• *its/it’s:

  • its=possessive pronoun, does NOT need apostrophe, as in belonging to it

  • it’s=contraction for "it is" or "it has"

    • BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing

• *than/then:

  • than=used for comparisons, as in “My car is dirtier than yours.”

  • then=adverb, as in next, as in “Then, I went to my next class.”

    • also in if-then sentences, as in “If you do not learn these rules now, then you will receive bad grades on your essays.”

• were/where/wear:

  • were=linking verb

  • where=adverb, as in place, as in “Where did you come from?”

  • wear=verb, as in wear clothes

• there/their:

  • there=adverb, as in over there or “There was a fly on the wall.”

  • their=possessive pronoun, as in belonging to a group of people

  • they’re=contraction for they are

    • BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing

• your/you’re:

  • your=possessive pronoun, as in belonging to you

  • you’re=contraction for you are

    • BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing

• who’s/whose:

  • who’s=contraction for who is

    • BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing

  • whose=possessive pronoun, as in belonging to whom, as in “Whose book is this?”

• too/to/two:

  • too=intensifier, as in too much/many, in excess—so it has an excess of o’s, as in “I ate too much.” Also means “also,” as in “I want some, too.”

  • to=preposition, starts prep. phrases and infinitives, as in “I went to the store to buy milk.”

  • two=the number 2

• threw/through:

  • threw=verb, as in “The pitcher threw the ball to the first-baseman.”

  • through=preposition, as in “The ghost walked through the wall.”

• accept/except:

  • accept=to receive;

  • except=excluding

• affect/effect:

  • affect=verb, to act upon OR to have an effect upon;

  • effect=noun only, a change caused by an action

• allude/elude:

  • allude=to make reference to;

  • elude=to escape/avoid

• bear/bare:

  • bear=noun, animal OR verb, to carry;

  • bare=unadorned

• capital/capitol:

  • capital=government seat or material wealth or uppercase letter;

  • capitol=a building housing a government seat

• cite/sight/site:

  • cite=to make mention of or to quote as an example;

  • sight=something seen or one of the five senses;

  • site=a place or location (Web site)

• complement/compliment:

  • complement=something that finishes, goes with, completes (subject complement);

  • compliment=to praise or flatter

• conscience/conscious:

  • conscience=noun, moral compass;

  • conscious=adjective, aware, awake

• coarse/course:

  • coarse=rough;

  • course=class OR route taken

• counsel/council:

  • counsel=noun, advice OR noun, a lawyer OR verb, to advise;

  • council=a deliberative body

• desert/dessert:

  • desert=noun, barren land OR verb, to abandon;

  • dessert=noun, after-dinner treat

• elicit/illicit:

  • elicit=verb, to bring out;

  • illicit=adjective, illegal, unlawful

• fair/fare:

  • fair=adjective, just, reasonable OR noun, festival, carnival;

  • fare=noun, ticket price OR noun, food OR verb, to get along

• later/latter:

  • later=adverb, refers to a future time

  • latter=refers to the second of the two

• lead/led:

  • lead=present tense of the verb, to guide OR noun, a heavy metal or graphite in a pencil

  • led=past tense of the verb (pronounced like the noun)

• loose/lose:

  • loose=adjective, baggy, not tight;

  • lose=verb, to misplace OR verb, to fail to win

• moral/morale:

  • moral=adjective, virtuous, good OR noun, lesson taught by a story

  • morale=noun, mood, spirit, mental condition

• patience/patients:

  • patience=state of calmly waiting;

  • patients=plural noun of person receiving medical care

• personal/personnel:

  • personal=adjective, private OR adjective, individual;

  • personnel=noun, staff, workers

• peace/piece:

  • peace=serenity;

  • piece=a part of a bigger portion

• plain/plane:

  • plain=adjective, unadorned, simple OR noun, level land;

  • plane=short for airplane OR carpenter’s tool OR level surface

• principal/principle:

  • principal=noun, head of school OR noun, sum of money;

  • principle=basic law or guideline

• quiet/quite:

  • quiet=adjective, silent, still

  • quite=adverb, completely, entirely OR adverb, very, considerably

• stationary/stationery:

  • stationary=adjective, in a fixed position, immobile

  • stationery=noun, writing supplies and especially paper

• straight/strait:

  • straight=adjective, not crooked/curved OR adjective, direct, truthful, honest OR adverb, directly

  • strait=noun, channel between two large bodies of water OR noun, distress, difficulty

• than/then:

  • than=used in comparison;

  • then=adverb, next

• wear/where:  

  • wear=verb, to dress, put on clothes OR to erode;

  • where=location

• weather/whether:

  • weather=noun, climate;

  • whether=if

Write i before e
Except after c
Or when sounded like "ay"
As in neighbor and weigh.

OLD ENGLISH:

LATIN:

GREEK:

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FOREIGN (Latin, French, Greek):

OLD ENGLISH:

FOREIGN:

OLD ENGLISH:

FOREIGN: