Commonly Confused Words

Back to: ACT English

You’ve no doubt seen at least one of the countless memes poking fun at incorrect grammar, specifically at incorrect diction. For example, “your dinner vs. you’re dinner: one leaves you fed, the other leaves you dead!” It’s actually quite common to mix up homophones like its and it’s or there, their, and they’re or to confuse other similar-sounding words. The ACT English exam will include questions to test your knowledge of such word choice issues. The tables below include some of the most commonly confused words and common homophones.

Confused Words	Examples
Accept vs. Except	Accept—to take The actor accepted the award for best supporting actor in a comedy series. Except—excluding; leave out The ballot listed every candidate except for the representative that did announce his candidacy before the deadline.
Affect vs. Effect	Affect (verb)—to change The weather affects the efficiency of the region’s airports. Effect (noun)—a result The negative effects of a storm include power outages, road closures, and traffic accidents.
Adapt vs. Adopt	Adapt—modify Many animals adapt to climate change by migrating to different areas. Adopt—take for one’s own Chimpanzees adopted new methods for gathering food after the drought caused a shortage of their favorite fruit.
Continuous vs. Continual	Continuous—never-ending and unbroken, in time or space The earth’s orbit is a continuous loop around the sun. Continual—chronic, recurring, frequent, but with some interruptions The baby continually tried to stand up by using objects around the room for balance.
Principle vs. Principal	Principle—a guideline, rule, or fundamental belief We abide by the principles of truth, justice, and respect. Principal—as a noun, this refers to a person in a position of authority; as an adjective, it refers to something that has the highest value or importance The school hired a new principal for next year. The principal subject of the book is philosophy.
Than vs. then	Than—a conjunction used to indicate a comparison. I like coffee better than tea Then—an adverb used to indicate time or consequence. I’ll see you then. If it’s raining, then I’ll need an umbrella.

Homophones	Examples
Its vs. It’s	Its—a singular possessive pronoun Each school has its own team. It’s—contraction for it is It’s a great day for a party.
They’re vs. Their vs. There	They’re—contraction for they are They’re trying to win the game. Their—a plural possessive pronoun The students wanted their teacher to cancel the test. There—an adverb that refers to where something is The book is on the shelf over there.
Who’s vs. Whose	Who’s—contraction for who is Who’s coming to the party? Whose—a possessive pronoun used to ask who owns something The party is at whose house? Whose is also a possessive relative pronoun Olivia, whose party it is, invited all of her friends.
Would’ve vs. Would of	Would’ve—contraction for would have Brian would’ve finished his homework, but his dog ate the instructions. Would of is NOT actually proper grammar…it is always incorrect
You’re vs. Your	You’re—contraction for you are You’re going to be late. Your—a possessive pronoun Your books are on the table.

How Will the Test Try to Trick You?
The test will include two-part questions in which you’ll select a pair of answers. It can be tricky when one part of the pair is correct but the other demonstrates incorrect diction, especially when it’s a commonly confused word.	They hoped their contribution would have a positive affect on the program. NO CHANGE there; NO CHANGE NO CHANGE; effect they’re; effect

Tips and Strategies

If the word is a contraction, convert to the full words and determine whether those are actually appropriate for the sentence.
Check which part of speech the word is and determine whether that is correct or whether a different part of speech is needed.
For commonly confused words, remind yourself of each word’s definition and ask which makes the most sense.

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