Week 11
· Peace / Piece- Peace means “tranquility or freedom from war.” Piece is a part or fragment.
o Someone once observed that peace is not a condition, but a process- a process of building goodwill one piece at a time.
· Personal / Personnel- Personal means “private.” Personnel are people working at a particular job.
o The personnel did not like it when the manager pried into their personal lives.
· Plain / Plane- Plain means “an area of land that is flat or level”; it also means “clearly seen or clearly understood.”
o My instructor told me to check the map after I said it was not plain to me why the early settlers had trouble crossing the Rockies on their way to the Great Plains.
Plane means “flat, level and even”; it is also a tool used to smooth the surface of wood, or a vehicle for flying.
o I used a plane to make a plane on the rough board to cut out a tail for the model plane he was building.
· Pore/ pour/ poor / pore – A pore is an opening in the skin. Pour means “a constant flow or stream.” Poor means “needy or pitiable.” To pore over something is to read or gaze at something attentively.
o Tough exams on late spring days make my poor pores pour.
o She was poring over her notes just minutes before the exam.
· Principal/ Principle - As an adjective principal means “primary.” As a noun, it can mean “ a school administrator” or “ a sum of money.” Principle means “idea or doctrine.”
o His principal gripe is lack of freedom. (adjective)
o The principal expressed his concern about the number of students late to class on a daily basis. (noun)
o After 20 years, the amount of interest was higher than the principal. (noun)
o The principle of caveat emptor is “Let the buyer beware.”