过去几年来，我遇到许多非议英文为母语的作者常犯的一些语言错误，用字/词的错误可能会使读者感到困惑或是误导他们。 为了排除这些可能的困惑成为英语专家，我先前已经有一篇博文讨论过写作时容易搞混的词汇，这次延续这个主题，再继续讨论几个这样的词汇。
1. Number vs Amount
“amount”用于不可数名词，如钱、信息、时间等。
例句：We received an enormous amount of help from our university.
“number”用于可数名词，像是工作、样本、机器等。
例句：I had a small number of specimens left.
“number”和“amount”的使用是根据所形容的名词是否可数，因此彼此间并无法相互替代。
2. Hypothesis vs Theory
“hypothesis”是根据知识与经验所有的猜想，尚未经过测试或证明。
例句：His hypothesis was that giving his students less work would increase their test scores.
“theory”是已经被重复测试并有证据支持的科学思想。
例句：Scientists hold the theory of evolution in high regard.
一个增强这2个字差异的辨识方法是把“hypothesis”想成构建“theory”的第一步，因为任何的科学理论都是源自于有逻辑的猜想。
3. Discreet vs Discrete
“discreet”意指小心不要引起注意。
例句：Discreet observation of the patient enabled the doctors to draw vital conclusions.
“discrete”意指分开或差距。
例句：The organisms can be classified into discrete categories.
这2个字因为拼法接近所以经常被搞混，不过他们的字义大相径庭，使用时一定要注意。这种发音接近但字义与拼法不同的词称作“（homophones）”
4. Old vs Original
“old”是指属于过去的一段时间，现在一般已经不使用的，像是“一首老歌”或“旧衣服”
例句：Some old theories suggested that the earth was flat.
另一方面，“original”是指同类中的第一个或被复制的第一个版本，例如“the original statement”、“ the original work of art”。
例句：The team replicated the original research to confirm its validity.
以下几个范例可以帮助你辨识这2个字的不同：
避免使用：As we had stated in the old manuscript, each patient was administered the same dosage during the study period.
较好的用法：As we had stated in the original manuscript, each patient was administered the same dosage during the study period.
以上范例是在说一个已经修改的文件，因此“original”比“old”更为适合用来形容这个文件。
5. As a result vs Based on the results
“as a result”意由于，用于表达一事件是另一项事情的起因时。
例句：The results of the experiment were inconclusive. As a result, the research had to be repeated.
这个句子是指由于研究结果不够具有决定性，所以要再重做一次实验。
而“based on the results”和“the results revealed”是表示根据特定结果得到的
例句：Based on the results of the experiment, we concluded that bats are nocturnal creatures.
“as a result”、“ based on the results”或“the results revealed”各有不同的意思，因此无法替换使用。