Friday, Day 8!

Commonly Confused Words:

1. farther, further

farther (adv)- at or to a greater distance (used to refer to measurable distance)

     example: Texas is farther west that Louisiana.

further (adj or adv)- greater in time, degree, or extent; additionally

     example: Frankly, I have no further interest in arguing with you over such trivia.

     example: The further you go in the study of psychology, the more fascinating it becomes.


1. The company has suspended (farther, further) negotiations for the contract.
2. The evidence was extensive and offered (farther, further) proof of the defendant's guilt.
3. I rode my bicycle (farther, further) down the road than Maggie did.
4. Hawaii is (farther, further) away than Alaska is.
5. There is no question we need (farther, further) review to be ready for the exam.

2. hang, hanged, hung

hang (vb)- to fasten above with no support from below; to suspend; to attach to a wall; to suspend by the neck until dead.

Hang has two past forms and two different past participle forms, hang, hanged, hung and hang, hung, hung.  Hanged is used exclusively in the sense of causing death. Therefore, do not use hung when referring to capital punishment or suicide.

   example: The four pictures were hung along the stairway leading to the balcony.
   example: In some states, prisoners are hanged for capital offenses.

The prisoner was schedule to be (hanged, hung) at dawn. Just before dawn, the warden received an important call from the prisoner's lawyer. He told the warden that Judge Clements was trying to stop the inmate from being (hanged, hung).  Before he (hanged, hung) up, the lawyer told the warden to expect a call from the governor. The warden (hanged, hung) his badge on his shirt and proceeded to the gallows area to wait The prisoner, head (hanged, hung) low, entered. Suddenly, the phone rang. After the warden (hanged, hung) up, he announced a stay of execution had been granted. The prisoner would not be (hanged, hung).

3. its, it's

its (pronoun)- owned by; belonging to
   example: A horse uses its tail to swat flies and other insects.

it's- contraction of it is
     example: I don't want to go into any more detail about your birthday present; it's a secret.

1. The camel stores water in (its, it's) body for weeks, requiring less fluid than most animals.
2. (Its, It's) clear that the answer to the problem is quite complex.
3. One can easily identify the lilac because of (its, it's) distinctive odor.
4. (Its, It's) interesting how the male pheasant shows off (its, it's) plumage by fanning (its, it's) tail feathers.