Vocabulary
Vocabulary
One of the toughest parts of English is vocabulary. Here are some of the most easily confused words, in no particular order.
| Every day | Each day |
| Everyday | Ordinary, commonplace |
Eating lunch every day is an everyday event.
Even the big companies aren’t immune: Martha Sewart. Everyday. is just plain wrong.
| Affect (v.) | To influence; to change; to assume |
| Effect (n.) | The result |
| Effect (v.) | To cause change (not as commonly used) |
The word RAVEN can help you remember the first two definitions, the ones you’ll most likely use in business writing.
Remember
Affect
Verb
Effect
Noun
| Accept | Agree; take; receive |
| Except | Exclude |
| Compose | To make up: The parts compose the whole. |
| Comprise | To include; contain; consist of: The whole comprises (includes/contains) the parts. Please note: The phrase “is comprised of” does not exist. You cannot say “the company is included of its parts.” |
| A lot | Frequently (think a little) |
| Allot | Assign or distribute shares |
| Alot | Does not exist |
| Anxious | Looking forward to with anxiety or fear |
| Eager | Looking forward to with happiness, confidence |
| Continual | Occurring steadily, but with occasional breaks |
| Continuous | Uninterrupted; unbroken |
| Bad | Adjective form used after feel, look, taste, sound, smell |
| Badly | Adverb form used after other verbs |
| Principal | The most important; the main |
| Principle | A general rule; a truth; integrity |
| Disinterested | Impartial; having no stake in the outcome. |
| Uninterested | Not interested |
| Imply | Hint or suggest |
| Infer | Conclude by reasoning from something known or assumed |
| Assume | Take as true without evidence |
| Presume | Take as true for a specific reason; have evidence |
| Libel | Damaging public statement made in print (think lawyers) |
| Slander | Damaging public statement made orally (think spoken) |
| Precede | Go before |
| Proceed | Advance to |
