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If elephants could write, they'd use their trunks. The Trunk is a collection of articles with advice on language, learning and communicating better in English at work.

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Are you between or among patients?

In this example of a common confusion, it depends.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

What’s the difference between alternate and alternative?

A common confusion for everyone is when to use alternate vs alternative.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

Are you convincing or persuading?

To improve patient health outcomes, health professionals often need to convince and persuade.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

Family, staff, team – followed by ‘is’ or ‘are’?

A common confusion is whether to use ‘is’ or ‘are’ for groups of people.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare English

Shall I bring it or take it?

Another common confusion is when to use ‘bring’ and when to use ‘take’.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

Some chocolate? Any chocolate? What’s the difference?

It’s confusing because they can be the same and they can be different.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

Say or tell? Speak or talk? Which is it?

Deciding which verb is the right one can be confusing.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare English

How to use remember vs remind

Muddling up ‘remember’ and ‘remind’ is another common confusion.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

How to sharpen your professional English

How confident are you using skeleton words in English?

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

Pesky Points Part 2

How’s your revising going?

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

Pesky Points Part 1

Making time to revise is an important part of up-skilling.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

When is it ‘other’ and when is it ‘another’?

Mixing up these two and adding an S in the wrong place happens a lot.

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Category: Common English Confusions

Are you mixing up stopped doing vs stopped to do?

What’s the difference between “he stopped smoking” and “he stopped to smoke”?

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Category: Common English Confusions

No plus no equals yes

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but can two negatives make a positive?

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare English

Is the temperature rising or raising?

Another common confusion is the difference between the verbs rise and raise.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare English

Is it so funny or such funny? (And a simple trick to easily remember)

When you can’t recall the difference between common confusing pairs, your writing and speaking slow down.

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Category: Common English Confusions

Don’t forget to appreciate how far your writing in English has come

Sometimes writing in English can feel like one step forward and two steps back.

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Category: Common English Confusions

3 ways to give advice – politely

When someone has a problem or worry, how can you politely give the person some advice?

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

Is it efficient or effective? Just use TV

When you’re sick, all you want is an efficient way to get an effective cure.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare English

How to handle those pesky tiny words (Part 2)

Did you know there’s a rule in English that’s always true?

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

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