Words of confused

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weave ~ weave

[the same pronunciation]

“Weave”, as a verb ~~~  weave – wove – woven – weaving , is ‘to make a cloth, carpet, basket, (hair on the head), etc. by crossing long narrow  pieces of threads or reeds (or strands of hair) under and over each other – interlaced — (the length wise ones are called warp and the filling ones are called weft); (of a story) to include many different ideas, situations, etc. together and connect them’; and as a noun, it is ‘the act of weaving a cloth, carpet, basket, etc.’,

e.g.

Women from our state weave very complicated patterns in carpets.

The storyteller wove complicated plots of romance and crime.

Few people wear hand-woven clothes these days.

We buy only the carpets with the finest weave.

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“Weave” (verb  ~~~  weave – weaved – weaved – weaving) is ‘to go from or move in a place by taking quick and short turnings, and/or changing directions quite often’,

e.g.

Motorcyclists weave dangerously in and out of the traffic.

The old dusty path weaved over the hills and between the swamps before connecting itself to the high road.

The dining hall was so crowded that we had to weave our way through the tables, almost brushing against those sitting at the tables.

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weather ~ whether

[the same pronunciation]

“Weather”, as a noun, is ‘the changes in the sun’s heat, the speeds of wind, the amount of rain, the amount of wetness (moisture), etc. in a particular place at a given time, usually short period of time’; as a verb, it is ‘(of things) changing colour, quality, etc. due to the effects of the sun’s heat, wetness in the air, etc.; (of things & people) getting damaged or being worn out as a result of the changes in the weather; (of people or animals) to come through a difficult situation safely; survive a bad or dangerous situation’,

e.g.

“What’s the weather like today – very hot like it was yesterday?”    →  → “Yes.  The weather forecast said it would be even hotter. And in summer the weather is always hot, you know!”

Why, you look a bit under the weather!     [i.e. you look ill – not feeling well, may be some minor sickness]

He wears a thick jacket in all weathers.      [i.e. in all types of weather – hot, cold, rainy, etc.]

She weathered all the troubles a woman should face in this male dominated business world, and became the CEO of the company.

Her face was weathered by the sun as if she had been to Africa.

[“Weather – Climate” – ‘Weather’ is the changes in the sun’s heat, wind speed, amount of rain and the wetness in the air, etc. that happen quite frequently, even in the same day, and in a small area – mornings in our country/district may be cool but afternoons may be hot and again evenings may be cold.  ‘Climate’ is the condition of the sun’s heat, wind speed, amount of rain and the wetness in the air, etc. that stays unchanged over a long period of time, may be moths or years (the average is taken over a period of thirty years or more) in a wide area – a part of a continent or a continent, for instance.  Polar regions are cold in general for most of the time; however, they do have hot weather, but only for a short period and that hot weather is relative, that is to say, when the average temperature most of the year is -10ºC, the summer days may be +10ºC which may be the coldest time of the year in places where the weather is not most of the year (+30ºC)!  Therefore, the best way to remember the difference is to keep this sentence in mind all the time: ‘Weather’ is the “Climate” in a very narrow sense!  Like the word ‘weather’ used in expressions other than those related to the changes in temperatures, etc. the word “Climate” is also used in expressions other than changes in temperature, etc. to express the general feelings of someone or the situation or position of something in a place at a particular time’: ‘the global financial climate’, ‘the present political climate’, ‘a climate of racial intolerance’, etc.]

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“Whether” (conjunction) is used ‘when asking an indirect question with alternative (choice); when talking about a choice one has to make, or when one is not certain; when introducing a subordinate clause expressing a doubt; when one wants to say that something will happen or will not happen whatever be the situation’,

e.g.

When he said he had lived on an island all alone for a year, we all wondered whether to believe him or not.

My colleague asked me whether I needed her help in getting my laptop started.

The floods affected everyone, whether rich or poor.

She told her employer that she was leaving whether he liked it or not.

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wear ~ ware ~ where

[the same pronunciation, as in ‘wear’ which end-rhymes with “care”]

“Wear”, as a verb ~~~  wear – wore – worn – wearing , is ‘to have or put on something such as clothes, shoes, hat, jewellery, etc. on one’s body; to have one’s hair or beard in a particular shape or style; to become thinner or weaker or damaged because of continuous use’; as a noun, it is ‘the clothes put on for a particular or special occasion or by a section of people – children’s wear, footwear, swimwear, etc.; the damage caused to things by continuous use, usually in the expression ‘wear and tear’,

e.g.

She wears a blue neck scarf when the weather is cold.  (puts on)

She wears a pair boots and a helmet when she is on duty at the factory.  (puts on)

The canvas shoes wear out very easily.  (worn out/spoil easily)

He wears a French beard.  (He grows a beard, and shapes in French fashion)

We need to buy some causal wear for the holiday.  (casual clothes)

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“Ware” (noun & always in compound words) is ‘things made of a particular material, or made in a particular way or at a particular place – glassware, silverware, earthenware, etc.; things that are used in a particular place or purpose  – kitchenware, bathroom ware, tableware, etc.; {‘wares’ always in plural} the small objects sold, usually in the streets’,

{‘Ware’ (always with a capital ‘W’) is the name of a town in Hertfordshire, England, where archaeologists have found the remains of the temples, buildings that belonged to Romans.  It is also mentioned in the ‘Canterbury Tales’, a collection of stories, written by Geoffrey Chaucer.}

e.g.

She had a fine collection of silverware.

Our bathroom ware is imported from France.

Our company rented a warehouse to store our goods.

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“Where”, as an interrogative adverb, is used ‘to ask in or to which place a person or thing is/belongs’; as a conjunction, it shows ‘in or at which place a person or thing is/was/has been’,

e.g.

Where are they going?

This is the place where I live.

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weak (weakly) ~ week (weekly)

[the same pronunciation]

“Weak” (adjective) means ‘(of people, animals, things) not strong; not having the physical or mental strength, force or capacity to bear a load or face a problem or difficult situation; likely to break because of lack of strength’,

e.g.

The old woman is too weak to feed herself.

Her husband died of a weak heart.

The court ordered the contractors to stop constructing the bridge because the local people feared that the pillars were too weak to support the weight of the slab.

He always drinks weak tea; never a strong one.

A weak verb is a verb word which takes ‘d’ or ‘ed’ to form past and past participle forms; e.g. talk –talked – talked and  fetch – fetched – fetched.

“Weakly” is the adverb form of the adjective ‘weak’ and means ‘in a weak manner’,

e.g.

The tired traveller put down her bags and sank down weakly beside them.

When the doctor told her that she had cancer, she smiled weakly and walked away.

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“Week” (noun) is ‘a period of seven days and nights: in British English – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; and in American English – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday’,

e.g.

I’ve stayed at this anonymous hotel for two weeks.

My sister is going to visit us next week.

“Weekly” (adjective, adverb & noun) means ‘(adjective — only before nouns) (of something) happening every week’,

e.g.

Employees in our office are encouraged to attend a weekly current affairs quiz.     (‘weekly’ – adjective)

Workers are paid their wages weekly.     (‘weekly’ – adverb)

I opened a weekly and leafed through the pages slowly.     (‘weekly’ – noun with the plural form “weeklies” – a magazine published once every week)

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wax ~ wax

[the same pronunciation]

“Wax”, as a noun, is ‘a solid or semi-solid substance made of fat or oil and used to make candles, polish, colours, etc.; the sticky substance in a person’s ears; a sticky substance that becomes hard on drying used to put seals on documents or locks’; as a verb, it is ‘to rub a sticky solid or semi-solid substance on the surface of something to make it look shiny and to protect it from decay or damage, usually shoes, furniture, wooden things, wooden floor, etc.’,

{These days there is spray wax available, and so, the solid or semi-solid substance is called ‘paste wax’ to show the difference between the ‘spray/liquid wax’ and the ‘solid or semi-solid wax’.}

e.g.

Children are given some wax crayons to draw some pictures.

First put a layer of wax down on the wooden floor, let it dry for some time, and then rub with smooth dry cloth.

Wax seals are still in use even these days.

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“Wax”, as a verb, is ‘to talk about something with very strong feelings; (of things) to become bigger or smaller over time {in this sense, wane is the opposite word in meaning}; (of a person) to remove the unwanted hair from legs and arms of women using some kind of wax, also known as bikini wax’,

e.g.

No one waxes sentimental about the appalling conditions of the slum dwellers these days.    [i.e. people do not talk much about the bad conditions the people in slums live in]

The moon waxes and wanes periodically.    [i.e. the moon grows bigger and again grows smaller about every twenty-nine days]

There are several parlours in every city for women to have bikini waxing.

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watch ~ watch

[the same pronunciation]

“Watch” (noun) is ‘a small device which shows time of the day/night (clock) that people wear on their wrists or keep in their pockets’,

a wristwatch

e.g.

You can’t keep track of time if you don’t wear a wrist watch.

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“Watch”, as a noun, is ‘the act of paying careful attention to a person or a thing in order to see that everything is all right; that act of observing a place or person in order by being alert all the time to see what is going on there or what the person is doing so that if anything goes wrong or something bad happens one can stop that and set the things right immediately; a person or group of people who does/do the act keeping watch – on duty of guard – as a job or voluntarily; a group name for the song bird called ‘nightingale’; and as a verb, it is ‘to look at something in order to observe or find out what happens or is happening; to be alert and awake in order to see nothing goes wrong or bad and to set things right if anything goes wrong’,

(policemen keeping a watch // policemen watch the streets)

e.g.

She kept a round-the clock watch over her sick child.

The beach guard must be very alert while on watch.

I am one of the five member neighbourhood watch patrolling our streets at night.

The soldiers are watching all the border check-posts for illegal immigrants.

The police have watched every move of the suspect.

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waive ~ wave ~ wave ~ waver

[‘waive’ and ‘wave(1), wave (2)’ have the same pronunciation; and ‘waver’ has an additional sound ‘er’ at the end]

“Waive” (verb) is ‘to say officially that a right, rule, payment, etc. can be ignored – no need to follow if it is a rule, no need to pay if it is some kind of fine or fee, etc.’,

{‘Waiver’ is the noun form of the verb word “waive”, and means, related to law, ‘a situation in which a person who has a legal right or claim to something or someone gives it up for different reasons, and also, an official document stating that a person has given up his/her legal right or claim to something or someone’.}

e.g.

He waived his right to a lawyer in the court of law.      [i.e. he said officially that he did not want any lawyer to argue on his behalf]

The judge decided to waive her fine for vandalism because she was a minor and it was her first offence.

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sea wave

“Wave”, as a noun, is ‘a line of raised water, normally rising to some two or three feet, but to very great heights during bad weather, and again falling back or reducing to normal level, across the surface of a sea, ocean or a large lake, particularly at the edge where the water touches the land; (of a person) a sudden increase in the emotions – anger, fear, panic, sympathy, relief, etc. in a particular person or a group of people; an unexpected increase in the number of people or things arriving at the same place and at the same time; the way or form in which some forms of energy, such as sound, light, radio, travel’,

sound waves reaching the ear

e.g.

Diana slowly walked on the wet sand watching the waves breaking on the beach.

A huge tidal wave swept away hundreds of villages killing thousands of people in the recent tsunami.

Wave after wave of people came to see the new Pope on his visit to the South American continent.

The recent wave of terrorist bombings made an everlasting sense of insecurity in the minds of the people.

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“Wave”, as a verb, is ‘(of a person) to raise one’s arm and move one’s hand from side to side in order to make someone notice; to move your hand from side to side in order to indicate that you don’t accept somebody’s offer or invitation; to raise one’s arm and move the hand from side to side in order to say good bye to somebody; to extend one’s arm and move the arm or hand up and down in order to make a driver of a vehicle stop their vehicle; to move a flag or a piece of cloth in order to show that a race, such as running race, motor race, cycle race, etc., is to begin’; as a noun, it is ‘to raise one’s arm and move the hand from side to side or up and down in order to signal to somebody to do something or not to do something or to say good-bye, etc.’,

{‘Waver’, (noun, in this sense & used very rarely), is ‘a person who waves his hands in order to communicate with others’.}

wave of a hand (waving his hand) {a waver}

e.g.

Ronne waved at us and we waved back.

The starter waved the flag and all the race cars dashed forward at a time.

The stranger took out a gun from his bag and waved it at us threateningly.

It’s a sight to see the flags wave gently in the breeze.

She stood there trying to wave down any vacant taxi passing by.

With a reckless wave of her hand, the manager brushed all his objection aside.

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“Waver” (verb) is ‘(of a person, animal, thing) to move unsteadily; to become doubtful, uncertain; to hesitate to do something; (of some light – like a candle or moon light) to flicker – to move from side to side or become dull and bright again due to strong wind; (of voice or music) to become unsteady because of emotions or lack of strength; (of people) unable to make a decision, unable to decide which way or which action to take in a situation; to become weak in one’s determination’,

a waverer

e.g.

When he aimed his gun to shoot an innocent-looking man, his gun began to waver.

There were some us who wavered when it came to contributing money for the cause.

The candle light wavered in the breeze coming through the gaps in the window panes.

Her voice wavered when she overcame with grief.

The leader was certain that his party members would never waver in their loyalty to him.

[A ‘waver’ (noun & very rarely used) is 'a person who waves their hand to communicate with others'; and a "waverer" (noun) is ‘a person who is unable to make a decision, especially when voting’.]

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wait ~ weight

[the same pronunciation, as in ‘wait’; the letters 'gh' in 'weight' are silent]

“Wait”, as a verb, is ‘to be or to stay at a place and not do anything until something else happens or someone else appears (show up); to be at a place for something or someone’; as a noun, it is ‘the period of time in which one is or stays at a place for something to happen or someone else to appear (show up)’,

waiting for the post/mail

e.g.

Wait for me.  I’ll be with you in a minute.

She waits (for) some twenty-minutes or so for the bus every morning.

He said to me, “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

There is often a two-hour wait to see my dentist.

There was a long wait for his appointment.

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“Weight”, as a noun, is ‘how heavy someone or something is; the energy or force to be used to carry or lift something or someone; how heavy or fat a person or an animal is (how much they measure in bulk); (of something or someone) that makes one feel worried because one has to deal with it with responsibility; (of a person) the power of one’s influence; a large amount or quantity of something; someone’s responsibility; (in sports) the round heavy plates that are attached to the bar a sports person (a weight-lifter) lifts to make it more difficult’; as a verb, it is ‘to put something on something or someone in order to make them heavier or to keep them in place’,

measuring one’s weight

e.g.

She is about seventy kilos in weight and five feet five inches in height.

In some places bananas are sold by weight and the eggs, by the dozen.

He’s put on some weight since he stopped working late night shifts.

Older children feel a great weight of responsibility when they are asked to look after the younger ones.

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wait ~ await

[slightly different pronunciation: ‘await’ has an extra ‘a’ sound at the beginning]

“Wait”, as a verb, is ‘to be or to stay at a place and not do anything until something else happens or someone else appears (show up); to be at a place for something or someone’; as a noun, it is ‘the period of time in which one is or stays at a place for something to happen or someone else to appear (show up)’,

(waiting for their beloved)

e.g.

Wait for me.  I’ll be with you in a minute.

She waits (for) some twenty-minutes or so for the bus every morning.

He said to me, “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

There is often a two-hour wait to see my dentist.

There was a long wait for his appointment.

{“Wait tables” (mostly American usage) means ‘to work in a restaurant serving food and drink items to the customers who sit at their tables;; and ‘waiter’ is ‘not a man who waits for someone or something, but a man who serves customers in a restaurant, and ‘waitress’ is a woman who serves customers in a restaurant’.}

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“Await” (verb) is ‘{wait for = await, therefore ‘await’ is never used with any preposition or any person as an object} to wait for something to happen or somebody to do something’,

e.g.

The men who were arrested last week have been awaiting trial.

A pleasant surprise awaited him on his birthday.  {i.e. he was given a surprise on his birthday}

[However, “She awaited/was awaiting him.” is wrong because ‘await’ doesn’t take a person as an object.]

The final result of the interview was eagerly awaited (by the participants).

Common Errors:

1.

I waited her for an hour.   [wrong]

I waited for her for an hour.  [right]

I waited an hour for her.       [right]

2.

I await for her reply.   [wrong]

I await her reply.         [right]

Her reply is awaited (by me).  [right]

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waist ~ waste

[the same pronunciation]

“Waist” (noun) is ‘the narrow part in the middle of a person’s body, usually narrower than the upper part (trunk) and the lower body (hips); a piece of clothing, usually a skirt, frock or a pair of trousers (pants) that covers or goes round the narrow middle part of the body’,

measuring one’s waist

e.g.

A narrow waist is the symbol of a slim body.

The patient was paralysed from the waist down.     [i.e. he could not move his legs]

His trousers were very loose around the waist.

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“Waste”, as a noun, is ‘the act of using something, such as money, time, efforts, etc. in a way that is not effective, useful, sensible; unwanted things that are left after one has used something; (usually in plural) a large area of land without many people, animals or plants living in it’; as an adjective, it means ‘to use more than needed of something, such as  money, time, efforts, energy, etc.; not making good use of something’,

waste food

e.g.

Some people think that the money given to the unemployed is a total waste of taxpayers’ hard earnings.

The process of recycling the waste from the homes and offices is appreciated and applied by almost all the major cities of the world.

Dumping the industrial waste in the seas is a major threat to the survival of the marine life.

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