Friday, September 19, 2014

word choice - Difference between "change is constant" and "change is a constant"



The boss asked me the other day whether it's more correct to say




In our business, change is constant.




or





In our business, change is a constant.




Both of these sound perfectly correct to me, which is what I told him; but there's a slight difference in meaning that I just can't seem to articulate. Help?



Definitions, not that they're much help:





constant (noun): a quantity that does not vary
constant (adjective): unvarying in nature; steadfast in purpose or devotion or affection; uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing



Answer



I think if your implication is that change is a given, that it is one of the only constants you see in the business, then you use the noun (change is a constant).



If your implication is that all we ever see is change, change, change, change, change then use the adjective (change is constant).


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