GAMSAT Essay- A Tutorial On Easily Confused Words
GAMSAT Essay- A tutorial on easily confused words
Writing an essay is no mean task. One of the basics is that your language should be neat. Neat and free from common errors that can mar even a beautifully thought-out and well planned essay. Read on to find a very useful tutorial on common lexical errors in English. This should come in handy in your preparation for GAMSAT section two- Written Communication (GAMSAT Essay).
Certain words in the English language are very commonly confused. These are usually different parts of speech that are mistakenly used because they sound/ look. Given below is a list that, though not exhaustive, is a fairly comprehensive record of the same. Examples are given that differentiate the usage of these words:
| Accept (verb)
I would love to accept your gracious proposal. |
Except (preposition)
I go to school everyday except Sunday. |
| Affect (verb)
I was badly affected by her rude behaviour. |
Effect (noun)
The effect of medicines is evident from her improved health. |
| Its (possessive adjective)
The child was crying because it lost its toy. |
It’s (short form of it is)
It’s a privilege to be invited to your party. |
| Lose (verb)
I did not think I would lose your friendship so easily. |
Loose (adjective)
The shirt was too loose for him to fit in after he lost weight. |
| Loss (noun)
The loss of her mother was too hard for her to bear. |
Lost (verb; adjective)
She lost consciousness when she heard of her mother’s death. (verb) It’s a lost case. You can do nothing about it. (adjective) |
| Past (noun; adjective; preposition)
The past is hard to forget. (noun) Sales have been very good in the past one month. (adjective) She walked past me in a rather disdainful manner. (verb) |
Pass, Passed (verb)
I am sure that with a little hard work it’s not difficult to pass GAMSAT. (verb) Arthur passed GAMSAT last year. (verb)
|
| Than (comparative)
He works harder than his brother. |
Then (adverb)
It was then about five o’clock in his watch when he decided to watch the movie. |
| Whose (possessive adjective)
Let us seek clarification from the girl whose car was attacked. |
Who’s (Short form of ‘Who is’)
She is the girl who’s doing all the complaining. |
| Worse (comparative)
Samantha’s writing skills are worse than her sister’s. |
Worst (superlative)
Samantha’s writing skills can be said to be the worst in her class. |
| Your (possessive adjective)
You must do your share of hard work to succeed GAMSAT |
You’re (Short form of ‘you are’)
You’re sure to pass GAMSAT if you take up a well-planned approach to this examination. |
The above table should clarify your doubts about the use of some of the most commonly misused/ misconstrued words in the language. You should try to write five sentences with each of these words and get them evaluated by your teacher or somebody in your study-group who is strong in English. Once you master the use of these commonly misused words, your language will improve greatly and that will be a great boost in writing your GAMSAT essay.