Commonly Confused Word Pairs

bear - bare

bear - verb -> to stand something
He can't bear exams.

bare - adjective -> naked, without clothing
He stood outside in the rain completely bare.

base - bass

base - noun -> the bottom support of something
I think we need a new base for that lamp.

bass - noun -> the lowest pitches in music, singer of the lowest pitches
I sang bass in the church choir.

billed - build

billed - verb -> past tense of the verb 'to bill'
She billed the clients for $4,000.

build - verb -> to construct
They build houses in Portland, Oregon.

blew - blue

blew - verb -> past tense of the verb 'to blow'
She blew a lot of bubbles at her birthday party.

blue - adjective -> a colour
Her house is painted blue.

board - bored

board - noun -> a plan of wood
I used a board to cover the window.

bored - adjective -> not interested
He was bored by the meeting.

break - brake

break - verb -> to damage something
Unfortunately, I often break my toys!

brake - noun -> stopping device on a vehicle
He used the brake to stop quickly.

Commonly Confused Word Pairs

dead / died

dead: adjective meaning 'not alive'

Examples:

Unfortunately, our dog has been dead for a few months.
Don't touch that bird. It's dead.

died: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to die'

Examples:

His grandfather died two years ago.
A number of people have died in the accident.

experience / experiment

experience: noun meaning something that a person lives through, i.e. something that someone experiences. - also used as an uncountable noun meaning 'knowledge gained by doing something'

Examples:

(first meaning)His experiences in Germany were rather depressing.
(second meaning) I'm afraid I don't have much sales experience.

experiment: noun meaning something that you do to see the result. Often used when speaking about scientists and their studies.

Examples:

They did a number of experiments last week.
Don't worry it's just an experiment. I'm not going to keep my beard.

felt / fell

felt: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to feel'

Examples:

I felt better after I had a good dinner.
He hasn't felt this well for a long time.

fell: past tense of the verb 'to fall'

Examples:

He fell from a tree and broke his leg.
Unfortunately, I fell down and hurt myself.

female / feminine

female: the sex of a woman or animal

Examples:

The female of the species is very aggressive.
The question 'female or male' means 'are you a woman or a man'.

feminine: adjective describing a quality or type of behaviour that is considered typical for a woman

Examples:

He's an excellent boss with a feminine intuition.
The house was decorated in a very feminine manner.

ادامه نوشته

Whether / If

Both whether and if are used to introduce a yes/no question:

Examples:

He asked me whether I felt well.
We're not sure if they have decided.

The verb discuss generally takes whether rather than if.

Examples:

We discussed whether he should be hired.
They discussed whether to invest in the new idea.

After Prepositions

Use only whether after prepositions:

Examples:

We talked about whether we should go or not.
I looked into whether he should stay.

Infinitives

Use only whether before infinitives:

Examples:

She can't decide whether to buy the house or wait.
He considered whether to give up the position or quit next year.

Formal / Informal

Generally, whether is considered more formal than if.

Examples:

Let me know whether you will be able to attend the conference.
The CEO will decide whether this is a risk worth taking.

 

Commonly Confused Word Pairs

quite / quiet

quite: adverb of degree meaning 'very' or 'rather'

Examples:

This test is quite difficult.
He was quite exhausted after the long journey.

quiet: adjective meaning the opposite of loud or noisy

Examples:

Could you please be quiet?!
She's a very quiet girl.

sensible / sensitive

sensible: adjective meaning 'having common sense' i.e. 'not stupid'

Examples:

I wish you would be more sensible about things.
I'm afraid you aren't being very sensible.

sensitive: adjective meaning 'to feel very deeply' or 'to hurt easily'

Examples:

You should be careful with David. He's very sensitive.
Mary is a very sensitive woman.

shade / shadow

shade: protection from the sun, a dark area outside on a sunny day.

Examples:

You should sit in the shade for a while.
It's too hot. I'm going to find some shade.

shadow: the dark area created by something else on a sunny day.

Examples:

That tree casts a large shadow.
Have you every noticed your shadow getting longer as it gets later in the day?

some time / sometimes

some time: refers to an indefinite time in the future

Examples:

Let's meet for coffee some time.
I don't know when I'll do it - but I will do it some time.

sometimes: adverb of frequency meaning 'occasionally'

Examples:

He sometimes works late.
Sometimes, I like eating Chinese food.

Commonly Confused Word Pairs

last / latest

last: adjective usually meaning 'final'

Examples:

I took the last train to Memphis.
This is the last test of the semester!

latest: adjective meaning 'most recent' or 'new'

Examples:

His latest book is excellent.
Have you seen his latest painting?

lay / lie

lay: verb meaning 'to put down flat' - past tense - laid, past participle - laid

Examples:

He laid his pencil down and listened to the teacher.
I usually lay my pies on the shelf to cool.

lie: verb meaning 'to be down' - past tense -lay (be careful!), past participle - lain

Examples:

The girl lay on the bed asleep.
At the moment, he's lying on the bed.

lose / loose

lose: verb meaning 'to misplace'

Examples:

I lost my watch!
Have you ever lost anything valuable?

loose: adjective meaning the opposite of 'tight'

Examples:

Your trousers are very loose!
I need to tighten this screw.

It's loose.

Commonly Confused Word Pairs

buy - by- bye

buy - verb -> to purchase
Do they often buy clothes in that shop?

by - preposition -> often used to express the agent in a passive sentence
The song was written by Hammersmith.

bye - noun -> farewell
Bye! I'll see you tomorrow.

capital - capitol

capital - noun -> A town or city that is head of government
Olympia is the capital of Washington state.

capitol - noun -> A building where the government meets
The capitol is a beautiful building.

cell - sell

cell - noun -> a small room, usually in a prison
There are two prisoners per cell in that prison.

sell - verb -> to provide for sale
They sell books and magazines.

cent - scent- sent

cent - noun -> 1/100 of a dollar
One cent isn't worth very much.

scent - noun -> an aroma
The scent in the air is fabulous!

sent - verb -> past tense of the verb 'to send'
I sent you some pictures last week.

chance - chants

chance - noun -> not on purpose
I saw Mary by chance in California.

chants - noun (plural) -> simple song or melody
We did some grammar chants in class last week.

chews - choose

chews - verb -> third person present singular of the verb 'to chew'
My daughter chews her food well.

choose - verb -> to make a decision from amongst more than one
OK, I choose the red one.

close - clothes

close - verb -> to shut
Please close the door when you come in.

clothes - noun -> articles of clothing
He put on his clothes and left for work.

coarse - course

coarse - adjective -> rough, not smooth
The fabric is rather coarse.

course - noun -> a class in which a subject is studied
The English course will begin next week.

Commonly Confused Word Pairs

affect - effect

affect - verb -> to change or influence something or someone
affect - She wanted to affect the students in a way they'd never forget.

effect - noun -> the result of a change or influence
The effect of the performance was stunning.

aisle - isle

aisle - noun -> the walkway, as in a theater
I quickly walked down the aisle and took my seat.

isle - noun -> island
He grew up on the isle of Elba.

allowed - aloud

allowed - past tense of the verb 'to allow' -> to permit
His mother allowed him to stay up late on Saturday.

aloud - adverb -> using the voice, not silently
She read the story aloud.

ate - eight

ate - verb -> past tense of the verb 'to eat'
She ate a quick lunch and returned to work.

eight - number -> the number 8
I bought eight tickets to the concert.

ball - bawl

ball - noun -> a round object used in games and sports
He took a ball to the beach to play with the children.

bawl - verb -> to cry (usually very hard)
Please don't bawl! It's not that bad.

Commonly Confused Word Pairs

beside / besides

beside: preposition meaning 'next to', 'at the side of'

Examples:

I sit beside John in class.
Could you get me that book? It's beside the lamp.

besides: adverb meaning 'also', 'as well'; preposition meaning 'in addition to'

Examples:

(adverb) Besides tennis, I play soccer and basketball.
(preposition) That is a beautiful lamp beside the table.

clothes / cloths

clothes: something you wear - jeans, shirts, blouses, etc.

Examples:

Just a moment, let me change my clothes.
Tommy, get your clothes on!

cloths: pieces of material used for cleaning or other purposes.

Examples:

There are some cloths in the closet.

Too vs. Two vs. To

Too means "also" and is generally used at the end of a sentence. "Too" also indicates too much of a particular quality.

Examples:

That car is too expensive for me!
I'd love to come to the party, too.

Two is the written form of the number 2.

Examples:

There are two applicants for the job.
She has two cats.

To is generally used as a preposition. It is also used as part of the infinitive form of verbs.

Examples:

I gave the book to him.
The verb "to understand" is irregular.

 

Good or Well

Good is an adjective and well is an adverb. Many people, including many native speakers, incorrectly use the adjective form good, rather than the adverb well.

Examples:

I did good on the test. INCORRECT! - Correct form: I did well on the test.
She played the game good. INCORRECT! - Correct form: She played the game well.

Use the adjective form good when describing something or someone. In other words, use good when stating how something or someone is.

Examples:

She is a good tennis player.
Tom thinks he is a good listener.

Use the adverb form well when describing how something or someone does something.

Examples:

She did extremely well on the exam.
Our parents think we speak English well.

A Little - A Few / Little - Few

A little and little refer to non-count nouns, and is used with the singular form:

Examples:

There's little wine left in the bottle.
I've put a little sugar into your coffee.

A few and few refer to count nouns, and are used with the plural form:

Examples:

There are a few students in that classroom.
He says few applicants have presented themselves.

A little and a few convey a positive meaning.

Examples:

I've got a little wine left, would you like some?
They've got a few positions open.

Little and few convey a negative meaning.

Examples:

He's got little money left.
I have few friends in Chicago.

 

A Lot, Lots Of, A Lot Of

These three expressions are used in informal English. They can mean either a great quantity of or a large number of and can be rather confusing at times. Here are the general rules for their use.

A Lot Of / Lots Of

These two expressions both mean a great deal of or several. They are used before a count or non-count noun. These two expressions tend to be used in informal English.

Examples:

We need a lot of people for this game.
She likes lots of jam on her toast.

A Lot

Use a lot at the end of a sentence as an adverb. A lot is NOT followed by a noun. The meaning is the same as a great deal.

Examples:

I enjoy swimming a lot.
Mary seems to travel a lot.

It's vs. Its

 

It's is the contracted form of It is. This form is used in sentences using "they" as the subject of the sentence with the verb "to be" used as either the helping verb (e.g. It's going ..., It's raining ...) or the principal verb of the sentence.

Examples:

It's difficult to find work these days.
It's going to rain soon.

Its is the possessive pronoun form. This form is used to express that "it" has a specific quality, or that something belongs to "it".

Examples:

I found its taste to be superb!
Its color is deep red, almost Burgundy.