This document provides examples to distinguish between commonly confused word pairs in English. It gives sentence examples showing the correct context for each word. Brief tips and reminders are included to help remember when to use each word. The focus is on helping students improve their writing and performance on standardized tests like the EOC exam by knowing the precise meaning of similar-sounding words.

1. COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS
FOR ENGLISH III
TENNESSEE
FLIP THROUGH AND FILL IN THE BLANKS!
Some of the hints might help you if you do not know these.
KNOWING THESE IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR WRITING AND THE EOC

2. TO – TOO – TWO
______ monkeys went ____ far up in the tree
____ be safe.

3. THERE – THEY’RE – THEIR
________ dog is over _______, but _________
out of town. He must be out of his pen.

4. ITS - IT’S
________ going to be a rough day because
my phone dropped _______ battery power
to 10% and it is only 10am .

5. YOUR – YOU’RE
It’s not that _________ feet smell bad. It’s
that _________ not concerned that your feet
smell bad.

6. WHOSE – WHO’S
Anyone __________ interested in advancing
this art form needs to help identify
_________ graffiti is on the train car.

7. WHICH – THAT – WHO
HCHS is the team _________ won the championship.
She is the player __________ won Most Valuable Player.
The TSSAA, ____________ is the governing body over high school sports,
gets a percentage of all ticket sales.
**Rules that work: Can you tell me WHY for each one of these? Stop and
think what antecedent the pronoun refers back to. Human? Who. Thing or
collective noun? That if it is essential clause. Which if it is non-essential.**

8. EXCEPT - ACCEPT
I do not _______________ any part of the
new dress code policy ____________ the
part about freaky Fridays. I like dressing
freaky on Fridays.

9. BETWEEN - AMONG
Just ___________________ the two of us,
there is some dissidence ____________ the
reporters!
*** Rule of thumb, quick and dirty, if the relationship is not clear: IF the situation involves two things or people or proper nouns are involved:
BETWEEN. IF the situation involves a group (not a proper noun): AMONG.*** Does not always work, but it will get youthrough!

10. CAPITOL – CAPITAL
PRINCIPAL – PRINCIPLE
Our ________________ will take us on a trip to
the ____________ to meet the _____________
decision makers on __________________
punishment.

11. STATIONARY – STATIONERY
I like to think about my monogrammed
____________ when I ride my __________ bike.
***Quick tip: IF you have trouble with this one – remember standing is stationary and they both
have “a” in them. Likewise, stationery and pen both have “e”. I know – that one is not as brilliant as
some of my tips, but hey, it works!***

12. WHO -WHOM
For _____________ are these roses, and
____________ sent them?
*** WHO is the subjective case and WHOM is the objective case.***

13. ALLUSION – ILLUSION &
LOSE - LOOSE
The ________________ of invincibility caused
the prosecution team to think they could not
_______________.
The defense team’s _____________________ to
To Kill a Mockingbird was to make a point about
________________ justice in the pre-civil rights
south.

14. COMPLEMENT – COMPLIMENT
Jennifer gave Justin a ___________________
about how well his shoes ________________
his suit.
***Quick Tip: Complete and complement both have “e”! ***

15. COUNSIL – COUNSEL &
ELICIT - ILLICIT
The lawyer will _______________the _______________ that voted to
______________ the public’s opinion on ________________ drug use.
***Whoooop! That one could get tricky! Quick tip: Illegal and Illicit begin with the same letters. ALSO – Counsel has “sel” in it. Think this
person will “sell” me on a better way to do it. ***

16. ADAPT – ADOPT
Schools must ______________ new policies on
education or _______________ the ones they
currently have to meet the needs of students in
the 21st Century.

17. PRECEDE – PROCEED &
COURSE – COARSE & FURTHER - FARTHER
Before you ____________ any _____________ in your academic
career, be certain that you have taken the _____________ that should
_____________ this one.
Even though the professor’s voice was ____________ and rough, he
did teach me that _____________ is related to physical distance.
***Oh my! What tips can you come up with for these? I
am at a complete loss. Speak up in class if you have any!***

18. DISCRETE – DISCREET &
CONSCIENCE - CONSCIOUS
People who do not have a ___________________ are often
__________________ in their actions because people might judge
them.
Philosophy and Psychology are two _______________ subjects;
however, we are all _______________ of their similarities.
***Wow…. Ok….struggling for tips on DISCREET & DISCRETE. The only thing I can come up with is in DISCRETE the T separates theE’s
and that’s what DISCRETE means – separate or distinct things. For CONSCIENCE AND CONSCIOUS, think the study of the brain is a
science and guilt lives in the brain.***

19. AFFECT – EFFECTWhy can we not just have one word that means both? AEFFECT! Oh – if I only ran the world!
The EOC will always _____________ students’ GPAs because it is 25%
of their English III grade. One ___________ of this policy is a change in
the order of class rankings based on that one test score.
***QUICK TIP: AFFECT is a verb and EFFECT is a noun. Memorize that. ***

20. ALLUDE – ELUDE
Although the teacher would _________________ to the answer in the
previous slide about allusion versus illusion, the answer still seemed to
_______________ the students.

21. ASSURE – ENSURE - INSURE
I would like to _______________ my car to ____________ a good
outcome if a wreck happens, but also to ______________ my parents
that I am fiscally responsible.
***Tips: INSURE covers you financially. ENSURE is something you do to guarantee a specific outcome. (THINK Ensure with an e is a guarantee).
ASSURE removes doubt.*** ******ALSO - THAT PIC REMINDS ME TO TELL YOU…NEVER TEXT AND DRIVE! NO! NO! NO!******

22. FEWER - LESS
I will eat ____________ M&M’s from that pack.
I will eat ____________ pasta salad than I did yesterday.
***Rule of thumb: Fewer usually refers to things you can break down and count –be careful with MONEY, DISTANCE, and
TIME. Less money. Less miles. Less time.***