Air, Ere, and Heir How to Choose the Right Word

Air, ere, and heir are homophones, words that sound the same but have different meanings. The noun air refers to the invisible mixture of gases that make up the atmosphere enveloping Earth. Air can also mean empty space, the outward appearance of a thing, the bearing of a person, and (usually in the plural, airs) an artificial or affected manner. As a verb, air means to expose (something) to the air, to make known in public, or to transmit by radio or television. The preposition and conjunction ere is a somewhat old-fashioned word meaning before. The noun heir refers to a person who has the legal right to inherit property or to a person who has a right to claim a title (such as king or queen) when the person holding it dies. How to Use Air Air, a noun, refers to that odorless, tasteless, gaseous mixture, composed mainly of 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen that all humans breathe. But most people dont think of it in terms of its scientific meaning: Its just the stuff humans and other animals breathe to survive. A sentence using air might read: All humans breathe the same air. Air can also refer to white space, particularly in terms of the layout of a page in a newspaper or magazine, as in: The page just had too much air. There was too much white space. How to Use Ere Ere, usually used as a preposition, means previous to or before, but its use is archaic. J.R.R. Tolkien used the term in The Lord of the Rings, as such: The wind is north from the snows, said Aragorn. And  ere  morning it will be in the East, said Legolas. Unless youre writing an epic fantasy story or novel, you would not likely use ere, except to distinguish it from air or heir. How to Use Heir Heir, a noun, generally means a person who receives property from an ancestor or someone who is entitled to inherit property. A sentence using heir might read: He was the heir to a great fortune. Heir also has a more specific meaning related to royalty, as in: Prince Charles is heir to the British throne. This means that Prince Charles, also known as the Prince of Wales, is next in line to take over the British throne. Examples It can be helpful, in distinguishing these three terms to view them in context. Air, for example, often takes on a more figurative tone, as this example sentence shows: After the contentious meeting, the tension hung in the air. Air can also be used as a verb, meaning to voice your concerns or grievances, for example: If you feel that way, feel free to air your grievances. You can even use both air, meaning the stuff we breathe, and ere, meaning before, in the same sentence: The diver had to replenish her supply of air ere descending again. As noted, heir is generally used to mean a person who inherits property or a title from an ancestor: Dont mock him; he is heir to the throne of England. How to Remember the Difference There are a few simple memory tricks to help you distinguish among air, ere, and heir. Remember that the air we breathe is in the atmosphere; both terms begin with a. And, e before e means that ere means before. An heir might receive an heirloom, something with special value handed down from one generation to another, sometimes over the course of hundreds of years. All these terms start with h. Special Uses Ere can also be a conjunction, though you are only likely to see it used as such in a classic novel or story. Robert Louis Stevenson used ere as a conjunction in Treasure Island: I was scarcely in position  ere  my enemies began to arrive. †¦ In this instance, ere is a conjunction because it connects two parts of a sentence, which is one of the definitions of a conjunction. Heirloom can also refer to a variety of plant. Specifically, an heirloom, when the term is used in this way, is any type of plant seed that has been saved and grown for a period of years and is passed down by the gardener who originally preserved it. Though the term is not often used as such in everyday language, air does have a specific, scientific meaning. Air is  matter, the substance of which all physical objects are composed. Anything and everything you can touch,  taste,  or smell consists of matter: It has mass and takes up space. You dont often think of air as matter, unless you are taking a chemistry or physics class, but it most certainly is. Sources â€Å"Air, Aire, Are, Ayre, Ere, Err, Eyre, Heir at Homophone.†Ã‚  Homophone.com.â€Å"Airs.†Ã‚  Dictionary.com.â€Å"English Homophones: Homophone # 90 – Air, Ere, Heir.†Ã‚  Learn English Network.