Most Popular Articles Page #5

Perfect Tenses - How to Form

In addition to the three main tenses of present, past, and future, the English language allows us to make three statements about accomplished facts. We use one of the three perfect tenses to show an action that has taken place as of the prese...

Periods with Quotation Marks

Periods Come InsideWith only one exception, the period always comes inside closing quotation marks. This rule applies even if only one quoted word ends the sentence. Thus: He said, "We need to tell the boss ...

Emphasize vs. Emphasise

Emphasis" is a usual noun, commonly chosen to express the particular meaning or importance of something. But what is the verb for this word? Is it "to emphasize" or "to emphasise"?You might think that one of them is misspelled and the other is correc...

Gist vs. Jist

Some people tend to write down and spell a word just as they hear it, without thinking twice. Not knowing the right spelling beforehand can easily result in writing it wrong and creating confusion for other people, who will be wondering whether it is...

Analyze vs. Analyse

Analyze vs. Analyse"Analyze" and "analyse" are two other English words confusing people around with their spelling. They are pronounced in the very same way, yet...

however

Mr. Strunk and Mr. White in The Elements of Style urge writers to avoid starting a sentence with “However.” It’s not a grammatical mistake to start a sentence with However. It’s just that good writers don’t do it. Instead, they start a con...

Ambiance vs. Ambience

You might have seen this word written both as "ambiance" and "ambience", so wondering which one is correct or whether any of these versions is wrong is a normal reaction.Is "ambience" confused for "ambiance"? Is there at least one of these versions c...

“Whose” and “Of Which”

When a possessive form is called for by the sentence, the word that has to bow out and rely on which to borrow a preposition to show possession. An example will show what I mean: Congress passed the statute, the purpose of which was to lower taxes....

Realize vs. Realise

She realized her mistake after it was too late. Or is it realised? Have you ever wondered what is the difference between realise with s and realize with a z? Today, we’ll explain the real difference between...

Commas and Coordinate Adjectives

Long, Hot SummerWhen each of two adjectives modifies the same noun, put a comma between them. As a test, put the word and between the two adjectives. If it fits, then the adjectives are called coordinate adjectives: It is going to be a ...

Lens vs. Lense

Lens” and “lense” represent a pair of two controverted English words, because of their spellings and forms. As the English language has probably got you used, there are so many paronyms and words looking almost identical, spelled and sounding e...

More So Vs. Moreso: Which is the Correct Spelling?

More so and moreso mean the same the thing. But which spelling should we use? Here is the simple answer: The two-word phrase, more so, is the official spelling and, as s...

Benefitted vs. Benefited

The basic rule when building the past-tense form of a regular verb is to add "-ed". A special rule, anyway, is used when we're talking about a monosyllabic verb that ends in this pattern: consonant-vowel-consonant. In this specific case, doubling the...

Skeptic vs. Sceptic

There are many spelling differences between American and British English. In some cases, the same word will be spelled one way in American English and another way in British English. There are times when this inconsistency is very confusing. Skeptic ...

Adviser vs. Advisor

Are you a student who needs academic guidance about your future studies? You will be advised to visit the academic adviser. Or is it adadvisor? Does it confuse you which advisor to go when you need counsel regarding your studies? Today, we will try t...

Standard and Non-Standard English

We all know that a language has different dialects and pronunciations in various areas where it is spoken depending on the culture and ways of people. But are...

Interested vs. Interesting

Now let’s try to understand when to use which one. Use interesting to talk about a ‘thing’. S...

Indices vs. Indexes

Indices vs. Indexes"Indices" is frequently used wrongly in various phrases, presentations and speeches, because it is often confused for "indexes". Some think th...

business - correct spelling

businessnounExample: Frankly, it’s none of your business.Example: He started a successful business....

Obligated vs. Obliged

Obliged" is an old word in the English vocabulary, originating from the verb "to oblige", used to express the past tense or past participle of the initial action of forcing somebody to do something. "Obligated", on the other hand, is built as a regul...

Armour vs. Armor

Another frequently used pair of words, in historical writings and in the gaming industry, "armour" and "armor" are often creating confusion among people who don't know which spelling is correct.They refer to the same thing, yet people claim that one ...

college - correct spelling

collegenounExample: He worked hard to send his children to college....

Ability vs. Capability

Ability – Ability to do some task means that you can do it and have done it in the past. Ability determines a person’s skill or level of expertise. In other words, it denotes the quality of being able to perform something. For example, • Sh...

Semicolons with Quotation Marks

Semicolon Comes OutsideThe semicolon should be placed outside ending quotation marks. When the quoted matter ends with a semicolon, the semicolon in the quotation is dropped: The agency reviewed those petitions that were "tim...

Liter vs. Litre

Have you ever wondered about the spellings of liter? Does writing liter makes you rethink and reconsider how you should spell it for you have come across two types of liter? You are not to be blamed! The word liter exist in two alternative spellings....