Commonly Confused Words

1. Commonly Confused Words Homonyms and Commonly Misspelled Words

2. List # 1 • accept/except • affect/effect • cite /site /sight • everyday/every day • its/it’s • lose/loose • “Um, I’m confused.”

3. 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. Everyoneexcept John went to the party.

4. Commonly Confused Words affect/effect affect means to change something. Theweather affects her sinuses. effect means the result. Theeffect 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). 

5. Commonly Confused Words cite/site/sight cite means to refer to or name someone or something. Shecited 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 hereveryday 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 lickedits 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 alwayslose my keys. loose is an adjective. The belt was loose. (Think of moose.)

9. List # 2 principle/principal soul/sole stationary/stationery then/ than they’re/ their/ there to/too

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

11. Commonly Confused Words soul/sole soul is a noun meaning spirit. Many believe that the humansoul is immortal. soleis an adjective meaning the only one. She was thesole beneficiary under the will.

12. Commonly Confused Words stationary/stationery stationeryis writing paper. He wrote on a note on his personalstationery. stationarymeans stable and unmoving. She attached the bookshelf to the wall in order to make the bookshelfstationary.

13. Commonly Confused Words  then/than thenrefers to a sequence in time. He went to the storethen to the gym. thanis used for comparison. He would rather go to the storethan to the gym.

14. Commonly Confused Words they’re/there/their they’reis the contraction for they are. They’re going to the store. (They are going to the store.) thererefers to a place. Put it overthere. theiris a possessive pronoun. They forgottheir coats.

15. Commonly Confused Words to/too tois apreposition denoting towardssomething. She wentto the store. toois an word meaning in addition to or also. He went to the storetoo.

16. List # 3 until/ till weather/ whether where/ were whose/who’s May/can

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

18. Commonly Confused Words weather/whether weatherrefers to the climate outside. Theweather was cold and rainy. whetheris a word showing an alternative. She will runwhether or not it is raining.

19. Commonly Confused Words where/were wheremeans in what place. The chairs arewhere the table is. wereis the past plural form of the verb to be. Theywere in the corner.

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

21. Commonly Confused Words • May/Can • Candenotes physical or mental ability. • I can pass my CCW quiz! • Maydenotes permission or authorization. • MayI, please, go to the restroom?!

22. List # 4 • Lie/Lay • Breath/Breathe • Conscious/Conscience • Capital/Capitol • Desert/dessert

23. Commonly Confused Words • LIE/ LAY • LIE-to lie down (a person or animal. hint: people can tell lies)ex: I have a headache, so I'm going to lie down for a while.(also lying, lay, has/have lain--The dog has lain in the shade all day; yesterday, the dog lay there for twelve hours).LAY-to lay an object down.ex: "Lay down that peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Pappy!" The sheriff demanded of the crazed grandfather. (also laying, laid, has/have laid--At that point, Pappy laid the shotgun on the ground).

24. Commonly Confused Words

25. Commonly Confused Words • BREATH-noun, air inhaled or exhaledex: You could see his breath in the cold air. • BREATHE-verb, to inhale or exhaleex: If you don't breathe, then you are dead.

26. Commonly Confused Words • CONSCIENCE- sense of right and wrongex: The student'sconsciencekept him from cheating on the exam. • CONSCIOUS- awakeex: I wasconsciouswhen the burglar enteredthe house.

27. Commonly Confused Words • CAPITAL-seat of government. Also financial resources.ex: Thecapitalof Virginia is Richmond.ex: The firm had enough capital to build the new plant.CAPITOL- the actual building in which the legislative body meetsex: The governor announced his resignation ina speech given at thecapitoltoday.

28. Commonly Confused Words • Desert-a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone. The man wandered around thedesert without much to drink. • Dessert-the sweet course of a meal. Chocolate cake is his favoritedessert.