Confusing Words in English

Confusing Words: Affect (noun/verb) and Effect (noun/verb)
Meaning:
Affect (have an effect on; make a difference to.)
Effect (a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.)
Affect vs Effect Clarification: Affect and effect are two opposite words and you should remember their functions in sentences.

Affect vs Effect – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings?

The first and foremost difference, you first encounter, is the spellings. You can see that there is only one-letter difference between affect and effect.

So, the pronunciations of both of these words could be different.

The pronunciation of affect is so obvious. It starts with a sound –a like in ‘alike’. The pronunciation of effect, on the other side, is same as affect. But according to Oxford Dictionaries, effect is pronounced with a sound –i or –ee. Other dictionaries such as Merriam Webster Dictionary, shows /ee-fect/ as well as /a-fect/ in their lists.

It means that you can pronounce effect in both of these ways i.e. /ee-fect/ and /a-fect/. But /a-fect/ can be seen in various places. Most of the people think that both of these words are interchangeable. They are wrong!

Affect and effect are two separate words with different meanings and different usage in sentences.

‘Affect and effect are used differently’.

To erase all the confusions, continue reading. I will come up with the definitions, functions and some examples of affect and effect.

Definition and Examples of Affect and Effect

As I said above that affect and effect are two opposite words with different meanings. The pronunciation of both of the words is same at most of the places but according to Oxford Dictionaries, effect is pronounced as /ee-fect/. So, my research says that we are having two pronunciations of effect: one is /a-fect/ and the other one is /ee-fect/.

Affect

Affect can be used as a noun or a verb. In most of the sentences or almost every sentence, you have seen affect used as a verb. It is defined as ‘to influence or to have an effect’.

1. I hope that this article will affect your learning in a positive way.
2. The dampness began to affect my health. Reference –(Oxford Dictionaries)
3. My friend was affected by this horrible accident.
As, I have mentioned above that affect can be used as a noun but linguists say that it must be avoided as it creates great confusion. It is used as a noun only in the language of psychology. For example,

‘The patient is showing his affect as flat.’

Effect

Unlike affect, effect is mostly used as a noun and rarely as a verb. You should be familiar with both cases. Effect is defined as ‘a change, result or an outcome of a cause or an effort.’

1. Drugs have a dangerous effect on your health.

2. The effect of the lopsided vote was a loss of confidence in the chairman. Reference –(dailywritingtips.com)

3. I finally found an excellent effect for my room.

Effect as a verb is rarely used. According to Oxford Dictionaries, it means ‘to bring something about as a result or an outcome.’

1. The principal effected many changes in school’s principles.

2. A government unable to effect any change is a government that will produce no surprises. Reference –(vocabulary.com)

Check Out: The Difference Between Affective and Effective.

What Did You Learn?

Affect and effect are two opposite words and you should remember their functions in sentences. Affect is used as a verb and effect as a noun. Affect as a noun should be avoided and effect as a verb is rarely used in sentences.

Confusing Words: Ad (noun) and Add (verb)
Meaning:
Ad (informal for an advertisement)
Add (
join (something) to something else so as to increase the size, number, or amount.)
Ad vs Add Clarification: Ad and add are commonly known as homonyms.

Ad vs Add – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings

Have you ever heard about the word advertisement? The answer will be ‘yes’ because this is the word that you use almost daily. Ad is the short form of the word advertisement.

Ad is taken as informal or colloquial. Now in modern age, this informal word ‘ad’ is more commonly used than advertisement. Nobody bothers to say the whole word advertisement’. But in formal writing, try to avoid writing ad.

Ad

It is used as a noun. It is known as ‘a notice or an announcement’. It is a mode of promoting any product or services.

1. I want to place an ad for the promotion of my business.

2. He put an ad in the paper to sell his home. Reference –(gingersoftware.com)

3. Zong has been released the most expensive ad in television for the advancement of their services.

Add

Unlike ad, add is used as a verb. It is an action of calculating or increasing something. You have heard about the word ‘addition’, add has the same function as in addition.

For instance, if you add 2+2, the answer will be 4. This shows that add means to expand anything whether it is related to numbers, products or anything.

Let us know how to use add in sentences.

1. I asked the shopkeeper to add more rice in my bag.

2. Salt was added to the bowl of soup to make it more delicious.

3. Add 4 to 2 to get 6.

Hence, it is clear that ad and add are two different words with different spellings but having same pronunciation. It is so easy to remember the difference between these two words because the difference is obvious.

Add seems to be a full word whereas ad, that has only a ‘d’ in it, seems to be very short. Add can be derived from addition. So, don’t get confused again as these words are just homophones.

Check Out: The Difference Between Averse and Adverse.

What Did You Learn?

Writers must be very alert in choosing a correct word in their writings. Do not get confused in picking the right word. Ad is just a short form of advertisement whereas add means ‘to expand or to increase the amount of anything’.

Confusing Words: Apologise (verb) and Apologize (verb)
Meaning: express regret for something that one has done wrong.
Clarification: We can say that apologise and apologize are the same words with same meanings and functions within sentences.

Apologise vs Apologize – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

The pronunciation of the above two words are exactly the same. In terms of spelling, they are just one-letter apart. Actually, apologise and apologize are same words. They are interchangeable. The restriction is because of the versions of English language i.e. British English and American English. One word is the British variant and the other one is the American variant.

Let us find out which word is related to the British English and which word could be the American variant. I will define the terms and come up with the examples to show you the usage of these words within sentences.

Apologise

This particular word is used as a verb within sentences. Apologise means to say sorry; make excuses by giving reasons or as forgiveness from someone.

This word, with an –ise at the end, is used in British English. It means that if you are writing any British text, then your choice should be apologise.

1. I want to apologise for my bad attitude.

2. Every time you make mistakes and come here to apologise.

3. We apologise for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible have been sacked. (Monty Python)

Apologize

This particular word has the same meaning and function like apologise. To apologize means ‘to say sorry’.

This word, with an –ize at the end, is the form of American English. It means that if you are writing any American text, then your choice should be apologize instead of apologise.

Here is an example of an American text using apologize,

• The fine is to be even higher if Chevron doesn’t publicly apologize.

Check Out: The Difference Between Are and Our.

Which one is more preferable?

According to the history of English language, the word with the suffix –ize is more preferable to use. As, apologize came first in English vocabulary so, the use of apologize is greater than apologise. This new term with the suffix –ise recently get the chance to be the preferable word for British publications.

Apologize = American English

Apologise = British English

What Did You Learn?

We can say that apologise and apologize are the same words with same meanings and functions within sentences. The difference is that apologize is the preferable spelling for American English whereas, apologise is standard for British English. The fact is that apologize came first in history so, considered to be a standard term for all publications.

To apologise/apologize means to say sorry.

Confusing Words: Ensure and Insure and Assure (verbs)
Meaning:
Ensure (make certain that (something) will occur or be the case.)
Insure (arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of (property), or injury to or the death of (someone), in exchange for regular payments to a company or to the state.)
Assure (tell someone something positively to dispel any doubts.)
Ensure vs Insure vs Assure Clarification: The three words ensure, insure and assure are easy to be mixed up because of slightly same usage and meanings.

Ensure vs Insure vs Assure – What is the Difference, Definition and Meaning?

The reason behind the confusion between ensure, insure and assure is that these words are very similar in meanings. All these words are very similar in pronunciation and they are just two-letters apart.

That is why, people get confused between these words i.e. ensure, insure and assure. You cannot use these words interchangeably because they have different situations to use in. I will point out the differences in meanings with examples. Continue reading to clear your ideas!

Check Out: The Difference Between Amount and Number.

Ensure

This particular word is used as a verb within sentences. To ensure is to give an event or condition a guarantee or certainty to be happened or not. For example,

1. This medicine ensures that I will be perfectly fine by tomorrow.

2. The banker’s job ensures him that he will get a better lifestyle.

3. The only way to ensure equality for women is to clearly declare it in our constitution. (Carolyn Maloney)

Insure

Like ensure, insure is also used as a verb within a sentence. This particular term is related to financial responsibility that someone will give to protect something. So, the meaning of insure is to protect something with an insurance policy. For example,

1. Did you insure your house against any disaster?

2. His car is already insured by the company.

3. I got insured when I was two years old.

Assure

Like ensure and insure, assure is used as a verb too. To assure means to make promise or to convince someone in a positive way. This assure is meant to remove doubts or to satisfy someone. For example,

1. You always assure me that you will be fine living alone.

2. I want to assure you that there is going to be a big party at my place.

3. Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater. (Albert Einstein)

Got the difference?

I hope that from the above discussion, the difference between ensure, insure and assure is now clear. All three words are used as a verb within sentences. You have to remember that you can ensure any condition or event but not things. On the other hand, insure is only for the things like insurance policies. Assure can be easy to differentiate because of its slightly different pronunciation. You can assure to remove any doubts of someone.

What Did You Learn?

The three words ensure, insure and assure are easy to be mixed up because of slightly same usage and meanings. Ensure is to give certainty or guarantee to a condition or an event.

Like ensure, insure is also a verb with different meaning. Insure means to protect something with an insurance policy. Last but not the least, assure means to make promise positively.

Confusing Words: Aural (adjective) and Oral (adjective)
Meaning:
Aural (relating to the ear or the sense of hearing.)
Oral (The word oral means having to do with the mouth or speaking.)
Clarification: Aural and oral are not interchangeable.

Aural vs Oral – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

If you say out both aural and oral together, you will feel that these words sound exactly same. However, there is a very slight difference in pronunciation between aural and oral. Apart from their pronunciations, the meanings of both of these words are totally different from each other. Both of these words are related to the human senses.

Continue reading the post to find out the actual differences between aural and oral.

Aural

This particular word is used as an adjective within sentences. Aural means the sense of hearing. This word is referring to the ears. It means that it refers to the things that are heard by you or anyone else.

1. I have to listen each and every point carefully because the examiner will test my aural skills at the end of the session.

2. Every music’s aim is to give an aural delight to everyone.

3. I came to love silence, because it’s so rare, and it’s now my favorite aural condition. (Mike Nichols)

You will remember this word if you have an idea about auditory. It is also related to the sense of hearing. Both aural and auditory have –au in them. So, you can recall the word aural by saying auditory.

Oral

This particular word is also used as an adjective within sentences. Unlike aural, oral is related to the mouth. If you are to say oral, you should think about the speech instead of writing.

1. The teacher will take an oral test by tomorrow.

2. My appointment for an oral surgery is about to come.

3. All history was at first oral. (Samuel Johnson)

Got the Difference?

From the above discussion, it has been clear that aural and oral are both different words in term of meaning.

Aural is related to the ear. (Hearing)

Oral is related to the mouth. (Speech)

The following example is best suited for both of these words.

• Aural learners learn most effectively by listening to information delivered orally in lectures, speeches, and oral sessions. (unknown)

What Did You Learn?

Aural and oral are not interchangeable. Both of these words are used as adjectives within sentences. Though, their pronunciations are slightly similar but they do not share same meanings. Aural is used, only, to refer the ears because it is related to the sense of hearing. Oral, on the other hand, is always related to the mouth i.e. speech.