1. Commonly Confused Words

2. can, may Can expresses ability May expresses possibility or permission

3. cite, sight, site Cite- means to quote or to state ( must be followed by a noun) Sight- to see (verb) or something seen Site- location

4. continual, continuous Both of these words are adjectives Continual-frequently repeated Continuous- uninterrupted

5. different from Use this form instead of different than, however, this can be used informally when it is followed by a clause. Informal- Jean found life on her uncle’s ranch different than she had expected. Formal- Jean found life on her uncle’s ranch different from what she had expected. Standard- Her opinion about the political candidate is different from mine.

6. double negatives Words such as hardly, never, no, not and nobody are considered double negatives. Do not use two negatives to express one negative meaning. Nonstandard- I don’t never eat lunch in the cafeteria. Standard- I don’t ever eat lunch in the cafeteria. Standard- I never eat lunch in the cafeteria.

7. emigrate, immigrate Emigrate- to leave a country to settle elsewhere Immigrate- to enter a foreign country to live there.

8. eminent, imminent Eminent- well-known or famous. Imminent- threatening in the immediate future.

9. everyday, every day everyday- ordinary or common every day- day after day

10. Farther, further farther refers to distance further means additional or to a greater degree or extent

11. adapt, adopt adapt- to change (verb) adopt- to make as one’s own, to incorporate (verb)

12. allusion, illusion allusion- a reference to something (noun) illusion- a false idea (noun)

13. apt, likely apt-capable likely- probably

14. famous, infamous famous-well known infamous- well known but not for anything good

15. fewer, less fewer- can be counted less- cannot be counted

16. imply, infer imply- the speaker or writer is making a hint or suggestion (verb) infer- to draw a conclusion from the speaker or write (verb)

17. in, into in- something is already there (preposition) into- something is going there (preposition)

18. irritate, aggravate irritate- to annoy aggravate- to make worse

19. teach, learn teach- to provide knowledge learn- to acquire knowledge

20. uninterested, disinterested uninterested- bored disinterested- impartial