These fifty words are ones English learners mix up. Most are pairs. Two groups are trios: their, there, and they're, and to, too, and two. The words look or sound alike, or they sit in the same kind of sentence and take different grammar. Read the meaning, then the example. After each group, cover the meaning column and say which word fits a new sentence of your own.
A pair is learned when you can choose the right word without looking. Recognition in a table is only the first step. The practice section at the end shows how to turn a pair into cards.
Words that look alike
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| affect | To change or influence something. | Lack of sleep can affect your concentration. |
| effect | A result. Also a verb: to make something happen. | Daily review had a clear effect on her test. |
| accept | To receive or agree to something. | He accepted the correction and rewrote the line. |
| except | Not including. | She studies every evening except Sunday. |
| advice | A suggestion. This one is a noun. | My advice is to learn fewer words each day. |
| advise | To suggest. This one is a verb. | I advise you to say the word out loud. |
| breath | The air you take in. This one is a noun. | Take a breath before you read the sentence. |
| breathe | To take air in or send it out. This one is a verb. | Breathe out as you say the new word. |
| complement | Something that completes another thing. | A short example complements the definition. |
| compliment | Praise, or to praise someone. | The teacher complimented his clear pronunciation. |
| desert | Dry land with little rain. As a verb: to abandon. | The road crossed a desert with no towns. |
| dessert | A sweet course at the end of a meal. | We had fruit for dessert. |
| lose | To no longer have something, or to be defeated. | Do not lose the card you keep missing. |
| loose | Not tight or not firmly fixed. | The lid was loose, so the box leaked. |
| quiet | With little or no noise. | Find a quiet corner for a ten-minute review. |
| quite | To a noticeable degree. | The two words are quite easy to swap. |
| than | Used when you compare. | Recalling a word is harder than rereading it. |
| then | At that time, or next. | Read the sentence, then cover the word. |
| weather | Rain, sun, wind, and temperature. | Cold weather is a poor reason to skip review. |
| whether | If, or which of two possibilities. | Decide whether this word is worth a card. |
Short words with different grammar
Their, there, and they're are three forms, not a pair. Their shows possession. There points to a place, or fills the subject spot in “there is”. They're means they are. All three appear in the table.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| your | Belonging to you. | Check your example before you save the card. |
| you're | You are. | You're ready to add a new word today. |
| its | Belonging to it. | The word changed its meaning in this sentence. |
| it's | It is, or it has. | It's easier to remember a word you can use today. |
| their | Belonging to them. | Their notes were full of short examples. |
| there | In or at a place. Also: there is, there are. | The answer is there, in the second sentence. |
| they're | They are. | They're learning ten words, not fifty. |
| who's | Who is, or who has. | Who's going to review the new cards tonight? |
| whose | Belonging to which person. | Whose book has the marked vocabulary? |
| to | Toward, or the infinitive marker. | I want to remember this phrase. |
| too | Also, or more than enough. | That sentence is too long for one card. |
| two | The number 2. | Keep two senses of the word on two cards. |
Pairs that share a meaning area
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| principal | The head of a school, or the main one. | The principal asked students to read every day. |
| principle | A basic rule or idea. | One principle of review is to answer before you look. |
| fewer | A smaller number of things you can count. | Fewer new cards will make tomorrow’s review shorter. |
| less | A smaller amount of something you do not count. | I had less time, so I only reviewed. |
| borrow | To take something that you will return. | Can I borrow your notes until Friday? |
| lend | To give something that will be returned. | I’ll lend you the book if you bring it back. |
| say | To speak words. Say does not take a person as object without “to”. | She said the word slowly. |
| tell | To give information to someone. Tell needs a person. | She told me the word slowly. |
| make | To create or cause. Often with food, a decision, or a mistake. | I made a mistake with affect and effect. |
| do | To perform an action, work, or a task. | I do a short review after breakfast. |
| bring | To carry something toward the speaker or a place. | Bring your word list to class tomorrow. |
| take | To carry something away, or to carry it to another place. | Take this card out of the deck. You already know it. |
| teach | To help someone learn. | The app does not teach the word. You teach it to yourself. |
| learn | To gain knowledge or a skill yourself. | You learn the word by recalling it later. |
| listen | To pay attention to a sound on purpose. | Listen to the word, then say it. |
| hear | To perceive a sound, whether or not you meant to. | I can hear the audio, but I have not listened carefully yet. |
| remind | To cause someone to remember. | The sentence reminds me which meaning I saved. |
| remember | To keep a fact in mind, or to bring it back. | I remembered the word without looking. |
How to practice a pair
- Write two sentences that are true for you, one for each word.
- Cover the words. Read your sentences tomorrow and fill the blank.
- If you hesitate, you do not know the pair yet. Look once, then try again later the same day.
- Add a card only for the word you personally swap. A card you never miss is noise.
A useful card shows a sentence with a blank, not the question “affect or effect?”. For example, the front is “Lack of sleep can ______ your concentration.” The back is “affect — to influence.” That asks you to supply the word. The flashcard guide explains prompts like this in more detail.
Keep the pairs you mix up
You do not need a card for all fifty words. Mark the pairs you already confuse in your own writing. Those are the ones worth a review schedule. Put them in a small collection in Wordmemo Flashcards and study the due cards for a few minutes a day. Choosing which words to learn in the first place is covered in how to learn new words faster.