Most Popular Articles Page #5

Center vs. Centre

Both "center" and "centre" refer to the same thing. As nouns, they signify the "middle" part or point of an area. As verbs, they refer to the action of placing something into the middle of something else.So why are they spelled differently, what is t...

Past Indefinite Tense

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When to use “When”

When as an interrogative pronoun Quite simply, when is used to ask questions related to time....

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...

No One vs. Nobody

In today’s world, with a rise in feminism, the application of basic masculine pronouns makes it difficult for writers to write without receiving criticism. That leads to the writers switching to the use of nobody and no one in their writings. In th...

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...

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 ...

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...

“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....

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...

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 ...

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...

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....

Interested vs. Interesting

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

college - correct spelling

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

Online vs. On-Line

Some words evolve – or change – over time. So what should you do when you have to choose between two words, meaning the same thing, written similarly, but different because they come from different time periods? Is it the older version that remai...

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...

Distrust vs. Mistrust

Most of the words that are spelled similarly in English are either slight variations between British and American English, or completely different words with distinct definitions which have a random huge similarity in their spellings. But some of the...

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 ...