Jim Roth’s Website

Julie’s Homonyms Help

(created by Julie, one of my English 99 students)

Homonyms or Homophones are words that have the same sound but different meaning and spelling.

all ready - completely prepared 

                   (We were all ready to start the play, but the audience was still being seated.)

already - previously; before

                       (I had already called the police.)

*IF "READY" SOUNDS GOOD USE "ALL READY."

brake - stop; the stopping device in a vehicle

(“I hit the brakes too hard and skidded to the side of the road.”)

break - come apart

("I am going to break up with Bill if he keeps seeing other women," said Rita.)

coarse - rough, texture or also could describe a "coarse joke"

(I used coarse sandpaper to start my wood project.)

course- part of a meal; a school subject; direction; "of course"

                    (Of course you can use the car.)

complement--to complete

(“The color of her sweater really complemented her pants.”)

 compliment—to praise

                     (“The mother complimented her child on his good behavior.”)

hear - perceive with the ear (remove the h for ear)

                (The salespeople act as though they don't see or hear me.)

here - in this place

(I have been standing here for fifteen minutes.)

hole - an empty spot

              (I dug a hole in the back yard.)

whole - entire

                   (I can't believe I ate the whole pizza.)

its -  belonging to it

           (The car blew its transmission.   The transmission belongs to it, the car)

it's - shortened form of it is or it has

          (It's  (it has) been raining all week and it's (it is) raining now.)

knew - past form of know (kn=knowledge)

                 (I knew there was some reason the place looked better.)

new - not old

              (I had new wallpaper put up yesterday.)

know - to understand

                  (I don't know what his dog's name is.)

no - a negative

          (There is no one thing the people have in common.)

pair - set of two

             (What a great pair of shoes.)

pear - fruit

              (The pear was ripe and delicious.)

passed - went by; succeeded in; handed to; direction

                     (Someone passed him a wine bottle.)

past - time before the present; beyond

              (We worked past closing time." “I drove past Safeway.”)

peace - calm

                 (Nations often risk world peace by fighting over a piece of land.)

piece - part

                 (Can I have a piece of pie?)

plain - simple; flat area

                (The plain dress was a pretty color.  The Great Plains stretch on for miles.)

plane – aircraft

                  (The plane will depart from the airport in ten minutes.)

principal – the main or most important;  a person  in charge of a school

                          (The principal reason I am attending S.C.C. is to transfer to a four-year school.  The principal of the  school met with the parents.)

principle - law, standard, or rule

                         (What principles do you live by?)

*the e in principle is also in rule - the meaning of principle.

* Use "Most Important" as a replacement word, if it works use PRINCIPAL

right - correct; opposite of left

               (She got the answer right on the quiz.)

write - what you might do in English

                (Please write a letter to your mother.)

than - used in comparisons

               (Jane has a prettier dress than Lynn has.)

then - at that time; refers to time

               (The bell rang and then the kids raced for the door.)

their - belonging to them; possession

               (These are their books.)

there - at that place; neutral word used with verbs like is, are, was,

were, have, and had.   

(There were three people sitting there yesterday.)

they're - shortened form of they are

               (They’re really confused by this math problem.)

 Two people own that van over there (at that place) .  They're  (they are) going to move out of their apartment (the apartment belongs to them) and into the van in order to save money. 

threw - past form of throw

through - from one side to the other; finished, action of throwing

(The fans threw so much litter onto the field that the teams could not go through with the game.)

to - verb part, as in to smile; toward, as in "I'm going to heaven."

too - overly, intensify, to emphasize "The pizza was too hot." "The coffee was too cold.

too – replacement for “also.”   “I want to go, too (also).”

two - number 2

Tony drove to the park to be alone with Lola. (The first “to” means towards; the second “to” is a verb part that goes with be.

Tony's shirt is too tight; his pants are tight, too.  (The first too means overly, the second too means also.)

You need two hands to handle a Whopper.

* Pronounce TO as "Tuh"-- if it works us TO; if not use TOO.

wear - to have on

where - in what place; location

Fred wanted to wear his light pants because it was so hot, but he didn't know where he had put them.

weather - atmospheric conditions

whether - if it happens that; in case; if

Some people go on vacations whether or not the weather is good.

whose - belonging to whom

who's - shortened form of who is and who has

Who's the instructor whose students are complaining?

your - belonging to you

you're - shortened form of you are

You're (meaning, "you are") not going to the fair unless your brother (the brother belonging to you) goes with you.

a -  Generally you should use a before words starting with a

      consonant sound (a Coke, a brain, a cheat, a television, a gambler)

an - Generally you should use an before words starting with a vowel or vowel sound.   

(a, e, i, o, u) (an ache, an experiment, an elephant, an idiot, an ox, an hour, an historical era, an hour, an honor, an honorable decision)

If the beginning "U" makes a sound like in the “U” in University, Union, or Unique us the "A" before the word.

If the beginning "U" makes a sound like the "U" sound in umbrella and ugly use “AN” before the word.

accept - receive; agree to

except - exclude; but  *Think EXIT (OUT);  to exclude

"I will accept your loan," said the bartender, "except I'm not ready to pay 25 percent interest."

advice - noun meaning "an opinion"

advise - verb meaning, "to counsel, to give advice"

I advise you to take the advice of your friends and stop working so hard.

*Pronounce out loud—“advise has a “Z” sound in it.

affect - verb meaning "to influence"

effect - verb meaning to "to bring about something"; or a noun

meaning "results" or “outcome(s)”

The full effects of marijuana and alcohol on the body are only partly known; however, both drugs clearly affect the brain in various ways.

*IF "ED" ENDING IS NEEDED USE AFFECTED.

*IF "IVE" ENDING IS NEEDED USE EFFECT(IVE)

*Use EFFECT in the phrase “into effect"

Use RESULT or OUTCOME as replacement word for EFFECT.

among - implies three or more

between - implies only two

We had to choose from among 125 shades of paint but between only 2 fabrics.

beside - along the side of; position

I was lucky I wasn't standing beside the car when it was hit.

besides - in addition to

Besides being unattractive, these uniforms are impractical.

desert - stretch of dry land; to abandon one's post or duty

dessert - last part of a meal.

Sweltering in the desert, I was tormented by the thought of an icy dessert.

* Two SS's for FOOD.

fewer - used with things that can be counted (remember fingers for things you can count.)

There were fewer than seven people in all my classes today.

less - refers to amounts, value, or degree, (measure = less)

I seem to feel less tired when I exercise.

loose - not fastened; not tight-fitting

lose - misplace; fail to win

Phil's belt is so loose that he always looks ready to lose his pants.

quiet - peaceful

quite - entirely; really; rather; not quite done

After a busy day, the children are quiet, and their parents are quite tired.

though - despite the fact that

thought - past form of think.

Even though she worked, she thought she would have time to go to school. 

Practice Time ê Write a few sentences using any of the above pairs, particularly the ones that are difficult for you. In each case, refer to the explanation to check that you’ve made the correct choice.