Oft-Confused Words

One of the quirks of the English language is that we often use similar words to say subtly (or extremely) different things. Here's a handful of words that writers often mix up.

Affect and Effect: Usually, "affect" is a verb and "effect" is a noun. For example:

Eating 300 burgers really affected my waistline.
Eating 300 burgers had a big effect on my waistline.

• Advanced Tip #1: "Effect" is used in common expressions such as "in effect" and "cause and effect."
• Advanced Tip #2: "Effect" can be a verb when it's immediately followed by the word "change," as in "we hoped to effect change in the curriculum by refusing to write about llamas."
• Advanced Tip #3: Used as a noun, "affect" is an outward expression of emotion. That usage is almost obsolete in contemporary English, though it's the root of the much more common "affection."

Fewer and Less: Use "fewer" when referring to a set of individual things and "less" when referring to a mass of stuff.

After Thanksgiving, there were fewer turkeys on the farm.

After Thanksgiving, there was less food in the pantry.

Farther and Further: Careful writers use "farther" to refer to physical distance and "further" to refer to metaphorical distance.

Mozambique is a little farther away than your neighbor's house.

Even if you inquire further, you'll never find out who did it!

Or and Nor: In the most common usage, “or” goes with “either,” “nor” goes with “neither.”

Either the kitten or the puppy made the mess on the carpet.

Neither the kitten nor the puppy made the mess on the carpet.

“Or” and “nor” can also be used as FANBOYS conjunctions to link two independent clauses. “Or” is used to indicate two mutually exclusive things, while “nor” is used to link two similar, negative things.

We will purchase a zebra, or we will adopt an elephant.

Right now, we don't own a zebra, nor do we have an elephant.

Your and You're: “Your” indicates possession of something. “You're” is a contraction of “you are.” For example:

We're so sorry, but we took your car around town for a joyride.

I hope you're going to forgive us for borrowing it without asking.

As a possessive pronoun, “your” is also used before words ending in -ing.

Your writing is very clever, but it's a little short on factual accuracy.

I'm not sure I agree with your thinking that we're about to be invaded by extraterrestrials.

Their, There and They're: Whew, here we go. “Their,” like “your,” is used to indicate possession.

The politician hoped to secure their votes by promising a goat to every household.

Their dancing is very entertaining, but they have an unfortunate tendency to break things.

“There” refers to location.

I think I saw a hairbrush back there!

It can also be used more abstractly.

There are many reasons to avoid giving a moose a bath.

“They're” is a contraction for “they are.”

We need to speak with the Dingermullers soon; they're moving to Australia next week.

He's trying to impress the voters, but they're not sure about his honesty.

Than and Then: “Than” is used for comparisons, as in “better than,” “other than” and “rather than.” “Then” indicates the passage of time.

My milkshake is better than yours.

If I make a milkshake, then all the boys will come to my yard.

Other than the risk of serious injury, there's no great reason not to jump off a cliff.

He ran to the edge of the cliff, then skidded to an abrupt halt.

In if-then constructions, the “then” is often omitted. Read the sentence to figure out where the implied “then” would be and put a comma there. For example:

If you don't drive carefully, [then] you may end up in a ditch.

If you try to pet a grizzly bear, don't be surprised when it mauls you in return.

Who and Whom: “Who” functions as a subject; that is, it performs an action. “Whom” is an object; it receives an action. For instance:

The person who gave you that platypus must be a little eccentric.

Be sure to find a vet whom you can trust to take care of that platypus!

If you're not sure which word to use in a question, try answering it with a singular male pronoun. If the answer is “he,” use “who.” If the answer is “him,” use “whom.”

Who cooked those pumpkin pies? He made them with a bazooka!

Whom can we trust? I'd trust him to the moon and back!