Binging or Bingeing: Which Spelling Is Correct?
Celeste Rowan
Have you ever typed binging and wondered whether you should write bingeing instead? Both spellings look reasonable, but choosing the right one can be confusing when you want your writing…
Grammar & Word Usage
Omelet or Omelette: Which Spelling Is Correct?
Marlowe Bennett
If you have ever stopped while writing omelet or omelette, wondering whether one spelling is wrong, you are not alone. Both forms appear in English, but they are not used…
Past Due or Passed Due: Which Phrase Is Correct When a Deadline Has Passed?
Nolan Everhart
If you are unsure whether to write “past due” or “passed due,” use past due when you mean that something is overdue. The phrase describes a payment, bill, invoice, assignment,…
Laying in Bed or Lying in Bed? Get the Grammar Right Without Second-Guessing
You know exactly what you want to say: you are in bed, resting, reading, scrolling on your phone, or trying to fall asleep. Then one small grammar question gets in…
Peak or Peek: One Means a High Point, but What Does the Other Mean?
Peak or peek? If you are unsure which spelling belongs in a sentence, the problem is easy to understand: both words sound the same, but they describe completely different ideas.…
Alumni or Alumnus: Choose the Correct Word for Graduation and University Events
If you are trying to decide between alumni or alumnus, the answer depends mainly on how many people you mean and, in traditional usage, whether you are referring to a…
Defence or Defense: Which Spelling Is Correct in American and British English?
You may have written defence and then wondered whether defense is the correct spelling. Or perhaps you saw both forms in different books, websites, or official documents and were unsure…
Smooth or Smoothe: Why One Spelling Works and the Other Doesn’t
You type “smooth or smoothe” into a sentence, stop for a second, and wonder whether that extra e belongs at the end. It is an easy mistake to make because…
XeF4 Polar or Nonpolar: Why Four Polar Bonds Can Form a Nonpolar Molecule
If you are looking for the answer to “XeF4 polar or nonpolar?”, XeF4 is nonpolar. The interesting part is why, because its individual Xe–F bonds are polar. When I break…
Dryer or Drier: One Means a Machine, but What Does the Other Mean?
Have you ever typed dryer or drier and then stopped because both spellings look right? The confusion is understandable because the words are pronounced the same or very similarly in…