MEPX
Chapter 5 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Why English is like this
  2. 2Doubling consonants
  3. 3Adding endings
  4. 4The i before e rule
  5. 5Words people mix up
  6. 6The commonly misspelled
  7. 7Plurals and possessives
  8. 8British and American
  9. 9Spell checkers
  10. 10Getting better

Chapter 5 of 10

Words people mix up

Homophones and near misses.

The frequent pairs

Their, there and they're. Your and you're. Its and it's. Affect and effect. Then and than. Lose and loose. Practice and practise in British English.

  • The apostrophe versions are always contractions: it is, you are, they are.
  • Practice is the noun and practise the verb in British English; American uses practice for both.

Stationery and stationary

Stationery with an e is envelopes; stationary with an a is at rest. Complement completes, compliment praises. These pairs repay ten seconds of deliberate memorising.