Commonly Confused Words

Commonly Confused Words | Top Most
Commonly Misused Words in English
Commonly Misused Words with Examples
Lose vs Loose
Lose is a verb and has a /z/ sound in pronunciation. Lose means to be unable to get something.
 He does not want his team to lose a match.
 She will lose her necklace if she keeps it in her bag.
Loose is an adjective and has a /s/ sound. Loose means not tight.
 Window handles fall off because they are loose.
 Loose clothes are annoying.
Farther vs Further
Farther is used when referring to physical distance.
 He ran farther than me.
 How much farther until we arrive at the venue?
Further is used when referring to things which are not physical.
 Do you have any further questions?
 No further complaints are allowed.
Bear and Bare

Bear when used as a verb means to endure hardship or hold something heavy. When used as a noun it
means an animal but we are not referring to that.
 She cannot bear to see her daughter in pain.
 A broken bed cannot bear your weight.
Bare is an adjective meaning something that is uncovered or naked. Bare can also be used as a verb to
refer to the act to of uncovering.
 Carpenters with bare hands often get hurt. (adjective)
 Bare your hand so that we can see your tattoo. (verb)
Compliment vs Complement
Complement is used when two objects fit each other perfectly while compliment refers to the praise
words given when something good has been done. Compliment can also be used as a verb to refer to
the act of giving a compliment.
 She complimented me for my decent dressing. (verb)
 She gave me a compliment for my decent dressing. (noun)
 Her red skirt complements her shoes. (They match perfectly)
Affect vs Effect
Affect is a verb while effect is a noun. Both affect and effect are used to show consequences of
actions.
 My bad sleeping habit will affect my word. (My sleeping habit will have a bad effect on my work)
Consider the effect of missing school today. (Consider how missing school today will affect you)
1|Page
Advice vs Advise
Advice is a noun while advise is its verb. Both of them mean to give good guidance on an issue.
 I advise her to go to school. (verb)
 My father gave me advice on how to do homework. (noun)
Resign and Re-sign

Resign means to quit a job and is pronounced with a /z/ sound. Re-sign with a hyphen means to sign a
contract again or keep a job which you are currently doing.
 I will resign from my current job because our boss in rude.
 I re-sign my current job because I love it.
Breath vs Breathe
Breath is a noun referring to air which goes in and out of our lungs while breathe is a verb referring
to the act of breath going in and out of our lungs.
 She held her breath while swimming.
 She was told to breathe slowly.
Capital vs Capitol
Capital may mean uppercase letters or money for beginning a business or a central governing
city. Capitol is a building where a legislative council meets.
 New York is the capital city of United Sates.
 I need capital to start my laundry business.
 Write heading in capital letters.
 He witnessed a bill become a law in the capitol.
Empathy vs Sympathy
Empathy refers to the ability to someone’s feelings while sympathy is feeling sorry for someone who
is suffering.
 His empathy enabled him avoid a quarrel.
 Jack’s sympathy made him give money to his sick neighbor.
Its vs It’s
Its without an apostrophe is a possessive pronoun which means something belongs to
someone. It’s with an apostrophe is a contracted from of it is.
 She gave her dog food on its plate.
 He is happy because it’s his birthday.
Principal vs Principle
Principal can be used as a noun or adjective. As a noun, principal refers to the head of a school while
as an adjective it refers to the most important thing. Principle is always used as noun to signify a
trusted belief.
 Their school gave a reception to their new principal.
 These two medical instruments work on the same principle.
2|Page
Toward vs Towards
Toward is the pronunciation in American English while towards is the pronunciation is standard
British English.
 She gave him a gentle push towards the door.
 The soldiers were disaffected toward the government.
To vs Too
To is a preposition showing direction.
 Amos ran to school.
To can also be used in infinitive verbs.
 Ann waited until the last day to do her work.
Too is used to intensify what is being discussed and can mean ‘also’.
 Jane too waited until the last day to do her work.
 Good morning to you too.
Stationary and Stationery

Stationary refers to anything which cannot move. Stationery is used to refer to letter writing material
especially high quality material.
 Her vehicle remained stationary because it had too much weight.
 I printed my homework on my best stationery.
Inquiry and Enquiry

Inquiry and enquiry have same meaning. Inquiry is spelling according to American English
while Enquiry is spelling according to British English.
 The inquiry was formally initiated last month.
 We thank you for your enquiry.
Their vs There
There indicates a place or venue. Their is a possessive pronoun in plural.
 They walked for more than three miles to reach there.
 They searched for their dog everywhere.
Lay vs Lie
Lay means to put something down. Lie means to put your body in a sleeping position.
 She lay her bag on my table.
 He will lie down after running his race.
Imply and Infer

lmply means to point out something without mentioning it directly. Infer refers to deducing something
out of a situation that is not clear.
 Amos implied to Ann that she was in trouble.
 She inferred that Amos wanted to lean on her from the way he was standing.
Whose vs Who’s
Who’s is a contraction of who is while whose is a possessive pronoun showing ownership.
 Who’s your best friend at school?
 Whose friend is at school?
3|Page
Defence vs Defense
Defence is spelling according to British English while defense is spelling according to American
English.
 I’ve never played in a defence position.
 He was the then secretary of Defense.
Assure and Ensure

Assure means to make it certain to someone that something is true. Ensure means to do all possible
things to make sure something happens as required.
 Assure her that her teacher will reward her performance.
 Ensure her teacher rewards her performance.
Alot vs Allot
A lot is a quantifying phrase meaning much of something. Allot means to distribute something
 The baby cries a lot in the morning.
 James was asked to allot the books to the students.
Accept vs Except
Accept means to come to terms with something.
 It was hard for James to accept his failure in exams.
Except means to exclude.
 All the students except James passed their exams.
Accurate vs Precise
Accurate means very exact. Precise means close to very exact.
 The drawing of the building was accurate.
 His precise shooting skills in archery have earned him medals.
Adverse vs Averse
Adverse means something is someone is hostile towards you or a situation. Averse means to lie on the
opposite to the majority.
 The adverse weather has forced many people to stay indoors.
 The president’s averse economic solutions have made him unpopular.
All Ready vs Already

All ready is a phrase that means all is set. Already means prior to or before a specified time.
 I was all ready for the exams.
 I was already seated in the hall before James came in.
All vs Every
All is a quantifier meaning each item in a group has something common. Every means each of
something.
 All the students wear a blue shirt.
 Every student should bring book to school.
4|Page
All Ways vs Always
All ways means each item of a group of items. Always means every time.
 The city is receiving visitors all ways.
 The teacher is always on time for his lessons.
Appraise vs Apprise
Appraise means to commend or praise. Apprise means up to date.
 An employer should appraise the ability of his employees.
 We must apprise them of the dangers that may be involved.
Birth vs Berth
Birth means the act of bringing up new life. Berth is a space allocated to ships or cars for parking.
 The birth of Prince James was celebrated all over the world.
 The ship has been at the berth for 6 months awaiting clearance by authorities.
Borrow vs Lend
Borrow means to receive something from someone temporary. Lend means to give or borrow
something at a cost.
 I always borrow my books from the school library because it’s cheaper than buying mine.
 The company lends out cars for events such as weddings.
Bring vs Take
Bring means to move something to or close to. Take means to move something away from.
 All the students were asked to bring their parents to school.
 All the trash was taken away from the school by the county waste management team.
Can vs Could
Can means able to. Could implies that there is a possibility but not very sure.
 James can lift a 59kg weight.
 James could lift that 59kg weight.
Cash vs Cache
Cash is money in physical form, cash or bills. Cache is storage used to store valuable items which will
be retrieved in future rapidly.
 The store will discount 5% for cash payment.
 That box of spark plugs under the counter is a cache.
Comprise vs Compose
Comprise means to include items to make up something. Compose is the act of putting together items
to make up something.
 A car comprises of an engine, gearbox and wheels.
 In order to compose a good car you need these items: engine, gearbox and wheels.
Desert vs Dessert
Desert it big dry portion of land that has no vegetation cover and is barren such that plants can’t
thrive. Dessert is a sweet confection served as the last course of a meal.
 The northern part of our country is a desert.
 After finishing our food, James served a dessert composing of ice cream topped with back berries.
5|Page

Commonly Confused Words

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Commonly Confused Words

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Commonly Confused Words

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are some commonly confused words and their differences?

What are some examples of words with different meanings as verbs and nouns?

Commonly Confused Words | Top Most

Commonly Misused Words in English

Commonly Misused Words with Examples

Bear and Bare

Resign and Re-sign

Stationary and Stationery

Inquiry and Enquiry

Imply and Infer

Assure and Ensure

All Ready vs Already

You might also like