Page 227 - Basic English Usage

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299 similar words

In this list you will find some pairs of words which look or sound similar.
Some others (for example /ay and fie) are explained in other parts of the
book. Look in the Index to find out where.

beside and besides
Beside = ‘at the side of' or ‘by’.
Come and sit beside me.
Besides = (a) ‘as well as’ (preposition)
(b) ‘also’, ‘as well’ (adverb)
a. Besides German, she speaks French and Italian.
b. | don’t like those shoes. Besides, they're too expensive.

clothes and cloths
Clothes are things you wear: skirts, trousers etc.
Pronunciation: /klaudz/.
Cloths are pieces of material for cleaning.
Pronunciation: /klp@s/,
Clothes has no singular: we say something to wear, or an article of
clothing, or a skirt etc, but not @efethe-

dead and died
Dead is an adjective.
adeadman Mrs McGinty is dead.
That idea has been dead for years.
Died is the past tense and past participle of the verb die.
Shakespeare died in 1616. (NOT GShakespeare-dead ...)
a
She died in car crash. (NOT Sheis-deadin ...)
economic and economical
Economic refers to the science of economics, or to the economy of a
country, state etc.
economic theory economic problems
Economical means ‘not wasting money’.
an economical little car. an economical housekeeper

elder and eldest, older and oldest
Elder and eldest are often used before the names of relations: brother,
sister, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter. Older and oldest are
also possible.
My elder/older brother has just got married.
His eldesv/oldest daughter is a medical student.