Easily confused words

📄️ Above or over?

When we use above as a preposition, it means ‘higher than’. Its meaning is close to that of the preposition over. In the following sentences, over can be used instead of above:

📄️ Advice or advise?

Advice /ədˈvaɪs/ is a noun and means a suggestion about what someone should do. It is uncountable:

📄️ Affect or effect?

Affect /əˈfekt/ is a verb meaning ‘influence or cause someone or something to change’:

📄️ Allow, permit or let?

Allow, permit and let are verbs that all have a similar meaning: ‘give permission or make it possible for somebody to do or have something’.

📄️ Almost or nearly?

We use almost and nearly to refer to the progress of things, especially if we are measuring and counting things. In these examples, almost and nearly can both be used:

📄️ Along or alongside?

Along and alongside are prepositions or adverbs.

📄️ Alone, lonely, or lonesome?

Alone or lonely?

📄️ Also, as well or too?

Also, as well and too are adverbs and mean ‘in addition’.

📄️ Alternate(ly), alternative(ly)

Alternate(ly)

📄️ Although or though?

Although and though meaning ‘in spite of’

📄️ Altogether or all together?

Altogether

📄️ Amount of, number of or quantity of?

Amount of or number of?

📄️ Arise or rise?

Arise means ‘happen’ or ‘occur’. We use it with abstract nouns (e.g. problem). The three forms of arise are arise, arose, arisen. It is used in formal contexts:

Around and round are prepositions or adverbs. We use around and round when we refer to movements in circles or from one place to another. Around and round can both be used. Around is more common in American English. Round is a little more common in speaking:

📄️ Anyone, anybody or anything?

Anyone, anybody and anything are indefinite pronouns.

📄️ Arouse or rouse?

Rouse and arouse are both used in formal contexts. Arouse means ‘make someone have a particular feeling’:

📄️ Apart from or except for?

Apart from and except for are multi-word prepositions. Apart from can mean either ‘including’ or ‘excluding’:

📄️ As or like?

As and like are prepositions or conjunctions. The prepositions as and like have different meanings. As + noun means ‘in the role of’, like + noun means ‘similar to’ or ‘in the same way as’.

📄️ As, because or since?

As, because and since are conjunctions. As, because and since all introduce subordinate clauses. They connect the result of something with its reason.

📄️ As, when or while?

As, when and while are conjunctions. In some uses as, when and while can mean the same, but they can also have slightly different meanings. We use them to introduce subordinate clauses.

📄️ Been or gone?

We often use been to, instead of gone to, when we refer to completed visits to a place:

📄️ Begin or start?

We can use the verbs begin and start to mean the same thing but begin is more formal than start. Begin is an irregular verb. Its past simple form is began and its \-ed form is begun:

📄️ Born or borne?

Born

📄️ Bring, take and fetch

Bring

📄️ Can, could or may?

Possibility

📄️ Classic or classical?

Classic: adjective

📄️ Beside or besides?

Beside

📄️ Come or go?

We use come to describe movement between the speaker and listener, and movement from another place to the place where the speaker or listener is. We usually use go to talk about movement from where the speaker or listener is to another place.

📄️ Between or among?

Between and among are prepositions.

📄️ Consider or regard?

Consider and regard can both mean ‘believe’ or ‘realise’ or ‘understand’. When they mean ‘believe’ or ‘realise’ or ‘understand’, we don’t often use the continuous forms.

📄️ Consist, comprise or compose?

Consist, comprise and compose are all verbs used to describe what something is ‘made of’. We don’t use them in continuous forms.

📄️ Content or contents?

Content and contents are nouns.

📄️ Down, downwards or downward?

Down

📄️ During or for?

We use during to say when something happens, if it happens in or over a period of time. We use for to talk about the length of time something lasts.

📄️ Each or every?

We use each to refer to individual things in a group or a list of two or more things. It is often similar in meaning to every, but we use every to refer to a group or list of three or more things.

📄️ East or eastern; north or northern?

North, south, east, west

📄️ Economic or economical?

Economic and economical are adjectives.

📄️ Efficient or effective?

Efficient and effective are adjectives.

📄️ Different from, different to or different than?

The adjective different means ‘not the same’. When we compare two or more items, it is usually followed by from. We also use different to, especially in speaking:

📄️ Elder, eldest or older, oldest?

Elder and eldest mean the same as older and oldest. We only use the adjectives elder and eldest before a noun (as attributive adjectives), and usually when talking about relationships within a family:

📄️ Do or make?

When we use do and make with noun phrases, do focuses on the process of acting or performing something, make emphasises more the product or outcome of an action:

📄️ End or finish?

We use the verbs end and finish in similar ways, to mean ‘come to a stop’:

📄️ Except or except for?

We often use except and except for as prepositions to mean ‘not including’ or ‘excluding’. They are followed by a noun or noun phrase or a wh\-clause. Both except and except for are correct after a noun:

📄️ Expect, hope or wait?

Expect

📄️ Experience or experiment?

We use experience as a verb when something happens to us, or we feel it. It is rather formal:

📄️ Fall or fall down?

We can use fall as a noun or a verb. It means ‘suddenly go down onto the ground or towards the ground unintentionally or accidentally’. It can also mean ‘come down from a higher position’. As a verb, it is irregular. Its past form is fell and its \-ed form is fallen. Fall does not need an object:

📄️ Far or a long way?

Far and a long way both describe something at a great distance:

📄️ Farther, farthest or further, furthest?

Comparative forms

📄️ Fast, quick or quickly?

Fast and quick mean moving with great speed. Fast is both an adjective and an adverb. Quick is an adjective and the adverb form is quickly.

📄️ Fell or felt?

Fell is the past simple of the verb fall:

📄️ Especially or specially?

Especially and specially are adverbs.

📄️ First, firstly or at first?

First and firstly

📄️ Every one or everyone?

We use every one, written as two words, to refer back to a noun we have already mentioned:

📄️ Fit or suit?

If something fits you or fits into a place, it is the right size or shape for you or for that place:

📄️ Following or the following?

We use following without the + noun phrase to mean ‘after’, ‘in response to’ or ‘as a result of’:

📄️ For or since?

We use for with a period of time in the past, present or future.

📄️ Forget or leave?

We sometimes use forget when we don’t remember to bring something with us:

📄️ Full or filled?

Full is an adjective, and means ‘containing a lot’:

📄️ Fun or funny?

Fun

📄️ Get or go?

Get and go have similar meanings, when talking about travel or motion. When we use get, we emphasise arrival:

📄️ High or tall?

We use high for mountains and for things which are a long way above the ground:

📄️ Historic or historical?

Historic means ‘important or likely to be important in history’:

📄️ Female or feminine; male or masculine?

We use female and male to refer to the sex of humans and animals:

📄️ House or home?

We use the noun house to refer to a building:

📄️ Finally, at last, lastly or in the end?

Finally, at last, lastly and in the end all have a meaning of ‘after a period of time’. However, we use them in different ways.

📄️ How is …? or What is … like?

How is …?

📄️ If or when?

We use if to introduce a possible or unreal situation or condition. We use when to refer to the time of a future situation or condition that we are certain of:

📄️ If or whether?

If and whether: indirect questions

📄️ Ill or sick?

Ill and sick are both adjectives that mean ‘not in good health’. We use both ill and sick after a verb such as be, become, feel, look or seem:

📄️ Imply or infer?

We imply something by what we say. We infer something from what somebody else says. The main difference between these two words is that a speaker can imply, but a listener can only infer.

📄️ Grateful or thankful?

We use grateful to talk about how we feel when someone is kind to us or does us a favour:

📄️ Hear or listen (to)?

‘Hearing’ is an event; it is something which happens to us as a natural process. ‘Listening’ is an action; it is something we do consciously.

📄️ In the way or on the way?

In the way

📄️ It’s or its?

It’s is the contracted form of it is or it has:

📄️ Late or lately?

Late is both an adverb and an adjective; it means the opposite of early. Lately is also an adverb; it means ‘recently’.

📄️ Lay or lie?

The verb lay means ‘to put something down carefully in a flat position’. It must have an object. It is a regular verb, but note the spelling of the past simple and \-ed form

📄️ Lend or borrow?

Lend means ‘give something to someone for a short time, expecting that you will get it back’. The past simple and the \-ed form are lent:

📄️ Less or fewer?

We use the quantifiers less and fewer to talk about quantities, amounts and degree. Less and fewer are comparative words. Less is the comparative form of little. Fewer is the comparative form of few.

📄️ Look at, see or watch?

Look at

📄️ Low or short?

We use low for things which are not high, or which are close to the ground or to the bottom of something:

📄️ Man, mankind or people?

Man and mankind

📄️ Maybe or may be?

We use maybe and may be to talk about possibility. They are often confused because we use them both when we think that something is possible but we are not certain.

📄️ Maybe or perhaps?

Maybe and perhaps are adverbs that mean the same thing. We use them when we think something is possible, but we are not certain. We use maybe mostly in front or end position whereas perhaps is used in front, mid and end position:

📄️ Nearest or next?

Nearest is the superlative form of near. It means ‘the closest in distance or time’:

📄️ Never or not … ever?

We can use not … ever instead of never, but never is much more common:

📄️ Nice or sympathetic?

Nice is an adjective meaning ‘pleasant’, ‘enjoyable’ or ‘satisfactory’:

📄️ No doubt or without doubt?

We can use no doubt when we think that what we are saying is likely to happen, or when we think it is true. It is similar to ‘I suppose’ or ‘I imagine’:

📄️ No or not?

No and not are the two most common words we use to indicate negation. We use no before a noun phrase:

📄️ Nowadays, these days or today?

We can use nowadays, these days or today as adverbs meaning ‘at the present time, in comparison with the past’:

📄️ Open or opened?

We use open as an adjective to mean ‘not closed’:

📄️ Opportunity or possibility?

We use opportunity to talk about a situation in which we can do something that we want to do. Opportunity is most commonly followed by a verb in the to\-infinitive form, or of + \-ing form:

📄️ Opposite or in front of?

Opposite as a preposition means ‘in a position facing someone or something but on the other side’:

📄️ Other, others, the other or another?

Other

📄️ Out or out of?

We use out and out of to talk about position and direction.

📄️ Permit or permission?

The countable noun permit (pronounced /ˈpɜ

📄️ Person, persons or people?

We use person in the singular to refer to any human being:

📄️ Pick or pick up?

Pick means 'remove small pieces of something from something else, usually with your hands':

📄️ Play or game?

Play

📄️ Politics, political, politician or policy?

Politics

📄️ Price or prize?

Price /praɪs/ and prize /praɪz/ are nouns.

📄️ Principal or principle?

Principal as an adjective means 'most important':

📄️ Quiet or quite?

Quiet /kwaɪət/ and quite /kwaɪt/ are spelt and pronounced differently, and have different meanings.

📄️ Raise or rise?

Raise must have an object, as it is a transitive verb. It is a regular verb; its three forms are raise, raised, raised:

📄️ Remember or remind?

Remember

📄️ Right or rightly?

We use both right and rightly as adverbs, but they are used in different ways and with different meanings.

📄️ Rob or steal?

Rob and steal both mean 'take something from someone without permission'.

📄️ Say or tell?

Say and tell are irregular verbs. The past simple of say is said, the past simple of tell is told:

📄️ So that or in order that?

We use so that and in order that to talk about purpose. We often use them with modal verbs (can, would, will, etc.). So that is far more common than in order that, and in order that is more formal:

📄️ Sometimes or sometime?

Sometimes means 'not always or not often':

📄️ Sound or noise?

Sound and noise are nouns. We can use them both as countable or uncountable nouns. Both refer to something which you can hear, but when a sound is unwanted or unpleasant, we call it a noise:

📄️ Speak or talk?

Speak and talk: uses

📄️ Such or so?

Such is a determiner; so is an adverb. They often have the same meaning of 'very' or 'to this degree':

📄️ There, their or they’re?

There, their and they're are commonly confused in English, as they sound the same.

📄️ There is, there’s and there are

We use there is and there are when we first refer to the existence or presence of someone or something:

📄️ Towards or toward?

Towards and toward are prepositions. We can use both forms, but towards is much more common than toward.

📄️ Wait or wait for?

Wait means 'stay in the same place or not do something until something else happens'. We can use it with or without for:

📄️ Wake, wake up or awaken?

Wake and wake up are verbs which mean 'stop sleeping or end someone else's sleep'. They are used in everyday language.

📄️ Worth or worthwhile?

Worth and worthwhile are adjectives.