Hello everyone!

It’s time for another tricky word pair, and today’s subjects tend to throw a wrench in things by virtue of their identical pronunciations and nearly identical spellings. As is true with many similar tricky word pairs that sound the same and are spelled very similarly, some of which I’ve mentioned before (their/they’re/there, you’re/your, two/too/to, and so on), it’s very easy when you’re writing to think only of how a word sounds and then to accidentally write the same-sounding (but wrong) word without even noticing. That means that the real trick for mastering this word pair and others like it is simply paying close attention as you’re writing and then going back and double-checking yourself after you finish. So, with that being said, let’s return to today’s pair…

Coarse is an adjective meaning rough or rude, while course is a noun meaning path/route or series of classes. When you’re writing, you can remember which is the noun and which is the adjective by remembering that coarse has an a, like adjective, while course has an ou, like noun. But again, the most important part of getting this pair right is paying attention to spelling as well as pronunciation as you write, and then checking yourself at the end.

Until next time!