Common Misuses of Words that Affect Students

· Everyday in writing, students misuse words that should not be misused. This problem is something that you would hope would only exist at the elementary level but unfortunately it also exists at the high school and collegiate levels. This site includes commonly misused words and how students can correctly use them.

· To effectively use this page, please read through the commonly misused words provided and the example sentences that go along with them. The first set of sentences in each set is incorrect and the correct ones are below them. After you feel confident that you understand the correct meanings of the words, go ahead and try the exercise provided to test what you have learned.

1. Affect / Effect

§ The sudden change in weather had a huge affect on my allergies.

§ My new job will effect how much sleep I need each night.

Affect	to act on; produce an effect or change in: Cold weather affected the crops.
Effect	something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence: Exposure to the sun had the effect of toughening his skin.

§ The sudden change in weather had a huge effect on my allergies.

§ My new job will affect how much sleep I need each night.

2. Accept / Except

§ My teacher would not except my late paper yesterday.

§ Megan likes to color with all of her crayons accept the dark brown one.

Accept	to take or receive (something offered); receive with approval or favor: to accept a present; to accept a proposal.
Except	with the exclusion of; excluding; save; but: They were all there except me.

§ My teacher would not accept my late paper yesterday.

§ Megan likes to color with all of her crayons except the dark brown one.

3. Principal / Principle

§ Each day in chemistry Mr. Daniels teaches us a new principal.

§ The principle asked Ben to come to his office today.

Principal	first or highest in rank, importance, value, etc.; chief; foremost.
Principle	an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct: a person of good moral principles.

§ Each day in chemistry Mr. Daniels teaches us a new principle.

§ The principal asked Ben to come to his office today.

4. Compliment / Complement

§ My friend Beth made a nice complement about my new shoes yesterday.

§ The rose serves as a nice compliment to Jenna’s corsage.

Compliment	an expression of praise, commendation, or admiration: A sincere compliment boosts one's morale.
Complement	something that completes or makes perfect: A good wine is a complement to a good meal.

§ My friend Beth made a nice compliment about my new shoes yesterday.

§ The rose serves as a nice complement to Jenna’s corsage.

5. Assure/ Insure / Ensure

§ I contacted Jean about trying to ensure my new house the other day.

§ I called Sonja to assure that she would be at my house by 5:00 tonight.

§ The customer asked me to insure that her package would get to its final destination.

Assure	to declare earnestly to; inform or tell positively; state with confidence to: She assured us that everything would turn out all right.
Insure	to guarantee against loss or harm.
Ensure	to secure or guarantee: This letter will ensure you a hearing.

§ I contacted Jean about trying to insure my new house the other day.

§ I called Sonja to ensure that she would be at my house by 5:00 tonight.

§ The customer asked me to assure that her package would get to its final destination.

* Below is an exercise to test what you have learned and to make sure that you know the correct usage of all of the above words.

Exercise: Please indicate which of the following sentences have misused words in them. Answers can be found at the very bottom of this page.

1. Jennifer and Dan hope to talk to the principal about Sally’s behavior in class.

2. Yesterday I talked to my mom about what steps I need to take to assure my car.

3. I except that it is now winter and I can no longer wear flip flops outside.

4. Beth’s green dress really pays a nice complement to her red hair.

5. The affect that the fog made on the stage was not what I had expected.

6. The B I got on the paper helped me to ensure that I would get a good grade in the class.

7. Tyler’s dad was hired to the principle at the new elementary school down town.

8. Last week my entire family except for my dad took a vacation to Washington D.C.

· Writing is a form of communication. Each and every one of us writes almost every day in some form whether it is an email, a letter, a text message, an instant message, a flyer, a publication etc. We all need to try our hardest to be clearer and use the correct words. While the examples above may seem juvenile, they are common problems even at the college level. It is my hope that using the examples that I have provided, you as a writer will become more aware of how easy it can be to misuse words. If it is annoying for you to read when there are errors, think about those that are reading your work.

- Answer Key: Sentence 2 – assure should be insure.

Sentence 3 – except should be accept.

Sentence 5 – affect should be effect.

Sentence 7 – principle should be principal.

*All definitions of these words were found at www.dictionary.com