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Stationary vs. Stationery and other commonly misused words
There's nothing wrong with a little grammar goof here or there. But if all your notes are full of mistakes, it makes you sound less professional. That's why we've rounded up this handy list. Use it as a cheat sheet the next time you need to write a thank-you note, a letter or just about anything else:
Stationary vs. Stationery
Stationary means unmoving.
"The car was stationary", i.e., it was parked.
Stationery is paper you use for correspondence.
"My son's stationery has cars on it."
Accept vs. Except
Accept means you take something.
"I am happy to accept your gift."
Except means you exclude something.
"I love everything about this gift except the color."
Than vs. Then
Than is used when you're comparing things.
"I like my tea to be sweeter than yours."
Then means "at that time" or "next."
"I sent a letter, then realized I had forgotten to hit spell check."
There vs. Their vs. They're
There is a location.
"The cake is over there."
Their means belonging to more than one person.
"Their cake is almost gone."
They're means "they are."
"They're standing by the empty cake platter."
Your vs. You're
Your means something that belongs to you.
"Your cake is gone."
You're means "you are."
"You're going to have to go buy another cake."
Breath vs. Breathe
If you're looking for the word that rhymes with Beth, skip the extra E at the end.
If you're talking about the action of taking in air, which rhymes with seethe, you say breathe.
A lot Alot
Alot is not a word, and allot means to distribute.
If you're trying to say there is an abundance of something, don't forget the space.
Weird Wierd
"I before E, except after C"… or W, or in other obscure instances.
(Foreign and height are some other exceptions to the usual rhyme.)
Mischievous Mischievious
This is a three-syllable word that many people add a fourth syllable to.
Calendar Calender
Even though most people say "cal-en-der," the word actually ends with "dar."
Regardless Irregardless
Irregardless is actually not a word.
What you are probably trying to say is "Regardless" which means "without care."
"I could care less"
If you "could care less," that means you actually do care.
What you're probably trying to say is, "I couldn't care less," meaning you already care so little it would be impossible to care any less.
