DESERT, DESSERT

Desert is a noun meaning “a wilderness, a dry, barren sandy area”

The verb desert, meaning transitively “to leave or forsake”

Dessert is also homophonous with desert and desert, but it means “the sweet course served at the end of the meal”

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ITS, IT ’S

‘Its’ functions as a possessive. The dog wagged its tail.

It’s is the contraction of ‘it is’. It’s going to be great party.

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FIANCE / FIANCEE

The man a woman is going to marry is fiancé.

The woman a man is going to marry is fiancée.

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QUITE, QUIET

Quiet means ‘silent; noiseless’
‘Be quiet! Dad is sleeping’.

Quite means ‘completely’
This house is quite small.

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ALRIGHT, ALL RIGHT

Alright as an adverb meaning 'just, exactly' is considered obsolete.

All right is used to express acquiescence or assent and also in predicative use as 'satisfactory, acceptable'

It is not all right to use alright in place of all right in standard American English.

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LIE, LAY

1. Lie – lied – lied
To make an untrue statement with intent to deceive

Don’t lie!

2. Lie – lay – lain

To be or to stay at rest in a horizontal position

He was lying when he said that he didn't see anyone there.

You'll feel much better if you just lie down and rest for a while.

3. Lay – laid – laid

To put or set down

Lay your books on the table

The hens aren't laying any eggs this week.

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ACCEPT, EXCEPT

Accept ing is receiving. ‘He accepted the gift’

Except is usually a preposition meaning "but" or "leaving out.

‘All agreed to the plan except her’

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CONSCIOUS and CONSCIENCE

Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to self-awareness.

Conscience is a moral faculty that leads to feelings of regret when we do things that go against our moral values.

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APATHY, SYMPATHY, EMPATHY

Apathy means lack of interest, indifference.

Both empathy and sympathy are feelings concerning other people.

Sympathy – ‘ I understand what you feel’

Empathy – ‘I feel what you feel’

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UNINTERESTED, DISINTERESTED

Disinterested means "impartial" or "not taking sides”. A judge should be disinterested.

Uninterested means having no interest at all. ‘I am uninterested in what you say’.

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AIR, HEIR

The air we breathe.

Heir refers to one who is legally entitled to inherit and to own an estate after the previous owner’s death.

 

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SOW, SEW

 

Sow – putting seed in the ground or in soil. ‘Sow grass’

Sew – work with a needle and thread.

Note there is no change in pronunciation.

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SORE, SOAR

“Sore” which refers to aches, pains and wounds: sore feet

Soar means fly. ‘Soar like an eagle’

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BYTE, BITE

On almost all modern computers, a byte is equal to 8 bits. Large amounts of memory are indicated in terms of kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,048,576 bytes), and gigabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes).

Bite is the verb which means ‘to seize especially with teeth or jaws so as to enter, grip, or wound’.

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BESIDE, BESIDES

Besides means ‘in addition to’. ‘Besides being a singer, he was a dancer’

Beside means ‘by the side of’. ‘She sat beside me’

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ADVISE, ADVICE

Advice is noun; advise is the verb.

He doesn’t listen to my advice.

I advised him not to do it again.

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ALTOGETHER, ALL TOGETHER

Altogether means ‘completely’. ‘ I don’t altogether agree with her

All together means ‘in a group’. ‘We will say the poem all together’.

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ALL READY AND LAREADY

The meal is already on the table.

The meal is all ready for on the table.

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ALTERNATE AND ALTERNATIVE

Alternative means choice between two things.

I have no alternative but to stay in this small room.

Alternate means ‘first on, then the other, in turn’

We play cricket on alternate Wednesdays.

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EAGER, ANXIOUS

Eager is used to expect something pleasant. ‘I am very eager to meet my dad’

Anxious (uneasiness of mind) involves worry and fear. ‘He is very anxious about my son’s health’

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BREAK, BRAKE

When I dropped the glass, it broke. BREAK – BROKE - BROKEN

‘Brake’ is the device for reducing speed.

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CARAT, CARROT

Carrots are orange vegetables.

A carat is a unit of measure (two hundred milligrams) used in weighing precious stones

A karat is a unit of measure for specifying the pure gold.

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CHILDLIKE, CHILDISH

Childlike is used referring to adults to say ‘innocent or uncomplicated’.

Childish refers to immature behaviour of people.

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COMPLIMENT, COMPLEMENT

The noun compliment means “an expression of admiration” or ‘greetings’.

‘My compliments to your daughter’.

Complement is which makes something complete.

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COUNSEL, COUNCIL

Counsel pertains chiefly to advice and guidance in general.

Council group of persons elected to make rules and carry out plans

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EMIGRATE, IMMIGRATE

Emigrate means "to move out of" and immigrate means "to move into”.

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AFFECT, EFFECT

To affect something is to change or influence it.

The climate affected his health.

Effect is the result or outcome. The effect of heat upon the metal.

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EVERYDAY, EVERY DAY

Spelled as one word, everyday is standard as an adjective:

These are my everyday clothes.

The adjective-noun combination every day , as in

I meet him every day.

Can also serve as an adverb, as in I have lunch with them every day .

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FLAMMABLE, INFLAMMABLE

Meaning: that can burn easily.

Both the words mean the same thing.

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ALTOGETHER, ALL TOGETHER

“Altogether” is an adverb meaning “completely,” “entirely.”

For example: “When he first saw the examination questions, he was altogether baffled.”

“All together,” in contrast, is a phrase meaning “in a group.”

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ALL READY, ALREADY

“All ready” is a phrase meaning “completely prepared,” as in “As soon as I put my coat on, I’ll be all ready.”

“Already,” however, is an adverb used to describe something that has happened before a certain time, as in “I’ve already got my coat on.”

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GUARANTEE, WARRANTEE

Confused by the spelling of “guarantee,” people often misspell the related word “warrantee” rather than the correct “warranty.”

Although “guarantee” can be a verb (“we guarantee your satisfaction”), “warranty” is not.

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REMIND, REMEMBER

R emind – to help something to remember

i am sorry; I have forgotten your name. Can you remind me?

Remember – to keep an image in your memory of some event or person

I am John. Can you remember me?

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‘THERE AND THEIR 'YOUR AND YOU'RE' ?

Their and your are possessive forms used as modifiers before nouns. They basically mean 'belonging to them' and 'belonging to you', respectively: their problem, your idea .

You're is a contraction of 'you are'.

And there is a word functioning in various parts of speech, but basically referring to a place: Your umbrella is over there.

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MONOLOGUE and SOLILOQUY

In origin, the words are doublets: Greek monologue and Latin soliloquy both mean 'single speech'.

But they are now distinguished in performances with monologue as a speech made by one person in the company of others while a soliloquy is spoken by one person who is alone.

A monologue is a long speech delivered by one person who forgets or neglects the others who are there.

Hamlet's "To be or not to be" is a great example of a soliloquy .

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STATIONARY, STATIONERY

Stationary means 'fixed in one place and not moving'

Stationery means 'the paper and envelopes used for writing correspondence'.

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CORPORATION, PARTNERSHIP, LLC

A corporation is the name used in the United States for a business association established by one or more people who later sell shares in the corporation to investors.

In a partnership, there are one or more owners who share jointly in the profits, liabilities, etc., and these partners are personally liable for the debts.

There are also differences between a partnership and a 'limited liability company (LLC)', a 'general partnership', and a 'limited partnership'.

The main difference between a partnership and an 'LLC' is that partners are personally liable for any business debts of the partnership, while owners of an 'LLC' are not personally liable for the company's debts and liabilities.

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FOUNDED, FOUND

To start something, such as an organization or an institution, especially by providing money.

To found a club / company

Her family founded the college in 1895.

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FIND – FOUND – FOUND
He found his purse.