Merriam-Webster Top 10 confusing words - Set 1
Exercise 1 - Choose the correct options to fill the gaps.
1. | flouts, floats, flaunts   MW | |
She her rich new boyfriend to all her friends. | ||
He openly the law by using his mobile while driving.. | ||
He's into birdwatching. Well, whatever your boat, I suppose. | ||
2. | affect, effect   MW | |
How do you think this will our future. | ||
The cold weather has had a negative on farm production. | ||
The government are trying to a change in the way we use energy. | ||
3. | desserts, deserts   MW | |
The Sahara is one of the largest in the world. | ||
The robber got his just when he was given a long prison sentence. | ||
In restaurants they call them , but at home we say puddings. | ||
4. | station, stationery, stationary   MW | |
A vehicle is one that is not moving. | ||
A wagon is the American term for what we call an estate car in the UK. | ||
You can buy office stuff, like paper and pens, in a shop. | ||
5. | flack, flak, fleck   MW | |
You've got a of something on your jacket. | ||
The company has been taking a lot of from the press. | ||
He works in PR; he's some kind of for a record company. | ||
6. | it's, its   MW | |
The seaside town has lost some of Edwardian splendour. | ||
Well, been a lovely day, hasn't it? | ||
You do know her birthday today, don't you? | ||
7. | poor, pore, pour   MW | |
He likes to sit in his armchair and over the newspaper. | ||
Would you like me to you some more wine? | ||
You need to avoid spelling in your essays. | ||
8. | fewer, less   MW | |
There were than ten people there. | ||
It's than ten miles to the airport. Eight and a half at the most. | ||
We've got than one bag of sugar left. We better get some more. | ||
9. | floundered, founded, foundered   MW | |
They around, trying to make their way through the thick mud. | ||
The ship on the rocks during the heavy storm. | ||
The firm was in the 19th century. | ||
10. | principal, principle   MW | |
The reason we moved here is the stunning scenery around the house. | ||
I'm sorry, but I never work on 1st May. It's a matter of . | ||
Her husband has just been made of the school. |
Notes - Show my comments
Merriam-Webster Top 10 confusing words - Set 2
Exercise 2a - Here are some confusing pairs of verbs. Use them in the correct form to fill the gaps.
flesh out / flush out · compliment / complement · proceed / precede
accept / except · persecute / prosecute
accept / except · persecute / prosecute
1. | He felt they were him for being different from the others. | |
2. | We need to with caution here, there could be dangers ahead. | |
3. | The soldiers went from house to house, trying to any remaining terrorists. | |
4. | The college her into the top class due to her outstanding grades. | |
5. | The Queen always her husband out of the room. | |
6. | This full-bodied red wine the steak perfectly. | |
7. | OK, it looks as if we have the basis of a deal. We can the details later. | |
8. | He has been from attending the class this week because of family problems. | |
9. | He her on how well she had done in her exams. | |
10. | He was for driving without due care and attention. |
Exercise 2b - Here are some confusing pairs of words. Use them to fill the gaps.
1. | We waited expectantly for the scientist to start his talk. | |
2. | He could hear barking. They were apparently going to the dogs on him. | |
3. | Climbing the jagged and vertical rock face was a truly experience. | |
4. | He looked first at her at her sister. | |
5. | We can divide the process of making whisky into several steps. | |
6. | He waded into the river. That way he hoped the dogs would his scent. | |
7. | They slowly climbed the track up the mountain. | |
8. | We could see from the dark sky that a storm was . | |
9. | I hope you'll be about this; I don't want anyone else to know. | |
10. | He thought perhaps she was even more beautiful her sister. |
Notes - Show my comments
Merriam-Webster Online
When you've finished, I recommend that you go to Merriam-Webster and cycle through the two sets:
You can also see a complete catalogue of their 'Top 10 lists' here. And if you're feeling particularly brave, you could try their vocabulary quiz.
My other posts based on Merriam-Webster Top 10 lists
Related posts on confusing words
- Random quiz - confusing words
- lie, lay and lie
- rise, raise and arise
- Among and between
- as and like
- Relations, relatives and relationships
- A British perspective on further and farther
- Different, other, another, next
- There - adverb or introductory?
- care for, care about and take care of
- compare to or compare with
Nice blog and good
ReplyDelete