Commonly Misused Words

1. Accept / except

1. accept is to willingly receive and is a verb, and except is to exclude and is used as a preposition

1. Affect / effect

1. affect is a verb that means to cause a change, while effect is a noun that means result

1. Allusion / illusion

1. allusion is an inderect reference to another work, while an illusion is a false appearance that is a deception

1. Among / between

1. among is for 3+ items, while between is with two things

1. Bad / badly

1. bad is an adjective that follows a linking verb that means of poor quality, while badly is an adverb that means unsatisfactory or unsuccessful

1. Cite / sight / site

1. cite is to give information from a source by quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing, while a sight is the act of seeing or something that is seen. A “site” is a place

1. Everyday / every day

1. everyday is an adjective that means “ordinary,” while every day, an adverb, is something that happens on a daily basis

1. Fewer / less

1. fewer is used for things or people that can be counted, while less refers to something that cannot be counted

1. Its / it’s

1. it’s is a contraction for “it is,” while its is anything except for it is, including the possessive form of “it”

1. Loose / lose

1. loose is an adjective for something that is not securely fastened, while lose is a verb that means to misplace or be missing something

1. Than / then

1. that is a a conjunction that is used for contrast or comparing, while then is an adverb used to indicate a sequence, as in something to do next or refers to a time (“see you then!”)

1. That / who

1. use “that” as a pronoun when referring to a specific thing; use “who” as a pronoun when referring to a specific person

1. Their / there / they’re

1. their signifies possession, there is a place, they’re is a contraction for they are

1. Weather / whether

1. weather refers to the atmospheric conditions, while whether is a choice between two different options

1. Who / whom

1. use who where you would use “he” or “she” or “whoever,” and use whom where you would use “him” or “her”

1. Who’s / whose

1. who’s is a contraction a for who is, while whose is a possessive pronoun

1. Your / you’re

1. your is a possessive pronoun, while you’re is a contraction for “you are”