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.

Throughout the years, we have noticed that there are certain words in English that create great confusion among both, native and non-native English speakers. This is not an English-only matter; it happens in every language but, being a professional translation agency in the U.S. and specializing in English and Spanish translation projects, we think it is important to review these sets of words. Let’s see the list:

1. less/ fewer- Fewer refers to things that can be counted and are tangible, while less refers to things that cannot be counted and are not tangible. So, the average American actually has fewer than two children, not less than two children.
2. lose/ loose- These two words are highly confusing basically because they are practically homophones (they are pronounced almost the same way). Lose is the basic form of the past tense lost. Loose refers to something that is not rigidly fastened. In that case, you would lose your keys every morning!
3. compliment/ complement- Do you complement or compliment your new hairdo with good makeup? Complement comes from the Latin word for “complete” and, when you compliment you show admiration. So, with that said: what do you do?
4. its/ it’s- Does your dog have its own or it’s own personality? Its means “belonging to it” while it’s is the contraction of “it is” or “it has” (from the verb to be).
5. prosecute/ persecute- Both come from the same Latin word meaning “to pursue” but, lawyers prosecute criminals and employers, can certainly persecute employees for no reason, although they shouldn’t.

To read the rest of the list go to 10 Highly Confusing Words in the English Language-part 2