Những từ dễ gây nhầm lẫn
Đó là những từ rất dễ gây nhầm lẫn về mặt ngữ nghĩa, chính tả hoặc cách phát âm.
ANGEL (n) : Thiên thần.
ANGLE (n) : Góc.
CITE (v) : Trích dẫn. In her term paper, Janis had to cite many references.
SITE (n) : Khu đất ( để xây dựng). The corner of North Main and Mimosa Streets will be the site of the new shopping center.
SIGHT (n) : 1- Khe ngắm, tầm ngắm. Through the sight of the rifle, the soldier spotted the enemy.
(n) 2- cảnh tượng. Whatching the landing of the space’s capsule was a pleasant sight.
(v) 3- Thấy, quan sát thấy We sighted a ship in the bay.
COSTUME (n) Quần áo, trang phục lễ hội.
Ví dụ:
It is a custom in Western Europe for little boys to wear shorts pants to school.
DECENT (adj) : 1- đứng đắn, tề chỉnh.
2- tươm tất, tốt
Ví dụ:
When one appears in court, one must wear decent clothing.
DESCENT (n) : 1- leo xuống, trèo xuống.
Ví dụ:
The mountain climbers found their descent more hazardous than their ascent.
2- nguồn gốc, dòng dõi.
Ví dụ:
Vladimir is of Russian descent.
DESSERT (n) : Món tráng miệng.
Ví dụ:
We had apple pie for dessert last night.
DESERT (n) : sa mạc.
Ví dụ:
It is difficult to live in the desert without water.
DESERT (v) : bỏ, bỏ mặc.
Ví dụ:
After deserting the post, the soldier ran away from the camp.
LATER (adv) : sau đó, sau đây, rồi thì (thường dùng với câu ở tương lai).
Ngược nghĩa với nó là earlier (được dùng ở simple past).
Ví dụ:
We went to the movies and later had ice cream at Dairy Isle.
THE LATTER >< THE FORMER
Cái thứ 2, người thứ 2 >< cái thứ nhất, người thứ nhất.
Ví dụ:
Germany and England both developed dirigibles for use during World war II, the latter primarily for coastal reconnaissance. (latter = England).
LOOSE (adj) : lỏng >< tight : chật
Ví dụ:
after dieting, Marcy found that her clothes had become so loose that she had to buy a new wardrobe.
LOSE (v) : 1- đánh mất, thất lạc.
Ví dụ:
Mary lost her glasses last week.
2- thua, thất bại.
Ví dụ:
If Harry doesn’t practice his tennis more, he may lose the match.
Passed (v - quá khứ của pass) :
1- trôi qua, qua đi.
Ví dụ:
Five hours passed before the jury reached its verdict.
2- đi qua, đi ngang qua.
Ví dụ:
While we were sitting in the park, several of our friends passed us.
3- thành công, vượt qua được.
Ví dụ:
The students are happy that they passed their exams.
PAST (adj) : 1- đã qua, dĩ vãng.
Ví dụ:
This past week has been very hectic for the students returning to the university.
2- trước đây.
Ví dụ:
In the past, he had been a cook, a teacher, and a historian.
PEACE (n) : hoà bình, sự trật tự, sự yên ổn, sự yên lặng, sự thanh bình.
Ví dụ:
Peace was restored to the community after a week of rioting.
PIECE (n) : Một mẩu, 1 mảnh.
Ví dụ:
Heidi ate a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.
PRINCIPAL (n) : 1- hiệu trưởng (trường tiểu học và trung học).
Ví dụ:
The principal called a faculty meeting.
(adj) 2- chính, chủ yếu.
Ví dụ:
An anthropologist, who had worked with the indigenous tribes in Australia, was the principal speaker at Friday’s luncheon.

PRINCIPLE (n) : Nguyên tắc, luật lệ.
Ví dụ:
Mr. Connors is a man who believes that truthfulness