We have discussed about some confusing words previously. It had been a long time since then we talked about them Below are some of the commonly mistaken words, we tried to provide meaning, usage, difference and also some tips which will help you to remember them easily.
Stationary vs Stationery
Stationary:-
Parts of speech: Adjective
Meaning: immovable; an object that stays in its original place without any change in its position
Usage 1: All stationary objects will remain stationary unless and until some force is applied. (Newton’s I law).
Usage 2: As economic development ceased, the rate of inflation is stationary
Stationery:-
Parts of speech: Noun
Meaning: Any item that is used for writing like pen, paper, envelopes etc
Usage 1: To save the time, keep your stationery ready before starting any work
Usage 2: One needs patience to maintain a stationery shop
Note: Stationery can also be used as an adjective.
Tip: Avoid confusion between the two words with help of this trick. Paper ends with “er” and stationery also ends with “er”.

difference between advice and advise
Advice vs Advise:
Advice:-
Parts of speech: Noun
Meaning: Any Information/opinion that helps you to be safe or happy etc
Usage 1: Your advice on planning my finance was very useful
Usage 2: His advice is useless as he himself don’t understand it.
Advise:-
Parts of speech: Verb
Meaning: To Give an advice.
Usage 1: His is well known for his timely advises.
Usage 2: In order to avoid accidents, people are constantly being advised about traffic safety.
Tip: These two terms are very tricky and confusing because both of them have same meaning and spelling (almost). Advice is used more often than ‘advise’. Check the grammar and context to know the correct usage of the two terms.
Principle vs Principal:
Principle:-
Parts of speech: Noun
Meaning: It has a wide range of meanings, however, the simple meaning is rules or laws, code of conduct, accepted rule, firm belief
Usage 1: All the successful people have followed the toughest principles in their life.
Usage 2: Arguments can be made more appealing by using general principles.
Principal:-
Parts of speech: Noun or Adjective
Meaning: When used as noun, its meanings are head and money; when used as adjective, it takes the meaning main or chief.
Usage 1: The principal parts of human body are brain and heart (principal = main, adjective)
Usage 2: For any principal amount, try to keep less interest rate to attract new clients (principal = money, noun)
Tip 1: Principle is always used to tell the “rules”
Tip 2: Principal can be adjective or noun. “a” for adjective in principal. This removes confusion in usage.

November 7th, 2009
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