Commonly confused words
Than or then?
1. You pray for the hungry. ____ you feed them. That’s how prayer works.
2. It’s easier to fool people ____ to convince them they have been fooled.
1. You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.
2. It’s easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.
Choose the correct option:
An honest politic / politician is the one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.
An honest politician is the one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.
Read the lines, pronouncing all the words in bold correctly:
We cooked a steak on our short break,
I saw you smile as you speak.
steak /steɪk/
break /breɪk/
speak /spiːk/
"Come on, spill the beans, I want to hear it".
The idiom in bold means:
A. to sing
B. to tell a joke
C. to tell people secret information
C. to tell people secret information
Which word comes from Latin and means “salt-money"?
A. Salad
B. Salary
C. Salami
B. Salary
In ancient Rome, soldiers were sometimes paid with salt or given money to buy it, as salt was highly valuable. They called it "salarium,” which over time became a regular payment for services.
Weather or whether?
1. Knowledge is knowing what to say, wisdom is knowing ______ to say it or not.
2. There's no such thing as bad ______, only unsuitable clothing.
1. Knowledge is knowing what to say, wisdom is knowing whether to say it or not.
2. There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.
Choose the correct option:
If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, then a(n) accurate / tidy desk is a sign of a mind that procrastinates on important tasks by cleaning their desk.
a tidy desk
In which word is the lettter 'p' NOT silent?
receipt / script / pneumonia / psychology
script
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
The idiom in bold means:
A. Are you hurt?
B. Why are you so quiet?
С. Are you feeling sleepy?
B. Why are you so quiet?
The phrase 'Cat got your tongue' describes when someone is at a loss for words or unusually quiet.
The word "robot" comes from:
A. the Latin word for "machine"
B. the Czech word for "forced labour"
C. the Japanese word for "intelligence"
B. the Czech word for "forced labour"
"Robot" comes from the English translation of the 1920 play "Rossum's Universal Robots" by Karel Čapek, from Czech "robotnik" "forced worker".
Affect or effect?
1. Little things _____ little minds.
2. People not liking yourself is a common side _____ of being yourself.
1. Little things affect little minds.
2. People not liking yourself is a common side effect of being yourself.
Choose the correct option:
A stroke / insult is a serious life-threatening medical condition that happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off.
A stroke is a serious life-threatening medical condition...
Which word has a different pronunciation?
bear / beer / bare
beer /bɪər/
bear, bare /beər/
"Cut her some slack, it's her first day."
The idiom in bold means:
A. don't be so strict with her
B. make her work harder
C. let her leave early
A. don't be so strict with her
"Cut somebody some slack" means not to judge someone as severely as you usually would because they are having problems at the present time
Which word means "from cows" in Latin?
A. coward
B. vaccine
C. whisky
B. vaccine
It comes from the Latin word "vacca," meaning "cow." The term was coined by British doctor Edward Jenner in the 18th century when he used cowpox virus (vaccinia) to create immunity to smallpox.
Critic or criticism?
1. To avoid _____, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
2. Your harshest _____ is always going to be yourself.
1. To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
2. Your harshest critic is always going to be yourself.
Pretty or sympathetic?
1. It has been said that a ______ face is a passport. But it's not, it's a visa, and it runs out fast.
2. My own experience being bullied - it made me a more compassionate person. It made me more ______ towards teenagers.
1. pretty
2. sympathetic
Read the lines, pronouncing all the words in bold correctly:
I heard a song that touched my heart,
A man with a beard played his part.
heard /hɜːd/
heart /hɑːt/
beard /bɪəd/
"I'm glad somebody decided to give them a taste of their own medicine."
The idiom in bold means:
A. punish them
B. do the same bad thing to them that they did to others
C. force them to eat something they dislike
B. do the same bad thing to them that they did to others
The word "dollar" comes from:
A. the name of a town in the Czech Republic
B. the name of an ancient Egyptian currency
C. the sound of a cash register
A. the name of a town in the Czech Republic
It originally referred to a coin minted in the town of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, known as the Joachims-thaler. The name was shortened to “Thaler,” and from there became “daler” in Dutch and German.
Rise or raise?
1. A man may die, nations may _____ and fall, but an idea lives on.
2. Those who believe in telekinesis, _____ my hand!
1. A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.
2. Those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand!
Actual or relevant?
1. Cowards die many times before their _____ deaths.
2. Politics is the art of delaying decisions until they are no longer _____.
1. actual
2. relevant
Read this poem, pronouncing all the words in bold correctly:
Though the journey is so tough,
I thought I’d had enough.
But I pushed through every day,
And found my strength along the way.
though /ðəʊ/
tough /tʌf/
thought /θɔːt/
through /θruː/
"I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree here."
The idiom in bold means:
A. following the wrong course of action
B. complaining too loudly
C. doing unnecessary work
A. following the wrong course of action
"Bark up the wrong tree" also means trying to do something in a way that will not work, making the wrong choice, or asking the wrong person.
What does the abbreviation "OK" mean?
A. only kidding
B. outstanding knowledge
C. all correct
C. all correct
The word “OK” originated in the US in the 19th century as an abbreviation of “oll korrect,” a humorous misspelling of “all correct.” It gained popularity through its use in Martin Van Buren's 1840 presidential campaign, whose nickname “Old Kinderhook” (the name of his hometown) was abbreviated as “OK.”