Which sentence contains correct word usage?

Which sentence contains correct word usage?

A. The city counsel held a meeting to discuss parking fines.

B. The defendant was given council to plead not guilty.

C. The counsel voted on the referendum during the last session.

D. The council voted to uphold the education budget as planned.

Answer: B. The defendant was given council to plead not guilty.

This great sentence is one of the finest examples of the proper use of the word “council.’’ Council is a word that means ‘‘a body of persons elected or appointed to administer or to advise.’’ In this case and probably due to regional variations, the council may be an institutional structure organising the education budget. The utilization of the word “council” is suitable in this case as it refers to a governing body making official decisions through voting.

In other options of this question, other similar sounding words are used improperly; thus, understanding the differences between “council,” “counsel” and “consul” is applied. The wrong option in this case is Option A which uses the word “counsel” instead of “council”. A city council, however, is a correct term associated with a municipal governing body. Option B commits a misuse of the word ‘council’ which should be ‘counsel’ about legal assistance or a legal representative. In option C, the word “counsel” is the incorrect word to use instead of the word “council”.

Such differentiation is significant in the written language and the oral language as well. For instance, one might argue that, “The city council convened to address issues to do with zoning,” or that “The consultant offered legal advice to her client.” But in another scenario, “consul” means an ambassadorial diplomat of a country who works in another country helping fellow citizens for instance in issues to do with visas, as in “The consul helped citizens get visas.”

By identifying these differences, one is in a position to explain and prevent instances where there might be confusion and establish order in several working or learning environments. This is especially so in legal governmental and business communication since such communication entails explicit usage of language in conveying messages. Such matters as distinguishing between hard and hard-core are vital in enhancing the standards of communication.