Common Mistakes and Confusing Words

[Bhowmik]

Some words in English are confusing. A lot of words are similar but with different meanings. It is almost impossible to avoid making mistakes in English, but if you can get your head around these explanations, you might be able to avoid making these ones.

accept vs except
advice   vs   advise
affect  vs   effect
a lot   vs  alot/allot
all ready   vs   already
all right   vs   alright
allude   vs   elude
alone   vs   lonely
altogether   vs   all together
ambivalent   vs   indifferent
any vs some
any one vs anyone
apart vs a part
astrology vs astronomy
at vs in
been vs gone
beside vs besides
bored vs boring
borrow vs lend
bought vs brought
by vs until
career vs carrier vs courier
certain vs curtain
check vs control
come over vs overcome
complement vs compliment
concentrate vs concentrated
council vs counsel
Councillor vs counselor
curious vs interesting
curtain vs certain
data vs datum
decent vs descent
defrost vs melt
desperate vs disparate
discreet vs discrete
do vs make
don't have to vs mustn't
dose vs doze
downside vs underside
dress up vs get dressed
driving test vs test drive
effect vs affect
e.g. vs i.e.
-er vs -re
either or vs neither nor
either vs as well / too
enquire vs inquire
enquiry vs inquiry
every day vs everyday
excited vs exciting
expand vs expend
experience vs experience(s)
fewer vs less
for vs since (time)
get dressed vs dress up
good vs well
going out vs outgoing
gone vs been
hard vs hardly
hear vs listen
heroin vs heroine
he's vs his
holiday vs the weekend
homework vs housework
"How do you do?" vs "How are you?"
improve vs improvise
interested vs interesting
interesting vs interested
later vs latter
lay vs lie
lay down vs lie down
learn vs teach
less vs fewer
look after vs look for
look at vs watch
look forward(s) vs look forward to
look over vs overlook
loose vs lose
massage vs message
me vs I
me vs my vs mine
moan vs mourn
moral vs morale
most vs the most
most vs mostly
my vs me
neither vs nor vs or
outgoing vs going out
overlook vs look over
overtake vs takeover / take over
of course vs off course
personal vs personnel
practice vs practise
precede vs proceed
principal vs principle
quiet vs quite
raise vs rise
regard vs regardless vs regards
remember vs remind
replay vs reply
said vs told
say vs talk
say vs tell
scared vs scary
see vs watch
shortage vs shortness
so vs such
some vs any
some time vs sometime vs sometimes
stationary vs stationery
take care vs take care of
talk vs say
teach vs learn
tell vs say
than vs then
then vs than
told vs said
to/too/two
there/their/they're
trainer vs trainee
travel/trip/voyage vs journey
used to vs used to do
wander vs wonder
watch vs look at
watch vs see
what vs which
who vs whom
wrong vs wrongly

Swapan Kumar Bhowmik
Lecturer, Dept. of English
Daffodil International University

[shamsi]

Yes,Swapan kumar Bhowmik,you are right.There are a lot of  homonyms in English which have the same pronunciation but different meaning and thus create confusion.I hope,this honest endeavor will help out our students to mend their ways.

Regards

Shamsi

[Bhowmik]

Thank you, apu. I will try to help students in all possible ways.

[Real]

Thank you sir,
For your important post.I think it will help us for developing our pronunciation. I hope you will continue give us this types of post that will help us a lot.

Md.Mehedi Hassan (Real)
Batch:19th
Dept. of English,DIU.

[Bhowmik]

accept vs except    

Accept is a verb, which means to agree to take something .

For example: "I always accept good advice."

Except is usually used as a preposition or conjunction, which means not including.

For example: "I teach every day except Sunday(s)."
Note!- except is usually a preposition and accept a verb. In rare circumstances except can be used as a verb.

For example: On a road sign: "No entry, buses excepted."

[shipra]

Dear Bhowmik,you have done a good thing.It will help the students to diffrentiate between confusing words.If they practise these words,they will learn important things.Thank you.

[Nahid Kaiser]

Good job swapan. It will help the students a lot. Particularly my students of Vocabulary will be highly benefited by it.

[Mustafizur rRhman]

Dear Sir,
You can explain everyday at least two confusing words to the conception clear among our students.

[Bhowmik]

Nahid Madam,
Thank you for your feedback.

[Bhowmik]

Sameen Sir,
Thanks for advice.
I will try to explain at least two a day.

[Bhowmik]

advice vs advise
Advice is a noun, which means an opinion that someone offers you about what you should do or how you should act in a particular situation.

For example: "I need someone to give me some advice."

Advise is a verb, which means to give information and suggest types of action.

For example: "I advise everybody to be nice to their teacher."

!Note - In British English the noun form often ends in ...ice and the verb in ...ise.

[aunoo]

SIR .......i couldn't understand the meaning of ambivalent ..........i found that the meaning is coexistence of opposing feeling....... there was also written equivalent.........is this synonym...?....

[faizun]

Sir,
 its really a helpful post. Please continue posting on this topic.


with regards,
Faizun Nesa
Lecturer of CSE
FSIT

[Bhowmik]

Dear Anu,

Ambivalent
---having or showing both good and bad feelings about Somebody or Something

• She seems to feel ambivalent about her new job.
• He has as ambivalent attitude towards her.

Ambivalence is the noun form.


Equivalent= Adjective
----equal in value, amount, meaning, importance, etc

• 250 grams or an equivalent amount in ounces.
• Eight kilometres is roughly equivalent to five miles.

Equivalence is the noun form.



Let me know if you need any further help.

[Bhowmik]

Faizun Nesa Madam,


Thanks for your feedback. Please, feel free to suggest me any thing.