Pariksha SaathiHomophones and Commonly Confused Words with Solutions
Homophones sound identical, so the only way to tell them apart in writing is by what each one means and does in the sentence. Here’s the approach, four fully worked examples covering the most frequently confused pairs, and a few to try yourself.
The approach, quickly
- Homophones are words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings ("their/there/they’re", "its/it’s", "affect/effect") — since they sound identical, correct spelling is the only thing that tells them apart in writing.
- A few of the most frequently confused pairs: "its" (possessive: belonging to it) vs. "it’s" (contraction: it is/it has); "their" (possessive) vs. "there" (place) vs. "they’re" (contraction: they are); "affect" (usually a verb, meaning to influence) vs. "effect" (usually a noun, meaning a result).
- Quick test for "its" vs. "it’s" (and "their" vs. "they’re"): mentally expand the contraction to its full form. If "it is" or "they are" still makes sense in the sentence, the contraction is correct; if not, use the possessive.
- Quick test for "affect" vs. "effect": try substituting "influence" (a verb) or "result" (a noun) — whichever substitution keeps the sentence meaningful tells you which word is correct.
Worked examples
1. Choose the correct word: "The company announced ___ quarterly results yesterday." (A) its (B) it’s
Solution
- Expanding "it’s" gives "the company announced it is quarterly results," which doesn’t make sense.
- "Its" (possessive, belonging to the company) is correct.
Answer: (A) its
2. Choose the correct word: "___ going to rain later today." (A) Its (B) It’s
Solution
- Expanding "it’s" gives "It is going to rain later today," which makes sense.
Answer: (B) It’s
3. Choose the correct word: "The students left ___ bags in the classroom." (A) their (B) there (C) they’re
Solution
- The bags belong to the students, so the possessive "their" is correct — not the place word "there" or the contraction "they’re".
Answer: (A) their
4. Choose the correct word: "The new policy will ___ all employees starting next month." (A) affect (B) effect
Solution
- The sentence needs a verb here (to influence), so "affect" is correct, not the noun "effect".
Answer: (A) affect
Try these yourself
Apply the expansion test, then check against the answer.
1. Choose the correct word: "___ not sure if the meeting has been rescheduled." (A) Their (B) There (C) They’re
Answer: (C) They’re
2. Choose the correct word: "Please put the book over ___." (A) their (B) there (C) they’re
Answer: (B) there
3. Choose the correct word: "The medicine had an immediate ___ on his headache." (A) affect (B) effect
Answer: (B) effect
Where this comes up
Homophones and Commonly Confused Words is a regular topic in the English Language section of every exam Pariksha Saathi covers — SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC CHSL, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO and SBI Clerk.
Practice more Homophones questions
This page covers the approach and a handful of worked examples. Pariksha Saathi has full topic-wise practice sets for Homophones (and every other English/Reasoning/Quant topic) with instant scoring and explanations — free, no account required.
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