Commonly Confused Words
📋 What it is
Its/it’s, then/than, affect/effect, lose/loose — tiny differences that change the meaning.
🗣️ Coach says
These pairs look almost the same but mean different things. “It’s” = it is; “its” = belonging to it. “Then” = time; “than” = comparing. BOLT guesses — you KNOW the tests.
🧠 Memory hook
it’s = it is · its = owns it. then = next · than = compared to.
😂 Giggle
What do you call a robot that writes with tons of mistakes?
A rough draft-oid!
😲 Whoa!
The its/it's mix-up is the single most common editing error in English — even careful adults slip.
🖍️ Grade BOLT-3000's commonly-confused words.
You're the teacher — mark BOLT-3000's work, then reveal how you did. (Grading a robot: all the skill, none of the sting.)
BOLT wrote: “The dog wagged it’s tail.”
✗ Needs a fix — “it’s” means “it is”; use “its” (owns it): “The dog wagged ITS tail.”
"it's" = "it is" (test: "the dog wagged it is tail" fails); ownership uses "its".
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Fill in: “I’d rather read ___ sleep, and ___ I’ll go out.” (than / then)