Commonly Confused Words MCQs

Civil Service Exam verbal ability reviewer on commonly confused English words, such as affect and effect, advice and advise, lose and loose, their and there, with the difference explained.

20 MCQsUpdated 3 November 2026

Many sentence completion and error recognition items in the Civil Service Exam turn on a pair of words that look or sound alike but have different meanings, such as affect and effect, advice and advise, or lose and loose. This set practises the pairs that appear most often in exam items and in everyday office writing.

For each pair, learn which word is a noun and which is a verb, or which word fits a particular meaning, and remember one example sentence. The explanations give both words of each pair so you learn them together.

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1
Choose the correct word: "The heavy rain had a serious ___ on the harvest."
Correct answer: D. effect
"Effect" is usually a noun meaning a result, as in "a serious effect". "Affect" is usually a verb meaning to influence: "The rain affected the harvest."
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2
Choose the correct word: "My supervisor gave me good ___ about the report."
Correct answer: A. advice
"Advice" is a noun (and uncountable, so never "advices"), while "advise" is a verb: "She advised me to revise the report." Here a noun is needed after "good".
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easy
3
Choose the correct word: "I would ___ you to submit your application early."
Correct answer: A. advise
After "would", a verb is needed, so "advise" is correct. The noun "advice" names the suggestion itself. Remember that "advise" ends in -ise like other verbs such as "revise".
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easy
4
Choose the correct word: "Be careful not to ___ your ID on the way to the testing centre."
Correct answer: B. lose
"Lose" (one o) is a verb meaning to misplace or fail to keep something. "Loose" (two o's) is an adjective meaning not tight, as in "a loose screw".
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easy
5
Choose the correct word: "The reviewees left ___ bags outside the testing room."
Correct answer: D. their
"Their" shows possession: their bags. "There" refers to a place, and "they're" is short for "they are". Reading the sentence with "they are" quickly shows when "they're" is wrong.
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easy
6
Choose the correct word: "___ going to announce the results next month."
Correct answer: B. They're
"They're" is the contraction of "they are": "They are going to announce the results." "Their" shows possession and "there" refers to a place.
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easy
7
Choose the correct word: "The new policy will take effect ___ the first of the month."
Correct answer: A. on
Dates take the preposition "on": on the first of the month, on 14 March. "Than" is used in comparisons and "then" refers to time or sequence.
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medium
8
Choose the correct word: "The office is busier now ___ it was last year."
Correct answer: C. than
"Than" is used in comparisons: busier than, more than, less than. "Then" refers to time or what comes next: "First submit the form, then pay the fee."
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easy
9
Choose the correct word: "Please ___ the attached files before the meeting."
Correct answer: B. accept
"Accept" means to receive or agree to something. "Except" means excluding: "everyone except the manager". "Expect" means to anticipate, and "excerpt" is a short extract from a text.
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medium
10
Choose the correct word: "All employees ___ the new hires attended the seminar."
Correct answer: D. except
"Except" means "but not" or "excluding": all employees except the new hires. "Accept" means to receive or agree to, which does not fit here.
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medium
11
Choose the correct word: "The ___ of the meeting was to plan the budget."
Correct answer: C. purpose
"Purpose" is a noun meaning the reason or aim of something. "Propose" is a verb meaning to suggest: "She proposed a new schedule." The sentence needs a noun after "The".
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easy
12
Choose the correct word: "The new procedures will ___ the waiting time for clients."
Correct answer: D. lessen
"Lessen" is a verb meaning to make smaller or less. "Lesson" is a noun meaning something learned or taught. After "will", a base-form verb is needed.
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medium
13
Choose the correct word: "The clerk checked whether the ___ was enough to cover the fee."
Correct answer: A. amount
"Amount" is used for things that cannot be counted, such as money or water, while "number" is used for countable things: a number of applicants, an amount of money.
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medium
14
Choose the correct word: "There were ___ applicants this year than last year."
Correct answer: B. fewer
"Fewer" is used with countable nouns (fewer applicants, fewer forms), and "less" with uncountable ones (less time, less money). Applicants can be counted, so "fewer" is correct.
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medium
15
Choose the correct word: "The director will ___ the staff about the new rules."
Correct answer: B. brief
After "will", the base form "brief" is needed. It follows "i before e except after c". As a verb, to brief is to give someone the essential information about something.
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hard
16
Choose the correct word: "Each employee must keep ___ records up to date."
Correct answer: C. his or her
Formal grammar matches "each employee" (singular, a person) with "his or her". "Its" is used for things, and "it's" means "it is". "Their's" is never correct.
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hard
17
Choose the correct word: "The training will ___ for three days."
Correct answer: C. last
"Last" as a verb means to continue for a period of time: the training will last three days. "Least" means smallest in amount, and "lest" means "for fear that".
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easy
18
Choose the correct word: "___ turn is it to prepare the minutes?"
Correct answer: D. whose
"Whose" shows possession: whose turn, whose bag. "Who's" is the contraction of "who is" or "who has": "Who's coming to the meeting?"
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19
Choose the correct word: "The new system is more ___ than the old one."
Correct answer: C. economical
"Economical" means using money or resources carefully without waste. "Economic" relates to the economy, as in "economic growth". A cheaper-to-run system is economical.
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hard
20
Choose the correct word: "Please be ___ of other people's time in meetings."
Correct answer: A. considerate
"Considerate" means thoughtful towards others. "Considerable" means large or significant, as in "a considerable amount". Being considerate of others' time is a sign of professionalism.
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hard

Commonly Confused Words MCQs

Choose the correct word: "The heavy rain had a serious ___ on the harvest."

Choose the correct word: "My supervisor gave me good ___ about the report."

Choose the correct word: "I would ___ you to submit your application early."

Choose the correct word: "Be careful not to ___ your ID on the way to the testing centre."

Choose the correct word: "The reviewees left ___ bags outside the testing room."

Choose the correct word: "___ going to announce the results next month."

Choose the correct word: "The new policy will take effect ___ the first of the month."

Choose the correct word: "The office is busier now ___ it was last year."

Choose the correct word: "Please ___ the attached files before the meeting."

Choose the correct word: "All employees ___ the new hires attended the seminar."

Choose the correct word: "The ___ of the meeting was to plan the budget."

Choose the correct word: "The new procedures will ___ the waiting time for clients."

Choose the correct word: "The clerk checked whether the ___ was enough to cover the fee."

Choose the correct word: "There were ___ applicants this year than last year."

Choose the correct word: "The director will ___ the staff about the new rules."

Choose the correct word: "Each employee must keep ___ records up to date."

Choose the correct word: "The training will ___ for three days."

Choose the correct word: "___ turn is it to prepare the minutes?"

Choose the correct word: "The new system is more ___ than the old one."

Choose the correct word: "Please be ___ of other people's time in meetings."