Commonly Confused Words

Commonly Confused Words
Some words in English cause trouble for speakers and writers because these words share a
similar pronunciation, meaning, or spelling with another word. These words are
called commonly confused words. For example, read aloud the following sentences containing
the commonly confused words new and knew:
I liked her new sweater.
I knew she would wear that sweater today.
These words may sound alike when spoken, but they carry entirely different usages and
meanings. New is an adjective that describes the sweater, and knew is the past tense of the verb to
know
Commonly Confused Words
A, An, And
 A (article). Used before a word that begins with a
consonant.
a key, a mouse, a screen

 An (article). Used before a word that begins with a vowel.
an airplane, an ocean, an igloo

 And (conjunction). Connects two or more words together.
peanut butter and jelly, pen and pencil, jump and shout
Accept, Except
 Accept (verb). Means to take or agree to something
offered.
They accepted our proposal for the conference.

 Except (conjunction). Means only or but.
We could fly there except the tickets cost too much.

Affect, Effect
 Affect (verb). Means to create a change.
Hurricane winds affect the amount of rainfall.

 Effect (noun). Means an outcome or result.
The heavy rains will have an effect on the crop growth.

Are, Our
 Are (verb). A conjugated form of the verb to be.
My cousins are all tall and blonde.

 Our (pronoun). Indicates possession, usually follows the
pronoun we.
We will bring our cameras to take pictures.

By, Buy
 By (preposition). Means next to.
My glasses are by the bed.

 Buy (verb). Means to purchase.
I will buy new glasses after the doctor’s appointment.

Its, It’s
 Its (pronoun). A form of it that shows possession.
The butterfly flapped its wings.

 It’s (contraction). Joins the words it and is.
It’s the most beautiful butterfly I have ever seen.

Know, No
 Know (verb). Means to understand or possess knowledge.
I know the male peacock sports the brilliant feathers.

 No. Used to make a negative.
I have no time to visit the zoo this weekend.

Loose, Lose
 Loose (adjective). Describes something that is not tight or
is detached.
Without a belt, her pants are loose on her waist.

 Lose (verb). Means to forget, to give up, or to fail to earn
something.
She will lose even more weight after finishing the marathon
training.
Of, Have
 Of (preposition). Means from or about.
I studied maps of the city to know where to rent a new

apartment.
 Have (verb). Means to possess something.
I have many friends to help me move.

 Have (linking verb). Used to connect verbs.
I should have helped her with that heavy box.

Quite, Quiet, Quit
 Quite (adverb). Means really or truly.
My work will require quite a lot of concentration.

 Quiet (adjective). Means not loud.
I need a quiet room to complete the assignments.

 Quit (verb). Means to stop or to end.
I will quit when I am hungry for dinner.

Right, Write
 Right (adjective). Means proper or correct.
When bowling, she practices the right form.

 Right (adjective). Also means the opposite of left.
The ball curved to the right and hit the last pin.
 Write (verb). Means to communicate on paper.
After the team members bowl, I will write down their scores.
Set, Sit
 Set (verb). Means to put an item down.
She set the mug on the saucer.

 Set (noun). Means a group of similar objects.
All the mugs and saucers belonged in a set.

 Sit (verb). Means to lower oneself down on a chair or
another place
I’ll sit on the sofa while she brews the tea.

Suppose, Supposed
 Suppose (verb). Means to think or to consider
I suppose I will bake the bread, because no one else has the
recipe.
 Suppose (verb). Means to suggest.
Suppose we all split the cost of the dinner.

 Supposed (verb). The past tense form of the verb suppose,
meaning required or allowed.
She was supposed to create the menu.

Than, Then
 Than (conjunction). Used to connect two or more items
when comparing
Registered nurses require less schooling than doctors.

 Then (adverb). Means next or at a specific time.
Doctors first complete medical school and then obtain a

residency.
Their, They’re, There
 Their (pronoun). A form of they that shows possession.
The dog walker feeds their dogs everyday at two o’clock.

 They’re (contraction). Joins the words they and are.
They’re the sweetest dogs in the neighborhood.

 There (adverb). Indicates a particular place.
The dogs’ bowls are over there, next to the pantry.

 There (pronoun). Indicates the presence of something
There are more treats if the dogs behave.

To, Two, Too
 To (preposition). Indicates movement.
Let’s go to the circus.

 To. A word that completes an infinitive verb.
to play, to ride, to watch.

 Two. The number after one. It describes how many.
Two clowns squirted the elephants with water.

 Too (adverb). Means also or very.
The tents were too loud, and we left.

Use, Used
 Use (verb). Means to apply for some purpose.
We use a weed whacker to trim the hedges.

 Used. The past tense form of the verb to use
He used the lawnmower last night before it rained.

 Used to. Indicates something done in the past but not in the
present
He used to hire a team to landscape, but now he landscapes

alone.
Who’s, Whose
 Who’s (contraction). Joins the words who and
either is or has.
Who’s the new student? Who’s met him?
 Whose (pronoun). A form of who that shows possession.
Whose schedule allows them to take the new student on a

campus tour?
Your, You’re
 Your (pronoun). A form of you that shows possession.
Your book bag is unzipped.

 You’re (contraction). Joins the words you and are.
You’re the girl with the unzipped book bag.
Exercise 1
Complete the following sentences by selecting the

correct word.
1. My little cousin turns ____two____(to, too, two)
years old tomorrow.
2. The next-door neighbor’s dog is
____quite____(quite, quiet, quit) loud. He barks
constantly throughout the night.
3. _____your___(Your, You’re) mother called this
morning to talk about the party.
4. I would rather eat a slice of chocolate cake
___than____(than, then) eat a chocolate muffin.
5. Before the meeting, he drank a cup of coffee
and ______then__(than, then) brushed his teeth.
6. Do you have any ___lose_____(loose, lose)
change to pay the parking meter?
7. Father must __have______(have, of) left his
briefcase at the office.
8. Before playing ice hockey, I was
___supposed_____(suppose, supposed) to read
the contract, but I only skimmed it and signed
my name quickly, which may
___affect_____(affect, effect) my understanding
of the rules.
9. Tonight she will ___sit_____(set, sit) down and
__write______(right, write) a cover letter to
accompany her résumé and job application.
10. It must be fall, because the leaves
_____our___(are, our) changing, and
__it’s______(it’s, its) getting darker earlier.
Exercise 2
The following paragraph contains eleven errors. Find

each misused word and correct it by adding the
proper word.
The original United States Declaration of Independence sets in a case at

the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom as part of the National
Archives in Washington, DC. Since 1952, over one million visitors each
year have passed through the Rotunda to snap a photograph to capture
their experience. Although signs state, “No Flash Photography,”
forgetful tourists leave the flash on, an a bright light flickers for just a
millisecond. This millisecond of light may not seem like enough to
effect the precious document, but suppose how much light could be
generated when all those milliseconds are added up. According to the
National Archives administrators, its enough to significantly damage the
historic document. So, now the signs display quite a different message:
“No Photography.” Visitors continue to travel to see the Declaration that
began our country, but nos longer can personal pictures serve as
mementos. The administrators’ compromise, they say, is a visit to the
gift shop for a preprinted photograph.

Commonly Confused Words

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Commonly Confused Words

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Commonly Confused Words

I knew she would wear that sweater today.

Commonly Confused Words

a key, a mouse, a screen

an airplane, an ocean, an igloo

They accepted our proposal for the conference.

We could fly there except the tickets cost too much.

Hurricane winds affect the amount of rainfall.

The heavy rains will have an effect on the crop growth.

My cousins are all tall and blonde.

We will bring our cameras to take pictures.

My glasses are by the bed.

I will buy new glasses after the doctor’s appointment.

The butterfly flapped its wings.

It’s the most beautiful butterfly I have ever seen.

I know the male peacock sports the brilliant feathers.

I have no time to visit the zoo this weekend.

Without a belt, her pants are loose on her waist.

I studied maps of the city to know where to rent a new

I have many friends to help me move.

I should have helped her with that heavy box.

My work will require quite a lot of concentration.

I need a quiet room to complete the assignments.

I will quit when I am hungry for dinner.

When bowling, she practices the right form.

She set the mug on the saucer.

All the mugs and saucers belonged in a set.

I’ll sit on the sofa while she brews the tea.

Suppose we all split the cost of the dinner.

She was supposed to create the menu.

Registered nurses require less schooling than doctors.

Doctors first complete medical school and then obtain a

The dog walker feeds their dogs everyday at two o’clock.

They’re the sweetest dogs in the neighborhood.

The dogs’ bowls are over there, next to the pantry.

There are more treats if the dogs behave.

Let’s go to the circus.

to play, to ride, to watch.

Two clowns squirted the elephants with water.

The tents were too loud, and we left.

We use a weed whacker to trim the hedges.

He used the lawnmower last night before it rained.

He used to hire a team to landscape, but now he landscapes

Whose schedule allows them to take the new student on a

Your book bag is unzipped.

You’re the girl with the unzipped book bag.

Complete the following sentences by selecting the

The following paragraph contains eleven errors. Find

The original United States Declaration of Independence sets in a case at

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