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Kaplan University Writing Center • Commonly Confused Words • February 2017, Version 2 • of 14 © 2017 Kaplan University Writing Center, All Rights Reserved.

Kaplan University Writing Center

The following tutorial focuses on a list of commonly confused words in alphabetical order by one of

the words. Students often get words confused with other words for a variety of reasons:

The words sound alike (called homonyms).

The words look similar or are spelled similarly.

The definition of a word is being confused with a similar word.

To correct these errors, try doing the following:

Look up questionable words in a dictionary. Read as much as possible, so you see these words in action more often and naturally use

them correctly.

Use a Spelling and Grammar Check. The Microsoft Word program uses a blue underline to

mark word confusion. Be sure to use this as a learning tool, rather than relying on it to just

make changes. If this feature is not turned on in your Microsoft Word document, go to the

review tab and then click on the “Spelling and Grammar” icon in the upper left of your screen.

A, AN, AND 2

ACCEPT, EXCEPT 3

ADAPT, ADOPT 3

ADVICE, ADVISE 3

AFFECT, EFFECT 3

ALL READY, ALREADY 4

ALL TOGETHER, ALTOGETHER 4

A LOT, ALLOT 4

ANGEL, ANGLE 4

ARE, OUR 4

ASSISTANCE, ASSISTANTS 5

BARE, BEAR 5

BOARD, BORED 5

BREATHE, BREATH 5

BRAKE, BREAK 5

BUY, BY 5

CAPITAL, CAPITOL 6

CHOOSE, CHOSE 6

CLOTHES, CLOSE 6

CONSCIENCE, CONSCIOUS 6

DESSERT, DESERT 7

Table of Contents

Commonly Confused Words



DIE, DYE, DYING, DYEING 7

DO, DUE, DEW 7

CITE, SITE, SIGHT 7

EVERYDAY, EVERY DAY 8

FAIR, FARE 8

IMPLY, INFER 8

FARTHER, FURTHER 9

FORMALLY, FORMERLY 9

HEAR, HERE 9

ITS, IT'S 9

KNOW, NO, KNEW, NEW 9

LAY, LIE 9

LEAD, LEAD, LED 10

LOOSE, LOSE 10

PASSED, PAST 10

PATIENCE, PATIENTS 11

PRESENCE, PRESENTS 11

PRINCIPAL, PRINCIPLE 11

RIGHT, RITE, WRITE 11

QUIET, QUIT, QUITE 12

ROAD, RODE 12

SENSE, SINCE 12

THAN, THEN 12

THEIR, THERE, THEY'RE 12

THROUGH, THRU, THOUGH, THOUGHT, TOUGH 12

TO, TOO, TWO 13

WEATHER, WHETHER 13

WERE, WHERE 13

WEAK, WEEK 13

WHICH, WITCH 14

WHOSE, WHO’S 14

YOUR, YOU’RE 14

A, An, And

A is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound.

a man a house a cat

An is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).

an apple an idea an issue

And joins words or ideas together.



Molly and Amy are taking ballet classes.

I love Doug, and he loves me.

Accept, Except

Accept is a verb meaning to receive, admit to a group, or take, while except is a preposition

meaning without or other than.

Sororities accept new members each fall.

Do you accept American Express?

She remembered to buy everything except milk.

Everyone signed up for the musical except Beth.

Adapt, Adopt

Both of these are verbs, but adapt means to change or alter something in some way, while adopt

means to take possession of a person or thing, or to take a course of action.

Those plants were supposed to be planted in full sun, but I planted them in the shade. I hope

they adapt quickly!

It is a good idea to adapt your resume to fit each job application.

She had only been in Spain a week, but she could not resist adopting the tradition of the

afternoon siesta.

The directions were wrong and they were getting more lost by the minute: It was time to adopt

a new plan to get them to their destination.

Advice, Advise

Advice is a noun that refers to someone else's thoughts on what should be done in a particular

situation. The "c" is pronounced like the "s" in soap. Advise is a verb that means to give someone

advice. Its "s" is pronounced like the "z" in zoo:

If you want my advice, go on the cruise.

His lawyer is going to advise him to remain silent.

Affect, Effect

With a couple specific exceptions, affect is a verb meaning to change or to influence while effect is

a noun meaning result or consequence. Effect can also be used as a verb in a more obscure usage

and means “to create” (it is often used with the word “change” in this case).

Many people think TV violence affects our children negatively.

The hair tonic had the desired effect: Lots of luscious hair sprouted from his scalp.



The student senate is trying to effect change in our campus recycling policies.

All ready, Already

All ready means completely prepared, while already means by a given time.

They were all ready to go out when the babysitter called and canceled.

It was not until she smelled smoke that she remembered the cookies. It was too late; they were

already burned.

All together, Altogether

All together refers to everyone or everything in one place, while altogether means thoroughly.

We are taking the big van because we want to go all together.

I was altogether confused after reading the difficult article.

A lot, Allot

A lot is a quantity; it means many of something. Allot means to divide or to portion out.

We have a lot of corn after the big harvest.

We have to allot the corn among the many farmers in the region.

Angel, Angle

An angel is a supernatural being, or a very good person. An angle is the shape where two lines

meet.

I think she is an angel for doing so many nice things for people.

Those streets meet at a strange angle.

Are, Our

Are is the plural form of the verb “to be.” Our is the plural form of “my,” (you could also think of it as

the possessive form of “us”).

Are you going to sleep?

My websites are now online.

Our car is being towed.

Back to Table of Contents



Assistance, Assistants

Assistance is a verb meaning to give help. Assistants is the plural form of “assistant,” which means

helper.

He man stranded on the side of the road clearly needed assistance.

I hired two assistants to help me with my paperwork.

Bare, Bear

Bare means naked, while bear can either be a verb meaning to carry or a noun referring to an animal.

The sun burned Megan’s bare legs.

The memory of her father’s death is a heavy burden to bear.

Mike loves polar bears, but my favorite is the panda bear.

Board, Bored

Board is a piece of wood, while bored means uninterested or not entertained.

Before we build the table, we need to saw the board in half.

There was nothing to do in line, and the kids got really bored.

Breathe, Breath

Breathe is a verb meaning to take air into the lungs. Breath is a noun, meaning the air that is taken

into the lungs.

The yoga teacher told the class to breathe and close their eyes.

The doctor said to take a deep breath.

Brake, Break

A brake is what stops a car. Break is a verb meaning destroy.

The driver hit the brake when he saw the red light.

The vase will break if you drop it.

Buy, By

Buy is a verb meaning to purchase, while by is a preposition (tricky little words with a variety of uses).

It can mean “next to.”



I need to buy a turkey at the store for Thanksgiving dinner.

I stood by the podium to hear the speech better.

The book was written by a famous author.

Capital, Capitol

Capital has a several meanings. It can refer to money or to the city or town where the main state,

regional, or national government is located. Capitol, on the other hand, refers to the building itself

where government officials work.

Unless they get more capital quickly, they will not be able to buy the house.

Michigan's capital is Lansing, a midsized city located in the center of the state.

The golden dome of the capitol in Charleston, West Virginia dominates the city's skyline.

The U.S. Capitol* is located very close to the Library of Congress.

*Note: Capitol is capitalized because it is part of the building's title. For more on this, visit the

following Writing Center tutorial: Capitalization.

Choose, Chose

Choose is the present tense form of a verb that means to select, and it rhymes with shoes.

Chose is the past tense of the same verb and it rhymes with hose.

Chantal wants to paint her living room; now she just needs to choose the color.

Mike chose to stay home: he had a horrible headache.

Clothes, Close

Clothes are garments we wear. Close is a verb meaning the opposite of open.

Put your clothes on and get ready for work.

Please close the door; you’re letting out the warm air.

Conscience, Conscious

Your conscience alerts you to what is right and wrong: It is your moral compass. Conscious simply

means mentally awake or aware.

Did you read about the man who robbed that elderly woman? I tell you, someone who could do

that has no conscience!

After any accident, it is important to make sure all the victims are conscious and breathing.

When they ran out of gas on the highway, Maggie asked Steve if he had been conscious of

the gas gauge as it slipped below "E."

https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/MyStudies/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingCenter/WritingReferenceLibrary/WritingMechanics/Capitalization.aspx



Dessert, Desert

Dessert is a sweet treat, usually the last course of a meal. Desert can have two meanings: either a

dry, sandy place, or a verb meaning to abandon.

She served strawberry shortcake for dessert.

A coyote chased a jack rabbit across the desert.

The mother bears desert the cubs as soon as they can be independent.

Die, Dye, Dying, Dyeing

Die means life to end life; dying is a form of this verb, meaning losing life. Dye is color added to

something like fabric; dyeing is a form of this word, meaning adding color.

She will die if we don’t perform CPR.

She is dying of a rare disease.

I added the dye into the wash to turn the clothes red.

I am dyeing a pair of jeans to match my sweater.

Do, Due, Dew

Do is a common verb, often used as a helping verb. It can mean to perform a task. Due can mean

“as a result of” or “owed.” Dew refers to water droplets.

Do you know the time?

I want to do several things during this long weekend.

Her high fever is due to a serious infection.

The rent is due at the end of the month.

The dew sparkled on the grass early in the morning.

Cite, Site, Sight

Cite is a verb that means to make reference to. This verb is used in the "remember to cite your

sources" refrain you have heard from your professors. Site is a noun that means location. It can be

real (the Civil War battle site of Gettysburg) or virtual (the Kaplan University website). A sight is

something you see or the ability to see.

When asked why the staff fridge was removed, the boss cited the five moldy lunches that had

been left there over the past month.




It is important to cite anything taken from an outside source. Not doing so can be considered

plagiarism.

They needed to pick a site for their wedding reception quickly before every hall was booked.

With business booming, the company needed to build a warehouse at a new site.

As a kid, she loved the sight of airplanes flying high overhead. As an adult, she became a

pilot.

Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing after a severe case of Scarlet Fever.

Everyday, Every day

Everyday means ordinary, routine, common, or normal. Every day refers to something that happens

daily.

No need to dress up for the party: Everyday clothes are fine.

Maggie runs five miles every day.

Fair, Fare

Fair has a few meanings: a carnival, light-skinned, or just/honest. Fare, on the other hand, means

money to pay for transportation.

I love fairs because I like the rides, the food, and the games.

She is so fair that she gets sunburns easily.

It is not fair that some people get paid more for the same amount of work.

If you do not pay the fare, you cannot get on the train.

Imply, Infer

Many people confuse these two words, and that is understandable as they mean similar things.

There is a difference between them, however, so learning to use them correctly is important. The

key difference is in whose perspective is being discussed. When a speaker implies something, he

or she is suggesting something is the case, but is not coming right out and saying it. When a hearer

infers something, he or she is coming to a conclusion about what the speaker meant. Here is the

key: Speakers imply; hearers infer.

Alan said he had received some phone calls from other companies, implying that other

people might want to hire him. His boss inferred from this that Alan might be thinking of

quitting, so he offered him a raise.



Farther, Further

Farther means a greater distance that is measurable (like a physical distance). Further means a

greater depth, as in something not measurable.

We drove farther today through Michigan than we have on the rest of the trip.

We need to do further research on this material.

Formally, Formerly

Formally means doing something properly, ceremoniously. Formerly means previously.

She formally accepted the presidency in a public ceremony.

My cat, formerly called Jack, is now called Sara. We learned she’s a girl!

Hear, Here

Hear means what you do with your ears (the word “hear” has “ear” right in it!). Here refers to place

(easy to remember since words dealing with place often end in “here” – where? Here or there)

Can you hear the music?

Please put the table over here.

Its, It's

Its means belonging to it, while it's is short for it is or it has. This can be tricky because an

apostrophe “s” does mean belonging to when applied to nouns, but not to pronouns. None of the

pronouns use apostrophe “s” to express possession: hers, ours, yours, its. A good way to remember

this is to think about the word "his"—it has no apostrophe.

Know, No, Knew, New

Know means to comprehend; knew is the past tense of that verb. No is the opposite of “yes.” New

means not old.

Lay, Lie

Both "lay" and "lie" are verbs, but they mean different things. Lay means to put something

somewhere, and so it always accompanies a direct object (the "something"). It is conjugated as

follows (the direct objects are italicized):

Infinitive (to lay): The city hopes to lay more railroad tracks this summer.

Present tense (lay): Lay your bags in the corner before entering the museum.

Past tense (laid): The suspect laid his gun on the ground.



Past participle (laid): The suspect had laid his gun on the ground by the time the police

arrived.

Present participle (laying): They are laying new tile in the bathroom.

Lie, on the other hand, means to recline (there is also another definition of lie, which means not to

tell the truth). It does not take a direct object, and a tip to spotting it is that it is often followed by the

word "down."

Infinitive (to lie): With a bad migraine, the only real cure is to lie down.

Present tense (lie): Lie on this sofa and tell me if you think it is comfortable.

Past tense (lay): Maggie lay down for a quick nap, but when she awoke, 4 hours had passed.

Past participle (lain): Even though she felt awful, she decided she had lain down long enough.

Present participle (lying): Answer the phone! I am lying down!

What leads to the confusion between these two? For starters, it does not help that the past tense of

"to lie" is "lay"! The key is to memorize the two verbs and their forms. If you can exchange the word

for a form of "put" or 'to place", you need a form of "to lay."

Lead, Lead, Led

This one is confusing because the word lead, though the same spelling, has two very different

meanings and is pronounced differently with each meaning. The first meaning is the type of

substance you’d find in a pencil. The second meaning is a verb meaning “to guide” or “take charge.”

Led is the past tense of this verb.

I have lead stuck in my hand from where Molly stabbed me with a pencil.

She will lead us through the dark, scary forest tonight.

She led us through the dark, scary forest yesterday.

Loose, Lose

Loose means not tight or free and rhymes with "goose." Lose is a verb meaning to misplace or not

win and rhymes with "shoes."

Many people dislike the fashion of loose jeans because they are always falling down.

If you do not shut the gate, the dog will get loose.

Kyle puts his keys in the same place every day so he will not lose them.

Most people who play the lottery lose.

Passed, Past

Passed is the past tense of the verb "to pass," which means to complete satisfactorily or to move

beyond or ahead of. Past, on the other hand, refers to things that happened before the present.



On the second try, Sheila passed the bar exam.

They passed their exit and had to turn around.

In the past, she wanted to be a teacher, but she loves her job in IT.

Patience, Patients

Patience is not being easily frustrated. Patients is the plural form of “patient,” which is someone in

need of medical care.

The kindergarten teacher must have a lot of patience with naughty children.

The hospital had many patients come in when the epidemic broke out.

Presence, Presents

Presence means attendance or being somewhere. Presents is the plural of present, which means

gift.

The teacher marked the students’ presence in the grade book.

There were many presents under the Christmas tree.

Principal, Principle

Principal has two meanings. It can either mean main or most important, or can refer to the head of

a school. A principle, on the other hand, is a basic notion, belief, or law.

The principal character in The Odyssey is Homer.

Markham Elementary School is getting a new principal next year.

The Red Cross abides by a principle of impartiality: They help everyone who needs them

regardless of nationality, religion, political viewpoint, or class.

Right, Rite, Write

While all three are pronounced the same, they mean quite different things. Right can refer to

direction or correctness. A rite is a ceremony or ritual. Write means to put words to paper.

Pass the salt. It is on your right.

Samantha did not feel like fighting; after all, she knew she was right.

May Day, now an organizing day for labor worldwide, started as a pagan rite celebrating the

arrival of spring.

Many therapists recommend patients write down their dreams.




Quiet, Quit, Quite

These words actually are pronounced the way that they are spelled; the mistakes just come because

they are spelled similarly to one another, so spell check won’t catch a small mistake. Just be sure to

look closely to check for spelling on such words.

Road, Rode

Road is a street or path. Rode is the past tense of the verb ride.

I live on Maple Road.

Yesterday, we rode down to my grandparents’ house south of here.

Sense, Since

Sense means perception or understanding. Since means “because.”

Dogs can sense when someone is sad.

Since we need a new car, we have to go shopping for one.

Than, Then

“Than” and “then” are tough to differentiate because most people pronounce them the same way.

However, then refers to time, while than makes a comparison.

I walked the dog and then I went to the store.

Take a right, then a left, and it will be the last house on your left.

My neighbor's car is better than mine, but my yard is prettier than hers.

Their, There, They're

Many of us confuse these three words because they sound the same. Here are some examples to

help you tell them apart:

There refers to a location, as in "Put the book there." It can also signal some general

existence, as in "There are many people who feel that way."

Their is a possessive form meaning “belonging to them,” as in "Their books are always

overdue" and "Why don't you buy their car?"

They're is the shortened form of "they are," as in "They're getting anxious about the holidays."

Through, Thru, Though, Thought, Tough

Through is a preposition and therefore difficult to define. It can mean “among” or “passing between.”



We went through a tunnel.

Thru is an informal, shortened form of through, used for signs or often when text messaging. Be

careful–shortened words like this are fine for texting, but academic papers should be more formal, so

be sure not to “text” your instructors!

The other words in this list are not related and do not really sound alike; they are just close in spelling,

so if you make a little spelling error with these, spell check won’t catch it. Just be sure to pay close

attention to the spelling of such words.

To, Too, Two

The word to has two roles. It can be a preposition indicating direction and it can also mark the

infinitive form of a verb. Too is an adverb that usually suggests quantity (often more than desired)

and it can also mean "also." Two means the number 2 or a couple.

The car swerved to the right.

I have to go somewhere this evening.

Sheila is too smart.

I want to go too.

The two-year-old girl loved listening to her father’s stories.

The two calico kittens batted a ball of yellow yarn across the room.

Weather, Whether

Weather refers to the conditions outside: snow, rain, sun. Whether is used when comparing things.

The weather outside is frightful.

Julia was deciding whether she would go to college right away or join the Army Reserves first.

Were, Where

Were is the past tense of “are” and a verb. Where, which rhymes with "air," refers to location.

They were very tired.

Were you planning on coming over for dinner?

Where did I put my glasses?

She told him where to go.

Weak, Week

Weak means not strong, while week is a group of seven days.



Which, Witch

Which is one of a group. Witch is a female sorcerer.

Which one do you want?

The dog, which was really just a puppy, was sold to a nice family.

The kids were dressed like a witch, a vampire, and a ghost.

Whose, Who’s

Whose is the possessive form of “who.” Who’s is a contraction for “who is.”

Your, You’re

Your is the possessive form of “you.” You’re is just a contraction for “you are.” Contractions can

cause many errors like this one, and since they are also usually too informal for academic papers,

they should usually be avoided.


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