play video affect vs effect
Commonly Confused

Affect vs. Effect

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.


Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

Up next

play video affect vs effect
Affect vs. Effect

 

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

play video soup vs soop
An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

play video lay vs lie
Lay vs. Lie

 

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

play alright allright video
Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

play video ghost words
How a Ghost Word Appeared in the Dictionary

 

An imaginary word that snuck into the dictionary

play sneaked vs snuck video
Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary