Commonly Confused English Words: A Guide for CSE Examinees

Many sentence completion and error recognition items in the Civil Service Exam hinge on a single pair of words that look or sound alike. Mixing them up is also one of the most common mistakes in government letters and memos. This guide explains the pairs that matter most, with a quick test for each.

Affect and effect

• Affect is usually a verb: to influence. The new rules will affect all employees.
• Effect is usually a noun: a result. The rain had a serious effect on the harvest.

Quick test: if you can put “the” or “an” before it, you need the noun, effect. Remember: Affect is an Action; Effect is the End result.

Advice and advise

• Advice (noun): She gave me good advice. It is uncountable, so never “advices”.
• Advise (verb): I advise you to apply early.

Quick test: advice rhymes with “ice” and is a thing; advise sounds like “eyes” and is an action.

Lose and loose

• Lose (verb): to misplace or fail to keep. Don’t lose your ID.
• Loose (adjective): not tight. The screw is loose.

Quick test: “lose” has lost an o.

Their, there and they’re

• Their: belonging to them. Their bags are outside.
• There: a place, or “there is/are”. Leave it there.
• They’re: they are. They’re coming tomorrow.

Quick test: replace the word with “they are”. If the sentence still makes sense, use they’re.

Than and then

• Than: for comparisons. busier than last year
• Then: for time or sequence. Submit the form, then pay the fee.

Accept and except

• Accept: to receive or agree to. Please accept the attached files.
• Except: excluding. Everyone except the new hires attended.

Fewer and less

• Fewer: with things you can count. fewer applicants, fewer forms
• Less: with things you cannot count. less time, less money

The same idea applies to number (countable) and amount (uncountable): a number of applicants, an amount of money.

Whose and who’s

• Whose: possession. Whose turn is it?
• Who’s: who is or who has. Who’s attending the meeting?

Its and it’s

• Its: possession, with no apostrophe. The office posted its schedule.
• It’s: it is or it has. It’s raining.

Principal and principle

• Principal: the head of a school, or main. the principal reason
• Principle: a rule or belief. the principle of accountability

Memory aid: a principal is your pal; a principle is a rule.

Stationary and stationery

• Stationary: not moving.
• Stationery: writing materials. Think e for envelope.

Complement and compliment

• Complement: something that completes or goes well with something.
• Compliment: praise. Think I like to receive compliments.

Precede and proceed

• Precede: to come before. A briefing will precede the training.
• Proceed: to continue or go forward. Please proceed to window 3.

Economic and economical

• Economic: related to the economy. economic growth
• Economical: careful with money or resources. an economical system

Considerate and considerable

• Considerate: thoughtful towards others.
• Considerable: large or significant. a considerable amount

Purpose and propose

• Purpose (noun): the aim. The purpose of the meeting…
• Propose (verb): to suggest. She proposed a new schedule.

Lessen and lesson

• Lessen (verb): to reduce. to lessen waiting time
• Lesson (noun): something learned or taught.

How to master these pairs

1. Learn them in pairs, not as single words.
2. Write one sentence for each word, ideally about your work or study.
3. Notice the part of speech: many pairs are a noun and a verb (advice/advise, effect/affect, purpose/propose).
4. Test yourself with our commonly confused words set, where each explanation gives both words of the pair, and look for these pairs in error recognition items.