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Confusing Words

The document discusses commonly confused words in English and provides examples of their correct usage. It lists pairs or groups of words that are often mixed up due to similar meanings, spellings, or sounds. These include raise/rise, earn/win/gain, cash/change/currency, accept/except, affect/effect, fee/fare, say/tell, insure/assure/ensure, their/there/they're, and to found/to find. It also mentions "false cognates" which resemble words in another language but have different meanings in English. Examples of correct usage are provided.

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350 views7 pages

Confusing Words

The document discusses commonly confused words in English and provides examples of their correct usage. It lists pairs or groups of words that are often mixed up due to similar meanings, spellings, or sounds. These include raise/rise, earn/win/gain, cash/change/currency, accept/except, affect/effect, fee/fare, say/tell, insure/assure/ensure, their/there/they're, and to found/to find. It also mentions "false cognates" which resemble words in another language but have different meanings in English. Examples of correct usage are provided.

Uploaded by

Daniela Stanila
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Confusing Words

On the TOEFL Grammar, you will need to demonstrate that you are


familiar with the nuances found amongst words which have similar
meanings, spellings or sounds. These words cannot be interchanged.
The following is a list of pairs or groups of words which are commonly
confused. You have to be careful to choose the right one in the
context of the given sentence.
Raise – is a regular verb & takes a complement    Rise – is irregular
(rose, risen), no complement

 They raised the flag.                


 The sun rises in the east.

Earn – about salary                 win – about games


gain – with other expressions

 She earns a lot in bonuses.       


 They always win at poker.         
 He’s gained a lot of weight/time, etc.

Cash – bills or coins      Change – what’s left after paying  


Currency – the money of a country

 She took cash from the machine.           


 Here’s your change.     
 The Euro is a new currency.

Accept – take something that’s offered                   Except – not


including

 She didn’t accept their


offer.                                                                         
 I’ll take everything except the keyboard.

Affect – to have an influence on                    Effect – an


event or situation produced by a cause

 The loss of her job greatly affected her.           


 The policy change had little effect.

Fee – amount paid generally for a service        Fare – money paid


for travelling

 The doctor’s fees were very high.                      


 The bus fare will increase next year.

Say – we say something (to someone)           Tell – we tell


someone something

 He said he was going to be late.                                     


 He told his wife that he was going to be late.

Insure - to buy insurance     Assure – to make certain          


Ensure – to make safe or sure

 She insured her new car.     


 I assure you that it will arrive tomorrow.   
 We ensure passenger safety.

Their – possessive adjective pronoun   There – used with to be  


They’re – contraction of the are

 Their car was stolen.                         


 There isn’t anyone in this room.               
 They’re all going home.

To found – to establish           To find – to discover

 The company was founded in the 1960s.           


 He found a solution to the problem. 

Other confusing words include ‘false cognates’ (faux amis) whereby a


word may resemble a word in another language, but may not
necessarily be correct in English.
We say:

 ‘to  attend  a meeting or a conference’ - ‘assist’ means to help


 ‘to  postpone  a meeting’- ‘report’ is used in ‘I report directly to
the marketing director.’
 ‘The company increased their  turnover/profits.’ –
‘benefits’ means something extra a company pays their
employees (health insurance, for example).
 ‘Is he  actually  the head of the department?’  – here ‘actually’
means ‘really’
 ‘He is  currently/presently  acting as department head.  – here
‘currently’ or ‘presently’ means ‘now’
 ‘It’s a very  sensitive  topic for her, so don’t mention it.’ –
‘sensitive’  means something upsets you easily
 ‘She’s made a  sensible  decision.’ – ‘sensible’ means showing
good judgment.
Confusing Words
On the TOEFL Grammar, you will need to demonstrate that you are
familiar with the nuances found amongst words which have similar
meanings, spellings or sounds. These words cannot be interchanged.
The following is a list of pairs or groups of words which are commonly
confused. You have to be careful to choose the right one in the
context of the given sentence.
Raise –
Rise –
 Eg
 Eg
Earn –
win –
gain –
 Eg
 Eg
 Eg

Cash –
Change -
Currency –
 Eg
 Eg
 Eg

Accept –
Except –
 Eg
 Eg

Affect –
Effect –
 Eg
 Eg
Fee –
Fare –

 Eg
 Eg

Say –
Tell –

 Eg
 Eg

Insure –
Assure –
Ensure –
 Eg
 Eg
 Eg
To found –
To find –
 Eg
 Eg
Other confusing words include ‘false cognates’ (faux amis) whereby a
word may resemble a word in another language, but may not
necessarily be correct in English.
We say:

 ‘to  attend  a meeting or a conference’ - ‘assist’ means to help


 ‘The company increased their  turnover/profits.’ –
‘benefits’ means something extra a company pays their
employees (health insurance, for example).
 ‘Is he  actually  the head of the department?’  – here ‘actually’
means ‘really’
 ‘He is  currently/presently  acting as department head.  – here
‘currently’ or ‘presently’ means ‘now’
 ‘It’s a very  sensitive  topic for her, so don’t mention it.’ –
‘sensitive’  means something upsets you easily
 ‘She’s made a  sensible  decision.’ – ‘sensible’ means showing
good judgment.

1. Native Americans have always had ______ suicide rate than non-natives in the U.S.

     the highest


     a high
     the more high
     a higher

2. Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is ______ in the Western Hemisphere.

     the lower


     the most low
     the second lowest
     the second most low

3. Housing is ______ on Pine Ridge, often lacking basics like electricity, heat, or running water.

     inadequate
     the inadequate
     the more inadequate
     inadequately

4. The shelter relies ______ on federal funds.

     more predominately


     predominately
     the most predominately
     less predominately

5. ______ suicide, researchers say, can actually prompt others to try to kill themselves.

     The one


     A one
     One
     Some

6. He ______ monitors Facebook accounts belonging to Pine Ridge youth, looking for signs of
trouble.

     carefully

     most carefully

     more carefully

     careful

7. Light stretches and becomes ______ the further it travels.


     most red
     reddest
     red
     redder

8. Astronomers say they may have glimpsed ______ galaxy ever spotted.

     the most distant


     the more distant
     the distant
     a most distanth

9. The galaxy we have observed, which is unusually ______, may be powered by a population of
unusually hot stars.

     luminous
     more luminous
     most luminous
     a luminous

10. Public health and emergency responders are using digital tools to direct resources to where
they're most needed ______ as possible.

     more quickly


     quickly
     as quickly
     as quick

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