Commonly Confused Words

AFFECT Verb meaning “to influence” Years of playing in a band has affected Brian’s hearing. ALLUSION Reference to something Literature is full of allusions to the Bible and to Shakespeare. ADAPT To change or adjust something in order to make it fit or to make it suitable The music was adapted from a classical piece. EFFECT Noun meaning “result of some action” OR verb meaning “to bring about” The medicine had no effect on my cold. The principal has effected changes in the lunch schedule. ILLUSION Mistaken idea or misleading appearance This book of magic tricks will teach you how to create many illusions. ADOPT To take something/someone and make it/him or her one’s own We decided to adopt the kitten since we couldn’t find its owner.

ACCEPT Verb meaning to receive I hope you accept my apology. EMIGRATE To leave a country or region to settle elsewhere How many people have emigrated from Ireland? AMOUNT Refers to a single word Gail received an enormous amount of candy at Halloween. EXCEPT Verb meaning to leave out OR preposition meaning excluding No one will be excepted from this assignment. Everyone is attending the party except Sally. IMMIGRATE To come into a country or region to settle there Many Irish immigrated to Boston. NUMBER Refers to a plural word Glays has a large number of foreign coins.

FAMOUS Adjective meaning “known about by many people” He was famous for his role in the movie Titanic. BESIDE Preposition meaning “at the side of; next to; in addition; apart from” I sat beside my aunt. DATA Noun meaning “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis” The data showed a clear increase in sales. NOTORIOUS Adjective meaning “well known for some trait or deed; typically negative” He was notorious for lying on his absence notes. BESIDES Adverb meaning “in addition or as well” I have no other family besides my siblings. DATUM Noun meaning “a piece of information”- RARELY USED The individual datum made up the graph.

APT Adjective meaning “appropriate or suitable in the circumstances” OR “having a tendency to do something’ It was an apt description of her character She was apt to confuse the past and present. LIABLE Adjective meaning “responsible by law” or “likely to do or to be something” I was liable for the damage to the car. The women were liable to faint when they saw the mouse. CURRICULA Noun meaning “subjects comprising to a course of study in a school” The university curricula was made up of complex courses. PHENOMENA Noun meaning “multiple phenomenon” Strange phenomena occur all night long. LIKELY Adjective meaning “such as well might happen or be true; probable” or “promising” Adverb meaning “probably” That’s a likely story. We will likely attend the party. CURRICULUM Noun meaning “the subjects, skills, and knowledge that students are expected to learn” The English curriculum was very challenging. PHENOMENON Noun meaning “a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question” The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon that tourists love to observe.

AMONG Implies more than 2 people or things The five committee members shared the work among themselves. IMPLY To suggest something In her speech, the candidate implied that she was for tax reform. ALREADY Previously We have already painted the sets. BETWEEN Implies two people or things The two friends only had twenty-five cents between them. INFER To interpret or derive a certain meaning from a remark or action From other remarks that she has made, I infer that she feels that certain taxes are unfair. ALL READY All are ready We were all ready to leave.

LESS To describe things that you cannot count Singular He should drink less coffee. LIE To rest or to recline Lying, lay, have lain Diane’s cat lies on her bed all the time. THEN Used to indicate time or in if…then situations I did my homework then went to bed. FEWER To describe countable amounts Plural He should eat fewer donuts. LAY To put something or someone down Laying, laid, have laid Cynthia laid the blanket across the bed. THAN Conjunction used to make comparisons My breakfast is better than yours.

WELL Adverb meaning capably or satisfactorily OR adjective meaning in good health Molly writes short stories well. I saw Bill and he looked well. WHO Used as subject or as predicate nominative Who wants to make popcorn? Mae is the reporter who wrote the stories. GOOD Adjective That suit looks good on you. WHOM Used as an object of a verb or as an object of a preposition She is the person whom I told you about. With whom did you go to the movies?

BAD Bad is an adjective and should be used to describe a noun. The women felt bad about forgetting to invite Ms. Jones. BADLY Badly is ALWAYS an adverb and should be used to modify a verb. Her arm hurt badly after she fell.

THEY’RE Contraction meaning “they are” They’re going to the store to get milk this afternoon. THEIR Possessive pronoun Their books are on the table. THERE Use to reference a place or with “to be” verbs Look over there at the elephants. There are many exciting things to learn in English class!

Avoid the Following Phrases:Instead Say… All the farther, all the faster As far as, as fast as Eighty miles per hour is as fast as that electric car can go. Being as, being that Because, since Because Carol was the best candidate, we voted for her. This here, that here This, that That automobile looks like a June bug. Reason…is because Reason…is that The reason for the ordinance against washing cars is that we have a water shortage.

Some Tricky Phrases Do not use at after whereWhere did you find Tanya? Do not use of with the helping verb could. Use have insteadI could have been a contender. Omit the a after kind of or sort ofWhat kind of pet would you like? Do not use like for conjunctions as, as if, as though to introduce subordinate clause You look as if you need some help. Do not use when or where to begin a definition.Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the beginning sounds of words are repeated.

Double Negatives Definition: A construction in which two or more negative words are used where one is enough. Words not to use with other negative words: Barely, hardly, scarcely, no, none, not, nothing *Do not use the contraction n’t with another negative word* WRONG: I didn’t do nothing. RIGHT: I didn’t do anything.