Answer: "die" vs. "dye"
cedara wants to know, "When do you use 'die' versus 'dye'?"
More fun with homonyms-words that sound the same! Fortunately, the difference between these two is pretty straightforward.
The verb die refers to leaving life-usually just the once, although fictional characters get a little more license.
"Daniel," Jack warned as they stepped through the stargate, "you're not allowed to die on this mission."
The verb dye refers to adding color.
Irritation dyed Daniel's cheeks red. "It's been six months since the last time I died, Jack. You can give it a rest."
Unlike some other easily confused verbs (such as lie and lay), there is no overlap in spelling between the words in different tenses. The closest these two come to being confusing is that die does switch to a y in the present participle form-dying. However the different forms of dye always have a ye.
The sun's dying rays were dyeing the skies of P3X-492 purple as night approached.
There are also noun versions of the words, and what makes remembering the difference easier is that the noun form of dye is directly related to the verb-it's a substance used to change the color of something. There are two noun meanings for die, neither of which have to do with death: a small cube used for gambling (the singular of dice), or a mold for machine cutting or stamping.
"Sheppard," Rodney hissed, "the parts at that trader's booth look die-stamped. If by some miracle they have industrial capabilities ...."
"All right," John agreed. "We'll check it out." He glanced around. Teyla was negotiating with a woman stirring cloth in a vat of dye. Ronon was still at the tavern drinking ale and playing some complicated game with a die, keeping his ears open for rumors.
In short, if it has to do with coloring, use dye. The best mnemonic I could think of to help you remember the difference between the two is that that you can dye something yellow (or use a yellow dye, for the noun form), while die is the opposite of live.
More fun with homonyms-words that sound the same! Fortunately, the difference between these two is pretty straightforward.
The verb die refers to leaving life-usually just the once, although fictional characters get a little more license.
"Daniel," Jack warned as they stepped through the stargate, "you're not allowed to die on this mission."
The verb dye refers to adding color.
Irritation dyed Daniel's cheeks red. "It's been six months since the last time I died, Jack. You can give it a rest."
Unlike some other easily confused verbs (such as lie and lay), there is no overlap in spelling between the words in different tenses. The closest these two come to being confusing is that die does switch to a y in the present participle form-dying. However the different forms of dye always have a ye.
The sun's dying rays were dyeing the skies of P3X-492 purple as night approached.
There are also noun versions of the words, and what makes remembering the difference easier is that the noun form of dye is directly related to the verb-it's a substance used to change the color of something. There are two noun meanings for die, neither of which have to do with death: a small cube used for gambling (the singular of dice), or a mold for machine cutting or stamping.
"Sheppard," Rodney hissed, "the parts at that trader's booth look die-stamped. If by some miracle they have industrial capabilities ...."
"All right," John agreed. "We'll check it out." He glanced around. Teyla was negotiating with a woman stirring cloth in a vat of dye. Ronon was still at the tavern drinking ale and playing some complicated game with a die, keeping his ears open for rumors.
In short, if it has to do with coloring, use dye. The best mnemonic I could think of to help you remember the difference between the two is that that you can dye something yellow (or use a yellow dye, for the noun form), while die is the opposite of live.