Still more words that are easy to confuse.

Your/ You’re

You’re is a shorter way of writing the words you are. As contractions are considered informal, they should never be used in an academic paper or thesis. That means that most Thai writers of English need never use the contraction you’re. In a letter or message to a friend, it is fine to use contractions, but even there, they are not necessary. So if you must decide whether to use your or you’re in academic writing, it is most probable that you really need your and not you’re.

Bangkok Bank will never ask for your password or PIN number.

If your original booking has been made directly through the Bangkok Airways website, you can view your itinerary and/or make any necessary changes online.

Several pet shops in Phuket provide baths, grooming, spa and salon services for your pets.

If you’re planning to shop in Thailand, Chiang Mai is the place to bring an empty suitcase.

Ten of the most amazing things to do, see, and experience when you’re in Bangkok.

Eleven simple ways to tell if you’re really Thai.

Your refers to something that belongs to you. When you’re is used in an informal sentence, it can always be replaced easily by the words you are. This is an easy way to test what form is needed, for example deciding which of these two sentences are correct:

Bangkok Bank will never ask for your password or PIN number.

Bangkok Bank will never ask for you’re password or PIN number.

If we substitute you are for you’re, we easily see that this sentence is wrong:

Bangkok Bank will never ask for you are password or PIN number.

So in this case, we choose to use your instead of you’re.

Dependent/ dependant.

As with all of your academic or thesis writing, you must choose whether to write in British or American English. In the Kingdom, British English is often preferred, perhaps because Hong Kong, a former British colony, and Australia are relatively nearby. Still, Thailand was never a British colony, and there is nothing forcing you to use British English if you really prefer American English. Especially if you plan to pursue higher studies in an American graduate school or work as an intern in a U. S. company, it makes sense to become familiar as early as possible with American English. There is also the point that there are more people in the world who use American English, rather than British English, so to communicate more easily with the majority, you may decide to prefer American English. Whatever your choice is, be sure to stick to it. One thing editors state in all style guidelines is that writers must not mix up British and American English in the same academic paper. If this happens, you will be asked to rewrite your paper so that it uses only one form of English. For this reason, it is worth spending a moment to work out the complex case of dependent/dependant.

In British English, these two words mean different things. Dependant is a noun, meaning someone who depends on someone else. Usually it will be mentioned in terms of children being supported by their parents:

Anurak declared his wife and three children as dependants on his income tax return.

What kind of visa should a dependant of a Thai work permit holder have?

Spouses or children under a dependant status may not work.

Also in British English, dependent is an adjective, meaning something that depends or relies or counts on someone else:

Thailand is too dependent on Chinese tourists.

ASEAN countries should be negatively affected as their economies are heavily dependent on oil revenues.

The Thai economy is export-dependent with exports accounting for about 61 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014.

In American English, the usage is quite different. For Americans, the spelling dependant does not exist, and both noun and adjective are spelled dependent. Interestingly, although Thai ministries often favour British over American usage, in the case of the word dependent, the American spelling is used online, for whatever reason:

Dependent of spouse or parent working in Thailand.

Dependent of spouse or parent possessing Thai nationality.

As you only need to remember one spelling, it is naturally easier, but this depends on whether you have chosen British or American English as your means of expression.

Council/ Counsel

Council is a noun meaning a group of people who get together to make decisions about something.

Episode one of the television series saw the first-ever double tribal council to occur in the history of Koh-Lanta.

Attention Koh Samui Municipal Council: this beautiful island is being destroyed by the amount of rubbish/garbage accumulating all around the island.

The Pattaya City Council has budgeted 17 million baht for a full slate of tourism-driving events for 2014.

Most of the time, counsel is used as a verb meaning to offer formal advice or as a noun meaning the advice that is given. Someone who offers counsel is a counsellor. Counsel means that the subject is serious, so you would not counsel someone to try a different flavour of ice cream at Swensen’s. In that case, the verbs advise or suggest would be more appropriate.

Experience in counseling college students reveals a large proportion of students who were inadequately counseled in high school.

How to counsel your patients on quitting smoking.

The Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital counsels new students about various facilities available to them.

If you are writing about legal matters, you may also use counsel as a noun. In this context, it can mean the serious advice being offered, or it may refer to the adviser:

As a corporate and privacy counsel of the company located in Bangkok, you will work in a small dedicated legal team.

In Thailand, our firm is general counsel to several branches of foreign banks.

The employee acted as the bond issuer’s legal counsel on the issuance of Baht 7bn senior unsecured bonds issued by Don Muang Tollway PCL.

As with the verb counsel, as a noun counsel is not used about light-hearted things such as whether a new hairstyle is attractive. It is highly serious advice.

Stationary/Stationery

Stationary, which may be an adjective or adverb, refers to something that is not moving:

Until you’ve spent any time in Bangkok, though, it’s difficult to imagine how bad traffic really is. Stationary cars stretch for miles.

In the traffic accident, a motorcycle came out of nowhere and rammed into the stationary taxi.

A hit and run with a stationary boat anchored.

If the Sharks are used to seeing scuba divers they will usually remain stationary as divers approach, affording a unique dive experience.

The insects remain stationary in a cocoon (oval shaped) most of the time, yet if you make a vibration on the wall, a caterpillar-like head pops out.

The word stationery means personalized writing paper, such as letters which have printed on them the name and address of your faculty. Stationery can be used as a noun or adjective.

SGS Thailand offers a full range of stationery and office supply services.

With our leaders’ foresight, we went on to become one of Thailand’s biggest manufacturers of stationery and office products for domestic and international use.

A stationery cabinet or stationery cupboard is a large steel cabinet with shelves inside.

(all images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)