Some parts to this page come from eLearnEnglishLanguage.com
The numbering is for discussion purposes and presents no sense of order or hierarchy.
1. Further / Farther:
Farther refers to a physical distance; whereas, further expresses a nonphysical distance, expanding or moving toward a goal. Think of looking far to see the person who is walking farther away from you as he marches away.
I will move farther from home to the big city where I can further my career goals.
2. Everyday / Every day:
Everyday is an adjective that means informal, as in something for everyday use. Your everyday clothes are clothes you can get dirty as opposed to dress up clothes. Your everyday dishes are used every day as opposed to the fine china you use for dressy occasions.
I wear everyday clothes almost every day.
3. Fewer / Less:
Fewer is something you can count. Less has to do with mass.
I weigh less because I have consumed fewer calories.
I weigh fewer pounds because I have eaten less food.
4. Then / Than:
Then is for time sequence. What happened next? And then . . .
Than is for comparison. I would rather have an A than a B.
I will study hard and then I will get an A, which I would rather have
than a B.
5. Lie / Lay:
Present Tense: Lay is something done to something.
I will lay the baby down now.
Kindergartners lay down after lunch.
Lie is not done to something else.
I will lie down.
You look tired. Please lie down and rest.
Past Tense: Unfortunately, lay is also the past tense of lie, so this can be confusing.
I lay down for an hour. NOT I laid down.
The past tense for Lay is Laid (pertains to something done to something else):
She laid the baby down an hour ago.
He laid down his cards and won the game.
6. Their / There
Think of their as being two words the-ir. A person owns his own "ir" - right? Don't you own your ears? So the-ir is possessive. The word there is a location word. It has the word here in it: T H E R E.
Their cars were all lined up over there, so we had to move all the way around to get in line.
7. Where / Were
Just like the word there, the word where has the word here in it: W H E R E ; therefore, it is a location word. Were is a verb.
We were in a hurry to be where they expected us.
8. Here / Hear
If you get confused and don't remember that here is a location word, consider that the word hear has the word ear
in it: H E A R . You hear with your ears, right?
I can hear the noise because the horn sounded right here next to me.
9. Its / It's
It's with an apostrophe is a contraction; it means it is. Its without an apostrophe is singular possessive.
Give the dog its bone because it's been a long time since he has had a treat.
10. Accept / Except:
Accept is a verb that means "to receive, admit, regard as true, say yes."
I can't accept this gift.
He was accepted to Harvard.
Do you accept this theory?
My offer was immediately accepted.
He asked me to marry him, and I accepted.
The noun acceptance refers to the "act or process of accepting, approval, or agreement."
Except is a preposition that means "excluding."
He bought a gift for everyone except me.
I know everyone here except the children.
Except is also a conjunction that means "if not for the fact that" or "other than."
I would help you, except I'm too busy.
He never calls me except to borrow money.
Except is a fairly uncommon verb that means "to leave out, exclude."
I hate lawyers, present company excepted.
7. Affect / Effect:
Affect is a verb with several different meanings.
To have an influence on, contribute to a change in
What you do affects all of us
This decision will affect the outcome of the elections
Inflation is affected by natural disasters
To touch, move; to act on the emotions of
I was profoundly affected by this movie
His actions were not affected by her pleas
To simulate
He likes to affect a British accent
She always affected her eccentricity
In psychology, affect is a noun which refers to a "feeling" or "emotion":
Your son's lack of affect explains why you find it difficult to gauge his moods.
Effect is most commonly used as a noun, and has three meanings.Result, something brought about by someone or something
What was the effect of her decision?
Side effects include nausea and fatigue
I don't think it will have any effect on the outcome
The law will go into effect tomorrow
You can clearly see the cause and effect
Something that gives the impression/sense of something else
The special effects were amazing
Mirrors will give the effect of a larger space
He said that just for effect
Effects can refer to belongings
Did you bring any personal effects?
As a verb, to effect means "to bring about, lead to a result"
The only way to effect change is to participate
What is the best way to effect these improvements?
This should effect a whole new way of thinking about it
The Bottom Line
The confusion between affect and effect comes out of the fact that affecting something leads to an effect. The two questions "How were you affected?" and "What was the effect on you?" mean almost exactly the same thing.
When you want to use one of these words as a noun, the one you want is probably effect. When you want a verb, most of the time you want affect. Effect is used as a verb only when it has a direct object and only when you mean "to bring about, lead to."
The difference between to affect and to effect can be seen here:
To affect the results - To influence, have an impact on the results
To effect the results - To bring about, lead to the (desired) results
