Synonyms & Antonyms • Topic 4 of 4

Commonly Confused Words

Pairs that sound or look alike trip candidates: 'affect' (verb) vs 'effect' (noun); 'principal' (head/main) vs 'principle' (a rule); 'stationary' (not moving) vs 'stationery' (writing materials). Learn each pair with a one-line memory cue.

The classic confused pairs

PairMeaningMemory cue
affect / effectverb (influence) / noun (result)"Affect = Action (verb)"
principal / principlehead, main / a rule"the principal is your pal"
stationary / stationerynot moving / writing material"stationery = envelope"
complement / complimentcompletes / praise"compliment = ego boost"
accept / exceptto receive / leaving out"except = exclude"
These appear as fill-in items too. "The rain will ___ the match" needs affect (verb). Decide the part of speech first (noun or verb?), and the pair resolves itself.

✅ Solved examples

1. Affect or effect: "The rain will ___ the match."
Affect (verb = to influence).
2. Principal or principle: "Honesty is a good ___."
Principle (a rule/value).
3. Stationary or stationery: "He bought pens from the ___ shop."
Stationery (writing materials).
4. Complement or compliment: "She paid him a nice ___."
Compliment (praise).

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. Their / there / they're: "___ going home." (contraction)
They are.
—
—
They're
2. Accept or except: "I ___ your offer."
To receive.
—
—
Accept
3. Advice or advise: "Let me ___ you." (verb)
Verb form.
—
—
Advise
4. Loose or lose: "Don't ___ your keys."
To misplace.
—
—
Lose
5. Principal or principle: "The school ___ spoke."
Head person.
—
—
Principal

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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