COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS English 121

WEEK 1: SEPTEMBER 9-13, 2013

•Monday, 9/9/13: Accede vs. Exceed•Tuesday, 9/10/13: NA•Wednesday, 9/11/13: Accept vs. Except•Thursday, 9/12: Access vs. Excess•Friday, 9/13/13: Adapt vs. Adopt

ACCEDE VS. EXCEED

•Accede means to agree.• I acceded to Mom’s wishes.•Your sentence:

•Exceed means to go beyond.•Don’t exceed the speed limit. •Your sentence:

ACCEPT VS. EXCEPT

• Accept is a verb that mean to receive.• Will you accept our thanks? • Your sentence:

• Except is usually a preposition meaning but, but it may also be used as a verb that means to leave out or exclude. • Everyone will be there except you. • The government excepts people with very low incomes

from paying taxes. • Your sentence:

ACCESS VS. EXCESS

•Access means admittance.•The thief gained access to the building with a stolen key.•Your sentence:

•Excess means a surplus. •We have an excess of musical talent in our class. •Your sentence:

ADAPT VS. ADOPT

•Adapt means to change or to adjust.• I can adapt to new surroundings easily. •Your sentence:

•Adopt means to accept and take as one’s own. • I adopted the stray dog from the shelter. •Your sentence:

WEEK 2: SEPTEMBER 16-20, 2013

•Monday, 9/16/13: Advice vs. Advise•Tuesday, 9/17/13: Affect vs. Effect•Wednesday, 9/18/13: NA•Thursday, 9/19/13: Aggravate vs. Annoy•Friday, 9/20/13: all ready vs. already; all right vs. alright

ADVICE VS. ADVISE

• Advice is a noun that means an opinion offered as guidance.• My sentence: The teacher gave me some good advice

regarding how to write my research paper. • Your sentence:

• Advise is a verb that means to give advice. • My sentence: The teacher advised the students about

how to write the research paper. • Your sentence:

AFFECT VS. EFFECT (REMEMBER THE 90% RULE)

• Ninety percent of the time, affect is a verb and effect is a noun.

• Affect is most often a verb that means to cause a change in or to influence the emotions and thoughts of. • My sentence: The hot weather affected the students’ ability to

concentrate. • Your sentence:

• Effect is most often a noun that means a result or a consequence. • My sentence: The students’ inability to concentrate was the

effect of the hot weather. • Your sentence:

AFFECT VS. EFFECT (THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE!)

• Sometimes affect will be a noun and effect will be a verb.• Affect sometimes is a noun that is associated with the

expression of emotion or one’s attitude. • My sentence: Because of the hot weather, the students had

a flat affect.• Your sentence:

• Effect sometimes is a verb that means to bring about or to accomplish. • My sentence: The cooler weather has effected a positive

change in the students’ affect. • Your sentence:

AFFECT VS. EFFECT

When in doubt, go with the 90% rule: affect is a verb and effect is a noun 90% of the time!

AGGRAVATE VS. ANNOY

•Aggravate is a verb that means to make something worse.•My sentence: Alexa’s asthma was aggravated by the cats. • Your sentence:

•Annoy is a verb that means to irritate. •My sentence: The cats are annoying!• Your sentence:

ALL READY VS. ALREADY

• All ready is an adverb-adjective phrase that means completely ready.• My sentence: We are all ready to go to the soccer

game.• Your sentence:

• Already is an adverb that means before or by this time.• My sentence: The fans were already leaving the

ballpark when Mark Rizzo hit a grand slam. • Your sentence:

ALL RIGHT VS. ALRIGHT (THIS ONE IS EASY!)

It is unacceptable to use alright in formal writing, so always use all right and you will always be all right whenever you write!

WEEK 3: SEPTEMBER 23-27, 2013

• Tuesday, September 24: all together vs. altogether

• Wednesday, September 25: allusion vs. illusion

• Thursday, September 26: a lot vs. allot

• Friday, September 27: altar vs. alter

ALL TOGETHER VS. ALTOGETHER

All together means “in a group.” •My sentence: The “superfans” were all together, cheering in the stands. • Your sentence:

Altogether is an adverb that means “completely” or “in all.” •My sentence: That answer is altogether in correct.• Your sentence:

ALLUSION VS. ILLUSION

Allusion is a noun that means “an indirect reference.” •My sentence: Many literary allusions are made to Greek and Roman mythology. • Your sentence:

Illusion is a noun that means “a false idea” or “a false appearance.” •My sentence: The shimmering heat produced an illusion of water on the road. .• Your sentence:

A LOT VS. ALLOT

A lot should always be written as two words meaning “a large number or amount.” • My sentence: A lot of fans attended the football game on Friday night. • Your sentence:

Allot is a verb that means “to assign or set aside” or “to distribute.” • My sentence: The school board allotted funds to purchase new computers. .• Your sentence:

ALTAR VS. ALTERAltar is a noun that means “a raised structure at which religious ceremonies are performed.” •My sentence: The groom anxiously awaited the bride’s arrival at the altar. • Your sentence:

Alter is a verb that means “to change.” •My sentence: The wardrobe manager altered the costumes to fit the actors.• Your sentence:

WEEK 4: SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 4, 2013

•Monday, September 30: Among vs. Between•Tuesday, October 1: Amount vs. Number•Wednesday, October 2: Anxious vs. Eager•Thursday, October 3: Ascent vs. Assent •Friday, October 4: A while vs. Awhile •Test on Monday, October 7!

AMONG VS. BETWEEN• Among is used to show a relationship in which more than two persons or

things are considered as a group. • My Sentence: The opposing team scored a goal because there was some

confusion among the players on our team. • Your sentence:

• Between is used to show a relationship involving two persons or things, to compare one person or thing with an entire group, or to compare more than two items within a group. • My Sentences:

• Since Amy worked in Chicago and Todd worked in Milwaukee, they chose to live in a town halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee.

• What is the difference between Pete Seeger and other folk singers of the 20th century?

• My family had a difficult time deciding between the Labrador retriever, the Irish setter, and the German shepherd.

• Your Sentence:

AMOUNT VS. NUMBER

• Amount refers to quantity and is used for things that can’t be counted.• My Sentence: The bank contains a large amount of

money. • Your Sentence:

• Number refers to quantity and is used for things that can be counted.• My Sentence: The bank employs a number of security

guards to guard its large amount of money. • Your Sentence:

ANXIOUS VS. EAGER•Anxious comes from anxiety and implies uneasiness or apprehension.•My Sentence: The students were anxious about the upcoming test. • Your Sentence:

• Eager means filled with enthusiasm. •My Sentence: The eager students began their first year of college. • Your Sentence:

ASCENT VS. ASSENT• Ascent is a noun that means a rise or a climb. • We remained at base camp while the other members of

the expedition continued their ascent of Mt. Everest. • Your Sentence:

• Assent is a noun that means agreement or consent; it is also a verb that means to agree. • The students nodded their heads in assent. • Will your parents assent to your plans for the

weekend? • Your Sentence:

A WHILE VS. AWHILE•A while after a preposition. •My Sentence: After practicing his saxophone, Hayden read for a while. •Your Sentence:

•Awhile is an adverb. •We stayed awhile to discuss the book.•Your Sentence: