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    Commonly Confused Words

    Uploaded by

    Kellie Clark
    This document provides a 10-part series on commonly confused words with examples and exercises for each set of words. It begins with affect vs. effect, then covers amount vs. number, farther vs. further, between vs. among, it's vs. its, your vs. you're, lay vs. lie, good vs. well, two vs. too vs. to, and ensure vs. insure vs. assure. For each, there are examples, rules, and sentences for the reader to complete to practice distinguishing the words. A quiz will be given after parts 1-5 and 5-10.

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    Commonly Confused Words

    Uploaded by

    Kellie Clark
    250 views32 pages
    This document provides a 10-part series on commonly confused words with examples and exercises for each set of words. It begins with affect vs. effect, then covers amount vs. number, farther vs. further, between vs. among, it's vs. its, your vs. you're, lay vs. lie, good vs. well, two vs. too vs. to, and ensure vs. insure vs. assure. For each, there are examples, rules, and sentences for the reader to complete to practice distinguishing the words. A quiz will be given after parts 1-5 and 5-10.

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    This document provides a 10-part series on commonly confused words with examples and exercises for each set of words. It begins with affect vs. effect, then covers amount vs. number, farther vs. further, between vs. among, it's vs. its, your vs. you're, lay vs. lie, good vs. well, two vs. too vs. to, and ensure vs. insure vs. assure. For each, there are examples, rules, and sentences for the reader to complete to practice distinguishing the words. A quiz will be given after parts 1-5 and 5-10.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    250 views32 pages

    Commonly Confused Words

    Uploaded by

    Kellie Clark
    This document provides a 10-part series on commonly confused words with examples and exercises for each set of words. It begins with affect vs. effect, then covers amount vs. number, farther vs. further, between vs. among, it's vs. its, your vs. you're, lay vs. lie, good vs. well, two vs. too vs. to, and ensure vs. insure vs. assure. For each, there are examples, rules, and sentences for the reader to complete to practice distinguishing the words. A quiz will be given after parts 1-5 and 5-10.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 32

    Commonly Confused Words

    We will do one of these a day. There are 10 total. After the first 5, there will be a quiz!

    Commonly Confused Words #1


    Affect/effect

    Affect to influence (will usually be a verb) Peer pressure can affect your behavior. Effect a result (usually a noun) The effect of negative peer pressure is low self esteem.

    Here s a trick to help you remember

    Now you try


    1. Bad weather never (affects, effects) my mood. 2. The (affect, effect) of the President s tax increase was astounding. 3. Inflation (affects, effects) the buying power of the dollar. 4. The drug had an immediate (affect, effect) on the pain. 5. How does the crime rate (affect, effect) hiring levels by local police forces?

    Commonly Confused Words #2

    Amount/number
    1. Write a sentence for each. Can you figure out the rule?

    Amount modifies a singular noun. I have a large amount of respect for the poetry of Dorothy Parker. Number modifies a plural noun A number of times I have seen her speak in person. Try it The (amount, number) of food wasted in the United States each day is appalling. The (amount, number) of pounds of food wasted in the United States each day is appalling.

    Commonly Confused Words #3

    Do you know the difference between farther and further?

    Movie Clip!

    Commonly Confused Words #3


    Farther/further Farther denotes physical advancement in distance. Further denotes advancement to greater degree, as in time. Try it Is it farther down the road or further? Do you have to read further in the book or farther? Do you further your education?

    Commonly Confused Words #4


    Between/among Try it 1. I have difficulty choosing (between, among) cherry Jell-O and chocolate pudding. 2. I go crazy when I have to choose (between, among) the desserts in a smorgasbord.

    Between & Among


    What is the rule? Between (note the tw) compares exactly two things. Write an example sentence. Among compares more than two. Write an example sentence.

    Trivia which two of the following Jell-O flavors flopped? apple peach cherry banana orange cola

    Commonly Confused Words #5

    It s & Its
    Try to figure out the rule. Write a sentence for each in your notes.

    Now you try 1. The cat has eaten all (its, it s) food. 2. (Its, It s) been an awful day , she sighed. 3. The old house had lost all (its, it s) windows and doors.

    1-5 Review
    (There will be a quiz next class!)

    Commonly Confused Words #6

    Your vs. You re


    Write a sentence for each in your notes. What is the rule?

    Now you try


    1. (Your, you re) adorable! 2. What are you going to do with (your, you re) future? 3. What time is (your, you re) game at? 4. Don t forget to do (your, you re) homework.

    Commonly Confused Words #7

    Lay, Lie
    Whew, I m not going to lie to you, this one is a toughie.

    Is lay used correctly in this comic?

    Lay vs. Lie


    In the present tense lie means to recline I need to lie down. lay means to place something, to put something on something. Lay that paper on my desk, please. Easy enough right? It gets difficult when you try to use the words in a different tense.

    Copy this little chart in your notes

    Now you try


    1. Before I went to bed, I (lie, lay, laid) my clothes out for tomorrow. 2. Every afternoon, we (lie, lay, laid) on the bed for a nap. 3. When they re cold, they (lie, lay, laid) a blanket on their legs. 4. All of last week I (lie/lay/laid) in bed feeling sick. 5. Our pet dogs like to (lie/lay/laid) under the table. 6. Yesterday, the boys (lie/lay/laid) their backpacks outside. 7. While we meet, they (lie/lay/laid) their purses on the couch. 8. Susanna and Maribel (lie/lay/laid) on the floor to make posters. 9. Last night we all (lie/lay/laid) awake until midnight. 10. Yesterday, our teacher (lie/lay/laid) on the ground, injured.

    Commonly Confused Words #8


    Good Good is an adjective, which means that it modifies nouns. This is a good movie What a good idea! You speak good English Good can be used with copular verbs (that is, verbs which express a state of being, such as to be, to seem, and to appear), but it is still an adjective modifying a noun, not a verb. This movie is good His ideas are good Your English is good

    Well Well is an adverb, which means that it modifies verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Did the movie do well at the box office? It was a well-defined idea You speak English well Well can be used as an adjective to mean "in good health." You look well I don't feel well The Bottom Line The confusion between good and well comes from their similar meanings, and a general confusion between adjectives and adverbs. Take a moment to think about what the word is modifying: if it's a verb, you'd do well to use well; otherwise, the good choice is good.

    Now it s your turn


    1. How (good, well) can the students at your school sing? 2. The director told them that the concert last week was very (good, well). 3. Our soccer team did very (good, well) last season. 4. Her interest in (good, well) movies is obvious.

    Commonly Confused Words #9

    Today s a threefer!
    Write a sentence for each word: two, too, to

    To

    Too

    Two

    Use to as a preposition before a noun or as an infinitive before a verb. To and Too can be tricky!

    Use too as a synonym for also or to indicate excessiveness before a verb. Usually, if you can replace too with also in the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly.

    Use two to spell out the number 2. If you can replace two with 2 in the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly. This should be the easiest one!

    Examples "Please take me to the dance "We don't need to buy that right now."

    Examples "I am going to the mall, too.

    Examples "I have two hands and two feet.

    "I had too many tacos for "Can you give me two lunch." dollars?"

    Now it s your turn


    1. After the marathon, Yolanda soaked her __________ sore feet in a bucket of warm water. 2. Jessica agreed to jalapeno slices on her burrito. She regretted this decision __________ hours later as she chewed antacid tablets to relieve her heartburn. 3. If you really want the answers to Dr. Hirta s calculus homework, bring a jelly donut __________ Kristine, the smartest student in the class. 4. The party next door with its laughter, shouting, and music was __________ loud, so Lisa banged on her neighbors door to complain. 5. As we were walking __________ the library, we met Benjamin and Maria, who tempted us away from research with the promise of a hot cheese and pepperoni pizza. 6. The slice of pizza was still __________ hot to eat, but Benjamin couldn t resist, blistering his mouth with the first painful bite. 7. Tony should buy an aquarium full of goldfish. A puppy would be __________ rambunctious for his small apartment. 8. Svetlana has __________ book bags one that she wears on her shoulders and one that she pulls on rollers to accommodate all of the big, heavy textbooks for her science courses. 9. If you purchase __________ parakeets, they will sing to each other instead of interacting with you. 10. Whenever our parakeet chirps __________ loudly, we throw a towel over his cage.

    Commonly Confused Words #10


    ensure, insure, assure
    To ensure that something will be done means to make it certain to happen. When amending the contract, the lawyer ensured that her client received a better deal. To insure someone or something means to protect the person or object against risk by regularly paying an insurance company a sum of money. The company was insured against accidents in the workplace. To assure means to tell someone something that removes their doubt. I assured the class that the grammar quiz would be easy.

    Now you try


    1. Please (insure, ensure, assure) that the oven is turned off. 2. I (insured, ensured, assured) my mother that I wouldn t be out (too, two, to) late. 3. If my house were to burn down, at least I am (insured, ensured, assured). 4. (Insure, Ensure, Assure) that you have your swim suit before you leave for vacation.

    5-10 Review
    (There will be a quiz next class!)

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