More Commonly Confused Words Explained

CITE-- to summon to appear before a court, to quote an authority, or to refer to. I was cited for speeding. I cited my references for the essay at the end of it.
SITE-- a place: The site of one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War was Gettysburg.
SIGHT-- a view: Looking down upon the valley from the mountain peak was a beautiful sight.

CAPITOL-- a building where a legislative body meets: State capitols are located in the capital of each state.
CAPITAL-- the seat of government of a state or country: Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.

ENVELOP-- verb: to put a coving about: The mist enveloped our group.
ENVELOPE-- noun a wrapper: Put a stamp on the envelope before you mail it.

HANGED-- a person is hanged: The killer was hanged at dawn.
HUNG-- an object is hung: We hung all the pictures in our hallway.

EXCITE-- to stir up emotionally: Christmas lights excite me about the coming holidays.
INCITE-- to stir into action: Hitler was able to incite masses of people to do his evil work.

LEAVE-- to depart from: The train will leave the station at 6 P.M.
LET-- to allow, to permit: Mother let me drive the car to the grocery by myself.

THAT-- refers to groups or things: The Salvation Army is a group that helps needy people.
WHO-- refers to people: Susan is the one who won the recent election.

SIT-- to seat oneself. I decided to sit on the chair instead of the couch.
SET-- to put or place something: Please set the flowers in the center of the table.

GARDNER-- a proper name: Earle Stanley Gardner is her favorite author.
GARDENER-- one who gardens: The gardener planted fifteen Hydrangeas today.

LIGHTNING-- an atmospheric electrostatic discharge: The lightning split the oak tree in half.
LIGHTENING-- To make less heavy: I unloaded half the cement blocks from the truck bed, thus lightening the weight on the tires.

PRECEDE--to come before: Brainstorming is a good practice that should precede writing.
PROCEED--to go forward: The teacher proceeded to pass out the test papers.

STATIONARY--standing still: I use my stationary bike every morning.
STATIONERY-writing paper: We don’t use stationery for letter writing much any more.

WHO--used as a subject or as a subject complement: Barry is who can best do the job.
WHOM--used as an object: Whom did you invite to the prom?