Commonly Misused Words
There are a lot of
words in English that look or sound alike but have very different meanings.
Words that sound alike but are different in spelling, meaning or origin is
called homophone. Writers often confuse and misuse these words. It’s helpful to
use a dictionary to look up the meaning of the word in question. Here is the
example of commonly misused words with definition.
·
lose, loose
Lose – Become unable to find something or have
something taken away from you.
Example : Ami ate less
so that she could lose weight
Loose – Unbound or not
tight (adjective)
Example : Diana lost so
much weight her pants were loose.
·
desert and dessert.
A desert is a barren or
uninhabited place; an older meaning of the word is "what one
deserves", as in the idiom just deserts. A dessert is the last course of a
meal.
·
hear and here.
To hear is to detect a sound with one's ears.
Here refers to one's immediate location.
·
to and too.
Too means "in
excess" or "also". To is a preposition or is a part of a verb in
the infinitive. At the end of a sentence to may also refer to a dropped verb in
the infinitive.
Standard:
I have too much time on my hands.
Standard:
Kick it to me.
·
woman and women.
Woman is the singular form of the word for an
adult human female. Women is the plural form.
·
want, won't and wont.
Want means the act of
desiring or wishing for something. Won't is a contraction for "will
not", while wont is a word meaning "accustomed" or
"inclined to" (as an adjective) or "habit or custom" (as a
noun).
Confusingly Related
Words
Confusingly related
word is a verb that are interconnected. This verb has the same meaning or
almost the same but used differently.
·
Many, Much
Many – is used when
referring to a large but definite number. Many refers to things that can be
counted.
I have too many shoes.
Much – is used when
referring to something great in quantity, amount, extent or degree. Much refers
to things that can not be counted.
You have too much time.
·
Chose, Select
Chose : use to chose between two things
I chose the brown dress
not the blue dress
Select : use to chose between a lot of things
Let’s select your
favourite cake in this store
·
Borrow, Lend
Borrow – Something that
belongs to somebody else, with the promise it will be returned.
Example: Ami borrowed
some books in library.
Lend – Give the use of
something to somebody for a short time.
Example: Diana lent me
her sweater today.
References:
