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Here is another pair of words that looks the same but each has its own meaning.

• bienniel – once every two years
• biannual – twice a year

If you want to say that your organisation conducts financial reports twice a year, then you’ll say: “…biannual financial report”

On the other hand, if you report only once every two years, then you say: “… bienniel financial report” – err, is there anything to hide? Why not report annually?

Example:

“We can’t afford to have a biannual event, so let’s just have a bienniel one.”

My previous post on voluntary donation reminds me of another quite similar incident. Often I get mails to invite staff members to attend some kind of function. The catch is, the e-mails sometimes end with this phrase: “Attendance is compulsory.”

Look, first and foremost, it is an invitation, which means no one is obligated to attend if they don’t want to. Therefore, why the compulsion? If it is mandatory for every one to attend a function, just leave out the word “invite“.

Would you want to go to a wedding if the card reads:

“You’re cordially invited to attend a wedding reception…. Your attendance is compulsory.”

I was walking along the street on Wesak Day, and I found this message: “Donations are voluntary” written on a box (pic.), and that started me to think – are donations not meant to be “voluntary” i.e. given from the bottom of our hearts? 

I mean, since when has donation become compulsory? Perhaps we are confused with the word “tithe“. To Muslims, they have to pay tithes – a sum of money paid to help those in need. Even some Christian sects require their congregation to give a small sum of their annual income as tax to the church, and this amount will be used for charity or to fund certain religious events.

Therefore:

• tithe is compulsory, and is given on a regular basis
• donation is not compulsory, and any amount is acceptable

What if you see this: “Please donate a minimum amount of $5.” – I believe you haveÂ

I was reading an online newspaper this morning when I came across an error which could easily pass as a non-error:

• And off course i follow one of the guys who created this micro blogging Jack Dorsey.

In the sentence above, the phrase “off course” is wrong.

• of course – without any doubt, certainly
• off course – away from the intended direction

Examples:

1. “Of course (certainly) you can go out and play,” mom told us.
2. The concert begins at eight but you can’t enter without a ticket, of course.
3. Due to the stormy weather, the plane went off course and crashed into the ocean.
4. He was a young, bright student, but he went off course and joined a triad later in his early twenties.

Businessmen succeed because they’re persistent, and of course, once they become greedy, they will probably go off course and get themselves into trouble.

The word “oxymoron” has nothing to do with stupid people that use Oxy-5 to get rid of their acne. No offense intended. Oxymoron is a figure of speech, and which could be an inadvertent error, too.

Look at this sentence:

1. To apply for this job, you need the original copy of your exam transcripts.
2. You don’t have to bring the unnecessary essentials to the workshop.

Can you spot the error?

Correction:

1. To apply for this job, you need the original exam transcripts. (√)
   To apply for this job, you need a copy of your exam transcripts. (√)
2. You don’t have to bring the unnecessary to the workshop. (√)

Therefore, oxymorons are contradictory words or terms. How could a copy of a document be original, for instance?

If you’d like to know more about oxymorons, click here.

NOTE:
Oxymorons are allowed in literary works. So, it’s perfectly alright to say:

• sweet sorrows
• deafening silence

p/s:  Thanks to a blogger for pointing out some issues in the first version.