BETTER WRITING

Apostrophes
Don't use an apostrophe to form a plural. A sentence like 'Please keep the gate's clear' is wrong. Use an apostrophe to indicate
possession, or to show that a word has been contracted.
As and like
Use like before a noun, as in 'She's very like her mother'. here a clause follows, you should use as or as if, e.g. '!e's behaving as if
he owns the place' "not 'like he owns'#, or '$ou don't know him as % do' "not 'like % do'#.
Commas
hy does the sentence 'People, who lived in the neighbourhood, were opposed to the building plans' sound funny&
%f you are using a relative clause to identify the person or thing you are talking about, you should not separate it from the main
clause with a comma. %n ''he man who lives ne(t door is very helpful', the words 'who lives ne(t door' tell us which man is being
talked about. $ou could only say ''he man, who lives ne(t door, is very helpful' if you had already identified the man in some other
way. Use commas to separate off a relative clause that gives more information, which may be interesting but is not essential if
someone is to understand what you are saying, but don't use a comma if the relative clause is essential to the meaning of the
sentence.
Contractions
%n words such as isn't, I'm, or don't, the apostrophe indicates that one or more letters have been left out.
It's is the contracted form of '%t is' or '%t has', not the possessive of it. 'he possessive is its, with no apostrophe. So you
should say )%t's a lovely day' or )%t's been a lovely day', but )'he dog is in its kennel'.
You're is a contraction of '$ou are'. 'he possessive is your. Say )$ou're my best friend', but )here is your friend&'
Dangling Participles
Dangling participles often make good *okes+ but they can be confusing and it's best to avoid them. A participle should describe the
grammatical sub*ect of the main clause, as in the sentence 'alking down the road, % bumped into a friend'. A dangling participle is
one that the speaker really intends to describe something other than the grammatical sub*ect of the sentence. %f we interpret ',iding
along on my bicycle, a dog knocked me over' grammatically, the participle riding must relate to dog, so we end up with a dog that
has first stolen a bicycle and then ridden it carelessly- 'he speaker really means riding to relate to me, and anyone reading or
hearing the sentence would understand this. As a rule, however, it's best to construct sentences so that they say what you really
mean them to.
Double Negaties
.e sure that you know what you are trying to say if you use two negative words in a sentence. %n /nglish, two negatives cancel each
other out rather than double the negative force of your sentence. '% didn't see no one' is a rather strange way of saying that you saw
someone, rather than an emphatic way of saying that you saw no one.
%t is also wrong to say something like ''here wasn't hardly anyone there'+ hardly and scarcely should not be used with negatives.
Similarly, the verb miss already has a negative meaning, and doesn't need to have a negative added0 say )% miss seeing her', not )%
miss not seeing her'.
E!uall"
Don't say 'e1ually as', e.g. ''his model is e1ually as effective'. $ou can use either equally or as on its own. %n sentences such as '2y
new car is *ust as good as the old one', where two nouns are compared, you could replace just as with as, but it would be wrong to
use equally.
#aes and #ae$nots
,emember the had in sentences like '% had better go now'. .ecause '% had' can be contracted to '%'d', people often hear it as I and
leave out had altogether. '% better go' is not correct in standard /nglish+ always use I'd or I had.
Avoid )Should of'- %n sentences like'% might have known' and '$ou should have gone', many people use of instead of have. 'his is
wrong+ remember to use have
#e% &he% or The"'
People are increasingly using the plural pronoun they to refer to one person if they do not know whether that person is male or
female. Until 1uite recently, he was generally used to refer to a person of either se(, as in '/very child needs to know that he is
loved', but nowadays many people feel that such a use is se(ist.
#e or she is possible, but is rather awkward. They is generally accepted in sentences using words such as someone or anyone, e.g.
'Anyone can *oin if they are a resident'. 2ore people ob*ect to they being used after a single noun, as in 'Ask a friend if they can
help'.
%nterestingly, use of they in this way is not a modern invention0 it was first recorded in the 34th century.
I or me'
.e careful to use the pronouns I and me, he and him, she and her, we and us, and they and them in the right place. Use I, we, etc.
when you are talking about someone who has done something "i.e. who is the subject of the sentence#, and use me, us, etc. when
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you are talking about someone who has had something done to them "i.e. who is the object of the sentence#. People most often
make mistakes over this when they are talking about more than one person0
'2e and Annie had a dog once'+ 'Adrian and me were going out'. %n these sentences you should use I, not me, because the
two people are the sub*ect in both.
'atch !elen and % while we show you'. $ou need me here, as the ob*ect of watch.
'/verything depends on you and %'. Use me, us, etc. after prepositions.
A good guide in cases like these is to see whether the sentence sounds right with only the pronoun. %f '2e had a dog' is wrong, then
so is 'Annie and me had a dog'+ if you wouldn't say 'atch % while % show you', you shouldn't say 'atch !elen and %'.
%t's right to say 'between you and me', and wrong to say 'between you and %'. 'his is because a preposition such as 'between' should
be followed by an ob*ect pronoun such as 'me', 'him', 'her', and 'us' rather than a sub*ect pronoun such as '%', 'he', 'she', and 'we'.

(ess or )e*er'
Use the comparative form fewer with plural nouns, e.g. ''here are fewer people here than there were yesterday', rather than saying
''here are less people . . . ' Use less with uncountable nouns 5 that is, ones with no plural form, e.g. '!e has less money than %
have'.
("ing and (a"ing
Don't mi( up 'lie' and 'lay'. $ou lay something, as in they are going to lay the carpet, but you lie down on a bed or other flat surface.
Sentences such as he is laying on the bed or why don't you lie it on the bed? are wrong0 correct forms are he is lying on the bed and
why don't you lay it on the bed?
'he past tense and past participle of 'lay' is 'laid', as in they laid the groundwork or she had laid careful plans+ the past tense of 'lie'
is 'lay' "he lay on the floor# and the past participle is 'lain' "she had lain on the bed for hours#.
+ight or +a"'
People often confuse 'may have' and 'might have'. '2ay have' should be used only when you are not sure whether or not something
happened. %f you want to say that at some time in the past it was possible for something to happen but in fact it did not, use 'might
have'. So saying 'an accident in which two people may have drowned' implies that you do not know whether the people are alive or
dead+ if you say 'two people might have drowned', you are implying that they survived, although the accident could in other
circumstances have led to their deaths.
Paired Words
hen you use pairs like 'both . . . and', 'not only . . . but also', or 'neither . . . nor', make sure that each word in the pair is in the
right place. 'he two words should introduce symmetrical structures, e.g. 'both at home and at work', not 'both at home and work'.
Strictly speaking, you should say either '!e looked neither to right nor to left' or '!e looked to neither right nor left', but not '!e
looked neither to right nor left'. Similarly, a sentence like 'She is not only a talented singer but writes her own songs' is badly
formed. $ou could rewrite it as either 'She is not only a talented singer but also a composer' or 'She not only sings but also writes
her own songs'.
Possessies
'o form a possessive from a singular noun, add an apostrophe followed by s0 'the girl's book'.
Add an apostrophe to plurals ending in s, e. g. 'the girls' books'.
%f a plural noun does not end in s, add an apostrophe followed by s0 'the children's toys'.
Also add an apostrophe to a name ending in -es that is pronounced like the word is0 '2oses' mother'.
&itting and &tanding
Say '% was sitting on the bus' and '% was standing in the 1ueue', not '% was sat' and '% was stood'.
This or These'
A common mistake is to use the e(pression ''hese kind' or ''hese sort', as in ''hese sort of situations are always difficult'. 'he
correct forms are ''his kind' and ''hese kinds' 5 you could say either ''his kind of situation is difficult' or ''hese kinds of situation are
difficult'. A more formal e(pression is 'Situations of this kind'.
,erbs and &ub-ects
,emember to use a plural verb with a plural sub*ect and a singular verb with a singular sub*ect. 'his may sound obvious, but there
are several reasons why it may become less straightforward0
Some words look as though they are singular when they are in fact plural, especially words ending in -a like criteria,
bacteria, and phenomena. 'he singular forms for these are criterion, bacterium, and phenomenon. Use plural verbs0
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''he bacteria multiply rapidly' "not 'multiplies'#+
''hese are important criteria' "not ''his is an important criteria'#.
%n 6atin, data and media are plural nouns. %n /nglish they used to be treated as plurals and took a plural verb+ now,
however, unless you are writing in a formal scientific conte(t you should regard them as normal singular nouns that go with
a singular verb.
7ollective nouns "e.g. crew, team, government, committee# can be treated as either singular or plural. As a general rule, it
is best to use a plural form when emphasi8ing the separate members of the group "e.g. ''he committee were arguing about
the finances'# and a singular form when treating the group as a whole "''he committee is delighted to offer you the pri8e'#.
hich or 'hat&
hat is the difference between which "or who# and that, and how can you tell which one to use&
'he basic 1uestion is whether you, or the person you are talking to, already know what it is that you are talking about. %n the
sentence '%'ve lost the book that % was reading yesterday', that introduces information that the listener needs in order to know what
book is being talked about. $ou can also say '%'ve lost the book which % was reading yesterday'.
%n ''his book, which % bought yesterday, is very interesting', which tells the listener something new about a book that has already
been identified. $ou shouldn't use that in sentences of this kind.
Who or Whom'
Strictly speaking, it is correct to use who as the sub*ect of a verb and whom as the ob*ect, e.g. 'ho saw you&' but 'hom did you
see&' %t is also strictly right to use whom after a preposition, as in ''o whom were you talking *ust now&' %n practice, few people
follow this rule+ most use who all the time, and a sentence like ''o whom were you talking&' can sound too formal.
Aderbs
'he normal way to form an adverb is to add -ly, as in stupidly, publicly, or humorously. !owever, there are e(ceptions0
%f the word ends in -ll, add -y "e.g. fully#.
9or words of more than one syllable that end in -y, remove the -y and add -ily "e.g. happily#.
2ost single5syllable words ending in -y are regular, e(cept for daily and gaily.
Comparaties and &uperlaties
'he usual way to form comparatives and superlatives of ad*ectives is to add -er and -est0 great, greater, greatest. 'here are four
groups of e(ceptions0
9or words ending in a consonant followed by a -y, change the -y to an -i before adding the ending "e.g. happier, happiest#.
9or one5syllable words containing a long vowel sound and ending in -e, e.g. late, remove the -e before adding the ending0
later, latest.
9or one5syllable words containing a short vowel sound and ending in a single consonant "e.g. sad#, double the final
consonant before adding the ending0 sadder, saddest.
ords ending in -l normally *ust add the ending, but there is one e(ception, cruel. 'he comparative and superlative are
crueller and cruellest.
Deriaties
ords that are formed from e(isting words can also be confusing 5 sometimes the original spelling stays the same and sometimes it
changes. Some to remember are0
ords ending in -our, e.g. honour, favour, labour, humour. :eep the u when you add -able or -er 5 e.g. honourable,
favourable, labourer+ favourite also keeps the u. .ut u is very often lost 5 e.g. before -ous, as in humorous, glamorous,
rigorous+ also in honorary and honorific.
!ccur and occurrence but refer and reference. %n verbs ending in -ur and -ur, double the r when you add -ence+ leave it
single if the verb ends in -er or -ear "appear and apparent#.
Drop the o if you add -iation to a verb ending in -ounce. 'he most common e(ample is pronunciation from pronounce.
Double Consonants
;ne of the most common types of spelling error is a mistake over whether a word is spelled with a double or a single consonant.
'here are several possibilities0
A word should have a double consonant, but is written with only one. ords which may be misspelled in this way include appoint
"and related words like appointment and disappointment#+ address+ occur+ suppress.
A consonant is mistakenly doubled. 'his is especially likely when a single consonant follows a short vowel, as in canister+ banister+
pavilion. ;ther words likely to be misspelled in this way include anoint+ apartment+ biased+ omit.
A word has two sets of double consonants, one or both of which is left as a single letter. /(amples include accommodate+
aggressive+ committee+ embarrass+ millennium.
;ne consonant in a word should be doubled and another left single 5 but which is which& 6ikely candidates for this type of misspelling
might be appal+ accumulate+ parallel. A short vowel before the consonant that should be single makes life more difficult in words
such as commemorate+ desiccate+ disappear+ necessary+ recommend+ reconnoitre+ titillate. 'he 7aribbean and the 2editerranean
can both cause problems.
Some mistakes are caused by trying too hard 5 you may remember a difficult point about one word and wrongly think that it applies
to another that looks or sounds similar. 9or instance, though accommodate has a double m following a double c, in accumulate the m
is single+ harass has only a single r even though the r in embarrass is double.
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%n general, many mistakes in the use of double and single consonants arise from comparison with words that sound or look similar,
or with related words. 9or e(ample, many people spell inoculate with a double n, influenced by words such as innocent and
innocuous+ while the number of words beginning with irr5 "irregular, irritable etc.# makes the single r in iridescent harder to
remember. /ven trickier are words like fulfil and skilful, set beside full, skill, and fill.
)orming Plurals
'he usual way to form a plural is to add an -s, e.g. dogs" popes.
%f the word ends in -ch, --s, -sh, -#, -$, then add -es, e.g. branches, masses, bushes, bo(es, chint$es.
2ost words that end in -f or -fe change the ending to -ves "e.g. wives, calves#, although there are e(ceptions "e.g. beliefs, chiefs,
dwarfs, gulfs, proofs, roofs#.
9or words that end in a vowel < y, add -s, e.g. days, boys.
%f a word ends in a consonant < y, change the -y to -ies, e.g. babies, spies. ords that end in -o normally *ust add -s, but there is a
group of words that add -oes0 these include buffaloes, dominoes, echoes, goes, grottoes, haloes, heroes, mangoes, mosquitoes,
potatoes, tomatoes, tornadoes, torpedoes, vetoes, and volcanoes.
Groups o. Consonants
ords with a cluster of two, three, or more consonants are easy to misspell0 you may put the letters in the wrong order, or use too
few or too many0
,emember to put the n before the m in enmity and environment.
,emember the first h in ophthalmic, diphtheria, and naphtha.
,emember the p in symptom.
'here is a double h in withhold, but only one in threshold.
Don't put a p in hamster, or a d in pigeon.
Some vowel combinations are tricky too0
a comes before u in gauge, but after u in guard.
u comes before o in buoy and buoyant.
,emember all the vowels in manoeuvre.
I before E
'he spelling rule that most people know best is =i before e e(cept after c=. >enerally it's safe to follow this rule 5 e.g. achieve,
believe, niece, siege, and yield beside ceiling, conceive, deceive, and receive. ;ne very important e(ception is sei$e, spelled with e
before i+ others are caffeine and protein. %pecies goes the other way, with ie following c.
I and e in combination can represent a lot of sounds besides long e+ you may have problems with some of these as well0
Short e0 spelled ie in friend+ but ei in leisure, heifer.
Short i0 ie in mischief, sieve+ ei in forfeit, counterfeit.
eir0 ie in fierce+ ei in weird
;thers to remember+ foreign+ height and weight "spelled the same way though they sound different#+ hierarchy+
kaleidoscope+ veil.
6ong e can cause some problems when it's spelled in other ways too. & and e are worth noticing0
'a is a very common spelling for long e, as in heat or breathe. .e careful to put the a before the e in anaestheti$e,
haemoglobin, and leukaemia.
&ilent (etters
ords are often misspelled when they contain a letter that is not pronounced 5 the silent p in psychology and related words is an
obvious e(ample. %t's easy to leave out these silent letters. Some letters are particularly likely to give trouble0
(. 2any words are spelled with a silent c following s0 for e(ample abscess, descend "with descent#+ omniscient+ words
ending in -esce, -escent, or -escence, such as acquiesce, effervescent, convalescent. A silent c may also occur before k or
q0 e(amples include acknowledge+ acquainted+ acquire.
). Silent d is easy to omit before j, as in adjourn+ adjunct+ adjudicate+ adjust.
*. * should precede n in words like align+ foreign+ reign. * is also sometimes followed by a silent u, as in guarantee+ guard+
beleaguered.
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+. Silent h is particularly common after r 5 as in diarrhoea "made harder by the double r and the diphthong oe#+
haemorrhage "a double r adds to the difficulty again#+ rhythm.( is another letter likely to be followed by h5 in saccharine,
for e(ample 5 and remember the h in silhouette.
hile thinking about silent letters, remember the t in mortgage and the b in debt and subtle. atch out as well for the i in
parliament.
Some words may have whole syllables that are not pronounced and may be left out in writing. (ontemporary is is often pronounced
and spelled contempory+ itinerary is similar.
Sometimes the omission of a letter or syllable comes from a mistaken pronunciation. 2any people fail to pronounce the c in &rctic
and &ntarctic, and so leave it out when writing the words. 'he first r in ,ebruary is often left out in both speech and writing, as is the
first r in secretary. -uantitative may be shortened in speech to the more manageable quantitive, and spelled accordingly.
&ounds (ike
Sometimes a word sounds as though it contains another familiar word0
'here is no cocoa in a coconut.
.ated breath has nothing to do with bait.
(orridor is not related to door.
%acrilege has the i first and the e second, unlike religion.
Abseiling is 1uite different from sailing.
Sometimes it is *ust part of another word that causes a mistake0
.rivilege has no d, unlike, e.g., knowledge.
&ttach and detach end in -ach, not -atch, unlike dispatch.
A protuberance is something that protrudes+ but it has no r after the t.
)issect has a double s, though bisect has only one.
.sychedelic has an e after psych, unlike psychology.
/nstressed &"llable
2any words are easy to misspell because of the way in which their stress pattern affects their pronunciation. hen they occur in
unstressed syllables, the different vowel sounds merge into a sound like =uh= or =er=. $ou may then find it difficult to remember
which vowel is correct in a particular word.
People often confuse unstressed e and a in words like category, desperate, separate, grammar. %t is easy to muddle pairs
such as allude and elude, affect and effect, which have very similar pronunciations.
$ou may want to write unstressed e as er, especially in words like integrate, which it is easy to confuse with words
beginning with inter-/
%t's easy to confuse o with both a and e in unstressed syllables. ords which you may find difficult include corroborate "not
-erate# and propaganda "not propo-#.
%n unstressed syllables, e sometimes has a short i sound. $ou may find it hard to remember which words spell this sound
with an e "e.g. artefact, benefit, indigenous, liquefy# and which spell it with an i "e.g. dilapidated, purify#. %t is easy to
confuse elicit with illicit.
,erb In.lections
Some words that are already hard to spell can give further trouble when endings are added, e.g. to put a verb into the past tense.
'nthral, for e(ample, sounds as though it should be spelled with a double l but in fact has only one+ but the l is doubled in enthralled
and enthralling. 'he i in profited and profiting is short, which makes it sound as though there should be a double t+ but in fact there
is only one, as in the present tense profit.
'hese e(amples may be confusing+ but a few basic rules will help0
hen you form the past tense of a verb, or add -ing, remember0
?erbs ending in a double consonant keep it "add" added" adding, embarrass" embarrassed" embarrassing#.
Double the final consonant if the verb has only one syllable and the vowel is short 5 e.g. clap" clapped" clapping.
Double the final consonant if the verb has two syllables and the second is stressed 5 e.g. occur" occurred" occurring, acquit"
acquitted" acquitting, prefer" preferred" preferring . 'his rule e(plains the confusing enthral and enthralled, fulfil and
fulfilled.
6eave the final consonant single if the verb has two syllables and the first is stressed 5 e.g. credit" credited" crediting,
budget" budgeted" budgeting. 'his rule e(plains profit. %t has some important e(ceptions0 focused and biased are usually
spelled with a single s in .ritish /nglish, and a final l is always doubled.
5
6eave the final consonant single if the verb has more than two syllables and the final syllable is not stressed 5 e.g. benefit"
benefited" benefiting, develop" developed" developing.
%f a verb ends in e, *ust add d to form the past tense. 2ost verbs drop the e before -ing "timing, using#. &geing usually
keeps the e+ and singeing must keep it to distinguish it from singing.
Word Endings
ord endings are easy to misspell. 'hey are often unstressed, so the pronunciation does not give much help with the spelling. See
(ess &tress% +ore Worr" for more on problems with unstressed syllables. 'here are several pairs of suffi(es that differ only in the
vowel they use0
-ant and -ent. ords using a include arrogant, assistant, blatant, brilliant, defiant, flippant, malignant, and vacant.
/(amples of words using e are absorbent, complacent, innocent, reminiscent, independent, and transparent. (onfident and
dependent, with an e, are ad*ectives+ confidant and dependant are nouns. ".ut dissident and adolescent are spelled with an
e whether they are being used as nouns or as ad*ectives.#
-ance and -ancy, -ence and -ency. A noun ending in one of these suffi(es usually has a corresponding ad*ective ending in
-ant or -ent, for e(ample dominance "dominant0, e#pectancy "e#pectant0, absence "absent#, decency "decent#. here there
is a pair like confident and confidant, use -ence to correspond to the ad*ective rather than the noun. Some verbs have a
noun ending in -nce or -ncy corresponding to them but no ad*ective ending in -nt. %n these cases it is almost always right to
use a, e.g. annoyance "annoy#+ but watch out for conference, e#istence, and interference.
-ary and -ery. %t is very easy to confuse these two 5 or to spell them *ust as -ry. -ery is by far the less common, and is
almost always used to form nouns 5 e.g. confectionery, jewellery. $ou may find this useful to remember if you tend to
confuse stationery with stationary 5 it is the one ending in -ery that is the noun "'paper, writing materials'# and the one
ending in -ary that is the ad*ective meaning ' not moving'. -&ry can be used to form ad*ectives 5 such as complimentary 5 or
nouns 5 such as secretary.
-able and -ible. 'hese two endings are very often confused. 'he commoner ending is -able0 words that finish with this
include acceptable, admirable, available, comparable, indispensable, and inseparable. All new words now created with this
ending are spelled -able.
-Ible is the correct suffi( in words such as accessible" compatible" gullible, incredible, and irresistible. Pairs of words with
similar meaning but different suffi(es include comprehensible and understandable, irritable and irascible.
;ne helpful thing to remember is that -ible is not used after vowels0 there can be no doubt about which ending to use in
words such as agreeable, invariable, permeable, and replaceable.
Another 1uick check is that if you remove -able from a word, you are usually still left with a complete word, whereas if you
do the same with -ible you are not. .ut this is definitely a tricky area 5 best to look up the word in your ;(ford dictionary-
-ative and -itive. 'he short a in the ending of words like imaginative sounds very like the short i definitive or sensitive, so it
is easy to end up with spelling mistakes such as authorititive for authoritative. %n fact -ative is much more common. %t is
used in words such as affirmative, alternative, demonstrative, illustrative, qualitative, and vegetative. 7ommon words
ending in -itive include acquisitive, competitivie, fugitive, inquisitive, intuitive, and repetitive.
-ise and -i$e. 2ost words ending in -ise can also be spelled with a final -i$e0 for e(ample antagonise, capitalise, centralise.
9or some words, however, you can only use the ending -ise. Some of the most common of these are advertise, advise,
enterprise, e#ercise, improvise, revise, supervise, surprise, and televise.
Commonly Confused Words
'hese are some of the pairs of words that are most often confused with each other.
D0 N0T C0N)/&E
adoptie with adopted0 children are adopted, but parents are adoptie.
aderse, 'unfavourable, bad', with aerse, which means 'strongly disliking or opposed to', as in I am not averse to helping out/
a..ect and e..ect0 a..ect means 'make a difference to', whereas e..ect means 'a result' or 'bring about "a result#'.
ambiguous with ambialent0 ambiguous primarily means 'having more than one meaning, open to different interpretations',
while ambialent means 'having mi(ed feelings'.
amoral with immoral0 amoral means 'not concerned with morality', while immoral means 'not conforming to accepted standards
of morality'.
appraise with apprise0 appraise means 'assess', while apprise means 'inform'.
augur, 'be a sign of "a likely outcome#', with auger "a tool used for boring#.
censure with censor0 censure means 'e(press strong disapproval of', whereas censor means 'suppress unacceptable parts of "a
book, film, etc.#'.
climactic, 'forming a clima(', with climatic, which means 'relating to climate'.
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complacent, 'smug and self5satisfied', with complaisant, which means 'willing to please'.
complement, 'a thing that enhances something by contributing e(tra features', with compliment, which means 'an e(pression of
praise' or 'politely congratulate'.
continuous and continual0 continuous primarily means 'without interruption', and can refer to space as well as time, as in the
cliffs form a continuous line along the coast+ continual, on the other hand, typically means 'happening fre1uently, with intervals
between', as in the bus service has been disrupted by continual breakdowns.
council, an administrative or advisory body, with counsel, advice or guidance.
councillor with counsellor0 a councillor is a member of a council, whereas a counsellor is someone who gives guidance on
personal or psychological problems.
credible with creditable0 credible means 'believable, convincing', whereas creditable means 'deserving acknowledgement and
praise'.
de.inite "'certain, sure'# with de.initie, which means 'decisive and with authority'.
de.use, 'remove the fuse from "an e(plosive device#' or 'reduce the danger or tension in "a difficult situation#', with di..use, which
means 'spread over a wide area'.
desert "a waterless area# with dessert "the sweet course#-
discreet, 'careful not to attract attention or give offence', with discrete, which means 'separate, distinct'.
dra.t and draught. %n .ritish /nglish dra.t means 'a preliminary version' or 'an order to pay a sum', whereas a draught is a
current of air or an act of drinking+ in @orth American /nglish the spelling dra.t is used for all senses. 'he verb is usually spelled
dra.t.
dra*, which is primarily a verb, with dra*er meaning 'sliding storage compartment'.
egoism and egotism0 it is egotism, not egoism, that means 'e(cessive conceit or self5absorption'+ egoism is a less common and
more technical word, for an ethical theory that treats self5interest as the foundation of morality.
enelop with enelope0 enelop without an e at the end means 'wrap up, cover, or surround completely', whereas an enelope
with an e is a paper container used to enclose a letter or document.
e1ceptionable "'open to ob*ection+ causing disapproval or offence'# with e1ceptional "'not typical' or 'unusually good'#.
.a*n with .aun0 a .a*n is a young deer, and a light brown colour+ a .aun is a ,oman deity that is part man, part goat.
.launt with .lout+ .launt means 'display ostentatiously', while .lout means 'openly disregard "a rule#'.
.lounder with .ounder0 .lounder generally means 'have trouble doing or understanding something, be confused', while .ounder
means 'fail or come to nothing'.
.orego and .orgo0 .orego means 'precede', but is also a less common spelling for .orgo, 'go without'.
grisl" with gri22l", as in gri$$ly bear0 grisl" means 'causing horror or revulsion', whereas gri22l" is from the same root as
gri22led and refers to the bear's white5tipped fur.
hoard with horde0 a hoard is a store of something valuable+ horde is a disparaging term for a large group of people.
impl" and in.er. Impl" is used with a speaker as its sub*ect, as in he implied that the *eneral was a traitor, and indicates that the
speaker is suggesting something though not making an e(plicit statement. In.er is used in sentences such as we inferred from his
words that the *eneral was a traitor, and indicates that something in the speaker's words enabled the listeners to deduce that the
man was a traitor.
the possessive its "as in turn the camera on its side# with the contraction it3s "short for either it is or it has, as in it's my fault+ it's
been a hot day#.
loath "'reluctant+ unwilling'# with loathe, 'dislike greatly'.
loose with lose0 as a verb loose means 'unfasten or set free', while lose means 'cease to have' or 'become unable to find'.
lu1uriant, 'rich and profuse in growth', with lu1urious, which means 'characteri8ed by lu(ury+ very comfortable and e(travagant'.
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marital, 'of marriage', with martial, 'of war'-
militate, which is used in the form militate against to mean 'be an important factor in preventing', with mitigate, which means
'make "something bad# less severe'.
naturism "nudism# and naturist "a nudist# with naturalism and naturalist0 naturalism is an artistic or literary approach or style+
a naturalist is an e(pert in natural history, or an e(ponent of naturalism.
o..icious, 'asserting authority or interfering in an annoyingly domineering way', with o..icial, which means 'relating to an authority
or public body' and 'having the approval or authori8ation of such a body'.
ordinance, 'an authoritative order', with ordnance, which means 'guns' or 'munitions'.
palate and palette0 the palate is the roof of the mouth+ a palette, on the other hand, is an artist's board for mi(ing colours.
pedal and peddle. Pedal is a noun denoting a foot5operated lever+ as a verb it means 'move by means of pedals'. Peddle is a verb
meaning 'sell "goods#'. 'he associated noun from pedal is pedaller "US pedaler#, and the noun from peddle is pedlar or peddler.
per!uisite and prere!uisite0 a per!uisite is a special right or privilege en*oyed as a result of one's position4 prere!uisite is
something that is re1uired as a prior condition for something else+ prere!uisite can also be an ad*ective, meaning 're1uired as a
prior condition'.
perspicuous, 'e(pressing things clearly', with perspicacious, which means 'having a ready understanding of things'.
principal, 'first in order of importance+ main', with principle, which is a noun meaning chiefly 'a basis of a system of thought or
belief'.
proscribe with prescribe0 proscribe is a rather formal word meaning 'condemn or forbid', whereas prescribe means either 'issue
a medical prescription' or 'recommend with authority'.
regret.ul, 'feeling or showing regret', with regrettable, which means 'giving rise to regret+ undesirable'.
shear, 'cut the wool off "a sheep#', with sheer, which as a verb means 'swerve or change course 1uickly' or 'avoid an unpleasant
topic', and as an ad*ective means 'nothing but+ absolute', 'perpendicular', or '"of a fabric# very thin'.
stationar" and stationer"0 stationar" is an ad*ective with the sense 'not moving or changing', whereas stationer" is a noun
meaning 'paper and other writing materials'.
stor" and store"0 a stor" is a tale or account, while a store" is a floor of a building. %n @orth America the spelling stor" is
sometimes used for store".
titillate and titiate0 titillate means 'e(cite', whereas titiate means 'adorn or smarten up'.
tortuous, 'full of twists and turns' or 'e(cessively lengthy and comple(', with torturous, which means 'characteri8ed by pain or
suffering'.
turbid and turgid0 turbid is generally used in reference to a li1uid and means 'cloudy or opa1ue'+ turgid tends to mean 'tediously
pompous' or, in reference to a river, 'swollen, overflowing'.
une1ceptionable, 'that cannot be taken e(ception to, inoffensive', with une1ceptional, 'not e(ceptional+ ordinary'.
unsociable with unsocial and antisocial0 unsociable means 'not en*oying the company of or engaging in activities with others'+
unsocial usually means 'socially inconvenient' and typically refers to the hours of work of a *ob+ antisocial means 'contrary to
accepted social customs and therefore annoying'.
enal "'susceptible to bribery+ corruptible'# with enial, which is used in 7hristian theology in reference to sin "a enial sin, unlike a
mortal sin, is not regarded as depriving the soul of divine grace#.
*ho3s with *hose+ *ho3s is a contraction of *ho is or *ho has, while *hose is used in 1uestions such as whose is this? and
whose turn is it?
*reath and *reathe0 *reath with no e at the end means 'arrangement of flowers', while *reathe with an e is a verb meaning
'envelop, surround, or encircle'.
"our with "ou3re+ "ou3re is a contraction of "ou are, while "our is a possessive determiner used in phrases such as your turn.
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