کلمات گیج کننده ی انگلیسی

Confusing English Words!

Hello! I’m Emma from mmmEnglish! There are plenty of English words that confuse you because they look similar, they sound similar. I know because when I was at school and I was learning English, I also found these words really confusing. Lots of native speakers find these pairs of words confusing! In fact, this lesson will be useful for you if you’re learning English as a second language or if you are a native English speaker, you might even be reminded about some spelling mistakes that you’re making.

Because these words can be kind of tricky! In this lesson today, I’m going to share some pairs of words that are often confused because they look similar and they sound similar. Words like ‘advice’ and ‘advise’, ‘accept’ and ‘except’, ‘aloud’ and ‘allowed’, ‘all together’ ‘altogether’, ‘along’ ‘a long’, ‘desert’ ‘dessert’, ‘principal’ ‘principle’, ‘complement’ ‘compliment’. Confusing, huh? Like I said native English speakers often confuse these words as well, so don’t worry, we are going to fix these problems right here, right now in this lesson!

As usual, I’ve made you a worksheet that you can download to practice what you learn in this lesson but you’ll have to watch until the end to find out how to get it! Imagine how thrilled you’re going to be when you notice a native English speaker misspelling one of the words that you’re about to learn today! And you will get the chance to correct them! Okay, enough with the chitchat! Let’s get on with the lesson! ‘Aloud’ and ‘Allowed’ These two words are pronounced in exactly the same way. ‘Aloud’ means to speak out loud. ‘I’m speaking aloud right now!’

‘Read that paragraph aloud so that the rest of the class can hear you!’ ‘Allowed’ is the past tense form of the verb ‘allow’ but it’s also an adjective that shows permission. ‘You are allowed to bring a small bag with you.’ ‘You are not allowed to wear shoes inside the house.’ ‘You are not allowed to speak aloud!’ ‘Complement’ and ‘Compliment’. Both of these words are pronounced in the same way but ‘complement’ with an ‘e’ is the verb and it’s used to show that something goes well with something else, when it adds to or it improves something else.

‘That hat really complements the dress you’re wearing. They look good together.’ ‘What type of cheese is this? It really complements the flavours of the fruit.’ ‘We chose plants that would complement each other. They really suit each other.’ ‘Compliment’ with an ‘i’ is the one that you probably are most familiar with. It’s the noun that we use when you say something nice to someone. You pay someone a compliment. ‘I want to compliment you on your performance, you did a really good job.’

‘I don’t take compliments very well. I get really shy and embarrassed and try to change the subject.’ ‘Though I don’t often give compliments, those shoes really complement your outfit!’ ‘All together’ and ‘altogether’ These words are pronounced exactly the same but you’re focusing on the spelling here. We’ve got two words versus one. ‘All together’ means all in the same place, at one time. ‘Let’s meet at the roller coaster at 12 - we want to ride it all together!’ ‘Altogether’ is an adverb that means completely. ‘I’m a vegetarian, now. I’ve stopped eating meat altogether!’

‘The public transport system in Melbourne is so good! Some people have stopped driving their cars altogether!’ ‘Altogether’ can also be used to summarize a point. ‘Altogether, I think it’s a good decision for the company.’ Oh! ‘Altogether’ can also mean ‘in total’. ‘Altogether, you’ll pay $3,000 for your flights and accommodation.’ ‘Altogether you’ll pay $5,000 if you travel all together.’ ‘Desert’ and ‘dessert’. There is a slight pronunciation difference here and it’s simply a matter of syllable stress.

In ‘desert’, the stressed syllable is the first syllable. In ‘dessert’, the second syllable is the stressed syllable. Both of these words are nouns. ‘Desert’ is an area of land that doesn’t have much water. ‘If you drive from Melbourne across Australia to Perth, you have to drive through the desert.’ ‘Dessert’ is of course, cakes, ice creams, sweets. It’s the meal that follows a main meal like dinner or even lunch! ‘If you don’t finish your dinner, you won’t get your dessert!’

I’m sure every parent, no matter what language tells their children that. ‘My favorite dessert is Tiramisu!’ ‘Dessert’ can also be a verb. It sounds like ‘dessert’ but it’s spelt like ‘desert’. So ‘dessert’ can also be a verb and it means to leave someone alone or abandon them. ‘Principle’ and ‘principal’. These two words used to confuse me all the time! ‘Principal’, ‘principal’ is a noun and also an adjective. As a noun it is the head of a school and I remember my grade four teacher always telling me to remember that the principal is your pal, your friend.

But ‘principal’ can also mean important or significant when it’s used as an adjective. ‘Our principal concern is the safety of the children.’ So here, ‘principal’ means most important. ‘I have a meeting with the school principal this afternoon.’ ‘Principle’ is only a noun and it’s a truth, a law or a rule that shapes how something is done. ‘There are three main environmental principles that shaped this project.’ You might also hear expressions like he’s a man or she’s a woman ‘of principle’, which means that they always do the right thing. They always do what is morally right or morally correct.

‘We need to protect the community, it’s a matter of principle.’ ‘It’s the right thing to do.’ ‘Along’ and ‘a long’. They sound exactly the same, though again, we’re looking at spelling here. Two words versus one. ‘Along’ is an adverb or a preposition and it means to move along something (horizontally) on a flat surface like this. ‘It’s such a nice night tonight! Let’s go for a walk along the river.’ ‘Can I bring my friend along?’ You’ve also heard it in the phrasal verb ‘get along’.

To ‘get along’ with someone. So that means to have a good relationship with them. ‘A long’ is a little different here because long is an adjective that refers to the length of something either in distance or in time. ‘A’ is an article here, used with the noun that follows the adjective ‘long’. So here, ‘long’ is an adjective and the singular article ‘a’ can be used only with a countable noun. ‘A long day.’ ‘A long trip.’ ‘A long road.’ ‘It’s been such a long journey.’ ‘There is a long list of names on the board.’ ‘I walked along a long, windy road!’ ‘Advise’ and ‘Advice’.

Can you hear the difference in pronunciation between the two words? They’re very similar. ‘Advise’ and ‘advice’. The difference is in the final consonant sound Very slight. ‘Advice’ is a noun. It’s when your friend has a problem and you offer them a suggestion about how to solve the problem or what they should do to fix the problem. You are offering a piece of advice. It’s a noun, an uncountable noun, so it’s always ‘advice’. Not ‘advices’! But people often ask for advice when they want some recommendations or some suggestions about how to deal with the situation.

It might be about a relationship, a job, children, school, even a way to manage your boss at work. ‘Hey, can I ask your advice?’ ‘I’ve got a piece of advice for you!’ ‘I always listen to my dad’s advice.’ ‘Advise’ is a verb. And it’s the action of recommending or suggesting something to someone else, usually because you’ve had some experience dealing with that that situation before. ‘I need someone to advise me on the subjects I need to complete for my course.’

‘The flight attendant will advise you where your nearest exit is.’ And an ‘advisor’ is the noun for someone who advises you or they give suggestions and recommendations to you. OK what about ‘accept’ and ‘except’? These words are very very similar but there is a tiny, tiny difference in pronunciation in the first vowel sound. In ‘accept’, it’s the lazy schwa sound ‘Accept’ For ‘except’, it’s ‘Except’. Very, very slight.

You can almost hardly hear the difference! ‘Accept’ is a verb and it describes the action of agreeing to receive something or do something. ‘You need to accept the Terms and Conditions.’ ‘You’ve been so generous already. We can’t accept any more money from you.’ ‘The police told me that the case was closed. But I just can’t accept it.’ ‘Except’ is a conjunction or a preposition and it means ‘not including’. ‘I walk the dog every day except Tuesdays, because I work late.’ ‘I’ve been to every country in Southeast Asia, except Cambodia.’ ‘I love food! I’ll eat anything! Except oysters, yuk!’ OK well I hope you found that useful!