ACCEPT, EXCEPT: The verb accept means "to give an affirmative answer to" or "to receive." The verb except means "to exclude"; as a preposition, except means: "with the exclusion of."

ADVICE, ADVISE: Pronounced and spelled differently, advice is a noun, advise a verb.

AFFECT, EFFECT: Affect, meaning "to influence," is a verb only. Effect may function as a verb or a noun. The verb effect means "to bring about" or "to achieve"; the noun effect means "the result."

ALREADY, ALL READY: Already means "before or by the time specified." All ready means "completely prepared."

ALRIGHT, ALL RIGHT: Alright is still an unacceptable spelling of all right.

AMONG, BETWEEN: Among always implies more than two, a group; between literally implies only two.

BARE, BEAR: Bare (adj.) means naked, unadorned; bare (verb) means to strip or uncover; a bear (noun) is an animal, and bear (verb) means to carry or produce.

CARAT, CARET, CARROT: A carat is a unit of weight for precious stones; a caret is a proof-reading symbol (^); a carrot is a vegetable.

COMPLEMENT, COMPLIMENT: A complement is something that completes (as a predicate adjective); a compliment is an expression of praise.

CONSCIENCE, CONSCIOUS: Do not confuse conscience, the noun, with conscious, the adjective.

COUNCIL, COUNSEL, CONSUL: A council is an assembly, like a city council (councilor); counsel (noun, verb) refers to advice (counselor); a consul is a foreign service officer.

DATA, CRITERIA, PHENOMENA: Plurals of datum, criterion, phenomenon.

DIFFER FROM, DIFFER WITH: differ from means "to stand apart because of unlikeness." Differ with means "to disagree."

EMIGRATE, IMMIGRATE: Emigrate means "to leave a place of abode for residence in another country." Immigrate means "to come for permanent residence into a country of which one is not a native."

EMINENT, IMMINENT: Eminent, means outstanding, prominent; imminent means about to occur, or impending.

FEWER, LESS: Less refers to value, degree, or amount; fewer refers to number, to the countable.

HANGED, HUNG: Hanged is used in referring to executions; hung to objects.

IMPLY, INFER: The writer or speaker implies; the reader or listener infers. Imply means "to suggest without stating"; Infer means "to reach a conclusion based upon evidence."

INCREDIBLE, INCREDULOUS: Incredible means "too extraordinary to admit of belief." Incredulous means "inclined not to believe on slight evidence."

INGENIOUS, INGENUOUS: Ingenious means "clever, resourceful," as "an ingenious device." Ingenuous means "open, frank, artless," as "ingenuous actions."

ITS, IT'S: Its is a possessive pronoun; it's is a contraction of it is.

LAY, LIE: Lay is a transitive verb meaning to put, or place something. It always takes an object. Its principal parts are lay, laid, laid. Lie is intransitive and means to recline or to remain. Its principal parts are lie, lay, lain.

LOSE, LOOSE: Do not confuse. Lose means "to cease having." Loose (verb) means "to set free."

MORAL, MORALE: The noun moral means "lesson, maxim"; the adjective moral means "pertaining to right conduct, ethical." Morale, a noun, refers to "a cheerful, confident state of mind."

PASSED, PAST: Passed is the past tense and past participle of pass (They passed by yesterday); Past is an adjective, adverb, and preposition (In the past); a pastime is a spare time activity.

PLAIN, PLANE: Plain means unadorned, simple, or easily understood; a plane is an aircraft, a carpenter's tool, or a flat surface.

PRINCIPAL, PRINCIPLE: Distinguish between principal, an adjective or noun meaning "chief official," and the noun principle, meaning "fundamental truth."

RIGHT, WRIGHT, WRITE: Right means morally, legally, or properly; a wright is a maker such as a playwright; to write is a verb meaning to inscribe with letters.

SET, SIT: Set is a transitive verb meaning to put or place; its parts are set, set, set. Sit is an intransitive verb meaning to be seated; its parts are sit, sat, sat. However, a hen sets, concrete sets, and the sun sets.

SIGHT, SITE, CITE: Sight refers to vision, site refers to a physical area of reference, cite refers to a quotation.

THERE, THEIR, THEY'RE: Their is a possessive pronoun: there is an adverb or an expletive; they're is a contraction for they are.

TO, TOO, TWO: Distinguish the preposition to ("to the store") from the adverb too ("too cold") and the numeral two ("two apples)