Aloud, allowed, accept and except: words commonly confused

Aloud and allowed

These words have similar pronunciation and therefore they are often confused by ESL students.

Aloud

Aloud is an adverb.  When you speak aloud your speech is loud enough for other people to hear.

• Don’t read aloud. You are disturbing me.
• When we were children, our mother would read aloud to us.

Allowed

Allowed is the past simple form of the verb allow. To allow is to permit.

• Smoking is not allowed in the kitchen. (= Smoking is not permitted in the kitchen.)
• I wasn’t allowed to use the computer.
• Young children are not allowed to enter the pub.

Accept and except

To accept something is to receive it willingly.

• She accepted the invitation.
• He said that he wouldn’t accept the prize.
• He readily accepted her explanation.

Except means ‘apart from’ or ‘excluding’.

• He plays all musical instruments except the piano. (= He can’t play the piano, but he can play every other instrument.)
• Everybody turned up except John. (= John didn’t come, but everybody else did.)
• We haven’t told anyone except Mary. (= Mary has been told.)

Exercise

Complete the following sentences.

1. Everybody was there …………………… Susan, who was very ill. (except / accept)

2. I …………………… this award with great pleasure. (accept / except)

3. If the teacher doesn’t speak …………………….. students sitting in the back benches won’t be able to hear her properly. (aloud / allowed)

4. She wasn’t …………………….. to go home. (allowed / aloud)

Answers

1. Except; 2. Accept; 3. Aloud; 4. Allowed