These are some commonly confused words. I rarely hear them mixed up, but I see it in people’s writing all the time.

Breath and Breathe

Breathe is a verb. The ea sounds like eat or easy.

Breath is a noun. Here, the ea sounds like egg or death.

Examples:

He took a slow breath before answering.

She gasped, barely able to breathe.

Bath and Bathe

Bath and Bathe follow the same basic pattern.

Bathe is a verb. The a sounds like able or ate.

Bath is a noun. The a sounds like cat.

Examples:

I want to take a relaxing bubble bath.

Whew! You need to bathe.

I see that a several of the Writing Helper posts remain some of my most popular. Even though they’re short, I’m not surprised. When I taught English, my students usually appreciated this type of lesson much more than standard grammar.

Enjoy!