Spelling guidelines
14. Problem pairs
There are a considerable number of words in English that look very similar and sound very similar; in fact sometimes they sound exactly the same (that is to say, they are homophones). Not surprisingly, many of them are regularly confused by even advanced users of English, including native speakers. In some cases the matter is compounded because the two words have related meanings. Here are the most common troublemakers:
| adapt (‘(zich) aanpassen’) | adept (‘bedreven’) | |
| advice (‘advies’) | advise (‘adviseren’) | |
| affect (‘beïnvloeden’) | effect (‘teweegbrengen’, ‘effect’) | |
| choose (‘kiezen’) | chose (‘koos’) | |
| compliment (‘compliment’) | complement (‘aanvulling’) | |
| council (‘raad’) | counsel (‘advies’) | |
| dependent (‘afhankelijk’) | dependant (‘een afhankelijke’) | |
| desert (‘woestijn’) | dessert (‘dessert’) | |
| discreet (‘discreet’) | discrete (‘afzonderlijk’) | |
| insure (‘verzekeren’) | ensure (‘veilig stellen’) | |
| lie (‘liggen’) | lay (‘leggen’) | |
| live (‘leven’, ‘rechtstreeks’) | life (‘het leven’) | |
| lose (‘verliezen’) | loose (‘los’) | |
| moral (‘moraal’, ‘deugdzaam’) | morale (‘mentale veerkracht’) | |
| practice (‘oefening’) | practise (‘oefenen’)* | |
| precede (‘voorafgaan’) | proceed (‘verder gaan’) | |
| prescribe (‘voorschrijven’) | proscribe (‘verbieden’) | |
| principle (‘principe’) | principal (‘rector’, ‘hoofd-’) | |
| prophecy (‘voorspelling’) | prophesy (‘voorspellen’) | |
| stationary (‘stationair’) | stationery (‘kantoorbenodigdheden’) | |
| then (‘toen’) | than (‘[groter] dan’) |
*Note that in American English practice is used for both noun and verb.