ASK A QUESTION Challenge: Commonly Confused English Words!
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Hi everyone!
Let's face it! Correct word usage in the English language can be challenging for even us natives. I have noticed that I have seen quite a lot of these common mistakes being made on this forum . This reinforces my idea that it must be taxing on those learning the English language to make the correct word choices. So this is the plan:
(We all could use a refresher on grammar and while we are at it we will be able to provide a great resource to those still learning English.)
Please share a pair or family of words that are commonly confused or misused or misspelled in place of each other:
Example:
bear: to withstand pain or an action inflicted upon you
bear: a hairy four-footed animal that hibernates
bare: When something is naked
bear: to make something apparent
`
bear: turn in a direction or close a distance
bare: not having any extra perks or decoration
So I challenge you to think of the last time you messed up in grammar or were confused by English grammar abuse and record it for posterity "never to happen again"!
(Okay, maybe more like "not to happen as much!")
46 Answers
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Compliment: A kind from of praise
Complement: to enhance or complete something else
Who: Subject Whom; object
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principal - used as a specific noun or adjective
principle - used as an abstract noun only
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loose: my clothes are too big
lose: I lost my clothes.
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mine (n): ore or minerals that can be extracted in the earth.
mine (n): an explosive devic. ex. Landmine
mine (pron): belonging to me. ex. The boy is mine (Monica)
mind (n): human consciousness. ex. My mind, my soul.
mind (v): to be careful about. ex. Mind your own business.
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its
it's
there
their
they're
your
you're
But I think of these as typos rather than grammar errors, because it's not that you don't know the difference, but you gloss over them when typing. Especially if your keyboard is setup for using the apostrophe key for making tildes. Sometimes if I don't hit the apostrophe key twice I don't get the mark.
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two - the number 2 - el numero
too - also - yo tambien = me, too
too much - demasiado
to - to the store = a la tienda
in an infinitive - to go = ir
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Personal= somethings that belongs or is special to you.
Personel= workforce.
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What about lay and lie and their tenses(and yes, I had to look some of these up
) 
lay - to place in a horizontal position
lie - to be in a horizontal position
lie - to say something untrue
You need to lie down today, yesterday you lay down, in the past you have lain down. You are lying down now.
Today, you lay the book on the table. Yesterday, you laid the book on the table. In the past, you have laid the book on the table. You are laying the book down now.
Did you lie to him? She lied to him. She had lied to him. She is lying to him.
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stationary - not moving, still
stationery - paper used for writing letters
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whether - conflicts in agreement “whether to leave or not“ weather - whats coming from the sky, ie. raining, snowing, etc etc
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