Teacher AckieConfusing Words
 1. beside / besides beside: preposition meaning 'next to', 'at the side of' Ex: I sit beside John in class. besides: adverb meaning 'also', 'as well'; preposition meaning 'in addition to' Ex:(adverb) Besides tennis, I play soccer and basketball. (preposition) That is a beautiful lamp beside the table. 2. dead / died dead: adjective meaning 'not alive' Ex: Unfortunately, our dog has been dead for a few months. died: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to die' Ex: His grandfather died two years ago. 3.felt / fell felt: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to feel' Ex: He hasn't felt this well for a long time. fell: past tense of the verb 'to fall' Ex: Unfortunately, I fell down and hurt myself. 4. its / it's its: possessive determiner similar to 'my' or 'your' Ex: Its color is red. it's: Short form of 'it is' or 'it has' Ex:(it is) It's difficult to understand him. (it has) It's been a long time since I had a beer. 5. last / latest last: adjective usually meaning 'final' Ex: I took the last train to Memphis. latest: adjective meaning 'most recent' or 'new' Ex: Have you seen his latest painting? 6. lay / lie lay: verb meaning 'to put down flat' - past tense - laid, past participle - laid Ex: He laid his pencil down and listened to the teacher. lie: verb meaning 'to be down' - past tense -lay (be careful!), past participle - lain Ex: The girl lay on the bed asleep. 7. lose / loose lose: verb meaning 'to misplace' Ex: I lost my watch! loose: adjective meaning the opposite of 'tight' Ex: I need to tighten this screw. It's loose. 8. price / prize price: noun - what you pay for something. Ex: The price was very cheap. prize: noun - an award Ex: Have you ever won a prize in a competition? 9. principal / principle principal: adjective meaning 'the most important' Ex: The principal reason for my decision was the money. principle: a rule (usually in science but also concerning morals) Ex: It's the first principle of aerodynamics. 10. quite / quiet quite: adverb of degree meaning 'very' or 'rather' Ex: He was quite exhausted after the long journey. quiet: adjective meaning the opposite of loud or noisy Ex: She's a very quiet girl. 11. shade / shadow shade: protection from the sun, a dark area outside on a sunny day. Ex: It's too hot. I'm going to find some shade. shadow: the dark area created by something else on a sunny day. Ex: Have you every noticed your shadow getting longer as it gets later in the day? 12. some time / sometimes some time: refers to an indefinite time in the future Ex: Let's meet for coffee some time. sometimes: adverb of frequency meaning 'occasionally' Ex: Sometimes, I like eating Chinese food. |