10 Most Commonly Confused Words in English

If you are looking to clean up your writing? Then this is a good place to start.

English is a very easy language but sometimes it can be confusing with some words. Everyone knows the problem with spell-check which means that your word might be spelled right but it may be the wrong word. It means that you might have used a word which sounds exactly like the right word but has a completely different meaning, and so it doesn’t fit the sentence.

The English language is full of confusing words that sound alike but are spelled differently. There are a lot of words which are very puzzling and easy to misuse. Those words either spell the same, or sound the same, or worst of all, they spell and sound the same but have completely different meanings. So it becomes difficult for even those people who are very good at this language, to find out where they are wrong. There are also some words that spell and sound different but have similar meanings.

Marketing management assignment help online and marketing assignment help provides the right means to clear out the confusion between such words.

Scroll down to see the list of 10 most commonly confused and misused words in English:-

1. Accept and Except

   • Accept meaning: (verb) consent to receive and undertake (something offered)
     

     Sentence: I accepted all my birthday gifts with gratitude.

   • Except meaning: (preposition) not including; other than
     

     Sentence: She invited all her classmates for her birthday party except Tom.

2. Advice and Advise

   • Advice meaning: (noun) guidance or recommendations offered with regard to prudent action
     

     Sentence: Tom wanted advice from Mary.

   • Advise meaning: (verb) offer suggestions; to recommend; inform about a situation in a formal manner
     

     Sentence: Sleeping pills are not advised.

3. Amoral and Immoral

   • Amoral meaning: (adjective) lacking moral sense; not concerned with the rightness or wrongness of something
     

     Sentence: Stealing from the poor is an amoral action.

   • Immoral meaning: (adjective) not conforming to the accepted standards of morality
     

     Sentence: Today it is considered immoral to murder someone but during the ancient times it was common.

4. Affect and Effect

   This tricky pair of words can be told apart by their prefixes. The root of both the words is ‘to make’ but their meanings are different. Here you go!

   • Affect meaning: (verb) have an effect on; make a difference to; move emotionally
     

     Sentence: The dampness began to affect my health.

   • Effect meaning: (noun) a change which is the result of an action; cause (something) to happen
     

     Sentence: The Prime Minister effected many policy changes.

     If you still find yourself stumped about which one to use in a sentence, try substituting the word ‘alter’ or ‘result’. If ‘alter’ fits, use ‘affect’. If ‘result’ fits, use ‘effect’.

5. Adverse and Averse

   • Adverse meaning: (adjective) preventing the development of; harmful; unfavorable
     

     Sentence: Taxes are having an adverse effect on the production of goods.

   • Averse meaning: (adjective) having a strong dislike of; opposition to something
     

     Sentence: As a former CIA director, he is not averse to secrecy.

6. Compliment and Complement

   • Compliment meaning: (noun) an expression of praise or admiration
     

     Sentence: She complimented Tom on his appearance.

   • Complement meaning: A thing that contributes extra features to something in such a way as to improve its quality
     

     Sentence: At the moment we have a full complement of staff.

7. Altar and Alter

   • Altar meaning: (noun) a flat-topped block used as the focus for a religious ritual
     

     Sentence: Her gaze went to the altar and she shivered.

   • Alter meaning: (verb) make changes in a character; typically in a small but significant way
     

     Sentence: The family is making plans to alter the dining hall.

8. Assent and Ascent

   • Assent meaning: (noun) the expression of approval or agreement
     

     Sentence: The Prime Minister assented to the changes in policy.

   • Ascent meaning: (noun) a climb or walk to the summit of a mountain or hill
     

     Sentence: The temperature was in the high teens but as the sun began its ascent it felt far warmer.

9. Canvas and Canvass

   • Canvas meaning: (noun) a strong, coarse unbleached cloth used to make tents or as a surface for oil painting
     

     Sentence: He went back and forth with the canvas from his bedroom to the music room, unsure where to hang it.

   • Canvass meaning: (verb) solicit votes from; propose an idea for discussion
     

     Sentence: Early retirement was canvassed as a solution to the problem of unemployment.

10. Born and Borne

    • Born meaning: (adjective) existing as a result of birth
      

      Sentence: He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

    • Borne meaning: (adjective) carried or transported by the thing specified
      

      Sentence: As far as I could tell, she had borne it all without breathing a word to anyone else.

There’s nothing more embarrassing than having someone point out your grammatical mistake and realizing that you have been making them every day. Having a poor command over English might also affect your professional relationships for a while. It can make a bad impression on your colleagues.

So it is advisable to clear your doubts regarding the usage of the above confusing English words from marketing assignment help service. You may also consult marketing assignment help online to learn more about the right usage of these words.

Conclusion:

It is hard for many people to determine which word is right in a given context. The differences between some of these pairs just need to be remembered while others have clever tricks and features that can help tell them apart. It is not possible to learn the difference between them in a single day rather it requires a good amount of hard work and practice. So if you want to avoid making mistakes in the future, learn the difference between these words and use them daily in your sentences.

Marketing assignment help online also assists in learning the basic rules regarding the preparation of assignments which also includes basic grammatical errors. So take marketing assignment help and improve your skills. Good luck!