50+ Commonly Confused Word Pairs — English Grammar for PSC

Confused word pairs are a staple in Kerala PSC English sections (1-2 questions per paper). This reference covers 55+ pairs with clear distinctions and examples.

Commonly Confused Word Pairs

Word 1	Meaning	Word 2	Meaning	Example
Affect	To influence (verb)	Effect	Result (noun); to bring about (verb)	The rain will affect the match. The effect was immediate.
Accept	To receive or agree	Except	Excluding	I accept your offer. Everyone came except Ravi.
Advice	Suggestion (noun)	Advise	To suggest (verb)	He gave good advice. I advise you to study.
Principal	Head of school; main	Principle	Rule or belief	The principal announced a holiday. Honesty is a good principle.
Stationary	Not moving	Stationery	Writing materials	The bus was stationary. Buy some stationery for school.
Complement	To complete	Compliment	Praise	Red wine complements steak. She paid me a compliment.
Council	Advisory body	Counsel	Advice; lawyer	The town council met today. She sought legal counsel.
Desert	Dry land; to abandon	Dessert	Sweet dish after meal	The Sahara is a desert. I had ice cream for dessert.
Loose	Not tight	Lose	To misplace; to fail	The knot is loose. Do not lose your ticket.
Than	Comparison	Then	At that time	He is taller than me. We ate, then left.
Their	Possessive of they	There	At that place	Their house is big. The book is there.
Its	Possessive of it	It’s	It is / It has	The dog wagged its tail. It’s raining today.
Who’s	Who is / Who has	Whose	Possessive of who	Who’s coming today? Whose bag is this?
Your	Possessive of you	You’re	You are	Is this your pen? You’re welcome.
Lie	To recline; to speak falsely	Lay	To put down (requires object)	I lie down to rest. Lay the book on the table.
Raise	To lift (transitive)	Rise	To go up (intransitive)	Raise your hand. The sun will rise at 6 AM.
Eminent	Famous, distinguished	Imminent	About to happen	She is an eminent scientist. The storm is imminent.
Emigrate	To leave a country	Immigrate	To enter a country	He emigrated from India. She immigrated to Canada.
Farther	Greater physical distance	Further	Additional; to a greater degree	The airport is farther than I thought. We need further discussion.
Precede	To come before	Proceed	To continue	Thunder precedes rain. Please proceed to the exit.
Elicit	To draw out	Illicit	Illegal	The question elicited a response. Illicit trade is punishable.
Cite	To quote or reference	Site	Location	Cite your sources. This is the construction site.
Sight	Vision; something seen	Site	Location	The Taj Mahal is a beautiful sight.
Allusion	Indirect reference	Illusion	False perception	The poem has an allusion to mythology. It was an optical illusion.
Assure	To promise (to a person)	Ensure	To make certain	I assure you it is safe. Ensure the door is locked.
Insure	To provide insurance	Ensure	To make certain	Insure your house against fire. Ensure you submit on time.
Beside	Next to	Besides	In addition to	Sit beside me. Besides English, she knows French.
Historic	Important in history	Historical	Related to history	It was a historic moment. He reads historical novels.
Continual	Repeated frequently	Continuous	Without stopping	The continual interruptions annoyed him. The continuous rain flooded the roads.
Discreet	Careful, tactful	Discrete	Separate, distinct	Be discreet about this matter. The data has discrete values.
Formally	In a formal manner	Formerly	Previously	She was formally introduced. He was formerly a teacher.
Hanged	Executed by hanging	Hung	Suspended (past tense of hang)	The criminal was hanged. She hung the painting on the wall.
Imply	To suggest (speaker)	Infer	To deduce (listener)	Are you implying I am wrong? I infer from your tone that you are angry.
Ingenious	Clever, inventive	Ingenuous	Innocent, naive	An ingenious solution. She gave an ingenuous smile.
Moral	Ethical lesson; ethics	Morale	Spirit, confidence	The moral of the story is clear. The team’s morale is high.
Personal	Private, individual	Personnel	Staff, employees	That is a personal matter. The personnel department handles recruitment.
Sensible	Practical, showing good sense	Sensitive	Easily affected	She made a sensible decision. He is sensitive to criticism.
Quiet	Silent	Quite	To a degree; fairly	The library is quiet. The exam was quite difficult.
Weather	Climate conditions	Whether	If (conjunction)	The weather is pleasant. I wonder whether he will come.
Altogether	Completely	All together	Everyone together	That is altogether different. Let us sing all together.
Already	By this time	All ready	Everyone prepared	She has already left. We are all ready for the trip.
Awhile	For a short time (adverb)	A while	A period of time (noun)	Rest awhile. It has been a while since we met.
Born	Brought to life	Borne	Carried; past participle of bear	She was born in Kerala. He has borne the burden patiently.
Canvas	Cloth for painting	Canvass	To seek votes or opinions	The artist painted on canvas. She canvassed for votes.
Censor	To ban or cut	Censure	To criticize severely	The board censored the film. The MP was censured for misconduct.
Conscience	Inner moral sense	Conscious	Aware	My conscience did not allow it. He was conscious of the risk.
Credible	Believable	Credulous	Too willing to believe	Her story is credible. He is too credulous for his own good.
Defer	To postpone; to yield	Differ	To be unlike	The meeting was deferred. Our opinions differ.
Eligible	Qualified	Illegible	Cannot be read	She is eligible for the post. His handwriting is illegible.
Luxuriant	Lush, abundant growth	Luxurious	Expensive, comfortable	The garden has luxuriant foliage. They stayed in a luxurious hotel.
Masterful	Domineering	Masterly	Skillful	His tone was masterful. A masterly performance by the violinist.
Mitigate	To make less severe	Militate	To work against	The medicine will mitigate the pain. This evidence militates against his claim.
Practical	Useful, realistic	Practicable	Feasible, can be done	A practical approach. The plan is not practicable in this timeframe.
Prescribe	To recommend (medicine/rules)	Proscribe	To forbid	The doctor prescribed rest. The law proscribes discrimination.
Uninterested	Not interested	Disinterested	Impartial, unbiased	She was uninterested in cricket. A judge must be disinterested.

Commonly Tested Spelling Confusions

Correct	Wrong	Tip
Accommodation	Accomodation	Double ‘c’ and double ‘m’
Definitely	Definately	No ‘a’ — definite + ly
Separate	Seperate	”There is A RAT in separate”
Occurrence	Occurence	Double ‘c’ and double ‘r’
Necessary	Neccessary	One ‘c’, double ‘s’: “one Collar, two Socks”
Independent	Independant	Ends with ‘-ent’ not ‘-ant’
Grammar	Grammer	Ends with ‘-ar’ not ‘-er’
Maintenance	Maintainence	’-enance’ not ‘-ainence’
Privilege	Priviledge	No ‘d’ in privilege
Recommend	Reccommend	One ‘c’, double ‘m’