Confusing Words in English

Confusing Words: Can (verb) and May (verb)
Meaning:
Can (be able to.)
May (expressing possibility.)
Can vs May Clarification: Can and may are not interchangeable.

Can vs May – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Can and may are both auxiliary verbs. Though, their meanings are quite close but there are differences in the usage of these words. You have to be careful about the contexts because both words can express different natures.

Let me define them one by one. In this way, it will be easy for you to differentiate between can vs. may.

Can

Can is used as an auxiliary verb within sentences. It is used when you are speaking about ability ( physical or mental ability) to do something.

1. Can you sing a song?

2. I can imagine your situation that you are facing right now.

3. Today, you can choose to be in a good mood, or a bad mood. Give yourself permission to be happy every day. (Joel Osteen)

May

May is also used as an auxiliary verb within sentences. It means to express possibility; to give or to ask for a permission to do something.

1. You may go for shopping, if you want to.

2. See the clouds; it may rain today.

3. I may not be perfect.

Can or May?

The definitions of can and may are clear. Now, be careful in using these two auxiliary verbs. Whenever you want to ask for a permission or you want to express any possibility, use may instead of can. For instance, students ask to go to drink a glass of water. Mostly, they say,

“Ma’am, can I go to drink a glass of water?”

The above sentence is absolutely wrong. They should use ‘may’ instead of ‘can’. For example,

“Ma’am, may I go to drink a glass of water?”

or

“May I go to the bathroom?”

Note: You should not write mayn’t for may not, as, this contraction is incorrect to use. However, can’t for cannot is acceptable.

May not > Mayn’t = Wrong

Cannot > Can’t = Correct

Formal vs. Informal

If you want to ask for a permission, then you can use ‘can’. In this way, you have to be careful to whom you are asking because ‘can’ can be used as an informal manner. For instance, if you ask your friend, “Can I use your pen?” then there is no problem with the sentence formation. On the other side, if you ask your teacher for a permission then you should use ‘may’ like, “May I use your pen?”

So, it can be said that may is more formal and polite than can.

May = more formal + polite

What Did You Learn?

Can and may are not interchangeable. It is important to keep them apart. Both are used as an auxiliary verb within sentences. Can is used when you are speaking about ability or it can be used to ask permission informally. May, on the other hand, is used to express possibility; to give or to ask for a permission.

Confusing Words: Caramel (noun) and Carmel (noun)
Meaning:
Caramel (sugar or syrup heated until it turns brown, used as a flavouring or colouring for food or drink or combined with butter or cream to form a thick, sweet sauce.)
Carmel (A gender-neutral name of Hebrew origin)
Caramel vs Carmel Clarification:Caramel and carmel are not interchangeable.

Caramel vs Carmel – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Caramel and carmel are just one-letter apart but you cannot mix them up. Most people think that caramel and carmel are one word with two different spellings. It is important to keep them apart, as, nothing is similar between caramel and carmel.

Let us define these words one by one. I will use each of these words in example sentences to show you the function of these words.

Caramel

Caramel is used as a noun within sentences. It is used to refer a brown sweet or sugary syrup, which is used to give flavour or colour to food. In simple words, caramel is cooked sugar.

1. The café will charge more if you want more hot caramel over your dessert.

2. I always buy a bottle of caramel and refrigerate it to make small square candies.

3. The lightly salty caramel is touched — but just touched, mind you — with the yellow spice blend, too. (City Pages)

Carmel

Carmel is used as a proper noun within sentences. It is used to refer a city in California. Carmel is also used to refer a mountain range in Israel. In short, Carmel is used as the names for cities and many geographical locations.

1. I love New York City for its energy. Pebble Beach, Carmel Beach and that all area, for its completely laid back energy. Paris for the charm, shopping and the glamour. (Eva Larue)

2. A couple skates at Domaine de la Foret Perdu or the Lost Forest, a 9.3 mile weaving and zambonied forest trail made for skating in Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, near Three Rivers, Quebec. (Reuters)

Got the Difference?

From the above discussion, it is clear that caramel and carmel are two different words with different spellings, meanings and functions. Also, there is a slight difference in pronunciation as well.

Caramel is pronounced as kar-a-mul, i.e. with three syllables. Carmel, on the other hand, is pronounced as kar-mul, i.e. with two syllables.

Mostly, people mix two of the above pronunciations together. This is the reason for the confusion between them. Some people think that carmel is a misspelling but in fact, it is a proper word used to indicate many locations.

What Did You Learn?

Caramel and carmel are not interchangeable. Carmel is a proper noun which is used to refer a city in California and many other geographical locations. Caramel, on the other hand, is a common noun which is a brown sweet sugary syrup or cooked sugar.

Do not mix them up, as, both are different from each other.

Confusing Words: Center (noun/verb) and Centre (noun/verb)
Meaning: the point that is equally distant from every point on the circumference of a circle or sphere.
Center vs Centre Clarification: Center and centre are two different spellings of the same word.

Center vs Centre – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Which one should I use, center or centre?

Beside the pattern of the letters, center and centre have same letters in them. In fact, there is no difference in terms of pronunciation, meaning and function.

Definition

Center or centre can be used as a noun or a verb within sentences. As a noun, it is used to refer a middle part of something. It can also be used to refer a place, an organization or an institute of a particular activity.

1. May you please put the bowl on the center/centre of the table?

2. In the center/centre of the hall, there is a large fountain that draws everyone’s attention.

3. There will be a serious discussion on the issues of The Health Care Center/Centre, which we are facing nowadays.

4. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center/Centre is a genuine project and a living proof of generosity of the people of Pakistan. (Hadiqa Kiani)

As a verb, it means to put or to fix something in the middle of an area.

1. Center/Centre all the paragraphs of your research paper.

2. If you center/centre the lens, you may take your best shot.

Check Out: The Difference Between Capital and Capitol.

Center or Centre?

Actually, center and centre are two different spellings of the same word. These words can be used interchangeably. However, you have to be careful of the region or the intended audience for whom you are writing. In the light of this discussion, center is the preferred spelling in American English whereas; centre is the dominant spelling in British English.

Center = American English 

Centre = British English

Below are the two examples that are taken from an American and a British publication.

1. Lib Dem constitutional spokesman Lord Tyler, jokes: “It is the best day care centre for the elderly in London, families can drop in him or her and make sure that the staff will look after them very well nice meals subsidised by the taxpayer, and they can have a snooze in the afternoon in the chamber or in the library.” (BBC News)

2. Apple is preparing to start construction on a new $50 million data center project as demand for its iCloud business—and all of those photos, documents, and music that it stores for its customers—continues to grow. (Fortune)

So, you have to be careful with word choice. Always choose centre when you are in front of British audiences, whereas choose center for American audiences.

What Did You Learn?

Center and centre are two different spellings of the same word. Center is preferred in American English, while centre is the preferable spelling in British English.

As a noun, it is used to refer a middle part of something; or an organization/institute of a particular activity.

As a verb, it means to put or to fix something in the middle of an area.

Confusing Words: Capital (noun) and Capitol (noun)
Meaning:
Capital (the city or town that functions as the seat of government and administrative centre of a country or region.)
Capitol (a building in which a state legislative body meets.) 
Capital vs Capitol Clarification: They are homophones having different meanings and functions within sentences.

Capital vs Capitol – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Capital and capitol are just one-letter apart. They are homophones. It means that they are similar in terms of pronunciation but different in meaning and spelling.

I will define these words separately and use each word in example sentences.

Capital

You can use capital in a few different ways. Like,

• Capital is a large size letter that is used to begin the sentences and names. For example, ‘His name is George.’

• It can also be used to describe the wealth or money that is used to start a new business or to make more wealth. For example, ‘they have invested almost $50,000 capital into a new business.’

• It can also be used to refer the most important place for a specific activity or product. For example, ‘London as the fashion capital of the world.’

• Capital is also used to refer the most important city or town that is, usually, called the centre or the seat of a country’s government. For example, ‘Ajman is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates.’

From the above definitions of capital, the last one is the most relevent definition for today’s discussion about capital vs. capitol. So, remember the last definition of capital as the centre or the seat of a country’s government.

1. Atleast 15 homes were lost and a firefighter injured on Friday in a fast-moving bushfire in the country town of Carwoola, around 30 kilometres south east of the Australian capital, Canberra. (The Telegraph News)

Capitol

Capitol is used as a noun within sentences. It is used to refer the particular building or a group of buildings in which a legislative body of a state meets. It is also used to refer to the Capitol (building) of the U.S. Congress in Washington D.C.

1. They are arranging a few important conferences at state capitols.

2. U.S. Capitol officials are planning a series of security upgrades outside the Capitol Complex, including installation of an underground alarm system, reinforced windows and K-9 units outside building entrances. (NBC4 Washington)

3. Hundreds march to Texas Capitol in support of immigrants. (Dallas News)

Note the above senetences. If you are referring to a specific capitol then, it is important to capitalize the word ‘capitol’ (see examples 2 and 3). However, if you are not referring to a specific capitol then, no need to capitalize it (see the example 1).

What Did You Learn?

Capital and capitol are just one-letter apart. They are homophones having different meanings and functions within sentences. So, it is important to keep them apart.

Capital is the most important city or town, which is known as the centre or the seat of a country’s government. Capitol, on the other hand, is the building or a group of buildings in which a legislative body of a state meets.

Confusing Words: Calfs and Calves (noun)
Meaning: a young bovine animal, especially a domestic cow or bull in its first year.
Clarification: Calves is the correct spelling that is the plural form of the noun ‘calf’.

Calfs vs Calves – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Is the correct term calfs or calves?

When you need to make plural of any word, you just remember to add an –s or –es at the end of that word to make it pluralized. However, there are some words that follow irregular pattern to make them pluralized. The words such as calf, knife, wolf, leaf, etc., create irregular plurals. It means that you cannot just add an –s or –es at the end of these terms, but you need to replace the –f by adding –ves at the end of each term.

Now, coming towards our discussion of calfs vs. calves. One of these words is incorrect spelling. Let us see which one is correct and which one is incorrect spelling.

First of all, I will define calf, as, one of these words is the plural form of calf.

Calf

Calf is used as a noun within a sentence. It is used to refer the young of some large mammals such as cows or elephants. It can also used to refer to the back part of the human lower leg.

Calves or Calfs?

Calves is the correct plural form of the term ‘calf’. As I mentioned above, calves is an irregular plural. You cannot simply add an –s at the end of calf to make it pluralized, instead, you should remember to replace the –f with –ves.

Calves = Correct

Calfs = Incorrect

1. You must consult a nutritionist before feeding the calves.

2. Once calves are extremely dehydrated, have a severe acidosis or advanced signs of pneumonia, prognosis is often guarded and treatment becomes much more difficult. (Bovine Veterinarian)

3. Do you feel pain in calf muscle?

4. Some examples of stretches you can use for your cool-down routine include quad stretches, calf stretches, hamstring stretches, arm stretches and poses found in yoga, such as child’s pose and downward facing dog. (SCNow)

Check Out: The Difference Between Alot and A Lot.

What Did You Learn?

Calves is the correct spelling that is the plural form of the noun ‘calf’. Calf means the young of some large mammals such as cows or elephants; or it can also be used to refer to the back part of the human lower leg. Do not use calfs as it is an incorrect spelling.