B. Foundations of Language · Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

Commonly Confused Words

B2.1 B2.2 D2.6About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can tell the difference between words that look or sound almost alike, like accept and except.
I can use word parts and parts of speech to choose the right word.
I can use memory tricks for tricky pairs.
I can proofread for confused words that a spell-checker might miss.

Words to know

commonly confused words
Words that look or sound almost the same but have different meanings and spellings.

noun
A word that names a person, place, thing or idea.

verb
A word that shows an action or a state of being.

proofread
To read your writing carefully to find and fix mistakes.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you learned homophones, words that sound exactly the same, like hear/here and threw/through.

In Grade 5 you'll meet words that are almost the same. They sound a little different, or they're spelled almost the same, so writers mix them up all the time. Spell-checkers usually can't catch these mistakes, because both words are real words. You need to be the detective.

Pair	Meanings	Clue
accept / except	to take or agree to / leaving out	ex- means out: except leaves something out.
than / then	comparing / time, next	then and when both have e and are about time.
affect / effect	to change something (verb) / the result (noun)	Affect is an Action. Effect is the End result.
lose / loose	to not win or to misplace / not tight	loose has two o's, like a loose, baggy pair of socks.
quiet / quite	not noisy / very, completely	quiet ends in -et, like pet: a quiet pet.
desert / dessert	a dry place / sweet food after a meal	dessert has two s's because you want seconds of something sweet.
breath / breathe	air (noun) / to take in air (verb)	The e on the end makes the verb, and the ea says /ee/.
all ready / already	completely ready / before now	If you can say completely ready, write all ready.

Commonly confused pairs

Desert has one s, like a single grain of sand. Dessert has two s's, because you always want seconds.

Use the job of the word

Many of these pairs are a noun and a verb. Ask: Is it a thing, or an action?

Take a deep breath. (a thing: noun)
Remember to breathe. (an action: verb)
Cold weather can affect my car battery. (action: verb)
The cold had a big effect on the battery. (thing: noun. Notice a big in front of it!)

If you can put a, an or the in front, it's usually a noun.

An action affects something, and the end result is an effect. Words like a or the in front are a clue that you need the noun.

Worked example

Let's choose: affect or effect?

The snowstorm had a strong ______ on our travel plans.

Is the word an action or a thing? Look at the words in front: a strong. That means it's a thing (a noun).
The noun is the End result: effect.
Check: The snowstorm had a strong result on our plans. Makes sense!

effect

Worked example

Let's choose: than or then?

Lake Superior is bigger ______ Lake Ontario.

Is this about time or comparing?
bigger compares two lakes. Comparing words use than.
Then would mean next, which doesn't fit.

than: Lake Superior is bigger than Lake Ontario.

Just for fun

Spell stressed backwards and you get desserts. Coincidence? We think not.

Proofreading for confused words

Make a short list of the pairs you mix up most.
When you edit, use the computer's Find tool (often Ctrl + F, or Command + F on a Mac) to search for each word, like then. Check every one.
On paper, read slowly and point at each word. Stop at any word on your list and test it with its clue.

Hands-on activity

Confused-words card game

You need: 16 index cards (or paper squares) and a pencil. Play with a family member.

On each card write one word from the table: accept, except, than, then, affect, effect, lose, loose, quiet, quite, desert, dessert, breath, breathe, all ready, already.
Lay the cards face up.
Your partner says a sentence with a blank, like "I hope we don't ___ the game."
Race to grab the right card (lose) and say the clue that proves it.
Switch roles. Then make up your own tricky sentences.

Your turn

Choose: Everyone came to the rink (accept / except) Jordan, who was sick.

Choose: First we shovel the driveway, and (than / then) we drink hot chocolate.

Choose: My skate laces are too (lose / loose).

Choose: The library was very (quiet / quite).

Choose: For (desert / dessert) we had blueberry pie.

Choose: It's so cold I can see my (breath / breathe).

Choose: Lack of sleep can (affect / effect) how well you learn.

More practice: warm-up

Which word means not tight: lose or loose?

Which word is for comparing: than or then?

Which is the dry, sandy place: desert or dessert?

Which means very: quiet or quite?

Which is the verb: breath or breathe?

More practice: on your own

Choose and explain: I (accept / except) your invitation to the powwow.

Choose and explain: We were (all ready / already) to go, so we left early.

Fix the sentence: If we loose this game, we will be out of the playoffs.

Choose and explain: The new playground had a positive (affect / effect) on our school.

Why can't a spell-checker catch I ate more then you?

Challenge

Fix the four mistakes: Its quite cold in the dessert at night, so I take a deep breathe and except the challenge.

Write one sentence that uses both affect and effect correctly.

except and accept both have the root cept (take). Explain how the prefixes make the meanings different.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which sentence is correct?

Which word means the result?

Which sentence is correct?

Why might a spell-checker miss quite when you meant quiet?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (B2.1, B2.2, D2.6): Grade 5 students use word meanings and morphemes (ex- = out in except) to spell, and they edit for errors that spell-checkers miss. Commonly confused pairs are a leading cause of errors in upper-elementary writing.

How to help at home:

Help your child build a personal list of three or four pairs they mix up, and check for just those when editing.
Use the noun/verb test: "Can you put the in front of it?"
Make silly sentences together: The dessert in the desert melted!

Common difficulties:

affect/effect. For Grade 5, affect = verb, effect = noun is the right rule of thumb. (There are rare exceptions adults use; they aren't needed now.)
lose/loose. Saying them aloud helps: lose rhymes with shoes, loose rhymes with goose.
then/than in comparisons (more then). Ask: "Are you comparing?"