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Commonly Mistaken "C" Words

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C is for Cookie…

But that doesn't seem to be good enough for me, at least not when it comes to mistakenly spelling words that begin with C! Sesame Street might have started to get it right, but in this lesson we'll be covering 5 words, phrases and similar vocabulary that can make you tick.

Use these tips to improve your writing, whether it be for the SAT essay, your own personal use, for TOEFL, or if you're just beginning to get used to the English language. So let dig in a take a bite out of our mistaken words beyond the chocolate chip cookie!




Cause

CAUSE is used first as a noun to show the something that creates an effect. A cause is a person or condition that gives rise to an action or condition. It can also mean a way in which there is principle to act a certain way. For example this may be in the way of a movement, or something someone is sticking to or committed to. As a verb. cause means to make happen or to start something (as in cause and effect).


Examples
  • The cause of the commotion outside of the store is unidentified at the moment.

  • After reviewing the scans, the doctor said there is no cause for concern.

  • For many people, donating to the Sick Kids Hospital is a very worth-while cause.

  • Did you know that staring into a solar eclipse can actually cause blindness?


Watch out for good is always an adjective (never used to describe actions)well is generally used as an adverb to describe actions but can be used as an adjective to describe your health if you've been sick but are now better


'cause or cuz as these can be used incorrectly. 'Cause is a slang for because which has transformed and shortened into cuz. Try to leave this out of your vocabulary as it is both unprofessional and confusing.



Colour and Color
Colour is the Canadian way of spelling it as well as in Australia and Britian. It has the meaning of a hue or tone such as blue, green, red, purple etc. Color is how they spell it in the United States.

Check out Oren's test on American vs. Canadian vs. British Spellings as well as the correspondinglesson

It is important to keep these differentiations clear, especially when applying to schools all around the globe, remember to check your spelling always in accordance to who will be reading your essay or piece of writing.



Can't, Cannot and Cant
All three of these words tend to get misused and mistaken for one another.

Can't is a conjunction of can and not. It is used in informal speech to say that you can not do something, or can not make, be, have etc. Can't is used to show that there is a negative "not" to the sentence. Cannot functions in the same way, however it is much more formal. As in if you must reject an invitation you could say, " I wish I could attend, but unfortunately I cannot". Cant originally thought was not a correct word however the dictionary proves otherwise saying that it is a verb meaning to have a skewed or slanted perspective or position of something. A cant is also known in noun form as a slope or inclination on a hill.
Examples

* To a friend: "Sorry Sarah, I can't come out to play today."-Informal!

* To a teacher: "Ms. Butler, may I be excused, I cannot run with my injury."-Formal!

* Cant: There was a steep cant at the top of the hill that was perfect for sledding.


Cent Vs. Sent
These two words often can get confused with one another, it is possible to separate them however based on their meanings.Cent is a way of currency, especially for the United States and Canada. A cent is equivalent to 1 penny, having 100 cents gives you a dollar. Sent is the past tense of the word meaning to send, which is to give something away or have it travel to someone else. They both sound the same when spoken so make sure you write down the correct word for your situation


C Spelling Words

Here are a few C words to look out for, I couldn't limit it to just a final word so you get a few to work through!

Convince: Meaning to persuade someone of something.

Conceive: Meaning to give of, whether it be of an idea or to create something. This one is tricky because it goes with the rule "I before E except after C".

Conquer: Meaning to take over, to rule.

Concur: Meaning to understand or to agree with.



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Photo References Made Possible with Creative Commons Licensing: AMagill, laffy4k, Mel B., Marco Bellucci, merfam, poplinre

Ask The Experts



  1. oLahav saidThu, 07 Aug 2008 19:35:20 -0000 ( Link )

    Nice lesson, C is indeed for Cookie!

    I had no idea cant is a really word. Interesting…

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  2. meenakshi1982_verma saidSat, 09 Aug 2008 16:35:38 -0000 ( Link )

    i appreciate for the way the you write and project your lessons

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  3. roopangi saidSat, 06 Sep 2008 18:17:14 -0000 ( Link )

    Hey that was quite useful….........now i wudnt confuse my spellings of “color” and “colour”.............. Hats off to the way u write ur articles…......

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  4. Maana saidSat, 06 Sep 2008 19:14:59 -0000 ( Link )

    If you could possibly tell me the way to pronounce “cyan”.....(which is a “colour”).....I am unable to make up my mind as to whether to pronounce it with a ‘k’ or with ‘cy’ as in “cycle”.....as u can see….i am badly in need of a lesson in punctuation…..so I’m off….. Thx loadz…

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  5. ak21shay saidSun, 07 Sep 2008 14:50:22 -0000 ( Link )

    hey very nice work ….... liked the way u have written this lesson….... but still i have a suggestion to make it more useful ….actually i couldn’t make out how to use concur in a sentence so if u could give more eg. and also the pronunciation of the words then it would be much more beneficial …...thx

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  6. snigdha_sinha saidMon, 08 Sep 2008 11:32:30 -0000 ( Link )

    your way of writing is appreciable and interesting.

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  7. mecrazyboy saidThu, 11 Sep 2008 15:50:30 -0000 ( Link )

    good &useful teaching

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  8. drdipakmehta saidSun, 16 Nov 2008 10:52:07 -0000 ( Link )

    very good work..

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  9. rohitchikka saidWed, 26 Nov 2008 14:45:10 -0000 ( Link )

    good work..

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  10. thaarika saidSat, 29 Nov 2008 07:23:52 -0000 ( Link )

    intresting lesson…..

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  11. puja0308 saidMon, 08 Dec 2008 12:28:07 -0000 ( Link )

    Good, specially olahavs interpretation of sounding c’s

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  12. nikhileshn saidWed, 17 Dec 2008 06:48:47 -0000 ( Link )

    would a phonetic symbol to indicate pronunciation be of help while there is a confusion in pronuncing

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  13. prashanthpnu saidTue, 23 Dec 2008 17:19:31 -0000 ( Link )

    Good lesson. Thanks :)

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  14. ranjit reddy saidTue, 30 Dec 2008 08:13:50 -0000 ( Link )

    nice lesson

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  15. madhusudhanakikkuru saidWed, 31 Dec 2008 09:52:39 -0000 ( Link )

    its relly good

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  16. madhusudhanakikkuru saidWed, 31 Dec 2008 09:54:18 -0000 ( Link )

    its relly good

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  17. Raagam saidTue, 06 Jan 2009 07:37:27 -0000 ( Link )

    good

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  18. Jivesh saidSat, 10 Jan 2009 14:28:37 -0000 ( Link )

    Very Informative and useful. Thank you. Are there any other letters which share similar ambiguities as discussed here?

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  19. balamuralisankar saidFri, 16 Jan 2009 10:13:23 -0000 ( Link )

    Hurrayyyyy! nice 2 kno abt C..

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  20. sudeepsagi saidFri, 23 Jan 2009 10:37:05 -0000 ( Link )

    i haven’t get total information not satisfied

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  21. Sureshbala saidThu, 29 Jan 2009 19:05:23 -0000 ( Link )

    Dear sudeepsagi,

    If you are looking for morelessons on Vocabulary and Grammar you can join our SAT Prep, GMAT Prep and CAT Prep communities. You can go through the following lessons which are published in these communities.

    Common Grammar Errors
    An Introduction to Grammar
    5 Commonly Mistaken B Words

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  22. indreesh saidFri, 13 Feb 2009 06:44:44 -0000 ( Link )

    it was indeed a fabulous one.now i am able identify and correct my mistakes during conversations with my pals.thaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx a lot…........ :-)

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  23. asureshwaran saidSat, 14 Feb 2009 16:25:45 -0000 ( Link )

    hey good lesson. the comments are also nice especially that one by o lahav.

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  24. pinu saidSun, 05 Apr 2009 13:06:10 -0000 ( Link )

    it is a benificial job to the concerned students.thanks a lot…

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  25. prabhuji saidWed, 08 Apr 2009 14:41:19 -0000 ( Link )

    it was really awesome. its quite helpful for those who r in need of differences in pronouncing the words such as cyan.. it provided good differences between colour & color n lots more. thanks a tonne..

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  26. pooh2usa saidTue, 07 Jul 2009 08:04:01 -0000 ( Link )

    gud wrk..i lyk it !!

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  27. aryandd saidThu, 09 Jul 2009 05:13:25 -0000 ( Link )

    good…....................

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  28. ramb saidFri, 31 Jul 2009 17:47:09 -0000 ( Link )

    exelent

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  29. MOHDREHANKHAN saidFri, 28 Aug 2009 20:07:29 -0000 ( Link )

    very usefull!!!

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