Accept, Except
accept – to receive or agree: “I accept this award for best student at TSTC.”
except – everything but: “I have seen all of the new episodes this season except the first one.”
Adapt/Adopt
adapt – make fit or adjust: "We need to adapt to the new technological requirements."
adopt – to accept one's own or choose: "We need to adopt new technology to keep up with client expectations."
Advice/Advise
advice – an opinion given on something or someone: "I took her advice and ate before the party."
advise – to give advice or notify: "I'd advise you to reconsider your options."
Affect, Effect
affect – to influence: “Not attending class will affect your grade.”
effect – noun, result or consequence: “Not attending class will have an effect on your grade.”
effect – verb, to bring about: “Attending class has effected a major change in your grade.”
Allusion, Illusion
allusion – an indirect reference: "My boss made an allusion to reduced hours after I said I couldn't come in on Friday."
illusion – a perception: "He is very direct and that creates an illusion that he is always angry."
Alright, All right
alright – a version of "all right" and is considered nonstandard English
all right – phrase, correct or yes: "I asked her if I could borrow her notes and she said said it was all right."
Could have, Should have, Would have
Use these forms instead of the non-existing forms: "could of, would of, should of" or "coulda, woulda, shoulda"
Lay, Lie
lay – to place something down: "Lay your pencils down and turn in your test."
lie – to recline: "I couldn't sleep so I just lay wide awake in bed."
It’s, Its
it's – a contraction for it is or it has: “It’s been one week since you looked at me.”
its – possessive: “The car has a dent in its right fender."
Supposed to
Don't omit the letter "d" in supposed: "There is supposed to be another website to help with this topic."
Than, Then
than – comparison word: “I would rather text than talk.”
then – sequential word: “If you read the homework, then the assignment should not be difficult.”
They’re, Their, There
they're –a contraction for they are: “They’re going to the game.”
their – possessive: “Their hamburgers are the best in town.”
there – a place: “Put the book over there.”
To, Two, Too
to – preposition: “I want to take you to the movies.”
two – number: “I saw two movies on Tuesday.”
too – also: “I want to go to the movies, too.”
Who's, Whose
who's – a contracted form of 'who is': "Who's in charge of this section?"
whose – the possessive form of the pronoun 'who': "Whose dog is this?"
Your, You’re
your – possessive: “Your ideas are the best.”
you’re – a contraction for you are: “You’re my best friend.”
i.e.
Latin, translates to ‘that is’.
“I love Wes Anderson movies, i.e., The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited.”
This sentence means that out of all of the Wes Anderson movies ever made only the ones listed here are the only ones I like.
e.g.
Latin, translate to ‘for example’.
““I love Wes Anderson movies, e.g., The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited.”
This sentence means that out of all of the Wes Anderson movies ever made the ones listed here are a few of his movies. There may be others that I like as well but this is just an example of some of his movies.