The most confusing word pairs in English

Vocabulary is the most important aspect of language that works as a building block in language development. However, most of the students get confused in different word-forms or word pairs. Sometimes, they are unable to differentiate between the pair of words. Consequently, they are prone to lexical errors. Therefore, in order to avoid the wrong choice of word forms, you must know the differences between the word-pairs of the following lexical items:

1. Advice & Advise

The words advice and advice look similar; however, the difference between them is the only substitution of the letters 'c' and 's'. The former with the letter 'c' is used as a noun, while the latter with the letter 's' is used as a verb.

For Example:

1. Advice (noun): Maria sought advice from her parents before accepting the job offer.

2. Advise (verb): I advise you to study hard for your exams.

2.  Accept & Except

The word accept is a verb that means to receive something willingly or to agree to something.

For Example:

 1. I accept your job offer. 

 2.  She accepted the gift.

On the other hand the word except is primarily used as a preposition or conjunction to indicate exclusion of something.

For Example:

1.    (preposition) I will invite my all friends to my birthday party except Hamza.

2.    (preposition) She passed all the subject except Math.

3.     (conjunction) I did not tell him anything, except that I needed his bike.

3. Affect & Effect

Affect  is a verb that means to influence or produce a change in something. It refers to the action of causing an impact or change.

For example:

1. The rainy weather affected my mood.
2. Smoking badly affected his health.
3. His speech affected the audience deeply.

Effect is used as a noun that represents the outcome or result of an action or cause.

For Example:

1. The new policy had a positive effect on employee’s morale.
2. The medication had no noticeable side effects.
3. The special effects in the movie were spectacular.

4. Principal vs Principle

A principle is a noun that refers to a fundamental truth, law, doctrine, or belief that serves as the foundation of a system of thought or behavior.

For Example:

1. Jhon adheres to the principles of honesty and integrity.
2. The company operates on the principle of transparency.

A principal refers to the person who holds the highest rank or authority in an institution, such as a school principal.

For Example:

1. The principal of the school welcomed us on our orientation day.
2. Our principal is a nice person.