Commonly Confused Words: Part One

Commonly Confused Words: Part One

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is Everyday Grammar.

Ashley: Before we get started today, Adam, I wanted to ask you about your weekend at home!

Adam: It was great, thanks! But the drive was a little tiring. Chicago is a lot further away than I thought.

Ashley: Sorry, you mean...Chicago is a lot farther² away than you thought.

Adam: Yes, that is what I said.

Ashley: No, you said “further.” In American English, “further” is usually used for non-physical or figurative distances. “Farther” is the correct word when talking about actual physical distance - or distance that you can measure.  

Adam: Non-physical distances? Can you give me an example?

Ashley: Sure. If you cannot decide on which presidential candidate³ to support, you might look further into their positions on important issues. Here there is no actual, measurable distance.

Adam: Okay, I guess that makes sense. 

Farther and further are words that English learners - and even native English speakers - often confuse. The English language is full of commonly confused words. These words may sound the same but mean different things. Or maybe, they are spelled the same but mean different things.

Let’s look at some of these commonly confused words.?

Farther and Further

We will start with the two words we just mentioned: farther and further. The word farther is usually used as an adverb. In American English, we say farther when talking about a physical, measurable distance. For example, “We walked farther than we had planned.”

The word further has several meanings. It can be used as an adverb, adjective⁴, and even a verb. As an adverb, further means “to a greater extent⁵.” For example, “The scientists are looking further into the new research.”

As an adjective, further means “more or additional⁶.” For example, “Further research is needed to reach a conclusion.” Notice how there is no physical, measurable distance in these examples.

Further can also be a verb. In its verb form, it means “to help the progress of something.” For example, you might hope to “further your career” by learning English. In other words, you hope learning English will help you advance your career. Again, there is no physical, measurable distance.

Lose and Loose

Our second set of commonly confused words is lose and loose. These are words that even native English speakers confuse. Lose [L-O-S-E] is a verb. Lose has several meanings. It can mean “to be unable to find.” You might tell a forgetful friend, “Don’t lose your keys again!”

Lose can also mean “to fail to win something.” For example, “People expected the team to lose the football game.”

It can also mean “to have less and less of something over time.” If someone is looking smaller than before, you might ask, “Did you lose weight?”

The word loose, [L-O-O-S-E] is usually used as an adjective. Notice that loose ends with a strong “s” sound, while lose, the verb, ends with a “z” sound. Loose has no relation to lose. Loose means “not tight, secure⁷, or attached.” For example, you can have a “loose tooth”, “loose clothing,” or “loose pieces of paper.” Loose can also mean “not exact.” For example, if you try to very quickly translate something from your native language to English, you might be writing a “loose translation.”

Accept and Except

Another set of commonly confused words is accept and except. Although they are spelled differently, many American English speakers pronounce these words in almost the same way. But, these two words are not interchangeable.

Accept [A-C-C-E-P-T] is a verb. To accept means to receive or take something that is offered. For example, if a company offers you a new job, you will probably accept their offer.

Except [E-X-C-E-P-T] can be used as a preposition⁸, conjunction⁹ or a verb. In general, it means “not including.” For example, the post office is open every day except Sunday.

Here’s an example of accept and except in the same sentence.

“This machine accepts all coins except pennies.”

As a verb, except [E-X-C-E-P-T] means “left out.” It is used in formal speech. You might say “Women were excepted from the study.” As verbs, accept and except have almost opposite meanings, making these two words all the more confusing.

And that’s Everyday Grammar for this week. Join us again next week as we take a look at more examples of commonly confused words.

Words in This Story 

figurative - adj. used with a meaning that is different from the basic meaning

extent - n. the range, distance, or space that is covered or affected by something or included in something

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

3 candidate   

n.候选人；候补者；投考者，申请求职者

参考例句：

• Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
• The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。

4 adjective   

n.形容词；adj.形容词的，用作形容词的

参考例句：

• Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
• The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。

5 extent   

n.程度，范围，限度；广度，宽度，大小

参考例句：

• The new race track is nearly six miles in extent. 这条新跑道将近六英里长。
• What's the extent of the damage? 损坏的程度如何?

6 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

7 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

8 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

9 conjunction   

n.联合，连接，接合；连接词

参考例句：

• Two or more sentences may be joined together by a conjunction.两个或两个以上的句子可以用连词连接。
• The conjunction of heavy rains and high winds caused flooding.暴风雨的同时发生引起了洪水泛滥。