English Toolkit

11.4Confused words of similar meaning

TYPICAL ERROR A smaller amount of people attended than the organisers had hoped for.

CORRECTION A smaller number of people attended than the organisers had hoped for.

EXPLANATION It is common to hear people use amount when they really mean number. Amount refers to a quantity (e.g. a quantity of flour, which is not made up of separate, individual countable items or pieces). By contrast, number refers to countable, separate items. Hence, we say that a smaller amount of water is required by certain plants than others or that a particular bucket holds a greater amount of water than another. By contrast, we might say that a greater number of people watched the Olympic Games than ever before.

There are many such pairs of words that are commonly confused (Indeed, a great number!)

For each pair of frequently confused words, drag the correct word into the appropriate sentence.

alternate (every second one) / alternative (a choice)

i. Because the road is flooded, we will have to find an

route.

ii. The Ashes test rivalry dates from a series in England in 1882, but every

series since then has been played in Australia.

alternate

alternative

amount (quantity) / number (countable)

i. Federer served a large

of aces.

ii. For a large

of the match, his opponent looked outclassed.

amount

number

compare (similarities) / contrast (differences)

i. If we

the two species of monkey, we find that they have a lot in common.

ii. If we

monkeys and humans, we can see that, despite similarities, there are significant differences.

compare

contrast

contemporary / modern (con + temp = the same time, e.g. a contemporary of Confucius)

i. Haydn and Mozart were

composers, both writing music in the eighteenth century.

ii. One wonders what Mozart and Haydn would make of

music.

modern

contemporary

continual (interrupted) / continuous (not interrupted or broken)

i. Despite

rain interruptions, most of the matches were completed.

ii. Cars should not cross

parallel lines in the middle of the road.

continual

continuous