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Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville |
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Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville |
| MODULE #23 |
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| a (use before a consonant sound) an (use before a vowel sound) |
a Coke; a brain;
a cheat; a television an ache; an experiment; an hour |
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| accept (to receive, agree to) except (exclude; but) |
We accept your terms. Everyone went except Joe. |
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| among (preferred) amongst (old-fashioned) |
He worked among
the poor. |
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| advice (an opinion) advise (to counsel, give advice) |
Take my advice. Jill will advise you. |
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| a lot (always
two words) a lot (avoid in formal use) all right (always two words) |
A lot of problems
have no solutions. Many problems have no solutions. We decided everything was all right. |
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| affect to influence effect the result effect to bring about something |
I was affected by
her plea. What was the effect of the plan? Let's effect a solution. |
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| among (refers to 3 or more) between (refers to 2) |
Among my friends,
Tex is the oldest. |
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| amount (use for noncountables) number (use for countables) |
No amount of work
will help. A large number of workers is useless. |
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| every day (every
single day) everyday (daily) |
I work every day
of the week. Complaints are everyday occurrences. |
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| farther (use with distance) further (use with degree) |
How much farther
is Alumni Hall? |
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| fewer (use with countables) less (use with noncountables) |
Fewer people went
on the trip this year. We had less trouble this year. |
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| desert (a dry stretch of land) desert (to abandon one's post) dessert (the last part of a meal) |
We visited the Painted
Desert. The coward deserted from the army. What do you want for dessert? |
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| insure (to guarantee against
loss) ensure (to make sure, certain) assure (to convince, promise) |
Tim insured his
car for full coverage. Let's ensure that the message is clear. I assure you that it's not dangerous. |
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| its (belonging to it) it's ("it is") |
Look at its structure. It's raining. |
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| know (to understand) no (a negative ) |
I know what you
mean. No people live there. |
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| lead (to guide) led (past tense of to lead) lead (a metal) |
He leads the group. He led the group to freedom. The bullets were made of lead. |
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| loose (not secure) lose (misplace) |
Sew on that loose
button. |
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| may be (may occur) maybe (perhaps) |
She may be the suspect. Maybe I'll go to the movies. |
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| moral (a concise lesson) morale (mood or spirit) |
The moral of the
story is obvious. The morale of the employees was low. |
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| passed (went by, succeeded in) past (a time before now) |
Everyone passed
the test. Don't live in the past. |
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| peace (calm) piece (a part) |
There was peace
in the city. Have a piece of cake. |
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| principal (main) principal (one who runs a school) principle (a law or standard) |
This is the principal
problem. Mr. Smith is the principal. What are the principles of economics? |
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| regard (concerning) regards (friendly greetings) |
This letter is in
regard to my bill. Give my regards to Broadway. |
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| than (used
in comparisons) then (at that time) |
I'm more tired than
you. |
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| that
(used after a general noun) which (used after a specific noun) |
The letter that
just arrived is on the table. Emily's letter,
which just arrived, is on the table. |
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| their (belonging
to them) there (at that place) they're ("they are") |
It's their fault. Go over there. They're late. |
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| to
(toward) |
I'm going to heaven. She started to smile. The coffee was hot, too. The coffee was too hot. There were two cars. |
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| whose (belonging to whom) who's ("who is") |
Whose coat is this? |
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| you're ("you are") your (possessive pronoun) |
You're in the music
room. |
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