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Let’s is a contraction of let us, often used as an imperative. If one can replace let’s with let us, then it is a contraction and therefore, needs an apostrophe. The use of contractions is not a modern phenomenon, contractions came into use during the period when Old English was …
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Staid is an adjective that means settled, unadventurous, sedate, steady of character. Staid is usually employed to signify someone stodgy or dull. The adverb form is staidly, the noun form is staidness. Staid as an adjectival use of the past participle stayed came about in the 1540s, within a decade …
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English is chocked full of homophones, words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. One of my favorite pairings is heart and hart. Sure, they sound identical, but these two words have entirely different definitions, and getting them right is essential. So, I’ll go over the difference between …
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A pole is (1.) a slender, rounded, long piece of wood or metal. Often, one end of a pole is stuck in the ground and used as a support for a tent or something similar. A pole may also be (2.) a simple fishing rod (3.) the front innermost starting …
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Shone is a past and past participle form of the verb shine, when shine is used as an intransitive verb meaning to emit light. Shone is a comes from the Old English word scinan, meaning shed light, be radiant, illuminate. Shown is the past participle of the word show, which …
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Breeches are short trousers that extend to or below the knee. When speaking informally, breeches is a term that may refer to any trousers. Breeches is a plural noun, the preferred pronunciation is BRIchiz. The word breeches appears around 1200, it comes from the Old English word brec, the plural …
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A cent is a penny, the lowest denomination of money in the United States, Canada and other countries. One hundred cents equal one dollar. Cent comes from the Latin centum, which means one hundred. Cent- is still used as a prefix to mean one hundred. A scent is a particular smell, …
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Do you know the difference between leech and leach? Not many do, so don’t feel bad. Homophones can be tough for anyone, even pro-English speakers. But I’ll quickly show you the main difference between leech and leach right here, so you never have to wonder again. Leach vs. Leech: What’s …
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Why do the words “key,” “cay,” and “quay” all sound the same if they each have different meanings? What is up with that? Well, there’s a good reason, and it’s not just variant spelling. Each of those homophones has a different origin and just so happens to land on the …
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A hole is (1.) a cavity, a hollowed-out place (2.) an opening passing through an object (3.) an animal burrow (4.) in the United States, a hole may be a cove or small bay (5.) a cylindrical cup sunk into a golf green in which a ball is to be …