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'Sail' is the fabric that catches wind on a boat, or to travel by boat; 'sale' is the act of selling.
Side-by-side comparison
"Sail" is the canvas panel that catches wind to propel a boat, or the verb to travel by boat. "Set sail" = to depart on a voyage. "Sail around the world" = circumnavigate by boat.
The sailboat raised its main sail as it left the harbour.
They plan to sail around the Mediterranean this summer.
The crossing will sail smoothly if the wind cooperates.
"Sale" is the act of selling or a period of reduced prices. "On sale" = available at a discount or available for purchase. "For sale" = available to buy. Never used for sailing.
The year-end sale offers up to sixty percent off all products.
The house went up for sale last week.
Total sales increased by twelve percent this quarter.
Common mistake
- •"Everything is on sail" when meaning a discount event is wrong (correct: on sale).
- •And "The boat's sale was torn" when meaning the canvas is wrong (correct: sail).
Trick to remember it
- •"Sail" has AI like "air", the air fills the sail.
- •"Sale" ends in ALE, imagine celebrating a great deal with an ale at the old store.
Quick rule
Is it the boat's cloth or the act of sailing? "Sail." Is it a commercial transaction or discount event? "Sale."
Did you know?
The term "Black Friday" for massive November shopping discounts only became widespread in the US in the 1980s. Before that, "Black Friday" was a negative Wall Street term describing financial crashes. The "black" in the modern sense refers to retailers moving from "in the red" (losses) to "in the black" (profits) thanks to the volume of sales. And the word SALE has Old Norse roots: it comes from Old Norse "sala" (sale), which also gave rise to the German "Saal" (large hall) because important commercial transactions took place in large halls.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Everything in the shop is 50% off. There's a huge _____ on this weekend.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The yacht's _____ was torn in the storm. They had to use the engine instead.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy