Homophones and similar words: easiest words to make a mistake in!

While English grammar is widely considered easy by many linguists, it might not be so by regular language users. With its quirks and exceptions, English can also be a hard language to get to know. But there’s a lot of words, phrases and pronouns that are simply similar to each other and might be hard to distinguish. Let’s take a look at the most misleading and confusing examples to avoid making mistakes in the future!

 – “Its” is a possessive pronoun, as in: “The cat licked its paw.” 
– “It’s” is a contraction of “it is,” as in: “It’s raining outside.”

– “Their” is a possessive pronoun, as in “Their house is located out of town.” 
– “There” refers to a place, as in: “We’re going there for our vacation.” – “They’re” is a contraction of “they are,” as in: “They’re coming to visit next week.”

– “Affect” is a verb that means to influence or change something, as in: “The new law will affect the way we do business.” 
– “Effect” is a noun that refers to the result or consequence of something, as in: “The effect of the medicine was immediate.”

– “Loose” means not tight or not fixed in place, as in: “The bolt was loose, so the wheel came off.” 
– “Lose” means to be unable to find or to be defeated, as in: “I can’t find my keys, I think I’ve lost them.”

– “Than” is used to compare things, as in “I am taller than my sister.” 
– “Then” refers to a specific time or sequence of events, as in “We’ll eat lunch and then go for a walk.”

– “Bare” means naked or uncovered, as in “The tree was bare in the winter.” 
– “Bear” is a noun meaning a large animal or a verb meaning to endure or carry, as in “I saw a bear while hiking in the woods” or “She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her dog.”

– “Compliment” is a noun or verb that means to praise or express admiration for someone, as in “She received many compliments on her dress.” 
– “Complement” means to complete or enhance something, as in “The red flowers complement the green grass.”

– “Advice” is a noun that means guidance or recommendations, as in “I asked my friend for advice on what to do.” 
– “Advise” is a verb that means to offer guidance or recommendations, as in “I advised her to take a different route.”

– “Farther” refers to physical distance, as in “The beach is farther from here than the park.” 
– “Further” can refer to physical distance or to an additional extent or degree, as in “We need to discuss this further”

Furthermore – pun intended! – beware of differences between similarly-sounding nouns and adjectives! Just like with advice/advise, pairs like practice/practise are often confusing to language-users. Remember to always read your reading exercises carefully and differentiate between the meanings. That two things sound similar doesn’t mean they’re the same!

More about pronunciation here!