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“Confusables” Solving Usage Problems—Part 1 1. Than/ Then Than is a comparison word while Then signals time or order. Example: Mark is taller than me. I am going to the store and then home. 2. It’s/Its It’s is a contraction for “it is,” while Its is a possessive form of the word. Example: It’s going to be a nice day today. The cat licked its paws. 3. Accept/Except Accept is a verb meaning “to receive,” while except is a preposition meaning “other than.” Example: I accept your gift willingly. Everyone except Craig was at the dance. 4. Advice/Advise Advice is a noun meaning “opinion,” while Advise is a verb meaning “to give an opinion to.” Example: I asked my friend for advice about my boyfriend. She advised me to talk to him directly. 5. Affect/Effect Affect is a verb meaning “to influence” while Effect, usually a noun, means “result.” Occasionally, Effect is a verb meaning “to bring about” or “to cause.” Example: The President’s speech deeply affected me. The effects of pollution can be deadly. (noun) The Student Council effected many important changes. (verb) 6. All ready/Already The two words All ready are used as an adjective meaning “ready.” Already is an adverb meaning “by or before this time” or “even now.” Example: I am all ready to leave for the airport. I have already packed my suitcase. 7. All right/Alright Alright is not a word!!!!!!!!!!! It is always All right! 8. Among/Between Among always implies three or more. Between is generally used with only two. Example: The judge split the money between the two of us. The dog sat among the flowers. 9. All together/Altogether All together means “together as a group.” Altogether means “completely” or “in all.” Example: Let’s sing the song all together. The old television flickered once or twice then broke altogether. 10. Beside/Besides Beside means “at the side of” or “close to.” Besides means “in addition to.” Example: The garden is beside the house. Who is going besides me? 11. Lose/Loose Lose means “to be defeated,” while Loose means “baggy, not tight.” They are not interchangeable. Example: The Raiders will lose the game. This belt is really loose. 12. Bring/Take Bring means “to carry from a distant place to a nearer one.” Take means “to carry from a near to a more distant place.” Example: Bring those books here, please. Take these forms to the Principal’s office. Solving Usage Problems—Part 2 1. Burst/Bust/Busted There are no such words as bust and busted. It is always burst! Example: The balloon will burst if you poke it. He poked the balloon and burst it. 2. Farther/Further Farther refers to distance, while further means “additional” or “to a greater extent.” Example: My house is farther away than yours. I need further advice. 3. Fewer/Less Use fewer for things that can be counted. Use less for quantities that cannot be counted. Example: Fewer calories Less homework 4. Healthful/Healthy Things are healthful, people are healthy Example: He is healthy since he works out all of the time. Whole grains are healthful for the body. 5. Leave/Let Leave means “to allow to remain.” Let means “to permit.” Example: Leave the kitten alone. Please let me go to the movies. 6. In/Into In refers to position. Into refers to movement. Example: The dishes are in the cabinet. I am walking into the next room. 7. Principal/Principle A principal is the lead administrator at a school. A principle is a standard, typically high. Example: The school is led by our principal. He has good principles. 8. Raise/Rise A direct object comes after raise while rise never has a direct object. Example: Our landlord raises the rent every year. The hot air balloons rise above the trees. 9. Set/Sit Set means “to put something in a certain place.” Sit means “ to be seated.” Example: Set the books on the desk. Sit down! 10. Their/They’re/There Their is a possessive pronoun, there is an adverb or expletive at the beginning of a sentence and they’re is a contraction meaning “they are.” Example: The girls lost their purses. There is my bike! It is over there! They’re my best friends. 11. Unique/Odd Unique means “one of a kind.” It should never be used in the place of odd. Furthermore, it is impossible to be “very unique” or “most unique.” Solving Usage Problems—Part 3 1. Adapt/Adopt Adapt means “to change;” adopt means “to choose” or “to follow.” Example: The teacher adapted to the situation at hand. The teacher will adopt a new method of teaching the unruly students. 2. Allusion/Illusion An allusion is an indirect reference to something; an illusion is a mistaken idea or a misleading appearance. Example: In her stories, Flannery O’Connor makes numerous allusions to the Bible. Make-up can be used to create an illusion. 3. Amount/Number Use amount to refer to a singular word; use number to refer to plural words. Example: The library has a large amount of resource material on the Civil War. The library has a large number of magazines on the racks. 4. Anyways/Anywheres/Everywheres/Nowheres/Somewheres Omit the final “s” on these words!! They are grammatically incorrect in a plural form. 5. Can/May The word can means “able to do something,” the word may is used when asking permission. Example: Can you swim across the lake? Mom, may I go swimming? 6. Lay/Lie Lay means “to put” or “to place” and always has a direct object. Lie means “to rest” or “to be in a lying position.” Lie never takes a direct object. NOTE: The past tense of lie is lay. Example: Lay the map on the table. Gretchen laid the map on the table. Lie down and go to sleep. Olivia lay down and kept quiet. 7. Emigrate/Immigrate Emigrate means “to leave a country to live somewhere else.” Immigrate means “to come into a country to live.” Example: My family emigrated from Germany and immigrated to the United States. 8. To/Too/Two To is a preposition that means “in the direction of.” Too is an adverb that means “extremely, overly” and “also.” Two=2 Example: Take the basket to Grammy’s house. Leo has too many fish in his tank. I want to go too! I have two wishes left. 9. Who/Which/That Who refers to persons only, which refers to things only, that may refer to either persons or things. Example: Isn’t Michelangelo the one who/that painted the Sistine Chapel? First editions of Poe’s first book, which/that is titled Tamerlane and Other Poems are worth thousands of dollars. 10. Speak/Talk Speak is seen as formal or serious. Talk is informal, meaning a “chat” or brief conversation. We use speak when we are talking about how people use words. We use talk when people are communicating. Example: “I speak Japanese.” “I speak quickly.” “I was talking (chatting or having a conversation) with Jane this morning.” 11. Capitol/Capital Capitol is the spelling used for the government building, while capital is the correct spelling for all other uses. Example: We could see the capitol from our hotel building. What is the capital of Colorado? 12. Proceed/Precede To proceed is to “go forward;” to precede means “to go ahead of.” Example: The blockers preceded the runner as the football team proceeded toward the goal line. 13. Whether/Weather Use whether as in the phrase “whether or not” and use weather when referring to atmospheric or climatic conditions. Example: I don’t know whether I want pizza or fries for lunch. I hate rainy weather.