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The following list consists of words that are commonly misspelled or misused. Some are
homophones (words that sound alike but have different meanings); others are simply
mistakes. These are generally simple words and failure to use them correctly gives your
reader the impression that you are careless. In addition, your instructors hate
to find these mistakes in your papers, so do yourself a favor and master these words.
accept, except
accept = a verb, to receive or to agree with
except = with the exclusion of; to leave out
I accept all your good advice except the part about never staying out late.
advice, advise
advice = a recommendation about a course of action; a noun
advise = to give advice or counsel to; a verb
I hope you will take my advice. I advise you to take things slowly.
affect, effect
affect = to influence; a verb
effect = the result of an action; a noun
The actions you take now will affect you
for the rest of your life. Every action creates its own effect.
already, all ready
already = previously
all ready = everything is prepared
The kids were already in the car heading
to Grandma's, while he and his wife were all ready
for their weekend alone to begin.
all right
The important thing to remember about this is that all right is
ALWAYS two words. The commonly used (but incorrect) alright is a misspelling.
The teenager told his parents, "I'm going to be all
right, all right?"
a lot
a lot = more than a few. A lot is ALWAYS two words. Alot
is NOT a word. Allot is a word, but it means something different. (Look it up!)
When she went off her diet, she drank a lot
of cokes.
altogether, all together
altogether = completely, entirely
all together = all in a group
His friends thought he spent altogether
too much time with his girlfriend. They liked it better when the guys hung out all together as a group.
among, between
among = used when referring to more than two
between = used when referring to only two
The couple decided that no one would ever come between
them. They were the only ones among their
friends who had not broken up at least once.
bad, badly
bad = an adjective; refers to a person, place, thing, or a state of being
(looking bad, feeling bad) A person can feel bad, be bad, or have a bad day.
badly = an adverb; describes an action or another adjective. The movie can end badly or
someone can behave badly (not bad).
She said she had a bad headache, but that
was no excuse for how badly she behaved
towards her guests.
fewer, less
fewer = only used when referring to something that is countable
less = used when referring to something that is not countable
The doctor advised him to drink fewer
cups of coffee each day and to use less
sugar in each cup.
here, hear
here = refers to a location
hear = what you do with your ears
Please come over here so I can hear you better.
its, it's
its = a possessive pronoun; belonging to it
it's = a contraction for it is.
I hope the dog goes inside its doghouse
because it's beginning to snow outside.
lose, loose
lose = to be unable to find something
loose = free, unfastened
Mary Ann can lose her car keys three
times a day. Somedays I don't think she should be loose
on the streets.
passed, past
passed = to have moved beyond; a verb
past = a time gone by; having existed before; a noun
The family pictures and documents were passed
down from generation to generation so that all the family members would be aware of their past.
principal, principle
principal = the person in charge of a school; a noun
the main concept or most important part
principle = a rule or code of conduct; a fundamental truth; a noun
The principal assigned the entire
football team to detention for poor sportsmanship; he said they needed to ponder the principle of the matter.
quiet, quite
quiet = making very little noise, silent
quite = to a considerable extent
In the early afternoon, it was very quiet
outside her window, but as the evening traffic increased it became quite
noisy.
site, sight, cite
site = a location
sight = something that can been seen
cite = to provide a citation for; to give a ticket
This is the site for the new county
hospital. Watching it go up has been quite a sight.
Since the contractor is behind schedule, though, the city might cite him for construction delays.
their, there, they're
their = a possessive pronoun, belonging to them
there = indicates a location, at that place
they're = contraction for they are
The Johnsons usually park their new car
right over there, but since it got hit last
week, they're parking it in the garage.
then, than
then = refers to a time
than = shows comparison
If we had to live like they did back then,
we would appreciate our modern conveniences more than
ever.
to, too, two
to = toward, in the direction of; a preposition
too = also, very
two = a number
The two of us plan to
go hiking. I hope we don't get too lost.
weather, whether
weather = a meteorological term; what it's doing outside your window
whether = indicates a choice
Whether or not we go camping this weekend
will be determined by the weather.
who's, whose
who's = contraction for who is
whose = possessive pronoun; belonging to whom
I can't say for sure who's going or whose car we will be riding in.
who, which, that
who = refers only to people (never to things or animals)
which = refers to things or animals (never to people)
that = refers to people, things, or animals
Mario is the one who selects the bulls which will be used in the rodeo. Frank is one of
the brave souls that will attempt to
ride them.
your, you're
your = possessive pronoun; belonging to your
you're = contraction for you are
You're not planning to take your heavy coat, are you? It looks like it will
warm up outside.
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