Revised as of
31 Aug 2022
I know it’s rather surprising to think anyone could confuse these three — hour and our can be more confusing as they’re heterographs. Again, I do suspect it’s mostly that whole spellcheck vs. context issue.
Other times, I’m hoping it’s a case of simply not thinking as one reads along and not thinking of the definition of either are or our as the word is spoken. After all, look what so many have done to that poor ol’ “Word Confusion: Might’a not be a Could’a, Would’a, Should’a“, lol.
One of the tips given out on self-editing is to read the manuscript out loud. I’d like to add that authors should pay attention to each word as it is read.
Editing is not one pass through a file. It’s a series of passes. Each time, an editor is looking for something different. It may be commas and sentence structure one time. Another time it may be simply looking at the quotations around dialogue. It will always be looking at each word in the document. Assessing it. Ensuring that it’s the proper word being used. And yes, keeping in mind the author’s voice.
And, I’m going off track . . . sorry . . . this the hour of our need…
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Are | Hour | Our |
|---|---|---|
“You are Here” Street Sign by Joe Goldberg from Seattle, WA, USA, is under CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Neon Internet Cafe Open 24 Hours by Justinc is under the CC-BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
US Stamp: Save Our Pisce by USPS is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Third person present verb of be
Noun 1; Verb, auxiliary 2 Plural for the noun: ares |
Noun
Plural: hours |
Adjective, possessive 3 Suffix 4, 5 |
| Noun: [Historical] A metric unit of measure, equal to 100 square meters (about 119.6 square yards) Verb: Used with a past participle to form the passive mood Used with infinitive to indicate something due to happen
[Archaic] Used with the past participle of intransitive verbs to form perfect tenses |
A period of time equal to a twenty-fourth part of a day and night and divided into 60 minutes
A point in time
[Usually with an adjective] A period set aside for some purpose or marked by some activity
[Usually hours; in the Western Church] A short service of psalms and prayers to be said at a particular time of day, especially in religious communities [Astronomy] 15° of longitude or right ascension (one twenty-fourth part of a circle) |
Adjective: Belonging to or associated with the speaker and one or more other people previously mentioned or easily identified
Used by a writer, editor, or monarch to refer to something belonging to or associated with himself or herself |
| Examples: | ||
| Noun: The hectare is equivalent to 100 ares. Verb: We are waiting. His books are being published. We are to meet him at 6:30. You are to follow these orders. They said we are to remain on board. These snakes are to be found in North America. If we are to lose . . . |
Changing our clocks can give us an extra hour of daylight.
Rates have ranged from $9 to $32 an hour. It was supposed to be a two-hour operation. during the early hours of the morning Ocean City is less than an hour away. I wondered if my last hour had come. You can’t turn him away at this hour. The clock in the sitting room struck the hour. The first bomb fell at 0051 hours. It was about the ninth hour that they came. Now that the hour had come, David decided he could not face it. I wish I had more leisure hours. Now if I had shortened working hours . . . |
Adjective: Jo and I had our hair cut. When we hear a sound, our brains identify the source quickly. We want to know what you, our readers, think. Suffix: He replied to her with all ardour. Jennie prefers a lot of colour in her life. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: hourless, hour-long, hourlong, hourly Adverb: hourly Noun: hourglass |
Pronoun: ours, ourself, ourselves | |
| History of the Word: | ||
|
Middle English, from the Anglo-Norman French ure, via the Latin from the Greek hōra, meaning season, hour. |
|
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Are vs Hour vs Our
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Couple on a Bike by Quinn Dombrowski from Berkeley, USA, was uploaded by Anastasiarasputin under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license and Black Windup Alarm Clock Face is Sun Ladder’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL license; both are via Wikimedia Commons.
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