Why This Matters (কেন গুরুত্বপূর্ণ)

A surprising number of Grammar and Vocabulary deductions in PTE Write Essay and Summarize Written Text come not from unknown words, but from two similar-looking words being swapped — "affect" for "effect," "economic" for "economical," "principal" for "principle." Because these pairs sound or look almost identical, spell-checkers rarely catch them, and PTE's automated scoring engine treats the wrong word exactly as it would any other error.

PTE Write Essay ও Summarize Written Text-এ অনেক ভুল আসে অজানা শব্দ থেকে নয়, বরং দুটি প্রায় একইরকম শব্দ বদলে ফেলা থেকে — "affect" আর "effect", "economic" আর "economical"। এগুলো প্রায় একইরকম দেখতে/শুনতে হওয়ায় spell-checker ধরতে পারে না।

Academic Word Pairs (একাডেমিক শব্দজোড়া)

affect vs effect

affect (verb) = to influence something. effect (noun) = the result of an influence. affect = ক্রিয়া (প্রভাবিত করা), effect = বিশেষ্য (প্রভাব/ফলাফল)।

"Rising temperatures affect crop yields, and this effect is most severe in coastal regions."

economic vs economical

economic = relating to the economy. economical = cost-efficient, not wasteful. economic = অর্থনীতি সম্পর্কিত, economical = সাশ্রয়ী।

"The government introduced new economic policies to encourage economical use of energy."

principal vs principle

principal = most important, or the head of a school. principle = a fundamental rule or belief. principal = প্রধান, principle = মূলনীতি।

"The principal reason for the policy change rests on a simple principle: fairness."

complement vs compliment

complement = to complete or go well with something. compliment = a polite expression of praise. complement = পরিপূরক, compliment = প্রশংসা।

"Solar and wind power complement each other well in a national energy grid."

imply vs infer

imply = to suggest something indirectly (the writer/speaker does this). infer = to conclude something from evidence (the reader/listener does this). imply = ইঙ্গিত দেওয়া, infer = অনুমান করা।

"The report does not explicitly state a cause, but readers can reasonably infer one from the data presented."

precede vs proceed

precede = to come before something in time or order. proceed = to continue or go forward with an action. precede = পূর্বে ঘটা, proceed = এগিয়ে যাওয়া।

"A brief safety briefing will precede the experiment before researchers proceed with the trial."

Everyday Word Pairs (দৈনন্দিন শব্দজোড়া)

its vs it's

its = possessive (belonging to it). it's = contraction of "it is" or "it has." its = অধিকারবাচক, it's = "it is"-এর সংক্ষিপ্ত রূপ।

"The company announced its new policy; it's expected to take effect next month."

fewer vs less

fewer = used with countable nouns (fewer students, fewer cars). less = used with uncountable nouns (less time, less water). fewer = গণনাযোগ্য বিশেষ্যের সাথে, less = অগণনীয়ের সাথে।

"Fewer students enrolled this year, meaning the department has less funding available."

lose vs loose

lose (verb) = to no longer have something. loose (adjective) = not tight, not fixed firmly. lose = হারানো, loose = আলগা।

"A loose bolt caused the machine to lose power intermittently."

advice vs advise

advice (noun) = a recommendation or suggestion. advise (verb) = to give a recommendation. advice = বিশেষ্য, advise = ক্রিয়া।

"The advisor's advice was clear: she advised students to apply early."

Your Turn (অনুশীলন করুন)

Choose the correct word, then reveal the answer.

1 "The new regulations will directly ___ (affect/effect) small businesses in the region."
Show the answer

affect — verb form needed here.

2 "Public transport is a more ___ (economic/economical) way to commute than driving alone."
Show the answer

economical — refers to cost-efficiency, not the economy generally.

3 "Only a ___ (fewer/less) number of applicants met all the requirements this year."
Show the answer

fewer — "number of applicants" is countable.

4 "The professor's ___ (principal/principle) concern was academic integrity."
Show the answer

principal — meaning "main" or "most important" here.