Commonly Confused Words in English

The English language has numerous quirks due to regional variations, contributions from other languages, and evolution over time. One of these quirks is that tons of English words sound alike or are spelled differently by one letter, leading to a long list of words often confused by both native and ESL speakers.

Let’s glance through a short selection of the most commonly confused words and their meanings and try to clear up some of the confusion.

Commonly Confused Words

Here are some of the most frequently confused words in English. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it does include the most commonly confused pairings. We’ll include definitions and examples of the ways we most often use them.

Parts of speech key

• n noun
• v verb
• adj adjective
• adv adverb
• prep preposition
• pr pronoun
• c contraction
• conj conjunction

Accept vs. except

accept (v) = to be okay with, to receive willingly
except (v/prep/conj) = leave out
She chose to accept all of their assignments except one.

Affect vs. effect

affect (v) = to act on or influence
effect (v) = to cause a result
I hoped the drug would affect my symptoms, but it didn’t effect change.

affect (n) = emotion or display of emotion
effect (n) = result
Her joyous affect was an effect of the good news she had received.

Affective vs. effective

affective (adj) = related to emotion
effective (adj) = able to achieve a result
For affective disorders, medications may be effective treatments.

Apart vs. a part

apart (adj) = separated, not together
a part (n) = one piece of a larger set
I truly wanted to be a part of the family, but disagreements kept tearing us apart.

Assure vs. ensure vs. insure

assure (v) = to convince, guarantee, or confirm
ensure (v) = to make sure (by action)
insure (v) = to take out an insurance policy
He assured me that I could insure my boat to ensure I could replace it if a storm destroyed it.

Breath vs. breathe

breath (n) = air that a person inhales and exhales
breathe (v) = to inhale and exhale air
My doctor told me to breathe in, so I took a deep breath.

Conscious vs. conscience

conscious (adj) = aware
conscience (n) = inner voice or sense of right and wrong
When my conscience is speaking to me, I’m always conscious of it.

Farther vs. further

farther (adv/adj) = a greater distance
further (adv/adj) = more fully, to a greater degree, in addition
She had so much farther to go before she would arrive. And further, she was tired.

Word nerd note: According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, farther and further meant the same thing for a long time, but people have recently begun to use them differently. In a nutshell, if you’re not talking about physical distance, use further.

Lay vs. lie

lay (v) = to place a being or an object on a surface
lie (v) = to lay oneself on a surface
The dog refused to lie down, so I picked her up to lay her on the bed.

Word nerd note: Lay is something a person does to another person, animal, or object. Lie is something a person or animal does to itself. The same applies to set vs. sit: you set an object on the floor, but you sit on the floor.

Lead vs. led

lead (v) = to guide or direct
led (v) = past tense of lead
The teacher asked him to lead the class in a song, so he led them in a simple chorus of “The Wheels on the Bus.”

Lose vs. loose

lose (v) = to fail to keep or fail to win
loose (adj) = describes something that is not tight or not well attached
The car’s hubcap was loose, so it was only a matter of time before he would lose it.

Passed vs. past

passed (v) = went by
past (n/adj) = refers to events that have already happened
So much time had passed, and she had to look to the future. She couldn’t keep living in the past.

Than vs. then

than (conj/prep) = compared to
then (adv/n/adj) = at that time, afterward, or in that case
Then she realized that the new uniform was better than the old one.

There vs. they’re vs. their

there (adv/pr/adj) = a place or the existence of something
they’re (c) = they are
their (adj) = belonging to someone
There’s a new construction site over there; I think they’re building their new townhomes soon.

To vs. too

to (prep/adv) = in the direction of or for the purpose of
too (adv) = also or more than necessary
I wanted to go to dinner, but my boyfriend was too tired. Honestly, I was tired, too.

Who’s vs. whose

who’s (c) = who is or who has
whose (adj/pr) = who something belongs to
When mom asks whose mess that is, I’ll wait to see who’s going to speak up.

A Better Grammar Checker

Despite finding that we make more errors involving confusing words, scientists have found that we’re not making more errors than ever before—just different kinds of errors. Overall, our spelling has improved, and that’s a fundamental truth. So the solution is not to ditch technology. It’s to develop better technology.

That’s what we’re doing at QuillBot. Our Grammar Checker, Spell Checker and Proofreader are driven by AI, meaning they learn by reviewing thousands upon thousands of high-quality English texts. Using what they learns, they offer you more accurate and helpful suggestions than the standard autocorrection or intelligent typing tools can.