TOEIC Link Part 5: canvas versus canvass

Canvas and canvass are pronounced the same, but a single doubled s separates a thing from an action. Canvas is a noun: the heavy cloth used for bags, tents, and paintings. Canvass is a verb: to go around asking people for opinions, sales, or votes. Business passages mention both market surveys and tote bags, so Part 5 can drop either spelling into a blank and reward the reader who checks part of speech. For another pair separated by one letter and a part of speech, see personal versus personnel.

The core rule: a noun versus a verb

• canvas (noun) = heavy woven cloth, or a surface for painting. The artist stretched a fresh canvas. / The samples come in a sturdy canvas bag.
• canvass (verb) = to survey people, or to solicit opinions, sales, or votes. The team will canvass customers about the new feature. / Volunteers canvassed the neighborhood before the launch.

The clue is the doubled s plus the slot. The noun canvas has one s, like a single piece of fabric. The verb canvass has two, like the back-and-forth of going around asking. If the blank is a thing, use one s; if the blank is an action of surveying, use two.

Why Part 5 likes this pair

The two words fill different grammatical slots, so the sentence frame tells you which one fits — if you read for part of speech.

The research firm will __ local residents about commuting habits.

The blank is the main verb — the action of surveying — so canvass is required.

Each kit is delivered in a reusable __ tote.

Here the blank modifies tote and names a material, so the noun canvas fits.

Spotting the clue in the structure

Ask what the blank is doing:

• It names an action, often after will, to, or as the main verb (the staff canvass shoppers, they canvassed the district) → choose the verb canvass.
• It names or describes a thing, often after a, the, or before a noun like bag or tent (a canvas awning, the painter's canvas) → choose the noun canvas.

A reliable test: if you can replace the blank with survey or poll and the sentence still works, you need the verb canvass. If you can replace it with cloth or fabric, you need the noun canvas. For another pair where reading for part of speech settles the answer, see advice versus advise.

Quick self-check

1. Sales reps will __ attendees for feedback after the demo. (canvass — the verb, to survey)
2. The conference bags are made of durable __. (canvas — the noun, the cloth)

Takeaway

If the blank is a material or a thing you paint on, you need the noun canvas, with a single s. If the blank is the action of going around asking people, you need the verb canvass, with a doubled s. Decide thing-or-action first, swap in cloth or survey to confirm, and the extra s stops being a trap.