## Stationery/stationary 

1. A stationer ( noun ) sells writing paper so stationery ( noun ) is writing paper and envelopes. 

I ran out of stationery ( noun ) so I had to buy some. 

2. Stationary ( adjective ) means fixed in one place. 

The train was stationary ( adjective ) at the platform. 

## Looking at common mistakes 

A mistake that is frequently heard is the following: 

This is wrong. It should be: 

## Checking apostrophes and abbreviations 

He is very different to his brother. 

He is very different from his brother. 

If you differ , you move away from . If you are similar , you are similar to . 

◆ Do not put an apostrophe every time there is a plural word ending in ‘s’. 

◆ The abbreviation of ‘could have’ is ‘could’ve’ not ‘could of’. 

◆ Do not put a full stop after a contraction: 

Doctor – Dr Mister – Mr 

