WHEN SPELL-CHECK LETS YOU DOWN: COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

& OTHER INSIDIOUS IMPOSTERS

By Kathryn Mincey

Associate Professor of English

Morehead State University

Teri Lynn TossponEnglish 10, Heald College Roseville

“Owed to the Spell Checker”

Eye halve a spelling checkerIt came with my pea sea

It plainly marks four my revueMiss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a wordAnd weight four it two say

Weather eye am wrong oar writeIt shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maidIt nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the error riteIts rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw itEye am shore your pleased two no

Its letter perfect awl the weighMy checker tolled me sew.

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

These pesky pairs or groups of words are

frequently mistaken for each other and are

insidious because the spell checker will not catch them.

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

They are spelled correctly when used in the appropriate context, but writers often overlook the fact that they are spelling a related word that is inappropriate for their intended meaning.

THE EMBARRASSMENT FACTOR

Because many of these words are familiarutility words, they create tension:

They are used often, but, their misuse can erode a reader’s confidence in

the writer’s credibility.

WORDS OF THE WEEK PRESENTATIONS

Each class meeting, students will be assigned to present 4-5 pairs of these words to the class

Where can you get the info? See handout Class Website, Internet Dictionary? BE CAREFUL!!!!

(NOTE: if searching the internet, you MUST enter BOTH words at once in the search engine)

PRESENTATIONS (CONTINUED)• Worth 100 points. You will be graded on

– Content (50), Presentation (25), Professionalism (25)

• The class is depending on you– Bring the Commonly Confused WS each meeting– Write definitions/sentences as they are presented

• Peer evals: your classmates will be grading you individually, leaving anonymous comments for improvements. Each Peer Evaluation is worth 5 points.

There = where? here?

Their = see an heir it means -----------they own it

They’re = they are

WAYS TO REMEMBER

Affect – act on

Effect – the outcome

A Quotation (noun)

To Quote (verb)

Then ← when ?Than = compare

Cite = Call attention toSite = Scene, location

Sight = visionEver → forever

Every = each

Stationary – in place

Stationery = letterPrecede = before

Proceed = throughWhose → those

Who’s = who is

then

VOCABULARY MEETING 1Teri Lynn Tosspon

English 10, Heald College

THERE, THEIR, THEY’RE• There is an adverb meaning "that location." It is sometimes

used with the verb to be as an idiom. It is spelled like here which means "this location." – I put the collar right there. (that location) – There are five prime numbers less than ten. (with to be)

• Their is a possessive pronoun. It always describes a noun. – Note the spelling of their. It comes from the word they, so the

e comes before the i. – Their dog has fleas. (possessive of they)

• They're is a contraction of they are. – Note the spelling: The a from are is replaced by an apostrophe. – They're number 1! (contraction of they are)

Ways to remember. If you see HERE it is a place! (Where, There, Here). If you see HEIR it means they own something.

TO, TOO, TWO• To is a preposition which begins a prepositional

phrase or an infinitive. – We went to a baseball game. (preposition) – We like to watch a good ball game. (infinitive)

• Too is an adverb meaning "excessively" or "also." Way to remember: TOO is extra, also, excessive. It has excessive O’s – We ate too much. (meaning "excessively") – I like baseball, too. (meaning "also")

• Two is a number. Way to remember: Words which reflect the number two are spelled with tw: twin, twice, between, tweezers, etc. – Six divided by three is two. (number) – They own two Brittany spaniels. (number)

WHOLE/ HOLE

• Hole – (n) opening, (v) to crawl into an opening. – I found a hole in this donut. – Bears hole up for the winter.

• Whole (adj) complete

– You have the whole worldin your hands.

Way to remember: if it refers to a complete item/ideait needs the whole W.

WHO’S/WHOSE • Who's is a contraction of who (pron.) and is

(v.)– Who's awesome?

Whose means “who owns” or “who was”, etc. It is a possessive pronoun (adj.)

– Whose responsibility was it to bring marshmallows?

Whose → those

Who’s = who is

YOUR, YOU’RE

• your is a possessive adjective, indicating ownership of something

• That is your sock.• Where is your potato?

• you're is a contraction (combination) of you and are

• Do you know what you're doing?• You're stupid.

• WTR: if you own it, it is yours. If you can replace it with You Are, then it is you’re

VOCABULARY MEETING 2Monica O, and Freda B. English 10, Heald College

ITS/IT’S• It's is a contraction for it is.

– It's been good to know you. it has– It's a trap! Contraction: it is

• Its is a possessive pronoun meaning, more or less, of it or belonging to it. – The cat liked its carrier.

• WTR: A simple test– If you can replace it[']s

in your sentence with it is or it has, then your word is it's; otherwise, your word is its.

QUIET, QUITE, QUIT

• Quiet (adj) “of little activity,” (n.) meaning “tranquility” or “silence.”(v.) “to cause to be quiet.”– After lunch the children enjoyed an hour of quiet play. – We enjoyed the quiet of the countryside.

• Quite (adv) - “totally” or “completely.”– She was quite exhausted after the warm-up exercise.

• Quit - to stop, cease, desist. – I quit smoking.

WHICH, WITCH

Which – options Which way should we go?

Witch – evil, bad, or magical female My sister is a witch.

Way to remember: A witch is a *itch that you don’t want to mess with.

CHOOSE/CHOSE

• Choose is PRESENT TENSE for making a choice in the present. – You choose to take a Tylenol right now.

• Chose is PAST TENSE – tells that a choice was made in the past. – You chose tequila last night.

WTR: 1 O = Over, happened in the past

THAN / THEN

Than is a conjunction used with comparisons. rhymes with pan. He likes you more than me.

Then is an adverb that refers to time. It rhymes with pen. First you take a cup of flour,

and then you sift it.

WTR: ThAn for CompArisonThen ← when ?

Than = compare

VOCABULARY MEETING 3Teri Lynn Tosspon

English 10, Heald College

WHETHER, WEATHER• Weather is usually a noun, can also be verb that

means "to be affected by the weather” or "to get/live through”– How's the weather?– The weather is always great this time of year– That house is really weathered– I know we can weather this crisis

Whether is a conjunction that introduces possibilities or alternatives:– You'll do it whether you like it or not– Whether you win or lose,

you'll have done your best•  

Ways to remember: whether is interchangeable with "if," while weather indicates the temperature and atmospheric conditions.

CITE/SITE/SIGHT• Cite – to quote, summon, commend or call.

Cite the author in an endnote.The officer cited the drunk driver.

• Site – location, area, computer website, or to place something in an area You visit a Web site or the

site of the crime.

• Sight – the act of seeing, a view, a glimpse/ observation, to look in a direction.

I lost my sight in an accident.

Cite = Call attention to

Site = Scene, location

Sight = vision

WAIST/WASTE

Waste: (n) discarded objects, (v) to use carelessly He wasted too much time. The waste was toxic!

Waist – middle portion of the body His waist is 36” around!

Way to remember: if its on my body, it needs an i.

WE’RE, WERE, WHERE

We’re – contraction of we + are. We’re going to the beach.

Were – past tense of are. We were happy playing in the sand.

Where is at or in what place. Where is the lotion?

WTR – when you see HERE it is a place!

THROUGH / THREW

Through means from one point to its end (adv.) or because of (prep.) I went through a lot of pain.

Threw is the past tense of throw which means to toss or to fling (v.) He threw the ball right at me!

Way to remember: -EW = an action, a THROW. Btw “thru” is an abbreviation, it’s NOT to be used

outside of text messaging.

VOCABULARY MEETING 4Y our Names HERE

English 10, Heald College

WRITE, RIGHT, RITE Write (v): to form letters/words, to compose

I will write this paper, I guess.

Right (adj) correct, conforming to justice(n) power or privilege, direction opposite of left. What is the right answer???!

Rite (n): traditional (often religious) ceremony. A bridal shower is a rite of passage.

Way to remember: not left but RIGHT, Written is based on Write.

COARSE/COURSE

Coarse is always an adjective meaning “rough, crude.” Don’t use that coarse language in here!

Course – N. or v. many meanings! Path, track, procedure, mode of conduct, to hunt or chase, etc. ALSO used in many idioms Of course, we do charge a fee. See you on the course! Take all required courses.

If it has an A, it means “rough”, for all others, use COURSE

DESERT, DESSERT

• Desert: A dry, arid, sandy place– I got lost in the desert.

• Dessert: A sweet tasty item or dish you eat after a meal – I like pie for dessert.

• WTR: an extra S (in Dessert) = extra food at the end of the meal!

DO/DUE

• Do – to perform, to create, to deal with, to handle– I will do it later.

• Due – owed, because of – No one would hang out with him,

due to his temper.– The money is due.

WTR: If it involves $ (or means “because of”) use the UE version

ELIGIBLE/ILLEGIBLE

• Eligible – available, qualified, fit or proper– He was quite the eligible bachelor.

• Illegible not readable, impossible to read, bad handwriting. – I cannot take this paper, your writing is illegible!

WTR: Your handwriting is so bad it makes me ill(ILLegible)

VOCABULARY MEETING 5TTEnglish 10, Heald College

STEAK/STAKE

• Steak- (n) is a thick slice of meat, usually in English-speaking countries a slice of beef. Steak is normally grilled or fried - unless it is stewing steak. Steaks may also be cut from big fish, such as tuna or salmon.– I need to eat more steak.

Stake- (n) stake is 'a post', a stout piece of wood driven into the ground. Also, 'the sum of money that is risked in a bet(v) to stake a claim, or to bet on something– I’d stake my life on it. – I need some stakes to kill the vampire!

APART/ A PART

• Apart (adv) into pieces or parts, separately in place, time, motion, to or at one side, (adj) having independent or unique qualities

– That hair really sets you apart, Mr. Flock of Seagulls. – I took the model apart.

• A Part– (n) noun phrase: to be joined with, a piece of – I want to be a part of that group!– There is a part that I want for my car.

WTR – Think opposites: A Part (2 words) means joined with,

The joined words Apart means into pieces!

Those parts have been

taken apart!

EVERYDAY / EVERY DAY

• Everyday is an adjective that means commonplace, ordinary, or normal.– These shoes are great for everyday wear– You shouldn't wear an everyday outfit to the wedding– Don't use the everyday dishes - it's a special occasion

•   Every dayEvery (adj) day (n.) means "each day."– I go to the park every day.– I have to work every day

except Friday.– Every day I feel a little better.

WTR: If you do it EACH day, use 2 words: Every day.

FARTHER / FURTHER

• Farther refers to length or distance. It is the comparative form of the word far when referring to distance. – London is farther north than Juneau.

• Refers to distance

• Further means "to a greater degree," "additional," or "additionally." It refers to time or amount. It is the comparative form of the word far when meaning "much." – The Master’s Degree requires further study.

• (Meaning "additional study," refers to amount)

– According to my timetable, we should be further along.• (Refers to time)

FORMERLY/FORMALLY

Formerly means earlier (adv.) These dogs are clean! Formerly, they were dirty, but so fluffy.

Formally means properly or officially (adv.) The President formally resigned today.

WTR: Formerly = came before. Formally – requires a specific form if done formally.

VOCABULARY MEETING 6English 10, Heald College

PRINCIPAL / PRINCIPLE

• Principal usually refers to a person. Remember that it ends in ‘pal’, which is a person. A principal can be:– the head of a school, the head of an organization– the main person involved in a contract or financial

negotiation– Adj meaning most important. My principal is pretty awesome.

• Principle - a standard, a law or a rule. This means you can have:– I like the principles of economics, which are the laws that

govern economic theory.– You have good moral principles, which are the rules and

standards that govern your behavior

WTR: You can have an argument with yourHS PrinciPAL about his principles.

LATER / LATTER

• Later –(adj or adv) refers to time. – Though Amy said that she would join me later, I

never saw her again.

latter – (adj) being the second mentioned of two (distinguished from former).more advanced in time; near or comparatively near to the end: the latter part of the century. Obsolete. last; final– Cake or Pie? I prefer the latter (meaning I prefer pie!).

WTR: 2 t’s = compares 2 things and this is the 2nd thing.

LAY / LIE

• Lay means "to place something down" It is something you do to something else. – Lay the book on the table.

• (It is being done to something else.)

• Lie means "to recline" or "be placed." It does not act on anything or anyone else. – Lie yourself down on the couch.

• (It is not being done to anything else.)

•The reason lay and lie are confusing is their past tenses.

•The past tense of lay is laid. I laid it down here yesterday. (It is being done to something else.)

•The past tense of lie is lay. Last night I lay awake in bed. (It is not being done to anything else.)

LESS / FEWER• Use fewer with objects that

can be counted one-by-one. – There were fewer days below

freezing last winter. (Days can be counted.)

• Use less with qualities or quantities that cannot be individually counted. – I drank less water than she did.

• (Water cannot be counted individually here.)

• When referring to time or money, less is normally used even with numbers. Specific units of time or money use fewer only in cases where individual items are referred to (I have fewer dollar coins in my collection than you).

LIABLE/LIBEL

• liable (a three-syllable word) (adj) means subject to, obligated to, or responsible for something. – The court ruled that school officials cannot be held

financially liable for the improper search.

• libel (a two-syllable word) (n. or v.) refers to a false publication that damages a person's reputation.– Because of rising legal costs, regional

newspapers may not be able to defend themselves in libel actions.

VOCABULARY MEETING 7JANETTA, SABRINA R., NICKOLAI Teri Lynn Tosspon

English 10, Heald College

LOSE / LOOSE

• Lose (v) to suffer the loss of, to miss.– I win! You lose!– Don't lose your keys– I never lose bets

• Loose (Adj), the opposite of tight or contained.– My shoes are loose.– I have a loose tooth.– There's a goose running loose in the street.

•

• WTR: This confusion can easily be avoided if you pronounce the word intended aloud. If it has a voiced Z sound, then it’s “lose.” If it has a hissy S sound, then it’s “loose.” Loose rhymes with GOOSE, and both need 2 O’s

MAYBE / MAY BE

• Maybe, the compound word, is an adverb meaning "perhaps" or "possibly." – Maybe I will go out tonight.

• May be is a verb phrase meaning "might be" or "could be." – I may be going out tonight.

• If you can replace it with 2 words (“might be”) it IS two words.

PASSED/PAST• Past: (adj, adv, noun, or prep) previously (a

period of time before now) or a distance.Beyond in time, space, distance, amount– The team performed well in the past.– The police car drove past the suspect’s house.

• Passed, is an action. The past tense is “passed“: – The red truck passed the blue truck.– The teacher was astonished that none of the students

had passed the test.– After a brief illness, he passed away.

Ways to Remember: however you have ”passed the time” you have never “past the time,” not even in the distant past.

PROSECUTE / PERSECUTE

Prosecute (v) means "to begin or carry out a legal claim against someone, usually for a crime" or "to carry or accomplish.” He will prosecute the man for his crime.

Persecute (v) means "to harass, or pursue in order to injure or afflict.” People in the past were persecuted because of their

religious beliefs, political beliefs, ethnicity, sexual orientation or social grouping.

WTR: You can PERSECUTE people for those things listed, but you cannot PROSECUTE them for those in the United States.

PERSONAL / PERSONNEL personal (adj) (with the accent on the

first syllable) means "private" or "individual.“ I write in my personal diary.

personnel (n) (accent on the last syllable) refers to the people employed in an organization, business, or service. The personnel manager fired him. Personnel lost his file.

WTR: If it has 2 N’s, its just business, not personal.

VOCABULARY MEETING 7Teri Lynn Tosspon

English 10, Heald College

VOCABULARY MEETING 8

JESSE, AMANDA, XAVIERTeri Lynn Tosspon

English 10, Heald College

ALL READY / ALREADY

• All ready (two words) means "ready,“ with the modifier indicating all. – They are all ready to run the marathon. – (meaning, all in the family were ready)

• Already, an adverb, means "by now," previously, "even now," or "by then." – The plane had already left when we arrived.

WTR: If you are saying “everyone/everything is ready” it is 2 different words: The books were all ready to be shipped.

If used as an adverb, it is already.

RESPECTFULLY , RESPECTIVELY Respectively "one by one in the order

designated or mentioned." Chris and I took the green and red parrots,

respectively. (In other words, Chris took the green and I took the red)

Respectfully "with respect.“ "My cat does not talk as respectfully to me as I do to

her." (Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette)

WTR: Respectfully literally means FULL of respect

AMOUNT / NUMBER

• Amount words relate to quantities of things that are measured in bulk (with the exception of money)– Do not drink up too great an amount of milk.

• Number to things that can be counted.– I have a large number of cakes to eat!

• Tip: Numbers can be counted, amounts are measured in bulk. (except for $$)

BESIDE/BESIDES

Besides (Adv, prep) can mean “in addition to” Do you have any shirt besides the pink one.

WTR : if it has an S it means “extra” (like a plural)

Beside (prep, adv) in contrast, usually means “next to.” Pooh stood beside Rabbit laughing.

CAPITOL/CAPITAL

Capitol is Always a building Congress held session in the Capitol. Can remember this! COngress meets in the CapitOl

(both have O’s).

Capital – Money/wealth/property, fatal, most important, and/or city which serve as seat of government. The capital of Nebraska is Lincoln, home of the

Huskers. The death sentence is capital punishment. The big letter that starts a sentence or proper noun

is a capital letter. WTR: If its not an actual building,

capital requires an A.

VOCABULARY MEETING 9Teri Lynn Tosspon

English 10, Heald College

ACCEPT/EXCEPT

• Accept (v)– "to receive." – He accepted the gift. (He received it.)

• Except (prep, v) is usually a preposition meaning "but" or "leaving out." However, except can also be a verb meaning "to leave out." – He liked everyone except Sabrina.

– Way to remember – EX is like your EX that you want to LEAVE OUT!

EXCESS/ACCESS

Access –(n, v, adj) a way to enter. This place has internet access?!

Excess ––(n, v, adj)too muchExcess fat in your diet is bad.

WTR: EX = TOO MUCH.

ADOPT/ADAPT

Adapt means "to change." Usually we adapt to someone or something. The moths adapted to the environment.

Adopt means "to take as one's own." Judy adopted the orphan puppy.

If you mean “take as one’s Own” its adOpt. Orphans also get adOpted.

ADVICE/ADVISE

Advice is the noun, an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action, conduct. He gives good advice.

Advise- the act of giving advice. I would advise you not to speak to him.

Way to Remember: Advice (a noun like ice) is what is given.

AFFECT/EFFECT

Affect –(v) to influence or alter in some way. Use the verb affected when you mean influenced |rather than caused. The arrow affected the

aardvark’s rear end. Effect – (n) the result of being affected. Use effect

whenever any of these words precede it: a, an, any, the, take, into, no. (v.) Bring about, cause. The effects of the rain have been local flooding.

You use Effect after The, on, any, into, or no. ThE Effect.

Affect – act on

Effect – the outcome

VOCABULARY EXTRA/MAKE-UP WORDSTeri Lynn Tosspon

English 10, Heald College

STATIONARY / STATIONERY

Stationary (adj) not moving, still. (n) unmoving or staying in one place. He stood stationary, waiting for the fight.

Stationery (n) paper on which one writes or to other related items. (let the E in envelope remind you) Pass me the flowery stationery?

COMPLEMENT/COMPLIMENT

• compliment: nice things said about someone – "She paid me the compliment of admiring the way

I shined my shoes.” • Complement- matching or completing.

– Alice’s love for entertaining and Mike’s love for washing dishes complement each other.

– the full number of something needed to make it complete: “My computer has a full complement of video-editing programs.” If it is preceded by “full” the word you want is almost certainly “complement.” 

• Remember, if you’re not making nice to someone, the word is “complement.”

CONSCIENCE/CONSCIOUS

• Conscience – inner sense of right and wrong.– Your conscience makes you feel guilty when you

do bad things. • Conscious – aware, having mental faculties,

known. – If you are awake, you are conscious. – Although it is possible to speak of your

“conscious mind,” you can’t use “conscious” all by itself to mean “consciousness.”

COUNCIL/COUNSEL

• Council– an assembly, a body of people– I checked with the city council.

• Counsel– advice, to give advice– I could counsel you not to speak to him anymore.

CONTINUALLY/CONTINUOUSLY

• Continually means "repeated again and again." – I was continually interrupted by the telephone.

• Continuously means "uninterrupted." – It rained continuously for forty-eight hours.

DISBURSE/DISPERSE

• Disburse – to distribute, give out– You disburse money by taking it out of your

purse (French “bourse”) and distributing it.

• Disperse – scatter, drive off, dispel– If you refuse to hand out any money, the eager

mob of beggars before you may disperse.

PATIENCE/ PATIENTS

Please have some patience: I will be able to help you after I am done seeing these other patients.