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Commonly Confused Words
Early/Soon
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Aural/Oral
Flotsam/Jetsam
Shear/Sheer
Another/Yet another
Early vs. Soon
Early
/ˈɜːli/
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Before the usual or expected time.
Examples:
It is so
early
.
They were leaving for the Coast
earlier
now, January second.
'You are certain that is the
earliest
?' he asked.
Synonyms:
premature
timely
punctual
Antonyms:
late
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Soon
/suːn/
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At a time not long from now
Examples:
"
The sooner every party breaks up, the better."
"
Bring her as soon as you can."
W
ill you marry me soon?' he said, not daring to breathe.
Synonyms:
shortly
quickly
Antonyms:
later
Learn more about synonyms and antonyms
Ways to tell them apart:
Early
often talks about time of day or schedule, as in
early morning.
Soon
is about anticipation and the near future, as in
coming soon.
You can be
early
in the morning or to events, but things happen
soon
to indicate they occur shortly after.
Early
rarely refers to events that haven
t happened yet, unlike
soon.'
In sports,
early lead
means having points near the start, while
soon
wouldn't be used that way.
When to use early:
When to use soon:
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