Commonly Confused Words: 7 English Word Pairs that Confuse Absolutely Everyone

It’s hard to deny the fact that the English language has a lot of commonly confused words. They either look alike, sound alike or, worst of all, look and sound alike (but have completely different meanings). Here is a collection of some of the commonly misused words that you often encounter.

Commonly Confused Words in English

There are many commonly confused words in the English language. Below is a list of commonly confused words for ESL Learners.

TO vs TOO

What is the difference between To vs Too?

To

• Is a preposition

Examples: She stood up and walked to the window.

• Shows the infinitive form of a verb

Examples: Are you ready to start?

Too

• Means “as well” or “also”

Examples: “I’m feeling hungry.” – “Me too.”

• Conveys the idea of “in excess”

Examples: I ate too quickly and got hiccoughs.

WHO vs WHOM

The difference between who vs whom in English.

Who

• Is a subject pronoun
• Used to ask which person does an action or which person is a certain way

Examples: Who are you?

Whom

• Is an object pronoun
• Used to ask which person receives an action

Examples: I met a man with whom I used to work.

JUST vs ALREADY

How to use Just vs Already correctly?

Already

Means “even”, “something has happened earlier”

Examples: He hasn’t already read this book.

Just

Means “just before”, “a short time ago”

Examples: Mr. Thomas has just bought a new shirt.

LESS vs FEWER

What’s the difference between Less vs Fewer?

Less

• Used when talking about things that are uncountable or have no plural
• Is compatible with collective nouns, non-countable nouns, and volumes

Examples: We must try to spend less money.

Fewer

• Used when talking about things or people in the plural
• Used countable nouns and individual items

Examples: She needs fewer clothes this month.

MUCH vs MANY

How to Use Much vs Many Correctly?

Much

• Means a large amount of, or a lot in quantity
• Used with uncountable nouns. It is mainly used in negative and interrogative clauses.

Examples: I don’t have much money.

Many

• Means a large number of, or a lot in number
• Used with countable nouns. It is mainly used in questions, affirmative sentences, and negations

Examples: How many people were there at the concert?

SOME vs ANY

Differences between Some vs Any in English.

Some

Used to mean “a little” and “a few“

Examples: He has bought some tropical fruits.

Any

Used to mean “no” or “zero“

Examples: Do you have any tickets for the concert?

DESPITE vs ALTHOUGH

Learn the differences between Despite vs Although.

Despite

• Is a preposition
• After despite we use a noun or a pronoun

Examples: Despite all the difficulties, he still remains optimistic.

Although

• Is a subordinating conjunction
• After although we use a clause

Examples: Although she often disagreed with me, she was always courteous.

List of Commonly Confused Words | Picture

Commonly Confused Words in English