Statue, Stature, and Statute are easily mixed-up words because of their similar spelling. Knowing which word to use will ensure that the meaning of  sentences is clear.

Statue refers to a figure or model of something or someone that can be made from plaster, carved from stone or wood, or cast in bronze.

Ex. The statue of the Venus de Milo has no arms.

Stature can be either literal in terms of the standing height of a body or figurative in terms of the level of achievement of a person.

Ex. Bob's stature seemed small compared to the Martians.

Ex. Fred’s stature as an actor has gone down since starring in Martian Landing III: Return to the Crater.

Statute refers to a law or rule enacted by legislature of a country or state.

Ex. John read up on the Texas statutes dealing with parks and wildlife.                                      

In addition to our own website, we also recommend the following website: http://www.business-words.com/dictionary/index.html . This website is a dictionary that lists other words that sound similar to each other.

Determine whether to use statue, stature, or statute in the following sentence.

1. Bob had a (statue, stature, statute) of a gnome in his garden.
2. Sally heard about the (statue, stature, statute) of limitations for different crimes.
3. Short (statue, stature, statute) can be recognized by medical professionals through analysis of growth data.

Answers:

1. Bob had a statue of a gnome in his garden.
2. Sally heard about the statute of limitations for different crimes.
3. Short stature can be recognized by medical professionals through analysis of growth data.

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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