Commonly Confused Words

Their house

Over there

They're ready

Its tail

It's raining

Weather can affect mood

The effect was immediate

Give a compliment

The sauce complements the dish

The principal reason

A guiding principle

Remain stationary

Paper and envelopes

Accept an invitation

Everyone except Sam

Fewer books

Less water

Finish, then leave

Taller than me

Who called?

Whom did you call?

Lose the key

A loose knot

Give advice

Advise waiting

An allusion to mythology

An optical illusion

Ensure the door is locked

Insure the house

Lay the book on the table

Its is possessive. It’s is a contraction of ‘it is’ or ‘it has.’

If ‘it is’ fits, use it’s; if not, the possessive its may be right.

There can point to a place or introduce a sentence: ‘There is a reason.’

Their shows that something belongs to them.

If ‘they are’ fits, they’re may be correct.

In some varieties of English, insure is also used broadly, but the insurance sense is its clearest distinction.

A compliment is praise. Complement with an e means something that completes or goes well with another thing.

A color can complement another color; a complete set has a complement of parts.

Advise is the action; advice is the noun someone gives.

A useful memory cue: nouns often end in the unvoiced ‘s’ sound in advice.

A citation points a reader toward a source.

A website is a site on the web; an archaeological site is a physical location.

Sight can mean vision, a view, or something worth seeing.

Affect acts. Effect is the end result.

The most common pattern is ‘to affect’ something and ‘the effect’ it has.

Except usually introduces an exclusion: everyone except Sam.

Think of the first two letters: ex- often signals ‘out.’

Both can describe physical distance. Many style guides prefer farther for that sense, while further also means additional.

For example: ‘For further information, see the guide.’

Then relates to time or sequence; than compares things.

Use than after comparative words such as more, less, taller, or rather.

Too can mean also or more than enough.

Two is a number; to is usually a preposition or part of an infinitive.

To often marks direction, recipient, or an infinitive verb form.

Ensure means make certain. Insure usually relates to insurance; assure often gives confidence to a person.

You can assure a person that something is true or that you will act.

In a pair, former means the first mentioned; latter means the second mentioned.

Use former and latter only when the two references are unmistakably clear.

A reader or listener infers the meaning from clues.

Writers imply; readers infer.