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- Here are some of the most commonly confused English word pairs. They have been chosen especially for ESL
learners. The list is not complete.
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) He's responsible for sales, and a lot more besides.
(preposition) Besides tennis, I play soccer and basketball.
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.
- last / latest
last: adjective usually meaning 'final'
Examples:
I took the last train to Memphis.
This is the last test of the semester!
latest: adjective meaning 'most recent' or 'new'
Examples:
His latest book is excellent.
Have you seen his latest painting?
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.
At the moment, he's lying on the bed.
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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