Some words in the English language are easy to confuse
Trying to choose the appropriate word may sometimes leave you…
In order to help you, we’ve broken down the meanings and showed appropriate uses of some of these easy-to-confuse words
Farther
Linda’s school was farther from her house than she initially thought.
Further
After a lot of debate, all furthermeetings were postponed.
VS.
Compliment
He showered me with complimentswhenever I performed well.
Complement
Her make-up complemented her clothes perfectly.
VS.
They’re Their
Their behavior with the elderly caught my attention.
VS.
They’re playing cricket in the field adjacent to the park.
Advice
We got some good advice on what to do with all our old stuff.
Advise
The teacher advised us to go to sleep early.
VS.
Formally
Elderly professors should be addressed formally at first encounter.
Formerly
My neighbor, who is a retired wrestler, was formerly known as ‘the alligator’.
VS.
Adverse
Cigarettes have many adverseeffects on the human body.
Averse
Richard seems to be averse to exercise.
VS.
Discreet
With a discreet gesture, she signaled to her husband that she was ready
to leave the party.
Discrete
Whale communities were sometimes thought of as discrete communities,
seldom mixing.
VS.
Affect
The manager’s harsh attitude affected Billy’s performance.
Effect
Good grades in college will have a positive effect on your career.
VS.
Criteria
Most jobs have a specific set of criteriawhich the employees must meet.
Criterion
The only criterion for this job is punctuality,
VS.
Elicit
I hope today’s comedy show will elicit a lot of laughter.
Illicit
John was forbidden to consume alcohol, use illicit drugs, or possess a gun.
VS.
i.e.
Many workers expect to put in a forty-hour week — i.e., to work
eight hours a day
e.g.
She loved exotic fruit, e.g., mangoes, passion fruit, and papayas.
VS.
Imply
Many researchers seem to implythat the whole civilization is going to
collapse.
Infer
Scientists can infer the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere from the amount of organics in the sediment.
VS.
Insure
By setting a policy, they might insure the company from lawsuits.
Ensure
She ensured that the hotel manager heard her words loud & clear.
VS.
Into
He hurried into the room five minutes after the meeting had started.
In to
He decided to call in to the meeting before leaving the house.
VS.
It’s
It’s not my fault that he couldn’t go to school today.
Its
My dog wags its tail to attract attention.
VS.
Number Amount
The amount of water I drank was meagre compared to my thirst.
VS.
It was very difficult to make accurate calculations of the
number of lives lost.
I Me
When the report is done processing, please forward it to me.
VS.
You & I will forward her the report once it’s done processing.
Precede Proceed
You may now proceed to the next stage of the exam.
VS.
The speech that preceded the act was a waste of time.
Who’s Whose
It was Dave whose team was known for optimism.
VS.
Who’s responsible for breaking my window?
You’re Your
You must collect your exam scripts from the class monitor.
VS.
You’re exactly the type of person I was told to avoid.
Principal Principle
The manager had a set list of principles for the employees to learn.
VS.
Student misconduct was the principal concern of the teacher.
Loathe Loath
Darren was loath to leaving his family behind.
VS.
She loathed her new English teacher.