Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse people. I have found the following to be among them:
REIGN / REIN
Each of these words can be either a noun or a verb, but it is the verb form that we are concerned with here. The verb rein is a transitive verb, meaning it takes an object (as in rein the horse back to a trot), while reign is an intransitive verb, meaning it cannot take a direct object. The king can reign over his subjects, but he cannot simply reign them.
Although each of these verbs has several definitions, the confusion comes from a particular pair of similar definitions: rein can mean control or direct as one would a horse by using reins, and reign can mean exercise authority in the manner of monarchs who rule over the land.
An especially troubling phrase is “give free rein,” as in the teacher gave the students free rein to choose their own topics for discussion. Drop the G for this one.
INCORRECT: You’d best reign in your emotions more tightly if you want to avoid a fight.
CORRECT: You’d best rein in your emotions more tightly if you want to avoid a fight.
INCORRECT: Will the next monarch to rein over us be a king or a queen?
CORRECT: Will the next monarch to reign over us be a king or a queen?
ALSO CORRECT: If we could only rein in our antagonistic tendencies, peace could reign over the land.
© 2021 Ann Henry. All Rights Reserved.