Posts Tagged ‘commonly confused words’

Words Commonly Confused Part III

January 15th, 2010 in Vocabulary, Words

Leave and let

To leave is to go. To let is to allow.

I asked him to leave the room. (= I asked him to go from the room.)
Let me go now. (= Allow me to go.)

Note that let is followed  by an infinitive without to.

Let me speak. (NOT Let me to speak.)
Let them go. (NOT Let them to go.)

Recruitment and employment

To recruit somebody is to enroll or take on somebody.

The recruitment of soldiers is still going on.
The company has stopped recruiting.

Employment refers to the condition of working for payment.

She is in search of employment.

State and say

To state is to express something in a deliberate formal way. To say is to utter something in a normal voice. Saying is very informal.

I have expressly stated my position on this issue.
The terms and conditions as stated in this contract are not agreeable to us.
She said that she was not interested in the deal.

Stay and Stop

To stay is to remain in the same place, condition or state. To stop is to discontinue something. It also means to end.

The rain has stopped.
She is trying to stop smoking.
I stayed there waiting for him.

To stay is also to reside at a place for some time.

We stayed at the hotel for two days.

Tender and give

To tender something is to offer something formally in writing.

He tendered his resignation.

To give is to deliver something that you own to another person to keep or use.
She gave me this cardigan for Christmas.
What will you give me for the watch?

Addition and Edition

Addition refers to the process of adding something. Edition is a printed version of a book.

We have made several additions to this book.
We are planning to bring out a new edition of this book.

All ways and always

The new scheme was acceptable to the masses in all ways.
He is always late for work.