LEARN A WORD A DAY

Thursday, May 26, 2011

CONFUSING WORDS


abdicate / abrogate
To abdicate means that a monarch resigns from office, e.g. The king abdicated in favour of his son.
The word abrogate means to end an official agreement or law.
accede / exceed
To accede to a request is to agree to it;
to exceed  something is to go over/above a specific limit in terms of such things as speed or quantity.
accept / except
We accept something when we agree to take it.
except points out someone or something that is different. We all agreed except for John.
adjacent / adjoining
Adjacent means nearby
adjoining means directly connected.
advice / advise
Advice is a noun (She gave him some good advice.)
the second is a verb (I advise you to.....).
affect / effect
Affect relates to someone or something having an influence: His illness affected him badly.
effect concerns the result of something. The effect of the stock market crash was disastrous.
afflict / inflict
Something bad afflicts someone (He was afflicted by malaria.).
Someone inflicts themselves or something else on someone. (The Australians inflicted a stunning defeat on the English cricket team.)
aggravate / exacerbate
Aggravate means to annoy someone, probably in an on-going way not just one-off;
exacerbate means to make a situation worse.
beside / besides
beside: preposition meaning 'next to', 'at the side of'
Examples:
I sit beside John in class.
Could you get me that book? It's beside the lamp.
besides: adverb meaning 'also', 'as well'; preposition meaning 'in addition to'
Examples:
(adverb) Besides tennis, I play soccer and basketball.
(preposition) That is a beautiful lamp beside the table.
clothes / cloths
clothes: something you wear - jeans, shirts, blouses, etc.
Examples:
Just a moment, let me change my clothes.
Tommy, get your clothes on!
cloths: pieces of material used for cleaning or other purposes.
Examples:
There are some cloths in the closet. Use those to clean the kitchen.
I have a few pieces of cloth that I use.
dead / died
dead: adjective meaning 'not alive'
Examples:
Unfortunately, our dog has been dead for a few months.
Don't touch that bird. It's dead.
died: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to die'
Examples:
His grandfather died two years ago.
A number of people have died in the accident.
experience / experiment
experience: noun meaning something that a person lives through, i.e. something that someone experiences. - also used as an uncountable noun meaning 'knowledge gained by doing something'
Examples:
(first meaning)His experiences in Germany were rather depressing.
(second meaning) I'm afraid I don't have much sales experience.
experiment: noun meaning something that you do to see the result. Often used when speaking about scientists and their studies.
Examples:
They did a number of experiments last week.
Don't worry it's just an experiment. I'm not going to keep my beard.
felt / fell
felt: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to feel'
Examples:
I felt better after I had a good dinner.
He hasn't felt this well for a long time.
fell: past tense of the verb 'to fall'
Examples:
He fell from a tree and broke his leg.
Unfortunately, I fell down and hurt myself.
female / feminine
female: the sex of a woman or animal
Examples:
The female of the species is very aggressive.
The question 'female or male' means 'are you a woman or a man'.
feminine: adjective describing a quality or type of behaviour that is considered typical for a woman
Examples:
He's an excellent boss with a feminine intuition.
The house was decorated in a very feminine manner.
its / it's
its: possessive determiner similar to 'my' or 'your'
Examples:
Its color is red.
The dog didn't eat all of its food.
it's: Short form of 'it is' or 'it has'
Examples:
(it is) It's difficult to understand him.
(it has) It's been a long time since I had a beer.
idle / idol
If you are idle, you are lazy and inactive.
An idol is something that is loved or worshipped. She was my idol. I worshipped her.
illegal / illicit
illegal means that something is against the law.
illicit refers to an action which may be against the law or it may simply be not generally acceptable in terms of general social norms.
lay / lie
lay: verb meaning 'to put down flat' - past tense - laid, past participle - laid
Examples:
He laid his pencil down and listened to the teacher.
I usually lay my pies on the shelf to cool.
lie: verb meaning 'to be down' - past tense -lay (be careful!), past participle - lain
Examples:
The girl lay on the bed asleep.
lose / loose
lose: verb meaning 'to misplace'
Examples:
I lost my watch! Have you ever lost anything valuable?
loose: adjective meaning the opposite of 'tight'
Examples:
Your trousers are very loose!
I need to tighten this screw. It's loose.
male / masculine
male: the sex of a man or animal
Examples:
The male of the species is very lazy.
The question 'female or male' means 'are you a woman or a man'.
masculine: adjective describing a quality or type of behaviour that is considered typical for a man
Examples:
She's a very masculine woman.
His opinions are just too masculine for me.
price / prize
price: noun - what you pay for something.
Examples:
The price was very cheap.
What's the price of this book?
prize: noun - an award
Examples:
He won a prize as best actor.
Have you ever won a prize in a competition?
principal / principle
principal: adjective meaning 'the most important'
Examples:
The principal reason for my decision was the money.
What are the principal irregular verbs?
principle: a rule (usually in science but also concerning morals)
Examples:
It's the first principle of aerodynamics.
He has very loose principles.
quite / quiet
quite: adverb of degree meaning 'very' or 'rather'
Examples:
This test is quite difficult.
He was quite exhausted after the long journey.
quiet: adjective meaning the opposite of loud or noisy
Examples:
Could you please be quiet?!
She's a very quiet girl.
sensible / sensitive
sensible: adjective meaning 'having common sense' i.e. 'not stupid'
Examples:
I wish you would be more sensible about things.
I'm afraid you aren't being very sensible.
sensitive: adjective meaning 'to feel very deeply' or 'to hurt easily'
Examples:
You should be careful with David. He's very sensitive.
Mary is a very sensitive woman.
shade / shadow
shade: protection from the sun, a dark area outside on a sunny day.
Examples:
You should sit in the shade for a while.
It's too hot. I'm going to find some shade.
shadow: the dark area created by something else on a sunny day.
Examples:
That tree casts a large shadow.
Have you every noticed your shadow getting longer as it gets later in the day?
some time / sometimes
some time: refers to an indefinite time in the future
Examples:
Let's meet for coffee some time.
I don't know when I'll do it - but I will do it some time.
sometimes: adverb of frequency meaning 'occasionally'
Examples:
He sometimes works late.
Sometimes, I like eating Chinese food.

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Collection of SPM English Language Question Papers

2005
Terengganu Trial [Paper 1]

2007
Johor Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Terengganu Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Pahang Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2] [Answers], Melaka Trial 2007 [Paper 1] [Paper 2], TIMES [Paper 1] [Paper 2] SPB [Paper 1] [Paper 2]

2008

Terengganu Mid Year [Paper 1] [Paper 2],
Trial
MRSM Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], SBP Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Kelantan Trial [Paper 1 & 2], Terengganu Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Kedah Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Pahang Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Johor Trial [Paper 1 & 2], Perlis Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Sabah Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Sarawak Trial [Paper 1 & 2], Melaka Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2]

2009

Terengganu TOV [Paper 1] [Paper 2] Terengganu Mid Year [Paper 1] [Paper 2]
Melaka Trial , Johor Trial , Sabah Trial , Kedah Trial , Perlis Trial , Times , SBP , Pahang Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2]