Language tip of the week: independence

In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. These tips are usually based on areas of English which learners find difficult, e.g. spelling, grammar, collocation, synonyms, etc.

This week’s language tip helps with the spelling of the noun independence:

Note that the correct spelling is independence (not ‘independance’ or ‘indipendence’):
✗ Financial ~~independance~~ implies earing a living.
✓ Financial independence implies earning a living.

The related adjective is independent (not ‘independant’):

✗ Seek ~~independant~~ legal advice before entering into an agreement.
✓ Seek independent legal advice before entering into an agreement.