Vocabulary Usage List #1

affect/ effect—affect is a verb meaning “to make a difference to; to change”; effect can be a verb or noun. As a verb it means “to bring about,” and as a noun it means “result.” Ex: we know how the drug affects patients immediately, but little is known about its long-term effects. The principal tried to effect a settlement between the girls.

appraise/ apprise—Appraise means “to evaluate the nature or quality of something”; apprise means to “inform someone of something. Ex: When I went to see about the appraisal for my jewelry, the man apprised me that they were all fakes.

breath/breathe—breath is a noun meaning “air taken in and expelled during breathing”; breathe is a verb meaning “to draw air into the lungs.” Ex: I tried not to breathe around her because her breath smelled horrible.

coarse/ course—coarse is an adjective meaning “inferior” or “having a rough, uneven texture”; course is a noun meaning “a route or path”, “an area on which a sport is played” or “a unit of study.” Ex: Coarse sandpaper is used to smooth the surface. The course of true love never runs smoothly. I had to drop a course last semester.

capital/ capitol—capital refers to a city that is an official seat of government; capitol refers to a building in which a legislature meets. Ex: Washington DC is the capital of the United States. When we were there, we visited the Capitol building.

elicit/illicit—Elicit means “to draw out” or “to obtain”; illicit means “illegal.” Ex: The police officer tried to elicit information about the illicit actions of the suspect in the crime.

fewer/ less—Use fewer with nouns that can be counted: fewer books, fewer people, fewer dollars. Use less with quantities that cannot be counted: less pain, less power, less enthusiasm.

hanged/hung—Both hanged and hung are past participles of hang. Hanged is used to refer to executions; hung is used to mean “suspended.” Ex: Billy Budd was hanged for killing the master at arms. The stockings were hung on the mantle.

irregardless/ regardless—Irregardless is a non-standard (read improper) of regardless which means “without paying attention to the present situation.” Use regardless in writing instead. Ex: You should never use “irregardless” in writing regardless of what your saw in the dictionary.

lie/lay—Lie is an intransitive verb (one that does not take an object) that means “to recline.” Its principal forms are lie, lay, lain, lying. Ex: I would rather lie on the couch than do grammar homework. Lay is a transitive verb (one that takes an object) meaning “to put” or “to place.” Its principal forms are lay, laid, laying. Ex: Ethan laid the homework on the table and promptly forgot about it.

passed/past—Passed is the past tense of the verb pass; past is a noun or adjective meaning “belonging to a former time” or “no longer current.” Ex: I passed English in the past on a hope and prayer. Past can also be used as an adverb: Ex: The man went past the classroom. Past can also be used as a preposition: Ex: It is past your bedtime.

to/too/two—To is a preposition that indicates a location; too means “in addition; also” or “excessively”; two is a number.

who/whom—When a pronoun serves as a subject of its clause, use who or whoever; when it functions in a clause as an object of the verb(the noun that received the action), use whom or whomever. When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you can replace the word with “he”' or “'she,” use who. If you can replace it with “him” or “her,” usewhom.Ex: Sarah, who is studying languages, would like to live in Italy. Ryan, whom I met in France, wants me to travel with him.

weather/whether—Weather is a noun meaning “the stated of the atmosphere”; whether is a conjunction used to introduce an alternative. Ex: Because the weather has been so strange, we are unsure whether we will be able to go out this weekend.

your/you’re—Your indicates possession, and you’re is the contraction of you are. Ex: You’re certain to improve your grammar if you study your notes every day.

Practice

  1. They will weather/whether the storm in the cellar.
  2. Don’t forget to/too/two clean your room.
  3. The fugitivelaid/lay down his gun.
  4. Mexico lies/lays to the south of the United States.
  5. The principal's new rules affect/effect the school.
  6. Grandma, who/whom Freddie loves despite her bad taste in clothing, believes that a blue blazer is an essential component of a young man’s wardrobe.
  7. Supply and demand have a direct affect/effect on the prices of commodities.
  8. The early frost will affect/effect the crops.
  9. Professor Borglum glared at Reggie, who/whom spent the entire class drawing space aliens in the margins of the lecture outline.
  10. What kind of affect/effect can this quiz have on your dinner tonight?
  11. After renovations, he said, it recently was appraised/apprised at $370,000.
  12. Showing the verbosity of an Al Quaeda operative at an interview at Guantanamo Bay, he briefly appraised/apprised me of the details.
  13. As the women stand and watch from beneath the shady eaves of the clinic, the men gather around, appraising/apprising us curiously.
  14. Marcy hated her boss because he had bad breath/breathe.
  15. Do you think there is alien life who breath/breathe something other than oxygen?
  16. Do you know weather/whether he will ride the bus or take a taxi?
  17. Sometimes I like tolay/lie down and rest after lunch.
  18. The bathrobehanged/hungon the back of the bathroom door.
  19. You are setting up an establishment, of course/coarse?''
  20. I’m to/too/two excited to/too/two sleep.
  21. John hasfewer/lessfishing lures than Jack does.
  22. Are you sure that it would not be better to try thatcourse/coarse?
  23. My grandmotherhanged/hungher laundry outside to dry until we bought her a clothes dryer.
  24. Grandma bought Freddie, who/whom wears black T-shirts exclusively, a button-down white oxford shirt and a navy blue blazer for Christmas.
  25. He waslaying/lying on his back in the hot sun.
  26. Typically, formula_43 and formula_58 are fine and course/coarsegrained variables, respectively.
  27. Capital/capitol punishment is legal is some states in the United States.
  28. Your/You’re chances of making the soccer team are really good because your/you’re such a skilled player.
  29. The start-up company needed more capital/capitol to build the new building.
  30. Is Harrisburg the capital/capitol of Pennsylvania?
  31. Kerry Ann, who/whom hates spiders, wears bug-stomping boots wherever she goes.
  32. Martha’s elicit/illicit jokes usuallyelicit/illicit thunderous laughter.
  33. In desperation, Belinda sought help from Professor White, who/whom she knew preferred playing solitaire on his computer to assisting students during office hours.
  34. I oftenlay/lie in bed for hours on Sunday mornings.
  35. Sylvia lay/laid her hairbrush on the dresser when she finished using it.
  36. The shelf is to/too/two high for him two reach.
  37. Fred smuggled an elicit/illicit bottle of water into the concert because the venue was selling them for five dollars.
  38. They drove past/passed the store, but it had already closed.
  39. Danny has been unable toelicit/illicit funding for the cat shelter.
  40. I missedfewer/lesswork this year than last.