The words 'pour', 'pore' and 'poor' sound identical, but their meanings are very
different.
Pour
The verb 'to pour' means to transfer a liquid from a
container (usually by tipping).
Examples:
 Shall I pour
the gravy? 
Pour the
molten steel onto a rotating drum that is cooled by water.
Pore
The word pore has two unrelated meanings:
To examine closely.
He
pored through the documents for hours looking for a loop hole.
I need
to pore over these files before tomorrow.
In this meaning, pore is a verb. Note:
You can pore over something or pore through something. |
A small opening in the
skin.
The
dust clogs your pores.
The
sweat was leaking out of my pores.
In this meaning, pore is a noun. |
PoorThe adjective
poor means impoverished (i.e., having little money or few possessions), or low
quality (e.g., poor crop) or unfortunate (e.g., That poor cat).
Examples:
As poor as
a church mouse.
I am
feeling quite poor this month.
Religion keeps the poor man from murdering the
rich.
Poor show.
Will you
take that poor animal to the vets?
Select the correct version:
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POUR OUT SOUP
The word poor does not usually cause grammar
mistakes; however, there is often confusion over pour and pore.
If you remember that 'pour out soup' contains three sets of
the letters 'ou', it will help you remember the meaning of 'pour', which only
has one meaning. Therefore, everything else must be 'pore'.
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Common grammar errors
