英语语法：149 “Principal” Versus “Principle”

Grammar Girl here.

Today we’re going to recall that the principal is indeed your “pal¹,” but we’ll also see that a principal can be so much more. In this episode we’ll talk about the various ways to use “principle”—that’s “p-l-e”—and “principal”—that’s “p-a-l.” (These two words are pronounced the same way, principle, but I'm going to pronounce the one that ends with “pal” “princi-pal” so you can follow along more easily.)

A listener named Sarah has come across the word “principal” in relation to a job title and is wondering if it’s correct to use the word that way. She asks, “If I am the partner that is responsible for and a technical contributor to our MySQL practice, will I be the principal (as I was taught over-simplistically in elementary school, the principal is your pal; it’s a noun) or the principle (a law or precept—again simplistic)? I don’t tend to think of myself as a law unto myself or the primary source, so spelling it ‘principle’ doesn’t seem right. And the definition of ‘principal’ of most important, consequential², or influential³ is closer, but I’ve gotten feedback from clients that each is wrong.”

“Principle”

It’s easy to confuse similar-sounding words like “principal” and “principle.” Let’s look at “principle” (ending in “p-l-e”) first. Sarah is right that it refers to a fundamental law, doctrine⁴, or tenet (1). It is a noun only. You could use it to refer to grammatical principles, meaning rules, or you could say that someone is a man of principle, meaning a man who has strong ideals. As Sarah suspects, “principle” has nothing to do with a job title.

“Principal”

The word “principal” (ending in “p-a-l”), on the other hand, just might. Like Sarah, you’ve probably heard the trick that the head of a school is your pal. That is a good way to remember the spelling of “principal” because he or she is a fair disciplinarian and so is your pal, and because the head of a school is indeed spelled with “p-a-l” at the end. But the word means more than that.

“Principal” can be an adjective or a noun (2). The most common meaning of “principal” as an adjective is main, or highest in rank or importance, as in “My principal complaint is a persistent⁵ headache.”

You can also turn “principal” into the adverb “principally,” which means “for the most part.” You might see it in a sentence like this: “She was principally an abstract painter.”

As a noun, the word “principal” has more than ten meanings. As we’ve already seen, it refers to the head of a school. It also refers to the non-interest portion of a loan, as in “The principal is $250,000.” I don’t want to read the dictionary to you, so feel free to look up all the meanings.

We’ll just jump to the meaning that might answer Sarah’s question. One of the meanings of “principal” is a person in a leading or starring role. This could refer to a person acting⁶ in a play or movie, as in “Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are the principals in the movie ‘Star Trek⁷.’” I believe we can make this definition fit the business definition Sarah is looking for.

A dictionary of business terms (3) states that a principal is “a high-level individual (i.e., partner) in a CPA firm having major authority and responsibilities” or “an owner, especially one with executive authority, of a business firm.” Now, Sarah is working for a computer company, not a CPA firm, but no matter. You can indeed refer to someone as a principal of a business. Those who are the heads of large corporations are called CEOs, but if you own a small graphic⁸ design firm, for example, or are a bigwig in a computer firm, you can call yourself a principal.

Summary

In summary, please remember that “principle” and “principal” are both pronounced “principle.” I've just said them differently here to make it easier to follow along. Although they sound alike they're spelled differently and have different meanings.

“Principle” with a “p-l-e” has one main meaning: a rule or doctrine. “Principal” with a “p-a-l,” on the other hand, has many meanings, including the leader of a school, the non-interest part of a loan, and an important person in a business. Your principal is indeed your pal, but an important person in a business can be your pal, too.

 

The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier
This podcast was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at sentencesleuth.blogspot.com, and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of the paperback⁹ book Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

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That's all. Thank for listening.

 

1 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

2 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

5 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

8 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

9 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。