Effect and Affect

Two words commonly confused by English speakers are 'effect' and 'affect'. ‘Affect’ is used as a verb and means ‘to have an influence on’ and ‘Effect’ is used as a noun and means ‘the result’.

AFFECT

The dropped catch did not affect the result of the game.
The heavy rainfall affected the grains kept in the old warehouse.

EFFECT

The effect of the tsunami was devastating.
The side effect of the cough syrup was drowsiness.

Accept and Except

The words, ‘accept’ and ‘except’ are homophones which are often confused by English speakers. ‘Accept’ is a verb which means ‘to receive’ or ‘to agree’. Most of the time ‘except’ is used as a preposition which means ‘excluding’.

The following examples will make the usage clear.

 

ACCEPT (VERB)	EXCEPT (PREPOSITION)
Amit accepted the job offer.	I can come with you on all days except Sunday.
Sanjiv accepted the allegation that he had cheated.	All the athletes except Anjali finished the race.
He accepted the invitation to the party.	Everyone except Shantanu was invited to the party.

 

Can and May

Many English speakers are confused about the usage of the words ‘can’ and ‘may’. For e.g.,  ‘Can I drink water?’  is incorrect. ‘May I drink water?’ is the correct phrase to use in this case.

The key difference between ‘can’ and ‘may’ is that ‘can’ talks about ability and ‘may’ talks about permission. 

CAN

Can is used in two cases:

To talk about ability.

• I can finish my homework by 5 pm.
• Can you finish your homework tonight?

To ask or give permission informally.

• Can I use your pen? (To a friend)
• You can use my pen. (To a friend)

MAY

May is generally used to ask or give permission formally. 

Let us take a situation between a student and a teacher.

•   May I drink water? 
•   Teacher: Yes, you may.

      Let us take a situation between two strangers.

• May I borrow your pen? 
• Yes, you may.

Their, There and They're

‘There’, ’Their’ and ‘They’re’ has confused many speakers of the English language and knowing how to use these three words correctly is an important step in learning English.

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