Questions: Commonly Confused Words and Homophones

Question 1

Which sentence is correct?

• A. The team lost it's first game.
• B. The team lost its first game.
• C. The team lost its' first game.
• D. The team lost it is first game.

Answer: (B)

The sentence needs the possessive pronoun 'its,' which has no apostrophe. Test 'it's' by expanding it: 'The team lost it is first game' makes no sense, so 'it's' is wrong. 'Its'' is never a correct form.

Question 2

Choose the word that completes the sentence: 'The new rule will ___ every student in the school.'

• A. effect
• B. affect
• C. effects
• D. affection

Answer: (B)

The blank needs a verb meaning 'to influence,' so 'affect' is correct. 'Effect' is usually a noun ('The rule had a big effect'). One memory aid: Affect is the Action, Effect is the End result.

Question 3

In the sentence 'She is taller then her brother,' the word 'then' is used correctly.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Comparisons use 'than': 'She is taller than her brother.' 'Then' refers to time or sequence: 'We ate, and then we left.'

Question 4

Explain how to decide between 'your' and 'you're' in the sentence '___ going to love this book.'

Model answer: Try expanding to 'you are.' 'You are going to love this book' makes sense, so the answer is the contraction 'you're.' 'Your' shows ownership, as in 'your book.'

The expansion test works for every contraction pair: it's/its, they're/their, who's/whose, you're/your. If the expanded form fits, use the contraction; if not, use the possessive.