Affect or Effect?
Word Pairs that Confuse ESL Students
Affect and effect are two of the English language’s most commonly confused words. The pronunciation of these words is almost identical, yet they are spelled differently and have different meanings. Using affect instead of effect may seem like a minor error but it can impact negatively on the credibility of the author. For students, it’s amazing how often effect and affect are used in reports, theses and manuscripts… if the research has been undertaken, these words are likely to occur frequently in the writeup.
Affect and effect are examples of homophones.
Homophones are words that are spelled differently but pronounced the same. The English language has many homophones. Some homophones can be particularly challenging.
Here are six of the most confusing homophones that perplex ESL students and native English speakers alike.
Affect and effect
Perhaps the most commonly confused homophonic words are affect and effect.
Affect is usually a verb and means to influence or change.
The rain will effect the rate at which the plants grow.
Will the number of people in the study effect the results?
We investigated the effect gender had on employment status.
Effect is usually a noun and means the result of an action or change.
The study had an effect on the happiness levels of the participants.
The medication had a beneficial effect.
The effect occurred immediately.
Your and you’re
You’re is contraction. It is the short way of writing you are.
I know you’re going out for dinner tonight.
You’re being very helpful on this project.
Hopefully you’re going to succeed.
Your is a possessive adjective. In a sentence, it comes before a noun and is used to show ownership. It tells the reader who the noun belongs to.
The dog is eating your food.
Your house is bigger than mine.
Thank you for your feedback.
Then and than
Then can be used as an adjective, adverb or noun. Then indicates time or consequence and is used to show the order of things happening.
I’ll eat my dinner and then have dessert.
Since then, he has been much happier.
Let’s go to the park first and then go shopping.
Than is a conjunction. It is used to make comparisons.
He is taller than me.
I like biology more than physics.
Your car is better than mine.
Accept and Except
Accept is a verb. It means to take or receive something, or to agree to something.
The teacher accepted the award.
I accept the results of the study.
He was accepted into the university course.
Except is a conjunction or preposition. It means but, or to exclude.
I don’t enjoy any sports except cricket.
Everything is packed in the car except for the bikes.
He’s travelled to every continent except Europe.
Their, There and They’re
There is usually used as a pronoun or adverb.
As a pronoun, there introduces the subject of a sentence or clause.
There is going to be a test.
There is a long way to go.
There will be five students in the class.
As an adverb, there means in or at that place. There is the opposite of here.
Please stand over there by the red car.
The teacher is already there.
He went there before breakfast.
Their is a possessive pronoun which means belonging to them.
Their book was left on the table.
The parents and their children played at the park.
They went home to their house.
They’re is a contraction. It is short for they are.
They’re going on holiday.
If we don’t go to the concert, they’re going to resell our tickets.
They’re waiting for us to arrive.
Compliment and Complement
Compliment is an expression of praise or admiration. It can be used as a noun or a verb.
Please give my compliments to the chef.
I received many compliments on my presentation.
The teacher complimented the student on the quality of her work.
Complement means that something enhances or completes something else.
The wine complements the food well.
Your necklace complements your outfit.
Blue paint will complement the landscape.