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128 How to Write Effective Business English
Words that can confuse both native
English and non-native English writers
Some words repeatedly cause businesses confusion. Sometimes it’s
because different people within the same company set their com-
puter spellcheck to different varieties of English. Often homonyms
confuse. These are words that have the same sound but can have
different meanings and spellings.
Words or spellings that commonly confuse
Here are some commonly confused words, together with examples
of correct usage.
Receive and recieve
The correct version is ‘receive’. A useful rule in English spelling is
that after the letter ‘c’ the letter ‘e’ goes before ‘i’.
Stationary and stationery
‘Stationary’ means standing still: for example, ‘The careless driver
crashed into a stationary car.’
‘Stationery’ means writing and printing materials: for example,
‘I have ordered new business stationery for my office.’
Licence and license, practice and practise
In UK English, the nouns relating to these words end in ‘ce’. The
verbs end in ‘se’. For example:
Which doctor’s practice do you go to? (Practice = noun: the
doctor’s place of work.)
You should practise what you preach. (Practise = verb.)
In US English it’s completely different. ‘Practice’ (note the c) and
‘license’ (note the s) are always the spellings, no matter whether
they are nouns or verbs. For example:
