Words Frequently Confused

Part A

Notes and In-class exercises

Exercise A

• Affect– a verb meaning to

influence– Did that tearful movie

affect you?

• Effect– a noun meaning the

result of some action– a verb meaning to

bring change– New glasses effected

a remarkable change in his vision, but they had little effect on his looks.

http://www.lilblueghia.com/phpblog/images/cryingMan.jpg

Exercise A

• All right– correct spelling

• Alright– incorrect spelling

Exercise A

• Already– previously– We’re already on top

of the mountain.

• All ready– all are ready– We were all ready to

leave.

http://hovelt.com/gallery/new_zealand/milford_track/IMG_0306.JPG

http://home.onego.ru/~baryshev/rw/photos/033.jpg

Exercise A

• All together– everyone in the same

place– The teammates were

all together in the gym.

• Altogether– entirely– I am not altogether

convinced that we should go.

www.ashbournegathering.com/pictures/tug_of_war_2.jpg

Let’s pull all together.

• Brake– verb meaning to

slow yourself down– noun meaning the

device to slow down– Skateboarders can

use a rake as a brake if they need to brake.

• Break– verb meaning to

fracture– noun meaning

something broken– Don’t break your arm

while skateboarding; a nasty break like that will require a cast.

Exercise A

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http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cea/publications/clipart/gifs/rake2.gif

http://pro.corbis.com/images/CB049196.jpg

Exercise A

• Capital– serious or important– upper case letter– representative city– money– What is the capital of

the United States?– You need capital to

start a business.– Capital punishment is

controversial.

• Capitol– government building– We could see the

capitol from our hotel.

http://www.flykending.dk/tema/museer/nasm/capitol1.JPG

Exercise A

• Consul– person appointed to

live in a foreign land– The American consul in

Iraq is a busy man.

• Council, Councilor– group that meets– member of such

group– The councilors on the

Security Council voted for the Canadian resolution.

• Counsel, Counselor- to advise- advice or adviser- Sue’s aunt counseled her to take judo lessons.- Ask your guidance counselor for help.

Exercise A

• Desert– a dry region– The car crossed the

desert at night.

• Dessert– last part of a meal– For dessert we ate

strawberry pie.

• Desert- to leave- The rats deserted the sinking ship.

http://www.meanylodge.org/recipes/images/dessert.jpg

The illness had a strange (affect, effect) on my vision.

Exercise A, #1

Exercise A, #2

During lunch, the soccer team was (all together, altogether) at one huge table.

Exercise A, #3

My young cousin knows the (capitol, capital) city of every state in the country.

Exercise A, #4

The (coarse, course) material made her skin itch.

Exercise A, #5

Of (course, coarse), you burned the (desert, dessert) again.

Exercise A, #6

The British (council, consul) took back his insult, but he (counciled, counseled) the representative to leave.

Exercise A, #7

We walked several miles before we reached the door of the (capital, capitol).

Exercise A, #8

Your answer isn’t (all together, altogether) correct, but you’re on the right track.

Exercise A, #9

After all his worry, everything turned out (all right, alright).

Exercise A, #10

Our two fast guards are (complimented, complemented) perfectly by an exceedingly tall center.

Exercise A, #11

A computer (coarse, course) is recommended for anyone planning to go to college.

Exercise A, #12

We traveled for three days across the (desert, dessert).

Exercise A, #13

The actors were (all ready, already) to audition for the play.

Exercise A, #14

If you don’t have your car’s (brakes, breaks) inspected every year, you will be (braking, breaking) the law.

Exercise A, #15

Did you (choose, chose) a topic for your essay yet?