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'Son' is a male child; 'sun' is the star at the centre of our solar system.
Side-by-side comparison
"Son" is a person's male child. "My son" = my male child. "Son-in-law" = the husband of one's child. Pronounced the same as "sun".
Their eldest son just graduated from university.
She named her son after his grandfather.
My son starts primary school next September.
"Sun" is the star at the centre of our solar system. "Sunshine" = sunlight. "Sunburn" = skin damage from the sun. "Sunrise" = the moment the sun appears. Pronounced the same as "son".
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
Don't look directly at the sun during the eclipse.
After three days of rain, the sun finally came out.
Common mistake
- •"My sun is five years old" when meaning your child is wrong (correct: son).
- •And "The son was very bright today" when meaning the weather is wrong (correct: sun).
Trick to remember it
- •"Son" has O like "boy", a son is a boy.
- •"Sun" has U like "up", the sun is up in the sky.
Quick rule
Is it a male child? "Son." Is it the star in the sky? "Sun" (with U for "up").
Did you know?
German preserves this original pattern: "die Sonne" (the sun, feminine) and "der Mond" (the moon, masculine). Modern English lost grammatical gender, but the root "sun" retains its kinship with German "Sonne" and Latin "sol."
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Their _____ has just started university. They're very proud of him.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The _____ was so hot that they had to find a shady spot for the picnic.
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