{"id":836,"date":"2019-07-01T07:17:24","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T11:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/?p=836"},"modified":"2026-04-02T00:38:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T00:38:53","slug":"learning-tips-22-confusing-english-phrases-rules-and-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/learning-tips-22-confusing-english-phrases-rules-and-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, and Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>English might be tricky in multiple ways. There are a lot of homophones, spelling, and writing puzzles, not to mention some punctuation rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read our new blog post to know how to deal with these tricky elements and lift your language knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.producthunt.com\/posts\/linguix-writing-coach?utm_source=badge-featured&#038;utm_medium=badge&#038;utm_souce=badge-linguix-writing-coach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/api.producthunt.com\/widgets\/embed-image\/v1\/featured.svg?post_id=304688&#038;theme=light\" alt=\"Linguix Writing Coach - Improve your language skills while writing online | Product Hunt\" style=\"width: 250px; height: 54px;\" width=\"250\" height=\"54\" \/><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.producthunt.com\/posts\/linguix-writing-coach?utm_source=badge-featured&#038;utm_medium=badge&#038;utm_souce=badge-linguix-writing-coach\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Then vs. than<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A top widespread mistake, which originates from the similarities of those two words. To avoid errors, remember that you use &#8220;than&#8221; in comparison, while &#8220;then&#8221; can be used to indicate that something follows something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>She was a better player than him<\/em><\/p><p><em>We will go to school first, then to the playground.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Who vs. Whom vs. Whose vs. Who&#8217;s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Who vs. Whom&#8221; dilemma is one of the trickiest puzzles the English language has to offer to a learner. We&#8217;ve already <a href=\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/who-vs-whom-how-to-determine-which-word-to-use\/\">taken on it<\/a> in one of our previous posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a fast way to decide between the two words to see how you can substitute the target word. If you can replace the actor in the sentence with &#8220;he&#8221; or &#8220;she,&#8221; then you use &#8220;who.&#8221; If &#8220;him&#8221; or &#8220;her&#8221; looks better than use &#8220;whom.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/4EYgZQum2ySQVZsMpjGk3hdL6M9ozAqg_zhxzZo-5_IT3PNYLWPGVsATVqdMicmfsF0AS7IwH6S4iMsruRLQxklV0_f4fhZPDoRfaEwBVyiRMFOGss-WDSeK7izCebHbZqnq-kB8\" alt=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, And Words\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In turn, &#8220;whose&#8221; is used to assign ownership, while &#8220;who&#8217;s&#8221; is a contraction for &#8220;who is&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>Whose car is that?<\/em><\/p><p><em>Who&#8217;s calling the customer today?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n    \n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. They&#8217;re vs. Their vs. There<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Their&#8221; and &#8220;there&#8221; are homophones, i.e., words that have the same pronunciation but different meaning. To always correctly identify which word to use, remember that &#8220;there&#8221; is the opposite of &#8220;here&#8221; and refers to a place, while &#8220;their&#8221; describes possession. Also, &#8220;they&#8217;re&#8221; is just a contraction of &#8220;they are&#8221; (or &#8220;they were&#8221;).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/there-vs-their-vs-theyre-how-to-determine-which-word-to-use\/\">published<\/a> a comprehensive guide with multiple examples of using their\/there on practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Your vs. You&#8217;re<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Similar to the previous issue here we have two homophones which are often tricky to use correctly. The word &#8220;your&#8221; denotes possession while &#8220;you&#8217;re&#8221; is a contraction for &#8220;you are.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>This is your decision.<\/em><\/p><p><em>Wow, you&#8217;re so fast!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Its vs. It&#8217;s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another puzzle that might be very hard to solve even for the most educated people. &#8220;Its&#8221; denotes possession like &#8220;your&#8221; or &#8220;their,&#8221; and &#8220;It&#8217;s&#8221; is a contraction for &#8220;it is.&#8221; In such cases the &#8216;s makes people think that there is possession involved as well, which is wrong. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Who vs. That<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the trickiest things to figure out. Both words are used for descriptions, and when you describe the person the correct option is &#8220;who&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Bad<\/strong>: Jane is a marketer that has huge experience in working with international customers.<\/p><p><strong>Good<\/strong>: Jane is a marketer who has huge experience in working with international customers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>However, when you&#8217;re describing an object, it is correct to use &#8220;that&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Good<\/strong>: This is a car that I&#8217;d like to buy one day.<\/p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Then vs. than<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another top widespread mistake which, again, originates from the similarities of those two words. To avoid errors, remember that you use &#8220;than&#8221; in comparisons, while &#8220;then&#8221; can be used to indicate that something follows something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>She was a better player than him<\/em><\/p><p><em>We will go to school first, then to the playground.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. conscience vs. <em>conscence<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, remember that conscience is a noun denoting a person&#8217;s &#8220;inner feeling acting as a guide to rightness or wrongness of the behavior.&#8221; It is not conscious, an adjective, meaning that the person is awake and able to respond to surroundings. To write &#8216;conscience&#8217; right, remember to put a &#8216;science&#8217; inside this word as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">9. maintenance vs. <em>maintainence<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The tricky part here is that the word &#8216;maintenance&#8217; which often directly connecting to maintaining something, does not have the &#8216;maintain&#8217; part in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10. recommend vs. <em>reccommend, reccomend<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Words with doubled letters are often hard to spell and write because it may be unclear what letter to double. In this word, you may have the feeling that &#8216;c&#8217; is worthy of duplicating, however, this is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/a8wJ7WkZr7qW1d2IQhkxu5U5HHl1yc2VGOToD7A5UO_GBE8JX7MM3HsvKxeZN9dKLJ_kdoc4jhphpkhff_jraCaaXuCsTW1YYI65tr39HuzNPUcpX1Wty9nkS6UQUqICW17ornwP\" alt=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, And Words\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">11. deductible vs. <em>deductable<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another confusing thing in English is -ible\/-able twist. It is so easy to confuse the endings in such words, and you&#8217;d better be very careful with them. In this example, the word &#8216;deductible&#8217; has &#8216;i&#8217; inside it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">12. weird vs. <em>wierd<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The word that breaks the spelling rule (&#8216;i&#8217; before &#8216;e&#8217; except after &#8216;c&#8217;) which is totally weird, but you have to accept it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">13. accommodate vs. <em>acommodate\/ accomodate<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, doubled letters are confusing. In this particular word, however, you can solve this puzzle by remembering that the word &#8216;accommodate&#8217; literally &#8216;accommodates&#8217; a lot of letters<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">14. pronunciation vs. <em>pronounciation<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here the source of the mistakes lays in the fact that the verb form of this word is &#8216;pronounce&#8217;. But the noun does not have an &#8216;o&#8217; in the middle! You need to remember it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/z3K-EkBEJQVMXQ3Et-orQGy-mmH3STcn3gwfpLYT598BfguhSNzd0zii2RsoTQe7QVfrByPZ6Le0G_UXG8abxXsTqRPwX8jaH1wlmAqmquFcJR0dmb-9mydBMcZ5xU1OKcZum2Gl\" alt=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, And Words\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">15. Commas after introductory words<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes you need an introductory word (&#8220;however&#8221;) or group of words (&#8220;on the other hand&#8221;) to start your sentence. There might be different reasons for it, including providing more information and preparing the reader to the main part of a sentence. The rule is that a comma should follow such words and group of words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>Finally, I had enough money to buy this car.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tip<\/strong>: it is common to use adverbs as introductory words, and lots of them end in &#8220;ly.&#8221; So, if you have a word ending in &#8220;ly&#8221; at the beginning of your sentence, be sure to put a comma after it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">16. Using a comma to interrupt a sentence and provide more context<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When your sentence is interrupted by a phrase that is not grammatically connected with it, you need to set this phrase off with commas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>This car I told you about, which had this nice built-in audio system, was bought yesterday by some banker.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It is really important to follow this rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/KMUIdxbBV0-kW6EnrRFGNgf8O8l8z3FwlpWZdfhZoqZpK_ZfO1l1YzjKkJLOD1cGB27pC9EmNWENA-8OOEBJbyfT-vRCM591F6bmKFxKNYTGuz9Rr6dIi9eZSdRrbli4T8bLX7MS\" alt=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, And Words\"\/><figcaption><em>Source: <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/funny\/comments\/euugy\/the_value_of_a_comma\/\"><em>Reddit<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">17. Spotting redundancy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes people put in the sentence a group of words each of which has identical meaning. The result is always confusing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>He has acrophobia but nevertheless continued climbing this high wall.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;But&#8221; is the same as &#8220;nevertheless,&#8221; so using both of them is excessive here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/Zw8oLels9IXb1Obi64MVYn83CNu79QyFxPuOwDxqAHr69gshlZVqyxQzDipN-R367FVps2GzZvvq8uyMLROdpcHEmRtNmS9QMewmQwUoQBouEx1bV0tk3g9ljlsSjwga3GRzfF3i\" alt=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, And Words\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">18. at night vs. in the night<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People wake up in the morning, go shopping in the afternoon, meet their families in the evening, but things happen at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Bad<\/strong>: Claire often goes out in the night.<\/p><p><strong>Good<\/strong>: Claire often goes out at night.<\/p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">19. married to vs. married with<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If we want to describe someone&#8217;s marital status, it will be correct to say that one person is married to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Bad<\/strong>: John is married with Katy.<\/p><p><strong>Good<\/strong>: John is married to Katy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/DKOCmBGImMQsADeOuatXFZxX78R7YxQB9Hw6nZvnQcHGA8mkNNN0txqDa8u_gytHbwNRQkj2OaHbCjvAdoOVTr79bBc-dAgdxg6udJ6mWDBnZ5ikwxQ2bHpfDptrNllPmzp87tYs\" alt=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, And Words\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, if people have plans to get married, the preposition to will be used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>My friend Peter is getting married to Jane next month.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>However, you just marry someone:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Wendy is marrying her fitness coach.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">20. for vs. since<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To describe periods of time the preposition for is usually used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Bad<\/strong>: I&#8217;ve been working for this company since three years.<\/p><p><strong>Good<\/strong>: I&#8217;ve been working for this company for three years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/CsUWvBugjXNIInpO2unhNsHgqd7LV2joOvEGGbrn0LnqI5onAU3GcKtncr5Tl9uz3U5iLf-QwNnQ5qjhp0PsWWeRAn6C8xnLF--qwaem6fcbv8L0u9Mp7ze_Jcav1n0eT105ucQE\" alt=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, And Words\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">21. Depends on\/of<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many non-native speakers make mistakes when using the word constructions &#8220;depends on.&#8221; When you need to describe dependency, you should always use the preposition on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Bad<\/strong>: It depends of when you&#8217;d like it to be done.<\/p><p><strong>Good<\/strong>: It depends on when you&#8217;d like it to be done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">22. Arrive at vs. Arrive in vs Arrive to<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When we are talking about coming somewhere like a city, country or another place, we should always use &#8220;arrive at.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Bad: When we arrived to the stadium, the game had already started.<\/p><p>Good: When we arrived at the stadium, the game had already started.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<h3>How can I quickly remember when to use &#8220;then&#8221; vs &#8220;than&#8221;?<\/h3>\n<p>Use &#8220;than&#8221; for comparisons (She is taller than him) and &#8220;then&#8221; for time or sequence (We&#8217;ll eat, then leave). A quick check: if you can replace the word with &#8220;afterward&#8221; or a time expression, &#8220;then&#8221; is usually correct.<\/p>\n<h3>What&#8217;s an easy way to choose between &#8220;who&#8221; and &#8220;whom,&#8221; and when to use &#8220;whose&#8221; or &#8220;who&#8217;s&#8221;?<\/h3>\n<p>For who\/whom, replace the word with &#8220;he\/she&#8221; or &#8220;him\/her&#8221;: use &#8220;who&#8221; when &#8220;he\/she&#8221; fits (subject), &#8220;whom&#8221; when &#8220;him\/her&#8221; fits (object). &#8220;Whose&#8221; shows possession; &#8220;who&#8217;s&#8221; is a contraction of &#8220;who is&#8221; or &#8220;who has.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>When should I put a comma after introductory words or to interrupt a sentence?<\/h3>\n<p>Put a comma after introductory words or phrases (Finally, On the other hand,) and use commas to set off nonessential interrupting phrases-if removing the phrase leaves a complete, sensible sentence, surround it with commas.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>English might be tricky in multiple ways. There are a lot of homophones, spelling, and writing puzzles, not to mention some punctuation rules. Read our new blog post to know how to deal with these tricky elements and lift your language knowledge. 1. Then vs. than A top widespread mistake, which originates from the similarities [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[543,468],"class_list":["post-836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-confusing-english","tag-english-learning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.8 (Yoast SEO v24.8.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, and Words - Linguix Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/learning-tips-22-confusing-english-phrases-rules-and-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, and Words\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"English might be tricky in multiple ways. There are a lot of homophones, spelling, and writing puzzles, not to mention some punctuation rules. Read our new blog post to know how to deal with these tricky elements and lift your language knowledge. 1. Then vs. than A top widespread mistake, which originates from the similarities [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/learning-tips-22-confusing-english-phrases-rules-and-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Linguix Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-01T11:17:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T00:38:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/unsure.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"534\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/learning-tips-22-confusing-english-phrases-rules-and-words\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/learning-tips-22-confusing-english-phrases-rules-and-words\/\",\"name\":\"Learning Tips: 22 Confusing English Phrases, Rules, and Words - 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