There are quite a few words in the English language that sound identical but are spelled differently and, of course, have different meanings. This can be just a little bit confusing! So, let's talk about a few of them.

Affect/effect. These are the two I see most commonly mixed up. Probably the simplest way to keep these two words straight is to apply this general rule of thumb: Use "affect" as a verb (influence) and "effect" as a noun (thing/result).
Examples: He's taking drugs that affect (influence) the nervous system. The effect (result) of those drugs is uncertain. It is not clear yet what effect (result) the new policy will have or whether it will affect (influence) business.

Accept/except. Accept = receive. Except = exclude. I accepted the position. Everyone went except for Susie.

Compliment/complement. Compliment = say something nice. Complement = completes or brings to perfection. Mary gave Jeff a nice compliment. The new frame was the perfect complement for the painting.

Next time, we'll explore some common comma catastrophes!