Commonly Confused Words

1. Commonly Confused Words These are all on the EOC and ACT!!!

2. Affect- a verb- means “to influence” Ex. Pot affects your brain in a negative way although the pot people would have you believe otherwise. • Effect- a noun- “The result of some action” Ex. What are the effects of drinking alcohol. Exercise: Write sentences using affect and effect correctly. Affect vs. Effect

3. Capital- noun- the seat of government, money or an asset Ex. What is the capital of Tennessee? Ex. Do you have any capital? • Capital as an adjective- principal, first-rate Ex. I know my capital letters. Ex. Killing people is a capital offense. • Capitol- the building where the legislative body meets Capital vs capitol Make one sentence for each asterisk.

4. All ready • The term 'all ready' means 'completely prepared'.  It is slightly more emphatic than just 'prepared’ Ex. Abby is all readyfor the EOC • The word 'already' is an adverb meaning 'prior to a specified or implied time' or 'as early as now'. Ex. It is already against the rules to have a cell phone in class. • (already = since before now) • When they pulled the shark up in the net it was already dead. All ready vs. already

5. All together are two words that mean that everybody or everything is in a group. • We went all together to the bowling party so that we would need to drive only one car. • Altogether is an adverb that means completely or on the whole. • The study of logic is altogether appropriate in a critical reading course. • Way to remember, if you can substitute “entirely” in its place, it is one word. All together vs. altogether

6. Compliment- n- Saying something nice about someone Ex. • Related word- complimentary- nice Ex. My teacher said some very complimentary things about me to my mother. • Complimentary- can also mean “free” Ex. I get complimentary tickets to the Red Birds game because my mother works there. Ex. The drinks in the cafeteria are not complimentary. • Complement- verb something that makes complete Ex. Those earring really complement your outfit. Compliment vs complement Make one sentence for each asterisk.

7. Council- a noun- a group who usually serve as a committee to organize or oversee something Ex. I want to get elected to be on the student council at our school. Ex. My mother is on the nursery council at church. • Counsel- usually a verb but can also be a noun- advice Ex. I need someone to counsel me on what movie to see this week-end. Ex. You should seek counsel from responsible adults in a field of work that you like on what to study in college. • Related word- counselor Ex. Who is your guidance counselor? Council vs. counsel

8. Coarse- rough and crude- can be literal or figurative. Ex. Don’t use coarse language. Ex.The material to make the dress was coarse. • Course- a class • Course- it can mean a path • It can mean an area of land (like a golf course) • It can be part of a meal (three-course meal) Ex. All students should take a class in keyboarding. It just makes life easier Ex. How much effort you put into learning affects the course of your life.. Coarse vs. course

9. Their- possessive pronoun Ex. Their last names are not the same, but they are still brothers. • There – adverb- means that location Ex. I left my notebook right there and now it’s gone.!! • They’re- they are (noun and verb contraction) Ex. They’re bffs! their/ there/ they’re

10. Two- (noun or adjective )a number Ex. Give me two boxes. Ex. Two is my favorite number. • Too- adverb) means also or “excessively” Ex. You play too much. Ex. I like RG3 too. • To- (a preposition) Ex. I want to play football for Bolton too. Make one sentence for each example above demonstrating how these word can be used correctly. To/ too/ two

11. Its- the possessive form of it • It’s- contraction of it is or it has Ex. It’s just a matter of time before we master all these commonly confused words. Ex. The dog lost its bone. Make one example for each asterisk, then ask your neighbor if you think you did them correctly. It’s vs its

12. Your- possessive form of you • You’re- contraction of “you are” Ex. You’re going to love reading The Hunger Games. Ex. Your name is written on my heart! – Good one liner- yes or no? Your vs you’re

13. Whose- a possessive of who Ex. Whose book is this? • Who’s- Who is- a contraction Ex. Who’s next in line? • Whom- Whom is an object Ex. To whom would you like to speak? • Who- Who is a subject Ex. Who said that? Whose/ who’sWho/ Whom Make a sentence for each asterisk.

14. We use between, not among, after difference Ex. The letter B comes between A and C. Ex. he Mediterranean Sea is between Europe and Africa. Ex He shared his money between his wife, his daughter and his son. Ex. What are the main differences between crows, rooks and pigeons? • Among- We use among when somebody/something is in a group or a mass of people or things which we do not see separately. Ex. The mother sat among her small children. Ex. The rich merchant divided his property among his sons. • Among can mean ‘one of’, ‘some of’ or ‘included in’. Ex. Amongthose present was the Mayor. Ex. The Amazon is among the longest rivers in the world. Between vs. among

15. As a noun,, principal means an administrator or as sum of money. • As an adjective, principal means "most important.” Ex. Mr. Jones is the principal of our school. Ex. The principal reason I’m not going this week-end is that I don’t have any money. • The noun principle means "basic truth" or "rule.” Ex. Not spending money I don’t have is a principle I live by. Principal vs. principle

16. When something is standing still, it’s stationary. Ex. I think riding a stationary bike is boring unless I’m in a spinning class. • That piece of paper you write a letter on is stationery. Let the “E” in “stationery” remind you of “envelope.” Ex. Because of email, no one cares anymore about stationery. Stationary vs. stationery Make one sentence with each one.

17. Allusion is a reference Ex. The movie Evan Almightyhas many Biblical allusions to Noah’s ark. • An Illusion is something you see, but’s really not there Ex. He lives under the illusion that he is good-looking, but….. Allusion vs. illusion

18. Cite-v-to quote Ex. Don’t forget to cite where you got your information in your research paper. • Site-n-a p lace- Ex. I visted the site where MLK was shot on my field trip to downtown Memphis. • Sight- n-relates to what we can see- Ex. I lost sight of the boat. Cite/ site/ sight

19. Farther is used in relation to physical distance; it means "at or to a greater distance” Ex. My house is farther away from Bartlett than it Is from Raleigh Egypt, but I’m zoned here. • "further" means "to a greater degree". Ex. I didn’t want to further lose money so I just • Sold the car before anything else broke.. • An easy way to remember is to use the mnemonic "In a galaxy far, farther away..”, which will remind you to use farther only in the context of distance. Farther vs. further

20. Desert- v- to abandon • Desert- noun- an area with no grass Ex. Don’t desert me in the desert. • Dessert- something we eat after dinner Ex. There is no tasty desserts served in the desert. Desserts are stressed backwards!  Desert vs. Dessert

21. Lie/lay/lain- does not have a noun He lay on the floor after he ran twenty miles. The clothes lay on the floor for ten days before I picked them up and I laid them on the floor in the laundry room. • Lay/laid/laid- must have a noun • I laid my hand on her shoulder. Lie vs lay

22. Both mean to get up • Rise- a person • Ex. I rise every day at 5:30am, sadly. • Raise- an object • Ex. Raise your hand when you have a question. Raise vs rise

23. Thenis mainly an adverb, often used to situate actions in time. For example, you wake up in the morning and then have breakfast. It’s also used in if … then constructions such as, “If you wake late, then you might have to skip breakfast.” It also works as a noun meaning that time (e.g., “I wanted breakfast, but then was not a good time”) and as an adjective meaning at that time (e.g., “My then boyfriend was not an early riser”). • Than is a conjunction used mainly in making comparisons—e.g., “My breakfast is better than yours”; “I make breakfast differently than you do.” than vs.then

24. To precede is to go before, in front of or preface. To proceed is by far more common. IT mens to go forward, to continue or to carry on. These meanings feel super similar, but they are not actually the same, nor are these two words homophones. • Ex. Words precedes actions. • Ex. Will you proceed to the front of the line? Precede vs. proceed

25. I ain’t got no never. • Don’t use two negative words in a row- much less three!! • I am never going to eat that. • I am NOT going to eat that. • I am never going to not eat that- you’re saying you’re going TO eat it. Double negative

26. Allude is coy. To allude is to refer to something in an indirect manner. • Ex. He alluded to Kanye West’s music • Elude- means to hide or evade. • Ex. Rap music talks about eluding the cops after doing something criminal. Allude/ elude

27. Discreet means on the down low • Ex. No one was discreet about talking about the teacher’s suspension because they didn’t like her. • Discrete means individual or detached • Ex. Numerical data can be discrete or continuous. Discreet vs discrete

28. Censor vs. censure vs. sensor

29. Conscience vs. conscious