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Class 8 English — Words that are easy to confuse

Choose correctly between words that sound alike or look alike — accept and except, affect and effect, advice and advise, its and it's, lose and loose.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Put the steps of choosing between two words that look alike in the right order.

    • Last, read the finished sentence back to be sure it still makes sense.
    • Then check which of the two spellings carries that meaning.
    • Next, decide whether the gap needs a naming word or a doing word.
    • First, read the whole sentence and work out what the word has to mean there.

  2. 2.Write "than" or "then": "First we ate, and ____ we walked home."

  3. 3.Write "weather" or "whether": "I do not know ____ the train will be on time."

  4. 4.Everyone in the class came ____ Ravi, who was ill at home.

    • a) except
    • b) exept
    • c) expect
    • d) accept

  5. 5.Which sentence is correct?

    • a) It's been raining since morning.
    • b) Its been raining since morning.
    • c) Its' paw was hurt.
    • d) The cat licked it's paw.

  6. 6.Match each word to its meaning.

    • stationary
    • stationery
    • principal
    • principle
    • desert
    • dessert
    • paper, pens and envelopes
    • standing still
    • a dry, sandy land
    • the head of a school
    • a rule you live by
    • the sweet course at the end of a meal

  7. 7.Sort each sentence by the word that belongs in its gap.

    Groups: there · their · they're

    • Put the box over ____ by the door.
    • Is ____ any milk left?
    • I cannot find ____ address anywhere.
    • The children left ____ bags on the bus.
    • ____ going to be late again.
    • ____ waiting outside the gate.

  8. 8.Sort each word by whether it names a thing or does an action.

    Groups: A noun — a thing · A verb — an action

    • effect
    • belief
    • advise
    • believe
    • advice
    • affect

Answer key — Class 8 English — Words that are easy to confuse

  1. 1. 1. First, read the whole sentence and work out what the word has to mean there. 2. Next, decide whether the gap needs a naming word or a doing word. 3. Then check which of the two spellings carries that meaning. 4. Last, read the finished sentence back to be sure it still makes sense.
  2. 2. then
  3. 3. whether
  4. 4. a) except
  5. 5. a) It's been raining since morning.
  6. 6. stationary → standing still; stationery → paper, pens and envelopes; principal → the head of a school; principle → a rule you live by; desert → a dry, sandy land; dessert → the sweet course at the end of a meal
  7. 7. The children left ____ bags on the bus. → their; Put the box over ____ by the door. → there; ____ waiting outside the gate. → they're; I cannot find ____ address anywhere. → their; Is ____ any milk left? → there; ____ going to be late again. → they're
  8. 8. effect → A noun — a thing; affect → A verb — an action; advice → A noun — a thing; advise → A verb — an action; belief → A noun — a thing; believe → A verb — an action