Welcome!
Welcome to the Learning Commons Quick Start Guide to tricky word pairs!
Here, you will find a few examples of word pairs that either sound exactly the same or are similar. It is key to know the difference between these so your writing can be exceptional without confusing similar words! This Guide will explain:
- the differences between some words that have a similar meaning but sound different
- the differences between some words that have different meanings but sound similar
- how to use each properly
Word Pairs 101
Course Information
Course Level: Beginner
Time to Complete: 15 mins
Perfect for: Students in WRTG100/101, ENGL103, or anyone who needs a refresher.
Guide Creator: Chloe Heuchert
In this mini-course, we explore this in more detail:
Many words in English have similar meanings but only belong in certain places within a sentence. Sometimes the conflict is between parts of speech like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; other times the conflict occurs when two words are the same parts of speech but are limited in the kinds of things they can refer to.
Adjectives are words that describe nouns (or noun-like phrases), while adverbs are words that describe anything other than a noun. It can sometimes be tricky to understand exactly what a descriptive words is doing, but one test you can perform is to determine which “question” the word answers.
Common Pairs
Hover over the cards below to see some commonly confused words.
Examples
- The example does a good job of explaining things.
- This example explains things well.
Since our descriptive word modifies the the noun job in example 1, we need to use the adjective form good. The word answers the question, “What kind of job does the example do?” On the other hand, in example 2, our descriptive word is describing the verb explains, so we need to use the adverb form well. The word answers the question, “To what extent does the example explain things?”
- My favorite animated television show, which is called Avatar: The Last Airbender, deals with many difficult themes.
- Television shows that deal with difficult themes are often difficult to market to younger audiences.
In example 1, we are talking about only one specific television show, “my favorite” one, whatever that may be. Which introduces the clarifying information, but it doesn’t restrict our subject at all since we already knew we were talking about only one show. Example 2, however, is talking about all sorts of shows, so we need to use that to indicate that we are restricting the possible list to include only shows that meet a certain criteria. Pay attention to the commas as well.
- My computer, which is quite fast, cost far too much money.
- My brother, who is quite fast, recently broke his school’s sprint record.
- People who are fast should consider trying out for their track team.
In example 1, we are talking about a computer (not a person), so we need to use which. In examples 2 and 3, we are talking about people, so we definitely need to use who instead of which or that.
Your Turn: Test Your Understanding!
A Little Extra
Consider the difference in meaning that occurs based on whether Mr. Feeny says “good” or “well” in the following clip from the 90’s sitcom Boy Meets World.
Homophones are words that sound like other words but have different meanings. As such, they can be difficult to spell properly.
Common Pairs
Hover over the cards below to see some commonly confused homophones.
Examples
- Affect: verb “have an effect on; make a difference to” (OED).
- Effect: noun “a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause” (OED).
Affect is the verb doing the action of making a change while effect is the noun for the change.
Lack of sleep affects my attention span.
The effect of procrastination is often more stress.
- Accept: verb “consent to receive (a thing offered)” (OED).
- Except: preposition “not including; other than” (OED). conjunction “used before a statement that forms an exception to one just made” (OED).
Accept is the verb doing the action of receiving while except is a preposition or conjunction showing exception.
Please accept my compliments on your cooking.
I like all musical genres except heavy metal.
Your Turn: Test Your Understanding!
Many pronouns have homophones. Because of how often pronouns are used in writing, these particular homophones are especially important to identify and use properly.
Common Pairs
Hover over the cards below to see some commonly confused pronoun homophones.
Examples
Unlike nouns, possessive pronouns will never use an apostrophe to possess something else. The possessive ending ‘s is a modification for nouns. Pronouns do not need this because they have their own special possessive forms that you simply need to memorize.
- Your: possessive determiner Ex. Your hair looks pretty.
- You’re: contraction for “you are” Ex. You’re a great friend.
- Its: possessive pronoun Ex. Its name is Freddy Fish.
- It’s: contraction for “it is” Ex. It’s a nice day for a walk.
- Their: possessive pronoun/determiner Ex. Their parents go to my gym.
- They’re: contraction for “they are” Ex. They’re fast runners.
- There: adverb “in, at, or to that place or position” (OED). Ex. Look over there.