Which homophones trip up most people?

Question

I believe it is some possessive words such as its and their, as opposed to the contraction it's, which is short for "it is" or "it has" and the adverb "there" or the contraction, "they're" (they are).

Answer 1

Agree that it depends, both on the student, and on exactly what you think is tripping people up.

Its / it's, your / you're, and there / their / they're are all commonly confused, but I suspect that's more likely because people aren't thinking, or are rushing, or aren't editing their work, and not because they really don't know which word means what. In other words, I think if you asked most people directly what "your" vs. "you're" means, they would answer correctly, even though it's a very common mistake.

But for homophones that are actually confused with each other, one that I frequently see, even in edited writing, is compliment / complement.

That, and near-homophones affect / effect.

Answer 2

I believe the difficulty depends upon the student. Pair and pear are tricky for some as well.