Common Words In English Vocabulary
There are many words in the English language that confuse you as a result of they give the impression of being similar. I remember that when I was in school I used to struggle a lot with these words were extremely confusing for me. Even native English speakers find these words confusing. And struggle with it. This article can be helpful if you’re a new English Learner and you are trying to learn it as a second language it will also help you to avoid some mistakes that can affect your writing and speaking skills, and we are going to clear the confusion regarding common English words.
Check the words below:
- Wary, weary
- Lose, Loose
- Advice, advice
- Peak, pique
- Worst, Worse
Think how exciting it can be once you notice that even native speakers struggle with these words and how much they struggle with them here you will get a chance to correct these words.
Look at the example below:
Aloud, Allowed
These words are pronounced in the same manner, but these two words have a completely different meaning.
Word ‘Aloud’ means ‘to speak out loud’
Read it aloud I can’t hear it.
Allowed being an adjective and past tense of the verb.
You are not allowed to enter my house.
Complement, Compliment
Again these words are pronounced in the same way but when you compare the meaning of these two words you will see a clear difference word ‘complement’ is used when you add extra features to something.
Physics is a difficult subject for me.
Here word difficult is a ‘subject complement’ while physics is a subject.
The words ‘Compliment’ is used when we appreciate something
“This dress is really beautiful.” In this sentence, you are complimenting your friend that their dress is beautiful.
These words are pronounced precisely the same, but here we are trying to focus on writing. Here we are going to 1 v 1 two words and compare their meaning, so you can get a better idea of both words.
All together, altogether
Let’s meet at the shopping mall at 11 o clock altogether.
Let’s do the shopping altogether.
The word ‘Altogether’ is generally an adverb and means completely.
The children were swimming in the altogether
Desert, Dessert
When you compare these two words you will see pronunciation differences, but the difference is not that noticeable, and it’s simply a matter of syllable stress. These both words are nouns:
Dessert is usually a sweet that we eat at the end of the meal.
‘This desert serves tasty desserts’
On the other hand ‘Desert’ refers to a dry, arid region or used for abandoning something.
At night the desert gets cold and dark.
Mat deserted me in my hour of need.
Principle, Principal
The two infamous words of all time.
The word ‘Principal’ is an adjective and can also be used as a noun. When used as a noun it means the head of an institute.
Our principal is a very kind and educated person.
On the other hand, the word ‘Principle’ can only be used as a noun and means truth or a law or a rule that shapes a structure.
Adam was a man of principle.
The basic principle of solving maths problems.
This principle is clear and absolute.
Along, along
These words sound the same too but check the spellings of each word.
‘Along’ is used as or a preposition adverb, and it means to move along the horizontal surface or plane surface.
‘She sailed her ship along the coast’.
Adam walked slowly along the road because the road was slippery.
Along can also be used as a phrasal verb like to ‘get along’ with something. Here it means to keep a good relation with the object.
‘A long’ is an adjective and is used as. Letter ‘A’ is an article and used with the noun followed by the adjective ‘long’. Where ‘long’ means the length of something or length of time.
Long can only be used with the singular noun which is followed by the letter ‘a’.
A long building.
Along bridge.
A long corridor.
It’s been such a long journey.
There’s a long list of names on the board.
I walked along a long, windy road.
Advice, Advice
These words sound the same and there is no difference in their pronunciation. The only difference is the end consonant sound between the word ‘Advice’ and ‘advice’.
‘Advice’ is a noun. It means to give suggestions to someone when they are planning something or if they are having a problem a suggestion can help to solve the problem.
Word Advice is always singular, and you can’t use Advice.
Someone can also ask for your advice when they need your recommendations or suggestions to deal with the situation or to solve the problem. It can be any problem with children, a job, and college even an insurance-related problem.
The best advice I can give you is to leave this auction.
I’ve got a piece of advice for you!
I always follow my mother’s advice.
The word ‘Advise’ is a verb. It is used to show an action or recommend or suggest something to a person, the person giving advice should have experience in that field.
I will strongly advise you not to buy that house.
That is what I’d advise you.
The word ‘advisor’ is also used as a noun for a person who advises you or when that person gives you a suggestion.
Accept, Except
These two words are the same, but sometimes you can find a difference in their pronunciation.
The word ‘accept’ is a verb and is used when we receive something from someone or sign an undertaking.
Do you accept our offer?
Accept our offer, and we will give you some bonus.
He can’t accept his mother’s death.
The word ‘Except’ is used as a preposition or conjunction and means ‘not including’ and is used for things that are excluded or not included in a system.
Everyone was at the party except Mat.
Adam works all day except Sunday.
