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7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 6 of 13

Word Mix-Ups

Affect or effect? Its or it's?

What your child practices

Choosing correctly between commonly confused words: its/it's, their/there/they're, then/than, lose/loose, who's/whose, affect/effect, accept/except and more.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 7.2.1.2; 7.2.1.1 · spelling and using commonly confused words

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Test contractions with the long form: it’s = it is, they’re = they are, who’s = who is.
  2. Then compares time, than compares things. Lose means misplace, loose means not tight.
  3. Affect is usually a verb (to change). Effect is usually a noun (the result). Accept means receive, except means leaving out.

Example: “The weather can ___ your mood.” affect or effect? The blank needs a verb: to change something. Affect is the verb. Answer: affect

Word Mix-Ups in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 6 of 13 in 7th grade English Language Arts, after Modifiers & Parallelism and before Poetry Lab.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which word correctly completes the sentence?

    I wonder _____ coming to the meeting.

    • who's
    • whose

  2. Question 2

    Which word correctly completes the sentence?

    Finish your homework, and _____ you can play.

    • than
    • then

  3. Question 3

    Which word correctly completes the sentence?

    This line has _____ people than that one.

    • less
    • fewer

  4. Question 4

    Which word correctly completes the sentence?

    If we _____ this game, we're out of the tournament.

    • loose
    • lose

  5. Question 5

    Which word correctly completes the sentence?

    First we stretched, and _____ we ran two laps.

    • than
    • then

  6. Question 6

    Which word correctly completes the sentence?

    I would rather walk _____ take the bus.

    • then
    • than

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