Here are some of the most commonly confused English word pairs. They have been chosen especially for ESL learners.
下面是最为常见的易混淆的英语词组，它们是专为那些将英语作为第二语言的学习者挑选出来的。

/ besides

beside: preposition meaning 'next to', 'at the side of'
介词，意为“紧挨着”“在······旁边”。

Examples:
例子

I sit beside John in class.
上课时我坐在约翰旁边。

Could you get me that book? It's beside the lamp.
你能把那本书给我吗？它就放在灯的旁边。

besides: adverb meaning 'also', 'as well'; preposition meaning 'in addition to'
副词，意为“也”“同样地”；做介词时意为“除此之外”。

Examples:
例子：

(adverb) He's responsible for sales, and a lot more besides.
（副词）他负责销售，以及其他许多事。

(preposition) Besides tennis, I play soccer and basketball.
（介词）除了网球，我还喜欢足球和篮球。

s / cloths

clothes: something you wear - jeans, shirts, blouses, etc.
你穿的衣物，如牛仔裤、衬衫、上衣等。

Examples:
例子：

Just a moment, let me change my clothes.
等一会儿，让我先换个衣服。

Tommy, get your clothes on!
汤米，把你的衣服穿好！

cloths: pieces of material used for cleaning or other purposes.
用来做清洁或其他用途的材料。

Examples:
例子：

There are some cloths in the closet. Use those to clean the kitchen.
壁橱里有一些布。用它们来清洁厨房吧。

I have a few pieces of cloth that I use.
我有一些用过的布快。

/ died

dead: adjective meaning 'not alive'
形容词，意为“无生命的”

Examples:
例子：

Unfortunately, our dog has been dead for a few months.
不幸的是，我们的狗已经去世几个月了。

Don't touch that bird. It's dead.
别碰那只鸟。它已经死了。

died: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to die'
动词die的过去式和过去分词形式。

Examples:
例子：

His grandfather died two years ago.
他的祖父两年前去世了。

A number of people have died in the accident.
许多人在这场意外中丧生。

ence / experiment

experience: noun meaning something that a person lives through.
名词，意为某人经历的某事。

- also used as an uncountable noun meaning 'knowledge gained by doing something'
也可以用作不可数名词，表示“通过完成某事而获得的知识”。

Examples:
例子：

(first meaning)His experiences in Germany were rather depressing.
（第一种）他在德国的经历相当凄惨。

(second meaning) I'm afraid I don't have much sales experience.
（第二种）恐怕我的销售经验不足。

experiment: noun meaning something that you do to see the result. Often used when speaking about scientists and their studies.
名词，意为为了得到结果而做的某事。常在谈论科学家及其研究时使用。

Examples:
例子：

They did a number of experiments last week.
上周，他们做了许多实验。

Don't worry it's just an experiment. I'm not going to keep my beard.
别担心，只是个实验而已。我不打算留胡子。

/ fell

felt: past tense and past participle of the verb 'to feel'
动词feel的过去式和过去分词形式。

Examples:
例子：

I felt better after I had a good dinner.
一顿丰盛的晚饭后，我感觉好多了。

He hasn't felt this well for a long time.
他很久都没有感觉这么好了。

fell: past tense of the verb 'to fall'
动词fall的过去式。

Examples:
例子：

He fell from a tree and broke his leg.
他从树上掉下来，摔伤了腿。

Unfortunately, I fell down and hurt myself.
不幸的是，我掉了下来，受了伤。

/ feminine

female: the sex of a woman or animal
女人或雌性动物。

Examples:
例子：

The female of the species is very aggressive.
这种雌性生物极具攻击力。

The question 'female or male' means 'are you a woman or a man'.
这个“女或男”的问题问的是“你是女人还是男人”。

feminine: adjective describing a quality or type of behaviour that is considered typical for a woman
形容词，用来描述女性常有的特征或行为方式。

Examples:
例子：

He's an excellent boss with a feminine intuition.
他是一位优秀的老板，有着女性的直觉。

The house was decorated in a very feminine manner.
这座房子的装饰非常女性化。

/ it's

its: possessive determiner similar to 'my' or 'your'
物主限定词，类似于my或your。

Examples:
例子：

Its color is red.
它是红色的。

The dog didn't eat all of its food.
这只狗什么都不吃。

it's: Short form of 'it is' or 'it has'
it is或it has的缩写形式。

Examples:
例子：

(it is) It's difficult to understand him.
他真是一个让人读不透的人。

(it has) It's been a long time since I had a beer.
我已经很久没喝过啤酒了。

/ latest

last: adjective usually meaning 'final'
形容词，常表示“最后的”。

Examples:
例子：

I took the last train to Memphis.
我乘上了去往孟斐斯的末班车。

This is the last test of the semester!
这是本学期最后一次测验。

latest: adjective meaning 'most recent' or 'new'
形容词，意为“最近的”或“最新的”。

Examples:
例子：

His latest book is excellent.
他的新书写得非常棒。

Have you seen his latest painting?
你见过他最新的画作吗？

/ lie

lay: verb meaning 'to put down flat' - past tense - laid, past participle – laid
动词，意为“放下”，过去式为laid，过去分词为laid。

Examples:
例子：

He laid his pencil down and listened to the teacher.
他放下手中的铅笔，听老师讲课。

I usually lay my pies on the shelf to cool.
我常常把馅饼放在架子上，让它变凉。

lie: verb meaning 'to be down' - past tense -lay , past participle – lain
动词，意为“躺下”，过去式为lay，过去分词是lain。

Examples:
例子

The girl lay on the bed asleep.
那个女孩躺在床上睡着了。

At the moment, he's lying on the bed.
此刻，他正躺在床上。

/ loose

lose: verb meaning 'to misplace'
动词，意为“丢失”。

Examples:
例子：

I lost my watch!
我把手表弄丢了！

Have you ever lost anything valuable?
你有没有弄丢过珍贵的东西？

loose: adjective meaning the opposite of 'tight'
形容词，意义与“绷紧的”相反。

Examples:
例子：

Your trousers are very loose!
你的裤子太松了！

I need to tighten this screw. It's loose.
我要把螺丝钉拧紧点，它太松了。

/ masculine

male: the sex of a man or animal
男人或雄性动物。

Examples:
例子：

The male of the species is very lazy.
这种雄性生物非常懒惰。

The question 'female or male' means 'are you a woman or a man'.
这个“女或男”的问题问的是“你是女人还是男人”。

masculine: adjective describing a quality or type of behaviour that is considered typical for a man.
形容词，用来描述男性常有的特征或行为方式。

Examples:
例子：

She's a very masculine woman.
她是一个女汉子。

His opinions are just too masculine for me.
他的观点对我来说太大男子主义了。

/ prize

price: noun - what you pay for something.
名词——你为某物付出的钱

Examples:
例子：

The price was very cheap.
价格非常便宜。

What's the price of this book?
这本书多少钱？

prize: noun - an award
名词——奖励。

Examples:
例子：

He won a prize as best actor.
他获得了最佳男演员奖。

Have you ever won a prize in a competition?
你有没有在比赛中得过奖？

pal / principle

principal: adjective meaning 'the most important'
形容词，意为“最重要的”。

Examples:
例子：

The principal reason for my decision was the money.
我之所以做这个决定，最重要的原因就是钱。

What are the principal irregular verbs?
有哪些重要的不规则动词？

principle: a rule (usually in science but also concerning morals)
规则（常用于科学，但也涉及道德领域）

Examples:
例子：

It's the first principle of aerodynamics.
这是气体力学的第一准则。

He has very loose principles.
他的原则弹性很大。

/ quiet

quite: adverb of degree meaning 'very' or 'rather'
副词，意为“非常”或“相当”。

Examples:
例子：

This test is quite difficult.
这次测验非常难。

He was quite exhausted after the long journey.
长时间的旅行后，他疲惫不堪。

quiet: adjective meaning the opposite of loud or noisy
形容词，意思与“喧闹的”“嘈杂的”相反。

Examples:
例子：

Could you please be quiet?!
能请你安静点吗？

She's a very quiet girl.
她是一个非常安静的女孩。

le / sensitive

sensible: adjective meaning 'having common sense' i.e. 'not stupid'
形容词，意为“有常识的”，即“不笨的”。

Examples:
例子：

I wish you would be more sensible about things.
我希望，你遇事能够更明智一点。

I'm afraid you aren't being very sensible.
恐怕你不够明智。

sensitive: adjective meaning 'to feel very deeply' or 'to hurt easily'.
形容词，意为“敏感的”或“易受伤害的”。

Examples:
例子：

You should be careful with David. He's very sensitive.
你要小心大卫。他非常敏感。

Mary is a very sensitive woman.
玛丽是一个极易受伤的女人。

/ shadow

shade: protection from the sun, a dark area outside on a sunny day.
在晴天隔绝太阳的荫凉区。

Examples:
例子：

You should sit in the shade for a while.
你应该到荫凉处坐会儿。

It's too hot. I'm going to find some shade.
太热了，我要找个地方乘凉。

shadow: the dark area created by something else on a sunny day.
在晴天，由某物制造出的阴影区。

Examples:
例子：

That tree casts a large shadow.
这棵树投下一大片阴影。

Have you ever noticed your shadow getting longer as it gets later in the day?
你注意到影子会随着天色越晚而拉长吗？

time / sometimes

some time: refers to an indefinite time in the future
指的是未来一个不确定的时间。

Examples:
例子：

Let's meet for coffee some time.
找个时间一起喝杯咖啡吧。

I don't know when I'll do it - but I will do it some time.
我不知道什么时候会去做——但我会在某个时候去做的。

sometimes: adverb of frequency meaning 'occasionally'
频率副词，意为“偶尔”。

Examples:
例子：

He sometimes works late.
他有时候会工作到很晚。

Sometimes, I like eating Chinese food.
有时我喜欢吃中国菜。

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