Spelling, Vocabulary, and Confusing Words

a vs. an

Rule. Use a when the first letter of the word following has the sound of a consonant. Keep in mind that some vowels sound like consonants when they’re sounded out as individual letters.

Examples:

• a finger
• a hotel
• a U-turn (pronounced You-turn)
• a HUD program
• a NASA study

Rule. Use an when the first letter of the word following has the sound of a vowel. Remember that some consonants sound like vowels when they’re spoken as individual letters.

Examples:

• an FBI case (F is pronounced ef here)
• an honor (H is silent here)
• an unusual idea
• an HMO plan (H is pronounced aitch here)
• an NAACP convention (N is pronounced en here)

Deciding whether to use a or an before abbreviations can be tricky. The abbreviation for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) causes confusion because it can be pronounced as a word (fak), or one letter at a time (F-A-Q). Using the guidelines above, one would say a FAQ when it is pronounced as one word, and an FAQ when it is pronounced one letter at a time.

accept

except

to agree; to receive

but, with the exception that

ad

add

advertisement

to perform addition

ades

aides

AIDS

aids

fruit drinks

people who help; assistants

acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

helps, assists

adverse

averse

unfortunate; strongly opposed (refers to things, not people)

Examples: an adverse reaction to the medication

                adverse weather conditions

having repugnance (refers to people)

Example: He is averse to a military draft.

advice (noun)

advise (verb)

recommendation

the act of giving a recommendation

Rule 1. Use effect when you mean bring about or brought about, cause or caused.

Example: He effected a commotion in the crowd.  

Meaning: He caused a commotion in the crowd.

Rule 2. Use effect when you mean result. 

Example: What effect did that speech have?

Rule 3. Also use effect whenever any of these words precede it: a, an, any, the, take, into, no. These words may be separated from effect by an adjective.  

Examples:  That book had a long-lasting effect on my thinking.

                   Has the medicine produced any noticeable effects?

Rule 4. Use the verb affect when you mean to influence rather than to cause. 

Example: How do the budget cuts affect your staffing?

Rule 5. Affect is used as a noun to mean emotional expression.

Example: She showed little affect when told she had won the lottery.

ail

ale

to be ill; to cause pain or distress

malt beverage more bitter than beer

air

err

heir

what we breathe

make a mistake

one who inherits something

aisle

I’ll

isle

passageway

contraction for I will

a small island

all

awl

entire, everything

a tool

allot

a lot

to parcel out

always two words meaning many

allowed

aloud

gave permission to

said out loud; spoken

all ready

already

means all are ready

Example: We are all ready to go.

refers to time

Example: Is it summer already?

all together

altogether

refers to a group; all of us or all of them together

Example: It is wonderful to be all together to celebrate your birthday.

entirely

Example: It is not altogether his fault.

altar

alter

pedestal, usually religious

Example: They exchanged wedding vows at the altar of the church.

to modify

Example: Please don't alter your plans until we have the final schedule approved.

allude

elude

illude

to refer indirectly

Example: He alluded to his past as a spy.

avoid capture

Example: The fugitive eluded the police for a month.

mislead

Example: He illuded her about his age.

allusion

illusion

an indirect mention of something

false perception

ambiguous

ambivalent

to have more than one meaning

Example: The law was ambiguous.

to have mixed feelings

Example: She is ambivalent about her wedding dress.

amicable

amiable

friendly (refers to things, not people)

friendly (refers to people)

Example: The amiable couple had an amicable divorce.

among

between

involves three or more

Example: Who among us has not lied?

involves just two

Example: She couldn’t decide between Chinese and Thai food.

amount

number

used for things not countable

Example: We couldn't handle that amount of ill will.

used for things that can be counted

Example: The number of accidents increased by ten percent.

ant

aunt

a bug

the sister of a parent

ante

auntie

a bet placed before playing

affectionate term for a parent’s sister

anxious

eager

to have anxiety or worry

Example: She is anxious about taking the test.

excited

Example: She is eager to get a puppy.

any more

anymore

something additional or further

Example: It didn’t rain any more this year than last year.

any longer, nowadays

Example: Harry doesn’t travel anymore.

appraise

apprise

to put a value on something

to notify

arc

ark

arch, crescent, half moon

a vessel or a refuge

ascent (noun)

assent (noun or verb)

consent

movement upward

enthusiastic agreement; to agree

agreement

assistance (noun)

assistants (noun)

help

people who help

assumption

presumption

an idea not based on evidence

an idea based on evidence

assure

ensure

insure

to promise or say with confidence

to make sure something will/won't happen

to issue an insurance policy

ate

eight

past tense of eat

the number after seven

aural

oral

having to do with hearing

having to do with the mouth

awed

odd

in a state of amazement

unusual; opposite of even when referring to numbers

aye

eye

I

yes

organ one sees with

pronoun

bald

bawled

having no hair

cried

ball

bawl

a sphere

to cry or wail loudly

band

banned

a group, sometimes a group of musicians

forbidden

bare

bear

naked, unconcealed, plain

the animal

base

bass

the bottom; vulgar; headquarters (singular)

low vocal or instrumental range (pronounced like lace); a type of fish (pronounced like lass)

based

baste

be dependent or supported

to moisten; to criticize or lash out at

bases (noun, verb)

basis (noun)

headquarters (plural of base); builds on

foundation; belief

be

bee

to exist or live

insect

beach

beech

sandy area with water

type of tree with smooth, gray bark

beat

beet

to strike violently; to flutter or flap; to pound as with a drum; to defeat; to stir vigorously

a plant with a fleshy red or white root

beau

bough (noun)

bow (noun)

bow (noun, verb)

boyfriend (pronounced like owe)

branch of a tree (pronounced like cow)

part of a set with arrows (pronounced like owe)

boat front, a male's form of curtsy, bending at the waist; comply (pronounced like cow)

Rule. Because and since can be used almost interchangeably although because always indicates cause and effect and since is used for a relationship or time.

Example: Since I have some extra money, I will buy shoes. (not cause and effect)

Example: I will go to the game because my daughter is on the team. (cause and effect)

Example: I have wanted to talk to you since yesterday. (time)

been

bin

form of be used with has or have

container

bell

belle

chime or alarm; a signal

beautiful or charming woman

berth

birth

a boat dock; bedroom or bed

being born; beginning

better

bettor

of higher quality

someone who places bets

biannual

biennial

semiannual

twice a year

every two years

twice a year (same as biannual)

bite

byte

to use one’s teeth to tear food

computer term for eight bits of information

billed

build

charged a fee

construct

blew

blue

past tense of blow

the color

bloc

block

a group united for a particular purpose

city street; a cube-shaped object

boar

bore

male pig

someone or something not interesting

board

bored

piece of wood; a group of people

uninterested

boarder

border

someone who pays for room and food

perimeter; boundary

bode

bowed

predict

bent (pronounced like owed)

bold

bowled

daring

to have gone bowling; knocked over

bolder

boulder

more daring

a large rock

boos

booze

sounds made by disapproving audience

alcohol

boy

buoy

male child

a naval beacon or marker

brake

break

stop

separate into pieces

bread

bred

a food; slang for money

past tense of breed; raised

brewed

brood (verb, noun)

fermented

mull over; a cluster or family

brews

bruise

ferments

a black-and-blue mark, contusion

bridal

bridle

relating to brides

a harness, usually for a horse

bring

take

you bring something towards

you take something away

broach

brooch

to raise a topic

a bauble; a piece of jewelry

brows

browse

the hairs in the arch above the eyes

search for, peruse

but

butt (noun/verb)

except

bottom; joke object; to ram

buy

by

bye

purchase, acquire

near, next to

short for goodbye

cache

cash

hidden stash

money

calendar

colander

chart of days and months

sieve to drain off liquids

can

may

able to

permission to

cannon

canon

large, mounted gun

rule, commandment

canvas

canvass

awning cloth, tarp

to poll; a poll

capital

capitol

assets; essential; main city

statehouse

carat

caret

carrot

karat

unit of weight in gemstones

a proofreading mark to show insertion (^)

edible root

a unit for measuring the fineness of gold

cast (noun, verb)

caste

group of actors; to throw

a social class, a rigid system of social distinctions

cay

key

quay

a small, low island (also spelled key)

a small, low island; instrument for opening locks

(pronounced key) wharf, dock, pier

cede

seed

to surrender

reproductive germ

cell

sell

prison room; basic structural unit of an organism

to exchange for money

censor (verb, noun)

censure

sensor

disallow; person who disallows

Example: The soldier's letters were censored before mailing.

to disapprove of; criticize strongly

Example: The children were censured by the principal.

a device that measures heat, light, etc. and transmits a signal to a control or measuring instrument

cent

scent

sent

a penny

a smell, aroma

transmitted

cereal

serial

breakfast food

a series or array

chance

chants

accident(al)

chorus, melody

chased

chaste

went after

pure, virginal

chews

choose

how one eats food with teeth

to pick

childish

childlike

immature

innocent

Chile

chili

chilly

a country in South America

a type of pepper; a dish with peppers in it

cold, brisk

choral (adj.)

chorale (noun)
coral (noun, adj.)
corral (noun, verb)

having to do with a chorus or a choir
Example: My choral group meets on Wednesday evenings.
a hymn; a group of singers specializing in church music
material that makes up reefs; orange color

a horse pen; to confine

chord

cord

cored

three or more musical tones sounded simultaneously; line segment joining two points on a curve

a rope or strand of flexible material

removed the center of something

chute

shoot (verb, noun)

an inclined shaft

to discharge from a weapon; a stem

cite

sight

site

to assert; to quote from; to subpoena

vision, the power to see

a location or position

classic

classical

important; fundamental

having to do with Greek or Roman antiquity; pertaining to eighteenth-to nineteenth-century music

clause

claws

in grammar, a group of words containing a subject and verb; part of a contract

an animal’s nails

click

clique

a sound

a group

climactic

climatic

having to do with the climax

having to do with the climate

close (verb, adjective)

clothes

to shut (pronounced like rose); nearby (pronounced like dose)

apparel

coarse

course

rough, lacking in fineness of texture; crude

a class; a path

colonel

kernel

an officer in the military

a seed

complement

compliment

completing part of an order

praise

confidant

confident

someone confided in

certain, sure

connote

denote

to suggest, imply

Example: A growling dog connotes danger.

to be a sign of

Example: Certain clouds denote rain on the way.

continual

continuous

repeated but with breaks in between; chronic

Example: The continual problem of our car not starting forced us to sell it.

without interruption in an unbroken stream of time or space

Example: The continuous dripping of the faucet drove me crazy.

core

corps

corpse

center or crucial part

trained group

dead body

cosign

cosine

to sign along with

a trigonometry term

council

counsel (verb, noun)

a group of people meeting for a purpose

advise; advice, an attorney

creak

creek

a sound

a stream

crews

cruise

many groups

a trip or vacation by sea

criteria

criterion

plural of criterion

a standard for evaluating or testing something

cue

queue

a hint; a stimulus

a line of people waiting

currant

current

type of small berry

up to date

curser

cursor

someone who swears or wishes misfortune on another

a blinking symbol indicating position on a computer screen