Continuing our series of ” 10 Highly Confusing Words in the English Language”, here you will find the last five words of the list:
6. stationary/ stationery- Are you out of stationary or stationery to write to your relatives? The only spelling difference is the a and the e at the end of the word. Stationary refers to something that is fixed, immobile; while stationery refers to the materials used for writing and letter paper usually accompanied by matching envelopes.
7. imminent/ eminent- Imminent refers to something that is ready to take place, while eminent refers to something/ someone prominent or famous. You talk to an eminent person and, danger is imminent.
8. proceed/ precede- This is easy, the prefix -pre means “before” while proceed means “to go forward”. So, let’s proceed with reading. We are almost done!
9. static/ ecstatic- Are you static or ecstatic about learning all of these things? Similar to stationary, static, refers to something that does not move, among other meanings related to electricity or radio frequency. Ecstatic is something marked by ecstasy. So, I really hope that you are ecstatic!
10. desert/ dessert- Desert (not the place where there is a lot of sand and cacti) comes from the word that gave us “deserve”. So, after all of this learning, don’t you think you desert some sweet dessert to reward yourself?
This is just a small list of words that can be confusing in the English Language, words that are worthy of our attention, so we can use them properly and guide non English speakers in their use. If you can think of more confusing words in the English Language, feel free to share.