Commonly Confused Words

Use _____ when talking about something that is lost.

Ernesto, ______ ignoring texts from Elena, is waiting impatiently for Jasmine to text him. 

Daniel may finally ask Lisa out, ________ been smiling at him for half a semester. 

Wow! My clothes fit so much better ________ before, since I lost 20 pounds!

Joey's apartment is trashed since _____ been a week since he cleaned it. 

Living in the Sunshine State is so much better ______ living in the frozen tundra of Alaska. 

The shiny new Corvette ________ the lumbering old pick-up truck on the highway.

I'd rather attend Tampa Catholic ______ any other high school! 

Use ____ in front of a verb or at the beginning of a prepositional phrase. 

My parakeets love to sit on my shoulders, but _________ feathers tickle my ear. 

First, we went out to eat, and ________ we saw a movie. 

Every time I do a load of laundry, I _______ a sock in the washing machine. 

Because I studied really hard for my vocabulary test,  I _______ it with flying colors!

_____ is the contraction of "who is" or "who has."

"_____ my party, and I'll cry if I want to."

The boxer was paid to ______ the match. 

We couldn't help eavesdropping on Jerry, _______ loud voice boomed in the hallway. 

My mother always used to say: "The _____ is in the _____. It's best to leave it there."

"Over the river and _______ the woods, to Grandmother's house we go."

Everything that happened in history happened in the ______. 

Our neighbor's basset hound has toenails so long that __________ curled like macaroni noodles. 

Clifford refused to ______________ his place in line for the new iPhone.

________ the Looking-Glass is Lewis Carroll's sequel book to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

When baking a cake, if you don't follow the instructions, _______ it won't turn out right. 

______ obvious that Professor Grayson enjoys teaching psychology.

_____ is the possessive form of "who."

The jockey, ______ horse was prancing agitatedly behind the starting gate, appeared nervous. 

The contracted form of "it is" is ____.

____ is used when you are talking about an excessive amount of something.

After the marathon, Kara soaked her ______ sore feet in a bucket of warm water, 

Use ______ when talking about something that is not tightened.

The plural possessive pronoun is _______.

Use _____ when referring to a number. 

_____ is the singular possessive form of the word, and it functions as an adjective. 

Don't tell me I have to go _______ all of it with you again! 

____________ is a mustard smear on my dress.

Use ______ when you are suggesting a passage - from start to finish or from point A to point B.

Instead of researching killer whales for Marine Biology, Jorge went _____ the beach. 

Francisco decided against getting the Collie puppy since _____ long fur would shed so much.  

Behind the sofa _________ is a collection of crumbs dropped by hungry couch potatoes. 

________ is the contraction of "they are."

The party next door was _____ loud, so my father asked them to turn the music down. 

A bat is _________ in the church's belfry. 

_____ is the past-tense form of the verb "throw."

The frozen cappuccino sat forgotten on the table; _____ sweating cup formed a ring on the wood.

A __________ board on the back staircase squeals like a dying mouse when stepped on. 

______ is the past tense of the verb "pass."

Lisa, _______ smile lights up a classroom, has attracted Daniel's attention. 

_____ is used when making a comparison between two things. 

Kierra ________ her future away when she decided to run with the wrong crowd. 

The past tense form of the verb "throw" is ______.

When our parakeet chirps ____ loudly, we throw a towel over his cage to quiet him,.

When listing a series of steps or events, _____ is used to indicate what happens next. 

The word ______ has the word "here" in it and tells location. 

As we were walking _____ the library, we met Ben and Maria, who were also on their way there. 

"____ time you found a summer job," Mom declared as she unplugged my Sony Playstation. 

_____ is ALWAYS two words. 

The strong wind was whipping Carissa's __________ hair into her face. 

"Oh, no! _________ are lima beans on my plate!" screamed Noel before he fainted with a thud. 

We ________ the time singing Christmas carols, eating cookies, and drinking egg nog.