SENTENCE SURGERY

🩺 Sentence Surgery
Where broken sentences get fixed.
Grammar • Vocabulary • Writing Clearer English starts here.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

"Cost" and "price" answer different questions.
Price is what the seller asks. Cost is what the buyer pays or what it takes to produce something.
Language guide:
The same amount can be a price to one person and a cost to another.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

"Convince" and "persuade" often lead to the same outcome, but they don't get there the same way.
To convince someone is to change what they believe. To persuade someone is to influence what they do.
Language guide:
Beliefs are convinced. Actions are persuaded.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

"Tall" and "high" both describe height—but not the same kind of height.
People and trees are tall. Mountains and ceilings are high.
Language guide:
Ask whether you're describing an object's height or its position.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

Being "curious" is different from being "nosy."
A curious person wants to learn. A nosy person wants information that isn't their business.
Language guide:
Curiosity seeks knowledge. Nosiness invades privacy.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

These words are separated by certainty.
To "guess" is to answer without enough information. To "estimate" is to make an informed judgment using available information.
Language guide:
An estimate has a basis. A guess may not.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

To "remember" the past isn't the same as to "recall" it.
Both involve memory, but recall often suggests making a deliberate effort to remember something.
Language guide:
Remembering can be automatic. Recalling usually takes effort.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

Being "silent" isn't the same as being "quiet."
Silent means making no sound. Quiet means making very little sound.
Language guide:
Silence is absolute. Quiet is relative.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

Not every argument is a quarrel. English makes a clear distinction.
To "argue" is to present reasons for or against an idea. To "quarrel" is to engage in an angry disagreement.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

These words measure success in different ways.
"Efficient" means doing something with minimal waste. "Effective" means producing the desired result.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

Two similar words. Two completely different schedules.
Biannual means twice a year. Biennial means once every two years.
Language guide:
Don't let similar spelling fool you.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

One missing letter changes the conversation completely.
A discreet person is careful and tactful. Discrete things are separate and distinct.
Language guide:
People are discreet. Things are discrete.
#EnglishLearning

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

One of these words belongs on a stage. The other belongs on a calendar.
Someone "eminent" is famous and respected. Something "imminent" is about to happen.
Language guide:
People are eminent. Events are imminent.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

"Borrow" and "lend" are often confused because they describe the same situation from different perspectives.
You borrow something from someone. You lend something to someone.
Language guide:
The borrower receives. The lender gives.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

"Imply" and "infer" describe opposite sides of the same conversation.
A speaker implies. A listener infers.
Grammar guide:
One person sends the message; the other interprets it.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

"Despite of" looks harmless, but it breaks a basic grammar rule.
"Despite" already functions as a preposition, making "of" unnecessary.
Grammar tip:
Prepositions are part of grammar, not decoration. Add them only when the expression requires them.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

"One of the best student" may sound correct, but the noun after "one of the" should always be plural.
The correct expression is "one of the best students."
Grammar tip:
The phrase "one of the" refers to one person or thing from a group, so the noun that follows must be plural.

[SENTENCE SURGERY @RuthOjonumi]

Most people think "flammable" and "inflammable" mean opposite things.
They don't.
Both mean capable of catching fire.
The prefix in- does not always mean "not."
English is full of traps like this.