Confusing words with similar sounding

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Confusing words with similar sounding

English is full of confusing words that have similar sounding and that are easy to misuse. Below are some of the most commonly confused words which may be useful for teacher and students who intend to take examinations.

Price	Prize
price – the amount of money you pay for something	prize – something (award) offered to conquerors of a competition or contest
I didn’t buy the shoes because the price was very high	You must train hard if you want to get first prize.

Lose	Loose
lose – suffer a loss or fail to keep something in your ownership	loose – not tightly or properly fixed
Please do not lose the code or you won’t be able to enter the conference	She is very thin and this shirt is loose for her

Accept	Except
accept – agree to something or take something	except – excluding something
I decided to accept your offer	I can eat anything except meat

Advice	Advise
advice – is a noun, it is given	advise – is a verb, it is the way which advice is given
Students should follow the advice of their teachers	Doctors advise patients on their treatment

Affect	Effect
affect – is a verb, means influence/impact	effect – is a noun, means the result of a change
Smoking affects the lungs negatively	Smoking has harmful effect on the lungs

Principle	Principal
principle – a rule or an idea upon which to act	principal – head of an educational institute
Cheating in exams is not her principles	Our school’s principal is very strict but fair

Personal	Personnel
personal – means private possession which belongs only to oneself	personnel – means staff or employees of any organization
You are not allowed on my personal property	The boss of our company is very selective in choosing the personnel

Prey	Pray
prey – hunt or kill someone for food or to someone who is a victim	pray – worship
The tiger saw its prey through the long grass	Every Sunday we go to church to pray for good health

Assure	Ensure	Insure
assure – tell someone that something will definitely happen	ensure – guarantee or make sure of something	insure – to pay money to protect against risks and losses
I assure you that I will pass this exam	Our teacher ensured that this chapter will come in the exam	We should insure our cars in case they get stolen

Breath	Breathe
breath – is a noun, it’s the air that goes in and out of tour lung	breathe – is a verb, means to exhale or inhale
He took a breath before diving	Breathe deeply and relax

Historic	Historical
historic – means famous, important and influential in history	historical – means related to history
The historic attack on Pearl Harbour represented a turning point in World War II	I enjoy reading historical romance novels

Piece	Peace
piece – portion/part of something	peace – end of war or fighting, or a state of calm
She gave me a piece of strawberry cake	These two countries might sign a peace treaty

Quiet	Quite
quiet – little or absence of sound or noise	quite – something complete
The teacher asked us to remain quiet during the exam	I have eaten quite a lot today

Cereal	Serial
cereal – a food made from grain	serial – a TV programme that is divided into parts
I always eat cereal for breakfast	I love this comedy serial on TV at the moment

Addition	Edition
addition – something added or process of adding	edition – particular version of a book or a product
We decided to see new additions to the museum’s collection	I have bought an illustrated edition of the book

Preposition	Proposition
preposition – refers to a word (such as on, it, at, for, with) that is used with a noun or pronoun	proposition – most often refers to something such as a plan or offer
We should learn to use prepositions properly	I have very interesting business proposition to consider

Wander	Wonder
wander – to move around or to go to different places without having a particular purpose	wonder – think about something with curiosity
In my free time I like wandering through the meadow	I wonder where you have been

Aisle	Isle
aisle – passage between rows	isle – small island
I don’t like having an aisle seat in the theatre	We visited a beautiful isle during our vacation

Emigrate	Immigrate
emigrate – move away from country/city to another place	immigrate – move to country from somewhere else
My family emigrated from Egypt some years ago	His sister immigrated to the USA in 2001

Raise	Rise
raise – move something or someone upward or increase, it must have an object	rise – move upward, does not take an object
Raise your hand if you know the answer	The sun rises in the East

Fill in the gaps with one of the words from above

Please ____________ the fact that I was right.
Can you ____________ him to quit smoking?
Our gym is open daily ____________ Mondays.
Try not to ____________ your key and be more attentive.
I was presented a very rare book – actually its first ____________ .
The word “for” is a ____________ .
Take a deep ____________ before you dive.
Be ____________, you don’t let me concentrate on my work.
Which relationship do you have with your ____________ at work?
Her invention won first ____________ in a national contest.
Nowadays, a trend of wearing ____________ clothes is in fashion.
Do you have anything to declare? No, I have only my ____________ things.
He took steps to ____________ that no one cheated at the game.
She doesn’t like surprise parties as a matter of ____________ .
The ____________ of the recession on the US was drastic.
He gives ____________ to students who want to study at university.
These actions will negatively ____________ the environment.
During this season there are a lot of thieves who ____________ on the city’s tourists.
Our favourite restaurant decided to ____________ the prices again.
Which ____________ moments in the 1980s can you remember?
I ____________ what happened to my friend from elementary school?