Most common mistakes (Lexics)

Accept is a verb, which means to agree to take something .

to accept a good advice.

Except is a preposition or conjunction, which means not including.

every day except Sunday(s)

Advice is a noun, which means an opinion that someone offers you about what you should do or how you should act in a particular situation.

For example: "I need someone to give me some advice."

Advise is a verb, which means to give information and suggest types of action.

For example: "I advise everybody to be nice to their teacher."

!Often in English the noun form ends in ...ice and the verb form ends in ...ise.

affect is usually a verb (action) - effect is usually a noun (thing)

To affect something or someone.

Meaning: to influence, act upon, or change something or someone.

For example: The noise outside affected my performance.

To have an effect on something or someone

!Note: effect is followed by the preposition on and preceded by an article (an, the)

Meaning: to have an impact on something or someone.

For example: His smile had a strange effect on me.

For example: The drug has many adverse side effects.

Alone, can be used as an adjective or adverb. Either use means without other people or on your own.

For example: "He likes living alone."
"I think we're alone now." = There are just the two of us here.

Lonely is an adjective which means you are unhappy because you are not with other people.

For example: "The house feels lonely now that all the children have left home."

!Note - Just because you're alone, doesn't mean you're lonely.

Any and some are both determiners. As a general rule we use some for positive statements, and any for questions and negative statements,

I asked the barman if he could get me some sparkling water. I said, "Excuse me, have you got any sparkling water?" Unfortunately they didn't have any.

beside is a preposition of place that means at the side of or next to.

For example: The house was beside the Thames.

besides is an adverb or preposition. It means in addition to or also.

For example: Besides water, we carried some fruit. = "In addition to water, we carried some fruit."

bored is an adjective that describes when someone feels tired and unhappy because something is not interesting or because they have nothing to do.

For example: She was so bored that she fell asleep.

boring is an adjective that means something is not interesting or exciting.

For example: The lesson was so boring that she fell asleep.

!Note Most verbs which express emotions, such as to bore , may use either the present or the past participle as an adjective, but the meaning of the participles is often different.

Complement is a verb, which means to make something seem better or more attractive when combined.

For example: "The colours blue and green complement each other perfectly."

Compliment is a noun, which means a remark that expresses approval, admiration or respect.

For example: "It was the nicest compliment anyone had ever paid me."

Tip! Having problems with your spelling? Try these mnemonics:-

If it complements something it completes it. (With an e.)

I like compliments. (With an i.)

Decent is an adjective meaning socially acceptable or good.

For example: Everyone should be entitled to a decent standard of living.

Descent is a noun which can mean a movement downwards, or your ancestry.

For example: The plane began its final descent prior to landing. / "She found out that she was of Welsh descent."

Everyone gets this wrong - including native speakers. The general rule is to use fewer for things you can count (individually), and less for things you can only measure

For example:

There were fewer days below freezing last winter. (Days can be counted.)

I drink less coffee than she does. (Coffee cannot be counted individually it has to be measured).

!Note - "Less" has to do with how much. "Fewer" has to do with how many.