italki – What’s the difference between Electricity,Electrical and electric

Electricity is the power running electric motors. Electricity is made and controlled. It is a noun.

Electric is part of a noun phrase. It goes with an object. Electric motor and electric car for instance; notice that it is often used with objects that are usually peered differently. If an object is almost always electrical, then it does not need the term. Have you heard someone say “electric computer’, or ‘electric television”?

Electrical is used when you want to specify how something is powered but you do not want to use the noun phrase “electric________”. Therefore, it is an adjective. It describes the object. For instance, an electrical outlet… What kind of outlet is it? Electrical. You can say outlet without it, and we will still know what you are talking about. You can say cord rather than electrical cord – and plug rather than electrical plug. In the context of the conversation we will know what you mean.