Commonly Misspelled / Misused Words Poster Template printable pdf download

COMMONLY

MISSPELLED

MISUSED

WORDS

EXCEPT

(verb) to receive

(conjunction) apart from; otherwise than; were it not true

accepted

except

all my birthday gifts with gratitude.

When Susan travels, she packs everything

the kitchen sink.

AFFECT

EFFECT

(verb) to have an effect on; influence;

(noun) anything brought about by a cause or agent; result

produce a change in; to stir the emotions

effect

The new speed limit law had little

on the speed

affected

The dog’s death

his owners.

of the motorists.

A LOT

ALLOT

;

(noun phrase) many

(verb) to distribute, give or assign

*”A lot” is always two separate

A lot

allotted

words. “Alot” is not a real word.

of people came to the party.*

Fifteen minutes were

to each of the speakers at the conference.

ALLUSION ILLUSION

(noun) an indirect reference

(noun) a false idea or conception; belief or opinion not in accord

with the facts; an unreal, deceptive, or misleading appearance or image

allusions

The Austin Powers movies often make

illusion

to the James Bond films.

The magician created the

that he was levitating.

AWHILE A WHILE

(noun) for a short time; when while is used as the object of the

(adverb) for a while; for a short time

preposition (for a while) then the “a” is separated from the “while”

awhile.

The guests planned to stay

a while.

The guests planned to stay for

BORROW

LEND

(verb) to take or accept something for a short time

(verb) to give something for a short time

with the intention of returning it to its rightful owner

with the intention of getting it back

borrow

lend

May I

a pencil, please?

Would you please

me a pencil?

CACHE

CASH

(noun) a safe place to store supplies;

(noun) money, coins, bills; currency

anything stored or hidden in such a place

cash

ATM machines dispense

cache

The hikers found a

with some cash and jewels.

DESERT DESSERT

(verb) to forsake or abandon;

(noun) a sweet course served at the end of a meal

o leave without permission; to fail when needed

dessert

Fruit makes a healthy

after lunch or dinner.

desert

Soldiers should not

their posts

(noun) dry, barren, sandy region

desert

The largest

in the world is the Sahara.

IT’S

ITS

(contraction) of it + is

(possessive pronoun) of, belonging to, made by, or done by it

It’s

its

a very strange dog.

The dog will only eat

food when I am also eating.

LOOSE

LOSE

(verb) to become unable to find; to mislay; to fail to win or gain

(adjective) not tight; giving enough room

lose

Did you

your glasses again?

loose.

I’ve lost twenty pounds, and now these jeans are really

lose

How many games did your team

last season?

PRINCIPAL PRINCIPLE

(noun) a fundamental truth, law, doctrine, or motivating force, upon

(noun) a governing or presiding officer, specifically of a school;

which others are based

(adjective) first in rank, authority, importance, degree, etc.

principles

principal

The student’s parents instilled moral

in their son.

The student’s parents had to have a meeting with the

STATIONARY STATIONERY

(noun) writing materials; specifically, paper and envelopes used for letters

(adjective) not moving or not movable; fixed or still

stationery

My grandmother has given me a lot of

over the years.

stationary

I rode the

bike at the gym for an hour.

I think she wants me to use it to write her.

THEIR

THERE

THEY’RE

(contraction) of they + are

(adjective) of, belonging to, made by,

(noun) that place or point

or done by them

there

They’re

Just put it over

going out to dinner tonight.

their

They were proud of

work.

TWO

TOO

(adjective) the number 2

(preposition) in the direction of and

(adverb) in addition; as well; besides; also; more than

reaching; as far as; to the extent of

enough; superfluously; overly; to a regrettable extent; extremely

two

I have

jobs.

too

I’m going

Baltimore.

I’m going to Baltimore,

; He’s

busy. He can’t go to Baltimore.

WHICH

THAT

(pronoun) a particular one or ones of those mentioned or implied

(pronoun) something indicated

Use which before a non-restrictive clause

Use that before a restrictive clause

(words you can change without changing the meaning of the sentence)

(words you can't change without changing the meaning of the sentence)

which

that

Grammar,

can be confusing, is key to learning English.

There is a question mark

clarifies the meaning.

Commonly Misspelled / Misused Words Poster Template

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