Confused Words
Some words sound
alike but have different meanings and different spellings. These words, called
homophones, often create confusion in writing. While there are many such words,
the following list represents a few of most common ones that give writers
trouble.
accept/except
Accept is a verb. In other words, someone or
something must be doing the accepting.
I accept your proposal of marriage.
That store does not accept credit
cards.
Except functions like the word “excluding.”
I like all ice cream flavors except
chocolate.
I am free every day except Thursday.
Hint:
If
you want to exclude something, use except because they both start with exc. Ac-cept
is an action (verb), and both begin with A.
affect/effect
Affect is a verb; someone or something must “affect”
something else.
That
movie affected me quite a bit. (The movie did the affecting.) Effect mostly functions as a noun.
That movie had an
effect on my sleep. (Effect is a “thing” (noun) that happened as a result of
the movie.)
Hint: Affect starts with an “A” like the word
action, so that is the verb.
are/our
Are is a form of the verb “be” and describes a state of being or functions
as an equals sign linking two parts of a sentence.
We are
driving to California next week.
Our is the
possessive form of “we.”
We are
driving to California next week. Our grandparents are meeting us there.
conscience/conscious
Conscience is your
inner voice that tells you what is right or wrong.
My
conscience told me not to stay at that party.
Conscious indicates
awareness.
I felt self-conscious on my first day
of class.
Hint: Your
inner voice reminds you of the SCIENCE of right and wrong = conSCIENCE
farther/further
Farther refers to
a distance that can be measured.
How much
farther do we have to walk?
Further indicates
unmeasurable, abstract distance.
I don’t
want to talk about this any further.
Hint: A =
actual (fArther), U = unreal (fUrther)
feel/fill
Feel means to
touch something or have a sensation.
I feel
happy when my friends come to visit me.
Fill means to
make full.
Please fill that vase with water.
its/it’s
Its is the
possessive form of the pronoun “it.”
The dog
lost its collar while we were camping.
It’s is the
contraction for “it is.”
It’s not
too late to change your mind.
Hint: The source of confusion here is that we think an apostrophe is used to
show posses-sion (Bob’s car). While this is true, the word “its” is already a
possessive word by nature, like the words “his” or “her.” You do not need to
make it possessive with an apostrophe. Whenever you come across “it’s” read it
as “it is.”
lay/lie
Lay is a verb
and must be accompanied by an object.
Lay the
paper down on the desk.
Lie means “to
recline.”
You
should go lie down on the bed.
Hint: lAy = plAce, lIe = reclIne. (A
possible source of confusion is that the past tense of lie is lay.)
loose/lose
Loose is the
opposite of tight.
The lid
on the jar is loose.
Lose is the
present form of lost.
Stay
close so we don’t lose you in the crowd.
of/have
Be careful whenever could
of, should of, would of, might of, or must of appear
in your writing. It almost always indicates an incorrect use of could have, should have, would have, might have, and must have.
Incorrect:
I could of won if that guy hadn’t tripped me.
Correct:
I could have (could’ve) won if that guy hadn’t tripped me.
Incorrect:
I should of gone to Hawaii with my friends.
Correct:
I should’ve (should have) gone to Hawaii with my friends.
passed/past
Passed is the past tense of the
verb “to pass.”
I passed
that car on the freeway yesterday.
Past refers to time
There is
something suspicious about her past.
Past also indicates “beyond.”
Go past
the next light, then turn right.
principal/principle
Principal means “main,” like the
main administrator of a school.
The
principal reason for this problem is bad planning.
The
principal will direct the assembly today.
Principle is an ideal or truth.
I won’t
lie to you because it is against my principles.
Hint: The
princiPAL is your pal.
sense/since
Sense relates
to:
Perception
I sense
your frustration.
Intelligence, reason
Use
common sense.
That
doesn’t make sense.
A “feel” for how something works
sense of
humor
sense of
justice
Since relates
to:
Time
We haven’t
eaten since noon.
Because
Since we
haven’t eaten, let’s take a lunch break.
than/then
Than indicates
comparison: better than, worse than, taller than, colder than, etc.
I like
apples more than oranges.
Then indicates
sequence or consequence: First____ then ____. If ___, then____.
We went to the store then the post
office.
If you
don’t study for the test, then you won’t pass this class.
Hint: The word compAre contains the
letter A just like thAn. The words sequEnce and consequEnce contain the letter E just like thEn.
their/there/they’re
Their shows
possession.
I just
love their new car.
There indicates
place or existence.
Put the
cup right there. (indicates place)
There is
a problem. (indicates existence)
They’re is a
contraction of the words they are.
They’re
the nicest people you will ever meet.
Hint: The word
their has an “I”
in it, and “I” like to possess things.
to/too
Too means
also or indicates an excess of something.
I like to
go to the movies too. (also)
That
movie had too much violence. (excess)
To should be
used in all other cases.
weather/whether
Weather relates
to atmospheric conditions.
I hope
the weather is nice today.
Whether introduces
an option.
It doesn’t
matter whether or not you agree with me.
wear/where
Wear relates
to clothing or carrying anything upon one’s person.
I usually
don’t wear earrings.
Where indicates
place.
I want to
live where wild animals roam free.
were/we’re
Were is a past
tense form of the verb to be.
We were
at the party together last night.
We’re is a
contraction of we are.
We’re
going to win the lottery any day now.
whose/who’s
Whose shows possession.
Whose
jacket is this?
Who’s is a contraction for who
is.
Who’s
going to the movie with me?
