ESEN
Which one to use?Beginnernoun / verbadjective / noun
MailvsMale
'Mail' is the postal delivery or email; 'male' refers to the masculine sex.
Side-by-side comparison
Mail
noun / verb"Mail" is the post: letters, parcels, or emails you send or receive. Also the verb to send something by post. "Send it by mail" = post it or email it.
There is a pile of mail on your desk, mostly invoices.
Please mail the signed contract to our head office.
I'll send the invoice by email as an attachment.
Male
adjective / noun"Male" describes the masculine sex in people, animals, or plants. As a noun, a male individual. "Male and female" = masculine and feminine, or male and female.
The study surveyed 200 male and 200 female participants.
A male lion is called a lion; a female is called a lioness.
The clinic serves both male and female patients.
Common mistake
"Check your male" when meaning email is wrong: postal or electronic messages are "mail". The masculine sex is "male".
Trick to remember it
- •"Mail" ends in AI like "air mail".
- •"Male" ends in ALE, think: mALE contains "ALE", a classic masculine association.
Quick rule
- •Is it about postal delivery or electronic messages? "Mail".
- •Is it about the masculine sex? "Male".
Did you know?
Email (electronic mail) was invented in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, an engineer at BBN Technologies in Boston. Tomlinson was also the one who chose the @ symbol to separate the username from the server name, a decision that would forever change global communication. The first email address in history was "tomlinson@bbn-tenexa." The first message he sent to himself is uncertain, he said he did not remember it, probably something like "QWERTYUIOP" to test that it worked. In 2012, Tomlinson was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame for this invention.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The postman delivered the _____ at about 9am every day.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The survey asks whether you are _____ or female.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
AcceptvsExcept
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
AdvicevsAdvise
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
AffectvsEffect
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
AislevsIsle
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy