26 | Commonly Confused Words

26|Commonly Confused Words

The brief list that follows includes words and phrases that are commonly misspelled or confused. For a more comprehensive list, see the Glossary of Troublemakers in the Quick Editing Guide. For tips on improving your spelling, see 41.

image Commonly Confused Homonyms at a Glance

accept (v., receive willingly); except (prep., other than)

Mimi could accept all of Lefty’s gifts except his ring.

affect (v., influence); effect (n., result)

If the new rules affect us, what will be their effect?

capital (adj., uppercase; n., seat of government); capitol (n., government building)

The Capitol building in our nation’s capital is spelled with a capital C.

cite (v., refer to); sight (n., vision or tourist attraction); site (n., place)

Did you cite Aunt Peg as your authority on which sites feature the most interesting sights?

complement (v., complete; n., counterpart); compliment (v. or n., praise)

For Lee to say that Sheila’s beauty complements her intelligence may or may not be a compliment.

desert (v., abandon; n., hot, dry region); dessert (n., end-of-meal sweet)

Don’t desert us by leaving for the desert before dessert.

elicit (v., bring out); illicit (adj., illegal)

By going undercover, Sonny should elicit some offers of illicit drugs.

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led (v., past tense of lead); lead (n., a metal)

Gil’s heart was heavy as lead when he led the mourners to the grave.

principal (n. or adj., chief); principle (n., rule or standard)

The principal problem is convincing the media that the high school principal is a person of high principles.

stationary (adj., motionless); stationery (n., writing paper)

Hubert’s stationery shop stood stationary until a flood swept it away.

their (pron., belonging to them); there (adv., in that place); they’re (contraction of they are)

Sue said they’re going over there to visit their aunt.

to (prep., toward); too (adv., also or excessively); two (n. or adj., numeral: one more than one)

Let’s not take two cars to town—that’s too many unless Hal comes too.

who’s (contraction of who is); whose (pron., belonging to whom)

Who’s going to tell me whose dog this is?

your (pron., belonging to you); you’re (contraction of you are)

You’re not getting your own way this time!

EXERCISE 26-1 Commonly Confused Words

Edit the following passage to correct any misused words. You may need to refer to the longer list on pages Q-50–Q-59 or to a dictionary. Example:

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The principal job is of course psychologist, but a master’s degree is required too practice therapy. For graduates just starting out with a psychology degree, a good idea would be to except a job in human resources, working on cite for a major corporation. This work is somewhat unique because it exposes employees to a wide variety of careers in a short period of time. In regards to other fields for psychology majors, job seekers might consider either real estate, law enforcement, or market research. The starting salary range for jobs in these areas is anywheres from $35,000 to $50,000 per year. Alot of psychology majors pursue graduate degrees in law, social work, criminal justice, and education. In most cases, an employee with a master’s degree will earn more money then one with only a bachelor’s degree. Psychology majors should try and consider all their options early so they can focus there education on the career path that suits them best.

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Take Action Improving Word Use

Ask each question listed in the left-hand column to consider whether your draft might need work in that area. If so, follow the ASK—LOCATE SPECIFICS—TAKE ACTION sequence to revise.

1 ASK 2 LOCATE SPECIFICS 3 TAKE ACTION
Have I used words in an appropriate and bias-free tone?

  • Read your draft out loud. Put a ✓ by words that sound too formal or too informal for your audience. Also listen for and mark jargon, euphemisms, and slang.

  • Circle words that refer to men, including masculine pronouns (he, his) or terms that imply men (mailman). Also circle words that may be offensive to certain groups of people, or words that suggest bias.

  • Return to each check mark to reword sections that are not the appropriate tone for your audience, and revise any jargon, euphemisms, and slang to more straightforward language.

  • Review circled words and change sexist or offensive language to be more inclusive and balanced.
Have I used words that clearly express my meaning?

  • Read your draft out loud. Put a ✓ by words that may have an unwanted connotation or that sound trite or clichéd.

  • Circle (or use your software’s grammar checker to highlight) words that are often mistaken for others, such as affect/effect.

  • Return to each check mark and revise as needed to improve connotation and clarity.

  • Revise any misused words.
Have I used more words than needed to say what I mean?

  • Read your draft out loud. Put a ✓ by anything that sounds long-winded, repetitive, or chatty.

  • Use past papers to help you list your favorite wordy expressions (such as a large number of for many) or extra words (such as very or really).

  • At each check, rephrase with simpler or more exact words.

  • Search for wordy expressions; replace or trim them.

  • Highlight a passage; use the Tools or Review menu to count the number of words. See how many extra words you can drop.