The choice between appendices or appendixes can feel surprisingly tricky because English gives us two accepted plural forms for the same noun. If you have ever written a research paper, report, book, legal document, or long business document, you may have stopped and wondered which version belongs at the end. The good news is that … Read more
Lier or liar can confuse even careful English learners because both words are pronounced the same in standard English. The spelling looks almost identical too, but the meanings are very different. If you mean a person who tells lies, the word you want is liar. The confusion becomes easier to understand once you look at … Read more
Suing or sueing is a common spelling problem because the base word is sue and adding ing seems as simple as putting the ending directly onto the original word. At first glance, sueing looks logical. However, standard English spelling removes the final silent e before adding ing, giving us suing. The confusion comes from the … Read more
The choice between busses or buses can be confusing because both spellings appear in English. If you mean more than one vehicle used to carry passengers the standard form is buses. For example you would write Three buses arrived at the station. The spelling busses can also be found in dictionaries but it may represent … Read more
Ballon or balloon is an easy spelling mistake to make because the two forms look almost identical. The correct spelling is balloon. The form ballon is normally incorrect in standard American English when you mean the familiar inflatable object or a hot air aircraft. The confusion often comes from the unusual letter pattern. The word … Read more
Disfunction or Dysfunction can be confusing because both forms look reasonable at first glance. The correct spelling is dysfunction. The form disfunction is generally a spelling error in standard modern English when you mean something that is not working properly or is operating in an unhealthy way. The confusion comes partly from the familiar prefix … Read more
skillset or skill set is a common spelling question because both forms appear frequently in modern English. The short answer is that skill set is the traditional and widely accepted form for describing a group of abilities. Skillset also appears as a closed compound noun and has gained noticeable use, especially in workplace language, recruiting, … Read more
roll call or role call can be confusing because the two phrases sound exactly the same in ordinary American English. If you’re talking about a teacher checking attendance or a group leader confirming who is present the correct expression is roll call. The word roll refers to a list of names while role refers to … Read more
usage or useage is a common spelling question because the incorrect form looks perfectly reasonable at first glance. The correct spelling is usage. Useage is a misspelling that often appears because people naturally connect the word with the verb use and assume that the extra vowel should remain in the written form. The confusion becomes … Read more
Latter or ladder is a common English confusion because the two words sound the same for many speakers. The spelling is different and so is the meaning. Latter refers to the second of two things or people already mentioned, while ladder is a structure with steps or rungs that people use to climb. The confusion … Read more