Confused Words
The English language is complicated and beautiful. It changes with time, morphing to meet the needs of each new generation. Unfortunately, English speakers can sometimes misuse many words of the language.
Many of those instances occur so often that people can become accustomed to the mistakes. So much so, in fact, that they forget the correct usage of some words. Let's look at some common errors and confused words that exist in the English language.
Confusing Pairs
There are many pairs of words that get mixed up by English speakers. The first example is 'through' and 'threw.' One means 'to physically toss an object,' and the other means 'to go in and out of.' Which is which? 'Threw' is the past tense of 'throw,' which means 'to toss an object.' 'Through' means 'to enter and then exit.' For example, look at this sentence: 'The car drove through the tunnel.' 'Through' is the correct usage because the car is entering and then exiting the tunnel.
There are many pairs of words that get mixed up by English speakers. Another example is 'accept' and 'except.' 'Accept' means 'to receive something,' whereas 'except' means 'to leave something out.' For example, 'I accept your apology,' and 'I will do all my homework tonight except math.'
'Affect' and 'effect' is another easily confused pair. For this pair, remember that 'affect' is a verb. You use this word when you are describing the action of having an impact. Like in this sentence: 'The earthquake affected the building's foundation.' On the other hand, 'effect' is a noun, which means 'the result of.' For example, 'The effect of the earthquake was a destroyed city.' Be sure to check which meaning you intend, in order to choose the correct word.
Groups of Confusing Words
Sometimes there are groups of three words that can get mixed up by English speakers. For example, look at the words 'two,' 'to' and 'too.' Do you know the proper use for each of these? 'Two' is 'the number between one and three.' 'To' means 'toward or in the direction of,' and 'too' is a synonym for 'also' or 'very.' Look at how each of these words is used in these sentences: 'I have two computers at home.' 'I drove to my house.' 'I have two computers, too!' When you use these three words, be sure to ask yourself if you need a number, a direction, or the words also or very. That should help you decide which word to use.
A second group of three words which are often confused is 'there,' 'their,' and 'they're.' For this case, remember that 'there' means 'a place,' 'their' shows 'ownership of an object,' and 'they're' is the contraction for 'they are.' Look at this common mistake: 'Their going to go to Florida for vacation.' In this form, 'their' needs to show ownership of some object. Does that happen in this sentence? No, it does not. This is because the sentence should read, 'They are (they're) going to go to Florida for vacation.' On the other hand, 'Their vacation was fun.,' shows ownership of the object vacation. This is using the possessive form correctly. Lastly, you may respond, 'I would like to go there,' as 'there' now refers to a place.
A final group of three confusing words is 'your,' 'you're,' and 'yore.' Similar to 'their,' 'your' shows 'ownership of an object.' For example, 'Your bike is very fast.' The bike is owned by you, so the possessive your is correct. Also, similar to the contraction 'they're,' 'you're' is the contraction for 'you are.' Here is a sentence using it correctly: 'You're going to ride your bike to the store.' Finally, the word 'yore' means 'a period of a long time ago.' For example, 'The days of yore were hard on the early settlers.' Be sure to check which definition you need for these confusing groups of words.