WHICH WORD: LOSS, LOST, LOSE, LOOSE? 1
✓ Useful for TOEFL
✓ Useful for Cambridge B2/C1
DID YOU KNOW?
Loss, lost, lose, and loose — four words, four different meanings, and one of the most googled grammar questions in English.
Lose is a verb (to fail to keep something); loss is its noun form; lost is the past tense and past participle; loose is an adjective meaning not tight. Mixing them up — particularly lose/loose — is flagged as a Lexical Resource error in IELTS and a vocabulary accuracy issue in TOEFL writing.
Cambridge Use of English (Part 1 — multiple choice cloze) uses these four forms as distractors precisely because they’re so commonly confused. Sorting them out once and for all is a small investment with a reliable exam payoff.
Loss, lost, lose, and loose — four words, four different meanings, and one of the most googled grammar questions in English.
Lose is a verb (to fail to keep something); loss is its noun form; lost is the past tense and past participle; loose is an adjective meaning not tight. Mixing them up — particularly lose/loose — is flagged as a Lexical Resource error in IELTS and a vocabulary accuracy issue in TOEFL writing.
Cambridge Use of English (Part 1 — multiple choice cloze) uses these four forms as distractors precisely because they’re so commonly confused. Sorting them out once and for all is a small investment with a reliable exam payoff.
Complete each of the following sentences with loss, lost, lose, or loose, whichever fits best.
Example: The tourists seemed lost.
More advanced English exercises
EITHER, NEITHER, TOO (B)
SO or SUCH? 1 (I)
SO, SUCH, MANY, MUCH 1 (I)
THERE, THEY'RE, THEIR 1 (I)
WHO, WHICH, WHOSE 1 (I)
WHO/WHOM/WHOSE 1 (I/A)
SOME or ANY? 1 (I)
Loss, lost, lose, or loose? 1
WHOLE or ALL? 1 (I)
DO or MAKE? 1 (B)
SO or SUCH? 1 (I)
SO, SUCH, MANY, MUCH 1 (I)
THERE, THEY'RE, THEIR 1 (I)
WHO, WHICH, WHOSE 1 (I)
WHO/WHOM/WHOSE 1 (I/A)
SOME or ANY? 1 (I)
Loss, lost, lose, or loose? 1
WHOLE or ALL? 1 (I)
DO or MAKE? 1 (B)
