Do you find the use of these suffixes confusing?
That makes two of us.
Not long ago, I published two posts dealing with some of the differences between historic/historical and classic/classical. In this post, I’ll deal with other common words ending with the suffixes -ic and -ical.
Botanic and botanical
Magic and magical
Comic and comical
Electric and electrical
Economic and economical
Let’s get the ball rolling!
Botanic and botanical
Can I use both? Yes, but botanical is more common nowadays.
“The botanical garden puts on a yearly summer night play illustrating the local history.”
Comic and comical
Comical means amusing and absurd.
“The way I fell down the slope could only be described as comical.”
If you want to talk about things that make you laugh, like the work of a comedian, use comic.
“She was pigeon-holed as a comic actress, but her acting skills went so much further.”
Careful: comical actress would be wrong here.
Electric and electrical
Electric is used before some nouns to indicate that it uses electricity.
” When he moved out, an empty space remained where his electric toothbrush used to be.”
Other words that collocate with electric are:
- Electric heater
- Electric car
- Electric guitar and other instruments
- Electric shock
Electrical has a more general sense. It is used to express the idea of producing or using (as well) electricity. It collocates with certain words such as:
- Electrical power/energy
- Electrical equipment
- Electrical component
- Electrical generator
- Electrical storm
- Electrical appliance
In conclusion
When it comes to the use of electric and electrical, I think it’s best to memorise some useful collocations and check a good dictionary when in doubt.
Note that the “e” in the word e-book comes from electronic.
Magic and magical
Both are adjectives but magic is also a noun.
The picture on the right could be described as magical.
Magic is the illusion that a magician creates during a magic show by performing magic tricks.
They use a magic wand among other magic props.
Another use of magic happens in literature. In books such as Harry Potter, magic represents the use of special powers.
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.” – Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
On another note, magic refers to having a special quality, like when we talk about the magic of a place, for example, the magic of Kyushu, or an actor’s performance:
“There is magic in the way she expresses the emotions of the characters she’s playing.”
These ideas could also be expressed with the adjective magical.
“The active volcanoes in Kyushu give the island a magical feel.”
Economic and economical
Economic is related to economy, as in:
“The country is going through an economic recession.”
Economical, on the other hand, conveys the idea of being frugal, not wanting to spend a lot of money.
“When they realised that trying to keep up with the Joneses would get them into serious debt, they resorted to a more economical way of life. “