Words Often Confused CCU Writing Center: Our Class Meets at Eight

Words Often Confused
2007
CCU Writing Center

Revised by Lo Pirie
a, an Use an before a word that begins with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, and u). an orange, an essay, an heir (silent h), an honest man (silent h), an umbrella, an umpire, an uncle, an ulcer (all the us sound like uh) Use a before a word that begins with a consonant sound (all the sounds except the vowels) plus u or eu when it sounds like yu. a pencil, a hotel, a history book, a university, a uniform, a union, a unit (all the us sound yu). A European trip (Eu sounds like yu). accept, except Accept is a verb. Use except when it is not a verb. I accept your invitation. Everyone came except him. Advise is a verb. Use advice when it is not a verb. Pronounce these words correctly, remembering that the s sounds like z, and you will not confuse them. I advise you to go. I do not need any advice. Affect is a verb. Use effect when it is not a verb. If a, an, or the is in front of the word, then you know it is not a verb, and you will use effect. The lack of rain affected the crops. The lack of rain had an effect on the crops. The lack of rain had a bad effect on the crops.
advice, advise
affect, effect
all ready, already If you can leave out the all and the sentence still makes sense, then all ready is the form to use. Im all ready to go. (Im ready to go makes sense.) Dinner is all ready. (Dinner is ready makes sense.) If you cant leave out the all and still have the sentence make sense, then use already (the one with the all left in it). Im already late. (Im ready late does not make sense.) are, or, our Are is a verb. Or is use between two possibilities as tea or coffee. Our shows we possess something. We are studying English. Take it or leave it. Our class meets at eight. brake, break Brake means to slow or stop motion. Its also the name of the devise that slows or stops motion. Break means to shatter. You brake the speed of a car. You slam on your brakes. You break a dish or an engagement or a track record. I will choose a partner right now.
choose, chose
I chose a partner yesterday. clothes, cloths coarse, course Her clothes were attractive. We used soft cloths to polish the car. Coarse describes texture, as coarse cloth. Course is used for all other meanings. Remember this sentence: Of course you are taking this course. Find the tree us in that sentence and then remember that those words are always spelled with u. Her suit was made of coarse material. Of course I enjoyed that course. A complement completes something. Compliment means praise. Remember I like compliments, and you will remember to use the i spelling. A 30-degree angle is the complement of a 60-degree angle. She gave him a compliment.
complement, compliment
conscience, conscious The extra n in conscience should remind you of NO, which is what your conscience often says to you. The other word conscious simply means aware. My conscience bothers me because I ignored him. I was not conscious that it was raining. desert, dessert Dessert is the sweet one, the one you like two helpings of. So give it two helping of s. The other one, desert, is used for all other meanings. We had apple pie for dessert. Dont desert me. The camel moved slowly across the desert.
does, dose Does is a verb. A dose is an amount of medicine. He does his work well. She does not care about cars. He took a dose of medicine. forth, fourth Fourth with four in it is a number. Otherwise use forth. Note that while fourth has four in it, forty does not. Remember the word forty-fourth. This is our fourth game. That was our forty-fourth point. She walked back and forth.
have, of
Have is a verb. When you say could have, the have sounds like of, but it must not be written that way. Of is a preposition. I should have finished my work sooner. Then I could have gone home. I often think of him. Its always means it is or it has. Its is a possessive. 2
its, its
Its too late now. Its been a long time. The committee gave its report. knew, new Knew has to do with knowledge (both start with k). New means not old. I knew that I wanted a new job. know, no Know has to do with knowledge (both start with k). No means not any. I know she has no money left. Moral has to do with right and wrong; morale means group spirit. Pronounce them correctly, and you wont confuse themmral, morale. It was a moral question. The morale of the team was excellent. Passed is a verb. Use past when its not a verb. He passed the house. He walked past the house (its the same as He walked by the house, so you know it is not a verb). He is living in the past. He was going on his past reputation. Remember piece of pie. The one meaning a piece of something always begins with pie. The other one, peace, is the opposite of war. I gave him a piece of my mind. They signed the peace treaty.
moral, morale
passed, past
peace, piece
personal, personnel Pronounce these two correctly, and you will not confuse themprsonal, personnel. He had a personal interest in the election. He was in charge of personnel in the factory. principal, principle Principal means main. Both words have a in them: principal main The principal of the school spoke. (main teacher) The principal difficulty is time. (main difficulty) He lost both principal and interest. (main amount of money) A principle is a rule. Both words end in le: principle rule He lived by his principles. (rules) I object to the principle of the thing. (rule) quiet, quite Pronounce these two correctly, and you will not misspell them. Quiet is pronounced qui et. Be quiet. The book is quite interesting. 3
than, then Than compares two things. Then tells when (then and when sound alike and both have e in them). I would rather have this than that. Then he started home. their, there, theyre Their is a possessive. There points out something and is spelled like here. Remember here and there. Theyre always means they are. Their house is painted pink. There is where I left it. There were clouds in the sky. Theyre planning to come. threw, through Threw means to throw something in past time. If you do not mean to throw something, use through. He threw the ball. I threw away my chance. I came in through the out door. He threw the ball through the window.
to, too, two Two is a number. Too means more then enough or also. Use to for all other meanings. I have two brothers. The lesson was too difficult and too long. (more than enough) I found it difficult, too. (also) It was too much for two people to eat. weather, whether Weather refers to atmospheric conditions. Whether means if. Whether Ill go depends on the weather. were, where Were is a verb. Where has herein it, and both where and here refer to a place. Were you the winner? Where is he? Here he is. Where are you? Here I am. whos, whose Whos always means who is or who has. Whose is a possessive. Whos there? Whos been using my tennis racket? Whose book is this?
woman, women Remember that the word is just man or men with wo in front of it. wo man woman one woman wo men women two women your, youre Youre always means you are. Your is a possessive. Youre very welcome. Your toast is ready.

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