In this lesson and video we're looking at two commonly misused words - lose and loose.

They're so close in pronunciation lots of people get them wrong. Many people use the word loose when they mean lose, and vice versa, potentially creating confusion for the reader.

to lose ("looze" = a soft "huh" sound) is a verb. To lose something, to lose keys,
Drop the 'e' with ing = losing
"I'm losing my mind."

(The past tense is lost. I lost my keys yesterday.)

loose ("loose" = a harder "suh" sound) is normally an adjective, meaning baggy, not tight.
My trousers are loose. The handle's loose. LOOse tOOth.

"My tOOth is lOOse."

Joanne, you do such a fine job in clearly explaining this for people who have trouble with this. You used plenty of examples, and your quiz is perfect. You must be an educator. I could listen to your voice all day long. Thanks for creating these videos. I come across spelling and grammar mistakes online and in books all the time, and it's one of my pet peeves. I have saved the URL address of your video, so that I can display your video link if I see others who could use a quick "refresher" in word usage. Cheers from a Yank across the Pond. Roger Pierce

Put lose/losing or loose in the following sentences:

1. My tooth is ________ and I'm afraid to ____ it.

2. Careful, the screw has come _______

3. Since _______  weight my clothes are _______.

4. My football team always seem to ________ at home.

5. She decided she had nothing to _____ by applying for the job.

6. His jeans are so  ________ they're nearly falling down .

Answers

1. My tooth is loose and I'm afraid to lose it.

2. Careful, the screw has come loose on the door handle.

3. Since losing  weight my clothes are loose.

4. My football team always seem to lose at home.

5. She decided she had nothing to lose by applying for the job.

6.His jeans are so loose they're nearly falling down.