| accept, except |
I accept this award. No one except Ryan may talk right now. |
| affect, effect |
The effect (noun) of the sun's rays can be harmful. Turning in that paper late will affect (verb) your grade. [effect: a result; affect: a change] |
| a lot, allot |
"A lot" is two words meaning many; "allot" means to disperse. (avoid using "a lot") |
| bring, take |
Bring me my slippers then take the trash to the curb, please. Bring=come towards you Take=go away from you. |
| could have, not could of |
should have, not should of; would have, not would of |
| fewer, less |
There are fewer students in Forensics this year, so our meetings will take less time. Use "fewer" when referring to plural things; use "less" when referring to singular things. |
| good, well |
I will do well today now that I know you ate a good breakfast. "Good" is an adjective; "well" is almost always an adverb. |
| it's, its |
Its fur is brown and it's in need of washing. "Its"’ is a possessive pronoun. "It's" is a contraction for "it is." |
| knew, new |
I knew you would ruin your new shoes. ‘New’ is state of age; ‘knew’ is past tense of ‘to know.’ |
| know, no |
No, I don't know the capitol of Rhode Island. "No" is a negative response. "To know" is to be aware of something. |
| lead, led |
Lead on, Kyle, or do you prefer being led? "Lead" is present tense; "led" is past tense. |
| loose, lose |
If you keep your hold on that leash so loose, you will lose the leash and the dog will run away. "Loose" is not tight. "Lose" is to have something disappear. |
| past, passed |
In the past, people with manners would have asked for the potatoes to be passed instead of reaching over someone to get them. "Past" is a time before now. "Passed" is past tense of "to pass." |
| quiet, quite, quit |
Be quiet or you will have to quit practicing in our garage. Our neighbors are quite beside themselves because of the noise. "Quiet" is softer volume. "Quit" is to end something. "Quite" is a modifier. |
| than, then |
If I knew then what I know now, I would have chosen this rather than that. "Than" is used to make a comparison. "Then" is a time transition or adverb. |
| their, there, they're |
If they're going to play over there with their toys, then they are going to need to be careful. "They're" is a contraction for they are. "There" shows where. "Their" is a possessive pronoun. |
| threw, through |
She threw the ball through the air. ‘Threw’ is past tense of ‘to throw.’ ‘Through’ is a preposition showing where. |
| to, too, two |
I too, have had two choices to make. "Too" means also, "two" is one more than one, and "to" is a preposition. |
| waist, waste |
Her waist was so small that we made a size 6 dress and the extra material went to waste. "Waist" is the middle of the body. "Waste" is to not use, to throw unnecessarily away. |
| weather, whether |
The weather was so bad, we didn't know whether or not to go to the lake. "Weather" is rain, snow, and all that meteorological stuff, and "whether" is a transition used to show a choice. |
| which, witch |
Which wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz did Dorothy's house fall on? (The WW of the East) "Which" is a relative pronoun used to refer to something. "Witch" is a sorceress. |
| who's, whose |
Whose article won an award? Who's going to go pick it up? "Whose" is a pronoun. "Who's" is a contraction for "who is." |
| woman, women |
A woman I know was voted Woman of the Year for her work in helping battered women. "Woman" with an "a" is singular, one woman; "women" with an "e" is plural, two or more women. |
| your, you're
|
I'm happy to announce that your team won, and now you're going to go to the next round in the Brain Brawl. "Your" is possessive pronoun, and "you're" is a contraction for you are. |
