ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediatenoun / verbnoun / verb
TacksvsTax
'Tacks' are short sharp nails or drawing pins (plural); 'tax' is a compulsory payment to government or to make heavy demands.
Side-by-side comparison
Tacks
noun / verb"Tacks" are short sharp nails with flat wide heads used to pin things to a surface. Also the verb "tack": to fix with tacks, to sail at an angle into the wind, or to try a different approach.
She used tacks to pin the map to the wooden board without damaging the surface.
The yacht tacks across the wind to make progress toward its destination.
Let us try a different tack, the current approach clearly is not working.
Tax
noun / verb"Tax" is a compulsory payment to the government on income, purchases, or property. "Income tax" = a tax on earnings. As a verb: to levy taxes on, or to make heavy demands on someone's patience.
The income tax rate for the highest earners was increased in last month's budget.
Running the project simultaneously with two others has taxed the team significantly.
Value-added tax is included in the displayed price in most European countries.
Common mistake
- •"She used tax to pin the notice" when meaning the small nails is wrong (correct: tacks).
- •And "The city collects many tacks from businesses" when meaning levies is wrong (correct: taxes).
- •They are perfect homophones: they sound exactly the same.
Trick to remember it
- •"Tacks" has CK like "stick" and "track", objects you stab into surfaces or follow a track.
- •"Tax" has X like "extra money extracted", the X marks what the government takes.
Quick rule
Are they the small nails or the sailing/direction verb? "Tacks." Is it the government levy? "Tax."
Did you know?
The expression "try a different tack" comes from sailing: when the wind is against you, ships zigzag by tacking (changing direction) to make progress. The verb "tack" passed into business and strategy in the 19th century to describe a change of approach. Britain's most hated historical tax was the Window Tax (1696-1851): homeowners were taxed per window, leading many to brick theirs up to pay less. This is why many old English buildings have filled-in or painted-on fake windows, physical traces of that old tax. Tacks and tax are perfect homophones, meaning the difference between them is entirely invisible in speech.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She attached the poster to the wall using some drawing _____.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Everyone hates paying _____ , but it pays for schools and hospitals.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
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Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy