Difference Between !

A comparison of commonly confused words

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Saw vs. seen • Saw: simple past tense form of “to see.” 

• Seen: past participle form of “to see.”

You can’t use past participles on their own; they must

accompany auxiliary (helper) verbs.

Examples:

• I saw the hot pepper.

• I had seen the hot pepper.

Memory tip: seen must have a helper verb!

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Your vs. you’re • Your: possessive form of you

• You’re: contraction of you are

Examples

• I am going to eat your hot pepper.

• You’re going to eat my hot pepper.

Memory tip: The apostrophe tells you you’re is two words.

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There vs. their vs. they’re • There: used in reference to a location

• Their: possessive form of they

• They’re: contraction for they are

Examples

• I put the hot pepper over there.

• I ate their hot peppers.

• They’re going to eat my hot peppers.

Memory tips: The apostrophe tells you they’re is two words,

and there has the word here in it, both referring to location.

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Its vs. it’s • Its: possessive form of it

• It’s: contraction of it is

Examples

• You can tell the heat of a hot pepper by its colour.

• Don’t eat that hot pepper; it’s going to be hot.

Memory tip: An apostrophe tells you it’s is two words.

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Hanged vs. hung • Hanged: refers to the process of killing by rope

• Hung: refers to everything else

That being said hung and hanged are technically

interchangeable, but many grammarians draw a distinction.

In Old English, there were actually two words for hang: the

intransitive hōn and the transitive hangian. The former is the

forebearer of hung while hanged comes from the latter.

Today, hang stands for hōn and hangian, but their past tense

forms still live on.

Examples

• They hanged him use a string of hot peppers.

• They hung a string of hot peppers around his neck.

Memory tip: Hanged is similar to hanging.

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A while vs. Awhile A while: a noun referring to length of time 

Awhile: an adverb meaning “for a time”

These two can be tricky sometimes because you can almost

always use them in the same sentence. “I slept awhile” and “I

slept for a while”. A while must be accompanied by a

preposition, such as for or ago.

Examples

• I ate my hot pepper a while ago.

• I ate hot peppers awhile before breakfast.

Memory tip: If you need a preposition (for, ago, in,

since, etc), use a while.

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Further vs. farther • Farther: refers to physical distance

• Further: refers to metaphorical, or figurative, distance

Examples

• I spread the hot peppers farther apart.

• I stopped eating after 40 hot peppers to avoid further

damaging my tongue.

Memory tip: Farther has the word far, which relates to

physical distance.

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Stationery vs. stationary • Stationery: writing materials

• Stationary: immovable

Examples

• I bought hot peppers from the store.

• That hot pepper monument is stationary.

Memory tip: Stationery has an e and email has an e; you use

stationery to write and you write an email.

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Historic vs. historical • Historic: something important from history

• Historical: related to the past (not necessarily important)

Examples

• The first time humans ate hot peppers was historic.

• I read an article about the historical use of hot peppers.

Memory tip: Historical has an a and any starts with an a, as in

“any event from the past.”

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Whatever vs. whichever • Whatever: any thing

• Whichever: related to a limited choice

Examples

• Eat whatever you want.

• Eat whichever hot pepper you want.

Memory tip: Whatever and anything both contain an a.

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Biannual vs. biennial • Biannual: occurring twice a year

• Biennial: occurring every two years

To avoid confusion, consider using semiannual instead of

biannual.

Examples

• We hold the Biannual Hot Pepper Festival in April and

October.

• Let’s buy hot peppers for our biennial anniversary.

Memory tip: Biennial is spelled similar to centennial.

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Seating vs. sitting • Seating: how seats are laid out.

• Sitting: how one sits.

Examples

• The seating arrangement is shaped like a hot pepper.

• We will be sitting on stools during the hot pepper eating

contest.

Memory tip: Sitting contains sit, and seating contains seat.

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Who’s vs. whose • Who’s: contraction of who is or who has

• Whose: possessive form of who

Examples

• Who’s going to eat this hot pepper?

• Whose hot pepper is this orange one?

Memory tip: The apostrophe tells you that

who’s is two words.

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Nauseated vs. nauseous • Nauseated: to feel sick

• Nauseous: something that causes nausea

Examples

• I was nauseated after eating those rotten hot peppers.

• Rotten hot peppers are nauseous

Memory tip: Nauseous is similar to infectious and contagious.

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Than vs. then • Then: used to refer to a sequence of events

• Than: used to compare things

Examples

• We ate hot peppers, then we drank milk.

• Habaneros are hotter than jalapeños.

Memory tip: Then has an e, and event starts with an e.

Who vs. whom • Who: subjective pronoun

• Whom: objective pronoun

Examples

• Who received the hot pepper?

• To whom did you give the hot pepper?

Memory tip: Substitute he or him. If he sounds better, use

who; if him sounds better, use whom.

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That vs. which • That: accompanies a restrictive clause

• Which: accompanies a non-restrictive clause.

Examples

• The hot pepper that I ate was red.

• I ate a hot pepper, which was red.

Memory tip: If the information is important to know, use

‘that’. Otherwise, use ‘which’.

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Affect vs. effect • Affect: a verb

• Effect: a noun (usually)

Examples

• Hot peppers affect my tear ducts.

• What effect did the hot pepper have on your tongue?

Memory tip: The first syllables of Affect and a verb

sound similar.

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Ensure vs. insure • Ensure: guarantee an outcome

• Insure: issue an insurance policy

Examples

• Please ensure everyone has a hot pepper.

• The hot pepper eating contest organizers should insure

themselves.

Memory tip: Insure is the root word of insurance.

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Lay vs. lie • Lay: to put or to place.

• Lie: to recline

Example

• Just lay the hot peppers on the table.

• I need to lie down after eating 30 hot peppers.

An easy way to tell the difference is that lay is a transitive verb

(requires a subject and object, such as “I lifted the bag” or

“She punished him”) and so requires an object.

Memory tip: Lay requires a subject and an object. Lay and

and both contain an a.

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