WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED

PART I accept except (verb) to receive willingly. Mary accepted my apology.

(preposition) As a preposition except means excluding or leaving out. Everyone except Tom was present. (or as a verb) As a verb except means to exclude or to leave out. Tony was excepted from the list of players. _______________________________________________________________________________________ affect effect (verb) to influence. Did the horror movie affect you? (verb) As a verb effect means to accomplish. New classes effected a great change in his vision. (or a noun) As a noun effect means the result of some action. What effect did the last test have on your grade?

Hint: affect with an a is an action. Effect with an e is an end-result. _______________________________________________________________________________________ all right This is the only acceptable spelling. I asked her if she was all right after her fall. __________________________________________________________________________________ already all ready (adverb) previously. We had already painted the sets for the play.

all are ready. We are all ready for the dance. _______________________________________________________________________________________ among between (preposition) connects more than two. Divide the Skittles among the girls in the class.

(preposition) connects only two. Divide the cookies between Ray and Mark. _______________________________________________________________________________________ bring take (verb) carry to the speaker. Bring the package to me right now.

(verb) carry in any other direction. Take your equipment with you. _______________________________________________________________________________________

capital

this is the only correct spelling except when the word means a government building. What is the capital of Massachusetts? Does this word require a capital letter?

Capitol

government building (usually capitalized) We could see the Capitol building from our hotel. _______________________________________________________________________________________ coarse course (adjective) rough or crude. Sandpaper is coarse.

(noun) path of action. There is a new golf course in our town. My English course helped my writing. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise # 1 Select the correct word and be prepared to defend your choice. 1. The illness had a strange (affect 2. Please (bring effect) on Barbara.

take) your pen when you come to class each day. capitol) of every state in our country.

3. My cousin knows the (capital 4. The (course 5. Of (course

coarse) material was uncomfortable against her skin. coarse) Abby burned the (desert excepted) my invitation. alright). dessert) again.

6. Elizabeth (accepted

7. Despite all of her worrying, everything turned out (all right 8. A computer (course

coarse) is recommended for anyone who wants to go to college. desert).

9. We traveled three days across the (dessert 10. The actors were (all ready

already) to audition for the play. between) the five classes. take) it back here tomorrow.

11. We divided the books (among 12. Please (bring 13. The (effect

take) this notice home to your parents and (bring affect) of the snow was that the roads were closed.

14. His broken foot (effected affected) his running speed. _______________________________________________________________________________________

PART II complement (verb) to make whole. The bag complements her new outfit. (or noun) the thing that makes something whole. The complement of 60 degrees is 30 degrees.

compliment

(verb) to praise. I complimented her on the dinner she made. (or noun) praise, affection or esteem. I gave my compliments to the artist. _______________________________________________________________________________________ consul (noun) a diplomat appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country. When my passport was stolen in Paris, the American consul in France helped me get home. council councilor counsel (noun) a group that meets to discuss matters related to a specific group. The student council discussed the pep rally. (noun) a member of such a group. The town councilors voted to build a new school.

(verb) to advise. Jakes therapist counseled him after the car accident. counselor (noun) an advisor. You should speak with your guidance counselor about your schedule. _______________________________________________________________________________________ could have these are the only acceptable spellings. No could of, would of, or should of. should have would have _______________________________________________________________________________________ formally formerly (adverb) in a formal matter. For a wedding, one should dress formally.

(adverb) in the past. Mr. Smith was formerly the principal of Westbrook High School. _______________________________________________________________________________________ illusion allusion (noun) a false idea or belief. The afternoon sunlight gave the illusion that the building was on fire.

(noun) reference. In The Human Comedy there are many allusions to The Odyssey. _______________________________________________________________________________________

its

possessive of it. 3

The dog ate out of its bowl. it's contraction for it is. Its not time to get up for school yet.

Hint: Possessive its never splits (as in, there is no apostrophe splitting it.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ lead led present tense of the verb to lead, which means to go first. Jennifer will lead us since she knows the way.

past tense of the verb to lead. Andrew led us on the hike. _______________________________________________________________________________________ lay lie (verb) to place or to put. (this verb takes a direct object) I am going to lay the book on the table.

(verb) to rest or recline. (this verb does not take the direct object) I am going to lie down on the couch. _______________________________________________________________________________________ loose lose (adjective) not firmly in place. He has two loose teeth.

(verb) to suffer loss. Do not lose your science textbook. _______________________________________________________________________________________ moral (adjective) concerned with right or wrong. Everyone admires a moral person. (or noun) a lesson. The moral of the story is to look before you leap.

morale

(noun) spirit. Even after two defeats, the morale of the team was high. _______________________________________________________________________________________ desert desert dessert (noun) a dry area. Pronounced DES-ert Because of the heat, they crossed the desert at night. (verb) to leave. Pronounced des-ERT like the end of a meal. He deserted the car on the road. (noun) the last part of a meal. For dessert we had ice cream.

Hint: There is more than one s in dessert because you always want more dessert. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise # 2 Select the correct word and be prepared to defend your choice. 4

1. As I (lay

laid) on the couch yesterday, I had a strange dream.

2. You can (lead led) a horse to water but you cant make him drink. 3. If you (loose 4. For the (past lose) the directions, well never get there. passed) week he had done nothing but work on a term paper. morale).

5. The general spoke to the troops to improve their (moral 6. The President made an (allusion 7. My horse (lead 8. (Lay 9. If (its

illusion) to the Midwest during his speech.

led) all the others around the track.

Lie) down and go to sleep. its) not too much trouble, would you mail this package for me? lose).

10. After she went on a diet, her clothes were too (loose 11. Maine was (formerly 12. (Its

formally) part of Massachusetts.

Its) raining in Florida today. lie) the letter on the desk and then (lie lay) in bed for a while. lose).

13. I am going to (lay

14. I have lost so much weight that my jeans are becoming (loose

PART III personal personnel (adjective) individual. The coach gave the player some personal attention.

(noun) a group of people employed at the same place. The bosses added four new employees to the personnel. _______________________________________________________________________________________ principal (noun) head of school. The principal of our school is Mr. Stephens. (or adjective) most important. The principal reason we left was because of the bad weather.

principle

(noun) a rule of conduct. Jake based his decision on the principles of right or wrong. _______________________________________________________________________________________ quiet (adjective) still or silent. The birds outside my window were quiet. 5

quite

(adverb) completely, rather or very. Are you quite certain that you shut the garage door? _______________________________________________________________________________________ raise (noun) an increase. He got a raise last year. (or verb) to lift up. (this verb takes the direct object) The teacher asked us to raise our hand if we had a question.

rise

(verb) to come up. (this verb does not take a direct object) The river next to our house rises whenever there is a storm. _______________________________________________________________________________________ stationary stationery (adjective) in a fixed position. The desk was stationary since it was connected to the floor.

(noun) writing paper. Amanda wrote her thank you notes on pink stationary. _______________________________________________________________________________________ than then (conjunction) used for comparisons. He is smarter than I am.

(adverb) at that time. We didnt know each other then. (conjunction) next. We swam for an hour then we went home. _______________________________________________________________________________________ their there they're (adjective) possessive of they. Their new car is a Volkswagen. (noun) a place. I havent been there in three years.

(contraction) they are. Theyre visiting New York next month. _______________________________________________________________________________________ passed past (verb) past tense of to pass. We passed the papers to the front.

(noun) a previous time. We study the past in History class. (or adjective) relating to a previous time. The past year was difficult. (or preposition) from one side to another. The dog walked past the cat without noticing. Exercise # 3 Select the correct word and be prepared to defend your choice. 6

1. Mary doesnt understand any of the (principals 2. My father (rises

principles) of physics.

raises) many objections to me going to Paris alone. stationary).

3. During the last minutes of the game, we all stayed (stationery 4. Josh asks much older (than 5. Adam spoke in a (quiet then) he really is.

quite) voice, which is (quiet personnel) questions.

quite) different from his normally loud voice.

6. Rob asks too many (personal 7. When the sun (rises

raises) we will pack up the tent. their theyre) eating. principle) asked the student.

8. On should never bother animals when (there 9. Do you have any (principals

principles)? the (principal

10. The bookstore is having a large sale on (stationary

stationery).

11. We are going to (there their theyre) _______________________________________________________________________________________ PART IV to (preposition) expressing motion to a particular location We must return the books to the library (or with the infinitive form of a verb) Kate began to run (adverb) to a higher degree than is desirable, or more than enough. Jose is too young to drive. Mary is going to the gym and Ann is going too.

too

two

(adjective) one plus one Heidi will graduate in two years. _______________________________________________________________________________________ waist waste (noun) the midsection of the body He put the belt around his waist.

(noun) a foolish or needless expense. The United States produces a lot of waste every year. (or a verb) to spend foolishly. He wasted his allowance on candy. _______________________________________________________________________________________

weather

(noun) the conditions outside 7

The weather this summer has been nice. whether (conjunction) indicating a choice between alternatives Andrew didnt know whether he wanted to play hockey or basketball _______________________________________________________________________________________ whos whose (contraction) who is or who has He asked whos behind the door and whos taken the last cookie.

possessive of who Whose dog is that? _______________________________________________________________________________________ your you're possessive of you Your watch is on the desk.

(contraction) you are Youre never on time. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise # 4 Select the correct word and be prepared to defend your choice. 1. Billy wore a leather belt around his (waist 2. (Youre 3. (Weather waste).

Your) guidance counselor wants to see you today. Whether) or not you can take Advanced Geometry next year depends on your grades. to too) much traffic on the highway, we got to the party late.

4. Because there was (two 5. (Whos

Whose) going to buy his ticket now? youre) going to have to work harder.

6. If you want to pass Biology (your 7. I dont really care (whose 8. I liked the concert (to 9. This is good (weather 10. (Your too

whos) fault it was, someone must repair the damage. two).

whether) for sailing.

Youre) sure that Mr. Thompson wanted to see me? too two) many people working on the project.

11. We can never have (to