Quiz 41 · Frequently Confused Words — The Talking Hands Series

First, the idea

Read these two sentences aloud.

The bakers hung their aprons on the hooks.

The bakers hung there aprons on the hooks.

Spoken, they are the same sentence. Someone listening could not tell them apart. On paper, only the first one is right. Their tells whose aprons they are. There points to a place, and it cannot tell whose aprons they are.

Words like these sound alike, or almost alike, but they have different meanings and different spellings. They are called homonyms. A spell checker will not catch them, because each one is a real word, spelled correctly. Only the sentence around the word shows which one belongs there. That is why the test asks about them.

Hold your two hands up in front of you, palms out. They are built from the same parts: a palm, four fingers, a thumb. Side by side, they look like a matched pair. But they are mirror images of each other, and that matters the moment you pick up a glove. A right glove will not go on a left hand. The thumb of the glove is on the wrong side, and no amount of pushing makes it fit.

Words that sound alike are a left hand and a right hand. They are built from the same sounds, and at a glance they look like a pair. But each one has its own job in a sentence, the way each hand has its own glove. Put the wrong word in the sentence and the glove will not go on. You cannot tell the two hands apart by a feeling that one looks right. You tell them apart with a test you can say aloud. Say the test, and the glove either fits or it does not.

Most people choose between these words by feel. They pick the one that looks right. The trouble is that after years of reading signs, menus, and text messages, both words often look right. A feeling cannot tell apart two hands that look alike. A test can. Each pair below has its own test, and every test is a sentence you can say to yourself.

its and it's

It's is two words pushed together: it is. The apostrophe marks the letter that was left out. A word made this way is called a contraction. (Sometimes it's stands for it has, as in it's been a long night. The test works the same way.) Its, with no apostrophe, shows that something belongs to it, the way his and her do.

The test: read it's as "it is." If it is makes sense in the sentence, the glove fits, and the apostrophe stays. If it does not make sense, use its.

It's almost five, and the rolls are still in the oven.

Say the test: It is almost five. That makes sense, so it's fits.

The mixer is loud, but its bowl is the biggest in the shop.

Say the test: The mixer is loud, but it is bowl... That makes no sense. The bowl belongs to the mixer, so the word is its, with no apostrophe.

their, there, and they're

This set has three words instead of two, but the idea is the same: each one has its own job.

They're is a contraction of they are. The test: say "they are." Their means belonging to them. The test: try "our" in its place. If our makes sense, their fits. There points to a place, like its partner here. (Look closely: the word here is inside there.) There also starts sentences like there is and there are, which Quiz 37 covered. If neither they are nor our fits, the word is there.

They're bringing the flour in at six.

They are bringing the flour in. That makes sense: they're.

The drivers left their invoices on the counter.

Left our invoices on the counter. That makes sense as a sentence, so the word that shows belonging fits: their.

Stack the empty crates over there.

Over they are makes no sense, and neither does over our. This is a place: there.

your and you're

You're is a contraction of you are. Your means belonging to you. The test: say "you are." If it fits, use you're. If it does not, try my in its place; if my fits, use your.

You're on the list for the Saturday shift.

You are on the list. That fits: you're.

Write your phone number at the bottom of the sheet.

Write you are phone number makes no sense. Write my phone number does: your.

then and than

Aloud, most people say these two words the same way, so the ear is no help at all. Than compares two things. It usually comes right after a word like more, less, longer, better, rather, or other. Then tells time: next, after that, or at that time.

The test: try "next" or "after that." If either one fits, use then. If the sentence is comparing two things, use than.

A rye loaf weighs more than a sourdough loaf.

Weighs more after that a sourdough loaf makes no sense. The sentence compares two loaves: than.

Shape the rolls, then set them in the proofer.

Shape the rolls; after that, set them in the proofer. That fits: then.

affect and effect

Affect is usually the action. It is a verb, and it means to change something or to act on it. Effect is usually the result. It is a noun, a thing: the change itself.

The test, from the Start Here page: affect is the action; effect is the end result. Ask whether the word names something happening or the result that came out of it. A result is a thing, so effect often has a small word in front of it, like the, an, a, any, or no.

Hot weather affects how fast the dough rises.

The weather is doing something to the dough. That is the action: affects. (It takes an -s because weather is one thing, as Quiz 37 taught.)

Hot weather has one effect every baker knows: the dough rises faster.

Here the word names the result, the thing that came out of the heat, and one stands in front of it. That is the end result: effect.

accept and except

Accept means to take, or to agree to. Except means leaving out, or but.

The test: try "take" or "agree to," then try "but." If take or agree to fits, use accept. If but or leaving out fits, use except.

Mr. Okafor accepted the delivery at seven.

Mr. Okafor took the delivery. That fits: accepted.

Everything came on the truck except the butter.

Everything came on the truck but the butter. That fits: except.

to, too, and two

Two is the number 2. Too means also, or more than it should be: too hot, too late. To does every other job. It points toward a place (to the walk-in), or it comes before a verb (to bake).

The test: try the number 2, then try "also" or "more than it should be." If the number fits, use two. If also or more than it should be fits, use too. If nothing fits, use to.

Carry the two sacks of rye flour to the flour room. The third sack is too heavy for one person.

The 2 sacks: the number fits, so two. To the flour room: toward a place, so to. Heavier than it should be for one person: that fits, so too.

lose and loose

Lose means to stop having something. It rhymes with choose. Loose means not tight. It rhymes with goose. These two do not even sound quite the same, but they are only one letter apart, and the eye mixes them up.

The test: say the opposite. If the opposite is tight, use loose. If the opposite is keep or find, use lose.

Count the change twice so you do not lose a dollar.

The opposite: so you keep a dollar. That is lose.

The lid on the flour bin is loose.

The opposite: the lid is tight. That is loose.

What the tests have in common

Every test above is something you can say. None of them is "it looks right." When you meet a word that has a sound-alike, stop. Name the pair. Say the test for that pair. The glove fits, or it does not, and you know which.

In a text message to a friend, nobody minds your welcome. Your friend knows what you meant, because your friend knows you. A notice, a letter, or a web page goes to readers who do not know you. Some of them will stop at the wrong word, and some will decide the writer was careless, even when the writer was not. The GED test reads the way those strangers do. Nothing about how you talk has to change here: these words sound the same in everyone's mouth. Only the spelling on the page is different. Quizzes 42 and 57 are where moving between the English of a text and the English of a notice becomes a named strength.

On the test, these words arrive as dropdowns inside workplace documents. Every choice will look reasonable at a glance, because every choice is a real word. Slow down at each word that has a sound-alike, and say the test.

Worked example — thinking out loud

Daniela is drafting a small sign for the counter, to tell customers about a new rye. Here are its two lines, whole, as she first wrote them.

Our new rye bakes slowly overnight, so it's crust is thick and dark by morning.

It keeps longer then our old rye, and the seeds have a good affect on the flavor.

Start with the first line. It has one word with a sound-alike: it's. Its partner is its. Stop there and name the pair.

The tempting path goes like this. The crust belongs to the rye. When something belongs to someone, we write an apostrophe and an s: Marisol's apron, Okafor's Bakery. So the word that shows the crust belongs to the rye must be it's, with the apostrophe. That reasoning feels careful, and it starts from a true rule.

Now say the test instead: so it is crust is thick and dark. That makes no sense. The glove does not go on.

Why the tempting path fails, in one sentence: the apostrophe in it's does not show belonging; it marks the letter left out of it is, and its, like his and her, shows belonging with no apostrophe at all. The rule about apostrophes was true. It was the rule for a different hand.

Our new rye bakes slowly overnight, so its crust is thick and dark by morning.

The second line has two words with sound-alikes: then and affect. Take them one at a time.

Then first. Try the test: it keeps longer after that our old rye. That makes no sense. The sentence is comparing the new rye to the old rye, and longer sits right before the blank. Comparing takes than.

Now affect. Ask whether the word names the action or the end result. The seeds have a good ___: the seeds are not doing the changing in this sentence; the sentence names what came out of the seeds, a good result. And a good stands in front of the word, the way small words stand in front of a thing. That is the end result: effect. Daniela could have written it the other way, with the action: the seeds affect the flavor. Both are right. What decides it is the sentence she actually wrote.

It keeps longer than our old rye, and the seeds have a good effect on the flavor.

Read both lines again with the tests said. Every word now passes its own test, and none of them was chosen because it looked right.

☞ Behind you: Quiz 39 (a pronoun matches the noun it stands for in number, and its is the pronoun for one thing) and Quiz 40 (a pronoun changes its form with its job, and its is the form of it that shows belonging). Ahead: Quiz 42 (word choice and register, where the English of a text and the English of a notice are both treated as real tools) and Quiz 45 (apostrophes, where it's and its come back, beside the apostrophe that does show belonging). In plain words first: Grammar: Start Here, Part 4.

Part B · The skill in the wild

Okafor's Bakery is putting up its first web page. Daniela, the new assistant manager, wrote this draft of the "About Us" part, the part that tells customers who the bakery is, and gave it to Mr. Okafor to read before it goes up. Five decision points. At each dropdown, the three versions differ only in the sound-alike words. Say the test for each one, and choose the version where every glove fits.

OKAFOR'S BAKERY — Web page draft: About Us

Written by Daniela Vega, assistant manager · For Mr. Okafor to read before it goes up

Okafor's Bakery has baked bread for this neighborhood for nearly twenty years. Mr. R. Okafor opened the shop with one oven and a recipe for rye, and he still runs the floor every morning. 1 [a. That rye is still made the old way, and it's crust is still the first thing our regulars ask about. / b. That rye is still made the old way, and its crust is still the first thing our regulars ask about. / c. That rye is still made the old way, and its' crust is still the first thing our regulars ask about.]

We bake through the night so the bread is ready when you are. Our night baker, Ahmed Diallo, starts at ten and works until six. 2 [a. The first loaves come out more than an hour before we open, and then they cool on the racks by the window. / b. The first loaves come out more then an hour before we open, and than they cool on the racks by the window. / c. The first loaves come out more then an hour before we open, and then they cool on the racks by the window.]

Marisol Vega, our morning supervisor, baked nights here for three years, and she trained four of the bakers who work here now. 3 [a. There proud of their work, and they will tell you how every loaf is made. / b. Their proud of there work, and they will tell you how every loaf is made. / c. They're proud of their work, and they will tell you how every loaf is made.] Ask about the sourdough, too.

Every fall we bake holiday pies, two kinds each week. 4 [a. We accept pre-orders for pies at the counter, and we fill every order except the ones that come in after the cutoff date. / b. We except pre-orders for pies at the counter, and we fill every order accept the ones that come in after the cutoff date. / c. We accept pre-orders for pies at the counter, and we fill every order accept the ones that come in after the cutoff date.] The cutoff date is posted by the register.

5 [a. If your new to the neighborhood, come in and say hello. You're welcome here. / b. If you're new to the neighborhood, come in and say hello. You're welcome here. / c. If you're new to the neighborhood, come in and say hello. Your welcome here.] If you have been coming in for years, thank you. We would not be here without you.

The key — and why the tempting answers tempt

Part A

1. C. Say the test: the proofer is old, but it is door still seals tight. That makes no sense. The door belongs to the proofer, so the word is its, with no apostrophe, like his and her. A, it's, tempts because an apostrophe and an s so often do show belonging, as in Marisol's apron; but the apostrophe in it's marks a missing letter, and the test says no. D is the echo: it is is the test itself, written into the sentence, and the test already said it does not fit. B, its', is not a word in English, though it looks like a careful compromise between the other two.

2. A. First blank: Ahmed and Marisol said they are ready. The test fits, so they're. Second blank: showed them where our new lockers are makes sense, and the lockers belong to them, so their. D is the nearest word: where sits right before the second blank, and where is a word about places, so there feels like it follows. But the blank is not pointing at a place; it tells whose lockers they are. C gets the second blank right and the first one wrong: half right is still a glove on the wrong hand. B swaps both.

3. D. The first word compares the rolls to the loaves, and it comes right after faster: than. The second tells what to do next. Try the test: take them out first, and after that check the rye. That fits: then. B tempts most. It uses then twice, which looks tidy and consistent, and aloud it sounds exactly like D. But the first spot is a comparison, and the test for time does not fit there. C has the same tidy look with than twice, and the second spot compares nothing. A swaps both.

4. B. Affect is the action; effect is the end result. Mr. Okafor wants to know about a result, what came out of the new hours. A result is a thing, and the small word any stands in front of it, the way the, an, and no often do: effect. A, affect, tempts because the question is about the new hours acting on the sales, so the idea of action is in the air. But this sentence names what came out, not the acting. To use the action, the sentence would need a verb in that place: whether the new hours affected Saturday sales. D is that verb set into the wrong sentence: had any affected is not English. C, effecting, is a near-miss in sound and spelling, and it does not fit after any either.

5. A. First blank: Mr. Okafor took every holiday pre-order. Take fits, so accepted. Second blank: every pre-order but the ones that came in after the cutoff date. But fits, so except. C gets the first blank right and then repeats the same word, which looks consistent; but the second spot leaves something out, and leaving out is except. D does the same thing in the other direction. B swaps both. All four sound almost alike aloud, which is exactly why the test has to be said, not heard.

6. C. Three tests. Too loose: more loose than it should be, so too. The opposite of the word is tight, so loose. More than 2 batches: the number fits, so two. A, to loose, tempts because to is the most common of the three, and in quick writing it fills every spot; but nothing here is moving toward anything. B, too lose, tempts because the two words are one letter apart, and many people write lose for both; the opposite of lose would be keep, and the sentence is about a belt that is not tight. D is the near-miss: the first two words are fixed, and the last one slipped. Write the number 2 there, and it fits: two.

Part B — the About Us page

1. b. Say the test: and it is crust is still the first thing. No. The crust belongs to the rye: its. Option a is the trap from the worked example: the crust belongs to the rye, belonging usually takes an apostrophe and an s, so it's feels right. It is the right rule for a different hand. Option c, its', is not a word.

2. a. More than an hour compares: than. And after that they cool on the racks fits the time test: then. Option c tempts because then twice looks consistent, and aloud all three options sound the same. The first spot compares, and the time test does not fit there. Option b swaps both.

3. c. They are proud of their work: the test fits, so they're. Our work also makes sense, so the word that shows belonging is their. Option a sounds right aloud, as all three do, and it gets the second word right; but there proud points to a place, and nobody is pointing anywhere. Option b uses their where they are belongs and there where belonging belongs: both gloves on the wrong hands.

4. a. We take pre-orders: accept. Every order but the ones that come in late: except. Option c gets the first word right and repeats it, which looks consistent; but the second spot leaves some orders out, and leaving out is except. Option b swaps both, so the bakery would be refusing pre-orders at the counter, the opposite of what Daniela means.

5. b. If you are new and you are welcome: the test fits both times, so you're twice. Option c is the one the lesson named: in a text message nobody minds your welcome. On the bakery's own web page, every stranger in the neighborhood reads it, and the page is Daniela's first chance to speak for the shop. Option a gets the second sentence right and slips in the first: if you are new fits the test, so your cannot stay.