{"id":1794,"date":"2015-05-16T17:59:39","date_gmt":"2015-05-16T21:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/?p=1794"},"modified":"2018-05-09T14:47:46","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T18:47:46","slug":"amend-vs-emend-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference","title":{"rendered":"Amend vs. Emend: What\u2019s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"bccef0f480416e3e00e77029789ea906\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: right; margin:10px 0 10px 10px;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Beginning of Post Default -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6482188744286371\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7571860708\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p>Every once in a while writers come across a set of words that are <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/confusing-words\">so similar<\/a> to each other that they aren\u2019t sure what the difference is. Either that or they use the words so infrequently that they forgot (or never knew to begin with) the difference between them.<\/p>\n<p>Such is the case with amend vs. emend. One of these two words we use quite frequently; the other word is one some writers aren\u2019t aware exists.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the Difference Between Amend and Emend?<\/h2>\n<p>Today, I want to talk about the definitions of these two words, their histories, how to use them in a sentence, and what sets them <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/apart-vs-a-part-difference\">apart from<\/a> each other.<\/p>\n<p>After reading this post you shouldn\u2019t have any difficulty choosing amend or emend in your next written work.<\/p>\n<h2>When to Use Amend<\/h2>\n<p><em><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1795\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Amend.png\" alt=\"what is the definition of amend\" width=\"342\" height=\"99\" \/>Amend <\/em>(pronounced uh-mend), which is the older of the two English words, is a <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/grammar-dictionary\/verb\">verb<\/a>, meaning <em>to change for the better or add to; to alter the working to make more suitable, accurate, acceptable, up-to-date, etc<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have you amended your will to reflect these changes?<\/li>\n<li>I will amend the contracts once I get back to the office.<\/li>\n<li>Congress amended the bill before it became law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To<em> amend<\/em> something is to try to make it better by changing the way it currently is. The most common use of it is in government where politicians will amend laws. They do this oftentimes by proposing amendments. <em>Amendment <\/em>is the noun form of the verb <em>amend<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Amend<\/em> is also commonly used in contexts of personal behavior.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you can amend his mindset, he will become successful.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As I said above, <em>amend<\/em> is the older of the two words, making its way into English in the 13th century from the French word <em>amender<\/em>. The French spelling had gone from an \u201ce\u201d to an \u201ca\u201d several centuries before entering English.<\/p>\n<p><em>Emend<\/em>, on the other hand, came into English a few centuries after <em>amend<\/em> and retains a more Latin spelling. Both words originate from the same Latin word <em>\u0113mend\u0101re,<\/em><em> which means to <\/em><em>remove fault<\/em><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n<h2>When to Use Emend<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1796\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Emend.png\" alt=\"the meaning of amend versus emend grammar rules\" width=\"342\" height=\"99\" \/>The word <em>emend<\/em> (pronounced ih-mend) is also a verb, meaning <em>to correct text; to improve by critical editing<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>After proofing the text, I emended several typos.<\/li>\n<li>I looked over your data set and emended two of the entries.<\/li>\n<li>Based on these new discoveries, the date of his death may need to be emended.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you are an author, your editor might do a lot of emending to your work before publication.<\/p>\n<p>As you can clearly see by their definitions and uses, emend and amend emphasize different things. They both center on change of some kind, but their emphasis is different. To amend something is to change it for the better. To emend something is to fix an error.<\/p>\n<h2>Remember the Difference<\/h2>\n<p>Knowing whether to use emend or amend can be tough, but I have a few easy tricks to keep them separated.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>A<\/em><\/strong><em>mend<\/em> has to do with making <em>ch<strong>a<\/strong>nges<\/em> to documents or l<strong>a<\/strong>ws. <strong>A<\/strong>mend, ch<strong>a<\/strong>nges, and l<strong>a<\/strong>ws all contain the letter \u201c<strong>A<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>E<\/em><\/strong><em>mend<\/em> has to do with correcting <strong>e<\/strong>rrors in t<strong>e<\/strong>xt, something an <strong>e<\/strong>ditor might do. <strong>E<\/strong>mend, <strong>e<\/strong>rror, and <strong>e<\/strong>ditor all start with the letter \u201c<strong>E<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The two words emend vs. amend cannot be used interchangeably in all contexts, so it\u2019s important we know when to use which word.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Amend<\/strong> is to change something, usually a document or personal behavior, to make it better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Emend<\/strong> is to correct something, usually in a text, to fix an error.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every once in a while writers come across a set of words that are so similar to each other that they aren\u2019t sure what the difference is. Either that or they use the words so infrequently that they forgot (or never knew to begin with) the difference between them. Such is the case with amend &#8230; <a title=\"Amend vs. Emend: What\u2019s the Difference?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference\" aria-label=\"Read more about Amend vs. Emend: What\u2019s the Difference?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_aToxMjE2OTc5NDg2Ow==_1216979486":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Amend vs. Emend: What\u2019s the Difference? - Writing Explained<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to use emend and amend with example sentences and quizzes at Writing Explained.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amend vs. Emend: What\u2019s the Difference? - Writing Explained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to use emend and amend with example sentences and quizzes at Writing Explained.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writing Explained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WritingExplained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-16T21:59:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-09T18:47:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Amend.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/#\/schema\/person\/82785176f927165d5b88cbe6f80d7bc1\"},\"headline\":\"Amend vs. Emend: What\u2019s the Difference?\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-16T21:59:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-09T18:47:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference\"},\"wordCount\":598,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Amend.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/amend-vs-emend-difference\",\"name\":\"Amend vs. Emend: What\u2019s the Difference? 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