come here. You would say that the distance from here to the park is about two blocks.
Hear, by contrast, is always a verb. Most commonly, it refers to perceiving by the ear. This is not quite the same thing as listening, because to listen implies that you are paying attention to the object (whatever that may be) creating the sound. Even so, most people will use “listen” and “hear” interchangeably in this regard.
You could say that you hear the fire truck in the distance. You could ask, “Did you hear the news about the updated Starbucks logo?” In a legal sense, you could also say that a judge is hearing a case, which would then mean that he is officially considering the case (so that he can deliver a verdict).
On a side note, when you are in agreement with someone delivering a speech, the saying is, “Hear, hear!” and not “Here, here!” It’s because you are really telling people to “hear” the speaker. “Hear him! Hear what he has to say!”
You Need Good Grammar
Many people on the Internet will say that exact spelling and grammar don’t really matter. They’ll say that as long as the message is getting through, it shouldn’t make a difference. Well, there are many reasons why you need good grammar. You want your words to be clear and you don’t want to suffer from “chipped coffee cup” syndrome.
Do you have a suggestion for a future Grammar 101 post here on Beyond the Rhetoric? Let me hear them!
I definitely believe in good grammar when writing on the Internet, but I don’t feel you can be perfect. We have talked about proper punctuation in posts recently, which I feel isn’t as crucial as proper spelling and use of the proper words as you teach in these posts.
A missed comma or semi colon is less important than the meaning of the post or the people understanding what you are trying to get across. Not everyone is a professional writer, so some things are going to slip by in proof reading. I proof read my posts more than once to try to get them as proper as possible. But, I am not you and won’t ever profess to being good at grammar or a professional writer.
I leave that to you, and I will write for the relaxation and fun that it gives me. Hopefully I get better each time I write something.
OBTW, what’s the deal with double spaces after a period? I have read a lot about single and double spacing. Which is right, or does it matter?
I don’t think any of us can really achieve perfection, but we should all put in an appropriate level of effort to get close. 😉
On the subject of single or double spaces, single spaces after periods are now the norm. The double space thing comes from the days of typewriters. It’s a hotly debated topic among the people who care about that kind of thing, but for anything done on the computer, I opt for single spaces after periods.
The Homophones that I see pop up the most are “to” and “too.” A depressing number of people are inserting “to” when they should be using “too” instead. It seems that Twitter has exposed the most egregious offenders.
I agree that good grammar is essential to effectively express your ideas, and to not make reading a blog post or article a treacherous proposition.
The double space after a period is used in school papers. I graduated fairly recently from college and was required to write loads of papers. I had to reacquaint myself, after graduation, with the more commonly used single space format when writing blog posts, blog comments, emails, articles etc.
– Andrew
I never had to use double spaced after periods in college or any school for papers and I went to school a long time ago (77-82). I think you had some odd professors :-)But it could be that you were taking classes that were more critical of that type of grammar.
The double spaces were pretty standard for the papers I wrote and the classes I took. I was a Lit major but all the papers I wrote required the two spaces. At any rate, I am now only putting one space after periods, unless I go for my MFA and then I’ll have to see what the requirements are.
Loving all the Grammar help – any help on who and whom? Thanks Joanne
Thanks for the reminder! I thought I already did one, but apparently not. So, I posted it today. 🙂
https://btr.michaelkwan.com/2011/02/03/grammar-101-who-and-whom/