If you have ever typed “unaccessible” and wondered whether it should be “inaccessible,” you are not alone. The two words look almost identical, and both … Read more

Three English verbs often appear to mean almost the same thing: assume, presume, and infer. All three involve forming an idea about something that is … Read more

Beloved vs loved can seem like a simple comparison because both words describe someone or something that receives love. In many sentences, they can even … Read more

If you have ever looked at a color chart and wondered whether violet, indigo, and purple are simply three names for the same color, you … Read more

ourselves vs ourself is a surprisingly tricky English grammar question. At first glance, the difference seems simple: ourselves ends in -selves, while ourself ends in … Read more

If you have ever seen insight and incite written close together, you may have wondered whether they are different forms of the same word. They … Read more

If you have ever written “yolk” when you meant the wooden bar used to join animals—or “yoke” when talking about the yellow part of an … Read more

If you are talking about a book, film, article, painting, or other creative work, titled is usually the clearest choice: a novel titled The Last … Read more

If you have ever written “please” and wondered whether “pleas” could mean the same thing, you are not alone. The two words look almost identical, … Read more

If something smells terrible, you might say, “It stinks.” But what should you say when the bad smell happened yesterday? Is it “It stank” or … Read more