Quiz

BuzzFeed Staff

BuzzFeed

How Well Do You Know These Commonly Misused Words?

"Fewer" is used for plural/countable nouns, and "less" is for singular nouns.

"I can cook, but only if the recipe has _fewer_ than three ingredients."

"Used to" is a past-tense verb, so it needs that D!

"A long time ago, we _used_ to be friends."

"Ado" means fuss or trouble; "adieu" means farewell.

"Without further _ado_, here are the top 20 baby names of 2015."

"Wet" means to make wet, while "whet" means to make sharper or stronger.

"These culinary creations will _whet_ your appetite."

A peek is a look, and a peak is the top of a mountain. Pique is an emotional response to indignity (or a verb that means to cause such a response).

"Here's a sneak _peek_ at the monsters in the new _Doctor Who_ Christmas special."

"Should of" may sound similar to "should've," but it's not good grammar!

"The writers should _have_ known better than to kill off a favorite character."

"Irregardless" is a nonstandard form of "regardless," and most dictionaries discourage using it.

" _Regardless_ of how much they practiced, the players knew they were going to lose."

Being on tenterhooks means being kept in suspense. "Tenderhooks" is not a real thing.

"The world is on _tenterhooks_ waiting for Beyoncé's next album."

"Farther" refers to distance; "further" refers to degree.

"The weather just gets worse the _farther_ west you go."

To "make do" means to get along with what you have, i.e., to make (something) do (well enough for your purposes).

"To keep it simple, you can make _do_ with concealer, mascara, and a neutral lipstick."

To bate is to diminish, so "with bated breath" means they were nearly holding their breath with anticipation.

"Fans waited with _bated_ breath for Zayn Malik to break his silence."

The phrase is "for all intents and purposes" — not just the intensive purposes, all of them!

"For all _intents and purposes_, it was a declaration of war."

A statute is a written law or regulation; a statue is a sculpted figure.

"By the time police started investigating, the _statute_ of limitations had expired."

These words are sometimes used interchangeably, but they're technically opposites: To compose is to make up; to comprise is to be made up of.

"They formed a judging panel _composed_ of 11 chefs and bakers."

To imply is to suggest; to infer is to guess or surmise.

"The Pokédex _implies_ that humans nearly hunted the Farfetch'd into extinction."

"Deep-seeded" may sound right, but it's actually "deep-seated" — picture someone seated firmly on a throne.

"Their deep- _seated_ frustration had simmered for decades."

To jibe is to be in agreement; to jive is to tease (or to dance to jive music).

"If you don't _jibe_ well with dairy, go ahead and leave off the cheese."

To pique is to cause an emotional response, like curiosity or annoyance. "Peaked" means at a high point, and "peeked" means looked.

"When you see a SALE sign, your curiosity is _piqued_."

"E.g." stands for "exempli gratia," which means "for example," while "i.e." stands for "id est," or "that is" — so use _e.g._ for examples and _i.e._ for providing clarification.

"My favorite animals are rodents — _e.g._, gerbils, hamsters, and guinea pigs."

A regimen is a plan for staying healthy, whereas a regime is a form of government and a regiment is a military unit. Totally different!

"Starting a workout _regimen_ can be intimidating, but it's also totally rewarding."

It's OK. People will still know what you mean regardless of whether you say "further" or "farther."

Grammar ally

For all intents and purposes, you know your way around the English language!

Grammar pro

You have a deep-seated love of proper English!

Grammar genius

About BuzzFeed Community

Community Brand Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community

Sorry, this content is <i>no longer</i> supported.

BuzzFeed Community Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community Leaderboard

BuzzFeed News has breaking stories and original reporting on politics, world news, social media, viral trends, health, science, technology, entertainment, and LGBTQ issues.

All the best animals on the internet. The snuggle is real.

BuzzFeed has breaking news, vital journalism, quizzes, videos, celeb news, Tasty food videos, recipes, DIY hacks, and all the trending buzz you’ll want to share with your friends. Copyright BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.

BuzzFeed News | Breaking News | Original Reporting | News Analysis

Animal Pictures and Videos - Adorably from BuzzFeed

Name

Thanks for subscribing!

Stay up to date with our latest BuzzFeed video. Enter your email to subscribe!

Oops! Upload an image or add text to submit.

BuzzFeed has the hottest, most social content on the web. We feature breaking buzz and the kinds of things you'd want to pass along to your friends.

Browse links

How Well Do You Know These Commonly Misused Words?

Choose the right words to fill in the blanks:

How Well Do You Know These Commonly Misused Words?

Choose the right words to fill in the blanks:

Share This Article