Confusing Words in English

Confusing Words: Affective (adjective) and Effective (adjective)
Meaning:
Affective (relating to, arising from, or influencing feelings or emotions)
Effective (successful in producing a desired or intended result.)
Affective vs Effective Clarification: Affective and effective are both used as adjective but both have different meanings.

Affective vs Effective – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Forget about the verbs ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ because ‘affective’ and ‘effective’ are not related to these words. Unlike verbs, affective and effective are somehow related to the noun forms of affect and effect.

Affective + Effective = Adjectives

Affective and effective are adjectives. You can say that these words are derived from the nouns ‘affect’ and ‘effect’. Both of these words have different meanings and functions. At first sight, you will notice that there is only one-letter difference between affective and effective.

The pronunciation also differs as affective is same as /a-fect/ and effective as /ee-fect/. But it has been noticed that effective can be pronounced as /a-fect/ too. Some dictionaries follow /ee-fect/, some follow /a-fect/ while some follow both pronunciations. So, the choice is yours.

You have to keep in mind that in writing, you must have enough idea about the correct usage of both words. Pronunciation can be same but meanings are different for both of these words. That is why, continue reading this post for the meanings and correct usage of affective and effective in sentences.

Definition and Examples of Affective and Effective

As I mentioned above that in sentences, affective and effective function as adjectives but they are quite different in their meanings.

Affective

Affective is related to the noun ‘affect. It is somehow associated with feelings or emotions. If you remember my ‘affect vs. effect’ post, I have asked you to avoid the usage of ‘affect’ as a noun. Like this term, affective is mostly related to the field of psychology. It is defined ‘as an outcome or a result of feelings or emotions of something or someone’.

1. There is evidence that the cognitive and affective components of behavior do not always match with behavior. Reference –(simplypsychology.org)

2. Objectives in the affective domain are concerned with the development of students’ attitudes, feelings and emotions. Reference –(Grammarist.com)

You see that in the above examples, the usage of affective is directly related to psychology. So, you have to keep in mind that affective always applies in the sentences associated with the field of psychology, just like the noun ‘affect’.

Do not get mixed up with the verb form of ‘affect’ as it is seriously not linked with this ‘affective’.

Effective

Effective is also used as an adjective. You do not have to be worried about the complications of this particular word. Effective is easy to understand as you always use this word or you can say that it occurs on a daily routine language.

For example, if you are working in a company and you are so good at work, always come up with desired results. The company will definitely use this word for you i.e. an effective employee because you always come up with effective solutions. ‘Effective’ is defined as ‘competent in producing a successful or desired result or outcome’.

1. An effective leader is a need of any developing country.

2. So the single most effective way to improve as a runner is to consistently run a lot.

I hope that with the above discussion, you are now clear with the meanings and functions of both of these words.

What Did You Learn?

Affective and effective are both used as adjective but both have different meanings. Affective is mostly or always use in the field of psychology whereas effective is in your everyday language. Affective is associated with feelings or emotions. Effective, on the other hand, is competent in producing successful outcome or result.

Confusing Words: Analysis (noun) and Analyses (noun)
Meaning:
Analysis (detailed examination of the elements or structure of something.)
Analyses (examine (something) methodically and in detail, typically in order to explain and interpret it.)
Analysis vs Analyses Clarification: Analysis and analyses have same meanings but still they are not interchangeable.

Analysis vs Analyses – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Every person who is educated or who is studying has an idea about analysis because this word is commonly used in writing. But, most of the people are unaware of the second word, ‘analyses’. It seems like there is a spelling error in the word analyses. Actually, analysis and analyses are both correct words. Both of these words are used as nouns within sentences.

Let us find out the difference between analysis and analyses. I will explain them one by one and will come up with some examples to show the usage of these words.

Analysis

Analysis is the singular noun. Every word has singular and plural forms like cat-cats, book-books, girl-girls etc. In this way, analysis is a singular form. Analysis means an examination, survey or an investigation of something. It is considered to be a singular study or examination.

1. I will soon publish an analysis of the current situation of my country.

2. The case for undertaking policy analysis has been made by a number of scholars and practitioners. (Health Policy and Planning)

3. The information pertaining to the financial statements is of great importance through which interpretation and analysis is made. (linkedin.com)

Analyses

From the above discussion, you have got an idea about the meaning of analyses. Unlike analysis, analyses is the plural noun. Analyses means examinations, surveys or investigations of something. It is considered to be the multiple examinations or surveys.

1. We shall soon publish our separate analyses of the current situation of my country.

2. Students had to come up with proper analyses of the given data.

3. Analyses of this character would appear to indicate the permanent productive capacity of the soil rather than its immediate power of growing a crop. (yourdictionary.com)

Check Out: The Difference Between Analyze and Analyse.

Got the Difference?

I hope that from the above explanation, you are now clear with the words analysis and analyses. Analyses and analysis are the words that refer to an examination or a survey of something. There is a minor difference between these two words. The difference is that analysis is the singular noun whereas analyses is the plural noun.

Analysis = Singular Noun

Analyses = Plural Noun

Analysis & Analyses = Not interchangeable

What Did You Learn?

Analysis and analyses have same meanings but still they are not interchangeable. The difference is that analysis is the singular form whereas analyses is the plural form of the noun. The meaning of analysis is a single survey or an examination and the meaning of analyses is the multiple surveys or examinations.

Confusing Words: Amend (verb) and Emend (verb)
Meaning:
Amend (to change or modify (something) for the better : improve.)
Emend (make corrections and revisions to (a text).)
Amend vs Emend Clarification: Amend and emend are both used as verbs but they have different meanings.

Amend vs Emend – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

What are the differences between amend and emend? What could be the similarity between amend and emend? How can we use amend and emend in sentences?

We are facing so many questions related to these two words. We have the only similarity between amend and emend; the similarity is the function within sentences. Amend and emend are used as verbs within sentences. The pronunciation of amend and emend are different.

Both of these words sound differently. They are just one-letter apart. This is the reason for the confusion between them. In terms of amend, the initial sound would be –a as in ‘alike’. So, the pronunciation of amend will be /a-mend/.

On the other side, the initial sound of emend would be –ee as in ‘initial’. So, the pronunciation would be /i-mend/ or /ee-mend/.

Meanings and Examples of Amend and Emend

In the above discussion, it is clear that amend and emend are both used as verbs in sentences but the meanings and the usage are different of these words. Let us discuss it one by one.

Amend

This word is a verb. Meaning of amend is to make changes or to improve (any text). You have heard the word amendment which is a noun form.

It means a change in a document or any legal paper. For instance, amendment in law. Amend can be the verb form of amendment. Amend can also mean to make little changes in any paper or document to make it more accurate.

1. It should be in the Law that people of any country should have the right to amend the Constitution.

2. This answer is not enough. You have to amend your homeowrk to make it more accurate.

Emend

It is also used as a verb. Meaning of emend is quite similar to amend but it has a minor difference. To emend means to change a text or to make correction. Now, this changing means to make correction of any error in a text.

1. We have to emend our presentation because I can see several spelling errors in the text.

2. My editor emended my column and I hope there will be no mistakes in it.

Check Out: The Difference Between Amount and Number.

What Did You Learn?

Amend and emend are both used as verbs but they have different meanings. To amend means to modify or to improve by making minor changes. To emend means to change any text or to make correction by erasing all the errors.

Confusing Words: Amount (noun/verb) and Number (noun/verb)
Meaning:
Amount (a quantity of something, especially the total of a thing or things in number, size, value, or extent.)
Number (an arithmetical value, expressed by a word, symbol, or figure, representing a particular quantity and used in counting and making calculations.)
Amount vs Number Clarification: Amount is used only with the mass nouns that are uncountable. Number, on the other side, is used only with the countable nouns

Unlike homonyms, there are other words that cause confusion among writers and speakers. For instance, amount vs. number is one of the confusing cases that has to be resolved. These two words are closely related to each other that is why people get confused of these words. Both of these words are frequently used by each and every person.

In this post, I will compare amount vs. number. I will come up with proper definitions and examples to show you the correct usage of these words within a sentence.

Amount vs. Number – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

As I said above that amount and number are used frequently. These two words are very common but I am sure that mostly people do not have idea about the difference between amount and number. The words depict that these are related to counting or quantity of something. Both of these words are used as noun and verb within sentences.

Let us describe them one by one to make a clear picture depicting the difference between these two words.

Amount

This particular word is used as a noun or a verb. As a noun, amount, means a quantity of something. You can use amount only for the mass nouns. Mass nouns are the nouns that are uncountable. You are unable to count mass nouns such as sand, water, pleasure etc.

1. I cannot find out the expected amount of sand in the jar.

2. Your presence will give me an enormous amount of pleasure.

3. He paid regular amounts of money to a charity. Reference – (cambridge.org)

Amount is used as a verb as well. As a verb, it means to total. For example, the electricity bill amounts to $50.

Number

Like amount, number is also used as a noun or a verb within sentences and it also refers to the quantity of something. But, there is a difference in the usage of number. Unlike amount, number is only used with count nouns. Count nouns are the nouns that are countable individually. For instance, stars, grains of sand, books in library, pages of a book etc.

1. I asked my assistant to find out the number of women working in the company.

2. Number of cases of the disease is increasing day by day.

3. Letters of complaint were surprisingly few in number.Reference – (cambridge.org)

Number as a verb can be also used within a sentence. As verb, number means to amount to, or to add up to. For example, the people were numbered in hundreds at my show or I want to number the grains of sand.

What Did You Learn?

Amount and number, both are used to refer the quantity of something. You should remember the difference that amount is used only with the mass nouns that are uncountable like pleasure, sunlight etc. Number, on the other side, is used only with the count nouns that are countable like books, children at a school, stars etc.

Confusing Words: Alright and All Right (adverb and adjective)
Meaning: of a satisfactory or acceptable quality.
Alright vs All Right Clarification: Alright and all right have same function in a sentence. The difference is that ‘alright’ is a nonstandard term for ‘all right’.

Alright vs All Right – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?

Do you remember the word ‘already’? Alright is same as already in appearance but there is a major difference between them. Actually, the word ‘already’ can be used formally because it is a proper word of English vocabulary. ‘Alright’, on the other hand, is a non-standard English word. This word is used in informal writings.

Alright = Informal (Incorrect form)

All right = Formal (Correct form)

Origin of Alright and All Right

After much research on the word ‘alright’, I came to know that this particular word, ‘alright’, was started using in 1893. The words like already and altogether of English vocabulary was frequently used by people. Thus, the informal form ‘alright’ came into being. The correct form was ‘all right’ which is now confused with the word ‘alright’.

Now, alright is used in every context making its image to be a formal word. Though, this nonstandard form is frequently used in dialogues but still it is considered incorrect for formal writing.

So, it is my advice to stop using this informal word in formal writings otherwise the critics will not leave you in passing unsatisfied comments.

Continue reading the definition and examples for more clearance.

The single-word ‘Alright’ is wrong to use in formal writings.

Beside the above discussion, the meaning of two-word phrase ‘all-right’ is acceptable or satisfactory. This phrase is used to show someone’s feeling about something. For instance, the dress was all right. It means that the dress was not so good but it was satisfactory or fine.

All right is used as an adjective or an adverb.

1. The traffic was blocked but don’t worry, she was all right there.

2. She calls them whenever she is travelling to assure them she is all right. Reference – (Oxford Dictionaries)

3. It is all right if you are thinking that I am wrong.

Got it?

I hope that from the above discussion, it has been clear that the one-word phrase ‘alright’ is incorrect to use in formal writings. Whereas, two-word phrase ‘all right’ is the correct form to choose for writings.

This is incorrect to say that it would be alright to say good bye or it is alright if you are thinking that I am wrong.

What Did You Learn?

There is no difference in meanings. Alright and all right have same function in a sentence. The difference is that ‘alright’ is a nonstandard term for ‘all right’. The meaning of all right is satisfactory or acceptable.