![]() JUNE CASAGRANDE is the author of “The Joy of Syntax: A Simple Guide to All the Grammar You Know You Should Know.Is there a difference between adviser and advisor? It just goes to show you why this whole business of multiple correct spellings is a serious annoyance for editors. The idea of forming an adverb from the verb “predominate” seems bizarre. And if you use the two-word form in front of a noun and you think a hyphen makes it clearer, that’s acceptable: “health-care policy.”įor my money, the most interesting both-are-correct pair is probably “predominantly” and “predominately.” It seems a no-brainer to me that “predominately” would be a botched attempt to write “predominantly.” After all, -ly adverbs are often formed based on adjectives: nice, nicely quick, quickly clever, cleverly. Others include “amuck” and “amok,” “ambience” and “ambiance,” “tureen” and “terrine,” “breeches” and “britches,” “brooch” and “broach” (yes, “broach” is really a correct option for a lapel pin) and, of course, the famously confounding choice of “health care” and “healthcare.”įor the record, AP Style has long preferred “health care.” That’s in defiance of their own preferred dictionary, which likes “healthcare.” But it’s in sync with Merriam’s, which prefers “health care.” Use whichever you want. Of course, “adviser” and “advisor” are just one pair of correct spellings that editors must either commit to memory or look up in a style guide or dictionary. But plenty are, meaning this is a standard way of indicating how to write certain nouns. Not all noun forms derived from verbs are listed this way. It’s the same treatment they give “thinker,” “dancer” and “squealer.” They’re listed under “think,” “dance” and “squeal,” respectively. There is no separate listing for “advisor.” Instead, the noun is listed under the main verb that forms its root: advise. Look up advisor, and you get further evidence Merriam’s prefers the “or” spelling. That suggests they consider the “er” spelling a nonstandard alternative to the standard “advisor.” The dictionary has a listing for “adviser.” The definition: a “variant spelling” of advisor. They leave it up to their default dictionary, Merriam-Webster, which as we’ve seen has no express opinion on the subject.īut if you’ve spent enough time with your nose in dictionaries, you can tell that Merriam’s does appear to have a preference. The Chicago Manual of Style, followed by a lot of book and magazine editors, doesn’t express an opinion. Interestingly, in Associated Press Style, the correct spelling is “adviser.” Why? That’s not clear, but it’s probably because AP’s default dictionary, Webster’s New World, has long preferred “adviser.” And because AP influences a lot of newswriting, you may have noticed the “er” spelling in newspapers. So we have to pick not just a correct spelling but the one that’s been preselected by whatever style we’re following. And, although most people faced with a choice between “adviser” and “advisor” can’t go wrong, editors can. Alternative correct spellings, on the other hand, are a never-ending pain in the neck. People guess that the biggest thorn in an editor’s side is bad grammar. When referring to someone who is serving in a military role, especially when using the term as a euphemism (as when claiming that troops are actually military advisers), then ‘adviser’ is somewhat more common.” “Some people feel that ‘advisor’ is more formal, and it tends to be found more often when applied to official positions, such as an advisor to a president. “‘Adviser’ and ‘advisor’ are both correct,” advises Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. No way would half the professional publishing world spell a word wrong every time they use it. If so, you’ve noticed that it happens a lot - so much that you’ve probably figured out that neither spelling is a mistake. Have you ever noticed that some publications write “advisor” while others write “adviser”?
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