Commonly confused words

I accept the award.

I don’t like any cake except for cheesecake.

There is a wind vane on our roof.

That guy who is boasting a lot must be very vain.

Look at the vein you can see in my leg.

The plane trip took 15 hours.

The decorations are very plain; can we make them prettier?

Amiable = the person is very likeable

Amicable = the person is very friendly

Bad = adjective

Badly = adverb

Use farther when you’re describing actual distances.

Use further when you’re talking about abstract things:

I’m sure he’ll advance further in his job.

He has two daughters.

Can we go to the shops?

I like it too much to sell it.

Jason was tricked by the illusion.

Tommy has delusions of grandeur.

An allusion is an indirect reference to something, without coming out and saying it directly.

I would come and help you chop wood, but I need to go to school.

You’re not going to forget your lunch today are you?

He lay on his bed upset about his mother’s lie.

And here, if you are quiet, you can hear the ghosts speaking.

When you compliment someone, you praise them.

When something complements something else, it goes or fits nicely with it:

This wine nicely complements the meal.

It would be a traumatic experience to lose your sight.

Father works at the construction site every day.

Make sure you cite your sources in your essay.

If I break your vase, I’ll buy you a new one.

Sally had to brake hard in her car to avoid hitting the tree.

The principal is usually the head of a school.

A principle is a rule or law.

Some people at protests incite the crowd to become violent.

It’s hard to have the insight necessary to solve the world’s problems.

I saw a very beautiful altar in the church.

Try not to alter your essay too much; it looks good as it is.

Painting on canvas is one of the most common forms of art.

To canvass is to talk to people and try and get their attitudes or votes, often in a political situation, or to check something out carefully.

The course we ran on Saturday was quite hilly.

After being in the sun for so long, my skin feels quite coarse.

Let’s wander around to try and find a restaurant.

I wonder whether Jill will pass her exam or not.

Instants is the plural of instant, which is a point in time.

Instance is one particular example, event, or occurrence:

There have only been four reported instances of the disease so far.

I wonder whether we will ever have worldwide peace.

Cut me a piece of that cake, will you please?

To be conscious is to be awake or aware of something.

Your conscience is your set of ethics and morals - what tells you to do the right thing instead of the wrong thing.

You better pull your hat down more - it looks loose. If a gust of wind comes along you might lose it.

The first part of their journey was the descent down into the depths of a volcano. They had decent equipment with them though, so they were well prepared. However, later in the journey, dissent broke out amongst the explorers and they had to stop the trip.

Giganotosaurus was larger than Tyrannosaurus Rex. I guess then that it will be the new ‘king’ of the dinosaurs.

If you know your vocabulary, then you’ll have no problems understanding most books. I, for instance, knew that if I tried hard to improve my vocabulary, I’d be giving myself a new chance at improving my grades.

Oral is about the mouth and speaking, rather than writing:

I need to do my oral presentation tomorrow.

Aural is about the ear and hearing or listening:

Musicians usually have a very good aural sense.

Desert as a verb means to abandon or leave, desert as a noun means a dry, usually sandy area which is quite barren - the Sahara desert, for instance.

Dessert is what you eat after your main course at dinner - ice cream, cake, etc.

When something is not moving it is stationary.

Stationery is the stuff you buy to write with and write on - office supplies, like pens, paper, paper clips, staples, etc.

If you see something really scary there is a possibility that you will faint and lose consciousness.

A feint is an intentional but fake or misleading manoeuvre to distract or divert an opponent, whether on a battlefield or in a fencing match.

What a racket! That party was noisy until 3 am.

Don’t forget to bring your tennis racquet today.

Although he couldn’t see the ghost, he could feel its presence in the room.

Kids usually love to get given lots of presents at Christmas.

If he presents the award, Bob won’t accept it.

Remember at Bob’s 14^th birthday party there are going to be a lot of adolescents hanging around.

Adolescence refers to the time in a young person’s life between puberty and maturity.

Flammable and inflammable both mean the same thing. Something that is flammable or inflammable can easily be lit and burns well.

The cult had many strange rites that they performed in secret ceremonies behind closed doors.

Having a good vocabulary makes it easier for you to write.

Aid as a noun means help; aid as a verb means the action of helping.

An aide is a helper or assistant; high-up professionals often have personal aides to help organise or aid them in their everyday lives.

Someone who is immoral has the opposite morals to those that are generally accepted by society. Someone who is amoral doesn’t have morals one way or the other - they don’t care.

An ingenuous person is someone who doesn’t have any cunning, and hence finds it hard to trick anyone.

An ingenious person is smart and often solves problems in clever ways.

It would be quite hard to raise the Titanic from the bottom of the ocean floor. Raise is a transitive verb. Rise is an intransitive verb - it’s what something does:

I’m not sure what time the sun will rise tomorrow morning.

Sympathy describes how you can feel sorry for a person who is going through a period of hard times.

Empathy is slightly different - it means that you understand what someone else is going through because you’ve been through a similar situation.

Prophecy is a noun; prophesy is a verb. They are both to do with divine predictions, usually made by a prophet:

I am not sure what the prophet will prophesy tomorrow, but I hope the people will like his prophecy.

To jibe someone is to taunt or tease them. Jive is the name of a type of music.

A gorilla is a large human-like creature that you find in the jungle. A guerrilla is a person who belongs to an unofficial military unit, which usually carries out surprise attacks on their enemy.

When you prosecute someone, you take legal action against them.

When you persecute someone, you pick on them, usually based on their religion, race, sex, class status, or beliefs.

The weather is what is presented on the evening news - it’s what’s happening in the atmosphere:

The weather yesterday was horrible; it was raining all day.

I am not sure whether I will be able to climb the mountain.

John is very religious; he prays every night.

Crocodiles will eat many different types of animals; they aren’t restricted to one type of prey.

Who’s is short for ‘who is’.

Whose is the possessive form of the pronoun ‘who’.

Who’s going to the party tonight?

Whose money is this?

Make sure you wear your name badge to work.

Where is the picnic going to be?

Were you going to the picnic?

Advice is the noun; advise is the verb.

I would not advise you to do that.

That’s good advice, thank you very much.

Michael threw the ball through the glass window. His mother gave him a very thorough talking to.