Words

English spelling can be confusing even when two words mean exactly the same thing. “Totalled” and “totaled” are a good example. You may see one spelling in a British newspaper…

Enquiries and inquiries are both correct English words, and both can refer to requests for information. The confusion comes from the fact that their preferred use changes depending on the…

Students, student’s, and students’ are three forms that look almost identical on the page, yet each one has a different job in English. The difference comes down to two simple…

English plural rules are usually simple. In many cases, you only need to add “s” to a singular noun. A book becomes books, a car becomes cars, and a table…

The phrase “count your days” can sound unsettling when it appears in a text message, social media comment, movie scene or heated conversation. At first glance, it seems to mean…

English keeps changing, and one small grammar question is creating more confusion than many writers expect: should you write “themself” or “themselves”? For years, “themselves” was taught as the familiar…

Tomatoes and tomatos may look almost the same, but only one of them is correct in standard English. The correct plural of “tomato” is “tomatoes.” “Tomatos” is considered a spelling…

Liason and liaison are often confused because the correct spelling does not match the way many people naturally expect the word to look. Only one of them is standard English.…

English has many expressions that sound like they could be written as one word. This often causes confusion, especially when people see different spellings in text messages, social media posts,…

“To bad” and “too bad” sound exactly the same when spoken, so it is easy to understand why people mix them up. In writing, however, only one form is normally…