10 word pairs the TEAS keeps swapping

The exam rarely asks which word is correct. It writes a sentence with one word swapped.

English is 37 questions in 37 minutes — one minute each, with no time to reason it out. Vocabulary and conventions are 22 of the 33 scored questions, and this is where they live. Read the sentence with the OTHER word of the pair: the one that breaks is the answer.

1 affect / effectaffect is the verb, effect is the noun. The drug affects him; the effect was mild.

2 fewer / lessfewer for things you can count, less for things you cannot. Fewer patients, less pain.

3 its / it’sit’s is only ever “it is”. If the sentence does not survive “it is”, use its.

4 then / thanthen is time, than is comparison. Bigger than, and then it stopped.

5 who / whomswap in he/him. If him fits, whom fits.

6 lie / layyou lie down yourself; you lay something else down. Lay takes an object.

7 principal / principlethe principal is a person or the main one; a principle is a rule.

8 accept / exceptaccept is to take; except is to leave out.

9 farther / furtherfarther is distance you could measure; further is degree or extent.

10 complement / complimenta complement completes; a compliment praises.

Ten pairs. Write the pair, write the test, write one sentence for each side. Ten minutes, not ten hours.

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