Thursday November 15, 2007
Confused by ‘electric’ and ‘electrical’
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED by FADZILAH AMIN
I AM confused about words like “electrical” and “electric”, and “music” and “musical”. I recently saw words like “electric guitar”, “electric appliances” and “electric panel”. Shouldn’t they be “electrical guitar”, “electrical appliances” and “electrical panel”?
The words “electric” and “electrical” are adjectives. So, how can I differentiate between these two words? The same applies to “music” and “musical”. – A Form 3 student
“Electric” and “electrical” are both adjectives and with certain nouns, they can be used interchangeably.
While “electric” is usually used to mean powered by electricity, as in “electric guitar/blanket/light/drill/razor/iron”, etc, it can also mean produced by electricity, as in “electric shock” (sudden pain caused when electricity passes through one’s body) or producing electricity, as in “electric storm”.
On the other hand, while “electrical” is usually used to mean related to or concerned with electricity, as in “electrical engineer/energy/fault/fuse/services”, it can also be used to mean powered by electricity when used before a general noun, as in “electrical appliances/equipment/devices”, or producing electricity, as in “electrical storm” (an alternative expression to “electric storm”).
One can also use “electric/ electrical company”, “electric/ electrical current”, “electric/ electrical shock” and “electric/ electrical panel.”
“Music” and “musical”, however, belong to different parts of speech. “Music” is a noun, but is sometimes used as an adjective before another noun, as in “music teacher”, “music lesson”, “music stand”, etc.
“Musical” is an adjective that can mean related or connected to music, as in “musical director”, “musical instrument”, “musical styles”, etc.
It can also be applied to a person who is talented in music, e.g. “She is the most musical person in her family” and to a pleasing sound, e.g. “Some birds make musical sounds, while others, like crows, don’t.”
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