Key Differences

Contraction is the mixing of two words into a single word with the help of an apostrophe (') such as the words 'it is' are combined with an apostrophe and contracted as 'it's'. 'It's' is often confused with 'its' as they are pronounced similar but they appear differently as the latter does not have an apostrophe. Moreover, they differ in their meanings too, as in 'its' represents ownership, whereas 'it's' is a short form of it is or it has. So, using them incorrectly in our sentences may … [Read more...]

When in a sentence we want to express something in the middle of two or more people, we either use between or among. Most of the English speakers often make a common mistake while using these two words, as they are not known about the basic rule. While between is used when there is something in the middle of two objects, among is used to mean something which is a part of a group. I divided the cold drink between the two kids, but not among others. She was among the dancer's group, who … [Read more...]

The words there and their are often used incorrectly because they are homophones, due to which they sound similar but have different spelling and meaning. While the word 'there' has a number of uses but it is commonly used to refer a place, or something which exists whereas we use 'their' to mean belongingness to a group of people. Now come let's understand the two, with the help of examples: There is a drawer in the almirah, where you can find all their stuff. Their teacher called me … [Read more...]

Sympathy means the feeling of sorrow or commiseration for the hardships, problems and pain caused to another person. It is often misconstrued with empathy which refers to an individual's ability to understand what another person is going through, by perceiving himself in the same situation. Now let's understand them clearly with the help of an example: Hazel had much sympathy for the train accident victims. But she cannot empathize with them. In the above example, the word sympathy is … [Read more...]

The words 'to' and 'too' are homonyms, that have similar pronunciation but differ in their meanings, spelling and origin. While the word to is used in sentences to denote direction. On the other hand, the word too is used to indicate something of high degree, also or very. Now let's take a look at the examples to understand how they differ: I am too late, to attend the function. Joe went to the coaching class too, to find her sister. She is too confident, that she will be able to … [Read more...]

In English, there are many confusing terms and one such pair of words is advice and advise, which not only sound alike but also look alike. Due to which people juxtapose these terms however these are different as in the word advice refers to the opinion, view, preaching, counsel, suggestion, recommendation or consultation. On the other hand, advise is the act of giving or offering advice to someone, which may be the best possible action in a given situation. Let's take an example to … [Read more...]

Unless and until are subordinating conjunctions, which have conditional connotations, so they are quite easily misconstrued. Unless refers to a conjunction that implies an exception, to the given statement. On the other hand, until is both a preposition and a conjunction at the same time that expresses continuance of an action up to a specified time. Now let's take a look at these examples, to understand their differences: You will not get the first prize unless and until you try hard to … [Read more...]

The modal verbs can and could represent the ability of a person or thing in doing something. However, there is a difference in their usage, as 'can' is used in present situation, whereas we can use 'could' for talking about a past ability. Both are followed by a base form of the verb. Now look at the example given below to understand their difference in a better way: When I was young, I could only sing bhajans, but now I can sing classical songs. My aunt could only crawl before the … [Read more...]

Principal, means the main element, the senior most person in an organization. On the contrary, Principle implies the primary belief of fundamental importance that governs the life of an individual or acts as a rule on which something operates. There are many words in English that not only look alike but also sound alike and one such pair of words is 'Principal and Principle'. Nevertheless, these two words are not similar in their meaning, but as they are homonyms, people commonly use them … [Read more...]

Whenever we talk about actions, we use the words do, does and did. Do and does represents the simple present forms of the verb 'do', while did is its simple past form. These are primarily used to form negative and interrogative sentences. Do is used with personal pronouns, I, we, you, they. On the other hand, does is used with personal pronouns he, she and it. Let's take an example to understand the two: Do it as he does. I do have some work, but she doesn't have any. The first … [Read more...]