GCSE English

Loose and lose

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You can lose a game, or lose some money. You can even have loose change in your pocket. Just don't muddle their spellings up!

Lose: to fail at, or to be unable to find. "Ann would always lose her keys."

Loose: not tight or fixed in place. "The railings were really loose, a danger to everyone."

Learn the difference between these by this comparison:
nose ... lose
noose ... loose

The last two sound the same, the first two don't.


Advice and advise
Affect and effect
Bought and brought
Complement and compliment
Discreet and discrete
Hear and here
Its and it's
Lead and led
Less and fewer
Licence and license
Loose and lose
  Plane and plain
Poor, pore and pour
Practice and practise
Principal and principle
Sort and sought
Stationary and stationery - new!
There, their and they're
Threw, through and thorough
To and too
Warn and Worn
Whose and who's
Your and you're

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