V.1.1 - Commonly confused Words

The word like can be confusing for students since it has many different meanings in English. Here are five of its common uses:

Five ways to use 'like'

Like = enjoy
I like coffee

To be + like = describe personality/characteristics
What is he like?

Would you describe yourself as a shopaholic or do you hate shopping? Do you like to go window shopping on the weekends, even when you have no money. When you want to buy something, do you shop around for the best price or are you an impulse shopper?

These two verbs cause a great amount of confusion!

Do you know how to use them?

Remember these helpful tips:

You borrow something from somebody. In other words, you take something from someone for a limited time.

You lend something to somebody. In other words, you give something to someone for a limited time.

This is a lesson that focuses on pairs of words that can often be confused.

Sometimes we confuse them because they sound the same, or sometimes we confuse them because they have similar meanings.

In each sentence try and choose which word is correct.

Say the sentences out loud as you read them, this may help you to choose the correct word.

Good luck!

Lesson by Caroline

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings eg.

Please come here.
Did you hear that?

Complete the sentences with the correct word:
Lesson by Nasreen, EC Cape Town English school.

What’s this? Is it an alien from a distant planet coming out of its space-suit?

Don’t worry, it’s not here to attack earth. It’s the seed from a tree called the horse chestnut tree coming out of its capsule. The seed is called a conker. In autumn in the UK people use conkers to play a game called..... conkers.

Here's a collection of 5 pairs of words that are troublesome to English learners. How well do you know your these confusing words? Choose the correct word to complete the sentence.

Sebastian E’Silva, EC Cape Town English school
 

Confusing words lessons

There are some words related to work that can be very confusing, as they sound similar but have very different meanings. For example:

Employer- the person who employs people (the boss).
Employee- the person who works for the employer.

Simple words are often easy to confuse.

Today I want you to explain me about the difference between look, see & watch and then listen & hear.

Use the comments section to explain what's the difference in meaning and give some example sentences. To get you thinking, I have created a ten-question quiz for you to try.

So who is going to be the first person to write a explanation?

I know you can do it!

Today we're looking at homophones - words that have the same spellinds,but different meanings.

Take a look at the seven sentences and chose the correct meaning for the homonyms in the context they are shown.

Link: Learn English Collocations