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This presentation is
brought to you by
Grammar Bytes!,
©2016 by Robin L.
Simmons.
Confused and Misused
Wor ds and Phrases
Dude, the
right
word is
affect,
with an a.
No, you’re
wrong. The
word should
be effect,
with an e.
Dude,
that’s
advises,
with an s,
not a c.
This presentation
advices you on
words or
phrases that are
commonly
misused or
confused.
On an objective test, an
item evaluating the skill
might look like this ...
Sample Item
My friends ate at Tito’s Taco Palace, so they’re
they’re
A
hoping that their
their lunch
lunch stays
stays down,
down, for
for their
theirare
there
are
are
B
C
rumors that health inspectors cited the filthy kitchen.
A.
B.
C.
D.
At C, you need
Is the word
there, the
confused or
expletive, or
misused at A,
placeholder,
B, or C?
form.
their
they’re
there
there
No change is necessary.
Re c o g n i z e m i s s p e l l e d / c o r r e c t l y
s p e l l e d wo r d s a n d p h r a s e s .
X
X
X
X
X
Alright
Alot
Rite
Should of
Suppose to
Spelled
wrong!
●
●
●
●
●
All right
A lot
Right, write
Should have
Supposed to
Spelled
correctly!
Re c o g n i ze t h e d i s t i n c t i o n s
a m o n g r e l at e d wo r d s .
3 or more;
Among my
friends
Noncount;
Amount of
butter
Adjective;
A good essay
Evident,
unambiguous
 Among ● Between  2 only;
Between
Fred and me
 Amount ● Number 
Count;
Number of
cookies
 Good ● Well 
 Explicit ● Implicit 
Know these
differences!
Adverb;
He writes
well.
Implied,
ambiguous
K n ow t h e d i f fe r e n c e t h at a
s i n g l e n e w l e t t e r c a n m a ke .
Before a word
beginning with a
consonant [sound]
Before
 A ● An 
Before a word
beginning with a
vowel [sound]
 Already ● All ready 
Completely
prepared
 Idea ● Ideal 
The concept of
something
perfect
To suffer the
deprivation of
 Lose ● Loose 
Free from
restraint
Verb; past tense of
 Were ● Where 
A place
A thought or
conception
are
More to
learn!
K n ow t h e d i f fe r e n c e t h at a n
a postr ophe c a n m a ke .
Possessive
pronoun;
belonging to it
 Its ● It’s 
Possessive
pronoun;
belonging to
 Whose ● Who’s 
Possessive
pronoun;
belonging to
 Your ● You’re 
Contraction for
it is or it has
Contraction for
who is or
who has
whom
Contraction for
you are
you
Possessive pronouns
never contain an
apostrophe.
Contractions do
contain an apostrophe.
K n ow t h e d i f fe r e n c e a change t o
a s i n g l e l e t t e r c a n m a ke .
Noun form
Usually a verb
City, wealth,
important
 Advice ● Advise 
Verb form
 Affect ● Effect 
Usually a noun
 Capital ● Capitol 
The building for
lawmaking
 Cite ● Site 
A location
Rough
 Coarse ● Course 
Path, route
Praise
 Compliment ● Complement 
To quote
Put in place
 Set ● Sit 
Unchanging
 Stationary ● Stationery 
Indicates
comparison
 Than ● Then 
Why is English so
complicated?
Goes well with
Be seated
Paper
Next
D o n’ t l e t t h e s e h o m o n y m s
[ s o u n d a l i ke wo r d s ] c o n f u s e yo u .
Agree to or receive
 Accept ● Except 
Plural present of the
verb be
 Are ● Our 
Past tense of pass
Go before
 Passed ● Past 
 Precede ● Proceed 
Leave out
Possessive pronoun;
belonging to us
Gone, by
Carry on
Chief [person], main  Principal ● Principle  Truth or rule
Correct, a just claim,
a direction
 Right ● Write 
Make letters with an
instrument
Sight, touch, hearing,
smell, taste
 Sense ● Since 
Adverb, conjunction,
or preposition
View, glimpse
 Sight ● Site 
Past tense of throw
 Threw ● Through 
State of the
atmosphere
 Weather ● Whether 
A location
Beyond
Introduces an
alternative
My brain
is getting
full!
Relax,
dude, we’re
almost
there!
To, Too, Two
• Use to as a preposition.
Jonathan drove to the seafood shop.
• Use to to begin an infinitive.
He hoped to buy fresh squid.
• Use too to show degree.
The squid was too expensive to purchase.
• Use too as a synonym for also.
So too was the fresh octopus.
• Use two when you mean the number.
Jonathan bought two flounder filets instead.
T here, T heir, T hey’re
• Use there as an expletive, a placeholder to
delay the subject.
There is a turtle in the road.
• Use there to indicate place.
Across the road is a lake. The turtle hopes to get
there before a car hits him.
• Use their as a possessive pronoun.
Most drivers don’t see the turtle; their eyes are glued
to their cell phones.
• Use they’re as a contraction for they are.
They’re also distracted by other devices, like the
radio and navigation system.
At ma n y o b je c tive ex a ms , yo u
c a n not use a dictionar y!
X
W hen in doubt, rely on
“gut” feelings.
Your eyes have seen in print—and your
brain has registered —all of the possible
words that you will encounter for this skill. If
you don’t recognize the right answer, go
with the one that feels right.
Hey, I’ve seen
that word
before!
Quick Test
Directions: In the items that follow, choose
the option that corrects an error in the
underlined portion(s). If no error exists, choose
“No change is necessary.”
Your
turn!
Let’s see
what you
can do!
Item 1
Even though we warned Jake not to eat a hole
hole
whole
AA
pie at one sitting, he sat
sat at
at the
the kitchen
kitchen table
table and
and
B
proceeded to
proceeded
toconsume
consumeslice
sliceafter
afterslice.
slice.
C
A.
B.
C.
D.
whole
whole
set
preceded
No change is necessary.
Item 2
Give Jerrod a compliment
complimentbecause
becausehis
hisshoe
shoe
A
laces complement
complementthe
thecolors
colorsininhis
hisplaid
plaidshirt.
shirt.
B
His fashion since
since isisisgradually
sense
gradually
graduallyimproving.
improving.
improving.
CC
A.
B.
C.
D.
complement
compliment
sense
sense
No change is necessary.
Item 3
If you go by
by the
the supermarket,
supermarket, buy
buyaapackage
packageof
of
A
B
hotdog buns. Than
Than we
Then
we can
can grill
grill the
the sausage
sausage for
for
C
dinner.
A.
B.
C.
D.
buy
by
Then
Then
No change is necessary.
Item 4
Heed my advice,
advice, and
and don’t
don’t loose
looseyour
lose
your
yourreceipt.
receipt.
receipt.
A
BB
The college bookstore will not accept
accept any
any excuse
excuse
C
if you need to return those books.
A.
B.
C.
D.
advise
lose
lose
except
No change is necessary.
Item 5
The heard
heardofof
herd
ofgazelle
gazelle
gazelleleaped
leaped
leapedthrough
through
throughthe
theair
airasas
AA
BB
the animals tried to elude
elude the
the cheetah.
cheetah.
C
A.
B.
C.
D.
herd
herd
threw
allude
No change is necessary.
Item 6
Maybe Gerald
Gerald is
is caught
caught in
in traffic,
traffic, or
or he
he maybe
maybe
may
be
A
BB
flirting with the cute cafeteria cashier. Either way,
don’t accept
accept any
any excuse
excuse for
for his
his tardiness.
tardiness.
C
A.
B.
C.
D.
May be
may be
may
be
except
No change is necessary.
Item 7
When there
there are
are fewer
fewerstudents
studentsininaaclass,
class,the
the
A
B
professor has less
less worries
fewer
worries
worries
that
that
that
everyone
everyone
everyone
is
isis
CC
getting individual attention.
A.
B.
C.
D.
their
less
fewer
fewer
No change is necessary.
Item 8
We were
were successful
successful baking
baking 300
300 cupcakes
cupcakes for
for
A
the charity event, but today we’re
we’re exhausted
exhausted after
after
B
spending all night preparing the desserts.
desserts.
C
A.
B.
C.
D.
we’re
were
deserts
No change
changeisisnecessary.
necessary.
Item 9
Gregory passed
passed his
his chemistry
chemistry final,
final, so
so now
now he
he
A
won’t loose
loosehis
lose
his
hisscholarship.
scholarship.
scholarship.As
As
Ashe
he
hewalked
walked
walkedpast
past
past
B
CC
the diner, he rewarded himself with a milkshake.
A.
B.
C.
D.
past
lose
lose
passed
No change is necessary.
Item 10
Mr. Ramos hopes to except
except the
accept
the bid
bid on
on the
the house.
house.
A
He has agreed to all of the buyer’s conditions
except retiling
except
retiling the
the master
master bathroom
bathroom since
sinceitit
B
C
would be too much work.
A.
B.
C.
D.
accept
accept
accept
sense
No change is necessary.
Grammar Bytes!
provides additional
handouts and exercises on
commonly confused
words.
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The End.
Watch where
you’re going,
fool!