Similar Words but Different Meanings
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 mistakes.
Accept vs Except
For example:
- I always accept good advice.
For example:
- I teach every day except Sunday(s).
Advice vs Advise
For example:
- I need someone to give me some advice.
For example:
- I advise everybody to be nice to their teacher.
Affect vs Effect
‘Affect’ and ‘effect’ are two words that are commonly confused. Generally, we use affect as a verb (an action word) and effect as a noun (an object word).
For example:
- The cold weather affected the crops. (it produced a change in the crops).
For example:
- His sunburn was an effect of exposure to the sun.
Alone / Lonely
For example:
- He likes living alone.
- I think we’re alone now. (There are just the two of us here)
For example:
- The house feels lonely now that all the children have left home.
A lot / Allot
For example:
- I need a lot of time to develop this website.
For example:
- I look a lot like my sister.
It has become a common term in speech; and is increasingly used in writing.
For example:
- We were allotted a desk each.
All ready vs Already
For example:
- Are you all ready for the test?
For example:
- I asked him to come to the cinema but he’d already seen the film.
- Are you buying Christmas cards already? It’s only September!
Altogether vs All together
For example:
- The waiter asked if we were all together.
For example:
- She wrote less and less often, and eventually she stopped altogether.
Any one vs Anyone
For example:
- I can recommend any one of the books on this site.
For example:
- Did anyone see that UFO?
Any vs Some
‘Any’ and ‘some’ are both determiners. They are used to talk about indefinite quantities or numbers when the exact quantity or number is not important.
For example:
- I asked the barman if he could get me some sparkling water. I said, “Excuse me, have you got any sparkling water?” Unfortunately, they didn’t have any.
For example:
- Would you mind fetching some gummy bears while you’re at the shops?
For example:
- She gave me some bad advice.
- Really? She rarely gives any bad advice.
Apart vs A part
For example:
- I always feel so lonely when we’re apart.
For example:
They made me feel like I was a part of the family.
Been vs Gone
‘been’ is the past participle of ‘be’ and ‘gone’ is the past participle of ‘go’.
For example:
- She’s been to India on holiday three times.
For example:
- She’s gone to Moscow, she will be back next week.
Bored vs Boring
For example:
- She was so bored that she fell asleep.
For example:
- The lesson was so boring that she fell asleep.
Beside vs Besides
For example:
- The house was beside the Thames.
For example:
- Besides water, we carried some fruit. (In addition to water, we carried some fruit)
Borrow vs Lend
For example:
- My mother lent me some money, and I must pay her back soon.
For example:
- I borrowed some money from my mother, and I must pay her back soon.
Bought vs Brought
For example:
- I bought a newspaper at the newsagents.
For example:
- Alex brought a cup of coffee to his exhausted mother.
By vs Until
Both ‘until’ and ‘by’ indicate “any time before, but not later than.”
For example:
- They lived in a small house until September 2003. (They stopped living there in September 2003.)
- I will be away until Wednesday. (I will be back on Wednesday.)
- Details will not be available until January. (January is the earliest you can expect to receive the details.)
For example:
- You have to finish by August 31. (August 31 is the last day you can finish; you may finish before this date.)
Check (v) vs Control (v)
For example:
- You should always check your oil, water, and tyres before taking your car on a long trip.
For example:
- If you can’t control your dog, put it on a leash!
For example:
- I check my students’ homework, but I can’t control what they do!
Come over (v) vs Cvercome (n)
For example:
- Come over here and look out of the window.
- Come over and sit next to me, I want to hear how your day went.
For example: (To seem to be a particular type of person.)
- Politicians often come over as arrogant.
For example: (To be influenced suddenly and unexpectedly by a strange feeling.)
- Don’t stand up too quickly or you may come over dizzy.
For example:
- Using technology can help many people overcome any disabilities they might have.
Complement (v) vs Compliment (n)
For example:
- The colours blue and green complement each other perfectly.
For example:
- It was the nicest compliment anyone had ever paid me.
Concentrate vs Concentrated
For example:
- You need to concentrate harder when you listen to something in another language.
For example:
- I prefer freshly squeezed orange juice to concentrated.
Council vs Counsel
For example:
- The local council has decided not to allocate any more funds for the project.
For example:
- She counsels the long-term unemployed on how to get a job.
- I should have listened to my father’s counsel, and saved some money instead of spending it all.
Councillor vs Counsellor
For example:
- He was elected to be a councillor in 2019.
For example:
- The student union now employs a counsellor to help students with both personal and work-related problems.
Data vs Datum
For example:
- The data are correct.