Commonly Confused Words Vocabulary

affect is usually a verb (to influence); effect is usually a noun (the result)

“The rain will affect the game. The effect was dramatic.”

lie means to recline (no object); lay means to place something (requires object)

“I lie down. I lay the book on the table. Yesterday I lay down (past of lie).”

who is a subject pronoun; whom is an object pronoun

“Who called? To whom should I address this? (Try: he called / give it to him)”

fewer for countable items; less for uncountable quantities

“Fewer people, less water. Fewer mistakes, less confusion.”

farther for physical distance; further for metaphorical or additional

“Walk farther down the road. Let's discuss this further.”

speakers/writers imply; listeners/readers infer

“She implied I was wrong. I inferred from her tone that she was upset.”

compliment is praise; complement is something that completes

“She paid me a compliment. The wine complements the meal.”

disinterested means impartial; uninterested means not interested

“A judge should be disinterested. He was uninterested in the topic.”

parts compose the whole; the whole comprises its parts

“Fifty states compose the union. The union comprises fifty states.”

continual means recurring with breaks; continuous means without interruption

“Continual interruptions vs. the continuous flow of the river.”