Hey, everyone—welcome to another English grammar lesson.
Today we’re going to be continuing our study of some commonly confused words.
As always, you know the drill: If you missed the first part of our series,
feel free to go check that out. And if you’re looking for some of those more mainstream ones,
like there/their/they’re, to/too/two, and your/you’re, we’ve got all those and more
covered individually on the channel as well. So, if there’s nothing else, let’s get into it.
So the first pair we’re going to be looking at today is “principal” and “principle.” So
the first word, “principal,” p-a-l, has two meanings. The first meaning of “principal”
is “the head of a school,” and if you ever hear this word, that’s probably how it’s being used.
“Mr. Smith is our principal.” “I don’t think our new principal likes me.”
“Some schools have multiple principals.” Pretty easy, right? Just the leader of a school. The
other use for that same word, “principal,” p-a-l, is “the main or most important thing, person,
et cetera.” And that should make sense because the principal is typically the main or most important
person in a school, right? So, anyway, how would we use “principal,” p-a-l, in that second way?
Well, how about this? “The principal member of the band is Randy,” meaning that Randy is the
main or most important member of the band. Or “Our principal concern is being treated fairly”—as in
that’s our main concern. Or “The principal concept on the test is commas.” It’s the main topic; it’s
the main thing that’s going to be covered, right? So, again, that second use of “principal,” p-a-l,
is just the main or most important person or thing. The other “principle,” principle
p-l-e, just means a value or a virtue or a rule. So, “Kindness is an important principle to me.”
Or “What are the main principles of Buddhism?” Or “I disagree with you on principle more than
anything.” So, in all these sentences, we’re talking about concepts or values or virtues.
It can be a bit abstract, but that’s the meaning of the word. Now, I want to show you
something pretty funny here—check this out: “The principal principle of our principal is respect.”
Okay, so the “principal,” meaning the main or most important, “principle,” meaning value or virtue,
of our “principal,” as in the head of our school, is respect. So, yeah, I just thought that was
pretty cool... But, again, “principal,” p-a-l, is a word with two meanings. It can be used to refer
to the head of a school, or it can be used to talk about the main or most important person or thing.
And the other “principle,” p-l-e, is simply a rule or a value or a virtue. It can be a bit abstract,
but the more you see it, the more comfortable you’ll get with it. All right, moving on…
“compliment” and “complement.” Okay, so this one is incredibly simple. “Compliment” with an
“i” just means “a nice comment”—something kind that has been said. “I gave him a compliment
on his shoes.” Or “I hate fake compliments.” Or “People always compliment Bob on his work ethic.”
Right? So it’s just a nice comment that has been made; that’s “compliment” with an “i.”
“Complement” with an “e” means that multiple things work or go well together. This could be
clothes, like “His tie complements his jacket.” Or it could be sports, like “Suzy really complements
our team.” Or maybe you’re talking about art, like “Those colors complement each other quite well.”
Right? So, in all of these sentences, things are working or going well together—whether it’s for
style, or success, or beauty, or whatever. So, one last time, “compliment” with an “i” is just
a nice comment, and “complement” with an “e” means that two or more things work or go well together.
And that brings us to our third and final pair of the lesson, and that is “a part” and “apart.”
So “a part,” two words, just means a single piece or unit of something. Like, “I want to be a part
of the team”—meaning that I want to be a piece of it, a member; I want to be on the team. Or
“A part of the fence broke off”—meaning that a piece or a chunk has broken off. Or “I don’t want
to be a part of their drama,” meaning that you don’t want to be sucked into it; you don’t want
to be involved. And “apart,” one word, means the opposite; “apart,” one word, refers to separation.
“Their marriage fell apart”—meaning it broke; there was a breakup, a divorce. Or “He stood apart
from the rest of the team”—separate from them, away from them, disconnected. Or “Ian and Becky
are hard to keep apart”—meaning that they are hard to separate, hard to keep away from each other.
So, again, these are opposites: “A part,” two words, just means a piece of something—whether
it be a structure, a team, whatever. And “apart,” one word, refers to separation or distance.
Cool! Well, whether you came here for a refresher or are just now learning this stuff for the first
time, I hope this video helped. Be sure to check out the free practice down in the description,
and—uh—we’ll see you next time. Thanks.