Current vs. Currant – How to Use Each Correctly

/ October 15, 2019/ Usage

What is the Difference Between Current and Currant?

Current and currant are homophones, which means that they sound exactly alike but have different spellings and pronunciations.

Current can act either as an adjective that means at the present time or a noun that means a thing that flows.

• The professor reads the newspaper every day so that she can keep up to date with current events. (present time meaning)

Currant is a noun that refers to a small type of edible berry from the genus Ribes.

• Currants are not a common fruit but they are popular in some fine dining establishments.

Now, let’s look at the specific ways to use these words, as well as how to avoid common mistakes.

Using Current in a Sentence

When to use current: Current can be either an adjective or a noun. As an adjective it means recently, up-to-date, or presently. As a noun, it refers to something that flows. Usually this means a river, or some other type of flowing body of water, or a stream of electricity.

For example,

• Scientists have discovered miles and miles of accumulated trash in some sections of the ocean, apparently brought to these locations by a strong ocean current. (flowing water meaning)
• I used to be a lawyer, but my current job is teaching math at the university. (present time meaning)

One idiom related to current is swim with the current, which means do something the easy or common way, or the way people expect. An analogous expression would be go with the flow.

Using Currant in a Sentence

When to use currant: Currant is noun that refers to a type of fruit. It is a small, round berry from the genus Ribes. Sometimes people use this word as an adjective to refer to the type of shrub the berries grow on.

For example,

• The monks use fresh currants to make a variety of jams and jellies.
• Currants can be black, white, or red, but all three colors are edible.

Dried currants are also a type of fruit, but they come from a different genus than the others. The dried version is a common ingredient in baked goods.

Remembering Current vs. Currant

It is possible to use the spelling of these words to remember the meanings.

Current is spelled with an e, just like the words water and electricity, two of the main contexts used for things that flow. Present and time also have an e and are related to the other definition of current. Finally, current events is a common collocation and current and event end with the same three letters, ent.

Currant ends in ant, just like the small insect. Since currants are a type of berry found growing in the wild, it would be easy to also find ants amongst the currants.

Outside Examples

• As the number of disgraced New York politicians continues to grow, the Daily News takes a look back at the current or former state officeholders who have been plagued by scandals. –New York Daily News
• That’s because the House proposes to count her free tuition as income — a change from the current tax code. –LA Times
• But over the past few years, the garden has expanded to include a dizzying variety of vegetables and fruits, including strawberries, blackberries, golden currants, kohlrabi, snap peas, rhubarb, watermelon radishes and more than a thousand pounds of tomatoes. –USA Today
• Shrubs such as chokecherries, currants and serviceberries are pulling their weight for the fall show, too. –Denver Post

Quiz: Current vs. Currant

Instructions: Fill in the blank with the correct word, either current or currant.

• It’s strange that the child likes almost every type of berry, including blueberries and blackberries, but dislikes ____________.
• Poor Clementine fell into the river and was unable to escape due to the strong ____________.
• You can actually see the air _______________ if you watch the clouds floating in the sky.
• Nikola Tesla was equally or more important than Thomas Edison for his work with electric ____________, although he is less famous.
• Adding a sprig of fresh __________ to the top of this cheesecake would be a nice decoration.

Article Summary

Should I use current or currant? These two words sound the same, but have totally different meanings.

• Current refers to something happening now, or something that flows.
• Currant refers to a type of edible berry.

Make sure you are aware of this difference when choosing which of these words to use.

Quiz Answers

• currants
• current
• current
• currents
• currants