Lesson 25, Words that are often confused:

There are many pairs of words in English that are frequently confused with each other because they are similar in appearance or in meaning.  Your incorrect use of these words makes a glaring statement about you to well-educated people - that if you are sloppy or inaccurate in using your language, how dependable will you be in other areas?  Here is your chance to fix some of those errors.

• ACCEPT: Accept is a verb meaning "to take" or "to receive" or "to willingly take possession of."
• EXCEPT: Except is usually a preposition, but sometimes it is also used as a verb meaning "to omit."

When speaking, it is important to pronounce these words accurately to keep them clear in your mind.  Accept begins with the A sound in HAT or CAT.  Except begins with the short E sound in PET or MET.

1. Will you accept our apology for the mistake on your bill?

2. Jenny accepted the First Place ribbon at the state fair.

3. Everybody turned in their homework except Fred and Violet.

4. The hiring committee decided to except John Harris from future consideration.  (to omit him from consideration)

• AFFECT: Affect is a verb meaning "to influence."
• EFFECT: Effect is usually used as a noun meaning "result", but sometimes it is used as a verb meaning "to achieve."

These words are commonly pronounced nearly the same, but the dictionary tells us that AFFECT should begin with the same sound as ABOUT or the U in BUT.  EFFECT should begin with a short I sound as in SIT or BIT.  The more exact you are in your pronunciation of these words, the easier it will be to keep them separate in your mind.

1. This bad weather will affect our business. 

2. Martin's headache affected his ability to concentrate on his job.

3. The bad weather had a negative effect on our business.

4. The football player effected a difficult pass to the forward. (successfully achieved a pass)

• FARTHER: Farther means more advanced in space or distance.
• FURTHER: Further means more advanced in degree.

1. The sun is farther from the earth than the moon is.

2. The wounded deer ran much farther than we thought it would.

3. The judge asked for further examples to support the defendant's case.

4. Doctors are hoping for further progress in the fight against cancer.

• GOOD: Good is an adjective, but never an adverb.  It means something is positive, decent, free from fault.
• WELL: Well can be an adverb or an adjective.  As an adverb, it means how proficiently or with what degree of expertise something was done; as an adjective, it means in good health or in a satisfactory state.

1. Cal Ripkin is a good baseball player.

2. I hope this is a good lesson.

3. Cal Ripkin plays baseball well.

4. Tom did very well on the history test.

5. Aunt Sarah is not feeling well today.

• LEAVE: Leave means to go away.
• LET: Let means "to permit."

Confusion between these two words may exist because there is a noun LEAVE which means "permission."  "The teacher gave the student leave to go to the restroom."

1.  Please let me go.  (permit me to go)

2. He gave me leave to go.  (He gave me permission)

3. The foreman let the new worker use the drill press.  (permitted)

4. The class will leave school early tomorrow.  (go away from)

• MUCH: Much refers to bulk or mass, stuff that can't be counted or separated into individual units or pieces.
• MANY: Many refers to numerous things, items that can be counted.

1. The fireman showed much courage when he entered the burning building to look for more people.

2. There was too much dirt in the machinery for it to run properly.

3. I have many cousins.

4. There are many ways to earn money in the United States.

• REAL:  Real is an adjective meaning "existing, not imaginary, natural, not artificial."
• REALLY: Really is an adverb meaning "in reality, truly, to a great degree."

1. Most people prefer pizza topped with real cheese rather that artificial, fat-free cheese.

2. A good father can be a real hero to their children.

3. Joanna performed really well in the gymnastics event.  (How well did she perform? Really well. Adverbs answer the question "How was something done?")

4. The young boy in the dentist's office was really afraid.  (How afraid was the boy?  Really afraid.)

There are enough examples  of confusing word pairs to make this lesson 10 pages long, and we do not want to do that.  Instead, we will show you many more pairs and let you study them on your own.  Be sure to use a good English dictionary that gives examples of the uses of the words.  If you have any questions about any of the words, or if you cannot find a good dictionary, e-mail us for help or advice at lessons@say-it-in-english.com . 

Exercise A: Circle the correct word inside the parentheses in the following sentences.

1. Having long hair and a nose ring may (affect, effect) a young man's ability to get a good job.

2. The actor performed (good, well) in the new play.

3. How much (further, farther) is it to the state line?

4. (Leave, Let) me take the dog for a walk.

5. Mrs. Johnson walked (real, really) carefully on the slippery sidewalk.

6. Mary asked her boss, "(Can, May) I take my lunch break early today?"

7. Susan had to (accept, except) her punishment for fighting in school.

8. It is not healthy to put too (much, many) spices on your food.

9. Jimmy often tried to (act as, act like) a fool in class.

10. The new business received an (adverse, averse) response to their ad campaign.

Exercise B:  Match the following words with their definitions.  Put the letter of the definition on the line after the word it belongs to.

Examination:  Use the correct words from the list to fill in the blanks in the following sentences.  All of the words should be used, but each word should only be used one time.

1. All of the teachers ________________ Mr. Nelson received merit raises.

2. Mr. Nelson was _________________ angry because he didn't receive a raise.

3. He thought that he went ________________ than most of the other teachers in preparing his lessons.

4. " _________ I help it if my students could not learn?"  he thought.

5. He wondered if this would _________________ his promotion.

6. He walked several paces  _________________ down the hall before he got an idea.

7. He knew it would be a ________________ test of his ability as a teacher.

8. Mr. Nelson went to the office and asked, "_____________ I speak to the principal?"

9. The principal said,  "I am ready to __________________ your proposal for the new program."

10. He added, "This will have a serious ________________ on your career if it doesn't work."

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