Stationary or stationery. One means unmoving, the other means pencils and the like. Ready to pen — er, pin down which is which? Let’s get going.
Stationery refers to writing materials, while stationary means ‘not moving’.
The most frequent mistake people make is to describe writing materials – stationery – as stationary. It’s rare to see the mistake the opposite way around.
If you find it hard to remember the difference, try asking yourself the following question.
Q: What do you call the shop where you buy pens, correction fluid and envelopes?
A: A stationer.
Therefore, pens, correction fluid and envelopes take the same spelling: stationery.
Another way of remembering is:
stationery – e for envelope
stationary – a for at rest (or think of a stationary car)
From now on, may your stationery be stationary only when you specifically wish it to be.
Image credit: mohd kamarul hafiz / Shutterstock
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