Words likely to be Confused English Grammar For Class 6
Words Likely to be Confused
Some pairs of words sound or look alike, or nearly alike, but have different meanings. Sometimes they belong to different parts of speech. You should be careful to use the correct word.
Study the following:
1. Advice: He has given me a good advice. (‘Advice’ is a noun.)
Advise: I advise you to apply for the post. (‘Advise’ is a verb.)
2. Aloud: She spoke aloud (= in a loud manner).
Allowed: He allowed me to go. (Allow is a verb, meaning ‘permit’.)
3. Birth: My date of birth is 24th March.
Berth: I am going to book a berth (= sleeping place on a train).
4. Break: If the glass falls down it may break.
Brake: I applied the brakes of my bicycle.
5. Diary: I made entry of my activities in my diary (= a book wherein we write our daily activities).
Dairy: I am going to the dairy to buy butter (= a place wherein milk and milk products are sold).
6. Dear: Mohan is my dear friend.
Deer: The tiger killed a deer (= an animal).
7. Die: Many people died in the accident.
Dye: He dyed his hair black.
8. Weather: Today weather is very pleasant.
Whether: I asked him whether he was from Singapore (= if).
9. Wait: Let us wait for our friend here.
Weight: The weight of this packet is 5 kg.
10. Weak: He is very weak in health.
Week: A week has seven days.
11. Steal: A thief tried to steal my bag.
Steel: This chair is made of steel (= a metal).
12. Pray: I pray to God daily.
Prey: Eagles are birds of prey (= birds that kill for food).
13. Quite: Dinner is not quite ready (= completely).
Quiet: Students, keep quiet (with little sound or no sound).
14. Floor: There were no chairs, so we sat on the floor.
Flour: Bread is made from flour (wheat powder used to make bread, cake, etc.).
15. Heal: This ointment will heal my wounds (= make well).
Heel: The shoe hurt my heel (= back part of the foot).
16. Hear: Did you hear the news?
Here: Come in and sit here.
17. Hole: There is a hole in my shirt.
Whole: He drank the whole milk.
18. Lesson: I have learnt the lesson.
Lessen: He tried to lessen the speed, but the brakes failed. (= to reduce).
19. Loose: This shirt is loose (= not fit).
Lose: I often lose my keys (= become unable to find).
20. Piece: I took a piece of bread.
Peace: We should always pray for world peace.
21. Practice: Practice makes a man perfect. (Noun)
Practise: You have to practise it every day. (Verb)
22. Principal: Who is the principal of your college?
Principle: Do you know the principle of gravity? (= a rule)
23. Root: The root is the part of a plant that is under the ground.
Route: This is the shortest route to the Medical College (= way).
24. Sight: His sight is poor, so he is wearing glasses.
Site: This is the proper site for the college (= new place).
25. Heard: I heard some boy crying. (Past tense of ‘hear’)
Herd: There is a herd of cattle in the field (= a group of animals of the same kind).
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks choosing the correct word from the brackets:
1. He is …….well. (quite, quiet)
2. 1 ……………….. you to read this book. (advice, advise)
3. He has been ill for a long time, so he is is very …………….(weak, week)
4. The …………………. is very hot today. (whether, weather)
5. This medicine will …………….. your wounds. (heal, heel)
6. I ……………… the news yesterday evening. (herd, heard)
7. He wrote his address on a ………….. of paper. (piece, peace)
8. I would like to talk to the …………….. (principal, principle)
9. Can you …………….. this stick? (break, brake)
10. Go to the ……………… and buy a kilo of butter. (dairy, diary)
11. You should …………………… speaking in English. (practice, practise)
13. The mangoes are cheap, but the apples are………….. (dear, deer)
12. There is a …… in my pocket. (hole, whole)
14. I could not ………… what he said. (hear, here)
15. Be …………. , children. (quite, quiet)
16. These shoes do not fit me; they are ……………… (loose, lose)