oral/verbal

You might think these two words are the same. Think again, my good friend.

Oral, obviously, refers to the mouth, so anything that is oral is spoken. An oral exam could be one of two things. It's either a closer look at your mouth conducted by an oral surgeon, or it's a test in school whereby all your answers are spoken.

Verbal, on the other hand, could be spoken or written. I guess that means, if you look at it more closely, anything oral is automatically verbal, but not everything verbal is automatically oral. My head is starting to hurt.

What if you were to enter into a verbal contract? Is it spoken or written? It could be either. That's up to you to decide.

I would have to advise against such a contract, however. That's my legal advice for the day. See, you get more than just grammar tips here. I've got it all. I should probably refrain from giving medical advice, though.