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Born vs. Borne

An African-born man lost everything when his predictions were not borne out in reality.Homophones are a pair of words that have the same sounds, same or similar spellings but entirely different spellings. These close sounds and spellings give rise to...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Broach vs. Brooch

She sat on the couch, handed me a pearl brooch and broached the sensitive subject of her declining health.Broach and broach are two words that have same pronunciation and almost similar spellings (with a difference of a single letter), but their mean...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Course vs. Coarse

Consider the sentence written below:The weaving course he took did not demonstrate on how to stitch coarse weave.A little confusing, isn’t it? Course and coarse are both used in the sentence but are their meaning clear to you?The first course is th...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Need vs. Knead

I need to knead this dough before noon today.Though very common in English language, knead and need are two homophones that sound exactly alike but their meanings are entirely different. This remarkable resemblance in their pronunciations sometimes, ...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Balmy vs. Barmy

Barmy and balmy sound exactly alike, and with the exception of one word (r in barmy and l in balmy) their spellings are very much similar too. The meanings of both the words however is not similar at all and the words are not interchangeable with eac...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Aisle vs. Isle

Aisle and isle are one of the most confusing pair of words as they sound exactly alike and their spellings are almost similar too. There is however, a great difference between their meanings. Most young writers and English learners mistake this pair ...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Flout vs. Flaunt

He always flaunts about how he flout the rules every time. The above sentence contains two very closely associated words, flout and flaunt, which have vaguely similar pronunciation and spellings but very different meanings. Does the sentence make sen...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Envelop vs. Envelope

He tore open the envelope as he was enveloped in anguish. Does the above sentence make sense to you? It includes two homophones envelop and envelope which are both related but their meanings are slightly different from each other. Envelope is a wrapp...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Illicit vs. Elicit

The boss’s illicit association with his secretary elicited for a solution in order to retain the healthy office environment. Illicit and elicit have very close spellings and pronunciation with each other which makes them homophones, but their meani...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Pore vs. Pour

Take a look at the above two sentences. One of them is not correct. Can you identify which one? Pore and pour are homophones which means that they both rhyme with each other but their meanings and spellings are very different from each other. Their ...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Desert vs. Dessert

I would love to enjoy a cold dessert in a desert. Dessert and desert is the most common pair of words that is confused with each other very often. Both the words rhyme with each other and are very similar in spellings (just a difference of an s), whi...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Disinterested vs. Uninterested

Alex brought her disinterested friend to solve the dispute between her and Adam who was uninterested in any such thing. Does the above sentence gives you a about what is going on? Do you understand the characters of Alex’s friend and Adam as descri...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Dual vs. Duel

Dual and duel are a pair of homophones which means that both the words spell and sound almost similar but their meanings are entirely different from each other. Homophones are usually the cause of confusion among English writers as it is very easy to...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Altogether vs. All together

It was an altogether decision to agree to all terms all together.If the above sentence has confused you to the core and you cannot decide if it’s right or wrong, worry not. We are here to help you with all your confusions here as English language c...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Appraise vs. Apprise

Keep me apprised on what the jeweler says after appraising the family jewels.English language is an amazing mixture of words and phrases but sometimes we just fail to understand and tell apart some words. If you are a proficient reader or writer, you...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Assent vs. Ascent vs. Accent

He assented to do an Irish accent while they ascended in the air balloon.What do you think about the above sentence? Does it make sense to you? Are the meanings of the three homophones clear after reading the sentence?Let us first tell you about the ...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Censure vs. Censor vs. Sensor

The government faced censure for censoring harmless images in the magazine.The words censure, censor and sensor are homophones and all three of them have similar pronunciation which is s-en-sur. The words have very different and distinguished meaning...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Complaisant vs. Complacent

John is a complaisant guy, I don’t know how he ended up marrying somebody as complacent as Mary.The above sentence have two adjectives in it; complaisant and complacent, which describe the character of John and Mary respectively. Can you figure out...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Defuse vs. Diffuse

The bomb squad defused the bomb and contained the gas before it diffused in the air.English as a language never stops to amaze its learners. As easy as it might be, there are times when you find yourself panicking about what meant what as the words a...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Discreet vs. Discrete

The government’s discreet decision about the four discrete divisions caused a lot of uprising. The two very similar words; discreet and discrete are used in the above sentence, are you familiar with the words? Do you think they mean the same? If no...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Learned vs. Learnt

What is the past tense of learn? Consider the following sentence:I learnt French last year.Are you getting thoughts in your mind that say that this sentence has got something wrong in it? Maybe it’s the use of past form of learn. Is your inner nerd...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Assure vs. Ensure vs. Insure

The heading might give the creeps for if you might somehow knew the differences of these three words before, you must have forgotten them written together. Assure, ensure and insure are word triplets that are most commonly confused in English languag...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Capital vs. Capitol

The legislators were called to the capitol to discuss the issues of country’s capital.The above sentence constitutes two words, capital and capitol, which are both homophones. This means that capital and capitol have same sounds but totally differe...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Enquire vs. Inquire

She inquired about the library charges.What do you make from the above sentence? Do you think the word inquired should maybe have started with an e except of an a? If you did, there is nothing wrong with you or your language skills as inqui...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

Principal vs. Principle

Our principal made it compulsory to follow all school principles.Principal and principle are a pair of words that are called homophone, meaning they have same pronunciation but very different meanings and spellings. It is very common for readers and ...

added by angbeenc
8 years ago

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    Quiz

    Are you a grammar master?

    »
    Identify the sentence with correct use of the future perfect tense:
    A She had completed the task yesterday.
    B He is working on the assignment now.
    C By tomorrow, she will have completed her project.
    D They have finished their dinner before the movie starts.