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Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 1 of 6

ACCEPT, EXCEPT
Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who are probably familiar with the difference because they're all waiting for an acceptance!

"We accept your invitation to your party, except for Bill, who will be away on that day."

ADAPT, ADEPT, ADOPT
Adapt means to adjust, adept means skilled and
adopt means to take as your own:

"Some people cannot adapt to new surroundings."
"He is very adept at dodging awkward questions."
"He tends to adopt the attitudes of those around him."

ADVERSE, AVERSE
Adverse means inauspicious, hostile; averse means disinclined, repelled.

"I'm very much averse to making a long, arduous journey under such adverse weather conditions."

ADVICE, ADVISE
Advice is the noun and advise the verb.

"His advice was that we should advise everybody to either stay away or be extremely careful."

AFFECT, EFFECT
Affect is a verb; effect is a noun.

"Bad weather will affect the quality of the fruit."
"The effect of bad weather is a reduction in fruit quality."

ALREADY, ALL READY
Already means by this time; all ready means prepared.

"Are you already packed?"
"Yes, I'm all ready to leave."

ALTOGETHER, ALL TOGETHER
Altogether means wholly; all together means everybody in a group:

"It's altogether too bad you can't come."
"All together, now: 'Good morning, Sir!'"

ALL RIGHT, ALRIGHT
All right is the correct form; alright is grammatically incorrect.

ALLUDE, ELUDE
Allude means to refer to; elude means to dodge or escape.

ALLUSION, ILLUSION
Allusion is an indirect reference or hint; illusion means deception or mirage.

ALL WAYS, ALWAYS
All ways means by every way or method; always means all the time, forever.

ANNUAL, ANNUL
Annual means yearly; annul means to make void or invalid.

ANYONE, ANY ONE
This is quite tricky. Anyone means anybody, any person at all; any one means any one person and is followed by "of".

"Does anyone else want to come?"
"Any one of you is welcome to come along."

APPRAISE, APPRISE
Appraise is to assess or estimate. Apprise is to inform or notify:

"I will appraise the situation and immediately apprise everybody of my conclusions."

Please don't make your character say or write anything like this, though--unless you want him to sound like a pompous twit!

ASCENT, ASSENT
Ascent is an upward movement; assent means agreement.

ASSISTANCE, ASSISTANTS
Assistance means help or aid; assistants is the plural of assistant, one who gives help.

ASSURE, ENSURE, INSURE
Assure means to guarantee; ensure means to make sure; insure means to protect against loss or damage:

"I assure you there's no call for alarm."
"To ensure your crockery doesn't get broken, wrap it all in bubble wrap."
"In case of breakage or loss, you should insure everything with a good insurance company."

About The Author
Laraine Anne Barker writes fantasy for young people. Visit her web site at http://lbarker.orcon.net.nz - Fantasy for Children & Young Adults for FREE stories and novel excerpts. Sign up for the NOVELLA OF THE MONTH CLUB, absolutely FREE!

MORE RESOURCES:

Course shows companies what NOT to put in writing - Reuters

Coens nominated for writing prize - BBC News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8PZADrpEJzYr-6ByMf2Uf0rfx2gD95J6AMO0cid=1287788727ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNGBTpeciwy2veBEIiQs5uFcyE2I_Aimg src=http://nt2.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=xkmoBYE_yJcJimgurl=www.google.com/hostednews/ap/media/ALeqM5ik-3Jzog8UNM6apF5Wt3txHWN9Fg width=59 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2The Associated Press/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7817304.stmcid=1287788727ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNGCiQ6tWzWn7xqln3FNLf6aM0NwewCoens nominated for bwriting/b prize/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBBC News,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Film-makers Joel and Ethan Coen have been nominated for a prize at the Writers Guild of America awards for their movie Burn After Reading. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8PZADrpEJzYr-6ByMf2Uf0rfx2gD95J6AMO0cid=1287788727ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNGBTpeciwy2veBEIiQs5uFcyE2I_ANolan nabs directing nomination for `Dark Knight#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/9411cid=1287788727ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNEfBi4gIDqWVk2g9idVfsmtx-QG-gWGA Nominates Bashir, Chicago 10, Dark Knight/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAnimation Magazine/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-3fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/burn-milk-up-wga-screenplay/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B4B251FC1-2BEF-474F-8C29-F0D30CA43027%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_1cid=1287788727ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNHltUi2Pd-hA9hixNn8qdShoS6AfA#39;Burn,#39; #39;Milk#39; up for WGA screenplay award/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-4fd=Rurl=http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp%3Farticle%3D7385cid=1287788727ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNFCW2h8_bPxn3hTTzbXhbtTa4TunAnobriFMagazine/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-5fd=Rurl=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090108.BUZZ08-1/TPStory/Entertainmentcid=1287788727ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNE4ib9cCp4wtXaHrMrlzQnYKjtsBAnobrGlobe and Mail/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287788727hl=ennobrall 500 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Gonzales writing book on years in Bush administration - Austin American-Statesman

Children#39;s creative writing class is Saturday at Writers#39; Gallery - Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror

The Flat Stanley Project gets kids reading, writing, and learning ... - Examiner.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m1d7-The-Flat-Stanley-Project-gets-kids-reading-writing-and-learning-geographycid=1287811701ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNEWFC_DrRHYaaRRcJMqJlaRWNOXwgimg src=http://nt2.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=Nj8BWNePNEUJimgurl=image.examiner.com/images/blog/author/img530michelle_kerns_photo.jpg width=80 height=67 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Examiner.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m1d7-The-Flat-Stanley-Project-gets-kids-reading-writing-and-learning-geographycid=1287811701ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNEWFC_DrRHYaaRRcJMqJlaRWNOXwgThe Flat Stanley Project gets kids reading, bwriting/b, and learning b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fExaminer.comnbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b could scarcely have imagined that decades later his quirky creation would be used in bwriting/b and geography projects for schoolchildren around the globe. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Russia says will restore gas when monitors in place - guardian.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8216731cid=1287643687ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNHfAd4uIrI_BOWsKAH_PNhKaX6kWgRussia says will restore gas when monitors in place/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fguardian.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b Faulconbridge in Kiev, Marcin Grajewski in Brussels; Martin Santa in Bratislava; Jan Lopatka in Prague; bWriting/b by Jon Boyle; editing by Ralph Boulton)/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D9QQGXDfC8LAcid=1287643687ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNGrCZ5h5VILCW7FQcwGli84qnR_qQVideo: Ukraine leaves Europe without gas - Gazprom/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrRussiaToday/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/9QQGXDfC8LA/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/9QQGXDfC8LAtype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-2fd=Rurl=http://www.kyivpost.com/world/32802cid=1287643687ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNEfgSJE3dgBxE-a9JLsIIG09fYUSwGazprom: Yushchenko should work instead of bwriting/b letters/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKyiv Post (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-3fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSBRU00715620090108cid=1287643687ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNGq2AflgXP0cHIsaLoAV8kVJciYqQGazprom refuses to agree to EU gas monitoring plan/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-4fd=Rurl=http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKPRA00230820090108cid=1287643687ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNHQ2ZxXoFovLTt5scIlqsqr3kmzeAnobrReuters/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-5fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL84569920090108cid=1287643687ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNGSwFCA_vndkmTFV8wDBoGgkdDheQnobrReuters/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287643687hl=ennobrall 7,089 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Ex-broker guilty of writing bad check - Billings Gazette

The business press: The horror of writing your own obit - BloggingStocks

How about if Steve Jobs smoked a pipe? - guardian.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5444561.ececid=1287230517ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNFn_Mv6IifADf65Es21E_0srH-lFgimg src=http://nt1.ggpht.com/news?imgefp=gc2QLSXZc24Jimgurl=technology.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00459/jobs_459501a.jpg width=80 height=38 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Times Online/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/08/apple-macworld-dullsville-pipecid=1287230517ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNHwy5nhrbYBJjlcSEZpwllSxJGAswHow about if Steve Jobs smoked a pipe?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fguardian.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1For the first time in more than a decade, it looks like I#39;m bwriting/b a letter. Unfortunately, my apparent absence in the latest version of Microsoft Office b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DOT3eybWjJaAcid=1287230517ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNFlvUeSGnTgDCXWE1myjdSd9oQPfgVideo: Steve Jobs Weight Loss Due to Hormone Imbalance/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/OT3eybWjJaA/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/OT3eybWjJaAtype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-2fd=Rurl=http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/iphone/showArticle.jhtml%3FarticleID%3D212701038%26cid%3Diwhome_art_iPhon_mostpopcid=1287230517ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNEIQiAPLSbDFMug-qBT5Lw1YHAEogMacworld: Apple Rewards The Faithful/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInformationWeek/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-3fd=Rurl=http://www.macworld.com/article/137945/2009/01/iwork09.html%3Ft%3D201cid=1287230517ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNGgbWOqmTEdnYMPqZpY9xFUYsnHYQExpo: Apple adds productivity features to iWork/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMacworld/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-4fd=Rurl=http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/01/06/apple-updates-iwork-web-based-document-sharing-and-more-productive-pricecid=1287230517ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNEN-bPQ3D1xAPxPkDT3Scwp1nKNcgnobrThe Industry Standard/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-5fd=Rurl=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jan/07/the-odd-world-of-the-cult-of-apple-ask-dave/cid=1287230517ei=dXRmSdyRLtbemQf0qdTFBAusg=AFQjCNH8F16F6IdJtogP7NAV2Om-gMFg3wnobrDaily Camera/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287230517hl=ennobrall 2,762 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Manhattan Public Library holding art and writing contest for MLK ... - KTKA.com

Writing - Google News

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