Many words in the English language sound similar and may even have similar meanings, but they are used in different ways. This article is going to go over some commonly confused word pairs.
Than vs. Then
Than is used in comparisons, while then is used to show what order things happened in.
“I like the blue dress more than the green one.”
“We ate dinner and then played a board game.”
Less vs. Fewer
Less and fewer are both used to show differences in the amount of something. Use less when talking about things that you can’t count, such as time, and fewer when talking about things you can count, such as cookies.
“I have less time to do homework on Thursdays.”
“I ate fewer cookies than my sister”
Compliment vs. Complement
When you compliment someone, you praise or admire something about them. When two things complement each other, they both make the other one better.
“I gave her a compliment.”
“The color of the couch complements the wallpaper.”
Affect vs. Effect
Affect a verb that means to influence. Effect is a noun that means result.
“Many things can affect the weather.”
“The side effects of many medicines are listed during commercials.”
Capital vs. Capitol
Capital can refer to a capital letter or a capital city. Capitol refers to the actual capitol building.
“Always start sentences with capital letters.”
“We took a tour of the State Capitol building during our trip to Lansing.”
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