Commonly Confused Words

Now that we have finished the most common mistakes college students make in terms of commas, it is important to mention that many college students make mistakes in terms of word choice. 7.8% of students make a mistake in regards to word choice, according to a 1988 study (Connors, R. J., & Lunsford, A. A., 1988).

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Here is a list of the commonly confused words (Lunsford, A., 2008).

A lot and alot

• A lot is a phrase that describes the group of a noun
• "A lot of ducks gathered at the pond."
• Alot is a word that is mistakenly used in place of "a lot"
• "You will never find the word 'alot' in any dictionary."

Accept and except

• Accept is a word that describes when a person gives a sense of permission
• "I will accept the terms of the agreement."
• Except is a word that describes when an object has been excluded
• "I like all dogs, except for a Weimaraner."

Affect and effect

• Affect is a word, as a verb only, and describes influence
• "The wind will affect the rain patterns."
• Effect is a word, as a noun only, and describes influence
• "The effect of the tornado caused houses to be ruined."

All ready and already

• All ready is a phrase that describes a preparation
• "The meal was all ready to eat."
• Already is a word, as an adverb only, that describes a quality of readiness
• "I was already hungry by the time I sat down to eat." 

Altogether and all together

• Altogether is a word, as an adverb only, that describes the entire status of an object
• "The painting was altogether beautiful in an eerie way."
• All together is a phrase that describes the state of togetherness
• "All together, we looked like a group of misfits and nerds."

Among and between

• Among is a word that describes when an object has been found near another object
• "The grass looked clean among the piles of raked leaves."
• Between is a word that describes when an object has been stuck against another object
• "I found this book between the history and fantasy sections of the library."

Apart and a part

• Apart is a word that describes the state of being apart
• "Apart from the yellow frame, the picture looked gorgeous."
• A part is a phrase that describes a single noun as an individual
• "A part of me wanted to run away from the screaming crowd."

Cite, sight, and site

• Cite is a word, only as a verb, that describes a quote on a document
• "Never forget to cite your sources on a research project."
• Sight is a word, only as a noun, that describes the quality of vision
• "The sight of the nation's flag inspired the patriots."
• Site is a word, only a noun, that describes a specific place with a specific boundary
• "The construction site had been vacant for some time."

Complement and compliment

• Complement is a word that describes a quality that creates a beneficial influence between any two objects
• "Our personalities complement one another."
• Compliment is a word that describes an act that gives praise
• "I will give a compliment when it is needed to keep the workers happy."

Farther and further

• Farther is a word that describes a specific distance
• "The farther I go, the more I realize I have yet to accomplish."
• Further is a word that describes an uncertain distance 
• "Any further and I would have perished in the dry desert of the Sahara."

It's and its

• It's is a shorthand for the phrase "it is"
• "It's going to be a long day."
• Its is the possessive pronoun of the pronoun "it"
• "The monster ate its bones and belched loudly."

Lay and lie

• Lay is a word, unattached to a preposition, that describes the act of laying 
• "I will lay in the grass to rest."
• Lie is a word, always attached to a preposition, that describes the act of laying 
• "I need to lie down for a nap."

Lose and loose

• Lose is a word that describes the act of a loss
• "I will lose the game at this rate."
• Loose is a word that describes the state of non-togetherness
• "The feathers fit like a loose clump in my hand."

Than, their, and they're

• Than is a word that uses a comparison with another object
• "I will be prettier than her when we compete at the dance."
• Their is a word that describes the possession of an object by a group
• "That rock is their diving board to the waterfall."
• They're is a shorthand for the phrase "they are"
• "They're coming to greet us soon, be ready."

Then and than

• Then is a word that describes a later period in time
• "I ate a cheese dog and then took a nap."
• Than is a word that uses a comparison with another object
• "I will be prettier than her when we compete at the dance."

Too, two, and to

• Too is a word that describes an extremeness or a degree 
• "I am too smart for my own good."
• Two is a word that describes the presence of two objects
• "There are two eyes on a human's face."
• To is a word that describes the act of being toward
• "I went to the football game."

Who and whom

• Who is a word, as a subject only, that describes an unknown noun
• "Who ate my pizza?"
• Whom is a word, as an object only, that describes an unknown noun
• "To whom it may concern, I was about to eat that pizza."

Who, which, and that

• Who is a word, as a subject only, that describes an unknown noun
• "Who ate my pizza?"
• Which is a word that takes the place of a noun in question
• "Which of you ate my pizza?"
• That is a word that describes a reference to a group or an individual object
• "That perfect pizza was what I have been wanting this whole time."

You're and your

• You're is a shorthand for the phrase "you are"
• "You're going to eat your vegetables young lady."
• Your is a word that describes a possessive object for the pronoun "you"
• "I accidentally ate your pizza, I am sorry."

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Review

Tips on How to Prevent the Use of a Wrong Word

• Rely on your eyes, many of the similar sounding words in the English language will pass through a spelling checker or a grammar checker
• Read backwards and zoom-in closely to see the text from another fresh perspective
• Consult an online dictionary if in doubt on a word's usage
• First type "define:X" into the Google search engine
• Replace X with the word you need to search quickly
• Next, check the category of the word
• Ask yourself if the word fit as a noun, adverb, preposition, verb, or adjective

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Sources

A Comma Splice

This article stays with the theme of the common errors a college student makes when they use a comma. A comma splice is such a common error. 5.5% of college students will neglect to put a comma between two independent clauses (Connors, R. J., & Lunsford, A. A., 1988). 

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Independent Clauses

To fix a comma splice, you must be able to identify independent clauses. Having been previously mentioned on this blog, a lonely clause is a clause unable to be a complete sentence. An independent clause is a clause that is the opposite, however, and can be a complete sentence. 

In these next two examples, the lonely clauses are underlined and the independent clauses are italicized. Notice how the lonely clauses are unable to be a complete sentence, while the independent clauses can be a complete sentence. 

• “We will throw you a party, because you want to take time off.”
• “If we want to win, we will work harder.”

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A Comma Splice

A comma splice happens when a comma joins two independent clauses. This is incorrect because in this case the comma functions as a semicolon (Williams, E. H., 2013). A semicolon joins two independent clauses. 

Here are two examples of a comma splice. Notice how the parts of the sentence between the commas function each as a complete sentence. 

• “The dog ate its meal, it looked up and wagged its tail.”
• “Twenty sets of plates were laid on the table, every plate had its own unique design.”

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Review

How to Fix Comma Splices

• Rewrite the independent clauses so that each have their own sentence
• Rewrite the sentence so that a semicolon replaces the comma
• Rewrite the sentence and add a joining word from this list after the comma
• And, but, or, yet, for, nor, so
• “The dog ate its meal, so it looked up and wagged its tail.”
• After, although, because, before, if, since, though, unless, until, when, where, while
• “Twenty sets of plates were laid on the table, since every plate had its own unique design.”

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Sources

Parenthetical Commas

Many college writers forget to put a parenthetical comma in their sentences. 6.5% of college writers will neglect to put a parenthetical comma in their sentences. This error is the sixth most common writing mistake among all college students (Connors, R. J., & Lunsford, A. A., 1988). 

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Parenthetical Commas

A parenthetical comma shows two ideas in a sentence, shows a contrast in a sentence, or shows a moderate/heavy pause in a sentence. A second idea or a word that creates contrast or a pause is put between the two commas in a sentence. These two commas are called the parenthetical commas (Kahn, J., 2013).  

Here are four examples of a correct parenthetical comma use. Notice how the two ideas show themselves in the examples, or show a contrast or a moderate/heavy pause. 

• “The rain, while pleasantly mild, made the air humid.”
• “My cat, Twitchy, loves catnip.”
• “My fiancé showed up late to our wedding, however, I forgave him.”
• “The cat crouched by the hole, meanwhile, the mouse was busy helping itself to some cheese.”

Let’s break the four examples down further.

“The rain, while pleasantly mild, made the air humid.” 

• The first idea is that the rain made the air humid
• The second idea is that the rain is pleasantly mild

“My cat, Twitchy, loves catnip.”

• The first idea is that my cat loves catnip
• The second idea is that my cat is Twitchy

“My husband showed up late to our wedding, however, I forgave him.”

• The first idea is that the husband showed up late
• The second idea is that the implied wife forgave her husband
• The “however” between the two parenthetical commas shows the contrast between the first and the second idea

“The cat crouched by the hole, meanwhile, the mouse was busy helping itself to some cheese.”

• The first idea is that the cat crouched by the hole
• The second idea is that the mouse was helping itself to some cheese
• The “meanwhile” between the two parenthetical commas shows the heavy pause between the first and the second idea

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Review

When to Use Parenthetical Commas

• To show in a sentence there are two ideas present
• To show a moderate or a heavy pause
• To show a contrast of two ideas
• To show a sentence that starts with a main subject and follows with any of these words
• Which
• “The snake, which had been curled up sleeping, hissed and bared its fangs.”
• When
• “The earthquake, when it had occurred, destroyed several buildings.”
• Where
• “The statue, where it had been placed, drew attention from tourists.”
• Being
• “The girl, being short, had difficulty reaching the top shelf."

When to Avoid the Use of Parenthetical Commas

• There is a presence of more than two ideas in the sentence
• There is a slight pause
• There is a long phrase in the second idea that works better as a standalone sentence
• There is a sentence that starts with a main subject and follows with the word “who”
• “The man who was drunk crashed into a tree.”

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Sources

Introductory Commas

College students often forget to add an introductory comma to their sentences. 11.5% of college students will forget to add an introductory comma to their sentences, according to a 1988 study (Connors, R. J., & Lunsford, A. A., 1988). An introductory comma introduces an action, a subject, or a previous idea, and makes them easier to see.

Now how do college students know where to find an introductory comma?  Let us explore these three situations.

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Lonely Clause

Some introductory commas are in sentences that start with a lonely clause. A lonely clause is a clause that relies on the other part of the sentence in order to work.

The lonely clauses are underlined in the next two examples. Notice how a comma joins the lonely clause to the rest of the sentence.

• “We will throw you a party, because you want to take time off.”
• “We will work harder, if we want to win.”

An introductory comma comes after a lonely clause. If we change the above examples so that they have the introductory commas, they will look like this.

• “Because you want to take time off, we will throw you a party.”
• “If we want to win, we will work harder.”

The introductory commas are needed because they introduce information in a lonely clause. A lonely clause that has an introductory comma will always start with an adverb such as after, although, as, because, before, if, since, though, until, when, etc. (Lunsford, A., 2008).

Introductory Phrase

An introductory comma also appears after an introductory phrase. An introductory phrase is a phrase that comes before the main subject. Unlike a lonely clause, an introductory phrase lacks the main subject of the sentence.

The introductory phrases are underlined in the next two examples. Notice that the introductory phrases lack the main subject of the sentence.

• “To beat the game and claim the prize, you must understand the rules.”
• “A new person in town, Jake was lost."

Introductory Word

An introductory comma also appears after an introductory word. An introductory word is a word that creates flow from one sentence to another.

• “He tried to think of his opponent’s next move. Meanwhile, his opponent knew he had already won.”
• “Michael Phelps won many Olympic gold medals in swimming. Therefore, he is a good swimmer.”

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Review

When to Use an Introductory Comma

• After a lonely clause that starts a sentence
• After an introductory phrase
• After an introductory word

When to Avoid an Introductory Comma

• The introductory phrase is fewer than five words
• “To get ahead Frank painted the shelves."
• The introductory comma separates the subject from the main verb
• “Quickly he ran to the stop sign realizing that it had fallen.”

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Sources

Want more practice? Check the top of the page for practice problems.