1. Commonly Confused Words

2. altar or alter
The noun altar refers to the table in churches where religious ceremonies are carried out. The verb alter means to change, modify, or adjust.
Examples:
"I feel sure that no girl would go to the altar if she knew all." (Queen Victoria)
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." (Lee Iacocca)

3. Practice:
(a) "No passion in the world is equal to the passion to _____ someone else's draft." (H. G. Wells) (b) "I have sworn upon the _____, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." (Thomas Jefferson)

4. Check your answer:
(a) "No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft." (H. G. Wells) (b) "I have sworn upon the altar, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." (Thomas Jefferson)

5. principal or principle
As a noun, principal commonly means "administrator" or "sum of money." As an adjective, principal means "most important." The noun principle means "basic truth" or "rule."
Examples:
According to the Peter Principle, a worker will rise to his or her level of incompetence.
Ms. Benson said that boredom was her principal reason for retiring.

6. Practice:
(a) Mr. Bill retired as school _____. (b) His _____ ambition now is to tend to his garden. (c) The _____ of gardening is the same as the _____ of teaching: to provide nourishment.

7. Check your answer:
(a) Mr. Bill retired as school principal. (b) His principal ambition now is to tend to his garden. (c) The principle of gardening is the same as the principle of teaching: to provide nourishment.

8. few or less
Few and fewer refer to people or objects that can be counted. Little and less refer to a small quantity.
Examples:
"I'm a woman of few words," Mae West said.
I have even less to say than Mae.

9. Practice:
(a) I have _____ money than I thought. A _____ bills are missing from my wallet. (b) Now that I'm broke, I have _____ friends than before.

10. Check your answer:
(a) I have less money than I thought. A few bills are missing from my wallet. (b) Now that I'm broke, I have fewer friends than before.

11. loose or lose
The adjective loose means "not tight." The verb lose means "not to win" or "not to keep."
Examples:
Because your belt is loose, you will probably lose your pants.

12. Practice:
(a) The button on my sleeve is _____. (b) If I _____ that button, I'm in trouble.

13. Check your answer:
(a) The button on my sleeve is loose. (b) If I lose that button, I'm in trouble.

14. are or our
The verb are is a present tense form of the verb "to be." The adjective our is the possessive form of "we."
Examples:
"I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle." (Alfred Hitchcock)
"Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource." (John F. Kennedy)

15. Practice:
(a) "Plans _____ nothing; planning is everything." (Dwight D. Eisenhower) (b) "We shape _____ buildings; thereafter they shape us." (Winston Churchill)

16. Check your answer:
(a) "Plans are nothing; planning is everything." (Dwight D. Eisenhower) (b) "We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." (Winston Churchill)

17. Resources: