Commonly Confused Words & Precise Meaning — Drills · Grade 7 English

Chapter: Language, Vocabulary & Sentence Craft

What these drills covers

By the end of Commonly Confused Words & Precise Meaning you should be able to:

4 questions, written answer, each with a worked explanation.

Vocabulary used: homophone, contraction, evidence, qualification, revision.

Problem 1

Without opening a model: Explain homophone in the assigned reading, distinguishing it from a related idea.
Answer and explanation

A word sounding like another word while differing in meaning or spelling. Confusable words often sound alike but have different grammatical functions. Identify the job the word performs in its sentence. Memorizing a sound without the function will not distinguish a possessive from a contraction.

Use the model to discuss reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; written work needs human marking.

Problem 2

Without opening a model: Correct the three forms and explain each choice.
Answer and explanation

They’re moving the sign over there because its letters are small. They’re expands to they are; there indicates the place; its shows the sign’s possession. The edits preserve the intended meaning rather than changing the group’s action or the reason for it.

Use the model to discuss reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; written work needs human marking.

Problem 3

Without opening a model: Evaluate this claim: “Sound alone determines the correct spelling.” Explain a correction in context.
Answer and explanation

This claim is misleading. Use context to test the correction. “They’re moving the sign over there because its letters are small” needs a subject and verb, a location, and a possessive relationship. An apostrophe is not a universal signal of possession. They’re moving the sign over there because its letters are small. They’re expands to they are; there indicates the place; its shows the sign’s possession. The edits preserve the intended meaning rather than changing the group’s action or the reason for it.

Use the model to discuss reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; written work needs human marking.

Problem 4

Without opening a model: Does every word ending in an apostrophe-s show possession?
Answer and explanation

No. It’s is a contraction, while its is possessive. Use the expansion test and sentence context rather than a universal apostrophe rule.

Use the model to discuss reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; written work needs human marking.

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