252 English Grammar Demystifi ed
sole (only; bottom of foot), soul (spirit; essence)
some (a number of), sum (total; money)
spade (shovel), spayed (neutered an animal)
staid (sedate, serious), stayed (remained)
stair (step), stare (long, concentrated look)
stake (thin, pointed post in ground; bet), steak (cut of beef)
stationary (not moving), stationery (writing paper)
steal (take something unlawfully), steel (alloy of iron and carbon)
straight (not curved), strait (channel joining large bodies of water)
suede (leather with soft surface), swayed (swing; infl uence somebody)
summary (short version), summery (warm)
tail (rear part of animal’s body or aircraft), tale (story)
taut (tight), taught (educated)
tents (collapsible shelters), tense (anxious, stressed)
there (an adverb used to indicate place), their (belonging to them), they’re (con-
traction for they are)
threw (past tense of throw), through (movement from one side of something to or
past the other)
throne (monarch’s chair), thrown (past participle of throw)
thyme (herb), time (duration; method of measuring intervals)
tide (rise and fall of the ocean or other large body of water), tied (joined)
two (2), to (preposition indicating direction), too (also)
toad (amphibian similar to frog), towed (pull something along)
told (past tense of tell), tolled (rang slowly)
tracked (followed), tract (area of land or water)
trussed (supported), trust (have faith in)
vein (vessel carrying blood to the heart), vane (rotating blade)
vial (small glass bottle), vile (evil, despicable)
vice (immoral habit), vise (tool for keeping things immobile)
wade (walk in water), weighed (measured by weight)
wail (howl, cry), whale (large ocean mammal)
waist (body area between ribs and hips), waste (squander)