Commonly Confused Words

Accept / besides Affect / Effect A Lot / Alot allusion / Illusion All Ready / Already Alto crushher / All Together Apart / A Part Ascent / Assent Breath / Breathe Capital / Capitol conjure / Sight / Site Complement / Compliment Conscience / Conscious Council / Counsel Elicit / Illicit high / Immanent / Imminent Its / Its Lead / Led Lie / Lay Lose / Loose Novel Passed / sometime(prenominal) Precede / Procede Principal / Principle Quote / Quotation Reluctant / Reticent Stationary / Stationery suppose To / Suppose Than / Then Their / there / TheyreThrough / Threw / Thorough / Though / Thru To / Too / Two Who / Which / That Who / Whom ACCEPT-to receiveex He accepts defeat well(p). EXCEPT-to maneuver or leave let onex Please take all the intelligences off the shelf except for the red one. AFFECT-to influenceex need of sleep affects the quality of your work. EFFECT-n. , result, v. , to accomplishex The subtle effect of the lighting make the room look ominous. ex flowerpot the university effect such a change without disrupting classes? A LOT (two words)-many. ALOT (one word)-Not the correct form. all(prenominal)USION-an indirect referenceexThe professor made an allusion to Virginia Woolfs work. ILLUSION-a false perception of realityex They saw a mirage that is a type of illusion one sees in the desert. ALL READY-preparedex Dinner was all ready when the guests arrived. ALREADY-by this timeex The turkey was already burned when the guests arrived. ALTOGETHER-entirelyex Altogether, I thought that the students presentation was well planned. ALL TOGETHER-gathered, with everything in one placeex We were all together at the family reunion last spring.APART-to be separatedex The chain-link get by kept the angry blackguards apart. OR My old car fell apart originally we r all(prenominal)ed California. A PART-to be joined withex The new course was a part of the new field of study at the university. OR A part of this plan involves getting started at dawn. ASCENT- c limbex The planes ascent made my ears pop. ASSENT-agreementex The martian assented to undergo experiments. BREATH-noun, mental strain inhaled or exhaledex You could see his breath in the cold air. BREATHE-verb, to inhale or exhaleex If you dont breathe, hence you are dead.CAPITAL-seat of government. as well financial resources. ex The capital of Virginia is Richmond. ex The firm had enough capital to build the new plant. CAPITOL-the demonstrable construct in which the legislative body meetsex The governor announced his resignation in a computer address given at the capitol today. CITE-to summon or documentex I cited ten quotes from the same author in my paper. SIGHT-visionex The bundle of the American flag arouses different emotions in different parts of the world. SITE-position or placeex The new office building was built on the site of a cemetery.COMPLEMENT-noun, something that completes verb, to completeex A nice dry white wine complements a seafood entree. COMPLIMENT-noun , praise verb, to praiseex The professor complimented Betty on her proper use of a comma. CONSCIENCE-sense of right and wrongex The students conscience kept him from cheat on the exam. CONSCIOUS-awakeex I was conscious when the burglar entered the house. COUNCIL-a group that consults or advisesex The men and women on the council voted in opt of an outdoor concert in their town. COUNSEL-to adviseex The arole officer counseled the convict before he was released. ELICIT-to draw or take on outex The teacher elicited the correct response from the student. ILLICIT-illegalex The Columbian drug lord was arrested for his illicit activities. EMINENT-famous, respectedex The eminent foot doctor won the Physician of the Year award. IMMANENT-inherent or intrinsicex The meaning of the poem was immanent, and not easily recognized. IMMINENT-ready to take placeex A fight between my sister and me is imminent from the moment I enter my house.ITS-of or belonging to itex The gratify will scream as so on as its mother walks out of the room. ITS-contraction for it isex Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood. LEAD-noun, a type of metalex Is that pipe made of lead? LED-verb, past reach of the verb to leadex She led the campers on an over-night hike. LIE-to lie down (a soulfulness or animal. hint people can signalise lies)ex I agree a headache, so Im going to lie down for a while. (also lying, lay, has/have lainThe dog has lain in the shade all day yesterday, the dog lay there for twelve hours).LAY-to lay an goal down. ex Lay down that shotgun, Pappy The sheriff demanded of the crazed moonshiner. ex The town lay at the foot of the mountain. (also laying, laid, has/have laidAt that point, Pappy laid the shotgun on the ground). LOSEverb, to misplace or not winex mammary gland glared at Mikey. If you lose that new lunchbox, dont withal think of coming home LOOSEadjective, to not be tight verb ( rarely used)to releaseex The burglars pants were so loose that he was sure to lose t he race with the cop chasing him. x While awaiting trial, he was never set loose from jail because no one would post his bail. NOVEL-noun, a book that is a work of fiction. Do not use novel for nonfiction use book or work. ex Mark Twain wrote his novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when he was already well known, exactly before he published many other works of fiction and nonfiction. PASSED-verb, past tense of to pass, to have movedexThe gap passed through the city quickly, but it caused great damage. PAST-belonging to a former time or placeex Who was the past chairman of Microsquish Computers? x Go past the fire station and turn right. PRECEDE-to come beforeex Pre-writing precedes the rough draft of total papers. PROCEED-to go forwardex He proceeded to pass back the failing grades on the exam. PRINCIPAL-adjective, most important noun, a person who has authorityex The principal ingredient in chocolate chip cookies is chocolate chips. ex The principal of the school does the anno uncements each morning. PRINCIPLE-a general or fundamental truthex The study was based on the principle of gravity. QUOTE-verb, to citeex I would like to quote Dickens in my next paper.QUOTATION-noun, the act of citingex The book of famous quotations inspired us all. RELUCTANT-to hesitate or feel unwilling ex We became reluctant to drive further and eventually turned back when the roadway became icy. RETICENT-to be reluctant to speak to be reserved in manner. Note that The American Heritage vocabulary lists reluctant as a synonym for reticent, as the third definition. For nuance and variety, we recommend reticent for vacillation when speaking or showing emotion (after all, even extroverts can become reluctant). ex They called him reticent, because he rarely spoke.But he listened carefully and only spoke when he had something important to say. STATIONARY-standing stillex The accident was my fault because I ran into a stationary object. STATIONERY-writing paperex My mother bought m e stationery that was on recycled paper. SUPPOSED TO-correct form for to be obligated to or presumed to not suppose toSUPPOSE-to guess or make a conjectureex Do you suppose we will get to the drome on time? When is our plane supposed to arrive? We are supposed to check our bags before we board, but I suppose we could do that at the curb and save time.THAN-use with comparisonsex I would rather go out to eat than eat at the dining hall. THEN-at that time, or nextex I studied for my exam for seven hours, and then I went to bed. THEIR-possessive form of theyex Their house is at the end of the block. THERE-indicates location (hint think of here and there)ex There goes my chance of winning the lottery THEYRE-contraction for they areex Theyre in Europe for the summeragain THROUGH-by federal agency of finished into or out ofex He plowed right through the other teams defensive line.THREW-past tense of throwex She threw away his love love letters. THOROUGH-careful or completeex John thoroug hly cleaned his room there was not even a speck of dust when he finished. THOUGH-however neverthelessex Hes really a sweetheart though he looks hardened on the outside. THRU-abbreviated slang for through not appropriate in standard writingex Were thru for the day TO-towardex I went to the University of Richmond. TOO-also, or excessivelyex He drank too many screwdrivers and was unable to drive home. TWO-a numberex Only two students did not turn in the assignment.WHO-pronoun, referring to a person or personsex Jane wondered how Jack, who is so smart, could be having difficulties in Calculus. WHICH-pronoun, replacing a singular or plural thing(s)not used to refer to personsex Which section of history did you get into? THAT-used to refer to things or a group or class of peopleex I lost the book that I bought last week. WHO-used as a subject or as a subject complement (see above)ex John is the man who can get the job done. WHOM-used as an objectex Whom did Sarah choose as her replacemen t? Back to Commonly Confused Words or clarity and StyleCopyright 2010