Prompt Proofing Blog Post: A Matter of Principle...

VANCOUVER, BC, August 03, 2012 (Press-News.org) This month we examine yet another homonym. However, this one has so many meanings and subtle divisions of meanings, and is so frequently confused, that it deserves an entire post all to itself!

Principle/principal

Principle:

We will deal with principle first as it is - at first look, anyway - the most straightforward.

The most common meaning of principle is a law or rule: particularly a moral or ethical rule, a fundamental cultural value, a legal rule or a scientific rule. The word principle is a noun and is never used in any other way, which might help avoid some confusion (if you are searching for an adjective then you almost certainly need principal).

For example:

- It is a matter of principle.
- He is a man of principle.
- In principle, we would recognize that right.
- The bank's investment strategy is based on the principle that long-term investments should be diversified.
- In order to solve that, you would need to understand the basic principles of physics.

Less commonly (outside of the scientific community), principle is a chemical exhibiting or imparting a characteristic quality.

Principal:

Principal has four main meanings - the first three are nouns.

1. Educational: the principal is the head teacher of a school.

(He was spending a lot of time in the principal's office.)

2. Theatrical: the principals are the major players/cast members.

(Only the principals are required for tonight's rehearsal.)

3. Financial: in mortgages or loans, the principal is the original amount of the debt before interest is added. Principal can also be used to denote the main parties in a financial transaction.

(In a capital repayment mortgage, the monthly payment is split between principal and interest.
He is the principal in this transaction.)

4. Adjectival: used to describe the first or most important element.

(The principal reason for doing that is to protect animals.
The infantry will be the principal target in any ground attack.)

Check back next month for more grammar tips from Prompt Proofing.

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