Similar Words but Different Meanings

Similar Words but Different Meanings

A lot of words are similar but with different meanings. It is almost impossible to avoid making mistakes in English, but if you can get your head around these explanations, you might be able to avoid making these mistakes.


 accept vs except

 Accept :

is a verb, which means to agree to take something .
For example: “I always accept good advice.

 Except :     
            
Is a preposition or conjunction, which means not including.
For example: “I teach every day except Sunday(s).

advice vs advise

 Advice:
 is a noun, which means an opinion that someone offers you about what you should do or how you should act in a particular situation. For example: “I need someone to give me some advice.”

 Advise :

is a verb, which means to give information and suggest types of action. For example: “I advise everybody to be nice to their teacher.”

 affect vs effect

Affect and effect are two words that are commonly confused.

 affect:

 is usually a verb (action)

 effect:

 is usually a noun (thing) Hint: If it’s something you’re going to do, use “affect.” If it’s something you’ve already done, use “effect.” To affect something or someone.

 alone / lonely

 Alone:

 can be used as an adjective or adverb. Either use means without other people or on your own. For example: “He likes living alone.” “I think we’re alone now.” = There are just the two of us here.

 Lonely:

 is an adjective which means you are unhappy because you are not with other people. For example: “The house feels lonely now that all the children have left home.”

 a lot / alot / allot

 A lot:

, meaning a large amount or number of people or things, can be used to modify a noun. For example: “I need a lot of time to develop this web site.” It can also be used as an adverb, meaning very much or very often. For example: “I look a lot like my sister.” It has become a common term in speech; and is increasingly used in writing.

 Alot:

does not exist! There is no such word in the English language. If you write it this way – imagine me shouting at you – “No Such Word!”

 Allot :

is a verb, which means to give (especially a share of something) for a particular purpose: For example: “We were allotted a desk each.”

 All ready vs Already

 All ready :

means “completely ready”. For example: “Are you all ready for the test?”

 Already :

is an adverb that means before the present time or earlier than the time expected. For example: “I asked him to come to the cinema but he’d already seen the film.” or “Are you buying Christmas cards already? It’s only September!”

 Altogether vs All together

 All together :

(adv) means “together in a single group.” For example: The waiter asked if we were all together.

 Altogether:

(adv) means “completely” or “in total “.
For example: She wrote less and less often, and eventually she stopped altogether.

 Any one vs Anyone

 Any one:

 means any single person or thing out of a group of people or things.

For example: I can recommend any one of the books on this site.

 Anyone:

 means any person. It’s always written as one word. For example: Did anyone see that man ?