Les mots souvent confondus
Le rappel de cours
Certaines paires de mots anglais se ressemblent tellement qu'elles piègent même les anglophones. Au niveau C2, on attend de toi que tu les distingues sans hésiter, surtout à l'écrit.
Quelques repères : affect est le plus souvent un verbe et effect un nom ; principle désigne un principe, principal un directeur ou ce qui est principal ; discreet signifie discret, discrete signifie distinct ; stationery désigne les articles de papeterie (pense au e de envelope) et stationary signifie immobile.
Pour d'autres paires, c'est le point de vue qui change : celui qui parle imply (sous-entend), celui qui écoute infer (déduit). Disinterested signifie impartial et uninterested, qui ne s'intéresse pas. Continual désigne une action qui se répète, continuous une action sans interruption.
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Les mots anglais souvent confondus
| Phrase | Bon mot |
|---|---|
| The new law will ___ thousands of families. (affect / effect) | affect |
| The medicine had no ___ on him at all. (affect / effect) | effect |
| She refused to lie on ___. (principle / principal) | principle |
| The ___ of the school gave a speech. (principle / principal) | principal |
| Please be ___: nobody must know about this. (discreet / discrete) | discreet |
| The data is divided into ___ categories. (discreet / discrete) | discrete |
| The flat ___ three bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. (comprises / composes) | comprises |
| I need to buy some ___: envelopes, paper and pens. (stationary / stationery) | stationery |
| The car remained ___ at the traffic lights. (stationary / stationery) | stationary |
| The witness gave a ___ account of the events. (credible / credulous) | credible |
| Don't be so ___: not everything you read online is true. (credible / credulous) | credulous |
| A judge must remain ___ throughout the trial. (disinterested / uninterested) | disinterested |
| The students looked completely ___ in the lecture. (disinterested / uninterested) | uninterested |
| The fall of the Berlin Wall was a ___ moment. (historic / historical) | historic |
| She is studying ___ documents from the 17th century. (historic / historical) | historical |
| In his speech, he ___ to the scandal without naming it. (alluded / eluded) | alluded |
| The thief ___ the police for weeks. (alluded / eluded) | eluded |
| The ___ of the story is that honesty pays. (moral / morale) | moral |
| Team ___ was very low after the defeat. (moral / morale) | morale |
| Please ___ that all the doors are locked. (ensure / insure) | ensure |
| You should ___ your house against fire. (ensure / insure) | insure |
| There was a ___ stream of traffic, without a single break. (continual / continuous) | continuous |
| I'm tired of your ___ complaints: you complain every five minutes. (continual / continuous) | continual |
| She paid me a lovely ___ on my dress. (complement / compliment) | compliment |
| This wine is the perfect ___ to the meal. (complement / compliment) | complement |
| This car is very ___: it uses very little fuel. (economic / economical) | economical |
| The country is facing a serious ___ crisis. (economic / economical) | economic |
| From her tone, I ___ that she was angry. (implied / inferred) | inferred |
| Are you ___ that I'm lying? (implying / inferring) | implying |
| He loves to ___ his wealth in front of his friends. (flaunt / flout) | flaunt |
| Some drivers openly ___ the speed limit. (flaunt / flout) | flout |