Commonly confused words

The rule in one minute

Some word pairs are easy to mix up. There are two kinds.

Homophones sound the same but are spelled and used differently: your / you’re, whose / who’s, to / too / two.

Near-twins look and sound similar: affect / effect, accept / except, lose / loose, practice / practise.

Each pair needs a quick test:

• Your shows belonging (your book). You’re means you are (You’re late).
• Affect is usually the verb, meaning to change something. Effect is usually the noun, meaning the result.
• Accept means to receive or agree. Except means apart from.
• Lose means to misplace something or not win. Loose means not tight.
• Practice is the noun and practise is the verb in British spelling.

Why these mistakes cost marks

Each wrong word is a plain accuracy error. These words are common, so one uncertain writer can make the same mistake many times in one answer.

A marker notices your for you’re straight away. A few of them give an impression of weak control.

The list of troublesome pairs is short, so a few tests clear most of them for good.

Wrong and right

• Wrong: Your going to be late. Right: You’re going to be late. Test: You are going to be late.
• Wrong: The medicine had no affect. Right: The medicine had no effect. Here it is a noun, the result.
• Wrong: I will except your offer. Right: I will accept your offer. Accept means to agree to.
• Wrong: Don’t loose your temper. Right: Don’t lose your temper. Lose is the verb.
• Wrong: We need to practice our lines. Right: We need to practise our lines. In British spelling, the verb is practise.
• Wrong: Their going to they’re house over there. Right: They’re going to their house over there. (The wrong sentence has three mistakes.)

Try it yourself

Choose the correct word in each sentence, then check below.

1. The new rule will (affect / effect) every student.
2. I could not decide (weather / whether) to go.
3. She was (quiet / quite) sure of her answer.
4. Everyone came (accept / except) the two who were ill.
5. (Whose / Who’s) bag is this?

Answers: (1) affect, because it is the verb meaning to change. (2) whether, because it means a choice. Weather means rain and sunshine. (3) quite, meaning fairly. Quiet means not noisy.

(4) except, meaning apart from. (5) Whose, because it asks who owns the bag. Who’s means who is.

Make it a habit

Keep a short personal list of the pairs that catch you out, with a one-line test beside each: you’re = you are; affect = verb, effect = result; lose = opposite of win, loose = opposite of tight.

Do not trust your ear for homophones, because both words sound right. During proofreading, do one pass that looks only for your problem pairs. Stop at each one and run the test.

Where students get stuck, and how we help

Most students know these pairs when asked, but not when writing fast. In our English as a Second Language lessons, a teacher builds your personal list from mistakes in your own writing, then drills the tests until the right word comes automatically.

Lessons start from RM70/hr. You can book a paid one-hour trial to try it.

Next step

Practise the pairs in the practice area. Then read about its vs it’s and there, their and they’re, and use our proofreading guide on your next essay. For exam day, follow the last-ten-minutes checking routine.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to use the rule in your own writing. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.