Commonly Confused Words for ESL Students and Classes

Commonly Confused Words for ESL Students and Classes Here are some of the most commonly confused English word pairs. They have been chosen especially for ESL learners. beside / besides beside: preposition meaning next to, at the side of Examples: I sit beside John in class.Could you get me that book? Its beside the lamp. besides: adverb meaning also, as well; preposition meaning in addition to Examples: (adverb) Hes responsible for sales, and a lot more besides.(preposition) Besides tennis, I play soccer and basketball. clothes / cloths clothes: something you wear - jeans, shirts, blouses, etc. Examples: Just a moment, let me change my clothes.Tommy, get your clothes on! cloths: pieces of material used for cleaning or other purposes. Examples: There are some cloths in the closet. Use those to clean the kitchen.I have a few pieces of cloth that I use. dead / died dead: adjective meaning not alive Examples: Unfortunately, our dog has been dead for a few months.Dont touch that bird. Its dead. died: past tense and past participle of the verb to die Examples: His grandfather died two years ago.A number of people have died in the accident. experience / experiment experience: noun meaning something that a person lives through, i.e. something that someone experiences. - also used as an uncountable noun meaning knowledge gained by doing something Examples: (first meaning)His experiences in Germany were rather depressing.(second meaning) Im afraid I dont have much sales experience. experiment: noun meaning something that you do to see the result. Often used when speaking about scientists and their studies. Examples: They did a number of experiments last week.Dont worry its just an experiment. Im not going to keep my beard. felt / fell felt: past tense and past participle of the verb to feel Examples: I felt better after I had a good dinner.He hasnt felt this well for a long time. fell: past tense of the verb to fall Examples: He fell from a tree and broke his leg.Unfortunately, I fell down and hurt myself. female / feminine female: the sex of a woman or animal Examples: The female of the species is very aggressive.The question female or male means are you a woman or a man. feminine: adjective describing a quality or type of behavior that is considered typical for a woman Examples: Hes an excellent boss with a feminine intuition.The house was decorated in a very feminine manner. its / its its: possessive determiner similar to my or your Examples: Its color is red.The dog didnt eat all of its food. its: Short form of it is or it has Examples: (it is) Its difficult to understand him.(it has) Its been a long time since I had a beer. last / latest last: adjective usually meaning final Examples: I took the last train to Memphis.This is the last test of the semester! latest:  adjective  meaning most recent or new Examples: His latest book is excellent.Have you seen his latest painting? lay / lie lay: verb meaning to put down flat - past tense - laid, past participle - laid Examples: He laid his pencil down and listened to the teacher.I usually lay my pies on the shelf to cool. lie: verb meaning to be down - past tense -lay (be careful!), past participle - lain Examples: The girl lay on the bed asleep.At the moment, hes lying on the bed. lose / loose lose: verb meaning to misplace Examples: I lost my watch!Have you ever lost anything valuable? loose: adjective meaning the opposite of tight Examples: Your trousers are very loose!I need to tighten this screw. Its loose. male / masculine male: the sex of a man or animal Examples: The male of the species is very lazy.The question female or male means are you a woman or a man. masculine:  adjective  describing a quality or type of  behavior  that is considered typical for a man Examples: Shes a very masculine woman.His opinions are just too masculine for me. price / prize price: noun - what you pay for something. Examples: The price was very cheap.Whats the price of this book? prize: noun - an award Examples: He won a prize as best actor.Have you ever won a prize in a competition? principal / principle principal: adjective meaning the most important Examples: The principal reason for my decision was the money.What are the principal  irregular verbs? principle: a rule (usually in science but also concerning morals) Examples: Its the first principle of aerodynamics.He has very loose principles. quite / quiet quite:  adverb  of degree meaning very or rather Examples: This test is quite difficult.He was quite exhausted after the long journey. quiet:  adjective  meaning the opposite of loud or noisy Examples: Could you please be quiet?!Shes a very quiet girl. sensible / sensitive sensible: adjective meaning having common sense i.e. not stupid Examples: I wish you would be more sensible about things.Im afraid you arent being very sensible. sensitive: adjective meaning to feel very deeply or to hurt easily Examples: You should be careful with David. Hes very sensitive.Mary is a very sensitive woman. shade / shadow shade: protection from the sun, a dark area outside on a sunny day. Examples: You should sit in the shade for a while.Its too hot. Im going to find some shade. shadow: the dark area created by something else on a sunny day. Examples: That tree casts a large shadow.Have you  every  noticed your shadow getting longer as it gets later in the day? some time / sometimes some time: refers to an indefinite time in the future Examples: Lets meet for coffee some time.I dont know when Ill do it - but I will do it some time. sometimes:  adverb of frequency  meaning occasionally Examples: He sometimes works late.Sometimes, I like eating Chinese food.

How and When Pregnancy Tests Work

How and When Pregnancy Tests Work Pregnancy tests rely on the presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a glycoprotein that is secreted by the placenta shortly after fertilization. The placenta begins developing after the fertilized egg implants in a womans uterus, which happens about six days after conception, so the earliest these tests can be used to detect pregnancy is about six days post-conception. Wait to Take Test Fertilization does not necessarily take place the same day as intercourse, so most women are advised to wait until they miss their period before trying a pregnancy test. Levels of hCG double about every two days in a pregnant woman, so the test increases in reliability over time The tests work by binding the hCG hormone, from either blood or urine to an antibody and an indicator. The antibody will bind only to hCG; other hormones will not give a positive test result. The usual indicator is a pigment molecule, present in a line across a home pregnancy urine test. Highly sensitive tests could use a fluorescent or radioactive molecule attached to the antibody, but these methods are unnecessary for an over-the-counter diagnostic test. The tests available  over-the-counter versus those obtained those at the doctors office are the same. The primary difference is the decreased chance of user error by a trained technician. Blood tests are equally sensitive at any time. Urine tests tend to be most sensitive using urine from early morning, which tends to be more concentrated (meaning it would have the highest levels of hCG.) False Positives and Negatives Most medications, including birth control pills and antibiotics, do not affect the results of pregnancy tests. Alcohol and illegal drugs do not affect the test results either. The only drugs that can cause a false positive are those containing the pregnancy hormone hCG in them (usually used for treating infertility.) Some tissues in a non-pregnant woman can produce hCG, but the levels are normally too low to be within the detectable range of the tests. Also, about half of all conceptions dont proceed to pregnancy, so there may be chemical positives for a pregnancy that wont progress. For some urine tests, evaporation may form a line that could be interpreted as a positive. This is why tests have a time limit for examining the results. Its untrue that urine from a man will give a positive test result. Although the level of hCG rises over time for a pregnant woman, the quantity of hCG produced in one woman is different from the amount produced in another. This means some women may not have enough hCG in their urine or blood at six days post-conception to see a positive test result. All tests on the market should be sensitive enough to give a highly accurate result (~97%-99%) by the time a woman misses her period.