Confusing Words in English

Confusing Words: Council (noun) and Counsel (noun/verb)
Meaning:
Council (an advisory, deliberative, or administrative body of people formally constituted and meeting regularly.)
Counsel (advice, especially that given formally.)
Council vs Counsel Clarification: Council and counsel are homophones. They are similar in pronunciation but are totally different in meaning and function.

Council vs Counsel – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

As I said above that council and counsel are homophones. It means that they are similar in terms of pronunciation but they have different meanings and functions within sentences.

Council and counsel are just two-letters apart. This is just because of their similar pronunciation that makes people think twice whether to choose council or counsel. Let me define these terms one by one.

Council

Council is used as a noun within a sentence. It is used to refer to a group of people who is appointed or chosen for decision making or to give advice.

1. Congratulations to everyone! A council has been elected for the inspection of this matter.

2. It is just an advice that came from the city council to overcome the excessive use of cigar.

Check Out: What Is a Collective Noun?

Counsel

Counsel is used as a noun or a verb within a sentence. As a verb, it means to give instruction, direction, or advice.

As a noun, it is used to refer to a formal advice. It is also used to refer to the lawyer(s) or advocate(s) conducting a legal case in court.

1. Let me counsel you to take good decisions for a happy life. (verb)

2. I had no advice, no counsel, no encouragement, no consolation, no assistance, no support, of any kind, from anyone, that I can call to mind, as I hope to go to heaven! (Charles Dickens) (noun)

3. The counsel started arguing to give more time in order to investigate the matter. (noun)

You have noticed that the difference between council and counsel is obvious from the above definitions. Council will never be used as a verb. It is always used as a noun. So, do not mix these words together as; both of these words are totally different from each other.

What Did You Learn?

Council and counsel are homophones. They are similar in pronunciation but are totally different in meaning and function. Council is a noun which is used to refer to a group of people appointed for making decisions.

Counsel, on the other hand, is used as a noun or verb. As a noun, it is used to refer to an advice; or the advocate(s) conducting a legal case. As a verb, counsel means to give advice or directions.

Confusing Words: Could (verb) and Would (verb)
Meaning:
Could (used to indicate possibility.)
Would (past of will, in various senses.)
Could vs Would Clarification: Could’ is mostly used to denote possibility and ‘would’ is used to refer ability and certainty.

Could vs. Would – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

There are hundreds of confusing words in English vocabulary; for instance, there are many words that sound same but they have different meanings from each other; or there are many words that are so closely related to each other that people start using them interchangeably.

Especially, the fresh English language learners often get confused with word choice. Could vs. would is one of the cases for creating confusion.

Most of the people use these words interchangeably as, there is a very slight difference in their usage. The difference has to be understood in order to make your writing error-free and productive, let us define each one of these words.

Could

Could is used as a verb within a sentence. It is the past tense of ‘can’. It means that could is used to refer someone’s ability that he/she had in the past.

You can also it as a modal verb, which is used to denote possibility.

1. My mother said that I could make beautiful paintings when I was so young.

2. You could have called me for help. I was right there.

3. You could have finished your work without asking me. (as a modal verb)

Note: As a modal verb, you can use “could” for future and present tenses as well; i.e. used to denote possibility. For instance, ‘you could win this match.’

Would

Would is also used as a verb within a sentence. It is the past tense of ‘will’, which is used to refer certainty or ability.

1. When we were together, me with my friends would go to the beach every weekend.

2. My mother said that I would make beautiful paintings when I was so young.

Got the Difference?

Take a look, in the above example (2), ‘my mother said that I would make beautiful paintings when I was so young.’

If we replace the word ‘would’ with ‘could’, the entire meaning of the sentence will be changed.

‘Would’ means that you made beautiful paintings in the past. In this example, would is expressing your past action.

On the other hand, if you use ‘could’, it means that you had the ability to make beautiful paintings. It is not expressing an action.

Check Out: What Are Action Verbs?

What Did You Learn?

‘Would’ is the past tense of ‘will’ whereas, ‘could’ is the past tense of ‘can’. ‘Could’ is mostly used to denote possibility and ‘would’ is used to refer ability and certainty.

Confusing Words: Dialog (noun) and Dialogue (noun)
Meaning: “a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or film.”
Dialog vs Dialogue Clarification: Dialog is the alternative spelling of dialogue. Dialogue is the more preferable spelling, which is used to refer to a conversation between two or more people.

Dialog vs Dialogue – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Have you ever pinned between the two variants of English language i.e. American English and British English? I am sure, you would have confused between these variants once in your life.

The first and foremost thing you should remember is that the term ‘dialog’ is usually used in American English. The other term ‘dialogue’ is the preferred term in British English. However, American English may also used the term ‘dialogue’ but as a verb. Moreover, the verb form will be dialoguing, dialogued, or dialogues.

Apart from the verb form, dialog and dialogue have different contexts to be used in.

Dialog

Dialog has been used in American English since 1980s. They are using this term as a computer term, which is a window that appears on a computer screen known as a ‘dialog box’.

1. Please read the whole of the explanation at the bottom of the dialog box. It will also help you to understand what you need to do here. (Enterprise Times)

2. Clearly marked dialog boxes make every action a cinch. (Trusted Reviews)

However, in British English, you rarely can see a term like ‘dialog’ being used by someone. The only preferred spelling is dialogue.

Dialogue

Dialogue, the only preferred spelling in British English, is used as a noun within a sentence. Moreover, it is used to refer to a conversation or a communication between two or more people.

A dialogue is very obvious in a movie or a book, which refers to a conversation between two or more characters. In this context, you will find out that both American and British English use ‘dialogue’ as the preferred spelling.

1. Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil called Friday for dialogue and diplomacy between Arab countries as Qatar faces isolation in a growing row with fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism. (The Daily Star)

2. The High Level Political and Security Dialogue reflects a shared interest of the EU and of the Central Asian countries to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on security issues. (EU News)

Check Out: The Difference Between Catalog and Catalogue.

Do You Understand The Difference?

After a careful research, I came to know that the only preferable term to refer to a conversation between two or more people is ‘dialogue’ in British as well as in American English. However, the term ‘dialogue’ is also used as a verb in only North America to mean to join in a conversation. For instance,

1. Have you dialogued with your friends?

2. They are dialoguing about the recent issue that took place at the cinema.

Try to avoid dialogue as a verb because most of the American professionals just rejected the use of it. If you really want to use it as a verb then, be careful of the audiences; you can use ‘dialogue’ as a verb only in front of Americans.

Almost all of the writing styles (i.e. The AP Style, Fowler’s, etc.) declare that the preferred spelling is ‘dialogue’.

Note: Avoid using dialogue as a verb.

What Did You Learn?

It is obvious that dialog is the alternative spelling of dialogue. Dialogue is the more preferable spelling, which is used to refer to a conversation between two or more people. In this case, not only British English but also American English prefers to use dialogue instead of dialog.

However, dialog is only used in North America which is used to refer to a computer term i.e. a dialog box appears on a computer screen.

Confusing Words: Broach (verb) and Brooch (noun)
Meaning:
Broach (raise (a difficult subject) for discussion.)
Brooch (an ornament fastened to clothing with a hinged pin and catch.)
Broach vs Brooch Clarification: Both word are homophones i.e. they are pronounced in the same manner. However, the two words carry completely different meanings.

Broach vs Brooch – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Broach and brooch are called homophones. It means that they sound exactly same but they are different in terms of their meanings. Even their functions, within sentences, are not similar.

The confusion takes place just because of their pronunciation. I will define each word and use these words in example sentences. In this way, it will be easy for you to differentiate between broach and brooch.

Broach

Broach is used as a verb within sentences. It means to begin, to introduce, or to raise a subject (mainly difficult) for discussion.

1. In the meeting, nobody was willing to braoch the most sensitive topic of the previous day.

2. I confidently broached, “May you please repeat it?”

3. How do you broach the subject of slavery with a child? (WDET)

Broach can also be used to refer to the act of piercing (a cask) to draw out liquid.

However, this meaning is not very commonly used. Other than this meaning, the above meaning is used very commonly among writers or speakers.

Brooch

Brooch is used as a noun within sentences. It is used to refer to an ornament or a piece of jewellery attached by a pin and is usually fastened to a woman’s clothes.

1. She was expecting that her husband will give her a gold brooch as her birthday present.

2. A small silver brooch gave her dress a perfect look.

3. Yet Adele’s potential rivalry with her beloved ‘Queen Bey’ was totally dispelled at Sunday night’s 59th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as she appeared to pledge her support for her hero by sporting a brooch in the shape of a lemon – in an apparent nod to Beyonce’s album Lemonade. (Daily Mail)

Check Out: Difference Between Coma and Comma.

Did You Get The Difference?

So, it has been clear that broach and brooch are two different words with different meanings and functions within sentences. Broach is used as a verb whereas, brooch is used as a noun within sentences.

Broach = Verb
Brooch = Noun

As, broach and brooch are homophones. It means that their pronunciation should be same. Their pronunciation should be like “-roach” in cockroach.

Mostly, people pronounce brooch as spook (with long uː sound), which is wrong.

What Did You Learn?

It is concluded that broach and brooch are homophones that are pronounced exactly same but they have differences in meaning and function.

Broach: It is used as a verb that means to raise a subject for discussion.
Brooch: It is a noun which is used to refer to a piece of jewelry fastened to clothing.

Confusing Words: Born (verb) and Borne (verb)
Meaning:
Born (come into existence as a result of birth.)
Borne (to contain” or “to give birth to)
Born vs Borne Clarification: Born and borne are the two different spellings of the same word that can be used as the past tense and past participle of bear, which means to hold on to something or to give birth.

Born vs Borne – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

As you can see that born and borne are just one-letter apart but their pronunciation is same. In this post, I will reveal the differences between born and borne. Moreover, I will define these terms and use them in example sentences.

First of all, I will define the verb ‘bear’ because born or borne is used as the past participle of bear.

Bear means to tolerate something terrible; to hold something; to give birth; OR to produce fruit, flower or plants. 

1. I can’t bear this kind of awful attitude in my class.

2. I hope that the tree will bear fruits in the coming season.

Born or Borne

Born and borne are the two different spellings of the same word that can be used as the past tense and past participle of bear. However, both need different contexts to be used in. In the light of past tense, born is used when it is, only, related to birth whereas, borne is not restricted as it is, mostly, used to refer to hold, to tolerate, to produce or to give birth .

1. I had already borne his sad stories.

2. His brother was born in Istanbul when the whole city was covered with snow.

3. The boy, who has not yet been named, was born with polymelia — a rare congenital birth defect that results in extra limbs or organs, which are usually deformed. (CNN)

4. China and Mexico have borne the brunt of his early threats, he now has a prime opportunity to box out some of Europe’s most famous exports. (POLITICO.eu)

Check Out: Difference Between Bear and Bare.

Correct Way to Use Born and Borne

Note the above example sentences. Remember to use borne with helping or auxiliary verbs. On the other hand, if you are referring to someone’s birth date or place, remember to use was or were with born.

There are other phrases like Australian-born person, Canadian-born person, water-borne diseases, mosquito-born viruses etc.

In water-borne diseases and mosquito-borne viruses, borne has been used to mean ‘carried by’ (i.e. the diseases are carried by water and viruses are carried by mosquito).

In Australian-born person and Canadian-born person, born is used to refer the place of birth of that person.

1. Last week witnessed a significant spike in cases of water-borne diseases in the city. (Times of India)

2. Australian-born acoustic guitar player travels the world to play his way to fame. (Virginian-Pilot)

What Did You Learn?

Born and borne are the two different spellings of the same word, that is used as the past tense of the verb ‘bear’. However, you need to be careful about the contexts because both of these words are used in different contexts.

Born is used when it is related to childbirth. On the other hand, borne is used in all other senses like to carry or to tolerate, except childbirth.