Browsing:

Category: Commonly Confused Words

“May” vs. “Might”: What’s the Difference?

May and might are pretty similar words: they both have to do with possibility and probability. However, these words have their differences. So what ARE those differences, and when do you need to be careful to not mix up the Read more…


“Compose” and “Comprise”: What’s the Difference?

There are plenty of English words that get mixed up all the time, like lay and lie, ensure and insure, compliment and complement, etc. Now, it’s time to talk about compose and comprise! Both compose and comprise have to do Read more…


“Lay” and “Lie” Are NOT the Same Word (So What’s the Difference?)

If you ever feel the need to short-circuit a grammarian, just ask them to explain the difference between lay and lie. The technical difference between these two words is simple enough; however, once we get into the weeds about what Read more…


Much vs. Many: Is There a Difference?

We’re back with another “commonly confused words” pairing! We’ve covered further and farther, that and which, compliment and complement, affect and effect, and a whole lot more. Now, it’s time to dig into much and many. If you’ve already mastered Read more…


Compliment vs. Complement: Is There a Difference?

After the whole insure vs. ensure vs. assure debacle, I started to question every similar word pairing out there. What about who vs. whom? That vs. which? Affect vs. effect?? There are a lot of word pairings with meanings that Read more…


Ensure vs. Insure vs. Assure: Is There a Difference?

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between ensure and insure, you’re definitely not alone. And to make things even more confusing, we can also throw in assure, which has a similar sound and meaning. WHY do we need Read more…


20 English Words You Might Be Mispronouncing

I’m a textbook introvert who reads a lot and doesn’t like to talk very much. Consequently, I have frequently learned a new word, pronounced it a certain way in my head, and then later learned (sometimes in embarrassing ways) that Read more…


9 Popular Phrases You Might Be Saying WRONG

Hold on to your hat because this post just might blow your mind. Even if you’re a native English speaker, you might be getting these nine common phrases WRONG. Each of these phrases has an unfortunate buddy that SOUNDS like Read more…


Are “Like” and “As” Interchangeable? It’s Complicated.

Which is correct: “It happened like I said it would” or “It happened as I said it would”? What about these: “It tasted like garbage” or “It tasted as garbage”? If you picked the sentence with like in it both Read more…


“Then” and “Than” Are DIFFERENT Words: Here’s How To Use Each One

Then and than are just one letter away from being the exact same word, but that one tiny letter makes a world of difference! Despite the words’ similarity in spelling, they have completely different definitions and are absolutely NOT interchangeable. Read more…