| It's important to spell correctly. Here are some commonly misspelled words with explanatory notes to help you learn to spell them correctly.
• accessory noun
Spell accessory with a double c and a double s ; the ending is -ory .
Rule: Change the -y to -ies to make the plurals of words which end in a consonant plus -y accessories.
• accommodate verb
Spell accommodate with a double c and a double m ; remember that there is an o before and after the m 's.
Related word: accommodation noun
• address noun and verb
Spell address with a double d.
• aggression noun
Remember that aggression is spelled with a double g and a double s .
Related words: aggressive adjective aggressor noun
• alcohol noun
Spell alcohol with alco- at the beginning.
• amend verb
Remember that amend and the related word amendment are spelled with a single m at the beginning.
• apologize or apologise verb
Spell apologize and the related word apology with -olo- in the middle.
• apparent adjective
There is a double p in apparent but only one r ; the ending is -ent .
• argument noun
There is no e after the u in argument, even though it comes from argue .
• average noun and verb
Spell average with an e after the v ; the ending is -age .
• beautiful adjective
Remember that beautiful and the related words beauty and beautify are spelled with beau- at the beginning.
• burglar noun
Spell burglar with -lar at the end.
Related word: burglary noun
• business noun
Remember that business begins with busi- .
• committee noun
Spell committee with a double m , a double t , and a double e at the end. • consensus noun
Remember that consensus and the related word consensual are spelled with -sen- in the middle.
• controversy noun (plural controversies )
Remember that controversy is spelled with -ro- in the middle.
Related word: controversial adjective
• disappoint verb
Remember that disappoint and the related word disappointment are spelled with one s and a double p .
• eighth adjective
Remember that eighth is spelled with -hth at the end.
• embarrass verb
Remember that embarrass and the related word embarrassment have a double r and a double s .
• extraordinary adjective
Spell extraordinary with extra- at the beginning (it is made up of the words extra and ordinary ).
• extreme adjective and noun
Remember that the ending of extreme is spelled -eme .
• friend noun
Spell friend with -ie- in the middle.
• grateful adjective
Remember that grateful begins with grate- .
• immediate adjective
Spell immediate with a double m .
Related word: immediately adverb
• independent adjective and noun
Remember that independent always ends with -ent .
Related word: independence noun
• instalment noun
Spell instalment with one l (the spelling installment is American).
• maintenance noun
Remember that maintenance is spelled with -ten- in the middle; the ending is -ance .
• millennium noun
Spell millennium with a double l and a double n . The plural can be spelled either
Related word: millennial adjective
• misspell verb
Spell misspell with a double s . The different forms of this verb are: misspells , misspelling ; the past tense is misspelt or misspelled .
• naive adjective
Remember that naive is spelled with -ai- in the middle.
Related word: naivety noun
• necessary adjective
Remember that necessary and the related word necessity are spelled with one c and a double s .
Related word: necessarily adverb
• occasion noun and verb
Spell occasion with a double c and a single s .
• occur verb
Rule: Double the last letter 'r': occurs , occurring , occurred .
Related word: occurrence noun
• original adjective and noun
Spell original with an i before and after the g .
• potato noun
The plural of potato is made by adding -es : potatoes .
• practice noun
Do not confuse practice with practise . Practice is a noun meaning 'the action of doing something rather than the theories about it' ( putting policy into practice ), whereas practise is a verb meaning 'do something repeatedly to improve your skill' ( they were practising for the Olympics ). In American English, both the noun and the verb are spelled practice .
• questionnaire noun
Remember that questionnaire (a French word) is spelled with a double n and ends with -aire .
• really adverb
Remember that really is spelled with a double l .
• receive verb
Rule: i before e except after c .
• recommend verb
Spell recommend and the related word recommendation with a single c and a double m .
• restaurant noun
Remember that restaurant is spelled with -au- between the t and r : it is a French word.
• secretary noun (plural secretaries )
Spell secretary with an e after the r ; the ending is -ary .
• separate verb and adjective
Remember that separate is spelled with -par- in the middle.
Related word: separation noun
• similar adjective
Remember that the ending of similar is spelled -lar .
Related word: similarity noun similarly adverb
• sufficient adjective
Spell sufficient with a double f ; the ending is -cient .
• surprise verb and noun
Remember that surprise has an r before and after the p . Unlike most verbs ending in -ise , it cannot be spelled with an -ize ending.
• tomato noun
The plural of tomato is made by adding -es : tomatoes .
• tomorrow adverb and noun
Spell tomorrow with a single m and a double r .
• truly adverb
Rule: Truly is formed from true plus the ending -ly ; it is one of a group of words in which the final silent e is dropped before adding -ly .
• twelfth number
Remember that twelfth has an f in the middle.
• unfortunately adverb
Spell unfortunately with -ately at the end (it is made up of the adjective unfortunate plus the ending -ly ).
• until preposition and conjunction
Spell until with a single l .
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Notes & Exercises |