Commonly Misspelled Words: Working with Homophones

Pull out your edition of Strunk’s Elements of Style, because it’s time to talk about a major headache for English writers: commonly misspelled words. The English language lacks uniform spelling patterns, so many words are easy to confuse and misspell—especially most commonly misused homophones.

Homophones are two words which sound similar but have different meanings.

Homophones are two words which sound similar but have different meanings. Many homophones have different spellings—hear and here, for example, or bear and bare. Though they are understandable errors, these frequently misspelled words will harm your credibility as a writer, making it harder to find publications that accept your work.

So, before a spelling faux pas prevents you from your next publication, these are some of the most commonly misspelled words in English due to misused homophones.

Most Commonly Misspelled Homophone Paires

Accept versus Except

Despite their different spellings, these often misspelled words get swapped for each other all the time.

The word accept means to receive, allow, or approve:

Conversely, except describes a seclusion from something. Except can be used as both a preposition and a verb; as a preposition, except means “with the absence of” something.

The verb form of except is used very infrequently, but it means the opposite of accept.

Since the verb use of except is rather rare, you can assume that “accept” is the correct spelling of the verb.

Affect versus Effect

Affect and effect have similar meanings, but they’re different parts of speech: affect is a verb, whereas effect is a noun. So, you affect something to cause an effect on it.

Here are uses of the verb affect:

And here are uses of the noun effect:

Adding to the confusion, there is a verb, “affect,” that means “to display or put on,” and a related noun, affect (prounounced “AAH-fect”), that means someone’s demeanor:

There is also a formal and somewhat uncommon use of effect as a verb, meaning “to bring about.”

It’s uncommon, but does show up in formal writing. However, “I was effected” doesn’t makes sense; the proper spelling is “I was affected.”

Allowed versus aloud

Allowed and aloud are different parts of speech, so although both are frequently misspelled words, the difference between them is easy to remember.

As a verb or an adjective, allowed means something is “permitted.” As a verb, allowed is often used in both the active and the passive voices.

To do something aloud means to do it audibly, or with sound. “Aloud” does not have a verbal form; you can only use it as an adverb.

Often, you don’t need to use the word aloud: for example, if I wrote “he spoke his thoughts aloud,” the word “aloud” is redundant, because “spoke” implies sound. However, if you want to emphasize the importance of something being audible, then “aloud” can add that emphasis.

Bear versus bare

Hopefully you can bear a grammar lesson, as we will bare all in this article!

As commonly misspelled words, bear and bare trip up writers constantly. Since both words have multiple definitions, and since both words are anagrams, they are two of the most commonly misused homophones.

Bear can refer to either an animal or an action. A bear is a large omnivorous animal native to all continents of the world. The verb “to bear,” by contrast, means to uphold or endure something.

As a verb or an adjective, bare describes things being made naked or exposed. The adjective “bare” refers to something stripped down, naked, or exposed. “To bare,” by contrast, means to make something stripped down, naked, or exposed. Something will always be bare after being bared.

Brake versus break

This is another tricky homophone set because the two words have the same letters, just slightly different spellings.

Brake can be both a noun and a verb, and it always refers to some form of slowing down. You’ll most likely use “brake” when referring to a mechanical device, such as the brakes in your car.

Break refers to a gap or disconnect. It can be used as both a noun and a verb.

In that last example, there’s a break in time or events—an interruption.

Capital versus capitol

These commonly misused homophones are tricky, because they’re both referring to the same thing: the ruling center of a nation-state. The key distinction is as follows: a capital is the place in general, whereas a capitol always refers to a government building.

The capital of the United States is Washington D.C.. The ruling body of America resides there, but because there are different executive branches and offices, the capital isn’t just one place—it’s the entire city. The same holds true for state capitals and provincial capitals, as well as for figurative capitals when a place is described as the capital of something non-governmental.

The capitol building always resides inside the capital, and it is where the legislature—not the executive body—meets. So in the US, the Capitol Building is the building that houses Congress, not the White House. Most governing bodies, including states, provinces, and some counties and cities, have a capitol.

Remember: a capital is always a place, and a capitol is always a building.

Complementary versus complimentary

Another set of homophones with a one-vowel difference. Additionally, this set of homophones originally shared the same meaning, but grew apart over time. How annoying can the English language get?

A compliment is praise: you can compliment others for their intelligence, their strength, etc. The adjective complimentary, then, describes speech or action which gives praise.

Complimentary also refers, completely separately, to something that’s free of cost.

Complementary means something different: it refers to something that “completes” something else. Complementary angles, for example, complete each other by adding up to 180º; a complementary watch might make your outfit perfect.

Farther versus further

These commonly misused homophones are very similar, but each word has its preferred usage. “Farther,” with an a, is best used for measurements of distance.

Further is better for abstract distances, or measurements of time or other quantities.

Its versus it’s

This is perhaps English’s greatest failing in its partnership with the human brain, so it’s important to focus up.

Its denotes possession; we use it rather than his or hers for a singular thing of unspecified sex:

It’s is a contraction that means “it is.”

If you can replace your meaning with “it is,” you always want “it’s.” If you’re talking about possession, you always want “its.”

Lie versus lay

This might be the trickiest homophone pair in the English language, simply because it’s so hard to explain the difference. To avoid one of the most common English writing mistakes, we need to take a step back with another brief grammar lesson.

Most verbs in the English language are transitive verbs. A transitive verb is a verb that has a direct object: the subject verbs something else. If you hit me, love me, or avoid me, those are all transitive verbs, because “me” receives each of these actions.

A few verbs in the English language, however, are intransitive. You can’t apply those verbs to other objects, you only do the action. For example, in the sentence “The boy slept,” slept is an intransitive verb. Nobody can receive the action of sleeping; you would never say “the boy slept him.” Make sense?

The verb lay is transitive: you can lay an object down.

Lie, by contrast, is intransitive: you cannot “lie” an object down, but you can do the action represented by “lie.”

Also tricky is the past tense for these verbs. The past tense of “lie” is “lay,” but the past tense of “lay” is “laid.” So, you need a bit of context to deduce whether you’re using the present intransitive “lay,” or the past transitive “lay.” Remember: if it’s transitive, then something is receiving the action; if it’s intransitive, then there is no direct object.

Principal versus principle

These commonly misspelled words are identical until their final two letters. Their meanings are related by the sense of “primary” in their shared Latin root, but are quite distinct.

A principle refers to a rule or standard.

Principal, on the other hand, refers to something that is “first” or “primary.” Often, leaders are principal people in a group. The leader of a school is a principal, for example; the lead investigator of a crime can also be called the principal investigator.

Principal also has a financial definition. When paying off a loan, some of your payment goes to the remaining balance, and some of it pays off the interest that loan collects. So, a principal payment is money that pays off the loan, while the rest of the payment goes towards interest.

Than versus then

This is another tricky homophone set. The only difference between the two words is the vowel, and there’s no easy way to remember which definition is which based solely on the spelling.

You’ll have to hammer this one into your head, and again, a powerful word processor can do wonders for your writing.

Than is a comparative word. You always use “than” to indicate differences in something, whether you’re comparing weight, height, time, looks, or other qualitative and quantitative measures.

In the last example, two different possibilities are being compared; often, “than” coincides with some sort of preference.

Then is used solely to indicate time. It refers to another time than now—either past or future.

Their versus they’re versus there

“They’re” and “their” are both pronouns, so they’re easy to confuse with each other.

Their is a possessive pronoun. Its most common use is to indicate possession among a plural group:

A more recent use of their refers to possession by a single person using the they pronoun:

They’re, by contrast, is a contraction: the word “they” and “are” are combined. You know that “they’re” is the right word if you can replace it with “they are” and the sentence has the same meaning.

“There” is a different word altogether—it has nothing to do with pronouns. We use the word there solely for expressing location. If I indicate that an object is “right there,” I’m probably doing something to point towards that location.

These are three of the most commonly misspelled words. Usually, your word processor will catch if you make this mistake; if not, you can always run your writing through an editing service like Grammarly.

To versus too versus two

Each of these often misspelled words are used in different parts of speech, but because the words themselves are tiny, many people confuse the three in writing.

Two refers to the number 2. You will only ever use “two” to mean 2.

Too is an adverb. It means either “also” or “excessively,” depending on context:

To is a helper word with many different uses and parts of speech.

As a preposition, “to” can imply direction, indicating the relationship between two or more nouns.

“To” is also used when writing the infinitive form of a verb. An infinitive is a verb without tense; it is the “base” form of a verb, one which describes solely the action without referring to the past, present, or future.

Finally, as an adverb, “to” indicates a general direction. Because this usage is an adverb, it must be used with a verb that implies motion.

Since “to” has so many uses, you might have an easier time remembering the definitions of “too” and “two,” then using “to” when the others don’t fit.

Tortuous versus Torturous

These commonly misused homophones are easy to confuse because they both sound rather sinister. However, only one of the two describes something evil.

Tortuous refers to something filled with twists and turns:

Torturous refers to something that brings the feeling of being tortured:

Weather versus whether

“Weather” and “whether” and are different parts of speech, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with these frequently misspelled words.

“Weather” can be used as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, weather refers to the environment. As a verb, to weather is a synonym for “to endure.” The adjective weathered comes from the verb form and means “something that has endured things.”

“Whether,” by contrast, is always used as a conjunction. Whether weighs between different possibilities.

You will often see the word “whether” used with the words “or” or “should.” You can often replace “whether” with “if.”

Who’s versus whose

Since both of these words are pronouns, people often use them interchangeably, making them easily misspelled words. The difference between them mainly rests on the apostrophe!

Who’s is a contraction of “who is.”

If you can replace “who’s” with “who is,” you’re using it correctly.

Conversely, you should use the word “whose” when referring to the person in possession of something. Whose is a possessive pronoun, so you always use it when the subject owns something in the sentence.

Your versus you’re

These words are among the most commonly misspelled in English, so get your mind ready, because you’re going to want to pay attention.

These commonly misused homophones cause the same confusion as “their versus they’re” does.

Your is possessive, like “their.” Use “your” to refer to something within the possession of the person being addressed.

“You’re,” like “they’re,” is a contraction. It means “you are.”

If you can replace “you’re” with “you are” and retain your sentence’s meaning, then you’re using it correctly!

These Commonly Misspelled Words Are Hard to Remember

If spelling is hard for you or English isn’t your first language, don’t be too hard on yourself. Most word processors, like Microsoft Word and Google Docs, will correct these mistakes for you. Always run your writing through a text editor before you submit it somewhere, even if you’re a spelling bee champion.

Another way to practice your writing is in a writing workshop. Creative writing classes help you master writing skills over time, so find a class that helps you fine-tune your craft, and get writing. You’ll be a master of grammar in no time!