English is a funny old thing. With so many words that sound the same, but are spelt differently, it’s easy to confuse your deserts and desserts. So here’s a handy little guide to help keep any confusion at bay – especially when writing in a hurry.

Compliment vs Complement
A cracking Chardonnay complements your food. But if it compliments the food (“what a lovely Dijon dressing you have on today”), you’re probably in a Disney film.

Bear vs Bare
Bear in mind, if you’re out in the bare Alaskan wilderness and a big, furry thing spelled ‘bear’ is coming at you with that gleam in its eye – it’s no good running, unless you’re bearing arms…

Dessert vs Desert
You just polished off a 72 hour, slow-cooked rib of beef – and are slightly vexed when the ‘desert menu’ (sic.) reads “Kalahari £7.95, Gobi £8, Mojave £8.95”. And if the Sahara’s the world’s largest dessert, where’s the giant cherry on top?

Palate vs Palette
It wouldn’t do much good to use your palette at a wine tasting – unless you brought an easel and a canvas too (good on you). We’d much rather use our palate to pick up on some big, bold flavours.

Effect vs Affect
Quite simply, effect = put into action/create an outcome, affect = act on/moves the mind. So you put a plan into effect, say something to that effect, or ‘his silence, in effect, confirmed the rumours’. As opposed to the weather, which affects your mood or the crops.

Practice vs Practise
“Let’s put our ideas into practice” said the noun. The verb scoffed and replied, “I’d rather practise juggling to be honest”.

Rain vs Rein vs Reign
During the reign of king Ferdinand, the rain in Spain stayed, erm, mainly in the plain. But reins help you hold your horses.

Stationery vs Stationary
How fitting these two are so similar… if only the stapler (stationery) would stay stationary on your desk and not disappear.