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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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Should your patient lay or lie?

With their similar sounds and meanings, ‘lay’ and ‘lie’ are easy to confuse.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

Don’t be afraid of ‘me’ (Part 2)

‘Myself’ isn’t a substitute for ‘me’.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

Don’t be afraid of ‘me’ (Part 1)

Sometimes you have to proceed with caution when copying native speakers.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

3 quick fixes

I hear and read these slips of the tongue all the time.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

How do you say the CH in headache?

We all know that a common confusion in English concerns pronunciation.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

Is that a hard or a soft C?

In the current confusing chaos, we need courage and creativity.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsEnglish Learning Tips

Can you assure me that you’ve ensured to insure your hands?

She’s a gifted surgeon whose skills are in high demand.

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

A complement or a compliment?

Another common confusion is between these two words which sound the same but confusing one letter changes the meaning

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Category: Common English ConfusionsHealthcare EnglishEnglish Learning Tips

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

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