I was talking with someone today about words. Language changes over time. So many words that were common when I was young are no longer used. So many new words are out there.
There are words that I have to stop and think about before using. These are some of the ones that can be confusing.
affect to change or make a difference to a result;
effect to bring about a result
born having started life
borne carried
desert a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone
dessert the sweet course of a meal
practice the use of an idea or method; the work or business of a doctor, dentist,
practise to do something repeatedly to gain skill; to do something regularly
From Oxford Dictionaries
In writing myself and reading others I have noticed that we can get these wrong. Affect and effect are particularly difficult. Usually, affect is a verb and effect is a noun, and they’re used when talking about the results or consequences of particular actions.
The difference between affect and effect is so slippery that people have started using “impact” as a verb instead. Don’t be one of them! Another trick is to remember that affect comes first alphabetically, and an action (to affect) has to occur before you can have a result (an effect) from FluentU.
So affect is something we do and effect is what happens after we do it.
From what I have seen no one gets practise and practice. Word Press thinks that the former is not a word. I had to add it to my dictionary.
There is a long list on the Oxford site. What words bug you?
Capital and capitol, counsel and council.
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So true. I can never get the capitol’s straight!
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