Making sense of commonly confused words

Making sense of commonly confused words

written by Lilian Ndongmo. ESL Teacher

For many learners, learning English is even more challenging when they come across certain words which make them feel confused and sometimes frustrated. These words usually have the following characteristics:

1. They have the same spelling and same pronunciation but different meaning

Example:  capital and capital

2. They have a slightly different spelling, meaning and pronunciation

Example: advice and advise

3. They have a slightly different spelling and pronunciation, but a completely different meaning.

Example: desert and dessert

4. They have a different spelling and meaning, but the same pronunciation

Example: president and precedent

Are you confused already?

We will be looking at many of such words in detail in our next posts. Visit us often to find out or get updates directly via email by subscribing (on the left sidebar).

Commonly confused words explained

(Click to view)

Complement and compliment