general vocabulary

Confusing words & false friends 1

Confusing words are tw o or more w ords w hich:
(a) have a similar meaning to each other but which are used in a different w a y

(b ) are related to the same topic, but have a different meaning

(c) look similar, but have a different meaning.

False friends are w ord s in English w hich have a similar-looking w o rd in another language, but
w hich have a different meaning.

Complete the fo llo w in g sentence pairs w ith the appropriate w ord.

1. aboard / abroad

M ore and m ore people g o abroad fo r the ir holiday.

In 2002, she becam e th e first w o m a n to travel aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

2. action / activity

W e decided to take im m e d ia te .................... w h e n w e realised there was a prob lem .

T h e en vironm e ntal changes in th e area are the result of h u m a n .......................

3. advice / advise

Can y o u ...................m e on th e best course of action to take?

He offered me some e x ce lle n t.......................

4. affect / effect

D iverting th e course o f th e river w ill have a m a jo r ...................on th e local ecosystem.

Fre quent traffic jams in th e suburbs s e rio u s ly .................... jo u rn e y times into the city.

5. appreciable / appreciative

W id e n in g th e road m ade a n ...................difference to th e flo w of traffic.

T h e applause at the end o f th e concert was w a rm a n d .....................

6. avoid / prevent

Rapid international action m anaged t o .................... an enviro nm e nta l disaster fro m ta kin g place.

T h e re are areas in th e city th a t are wise t o .................... after dark.

7. beside / besides

T h e com pany's m ain office i s .................... th e railw ay station.

.................... th e ir reg ular daytim e jo b , m any people d o extra w o rk in the evening.

8. briefly /shortly

.................... before th e earth quake beg an, m a ny animals w ere seen to be behaving in an unusual
manner.

She s p o k e .................... b u t passionately a b o u t th e need to help those in d e ve lopin g countries.

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 general vocabulary
Confusing words & false friends 1
9. canal / channel

A .................... system joined the tw o m ain rivers, w hich m ade transp orting goods m uch quicker.

W h e n television first became po pular in the early 1950s, there was only o n e .......................

10. conscientious / conscious

Most people a r e .................of the need to protect the e nvironm ent.

.................... w orkers should be rew arded fo r their hard w o rk .

11. considerable / considerate

In m y opinio n, some people are not v e r y .................... of those around them .

A ............................................a m o u n t o f m oney was spent on develop ing the product.

12. continual / continuous

T h e com p uter system has given u s .................... problem s ever since w e installed it. Some days it
works, oth er days it doesn't.

T h e ........................noise from th e n ew m otorw a y has forced m any people to move.

13. control / inspect

N e w teachers often find it difficult t o .................... their classes.

Environm ental health inspectors regularly .................... comm ercial kitchens for cleanliness,
especially those in restaurants.

14. criticism / objection

I have n o .................... to people using their m obile phones on buses or trains.

Plans fo r the n e w stadium have attracted fie rc e .................... fro m local people.

15. damage / harm / injury

He suffered a s e rio u s.................... w hich needed im m ediate hospital trea tm ent.

T h e lo w levels of dangerous chemicals in the river w ere enough to ca use .................... to aquatic life.

A lot o f .................... was caused to buildings along the coast d urin g the storm.

16. during / for / w hile

T h e college closes.................... t w o weeks at the end of December.

He d ie d .................... tryin g to cross the desert alone.

M an y creatures stay u n d e rg ro u n d .................. d aylight hours.

17. ho w ever / moreover

Th e plan was go od in t h e o ry ..................... . in practice it was extrem ely difficult to im plem ent.

T h e plan was excellent....................... it was clear from the beg inn ing th a t it was g oin g to attract a
lot o f interest.

18. injured / w ounded

I believe th a t w e should do m ore to help and support soldiers w h o have been .................... in
com bat.

Several workers w e r e .................... w h e n the drilling platform collapsed.

general vocabulary
Confusing words & false friends 2
C om p lete the fo llo w in g sentence pairs w ith th e app rop ria te w o rd o r phrase.

1. jo b / w o rk

Everybo dy has th e rig h t to a d e c e n t.................... w ith g o o d pay.

D u rin g th e econom ic recession, a lot of people fo u n d themselves o u t o f .......................

2. lay / lie

If y o u 're suffering fro m d e h yd ra tio n, you should d rin k p len ty of w a te r and sit o r .................... d o w n
fo r a w hile .

Before yo u begin th e experim ent, you s h o u ld .................... a large plastic sheet on th e g ro u n d .

3. lo ok at / w atc h

W e need to .................... th e situation carefully over th e next fe w weeks and see h o w things
develop.

W e need t o .................... th e problem carefully and decide if there is a n yth in g w e can d o a b o u t it.

4. loose / lose

Some people are very com petitive and hate t o .................................a g am e or co m petition.

T h e surface is m ainly com posed o f .................... soil and small stones.

5. m ake / cause

T h e noise fro m traffic outside th e school c a n .................... it hard to hear w h a t the teacher is saying.

H u rric a n e s .................... w idespread d am ag e in urban areas.

6. nature / countryside

Thousands o f .................... lovers head fo r th e national parks every w ee ke nd .

I'd rather live in t h e .................... th a n in a city.

7. per cent / percentage

It is a m yth th a t on ly t e n ....................... of A m ericans hold a passport.

O n ly a s m a ll............................... of land is privately o w n e d .

8. perm ission / pe rm it

I'm afraid w e c a n 't .................... p h o to g ra p h y in the m useum .

W e re c e iv e d to attend th e m eeting, as long as w e d id n 't interrupt.

9. personal / personnel

M y o w n .................... vie w is th a t professional fo otball players are paid far to o m uch.

T h e co m p an y was in tro u b le until there was a change o f .................... on th e m a n a g e m e n t team .

10. possibility / chance

W e m ig h t g o to Spain fo r o u r field trip. A n o t h e r .................... is th a t w e 'll g o to Italy instead.

If w e act n ow , w e have a g o o d .................... of fin d in g a cure fo r the disease.

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 general vocabulary
Confusing words & false friends 2
11. practice / practise

It's im p orta n t t o .................... yo u r English w h e n e ve r possible.

I th ink I need m o r e .................... before I take the exam.

12. priceless / w orth less

.................. paintings by artists like Van G o g h and Rem brandt should no t be in the hands of private
collectors.

As inflation spiralled o u t of control, paper m oney suddenly became a lm o s t.......................

13. principal / principle

M a n y people refuse to eat m eat o n .....................

She was app ointed U n iv e rs ity .................... in 2009.

T h e c o u n try 's .................... fo od products are coffee and sugar.

I believe in t h e .................... th a t healthcare should be free fo r everyone.

14. problem / trou b le

A t nig ht, the streets are full of people fig h tin g and generally causing .......................

I was w o n d e rin g if you could help me w ith a litt le .................... I'm having.

15. process / procession

T h e h ig h lig h t of the carnival is a h u g e .................... alo ng the tow n's m ain street.

In some cases, a pp lying fo r a visa can be a long and fru s tra tin g .......................

16. raise / rise

As p ric e s .................... . dem and usually drops.

In response to th e oil crisis, most airlines had t o .................... th e ir fares.

17. rem em be r / rem ind

I c a n ........m y first day at school really well.

Language teachers o f t e n ..................... th e ir students th a t th e best w a y to rem em ber n ew w ords is to

use th em as m uch as possible.

18. respectable / respectful

W e all listened i n .................... silence as she outline d her plans for the m useum's future.

Everybody w ants to bring th e ir children up in a .................... n e igh b ou rh o od .

19. tolerable / tolerant

People need to be m o r e .................... of th e ir neighbours, and no t com plain every tim e th e y make
to o m uch noise.

T h e local authorities say th a t the noise fro m passing trains i s .................... . but m any living near the
railway lines disagree.

20. treat / cure

M a ny hospitals are so understaffed th a t th e y are refusing t o ................patients w ith m inor injuries.

T h e n e w d ru g was unable t o .................... the disease, and hundreds died as a result. 11