ELA Grammar Lesson Commonly Confused Words Think, Pair, Share What are some commonly confused words? Read the information about the commonly confused word. If you need to, look up more detailed information. Grammarly, Grammar Girl, or Grammar Monster are excellent reference websites. Process Practice using the correct word in the sentence(s) provided. Answers are in the notes of each practice slide. Then vs Than • Then = time indicator • Than = comparison Practice Then vs Than Yvonne is older (than/then) I. I (than/then) told him I was doing the right thing. Could Of Vs Could Have Could of = Could Have (Could've)= Practice Could Of Vs Could Have I (could of/could've) done better in the race. Its Vs It's Its = contraction of it is It's = possessive form of it (It's/Its) going to rain tomorrow. Practice It's Vs Its The colourful umbrella lost some of (it's/its) colour. • Your = possessive adjective Your Vs You're • You're = contraction of you are Practice Your vs You're Is this (you're/your) new backpack? (You're/your) the lucky winner. Affect Vs Effect Affect = usually a verb = impact or change Effect = usually a noun = result of a change Practice Affect Vs Effect Will the weather greatly (affect/effect) the bus trip? The (affects/effects) of the treatment will not be known for several days. There Vs Their Vs They're • There = adverb or pronoun = place/location or existence • Their = possessive adjective = has or ownership • They're = contraction of they are Practice There Vs Their Vs They're • I think (there/their/they're) in trouble. • I saw (there/their/they're) mom sitting (there/their/they're). To Vs Too Vs Two • To = preposition = toward or until • Too = adverb = excessive, also, more • Two = noun = number # Practice To Vs Too Vs Two I talked (to/too/two) my brother yesterday. After practice, I walked straight home (to/too/two) my bed because I was (to/too/two) tired to eat. Quiet Vs Quite Vs Quit Practice Quiet Vs Quite Vs Quit I am going to (quiet/quite/quit) my job. Please be (quiet/quite/quit) in the library. Winston was (quiet/quite/quit) tall for his age. Threw = verb = past tense of throw Threw Vs Through Vs Thru Through = preposition = direction or movement Thru = made up word = only for drive "thrus" My friends have seen me (threw/through/thru) some difficult times. Practice Threw Vs Through Vs Thru He (threw/through/thru) the ball over my head. John (threw/through/thru) the basketball (threw/through/thru) the hoop, (then/than) he decided (to/too/two) go for ice cream. Loose Vs Lose Loose = adjective = not tight or contained Lose = verb = loss or deprive Practice Loose Vs Lose The new bathing suit felt (to/too/two) (loose/lose) on the swimmer. The coach did not want to (loose/lose) the game. Further Vs Farther Further = adverb, adjective, or verb = figurative distance, advance, additional Farther = adverb = pysical distance Practice Further Vs Farther I am confident that conducting (further/farther) research will enable me to travel (further/farther). I need to explain myself (further/farther). Accept Vs Except Accept = verb = receive or believe Except = preposition, conjunction, or verb = not including, other, exclude Practice Accept Vs Except I (accept/except) your gift. I ate everything on my plate (accept/except) the peas. I (accept/except) your ideas (accept/except) for your last one.
