Commonly Confused Words

1. Commonly Confused Words Homonyms and Commonly Misspelled Words

2. Commonly Confused Words • Here are some words whose meanings are commonly confused: • accept/except • accept means to take or agree. • She accepted the gift. • except means something different. • Everyone except John went to the party.

3. Commonly Confused Words • affect/effect • affect means to change something. • The weather affects her sinuses • effect means the result. • The effect of the weather is sinus congestion. • The word affect is a verb.  It is used only to show action on something. • The word effect is primarily used as a noun (person, place, thing). 

4. Commonly Confused Words • Although the word effect is actually also a verb, it is not usually used as a verb.  As a verb, it means to bring about: • She effected a proper response in writing. • The safest way to avoid an affect/effect error is simple to use affect as a verb (action) and effect as a noun (person, place, thing).

5. Commonly Confused Words •  cite/site/sight • cite means to refer to or name someone or something. • She cited the rule for commas. • site is a noun meaning place or location. • The construction site was fenced off. • sight refers to what is seen. • The accident was a terrible sight.

6. Commonly Confused Words • everyday/every day • everyday is an adjective. • She wore her everyday shoes to the dance. • every day is a combination of an adjective and a noun used when you mean each and every day. • I go to school every day.  (I go to school each day.)

7. Commonly Confused Words • its/it’s • its shows possession (his, hers, yours, ours, theirs, its). • The cat licked its paw. • it’s is a contraction (it is = it’s; it has = it’s). • It’s a good day. • It’s been a good day.

8. Commonly Confused Words • lose/loose • Lose is a verb meaning misplace. • I always lose my keys. • loose is an adjective. • The belt was loose. (Think of moose.)

9. Commonly Confused Words • principle/principal • principle is a noun or an adjective meaning central idea. • The principle idea was to cut costs. • principal is a noun meaning head of a school. • The principal had a meeting with the teachers.

10. Commonly Confused Words • soul/sole • soul is a noun meaning spirit. • Many believe that the human soul is immortal. • sole is an adjective meaning the only one. • She was the sole beneficiary under the will.

11. Commonly Confused Words • stationary/stationery • stationery is writing paper. • He wrote on a note on his personal stationery. • stationary means stable and unmoving. • She attached the bookshelf to the wall in order to make the bookshelf stationary.

12. Commonly Confused Words •  then/than • then refers to a sequence in time. • He went to the store then to the gym. • than is used for comparison. • He would rather go to the store than to the gym.

13. Commonly Confused Words • they’re/there/their • they’re is the contraction for they are. • They’re going to the store. (They are going to the store.) • there refers to a place. • Put it over there. • Their is a possessive pronoun. • They forgot their coats.

14. Commonly Confused Words • to/too • to is a preposition denoting towards something. • She went to the store. • too is an word meaning in addition to or also. • He went to the store too.

15. Commonly Confused Words • until/till • until – a word referring to a time. • She waited until he came home. • till – a noun meaning money box or a verb referring to getting the soil ready for planting. • The farmers till the soil • Note:  The proper abbreviation for until is ’til.  See how an apostrophe replaces the omitted letters un.

16. Commonly Confused Words • weather/whether • weather refers to the climate outside. • The weather was cold and rainy. • whether is a word showing an alternative. • She will run whether or not it is raining.

17. Commonly Confused Words • where/were • where means in what place. • The chairs are where the table is. • were is the past plural form of the verb to be. • They were in the corner.

18. Commonly Confused Words • whose/who’s • whose is a relative pronoun referring to a person or thing. • Whose bike is this? • The father whose daughter was suspended went to school to see the principal. • who’s is the contraction for who is. • Who’s the owner of this bike?

19. Commonly Misspelled Words: • nonetheless – not none the less • all right – not alright • cannot – not can not • each other  – not eachother • through – not thru • congratulations – not congradulations • kindergarten – not kindergarden • ’til is the abbreviation for until – not til’ or ’till (the ’ goes in the place of the omitted letters)

20. Words with More than One Spelling: • There are some words that have more than one acceptable spelling.  However, you should use the spelling that is listed first in the dictionary and use that spelling consistently throughout. • gray – grey.  Gray is the standard usage in America while grey is the British spelling. • judgment – judgement.  Judgment is the standard American usage. • color – colour.  Color is the standard American usage.

21. Foreign words • Quoted material in another language must have the accents and any other marks from the original quote. • While many words from foreign languages have been incorporated into and are commonly used in Standard English: • ad hoc • laissez-faire • etc. • bayou • cantina

22. Foreign Words • Other foreign words and phrases not commonly used are still considered foreign and should be in italics. • bambina (baby girl) • mondieux (my God)                • poco a poco (little by little) • A favorite expression in New Orleans is Laissez les bon temps rouler. • Always consult a dictionary when you are not sure.