Pricey is the more common and preferred spelling when something costs a lot of money. Pricy is also accepted by some dictionaries, but it is much less common and may look unusual to many readers. In most modern writing, especially for websites, school, business, reviews, and everyday use, pricey is the better choice. Quick Answer…
Verbiage is the correct spelling. Verbage is a common misspelling and should usually be avoided. Use verbiage when you mean wording, language, phrasing, or too many unnecessary words. In everyday writing, though, simpler words like wording or language are often clearer. Quick Answer Use verbiage, not verbage. Correct: The contract contains confusing verbiage. Correct: Please…
Roofs is the standard plural of roof. Rooves is an older or less common variant, but it is not the preferred spelling in modern English. In most writing, especially for school, work, articles, real estate, construction, or everyday use, you should write roofs. Quick Answer Use roofs as the normal plural form of roof. The…
Calves is the correct plural form of calf. Use calves when you mean more than one young cow, more than one young animal such as an elephant or whale, or the backs of both lower legs. Calfs is not the standard plural spelling in everyday English. The easiest rule is simple: one calf, two calves….
Potatoes is the correct plural spelling of potato. Potatos is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English. The confusion happens because many nouns form the plural by simply adding -s, but some nouns ending in -o add -es. The easiest rule is simple: one potato, two potatoes. Quick Answer Use potatoes…
Ma’am is the correct spelling when you are politely addressing a woman. It is a shortened form of madam, and the apostrophe shows that letters have been left out. Mam can be a real word in some regions where it means mother, but it is not the standard spelling for polite address. The easiest rule…
Yours is the correct spelling. Your’s is incorrect and should not be used in standard English. The word yours already shows possession, so it does not need an apostrophe. Use yours when something belongs to or is connected with the person you are speaking to. The easiest rule is simple: write yours, never your’s. Quick…
Y’all is the correct spelling of the informal contraction for you all. Ya’ll is a common misspelling because the apostrophe is placed in the wrong spot. The apostrophe in y’all replaces the missing letters from you, so it belongs after the y, not after the a. The easiest rule is simple: write y’all, not ya’ll….
Spicy is the correct spelling when you mean something has a strong flavor, heat, seasoning, excitement, or boldness. Spicey is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English. The confusion happens because the noun spice ends in e, but that e is dropped when adding -y. The easiest rule is simple: write…
Ninety is the correct spelling of the number 90. Ninty is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English. The confusion usually happens because nine has an e, and people are unsure where that e belongs when spelling ninety. The easiest rule is simple: the number 90 is always spelled ninety, not…