Commonly Confused Words

Introduction

In the English language there are some words that are spelled differently but sound exactly the same, and there are some words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently. Then, there are those words that do not share the same spelling or pronunciation but are often confused. These are your commonly confused words.

Introduction• Homonyms

▫ Its / It’s▫ Your / You’re▫ To / Two / Too▫ Whose/Who’s▫ There / Their / They’re

• Confusables▫ Where / Were/Wear▫ This / These▫ Everyday / Every day▫ Then / Than▫ Except/Accept

Its and It’s•This is one of the most troublesome

pairs because the possessive pronoun ITS does not carry an apostrophe as in: The cat’s claws.

▫Since this is a possessive pronoun, it may help to think of the S in ITS as already belonging to the word.

•The apostrophe is used in the contraction IT’S (short for it is).

It’s common for the cat to lick its claws.

Your and You’reAgain, this is a case of a possessive

pronoun and a contraction.•YOUR shows that something belongs to

you.•YOU’RE is short for You are.

You’re wasting your time with this project.

To, Too, and Two •TO

▫preposition Walk to the car (toward)

▫infinitive indicator To skate

•TOO can mean also or indicate degree•TWO is the number following one

The two girls wanted to go to the skating rink too, but it was too late.

Who’s and Whose •WHO’S

▫always means “who is” or “who has” Who’s your date for the dance? Who’s got my car keys?

•WHOSE▫Possessive pronoun: something that

belongs to “who” Whose dirty socks are on the floor?

Their , They’re, and There• THEIR: (possessive pronoun)

belonging to them•THEY’RE: (contraction) They are •THERE: (adverb) At or in that place

(primary def.)

They’re leaving their tired dog over there.

Where, Were, and WearSimilarity in spelling and improper pronunciation often cause these to be

used incorrectly.

•WHERE : (pronounced w+air or hw+air) at or in what place.•WERE : (pronounced wur) past tense of

are•WEAR: (pronounced w+air)

Where were you hiding?

A Little Trick

HERE

HERE

HERE

If you confuse There / Their, Where / Were and Here/Hear – Remember that the words that have to do with place have the word HERE in them.

Think here

T

W

Then and Than•Than is a conjunction used in

comparisons•Then is an adverb denoting time.

Bob noticed that some mice were much bigger than others. Then, he realized they weren’t mice at all!

Except and Accept▫Except: is a preposition meaning “but” or

“leaving out.” It can also be a verb to mean “to leave out”

▫Accept: means “to receive”

An easy way to remember the difference is that the “x” eliminates.

Review: Remember the Difference?

• Homonyms▫ Its / It’s▫ Your / You’re▫ To / Two / Too▫ Whose/Who’s▫ There / Their / They’re

• Confusables▫ Where / Were/Wear▫ This / These▫ Then / Than▫ Except/Accept