L-4 Words Often Confused
EXERCISE 2 / Using Commonly Confused Words. Underline the word in brackets that
makes sense in each of the following sentences. Answers to even-numbered items can be
found at the back of the book.
EXAMPLE
During the Romantic period, the expression of emotion became a new [criteria / criterion] for
judging music.
1. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is longer by a significant [percent / percentage] than his earlier
symphonies.
2. In general, Romantic music is more complex [than / then] earlier music.
3. Two new forms of music during the Romantic period were program music, [that / which] is
music connected to a visual or to a narrative text, and lieder, [that / which] is music based on
poetry.
4. Operas [to / too] became longer and more majestic during the Romantic period.
5. A large [amount / number] of new styles and forms developed in Western music after the
Romantic period.
6. Beginning in the late 1800s, Western society in general and music in particular saw a shift
toward more expression of individual personality and [fewer / less] limits on experimentation.
7. By the twenty-first century, opera fans could decide [weather / whether] to attend operas by
Philip Glass and John Adams that included multimedia.
8. Meanwhile, the operetta of the Romantic period evolved into musical theater such as West
Side Story, which makes many [allusions / illusions] to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
9. Popular music refers to the tunes the average person listens to [everyday / every day].
10. Music historians have analyzed the relationships [among / between] popular genres such as
blues, rhythm and blues, and rap.
Name: _____________________________________________________ Class/section: ________________________________