In English there are many pairs of words that are confused to the point of misuse. Let’s take a look at some examples:

concurrent vs. consecutive (adj)
Concurrent means happening at the same time as something else. Consecutive means happening immediately after or following something else.

My enrollment at The University of Houston-Victoria was concurrent with my student teaching at Memorial High School.

The baseball team made three consecutive home runs.

egoism vs. egotism (n)
Egotism refers to excessive conceit or a sense of self importance. Egoism refers to an ethical theory which states that self-interest is the motivation for all behavior.

Shane showed egotism when he gave a speech in favor of himself for the position of president.

Ayn Rand asserts that ethical egoism is the basis for all morality.

eminent vs. imminent (adj)
Eminent means distinguished or admired. Imminent means impending or likely to happen soon.

The eminent biology professor gave a speech at the lecture series.

Hurricane June’s bombardment of the Texas coast is imminent.

imply vs. infer (v)
Imply means to suggest something without showing it directly. Infer mean to guess or to conclude.

The note implied that Angela was angry at John’s behavior.

I inferred that the neighbors were leaving because I saw the moving van in their driveway.

precede vs. proceed (v)
Precede means to come before. Proceed means to move forward or to continue doing something that has already begun.

A comma should precede a coordinating conjunction when there is a complete sentence on both sides of the conjunction.

We will proceed with the auction as soon as the auctioneer returns from his break.

principle vs. principal (n)
Principle means a basic law, truth or assumption. Principal means the head person or leader.

I did not vote for Sen. Davidson because his principles conflicted with mine.

The principal of our school moved to San Diego.

recur vs. reoccur (v)
Recur means to happen several times. Reoccur means a one-time repetition.

The apostrophe error recurred in Judith’s paper.

The thunder reoccurred and then subsided.

Definitions of the words featured in this grammar tip are adapted from The Longman Advanced American Dictionary.

Along with our website, we recommend the following site: The UVic Writer’s Guide – A Dictionary of Usage at http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/DictionUsageToc.html. This site features a dictionary with explanations for over 100 of the most commonly confused words in the English language.

Test your understanding of commonly confused words by choosing the correct word in each of the sentences below.

1. The ethics class reviews basic moral (principles, principals).

2. The softball tournament will (precede, proceed) after the rain stops.

3. The (eminent, imminent) scientist discussed the plausibility of the Big Bang Theory.

Answers

1. The ethics class reviews basic moral principles.

2. The softball tournament will proceed after the rain stops.

3. The eminent scientist discussed the plausibility of the Big Bang Theory.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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