Versus

“Quote” vs. “Quotation”

Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns, Versus

I have been wondering about these two nouns for awhile.

Problem:
One of these nouns is less appropriate in more formal situations.

Explanation:
According to Dictionary.com, the noun “quote” has been accepted — at least informally — as a truncation of the noun “quotation” for more than a century.

However, most consider “quote” to be less formal than “quotation” and not appropriate in all situations.

For example, while many consider “quotes from the Three Stooges” to be acceptable, fewer consider “quotes from the Bible” to be acceptable.

I doubt that the phrase “price quote” will disappear from American English.

It’s valuable, though, to know that “quote” is a truncation of “quotation” and therefore is less formal.

Although using “quote” as a truncation of “quotation” does not lead to ambiguity (in contrast to “install” — a truncation of either “installer” or “installation”), I believe that this use is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It’s simpler to say the one-syllable word than it is to say the three-syllable word.

Solution:
Use “quote” in informal situations; use “quotation” otherwise.

“Loose” vs. “Lose”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Verbs, Versus

Many people write “loose” when they mean “lose” instead.

Problem:
The verb “lose” does not look like it would be pronounced with the oo sound, so many people mistakenly choose the “oo” word (“loose”) instead.

Explanation:
As I’ve written in an earlier post, it’s true that “loose” can be used as a verb as well as an adjective.

However, when used as a verb, “loose” does not mean “stops having”; this definition belongs to the verb “lose” instead.

If you look up the origins of these two words, you see that:

  • “lose” — pronounced [looz] — is derived from Old English losian;
  • “loose” — pronounced [loos] — is derived from Middle English los, loos.

Knowing the origins of these two words does not help me to remember the correct spelling. In fact, I don’t know how I keep them straight (no mnemonic comes to mind), but I do.

Solution:
Simply memorize that the verb “lose” is spelled with one ‘o’.

“Capable” vs. “Able”

Adjectives, Versus

I have wondered on occasion about the distinction between these two words.

Problem:
These two adjectives are not quite synonyms.

Explanation:
The primary definitions of the adjectives “capable” and “able” speak to the same concept: having adequate power to do something.

The primary definition of “able” is having the necessary power: “The truck is able to pull a two-ton load.”

The primary definition of “capable” is having power; competent: “She was a capable museum lecturer.”

Here is the distinction between these two adjectives:

  • “able” refers to having power equal to the effort required;
  • “capable” refers to having power to meet ordinary requirements.

Solution:
Favor using “capable” when referring specifically to ordinary requirements; otherwise, use “able” instead.