Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”
Words matter; using the wrong word in a business document is a quick credibility crasher. I recall a meeting attended by a friend who was a highly paid business consultant, a prospective client, and me. We were discussing the client’s project when my friend leaned forward and said expansively, “Let me share a little antidote with you.” I was stunned. Had the prospect just been bitten by a snake? Using “antidote” instead of “anecdote” gave the lie to my friend’s façade of expertise. We didn’t get the job.
Here is a list of five of today’s most commonly confused word pairs in business writing.
1. They’re/their/there
Often, this error is more a matter of fat fingers than ignorance. We all know that they’re is a contraction of they are. Their is a possessive pronoun meaning “belonging to them”. And there indicates a place or location. We just get caught up in typing; before we know it, we’ve used the wrong form. Here’s a sentence using all three:
They’re on their way to the house over there.
2. Accept/except
Accept is a verb. It means to receive or agree to something.
Except is a preposition. It means excluding or with the exclusion of.
I think writers often confuse these words because they sound so similar when spoken. Train yourself to make the “a” sound when saying “accept” and the short “e” sound when saying “except,” and you might find it easier to distinguish between the two.
I would like to accept your gift except that I am unable to receive gratuities.
3. Advice/advise
Advice is a noun. It means guidance or recommendation.
Advise is a verb. It describes the action of giving advice.
Often, this error is a result of typing too fast. Stop and think for a moment when using these words and you won’t go awry.
I advise you to accept his advice.
4. Affect/effect
Affect is a verb. It means “to influence.” In psychology, it can also be a noun refering to a person’s emotional state.
Effect is a noun. It is a result or outcome. An effect is the result of being affected.
Like “accept” and “except”, these words may sound similar on the tongue. Pronounce them carefully and see if the confusion disappears.
His entire life has been affected by his inability to acknowledge the effects of his decisions.
5. Principle/principal
A principle is a core idea or value.
Principal refers to the first or foremost thing, as in the head of staff at a school or company. I always remember the saying, “The principal is not your pal.” It also refers to financial capital.
In principle, withdrawing funds from your principal is a bad idea. The principal reason for this is that, on principle, we want to preserve our assets. I’ve spoken to the principal members of our staff about this idea.
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These word pairs are not new to you – you learned them in elementary school. But that was a long time ago, and today, the gas pedal is floored as you try to type your way through a daily slog of verbiage.
In the pressure of rushing, you may sometimes type the wrong word. And in the urge to “Send” and get the document out of your work queue and into someone else’s, you are tempted to put off proofreading. When we rush, we do not see errors that would be obvious if we slowed down.
For fun, I tried to use all the words in this Writamin in a couple of sentences. Here you go:
Except for their effect on children, the principal reason I advise people to refrain from spending too much time on social media sites is because, in principle, these sites are designed to affect our attention span. Meta has many talented engineers – they’re out there trying to rob you of your attention. Take my advice and steer clear of Facebook.
Next month’s Writamin will contain five more commonly misused word pairs, including your/you’re, stationery/stationary, and ensure/insure.
Please send me the word pairs that you see most commonly confused and I’ll add them to the list.
Take me to your leader! Communication woes drain the lifeblood from an organization. Connect me with your decision-makers and see how Worktalk can transform communication in your world. Contact me at lizd@worktalk.com or 310.396.8303.
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To read my recent Inc.com columns:
3 Essential Writing Tasks that AI-Assisted Writing Programs Cannot Do For You
Use Reflective Writing to Distill the Lessons of the Past Year
See my latest article in The Harvard Business Review on how to respond to an upsetting email!