Let's look at the differences between marshal, martial, and marital with Grammar Rules from the Writer's Digest editors, including a few examples of correct usages.
This is a fun Grammar Rules post, because it involves three words that shares characteristics with each other, though there's no through-line for all of them. Two are homophones; two are adjectives; and two could be used to describe a certain type of law, though both describe different laws, and the third word may be used to name a person who might help with one of those laws.
So let's look at the differences between marshal, martial, and marital and when to use each.
Marshal vs. Martial vs. Marital
Marshal (or marshall) is a noun that refers to a person who coordinates the ceremonial aspects of a gathering or who is an officer that has charge of prisoners or executes processes and duties for a court and/or those similar to that of a sheriff. A marshal was also an official in the household of a medieval monarch who was usually in charge of the cavalry and/or military forces. So a marshal could be referring to someone in charge of war, prisoners, or parties.
(12 Things to Consider When Writing Fight Scenes in Fiction.)
Martial is an adjective that describes things that related to war or the military life. For instance, martial arts are the arts of combat and self-defense that could be used in war. Martial and marshal are homophones.
Marital, on the other hand, is an adjective related to marriage and the married life.
Make sense?
So is it marshal law, martial law, or marital law?
Actually two of these could work, though each means a different type of law. Martial law refers to the state of a government using military forces to maintain public rule and order in an emergency. Meanwhile, marital law refers to laws tied to marriage.
Marshal law is not something that exists. However, a marshal may help enforce the law or keep charge of people who broke the law.
Here are a few examples of marshal, martial, and marital:
Correct: The marshal made sure the parade route was not blocked by spectators.
Incorrect: The martial made sure the parade route was not blocked by spectators.
Incorrect: The marital made sure the parade route was not blocked by spectators.
Correct: She was trained in multiple martial arts, including taekwondo and jujutsu.
Incorrect: She was trained in multiple marshal arts, including taekwondo and jujutsu.
Incorrect: She was trained in multiple marital arts, including taekwondo and jujutsu.
Correct: The newlyweds claimed marital life suited them well.
Incorrect (probably): The newlyweds claimed marshal life suited them well.
Incorrect (also probably): The newlyweds claimed that martial life suited them well.
So any tricks for keeping these straight? I'm open to ideas in the comments below, but in the meantime, here's one trick that might work: Marshal and martial are homophones, but if you think of the "t" in "martial" as a sword, then you might remember it's linked to war.
Then, just remember that marital has more syllables than the other two words, meaning it has more vowels (like marriage vows). OK, I admit that's a bit of a #DadJoke stretch.
*****
No matter what type of writing you do, mastering the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics is an important first step to having a successful writing career.
0 Commentaires