Confused Words 2

By georgelthomas on 18 Jan 2018 • ( 1 )

Hi everyone, here’s another post about words that are oft confused for various reasons and just as I have done with the Writing Tips posts, I’m switching to a numbering sequence in the title instead of a synonym for ‘more’ simply because I ran out of them.

Anyway, here are six more sets of words.

Blue, Blew
Blue: is one of the three primary colours. For example, the sky is ‘blue‘.
Blew: this is used as the past tense of blow. For instance, she ‘blew‘ out the candles on her birthday cake.

Pear, Pair, Pare
Pear: this word is used when referring to the fruit that is narrow at the top and wider at the bottom with a yellow-green colour. For example, the ‘pear‘ was delicious.
Pair: is used when you are talking about two things that have been put together. For instance, I bought a ‘pair‘ of shoes.
Pare: is used when talking about reducing the size of something by cutting away the outer edges. For example, he ‘pared’ the potatoes for dinner.

Air, Heir
Air: this can mean the invisible gasses that we breathe, or it can mean an impression of a quality or manner given by someone or something. For example, he took a long deep breath of fresh ‘air‘. She had an ‘air’ of dignity and grace about her.
Heir: this word is used when referring to somebody who is set to inherit property or a title or rank upon that person’s death. For example, the prince of wales is the current ‘heir‘ to the British throne.

Lain, Lane
Lain: this is the past participle of the word lie. For Instance, he had ‘lain‘ in bed for the whole day.
Lane: is used when referring to a narrow road or footpath. For example, she lived in the big house at the end of the ‘lane‘.

Lair, Liar
Lair: this can be where a place where wild animals live or a place a person wants to keep private and hidden away. For example, the lion took its kill back to its ‘lair’. The police found the criminals hiding in their ‘lair‘.
Liar: this word is used when referring to somebody who tells lies. For example, she realised that he was the biggest ‘liar‘ she had ever met.

Mail, Male
Mail: this is used when you are talking about letters and packages that are sent through the post. For instance, he was told that his cheque was in the ‘mail‘.
Male: this word is used when referring to an organism that is opposite to a female. For example, is that dog a ‘male‘ or a female?

As always, thank you for spending your time here, I really appreciate it.

Until next time,

George