Grammar 101: Principal and Principle

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Grammar 101: Principal and Principle

Previously:

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/feeling-youre-...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-it...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-yo...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-th...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-tw...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-lo...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-ad...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-i-...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar101-lie...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-yo...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-af...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-de...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-th...

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/phil1944/blog/grammar-101-th...

A Few Simple Rules Are All You Need

There's no doubt that, in its entirety, English grammar is complex, especially for someone learning English as a second language.But...If you're a native English speaker and just want to avoid common grammatical errors in your writing (such as blog posts on your website) there are only a handful of rules that you need to memorize.So this series of posts is for those who'd like to ditch the Grammarly crutch and just know what's right and what's not.

Principal and Principle

Principal and principle are homophones, which means that they sound alike but have different meanings. They are often confused. Here are the differences:

Principal


Originally, principal was always an adjective, referring to something or someone of importance.

For example:

She was the principal investigator in the murder case.

These new rules only apply to the state's principal cities.

However, over time the noun that the adjective referred to was often dropped, so that principal itsef became the noun.

The principal teacher is a good example. We usually just refer to that person as the school's principal.

And the principal amount of money that's lent has become simply the principal, so that what we repay is principal and interest.

But it always means the main or the most important thing.

Principle


A principle is a basic truth or a rule that governs the behavior of something. The "something" can be people, an object such as a machine or a concept such as mathematics.

It is always a noun, so if you ever find yourself using it as an adjective, you are using it incorrectly.

Here are some examples of correct use:

My father was a man of principle, whose word was his bond.

All internal combustion engines work on the same set of principles.

Those religious principles are very strict.

Spare a Thought

Unrelated to principal and principle, but spare a thought for those struggling with English as a second language.

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Recent Comments

41

Principally you nail it in your writing about principles!

I'm glad to see you added that bit about "Why English is Hard to Learn," as I had seen it on Facebook and of course thought of you.

Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny.

Love your poem, Phil :)

Yes, it's pretty funny.

Very creative too

Indeed. I rather liked "methren". Maybe some words there that SHOULD be in the language.

Lol
Maybe

Another GREAT one, Phil!

Well done!

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff.

You're welcome, Phil!

Phil,

Thanks for sharing your brilliance.
We have acres of diamonds in our own backyard.
We don't need to look elsewhere for opportunity, achievement or success. All the opportunity we could possibly want is right under our nose in the Wealthy Affiliate Community.

Your websites are really awesome.
Rachele



You're too kind, Rachele.

Phil,

You say the least,
You are very impressive.

All I can say is thank you.

You.re welcome

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