The Brief Glossary of Correct Usage (C-D)

By: Musaadah


CAPITAL, CAPITOL (n, adj)
Capital can means either a person’s wealth or the city which houses the government. Capitol refers to the specific building that is the center of the government.
Examples:
He invested a lot of his capital in the project.
The capitol building is near the downtown shopping area.

CLOTHES (n), CLOTHE (v), CLOSE (adj, prep, v)
Examples:
The man was wearing old, dirty clothes.
She lives close to the university.
The lawyer clothed his argument in pompous phraseology.
The store closes at midnight.

COMPLEMENT, COMPLIMENT (v, n)
A complement is something that completes something else. A compliment is a statement of approval or congratulation the related verbs have the same sense.
Examples:
A subject complement follows the verb “to be”
She got many compliments on her new ring.
The brown walls complement the generally dark effect of the room.
She complimented him on his cooking.

COSTUME, CUSTOM, CUSTOMS (n)
Costume refers to clothing; Custom refers to a traditional practice or habit; Customs means the agency for collecting duties imposed by a country on imports or exports.
Examples:
She wore a beautiful costume to the party.
You must pass through customs when you enter a country.

COUNCIL (n), COUNSEL (v, n)
A Council is an official group. Counsel means to give advice. The noun counsel means advice.
Examples:
The city council meets every week.
His doctor counseled him to stop smoking.
His counsel was useful to us.

DESERT (n, v) DESSERT (n)
Examples:
It is very hot and dry in the desert.
The camp was deserted
Her favorite dessert is chocolate ice cream.

DIFFER (v), (DIFFERENT (adj)
Both the words are followed by form and not them.
Examples:
My current teacher differs in method from my last one.
The ending of the book was different from what I expected.


Related Topic:
The Brief Glossary of Correct Usage (A-B)
Kinds of Verbs (Part 2)
Kinds of Adverb (Part 2)