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- These sentences focus on some of the most common errors in English. Can you fill in
the blanks correctly? - accept or
except
The office will
_______
applications until 5
p.m. on the 31st.
accept Attendance is
required for all
employees
_______
supervisors.
except
- affect or
effect
To _______ the
growth of plants, we
can regulate the
water supply.
affect A lack of water has a
predictable
_______ on most
plants.
effect
- e.g. or i.e. Please order 2,000
imprinted giveaways
(___, pens or
coffee mugs)
e.g. Charge them to my
account (_______,
account #98765).
i.e.
- its or it’s The department
surpassed ___
previous sales record
this quarter.
its _______ my
opinion that we
reached peak oil in
2008.
It’s
- lay or lie Please ___ the
report on the desk.
lay The doctor asked
him to _______
down on the
examination table.
lie
- pressure or
pressurize
We need to
_______ the liquid
nitrogen tanks.
pressurize It might be possible
to _______ him to
resign.
pressure
- principle or
principal
It’s the basic
_________ of
farming: no water,
no food.
principle The _______
reason for the trip is
to attend the sales
meeting.
principal
- regardless
or
irregardless
_______ of what
we do, gas prices are
unlikely to go back
down.
Regardless _______ of your
beliefs, please try to
listen with an open
mind.
Regardless
(irregardless is
not a standard
word; see your
dictionary)
- than or
then
This year’s losses
were worse
_______ last
year’s.
than If we can cut our
costs, _______ it
might be possible to
break even.
then
- that or
which
_______ type of
marketing data did
you need?
Which Karen misplaced the
report, _______
caused a delay in
making a decision.
which
There are several
kinds of data
_______ could be
useful.
that
- there their,
or they’re
The report is
_________, in the
top file drawer.
there __________
strategic advantage
depends on a wide
Their