You might have been in a boardroom meeting when the marketing manager says something like “Utilizing social media will greatly increase our revenue!” Buy should she have said grately or greatly?
Homophones like this can be tricky as they are pronounced exactly the same! In this post, we will break down the difference between greatly vs grately so you don’t make this mistake again!
Which is Correct: Grately or Greatly?
The English language is full of words that can be easily confused, like to late vs too late. Sometimes, writers spell a word wrong so frequently that people start to forget the proper spelling! Luckily there is an easy answer for the debate between grately vs greatly.
- Greatly – The correct spelling is “greatly.” This is because “greatly” is an adverb that is used to describe an action, meaning to a large degree or in a great manner.
- Grately – “Grately” is not a word. This spelling should not be used in any full sentence no matter the context.
Takeaway: Greatly is the correct word. Grately is a misspelling.
How To Use Greatly
The word “greatly”, just like the words incase or in case, is often used to emphasize the degree to which something has been done or experienced.
- For example, one might say, “I enjoyed the movie greatly,” to emphasize how much they enjoyed it.
It can also be used when talking about an increase or decrease in something.
- For example, “The prices have risen greatly over the past year.”
It can also be used to describe a large amount of something.
- For example, “The city has grown greatly in the last decade.” B
Just like we saw when analyzing the are vs is grammar rules, small spelling changes can make a big difference! Choose your vocabulary carefully.
Takeaway: By using the word “greatly,” you can emphasize the degree to which something has happened or been experienced.
Sentence Examples
Here is a list of sentence examples using the word greatly.
- His generosity has helped me greatly.
- His success has been greatly exaggerated.
- Our business has grown greatly in the past year.
- The pandemic has impacted us greatly.
- His influence has greatly shaped the industry.
- His contributions have been greatly valued.
- His research has greatly advanced the field.
How To Use Grately
You should not use grately in your writing. This is the incorrect spelling!
This is likely due to the process of phonetic spelling, where people spell words the way they sound. In this case, the “ea” sound is often pronounced as “ay” in casual or fast speech, resulting in this common misspelling. Word choice matters! We really saw this when looking at when he says miss you vs i miss you in a text message!
Popular Phrases Using ‘Greatly’
The word greatly used very often in a variety of different ways in the English language. Here are some popular phrases.
- Most greatly
- I greatly appreciated
- I greatly missed you
- The car is greatly used
Look out for these phrases in your day-to-day life!
Other Common Misspelling
Just like how writers often think is it yep or yup, they also get confused when spelling greatly. Here are some other common misspellings of the word :
- Gratly
- Gretly
- Greately
Which Word Is More Popular?
There are times when a misspelling of a word becomes more popular than the proper spelling. In certain locations in the world, descriptive grammar can become more popular than technically correct grammar!
After checking Google’s NGram, it is clear that greatly is the most popular word. In fact, it seems the typo grately is very rare!
Changing Adjectives To Adverbs
The root word great is a very popular adjective used to describe a noun. For example:
- Great basketball player
- Great food
- Great weather
However, you can change adjectives to adverbs by adding -ly to the end of the word. For example, “happy” can become “happily.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Greatly appreciate it is the correct spelling. When something is greatly appreciated, it means that it is highly valued and respected.
The phrase “to a great extent or degree” is an adverb that is used to modify adjectives and other adverbs. It means that something is done to a large or significant degree. For example, you might say that someone was “greatly affected” by a traumatic event, meaning that the event had a very strong impact on them.
The correct phrase is to “benefit greatly”. For example, you might say “I am going to benefit greatly from the Bill Gates donations to my orphanage.”
Here are some words you can use instead of greatly: Considerably, substantially, significantly, markedly, appreciably, substantially, acutely, and profoundly.
Final Thoughts
By now you know that the proper spelling is greatly. You might say that you greatly appreciated something or greatly improved at a task. Remember, grately is NOT a word and should not be used in any formal or informal context. Use our FREE sentence-checking tool if you need some extra help with this spelling rule!