ESL Vocabulary: Confusing Word Pairs, Affect/Effect, Then/Than, Loose/Lose

What It Is

The words affect and effect are often confused because they sound similar. Affect is a verb meaning "to influence" or "to change," while effect is a noun meaning "a result" or "a change." For example, "The rain will affect the parade" (verb) vs. "The effect of the rain was cancelled" (noun). This topic causes difficulty for ESL learners because they often use the wrong word in a sentence.

Key Rules

• Affect is a verb, effect is a noun.
• Example: "The rain will affect the parade." (verb)
• Use affect with the words "influence" or "change."
• Example: "The cold weather will affect the crops."
• Use effect with the words "result" or "change."
• Example: "The effect of the rain was cancelled."
• Then is used for time order.
• Example: "I will go to the store, and then I will buy milk."
• Than is used for comparisons.
• Example: "I like this book more than that one."
• Loose is an adjective meaning "not tight."
• Example: "This screw is loose and needs to be tightened."
• Lose is a verb meaning "to misplace" or "to be defeated."
• Example: "I will lose my keys if I don't find them now."
• The pronunciation of affect and effect is the same, but the stress is different.
• Example: Affect (uh-FEKT) vs. Effect (ih-FEKT)
• The word then is pronounced with a short "e" sound.
• Example: Then (then)
• The word than is pronounced with a short "a" sound.
• Example: Than (than)
• The word loose is pronounced with a long "oo" sound.
• Example: Loose (LOOS)
• The word lose is pronounced with a short "o" sound.
• Example: Lose (LOHZ)

Common ESL Errors

• Error: "The effect will affect the parade." Why it happens: Interference from L1, overgeneralization. Correction: "The rain will affect the parade."
• Error: "I like this book more then that one." Why it happens: Overgeneralization of then and than. Correction: "I like this book more than that one."
• Error: "I will loose my keys if I don't find them now." Why it happens: Interference from L1, overgeneralization. Correction: "I will lose my keys if I don't find them now."

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank: "The rain will affect the parade _." Correct answer: "tomorrow" Reason: The rain will influence the parade tomorrow.
2. Fill in the blank: "I like this book more _ that one." Correct answer: "than" Reason: The comparison is between two things.
3. Fill in the blank: "I will lose my keys if I don't find them _." Correct answer: "now" Reason: The action of losing the keys will happen if they are not found now.

Last-Minute Revision

Affect and effect are often confused because they sound similar.
Then is used for time order, than is used for comparisons.
Loose is an adjective meaning "not tight," lose is a verb meaning "to misplace" or "to be defeated." The word then is pronounced with a short "e" sound, than is pronounced with a short "a" sound. The word loose is pronounced with a long "oo" sound, lose is pronounced with a short "o" sound. The word affect is pronounced with a long "e" sound, effect is pronounced with a short "e" sound. The word then is used in the phrase "I will go to the store, and then I will buy milk." The word than is used in the phrase "I like this book more than that one." The word loose is used in the phrase "This screw is loose and needs to be tightened." The word lose is used in the phrase "I will lose my keys if I don't find them now."