Buffi Duberman Communication Nation join the team

Back by popular demand…

here are 10 more confusing words!

So many of you reached out and said my last newsletter helped so much when it came to mixing up words. 

‘Thanks! Now I finally understand the difference! Do you have any more? I think I need all the help I can get!’ – Rob

Of COURSE I do, sweet Rob (and YOU, FIRST NAME!) 

Here they are:

1. Stationary/Stationery: ‘Stationary’ means not moving. The train remained stationary at the station, much to the frustration of the passengers. ‘Stationery’ is letter-writing materials. He sent her a letter on official government stationery. 

2. Who’s/ Whose: ‘Who’s’ is short for ‘Who is’ – ‘Who’s going’ to the concert tonight? And ‘whose’ refers to possession – Whose umbrella is this? 

3. Than/Then: ‘Than’ is used for comparisons. That car is more expensive than the other one we saw. ‘Then’ is used as a time indication. First we will have dinner, and then we will have some coffee. A fun way to remember this one is ‘then’ sounds like ‘the end’, which is also time-related!

4. Dessert/ Desert: ‘Dessert’ is something sweet at the end of the meal (remember this by thinking of Something Sweet – also double S :)). We had chocolate mousse for dessert. ‘Desert’ is where sand lives. I would cross the desert barefoot for a good gin and tonic. You can remember this one because ‘Sahara’ and ‘sand’ both have 1 S! 

5. Lose/Loose: To ‘lose’ is to misplace something or when something becomes less. He wanted to lose weight. ‘Loose’ is when something is not tight. His pants became loose when he lost the weight. I hope now you will loose some of your confusion when it comes to confusing words in English!

See you next week!

Love, 

Buffi

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