Confusing English Words

Some words are spelled very similarly but have different meanings. Often the meanings of these similar words are related, but sometimes they are not.

Commonly confused words:

	advice / advise 'I need to give my friend some advice'. I need to advise my friend'.
	compliments / complements

'Pass my compliments on to the chef'.

'The colour of your t-shirt really complements your skin tone'.

principle / principal

'It is the principle of the matter that really counts'

'The principal problem in the essay is the bad grammar'

conform / confirm

'It is important to conform to expectations'

'I need to confirm my dentist appointment'

note / notice

'You should take notes at the meeting',

'The notice clearly stated that they were not allowed to smoke'

'He always notices if you wear a new tie'

dessert/desert

'They ate apple crumble for dessert'

'The camels walked for five hours across the Sahara desert'

mane/main

'The lion's mane was spectacular'

'The main problem is his lateness'

quite/quiet

'The garden is quite big'

'You must be quiet when studying in the library'

More coming soon ...

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