Words Frequently Confused
Part A
Notes and In-class exercises
Exercise A
• Affect– a verb meaning to
influence– Did that tearful movie
affect you?
• Effect– a noun meaning the
result of some action– a verb meaning to
bring change– New glasses effected
a remarkable change in his vision, but they had little effect on his looks.
http://www.lilblueghia.com/phpblog/images/cryingMan.jpg
Exercise A
• All right– correct spelling
• Alright– incorrect spelling
Exercise A
• Already– previously– We’re already on top
of the mountain.
• All ready– all are ready– We were all ready to
leave.
http://hovelt.com/gallery/new_zealand/milford_track/IMG_0306.JPG
http://home.onego.ru/~baryshev/rw/photos/033.jpg
Exercise A
• All together– everyone in the same
place– The teammates were
all together in the gym.
• Altogether– entirely– I am not altogether
convinced that we should go.
www.ashbournegathering.com/pictures/tug_of_war_2.jpg
Let’s pull all together.
• Brake– verb meaning to
slow yourself down– noun meaning the
device to slow down– Skateboarders can
use a rake as a brake if they need to brake.
• Break– verb meaning to
fracture– noun meaning
something broken– Don’t break your arm
while skateboarding; a nasty break like that will require a cast.
Exercise A
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http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cea/publications/clipart/gifs/rake2.gif
http://pro.corbis.com/images/CB049196.jpg
Exercise A
• Capital– serious or important– upper case letter– representative city– money– What is the capital of
the United States?– You need capital to
start a business.– Capital punishment is
controversial.
• Capitol– government building– We could see the
capitol from our hotel.
http://www.flykending.dk/tema/museer/nasm/capitol1.JPG
Exercise A
• Consul– person appointed to
live in a foreign land– The American consul in
Iraq is a busy man.
• Council, Councilor– group that meets– member of such
group– The councilors on the
Security Council voted for the Canadian resolution.
• Counsel, Counselor- to advise- advice or adviser- Sue’s aunt counseled her to take judo lessons.- Ask your guidance counselor for help.
Exercise A
• Desert– a dry region– The car crossed the
desert at night.
• Dessert– last part of a meal– For dessert we ate
strawberry pie.
• Desert- to leave- The rats deserted the sinking ship.
http://www.meanylodge.org/recipes/images/dessert.jpg
The illness had a strange (affect, effect) on my vision.
Exercise A, #1
Exercise A, #2
During lunch, the soccer team was (all together, altogether) at one huge table.
Exercise A, #3
My young cousin knows the (capitol, capital) city of every state in the country.
Exercise A, #4
The (coarse, course) material made her skin itch.
Exercise A, #5
Of (course, coarse), you burned the (desert, dessert) again.
Exercise A, #6
The British (council, consul) took back his insult, but he (counciled, counseled) the representative to leave.
Exercise A, #7
We walked several miles before we reached the door of the (capital, capitol).
Exercise A, #8
Your answer isn’t (all together, altogether) correct, but you’re on the right track.
Exercise A, #9
After all his worry, everything turned out (all right, alright).
Exercise A, #10
Our two fast guards are (complimented, complemented) perfectly by an exceedingly tall center.
Exercise A, #11
A computer (coarse, course) is recommended for anyone planning to go to college.
Exercise A, #12
We traveled for three days across the (desert, dessert).
Exercise A, #13
The actors were (all ready, already) to audition for the play.
Exercise A, #14
If you don’t have your car’s (brakes, breaks) inspected every year, you will be (braking, breaking) the law.
Exercise A, #15
Did you (choose, chose) a topic for your essay yet?