Some confusing words in English

in #language7 years ago (edited)

1. Allusion and Illusion

An allusion is a subtle reference or hint: Ajay made an allusion to the most recent novel he read in our conversation yesterday.

An illusion is a deception, mirage, or a wild idea: The teacher said she had no illusions about how much work teaching demands.

  1. Already and All ready
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    Already is an adverb that indicates an action is completed by a certain time: Herschel had already finished that whole pie.

All ready means "everything is completely prepared": The children were all ready and bundled up warmly to go caroling on the snowy evening.

  1. Amount and Number

Amount is used with uncountable and abstract nouns: a large amount of money, amount of work, amount of happiness or amount of dirt.

Number is used with countable and concrete plural expressions: a number of people, a number of attempts, a number of novels, a number of trials.

  1. Annual and annul

Annual means "yearly": We must pay an annual tax.

Annul means "to make void or invalid": They want to annul the marriage.

  1. Appraise and Apprise

Appraise is to assess or estimate the worth of: to appraise a diamond.

Apprise is to inform or notify: the officer apprised us of our rights.

  1. Coarse and Course

Coarse is an adjective meaning "rough, big-grained, not fine": We need to use coarse sandpaper to remove the paint from this wood.

Course is a noun referring to a direction (the course of a ship) or a series of lectures on one subject (a history course in college): The poetry course Ajay took in his college changed the course of his life.

  1. Conform and Confirm

Conform means "to be similar to": Some schools conform their students by using uniforms.

Confirm is to make sure or double check: to confirm a flight reservation.