Common Errors English for CAT

8/8/2019 Common Errors English for CAT

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Common Errors in English

Use the search form below to find words and phrases on this site.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

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A

abstruse / obtuse

accede /exceed,

accept / except,

accidently/Fortuitously

accurate / precise

acronyms and apostrophes,

actionable / doable ,

actual fact / actually, ad / add ad nauseum

addicting/addictive

adapt / adopt,

adulteration /adultery,

adverse / averse,


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advice / advise

aesthetic / ascetic,

affect / effect,

affluence / effluence,

afterall/ afterwards / afterwords,

agnostic / atheist,

aid / aide

aisle /isle

alliterate / illiterate

allude / elude

allude / refer

allusion / illusion

allusive / elusive / illusive

aloud / allowed

already / all ready

altar / alter

alternate / alternative

altogether / all together

alumnus / alumni

ambiguous / ambivalent

ambivalent / indifferent

amongst / among

amoral / immoral

amount / number

anecdote / antidote

angel / angle


3/24

anxious / eager

apart / a part

apiece / a piece

appraise / apprise

apropos / appropriate

around / about

artisanal / artesian

ascribe / subscribe

aspect / respect

assure / ensure / insure

astrology / astronomy

attain / obtain

attribute / contribute

aural / oral

auger / augur

autobiography/biography

avenge / revenge

avocation / vocation

away / aweigh

awhile / a while

axel / axle

B

bail / bale

bailout / bail out

ball / bawl

barb wire/ bob wire


4/24

bare / bear

barter / haggle bazaar / bizarre

beat / bead

beckon/ call

benefactor / beneficiary

beside / besides

bias / biased

biweekly / semiweekly

boarders / borders

born / borne

borrow / loan

both / each

bought / brought

bounce / bounds

brake / break

breach / breech

breath / breathe

bring / take

Britain / Briton

broach / brooch

broke / broken

brunt / butt

bullion / bouillon

by far and away

C

cache / cachet


5/24

callous / callused

calm, cool

Calvary / cavalry

canon / cannon

canvas / canvass

capital / capitol

caramel / carmel

carat / caret / carrot / karat

careen / career

celibate / chaste

cement / concrete

censor / censure / sensor / censer

Champaign / Champagne

chuck / chunk

chute/shoot

cite / site / sight

classic / classical

cleanup / clean up

clich / clichd

click / clique close /closed-minded

coarse / course

collaborate / corroborate

collage / college

compare and contrast

compare to / compare with


6/24

complement / compliment

complementary / complimentary

connote / denote

conscience, conscious, consciousness

continual / continuous

contrary / contrast

copywrite / copyright

core / corps / corpse

costumer / customer

could care less /could give a damn

could of / should of / would of

council / counsel / consul

couple / couple of

credible / credulous

crescendo / climax

crevice / crevasse

crick / creek

criteria / criterion

critique / criticize

crucifixion/ crucifix / cross

cue / queue

currant / current

D damped / dampened

dateline / deadline

deformation / defamation

defuse / diffuse


7/24

degrade / denigrate / downgrade

democrat / democratic

depravation / deprivation

depreciate / deprecate

derisory / derisive

desert / dessert

deviant / deviate

device / devise

dew / do / doo / due

dialogue / discuss

differ / vary

different from/ than

dilemma / difficulty dire straights

disburse / disperse

disc / disk

discreet / discrete

disinterested / uninterested

dissemble / disassemble

doctorial / doctoral

dominate / dominant

doubt that / doubt whether / doubt if

doubtlessly / doubtless

dove / dived

downfall / drawback

download / upload

drank / drunk


8/24

drastic / dramatic

dredge / drudge / trudge

drier / dryer

dribble / drivel drips and drabs

drug / dragged

dual / duel

dyeing / dying

E

ecology / environment

economic / economical

elicit / illicit

emergent / emergency

emigrate / immigrate

eminent / imminent / immanent

empathy / sympathy

emphasize on

emulate / imitate

endemic / epidemic

engine / motor

English / British

enormity / enormousness

enquire / inquire

ensure / insure

entomology / etymology

envelop / envelope

envious / jealous


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enviroment

epic / epoch

epicenter epigram / epigraph / epitaph / epithet /epitome

eponymous

error / err

espouse / expound / expand

ethics / morals / morale

exact/ same

exalt / exult

exasperate / exacerbate

exceptional / exceptionable

exorcise / exercise

extend / extent

F

fair / fare

faithful / fateful

farther / further

fatal / fateful

faze / phase

fearful / fearsome

feelings for / feelings about

feint / faint

female / woman

fiance / fiancee

fiscal / physical

flair / flare


10/24

flak / flack

flaunt / flout

flesh out / flush out

floe/flow

flounder / founder

for sale / on sale

forbidding / foreboding / formidable

forceful / forcible / forced

forego / forgo foresee / forsee

formally / formerly

forward / foreword

fortuitous / fortunate

foul / fowl

framework / groundwork

G

gaff / gaffe

gamut / gauntlet

gander / dander /gender

gibe / jibe /

gig / jig

gild / guild

goal / objective

gratis / gratuitous

gray / grey

grateful/great

grisly / grizzly


11/24

gull / gall

gut-rending/heart-wrenching

H

hail / hale

handicap / disability

hangar / hanger

hanged / hung

hark / hearken

heal / heel

herbs / spices

hero / protagonist

heroin / heroine

hippie / hippy

historic / historical

hoard / horde

hock / hawk

humus / hummus

hundreds / century

hysterical / hilarious

I

idea / ideal

if / whether

if I was / if I were

impertinent / irrelevant

imply / infer


12/24

in spite of / despite

incidences / incidents / instances

incredible/ incredulous

Indian / Native American

infamous / notorious

inflammable/combustible

insight / incite

install / instill

intense / intensive

interment / internment

intricate / integral /intrigue

itch / scratch

its / its

J jack / plug

jam / jamb jerry-built / jury-rigged

jewelry/amulet/trinket

job/work

L

languish /languid

luxuriant/ luxuriate

late / former

later / latter

lay / lie

leach / leech

lead / led


13/24

least / lest

leave / levee

legend / myth

less / fewer

lessen / lesson

liable/ libel

lighted / lit

lightening / lightning

loath / loathe

loose / lose lustful / lusty

luxuriant / luxurious

M

majority are / majority is

mantle / mantel

marital / martial mess/mesh

masseuse / masseur

material / materiel

maybe / may be

meantime / meanwhile

medal / metal / meddle / mettle

mediocre /medium

methodology / method

might/ could

might /ought

militate / mitigate

miner / minor


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15/24

pedal / peddle

pen / pin

penultimate / next to last

periphrase/paraphrase

pernickety / persnickety

perpetrate / perpetuate

persecute / prosecute

personal / personnel

perspective / prospective

peruse/pursue

perverse / perverted

phantom / fathom

phenomena / phenomenon

picaresque / picturesque

plain / plane

podium / lectern

poisonous / venomous

pole / poll

pompom / pompon

populace / populous

pore / pour

possessed of, by, with

prosperity / posterity

practice / practise

pray / prey

precede / proceed


16/24

precedence / precedents

precipitate / precipitous

predominant / predominate

prejudice / prejudiced

premier / premiere

premise / premises

prescribe / proscribe

principal / principle

prioritize/ priority

proactive probably

prodigy/ progeny/ protg

prophecy / prophesy

prostate / prostrate

proved / proven

psychologist / psychiatrist / psychotherapist / psychoanalyst

purposely / purposefully

Q

question / ask

queue/cue

quiet / quite

R

rack / wrack

raise / raze

rampart / rampant

ravin/ravine

report/rapport


17/24

rational / rationale

ravaging / ravishing / ravenous recreate

reactionary / reactive

real / really

realty/reality

reap/rip

reason/cause

rebelling / revolting

rebut / refute

recent / resent

ridiculous/ludicrous/risible

redundant/supernumerary

refrain / restrain

refute / reject

regard / regards

regime / regimen / regiment

regretfully / regrettably

reign / rein

reluctant / reticent

remote/far

remuneration /wage/salary

reoccurring/recurring

repel / repulse

replete / complete

request / ask

resister / resistor/registrar


18/24

reply/ respond

retch / wretch

reticent / hesitant

retrospective / retroactive

revert / reply

revolve / rotate

revue / review

riffle / rifle

right / write

ringer / wringer

risky / risqu

rob / steal

role / roll

root / rout / route

rouge / rogue

ruff/rough

rye / wry

S

sail / sale / sell

sarcastic / ironic

say / tell

sceptic / skeptic

seam / seem

seen / saw

select / selected

self-steam self-worth


19/24

sensual / sensuous

shear / sheer

sheath / sheaf

shimmy / shinny

shoe-in shone / shown

shook / shaken

shrunk / shrank

silicon / silicone

soar / sore social / societal

sojourn / journey

sole / soul

spaded / spayed spare of the moment

specially / especially specie / species

squash / quash

staid / stayed

stalactites / stalagmites

stand / stance

states / countries

stationary / stationery

stint / stent

straight / strait

straightjacket /straight-laced

stricken / struck

submittal / submission

succeed / secede

suit / suite


20/24

sulking / skulking

summary / summery

suspect / suspicious

swam / swum

systematic / systemic

T

taken back / taken aback

taught / taut a : kept in proper order or condition a ~ ship b (1): not loose or

flabby ~ muscles (2): marked by economy of structure and detail a ~ story

taut / tout:1. to solicit, peddle, or persuade importunately not meant to ~ you off

the movie Russell Baker 2: to make much of : promote talk up ~ed as thesummer's blockbuster movie the college's much ~ed women's studies program

tenant / tenet

than / then

that / which

threw / through

throne / thrown

tick / tic: 1 : local and habitual spasmodic motion of particular muscles esp. of

the face : twitching 2 : a frequent usu. unconscious quirk of behavior or speech

you know is a verbal ~

timber / timbre: a : the resonance by which the ear recognizes and identifies a

voiced speech sound b : the quality of tone distinctive of a particular singing voice

or musical instrument

tolled / told

token / taken

torturous / tortuous

toward / towards

tragedy / travesty

trite/triad


21/24

troop / troupe

tussled / tousled

U

unchartered / uncharted

undo / undue

use / usage/utilize

use to/used to

V

vague/ vogue

vain / vane / vein

various/different

vary / very

veracious / voracious

verbiage/verbose

verses / versus

vicious / viscous

circle / cycle

vintage/vantage

viola / voila

voluminous/voluptuous

W

wale/wail / whale

wander / wonder

warrantee / warranty

wary / weary / leery

weak / week


22/24

weather / whether

whither/wither

wench / winch

wince/ winch

whacky / wacky

whisky / whiskey

within / among wont / wont

wrangle / wangle

wrapped / rapt wreck/ reck

X Xmas / Christmas

Y

Yarn: story, anecdote, narration, narrative, tale; chat, causerie, chin, prose, rap,

talk/

Yearn: long, ache, crave, dream, hanker, hunger, lust, pine, thirst, yen

Yeast/east

Yawn: tedium, boredom, doldrums, dullsville, ennui

Yen: LONG, ache, crave, hanker, hunger, lust, pine, sigh, thirst, yearn

yoke / yolk

you cant have your cake and eat it too

Non-ErrorsThose usages people keep telling you are wrong but which are

actually standard in English.

split infinitives * ending a sentence with a preposition * beginning a sentence with a

conjunction * between vs. among * over vs. more than * gender vs. sex * who vs.

that * since vs. because * hopefully * momentarily * lend vs. loan * near miss *

nonesingular vs. plural * scan vs. skim * off of * gotten vs. got * till vs. til *

teenage vs. teenaged * reference vs. cite * endquote vs. unquote * feeling bad *

persuade vs. convince * You shouldnt pronounce the e in not my forte. *

normalcy vs. normality * aggravate vs. irritate * preventive vs. preventative *

entitled vs. titled * People are healthy; vegetables are healthful. * Dinner is done;
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.htmlhttp://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html


23/24

people are finished. * Crops are raised; children are reared. * Youve got mail

should be you have mail. * its cut the muster, not cut the mustard. * its

carrot on a stick, not carrot or stick. * spitting image * Lions share means all

of something, not the larger part of something. * connoisseur

More errors Other strange and amusing word confusions Commonly misspelled words.

The whole site on one page (ASCII text; the easiest option if youre reading

through all the entries in order)

List of commonly made suggestions. Check this before writing.

Sean Igos Garbage In, Garbage Out: Errors Caused by Over-Reliance on

Spelling Checkers

________________________________________Other Good Resources

American Heritage Book of English Usage

AskOxford: An excellent dictionary with many other resources on British

English.

Worldwide Words: Michael Quinion investigating International English from a

British Viewpoint

Daniel Kies Modern English Grammar

Jack Lynchs Grammar and Style Notes

Charles Darlings Guide to Grammar and Writing

Dr. NADs Prig Page

Ronald B. Standlers Technical Writing Guide

Garbls Writing Resources On-Line

UsingEnglish.com: useful resources for those studying English as a second

language

English as a Second Language Help Desk at Washington State University

WWWebster Dictionary (Merriam Webster) provides recorded pronunciations

Grammar Girls Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing Detailed discussion of

individual points.


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Heteronyms

Antagonyms

Hazel Tanks Word Lists - The Way Doctors Talk

Mindy McAdamss Spelling Test

William Safires self-violating Rules for Writers

The Eggcorn Database Great collection of misheard words and phrases.

Demi-Entendres Mixed-up expressions

The Word Detective interesting essays on word origins

Geoffrey K. Pullam: 50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice (an interesting

critique of Strunk and Whites The Elements of Style.

Reviews of Common Errors in English Usage

Source Reference: http://www.wsu.edu

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Common Errors English for CAT

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