Affect / Effect
"Affect" is a verb meaning "to have an impact on."
- How will this news affect our business?
- Work-life balance can affect your mental health.
"Effect" is a noun meaning "a change produced by someone or something."
- Does this medicine have any side effects?
- We won't understand the effects of this decision for many years.
Than / Then
Use "than" to compare something to something else. It comes after an adjective.
- He is faster than any of the other racers.
- My new car is more reliable than my old one.
When used with "other," it can also mean "apart from" or "except."
- He doesn't go anywhere other than the grocery store and the library.
- Other than curry, I don't really like spicy foods.
"Then" is an adverb that indicates the next step in a series or process.
- Walk straight for two blocks, then turn left.
- I'm going to take a quick nap, then I'm going to study a little more.
Your / You’re
This pair is often confused in writing, but the difference between the two is simple.
"Your" is a possessive word, like "my," his," "hers" or "theirs."
- Is this your phone?
- What's your favorite movie?
"You're," however, is a contraction of "you are."
- You're coming to the dinner party tonight, right?
- That's a beautiful dress you're wearing.
Lose / Loose
"Lose" is a verb that is the opposite of "win." Its pronunciation is similar to "choose."
- Everyone expects us to lose this game, but we'll surprise them all.
- It doesn't matter if we win or lose; let's just have a good time playing.
"Loose" is an adjective that is the opposite of "tight." In other words, loose things can move around easily. Its pronunciation is similar to "goose."
- I used to be heavyset, so all of my old jeans are loose now.
- This screw feels a little loose. Can you hand me the screwdriver, please?
Beside / Besides
"Beside" is a preposition that means "next to."
- I have a picture of my wife and daughter beside my computer at work.
- The man sitting beside me in the movie theater fell asleep.
"Besides" is also a preposition, but it means "aside from ~."
- He doesn't have any friends besides us.
- Besides Italy, I've never been anywhere in Europe.
It can also mean "furthermore" or "in addition to that." Use it to add an extra reason or justification for something.
- I'm getting sleepy, so I'm going home now. Besides, I have to wake up early tomorrow.
- I don't want to upgrade my phone because it's so expensive. Besides, my old phone still works fine.
Except / Accept
"Except" means "not including." Use it when something is not part of a group.
- Everyone except James came to the meeting.
- I've read every book in the series except the final one.
"Accept" is a verb with several uses.
to receive or agree to
- Please accept this gift as a gesture of my appreciation.
- We accept your proposal.
- We accept cash, credit and debit cards.
to welcome, to be friendly to
- I was worried the other members wouldn't accept me, but they're all very friendly.
Although / Though
Use "although" at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence as another way to say "however" or "but."
- The train will get us there much faster. Although, it is quite expensive.
- The detective knew someone there was the killer, although he wasn't sure who.
- Although he's been living in this country for many years, he doesn't speak the local language.
"Though" is used in a similar way, but it can also be placed at the end of a sentence.
- The train will get us there much faster. It's quite expensive, though.
- The detective knew someone there was the killer. He wasn't sure who, though.
Bear / Bare
Of course, bears are the large, furry animals you can find in forests or in the zoo. But this word also has several meanings as a verb.
to carry weight
- These steel beams are strong enough to bear the weight of the heavy building materials.
to endure, to tolerate
- I can't bear that smell anymore. Let's open up the windows!
to give birth
- She's going to bear a child sometime in the next few weeks.
This usage sounds a bit formal; it is more common for people to say "have a baby."
- She's going to have a baby sometime in the next few weeks.
"Bare," on the other hand, is an adjective that also is used in multiple ways.
not covered or clothed
- We walked along the beach in our bare feet.
- We removed the old carpet to see the bare floorboards underneath.
empty
- The grocery store's shelves were completely bare.
basic
- A score of 80% is the bare minimum necessary to pass this test.
It is also used as a verb meaning "to uncover." This is often used figuratively.
- The author bared his soul in his emotional new book.
Breathe / Breath
The final "e" changes both the meaning and pronunciation of this pair of words.
"Breathe" is a verb for taking air into and out of your lungs.
- It became harder to breathe as we reached the top of the mountain.
- This device will let you breathe underwater.
Without the "e," "breath" is the noun for the air that goes into and out of lungs.
- He took a deep breath before doing his first skydive.
- The air is so cold, I can see my breath.
Farther / Further
As adverbs for comparing distances, this pair of words can be used in the same way.
- Do we have much farther to go?
- Do we have much further to go?
- We have to go even farther before we arrive.
- We have to go even further before we arrive.
- My home is farther away than yours.
- My home is further away than yours.
However, "further" can also be an adjective meaning "more" or "additional."
- For further details, please visit our website.
- We will require further discussion before we can announce a decision.
