Confusing words

[Т А Кузнецова]

Confusing Words

There are words that can be confused and if you are interested in learning and teaching these difficult issues, this site is for you.

www.esl.about.com

Here are some examples, at the end you may try a short quiz and get feedback.

Confusing words are words that are very similar and commonly confused. Confusing words may be difficult because they are spelled similarly such as the words receipt / recipe. Other words are confusing because they are used for a similar function but in a different context.

Example: Title / Headline

The book's title is The Difficult Years.

The article's headline is Presidential Campaign Tight.

As you can see from the context, 'title' is used with books and 'headline' is used with newspapers.

A third type of confusing words are words with similar grammar functions, but different grammar constructions.

Example: while / during

She was cooking dinner while Mary was reading a book.

She was cooking dinner during the game.

'While' is used with a full phrase and 'during' is used with a noun or noun phrase.

This confusing words quiz will help you learn words through context. If you answer incorrectly, make sure to read the sentence carefully to note the key differences between the two words.

Choose the correct word to complete the question. Each question has only one correct answer. When you are finished click on the "Next Question" button. There are 50 questions to this quiz. Try to use only 30 seconds per question.

[otuk]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm a British English teacher with a special interest in Russia. I spent 10 years living and teaching English in Petersburg and Omsk. During my time as a lecturer at SPBGU and OMGU, I compiled a detailed list of common mistakes made by Russian students in English. I am now starting to publish these in categories as posts on my study/teaching blog. I also speak fluent Russian so am able to compare our two languages and suggest where certain errors may be coming from.

 

Here's an example with links to further articles on similar topics: Russian mistakes in English: confusing words 1

[Suliko]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm a British English teacher with a special interest in Russia. I spent 10 years living and teaching English in Petersburg and Omsk. During my time as a lecturer at SPBGU and OMGU, I compiled a detailed list of common mistakes made by Russian students in English. I am now starting to publish these in categories as posts on my study/teaching blog. I also speak fluent Russian so am able to compare our two languages and suggest where certain errors may be coming from.

 

Here's an example with links to further articles on similar topics: Russian mistakes in English: confusing words 1

Thank you for the link. While most of what is written on the page the link leads to is taught at Russian universities, the mistakes are still there. I quite liked the article about mistakes with prepositions, though.

Also, the one about gender is very interesting too.

On the whole, what you write about reminds me in a way of the book Русские проблемы в английской речи: Слова и фразы в контексте двух культур by Lynn Visson, although she focuses more on cultural differences that give rise to mistakes. How do you feel cultural difference between yourself as a Brit and the Russians around you?

[Uchilka]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm a British English teacher with a special interest in Russia. I spent 10 years living and teaching English in Petersburg and Omsk. During my time as a lecturer at SPBGU and OMGU, I compiled a detailed list of common mistakes made by Russian students in English. I am now starting to publish these in categories as posts on my study/teaching blog. I also speak fluent Russian so am able to compare our two languages and suggest where certain errors may be coming from.

 

Here's an example with links to further articles on similar topics: Russian mistakes in English: confusing words 1

Оh yes,"How do you feel cultural difference between yourself as a Brit and the Russians around you?" it would be very interesting not only for Suliko, but me too.