Home
>
Writing
>
Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 1 of 6

Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 1 of 6

ACCEPT, EXCEPT
Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who are probably familiar with the difference because they're all waiting for an acceptance!

"We accept your invitation to your party, except for Bill, who will be away on that day."

ADAPT, ADEPT, ADOPT
Adapt means to adjust, adept means skilled and
adopt means to take as your own:

"Some people cannot adapt to new surroundings."
"He is very adept at dodging awkward questions."
"He tends to adopt the attitudes of those around him."

ADVERSE, AVERSE
Adverse means inauspicious, hostile; averse means disinclined, repelled.

"I'm very much averse to making a long, arduous journey under such adverse weather conditions."

ADVICE, ADVISE
Advice is the noun and advise the verb.

"His advice was that we should advise everybody to either stay away or be extremely careful."

AFFECT, EFFECT
Affect is a verb; effect is a noun.

"Bad weather will affect the quality of the fruit."
"The effect of bad weather is a reduction in fruit quality."

ALREADY, ALL READY
Already means by this time; all ready means prepared.

"Are you already packed?"
"Yes, I'm all ready to leave."

ALTOGETHER, ALL TOGETHER
Altogether means wholly; all together means everybody in a group:

"It's altogether too bad you can't come."
"All together, now: 'Good morning, Sir!'"

ALL RIGHT, ALRIGHT
All right is the correct form; alright is grammatically incorrect.

ALLUDE, ELUDE
Allude means to refer to; elude means to dodge or escape.

ALLUSION, ILLUSION
Allusion is an indirect reference or hint; illusion means deception or mirage.

ALL WAYS, ALWAYS
All ways means by every way or method; always means all the time, forever.

ANNUAL, ANNUL
Annual means yearly; annul means to make void or invalid.

ANYONE, ANY ONE
This is quite tricky. Anyone means anybody, any person at all; any one means any one person and is followed by "of".

"Does anyone else want to come?"
"Any one of you is welcome to come along."

APPRAISE, APPRISE
Appraise is to assess or estimate. Apprise is to inform or notify:

"I will appraise the situation and immediately apprise everybody of my conclusions."

Please don't make your character say or write anything like this, though--unless you want him to sound like a pompous twit!

ASCENT, ASSENT
Ascent is an upward movement; assent means agreement.

ASSISTANCE, ASSISTANTS
Assistance means help or aid; assistants is the plural of assistant, one who gives help.

ASSURE, ENSURE, INSURE
Assure means to guarantee; ensure means to make sure; insure means to protect against loss or damage:

"I assure you there's no call for alarm."
"To ensure your crockery doesn't get broken, wrap it all in bubble wrap."
"In case of breakage or loss, you should insure everything with a good insurance company."

About The Author
Laraine Anne Barker writes fantasy for young people. Visit her web site at http://lbarker.orcon.net.nz - Fantasy for Children & Young Adults for FREE stories and novel excerpts. Sign up for the NOVELLA OF THE MONTH CLUB, absolutely FREE!

whole house cleaning Deerfield ..

In The News:

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Archer Aviation has acquired Hawthorne Airport for $126M to launch an LA air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, featuring AI-powered eVTOL operations and next-gen aviation tech.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Fake AI apps disguised as "ChatGPT" and "DALL·E" are flooding app stores with dangerous malware that steals data and monitors users without detection.

Fake buyers demand specific vehicle reports from unknown sites to steal credit card information from car sellers, but warning signs can help identify these scams before paying.

Android users can now manage apps across multiple devices more easily with Google Play Store's updated remote uninstall button in the latest update.

NASA's Perseverance rover discovers shiny metallic rock on Mars that could be a meteorite from an ancient asteroid, containing high levels of iron and nickel.

Holiday scams spike during Black Friday and Cyber Monday as criminals exploit your leaked personal data. Learn how to protect yourself from fake stores and phishing.

Commerce Department proposes TP-Link router ban over Chinese security risks. Learn how this potential prohibition could affect your home network and devices.

Hyundai AutoEver America suffered a data breach affecting 2,000 current and former employees, exposing names, Social Security numbers and driver's license information.

Washington court rules automated license plate reader images are public records, even when stored by vendors like Flock Safety, setting precedent for transparency.

Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 1 of 6

Writing