Confusing words:
Accept, Except:
Accept: a verb meaning “to receive
Something” or ”to agree to something”.
Except: a preposition meaning “leaving out”.
He was chosen to accept the gift.
Adapt, Adopt
Adapt: you adapt something when you change it or adjust it to fit or work in a new situation.
Adopt: you adopt something when you take it over completely without any change or adjustment.
The immigrant adapted his habits to the life in USA.
The congress adopt the proposal without modification.
Affect, Effect:
Affect: frequently used as a verb meaning “to influence”.
Effect: is most frequently used as a verb meaning “result”.
(The use of effect as a verb meaning “to bring out” is rare.)
The climate affects the life of people everywhere.
The war had a far-reaching effect on the entire people.
Already, All ready:
Already: is an adverb of time meaning previously.
All ready: means all prepared.
When I arrived, he had already left.
When I arrived, I found them all ready for the meeting.
Altogether, All together:
Altogether: is an adverb of degree meaning completely.
All together: means exactly what the two words indicate-all the persons in a group.
He was altogether unprepared for the assignment.
We found the team all together in the locker room.
Among, Between:
Among: is used when more than two persons or things are involved.
Between is used when only two persons or things are involved.
Sue, Joe, and Ed shared the expenses among them.
Jane and Joan shared the expenses between them.
Amount, number:
Amount: used for things or ideas that cannot be counted, and is usually followed by a singular noun –money, talent, courage.
Number: is used for things that can be counted.
I needed a large amount of money.
I needed a large number of dollars to pay my bills.
Around, About:
Around: is correctly used to indicate direction in a circle around an object.
About: should be used when number or size is indicated.
They walked around the house.
There were about 50,000 fans in the stadium.
As, Like:
As: only as can introduce a clause.
Like: like cannot serve as e conjunction to introduce a clause; it is the most frequently used as a preposition meaning “similar to”
Wrong : this cereal tastes good like a cereal should.
Correct : this cereal tastes good as a cereal should.
Correct : he wanted everyone to be like him.
Avenge, Revenge:
Avenge: is used where the intention is to right a wrong; there is a moral involved.
Revenge: involves inflicting punishment in return for insult of injury, thus receiving personnel satisfaction.
He set out to avenge the wrong done by his father.
In the feud between the families the McCoys set out to
revenge the death of one of their number.
Beat, Bet:
Beat: means to defeat.
Bet means to wager, or to gamble something of value, on the result of a game.
Frank beat jack in straight sets in their tennis match.
I bet 5 dollars that Hassan would outrun Jack.
Beside, Besides:
Beside: means “at the side of.”
Besides: means “in addition.”
He came over to sit beside me.
There were 9 others present besides Joe.
Borrow, lend:
Borrow: means to be on the taking end of the transaction.
Lend: means to be on the giving end of transaction.
Please let me borrow 10 dollars to you.
I’ll be glad to lend the 10 dollars to you.
Both, each:
Both: refers to two objects taken together.
Each: refers to one or more objects taken individually.
Both my pens cost 10 dollars.
Each of my pens cost 5 dollars.
Bring, Take:
Bring is used when the movement in the sentence is towards the speaker or the writer.
Take: is used when the movement in the sentence is away from the speaker or the writer.
Bring the pencils to me, please!
Take these books to the principal’s office.
Can, May:
Can: indicates the knowledge or ability to do things.
May: is used when permission is sought to do something, most frequently in the form of a question.
I can tie a slip knot.
May I have the car tonight?
Capital, capitol:
Capital: a city where a national or state government is located.
Capitol: a building where the governing body meets.
London is the capital of England.
The capitol is located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States.
Continual, Continuous:
Continual: a repeated thing, often with stops in between.
Continuous: something that goes on without interruption.
The game was continually interrupted by shows.
The sun shone continuously for 8 hours.
Counsel, council:
Counsel: refers to a lawyer or a consultant who gives advice. As a verb, it means, “to give advice.”
Council: is a group of people brought together to discuss and /or take action on a given matter.
Jorge was counsel to the investigating commission.
The city council met to discuss the problem.
Disinterested, uninterested:
Disinterested: refers to someone who has nothing to gain personally from a particular activity. He may be very much interested (concerned) in the matter.
Uninterested: someone lacking interest or concern in activities.
The umpire was a disinterested participant in the game.
The student was uninterested in this work of the class.
Dumb, Stupid:
Dumb: properly means not having the power of speech, as in “deaf and dumb”.
Stupid: means not having normal intelligence.
The dumb man uses sign language to communicate.
The mute was not stupid by any means.
Emigrate, immigrate:
Emigrate: means to leave one country permanently to settle in another; one does so is an emigrant.
Immigrate: means to enter a new country to settle there; one does so is immigrant.
The family decided to emigrate from their country.
The persecuted family immigrated to the United States to begin a new life in freedom.
Fever, Temperature:
Fever: is an abnormally high body temperature, generally a symptom of some kinds of illness.
Temperature: is the degree of heat of a person’s body.
(Don’t use temperature when you mean fever. ”Does the patient have a fever?” everyone has a body temperature.)
The baby ran a high fever because of the injection.
His temperature was a normal 37° Celsius.
Fewer, less:
Fewer: is used for things that can be counted .
Less: is used for things or ideas that cannot be counted.
(Note that less is usually followed by a singular noun, fewer by a plural noun.)
The number of accidents is fewer than we thought.
We enjoyed less freedom this year than last.
Flaunt, Flout:
Flaunt: means to show something off boldly and conspicuously in an offensive way.
Flout: means to show scorn for something, usually an established custom or rule.
The man flaunted his wealth by driving expensive cars.
The man flouted tradition by walking under a ladder.
Hanged, Hung:
Hanged: a specific kind of execution that has taken place.
Hung: something that has been suspended from an object.
The murderer was hanged.
The picture was hung on the hook attached to the wall.
Healthy, healthful:
Healthy: refers to a condition of people.
Healthful: anything that helps to produce or maintain health.
The doctor found the patient to be healthy.
The doctor recommended lots of healthful exercise.
Imply, Infer:
Imply: indicates that the speaker or the writer is making a hint or suggestion.
Infer: indicates that the audience took the hint or suggestion made by the speaker, which drew a conclusion from it.
I mean to imply that he didn’t get the job done.
I infer from your remarks that he was lazy.
In, Into:
In: is used to indicate that something is already at a place.
Into: is used to indicate that someone or something is moving from the outside to the inside of a place.
The dog is in the living room.
The dog dashed into the living room from the kitchen.
Latest, Last:
Latest: means the most recent in a series.
Last: means final.
John was happy with his latest scores.
He appeared on TV for the last time before his retirement.
Learn, Teach:
Learn: indicates that knowledge or behavior is being acquired.
Teach: indicates that knowledge or behavior is being provided.
He tried to learn how to speak softly.
I tried to teach him how to speak softly.
Liable, Likely:
Likely: indicates probability that something will happen.
Liable: is used in two ways. I can indicate legal responsibility; it can also indicate an undesirable possibility.
He is likely to receive the medal.
If you drive too quickly, you are liable to a fine.
If you don’t study, you are liable to fail the course.
Lie, Lay:
Lie: it never takes an object, it means to rest or recline. The principal parts of lie are” lie/lay/lain/laying”.
Lay: always takes an object and means to put down, to place .the principal parts of lay are “lay/laid/laid/laying”.
I need to lie down.
He will lay himself on a bed to rest.
Myself, Me:
Myself: can be used for emphasis, or it can be used as the object of an action verb with “I” as the subject.
(never use “myself” when “I” or “me” should be used.
I myself will attend to this matter.
I hit myself in the hand.
(Wrong: he gave the awards to Frank and myself. /Correct: he gave the awards to Frank and me.)
(Wrong: Frank and myself will get the awards. /Correct: Frank and I will get the awards.)
Persecute, Prosecute:
Persecute: means to oppress a person or a people deliberately.
Prosecute: means to take court action against someone.
Dictatorships persecute minority groups that oppose
the government.
The police decided to prosecute the drug dealer.
Pour, Spill:
Pour: means to cause a liquid to flow deliberately.
Spill: means to cause a liquid to flow accidentally or unintentionally.
The hostess was embarrassed when she spilled the
coffee for her guest’s dress.
The hostess poured coffee for her guests.
Practical, practicable:
Practical: refers to something that can be made to serve a useful purpose.
Practicable: refers to something that can be made to operate but that may not be practical.
He found it practicable to extract gold from ocean.
Precede, Proceed:
Precede: means to come or go before something or someone
Proceed: means to “go on”, particularly after an interruption.
J. Carter preceded R. Reagan as president of the U.S.A
The speaker proceeded, after being interrupted twice
Principal, Principle:
Principal: can denote the head of a school. Or it can be used as an adjective meaning “the main” or “the most important”.
Principle: may be used to indicate a law or a rule of conduct.
The principal addressed the teachers and the parents.
He was the principal speaker at the graduation exercises.
We are dedicated to the principle that all men are created equal.
Quite, Quiet:
Quite: an adverb meaning “completely” or ”very”.
Quiet: used only as an adjective meaning “still” or “calm”.
He was quite angry when he lost the game.
After his fit of temper, he became quiet.
Raise, Rise:
Raise: means to lift or bring up something or someone.
Rise: means to get up or go up; it does not take an object.
The guard raised his rifle when he heard a sound.
He rises in the morning when the sun rises.
Rob, Steal:
Rob: one is said to rob a person or an institution such as a bank by taking property or valuables from it.
Steal: one is said to steal an object such as personal property or valuables from someone or some institution.
The criminal was caught while trying to rob the bank.
The criminal tried to steal the man’s wallet.
Set, Sit:
Set: means to put something in a certain place.
Sit: means to be seated.
The delivery boy set the packages on the kitchen floor.
Please sit in this chair.
Stand, Stay:
Stand: you stand when you are on your feet.
Stay: you stay when you remain at a given place.
He stood all the way home in the bus.
He stayed at the stadium until the game was over.
Stationary, Stationery:
Stationary: means not moving or still.
Stationery: to write paper, envelopes, and other office supplies.
The quiet animal was an excellent target for the hunter.
John bought his notebooks at the stationery store.
Subject: Confusing words 
Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:47 pm
