Advanced C2 / Lesson 1

Let's have a look at some that give the most trouble to students taking international English exams.

ADVISE / ADVICE

Advise is a verb that means “to offer opinion or counsel“.

One advises others and receives advice.

Advice is a noun that refers to the information you receive when someone advises you.

He needs your advice. Please call him as soon as possible.

ACCEPT / EXCEPT

Accept is a verb that means “to receive with approval” or “to agree with”.

Except is a preposition that means “excluding” or “but”.

I accept all of your conditions except this one.

AFFECT / EFFECT

Affect is a verb that means “to influence”.

Can one person affect the course of human history?

Effect is a noun that means “a result or consequence”.

The effects of the medication could be seen immediately.

CAPITAL / CAPITOL

Capital is a noun that means “financial resources”.

Capitol is a noun for the building or buildings where a government meets.

Large amounts of capital are needed to finance the reconstruction of the nation's capitol.

Be careful!

Capital is also a noun or adjective commonly used to describe the most important city in a country or region.

Cairo, London, and Paris are all capital cities.

Capital can also be an adjective that means “very, very serious”.

Most people oppose capital punishment.

RESPECTABLY / RESPECTIVELY

Respectably is an adverb that means “in a manner worthy of esteem or respect.”

Jim is respectably skilled for his age.

Respectively is an adverb that refers to items in a series and means “in the order named”.

John, Tom, and Michael, respectively, will present their reports to the committee.

BASIS / BASES

Basis is a singular noun that means “the thing that supports something, especially an argument.”

There is no basis for his argument.

Bases is the plural of base, a noun that means “the bottom of something, the part that provides support for something.”

The difference is that basis refers to intangible things, like ideas or arguments, while base refers to physical things, like tables or buildings.

The base of the lamp was round and blue.

DESERT / DESSERT

Desert is a noun that means “a large area of land that has very little water and very few plants growing in it”.

The story took place in a desert.

Dessert, of course, is a noun that means “any sweet food eaten at the end of a meal.”

I always eat ice cream for dessert.

PRINCIPAL / PRINCIPLE

Principal is an adjective that means “most important or influential”.

Our manager's principal concern is our work productivity.

Principle is a noun that means “a fundamental rule, belief, or truth”.

Your actions should be consistent with your principles.

TALE / TAIL

Tale is a noun that means “a story, often one that is easy to read or understand”.

This is not a tale to be told when children are here.

Tail is a noun that means “the movable part at the end of the body of a bird, an animal or a fish”.

Dogs wag their tails when they are happy.

PERSONNEL / PERSONAL

Personnel is a noun that means “the people employed in an organization; the staff”.

You need to ask the personnel department about it.

Personal is an adjective that means “belonging to an individual person rather than to a group or organization”, or “not part of one's public or professional life; private”.

This car is for your personal use only.

WEATHER / WHETHER

Talking about the weather as a way for good small talk is clear.

Whether means if.

I wanted to know whether you would cooperate.

MOST OFTEN MISPELLED WORDS

Let's have a look at some most often misspelled words…