Easily confused words (1)

1Complete the sentences with the correct words.

journey / trip

1The train ……………… to Liverpool took over three hours.

2They went on a day ……………… to London.

private / particular

3I usually like cats, but I don’t like that

……………… cat.

4Mark goes to a ……………… school

in Manchester.

friendly / sympathetic

5I like Mallorca. The people there are

very ……………… .

6Helen was ……………… when she heard about my accident.

habit / custom

7It’s a traditional ……………… in our country at New Year’s Eve.

8Rachel smokes a lot. It’s a bad ……………, but she won’t give it up.

lent / borrowed

9Tim ……………… some money to Kate.

10Clare ……………… a book from the

school library.

agreed / accepted

11Sam ……………… to play in the tennis tournament this weekend.

12Pam finally ……………… that she

was wrong.

checked / controlled

13Gill ……………… her make-up before she left the house.

14If John ……………… his temper, he’d have more friends.

eventually / possibly

15After hours of searching, Sue ……………… found her keys.

16People will ……………… live longer in the next century.

2Choose the correct words.

Elsa felt tired. She had just completed a

long 1journey / trip from Venezuela. After

a seven-hour flight, she was back at

Heathrow airport in London. Elsa waited

for her suitcase and thought about her

holiday.

She had stayed in a lovely hotel with its

own 2private / particular beach. One of

the waiters had been very 3friendly /

sympathetic. He had explained the local

4customs / habits to Elsa and had 5lent /

borrowed her a guidebook. On the last day

of her holiday he’d asked her to take a

parcel to some of his friends in London. It

was a small parcel, and it wasn’t heavy, so

Elsa 6had agreed / had accepted to take it.

Elsa picked up her suitcase and walked

towards customs. ‘Do you have anything to

declare?’ asked a uniformed man. ‘No,’ she

replied. The customs official began to

7check / control her luggage. 8Eventually /

Possibly he came across the small parcel.

‘What’s in the packet?’ he asked. Elsa began

to explain as he carefully opened it. Inside

was a big surprise.

Easily confused words (2)

1Complete the sentences with the correct words.

assisted / attended

1Paul ……………… a private school when he was a teenager.

2The secretary ……………… the manager with her meetings.

degree / career

3As soon as Clare finished her university

……………… , she got a job.

4Dave dreamed of a ……………… in fashion. He wanted to be a designer.

professor / teacher

5……………… Patton is Head of the Linguistics Department at LondonUniversity.

6My history ……………… at school is very interesting.

library / bookshop

7Tom went to the ……………… to borrow a book about the paranormal.

8Pam bought Stephen King’s best-selling

novel from her local ……………… .

embarrassed / pregnant

9Karen felt ……………… when Karl asked

her out.

10Did you know that Sarah is ……………… ? The baby is due in December.

suburb / slum

11The family live in a large house in a smart

London ……………… .

12Calcutta has got the world’s biggest

……………… . Most of the city’s population lives there.

stranger / foreigner

13Sue is quite shy. She would never talk to

a ……………… .

14We use the word ……………… to describe someone from another country.

advice / advise

15I strongly ……………… you to give

up smoking.

16Paul wasn’t sure about which university

to apply to, so he asked his teacher for

……………… .

2Choose the correct words.

Love problem

Dear Sue

I’m nineteen years old and I’m studying for a

Spanish 1career / degree at university. I enjoy

my course, but I’ve got a problem and need

some 2advice / advise.

I recently fell in love with a boy in my class.

The problem is that I get very 3embarrassed /

pregnant when I see him. We’re not

4foreigners / strangers and we’ve talked to

each other, but he’s already got a girlfriend. A

few weeks ago I was studying in the

5bookshop / library when I saw him. I was

so nervous I felt sick! Since then I’ve been missing lectures to avoid him.

Now the 6teacher / professor of the

department wants to know why I haven’t been

7attending / assisting classes. What can I say?

Amy